CUFFED

Haunted Memories *Trigger Warning*

- 2017 - Miami, Florida - James

"Why the hell would you say something like that?" She snapped as she jumped out of the truck.

"I'm not having this conversation with you right now," I snapped back.

We'd been at each other's throats all week. Cap threatened write-ups if we didn't pull our shit together. She was giving me hell about letting Dylan go to a boy/girl party. I argued that she was too young while Santiago thinks she's mature enough to go.

Obviously, she's not going. I'm the parent. When I told her that she started yelling at me in Spanish. I fucking hate when she does that. She's pissed off and speaking another language. Talk about a one-two shot to my libido. I needed something to get her to shut up.

I turned and looked her dead in the eye, "jeez, woman. It shark week or something?"

She stared at me in shock, turned on her heel, and walked away. Watching her walk away was worth it though.

When I entered the residence, I walked right into the back of Santiago. She was standing just inside the living room, her eyes locked on the scene before us. I was thankful for her height... well, lack thereof... because I had a view of what she was staring at.

The couch looked like it had been thrown against the wall and in its place were two dining room chairs. Tied to those chairs looked like a set of twin girls not much older than Dylan's age. Man, I hate it when a case involves kids. Both girls looked like they had been crying, the skin around their closed eyes looked puffier than normal. Their mouths were taped shut with duct tape.

They were pale and they both had identical slashes against their throats. Semi-dry blood covered their chests. At their feet laid what I presumed to be their mother. Her hair was matted and bloodied and if the pool of life liquid in the carpet around her was anything to go by she's was left to bleed out too.

I took a quick glance around the room. A beautiful family of four smiled from each one of the pictures on the wall. There were the typical student achievement awards that parents like to show off as well. I did make note that it looked like the newest award was from two years ago.

So, if mom and the two kids were here.

"Where the hell is the dad?" I mumbled lightly.

"Ah! detectives," Evan Harold, Dade county's medical examiner, said. "You've come just in time."

I stepped around a still frozen Santiago and stepped closer to him, making sure to follow the mapped-out area CSU already set up.

"Whattaya got, Doc?" I asked.

He sighed, "nothing good to report, unfortunately. The liver probe tells a tragic story. Those poor girls had to watch their mom bleed out and die at their feet for two hours before they were taken too."

"Shit," I replied. "The girls' cause of death seems obvious. What about mom?"

"Preliminary findings say blunt force trauma. She's got a gaping head gash on the back of her cranium. However, I also found no less than three stab wounds," he said.

"Right," I sighed. "Get me that report as soon as you can."

"Callahan," I called out to the CSU officer sketching the scene. "What's the story?"

"Well, so far we haven't seen any forced entry. This room is the only one out of order. It doesn't appear to be a robbery either because we found a diamond wedding set sitting atop the dresser in the master."

"Was it bagged?"

"And tagged sir."

"Good, if you find anything else let me know."