Picture Perfect

Chapter 16

    Sebastian was in heaven playing with all his new toys. The current choice was a dance game for WII which he was beating Aaron at repeatedly. I had given up watching the carnage and decided to make lunch since it was nearly 11:30. I had just put the sandwiches in my new Panini press when the door bell rang.
    "I'll get it," Sebastian yelled as he ran for the door.
    I walked to the living room and looked at Aaron, "You expecting anyone this early?"
    "Nah," Aaron shook his head. "The rents won't be here til at least two. You?" Nicole said
    I shook my head then heard Sebastian welcome our guests, "Merry Christmas aunt Hayley, Captain. I'm so happy you're here. Come see my toys, Santa brought me lots. I was a very good boy this year!"
    "Shit!" I said under my breath. "This can't be good."
    "Ashlee, I'm sorry to intrude on your holiday but I need you on this." The captain said sympathetically.
    I looked sadly at Sebastian. He was growing up so fast and I knew happy days like today were precious, this would not last forever. I hated missing anything with Bash but it couldn't be helped at times.
    Sebastian looked me right in the eyes and said, "It's okay mommy. Go catch the bad guy so he doesn't hurt anyone else. Just make sure you and aunty Hayley are back here before everybody gets here. You told me the best part about Christmas is family and I want my whole family here!"
    I almost cried. "We'll did our best sweetie." My son didn't know exactly what I did, at least I didn't think he did. He knew I was a cop obviously but I never mentioned I caught murderers. Bad guys who did bad things to hurt people was the best explanation I had given him and that seemed good enough for him.
    I turned to Aaron and said, "I'll hurry."
    He shook his head and said, "No, take all the time you need. I'll call your mom and she'll help me get dinner started if you're not back in time, no worries. As Bash said, go catch the bad guy." He finished with a reassuring smile.

    As we drove only six blocks from my house, very little was said. It wasn't until we arrived at a house on 62nd and Cleveland that the captain said anything, "Ladies, this scene is bad. It basically proves that Muskego has the wrong guy."
    "Another family?" Hayley asked.
    "Yes." The captain answered shortly.
    "What are you not telling us Capt?" I asked because I could tell he was holding something back.
    He sighed, "I want you to go through your normal process and come to your own conclusions. But just so you know Ash, the killer is reaching out to you."
    "Me?"
    "You and Hayley have good instincts, you two are my best detectives so I don't want to lead you to any conclusions. Walk the crime scene as you usually do." The captain instructed.
    I just nodded and got out of the car. If he wanted our usual, that's what he would get. Hayley went up to talk to the cop on the door and I took off around the house. There was no sign of forced entry that I could tell, most likely our killer entered through the front door. There was no obvious footprints in the yard so the killer probably exited the same way they entered. There was a jungle gym in the backyard and some other assorted toys that implied a young child, much younger than the victims from the previous murders. As I got back to the front door I knew from the look on Hayley's face this was bad.
    "Ash, whoever this was started right at the front door. If this is the same killer as the Olsen's they don't seem to have been as careful this time around." Hayley informed me.
    "Well the news report of someone confessing could have set them off, made them rush into another kill to prove Muskego got the wrong guy." I stated.
    "True! If that is the case hopefully they were sloppy enough to leave behind some fingerprints or DNA." Hayley said optimistically.
    I looked and saw the evidence of blood splatter all over but low down on the walls just inside the front door. This made my stomach drop the first thing that popped into my head was Sebastian answering the door when Hayley and the captain arrived earlier. "Hayley, this child was young, right?"
    Hayley nodded slightly looking uncomfortable, "The cop on the door says the kid looks to be about 5 or 6 and the couple maybe late twenties, early thirties. They don't have an ID yet on the family."
    "Okay, let's take a look around." I said. I could tell she was hesitant but I didn't know why.
    "There's more Ash."
    "What?" I snapped. Normally I don't get annoyed with Hayley but my patience was wearing thin. I knew we were dealing with the murder of a young child which was always tough. Cases like this always made me want to go home and hug my own son.
    "Where the family was staged, there's a message. Um... a personal message to you."
    "What the hell are you talking about?" I scoffed, "Let's get in there."
    I didn't have to walk far to see where the family was staged or to see the message. I was sure at first glance the message was written in blood. On the wall above the Christmas tree was written, "Any doubt Muskego has the wrong guy Detective Morris? Does this scene look familiar?"
    When I looked down to the scene the killer arranged I pushed all emotion aside and scanned it clinically. Sitting on the couch was a man and a woman facing the tree where a small boy lay underneath surrounded by toys and wrapping paper. This was a scene being played out in houses all over the country including my own. As I took in the horribly sad scene I noticed three cups of coffee on the coffee table.
    Hayley must have noticed it at the same time because she said, "Why three coffee cups? Is there another body around here?"
    "Actually yes, there's another woman in the bedroom." One of the first responders answered.
    "Interesting set up." Hayley stated. "Think the father had a mistress or something?"
    "Who knows, I guess we need an ID first. Let's take another look around the living room to see if there are any clues." I said. I didn't think this woman would give us any more clues as to what happened here than the main crime scene.
    "Sounds good." Hayley replied.
    I took a closer look at the scene in the living room. It may seem bad to some but when I first look at a crime scene I don't look that closely at the victims themselves. I try to get a feel for the overall crime scene before I delve into the specifics of how was killed. Now that I was taking a closer look I nearly collapsed, I had to brace myself on a nearby chair.
    "Are you okay Ash?" Hayley asked, her face showing obvious concern.
    All I could do was point to the little boy. I could see Hayley studying him, then I could see the recognition on her face. "Oh my god!"
    The uniform officer we were talking to earlier looked confused, "What's wrong?"
    I took a couple of deep breaths then answered, "I can ID the victims in this room."
    I looked over at Hayley, I could see the tears in her eyes. We both knew our knowledge could get us kicked off the case but I could tell from the look in her eyes, behind her tears, that we would fight anyone to keep this case.
    "That's Steve Daniels," I said pointing to the man. "He's a firefighter at Engine 4, age 33 same as me. That is his wife Adrienne, she plans parties for kids but is mostly a stay at home mom. And..." I took another deep breath before I continued, trying to choke down the emotion. "That's Shaun, their 6 year old son." I couldn't say anything more. I turned quickly and ran outside.
    "Wow, didn't know Morris was psychic." The officer joked.
    "She's not psychic asshole." Hayley said harshly. "That little boy is her son's best friend." Then Hayley ran out of the room too. At the door she nearly ran over Kayla.
    "Hey what's the rush Hayley? I know it's Christmas and all but since we're here we may as well be thorough."
    "Did you see Ashlee out here?" Hayley asked slightly panicked.
    Kayla looked confused and said. "No, shouldn't she be in there with you?"
    "Can you help me find her before you go in?"
    "Sure, I called my new assistant Scott in." She looked toward the street and saw him walking towards the house. "Let me talk to him for a sec then you're telling me what the hell is going on."

    The killer watched from across the street as Ashlee burst out of the house and ran down the street.
    "This one hit a little too close to home, didn't it detective? Look a little too much like your own home this morning?" She thought, an amused smirk crossing her face. "You thought you caught me but I'm just getting started!"