Picture Perfect

Chapter 23

    The door opened again and I looked to it immediately. The captain walked in followed by the chief and two men dressed in suits that I didn't recognize. The homicide squad room was fairly casual so the suits were never a welcome sight.
    "Good, I see you ladies have met. Let's all sit and we'll get acquainted." He waited a few moments for everyone to sit then spoke again. "To my left is Police Chief Tim Marlo, next is our new ADA Chyler Dutton."
    I immediately panicked and thought, 'Shit she's the ADA?' I couldn't remember the captain's exact wording but basically she was now our third wheel, and a distractingly attractive one at that.
    "Next to her is Tom Moore from the mayors office, next is SSA John Hotchner from the FBI and finally the lead Detectives on these cases Ashlee Morris and Hayley Williams. Now that we all know each other lets get started."
    "David, can I say a few words before we delve in?" Tom, the mayors puppet as I saw it, inquired.
    The captain nodded grudgingly.
    The informal way Tom Moore addressed the captain angered me slightly. This was obviously an official meeting, he could have at least addressed him as Captain but Captain Russo would have been more appropriate.
    Tom smiled and started, "Thank you! First of all I'd like to state for the record that the mayors office has no intention of interfering with this investigation."
    Hayley and I glanced at each other and the look said it all, we'd heard that before. Every high profile case I remember having the mayor, and the chief for that matter, said they just wanted to be kept in the loop but would not interfere. But both offices then proceeded to repeatedly stick their noses in our business.
    Tom continued, "The Mayor just wanted me to convey to you all that he would like to be kept in the loop on this, know the latest before the press." He finished with what he probably thought was a friendly grin.
    I thought it was more of an assholes smirk. By speaking his piece he told me that the mayors office was now butting into my investigation and I wouldn't be able to handle this my way.
    The captain jumped in before the mayors puppet felt we enjoyed listening to him talk, "John, do you have anything to add?"
    "Not much Captain." He stated with a shrug. "After reading through all four case files we searched the FBI database and found no cases exactly like these. If this unsub has killed before they have changed, or evolved their methods. There's plenty of unsolved shootings and victims whose throats had been slashed but nothing like this so far."
    "Captain, can I ask a blunt question?" I chimed in.
    He gave me a look of warning before saying, "Go ahead Ashlee."
    I turned to the FBI agent and said, "It's SSA Hotchner, right?"
    He nodded with a smile and replied, "Yes but please call me John, Detective."
    "Okay John." I replied with a smile too, trying to show that I could play nice. "What will be the extent of the Bureau's involvement in the case?"
    "Right to the point, I appreciate that." He said in a friendly tone. "I have been called in because of my skills as a profiler. Most of my work will be to develop a profile of the unsub to assist you in apprehending them." He said confidently then quickly he added, "I hope to assist more than interefere, but I have been told I do a bit of both."
    "Good to know." Hayley and I replied at the exact same time which made everyone in the room laugh.
    The chief stood next to speak. "I get accused of interfering all the time but it's a hazard of the job." He smirked then continued, "Morris, Williams I want you to know I have the utmost confidence in your abilities to catch this psycho. You two have an exemplary track record for solving cases. If you need extra resources from the department just ask, I have a list of good officers willing to work overtime if you need help tracking down leads or staking out locations. We all want this killer caught and I personally want to see the MPD get this guy." He turned to the captain and said, "Tom and I have a meeting with the Mayor across town so we need to leave." With that he and Tom quickly left the room.
    The captain nodded and turned back to us. "Well now that we've heard all the official statements let's get to the actual cases. Morris, Williams you're up."
    The chief poked his head back in, "I'll call you later to see if anything new comes up David. Oh and Morris, tell your dad I said hi next time you see him."
    "I will Chief." I replied with a slight blush. I love my dad but sometimes it's annoying being the daughter of a highly respected and well liked cop. It actually made life in the department difficult at times.
    Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a cop just like my dad, much like Bash feels about me now. After I graduated high school my dad didn't want me going to the academy, he was animate that I go to college before making any career decisions. I went to Marquette University and got a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology to humor him. My desire to follow in my fathers footsteps hadn't diminished so I entered the academy.
    Right off the bat most of my instructors knew my father, so I wasn't just one of the many potential cops, I was Joe's little girl. This cause many of my peers, mostly the men, to think that I was getting by on my name alone because I outscored most of them on evaluations. The truth was I worked my ass off because I wanted to be recognized for my own merits, not my fathers accomplishments.
    One of the friends I made in my class was Hayley. To this day I'm not sure why she started talking to me; whether she genuinely wanted to be friends or if she was trying to get in my pants. Either way we became good friends and have remained close throughout our careers. Oddly enough we have been able to tolerate being partners all this time as well. We work well together because we challenge each other, entertain each other and above all protect each other.
    Even after graduating at the top of the class from the academy I was still living in my fathers shadow. At times it felt like no matter how hard I worked, any success I achieved was questioned by some. Was I really that good or was I getting preferential treatment because my dad was a legend on the streets.
    After Bash was born and my dad recovered, I decided to use my maternity leave to set myself apart from him and studied for the detectives exam. Every night Hayley would come over so we could study together and quiz each other. We studied our asses off and were rewarded with the two highest marks, mine slightly higher than hers thank you very much. Then as luck would have it our captain had been transferred to homicide and wanted us to follow him. I've hear plenty of grumbling from other cops that I only got into homicide because my dad was shot on the job. It's bull obviously but some guys just have a hard time stomaching the fact that a woman is better at the job than them.
    The funny thing is my father's apprehension about me being on the face had nothing to do with the physical danger I'd face on a daily basis. His biggest concern was how I'd deal with the old boys club mentality. He knew I'd excel at anything I put my mind to, I'm a stubborn perfectionist that way. I think he was afraid I'd beat up or shoot a fellow asshole officer who hassled me, not that some criminal might do either to me on the street.