Picture Perfect

Chapter 20

    The next morning I decided to head into the station early. I hadn't really slept well and after waking up five or six times during the night I figured it was pointless. I arrived with the hope that I would have some reports in my inbox, normally something I dreaded. The CSU guys always joked there was no rest for the wicked and even less for the good guys who had to convict the wicked. I wasn't sure if that applied on holidays as well but in this case I was counting on it.
    When I got to my desk I saw the usual overnight ears milling around. We exchanged smiles and nods of acknowledgement but didn't say much, we all had work that needed to be done.
    I had just fired up my computer when I heard a familiar voice, "Morris, can I have a word with you in my office?" The captain grumbled as he walked past me with a cup of coffee in his hand.
    As I entered his office I noticed he looked in need of some sleep. He looked as clean and put together as usual but there was a slight slump in his shoulders and his tired eyes were a dead give away. "Close the door Morris."
    I was afraid he was going to say the one thing I didn't want to hear so as I closed the door I spoke up first, "You can't take me off this case Capt. I'll fight you on it if I have to!"
    "Good to know!" He replied with a slight grin then continued. "I have no intention of taking you off the case but I'm glad we have that out of the way."
    "Good!" I said, surprised I didn't have to fight him on this. "So what happened to you at the scene yesterday?"
    "The short version, political bullshit. I saw your sister and asked her to tell you I got called away." He offered.
    "Oh, she hadn't mentioned. But we were both pretty shocked at the scene honestly."
    The captain shook his head then said, "I'm asking this not as your boss but as someone who cares about you and your family. Are you okay?"
    I sighed and shrugged. I'd been asking myself the same question since I left the scene. "I have to be, I have no choice."
    He nodded his head then spoke again. "I knew about the message on the wall Ash but beyond that I didn't know just how personal this scene was for you. If I had known I would have warned you. No one even told me who the victims were. I'm sorry."
    "It's okay Capt. Those on scene didn't know who they were until I made the ID. Even if you had known the names of the victims you probably wouldn't have realized that Shaun was Sebastian's best friend. Or that Aaron, Kayla and I grew up with Steve." I had to gulp back the emotions, I still felt raw.
    "How are you guys handling this?"
    "Hayley and I told Aaron after we got to my house but we agreed to hold off telling Bash for a day or two. We didn't want to make Christmas sad for him."
    "Makes sense but don't wait too long. This story will be all over the press today and the names have been leaked, that's part of why I called you in here."
    "Shit!" I said shaking my head. "That was fast."
    "Well a young attractive family gets slaughtered Christmas morning, the vultures live for this shit. The only thing that will possibly slow them down is..."
    "Catching the bastard!" I finished his thought.
    "Exactly, and of course that part is a piece of cake right?" He said sarcastically.
    I laughed and said, "Muskego PD thought so."
    "Well it seems they have an attention seeking, low grade criminal on their hands who is of no use to us. Our ADA is putting in a request for the case files from both Muskego and New Berlin so we can determine if the cases are the same perp."
    I rolled my eyes and replied, "Great. Hopefully our guy decides to wait a month or two before picking another family to annihilate. Give us a little time to jump through the hoops then study the case files."
    "I'm sure given what happened yesterday, with the added political and media attention the other cities will cooperate." He said confidently.
    "I don't doubt they'll cooperate Capt. It's our new ADA I have limited faith in, will she quickly navigate the hoops? She's been here like a month and I've never seen the woman, I've only seen her signature above the judges on our search warrants which take twice as long as they used to." I rattled off. I kinda surprised myself with my complaining but I was annoyed.
    The captain laughed and said, "Well tell me how you really feel Ash."
    "C'mon Capt, you can't tell me you haven't noticed the lack of urgency from the DA's office lately on our behalf."
    "We're working on that, honestly. The new girl up there is very detail oriented, which is good, but she still learning how to balance her work load and precision. She'll get better though, just give her a little more time and please don't tear her to shreds."
    "What do you mean?" I asked, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like where this was going.
    "Well I did tell you, warning you about the press coverage was only part of why at I had to tell you." He paused obviously trying to gauge either my mood or my reaction. I in turn revealed nothing so he continued. "You have a briefing with our ADA later this morning. From today on you and Hayley. Are to consider her as part of your team per the police chief."
    "Ah, the political bull shit you mentioned earlier."
    "Exactly! The press will be out of control very soon. We're not positive the four families are connected but you know the press will say they are and the public will jump right on the bandwagon whether it's true or not. So we've got to work as a team or we'll be crucified in the press."
    "We'll likely be crucified in the press no matter what until we arrest the real killer." I mumbled. I hated that everyone was so obsessed with image. Personally I could care less what some reporter said about how I did my job or what the general public thought. I know I'm a damn good detective as did the others in the homicide division.
    "True! And by your facial expression I can tell you're not pleased with the situation Morris but you'll have to deal with it." The captain said firmly. He glanced at his watch then looked back at me. "Ashlee, you have time before your shift officially starts. Why don't you go home and talk to your son before some news channel breaks the new to him about his best friend."
    "Alright Capt, thanks for the warning." I said as I got up. I went to my desk and sat contemplating what he said for a few minutes.