By the end of the week,Alexx was ready to quit her job. Ten bodies. Five children,five adults,ten miserable autopsies,and one whopping headache.
"Hey,Alexx,"Calleigh chimed as she entered the morgue.
"Sweety,you gotta call in the night shift. I'm done." The woman threw down her gloves in exhaustion.
The southern belle standing next to the table was at a loss for words as Alexx ripped her apron off and dumped it on the floor.
"I've cut into five little boys that landed here long before they were supposed to. That alone is more than enough for me. You've got a serial killer on your hands. Call in someone who can catch this killer,or the department's going to be short one medical examiner,"Alexx warned.
Calleigh sighed as the colored woman walked off for a week of vacation. It was a well earned vacation,don't get me wrong,but just then,two assistants came in wheeling in another pair of bodies.
"I need to call in the night shift,"Calleigh sighed,"But first..."
Natalia had just gotten the microscope focused on a strand of hair when she jumped at the sound of her cell phone ringing. Grumbling,she stopped what she was doing to answer it.
"Boa Vista."
"Yeah,Nat? You have more strings than we do. Do you have anybody you could call who specializes in serial killers?"Calleigh asked.
The woman paused. "You looking for the best?"
"Um..."Calleigh paused on her end to see the two assistants opening the "body cooler" as Walter would call it to compare wounds,"Yeah. Please. We're up to twelve victims here."
"Do you care who it is or do you want me to Just make the call?"
"Call them and brief me later,"came the response,and they both hung up.
The next day,Alexx had been happily keeping her children close to her for a movie when her phone rang.
''This better be important,''she huffed.
''it is,''came Calleigh's voice,''we need you to come back in. The people Natalia called will be here this afternoon.''
Alexx's head dropped back against the couch with a heavy sigh.
"It's for the briefing. You dealt with the bodies,so you need to give them the run-down."
The M.E. was quiet for a moment. "Alright,I'll be there around ten."
Horatio had been content to lean back in his recliner for the first time since he'd retired,and he would have been more than happy to ignore his accursed cell phone if the Caller I.D. had not shown Calleigh's face. He swore under his breath before he grabbed the ringing hunk of plastic to answer it.
"Make it quick. I quit,remember?"
"Yeah,I know,"the blond paused on the other end,"but we have a serial killer on our hands,and the bodies have a resemblance to Jay and Dorian."
"Shit..."Horatio sighed. "Alright. I'll be there shortly. Bring me up to speed on the case and we'll go from there."
He hung up,stubbornly forced his body to move from his comfortable recliner and grabbed his jacket.
"Jay!"he called. For a moment the house was quiet. Then,heavy footsteps started,and slowly a shirtless Jay came down the stairs rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Whatever it is,I didn't do it,"the angel yawned.
"No,"Horatio chuckled,"but I think you should come with me."
"What?! I just got out of bed!"
The elder paused. He knew the younger one had just woken up,however,it was for Jay's own sake that he come along.
"I understand,but this is important."
A thick growl laced with annoyance slipped past the angel's lips before he stomped up the stairs.
"Gimme a minute,"he called back.
Calleigh looked up from the table that had been set up in the break room to see Horatio arrive with Jay in tow.
"Is there coffee?"the angel grunted.
Eric pointed to the pot in the back of the room and Jay promptly poured himself a mug. His attention had been solely on his steaming mug until he turned around and saw the crime scene photos on the table.
His steps were carefully taken to keep himself quiet and calm as he approached the table. Pale fingers were watched as they reached out for a picture. Natalia wanted to speak to give details on the body,but Horatio held up his hand to stop her. The redhead wanted his son-in-law to absorb what he was looking at.
The picture was of one of the young boys killed,his mouth,neck,chest and stomach all shredded and torn open. Bloody and broken ribs jutted out of the body,and Jay could swear he saw a section of spine severely out of place. The boy could be no older than ten years of age. Lifeless eyes were wide open,still showing the fear he felt in his last moments.
"So... This is what we're dealing with?"he asked calmly. He noted that the body resembled Dorian,and it took every ounce of self-control to not freak out. He set the photo down and hesitated at his next question.
"How many?"
"Six kids,six adults. All male,"Eric spoke for the first time.
Jay's head dropped with a sigh. He had a theory in his head on who it might be,but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions. "I'll be in the morgue."
No one protested as the young man left the room,knowing that he needed time to absorb. Horatio himself was disturbed by the pictures,and holding everything in his stomach down was quite a challenge. He had seen some gruesome things in his time,but this was new to him. And with bodies turning up every single day,the redhead had to admit he was likely to throw a party when they caught this killer.
Natalia's phone rang suddenly,catching his attention. He waited quietly and examined the large number of pictures all over the room,some of them on the floor.
Why did they have so many pictures? Because they captured every single drop of blood. The drop of blood farthest from one the bodies was fifteen feet away. It was almost like the killer had wallowed in the blood.
Horatio glanced at the woman on the phone just as she was finishing her conversation.
"Alright,thanks. Our helpers will be arriving in a few minutes,"the brunette said as her phone clicked shut.
"Frank and I will meet them there,"Eric called as he left.
Horatio sighed and walked over to the coffee maker.
"It's gonna be long two weeks,"he grumbled under his breath as he poured himself a cup.
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