Taken Away

CHAPTER 1

We all know that alarm clock sounds on Monday morning suck...but this morning sucks even more with the sound of two missed calls from Joshua. I roll out of bed and reach over for my phone. It looks like Joshua is pissed because I missed two calls; “Damn... already nine?” The groggy voice groans out as I stretch out, I instinctively rub the sleep from my eyes to bring some focus back. My feet push against the edge of the bed as I slowly sit myself up, my feet carrying my still mostly asleep body towards the bathroom. A few yawns slip past my lips, still a bit drowsy. My body goes into autopilot as I start to undress, my clothes hitting the ground silently. Walking over to the shower, I stepped in and turned the water on, my eyes beginning to open more with the change of temperature. Taking a hot shower is one of the best parts of my morning routine. It’s the perfect way to start the day and wash away the stress and fatigue from the day before. I let the warm water run over my body, enjoying the soothing warmth running down my back and over my shoulders. As I wash my hair and lather the soap, I felt my muscles relax and my mind clear. After stepping out of the shower, I quickly dried myself off and chose my outfit for the day. I decided to go with a white blouse, dark pants, and a coat because it’s unusually cold today. Before I headed out of the house, I took a few sips from my favorite depressed-looking black coffee. This breakfast hasn’t changed since I became a detective and probably won’t anytime soon.

As I exited my apartment building and made my way to my car, I was immediately hit with the cold November air. The chill ran down my spine and caused me to shiver as I wrapped my coat tighter around me. I quickly get into my car and put the heat on full blast. Despite the warm air blasting at my face, I pulled out my phone and called Joshua to let him know that I was on my way. He answered right away and I could tell that he was still annoyed. I apologized for missing his calls and let him know that I was currently on my way to the office. He said that he was already at the office and that I should hurry up. I could hear the irritation in his voice but I didn’t let it bother me. I know that the sooner I get to the office, the sooner we can start working on this case.

I entered the chief’s office and saw Joshua standing there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Chief Wilson is also present and greets me with his typical no-nonsense attitude. Upon my entrance, Joshua turned away and said nothing. Chief Wilson nods at me and beckons me forward to speak with him. I took a deep breath and walked over to his desk as I said, “Sorry for the wait, sir.” The chief’s office is a typical police headquarters office. There are no windows, and the walls are painted a dull shade of grey. The furniture is utilitarian, with a few metal filing cabinets and a large, messy desk occupying most of the space. A large, whiteboard covers one wall, covered with maps, photos, and scribbled notes related to an ongoing case. As I looked around, I got a sense of the overwhelming workload that Chief Wilson must grapple with every day. But despite the chaos, there’s an air of authority and competence about the place that shows the Chief’s professionalism. Chief Wilson is a tall, tough-looking man in his late fifties. He has gray hair, and his face is lined with wrinkles. is known for getting right to the point when dealing with his detectives. When he speaks, his words carry a lot of weight and demand attention. he’s a very capable leader and isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty when needed. Chief Wilson cleared his throat and got right down to business. “Listen up, you two. As I told you yesterday, you will be taking this case. We got a second call this morning, another corpse was discovered near Riverview Park in Upper Manhattan. The M.E. has already arrived on the scene and has confirmed that the victim’s heart has been cut out just like the previous victims.” The chief pauses for a moment and looks directly at us. “Get over there now, and investigate. Understood?” After our brief meeting with the chief, Joshua and I head back to our office. We share an office together and have worked together on many cases in the past. We have a good working relationship and complement each other’s skillsets well. As we entered the office, Joshua immediately sat down at his desk and started going through case files. “So what have we got here? The killer takes his victims’ hearts and...” I trail off, unsure of what the motive behind this killer’s twisted actions could be. Joshua looked up from his report and said, “The victim’s heart was once again the primary target, but the rest of the body was unharmed. There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind this killer’s actions. Maybe he takes pleasure in taking them?” I looked at Joshua and nodded my head, “Maybe...Taking someone’s life is one thing, but taking their heart is something entirely different. There has to be more to this than simple pleasure.” I look down at the report in my hands and see that the victim’s identity is yet to be determined. “Let’s see if we can find out who this victim is and if they have any connections to the previous victims, maybe that will lead us to a motive.” “Well, that’s interesting... the two victims are women around the age of 20.” I pulled out my report and saw that the two previous victims also shared other similarities. “They all had black hair, stood around 5′4 tall, and weighed around 110 pounds.” I paused briefly to think before adding, “The M.E.’s report also confirmed that all two victims had healthy hearts and no underlying health issues. This is the third murder and it took place in Riverview Park. The first one took place in Washington Square Park and the second one was at Union Square Park. These aren’t exactly close to each other either, this killer has been moving around quite a bit.” I look back at the notes. “The first victim’s body was discovered around 9:00 am, the second one was found around 11:00 am, and this third victim was found at 7:00 am... There must be some significance to these time patterns.” As I see Joshua moving the whiteboard, I grab a red marker and start drawing a line between each of the three locations where a murder has taken place. Once the lines were drawn, I took a step back and looked over the map, “Hmmm... The three murders took place in three different parks that are not exactly close by, but they are all within the same general area. That means we can probably rule out the possibility that the killer is randomly choosing locations.” I look over at Joshua and say, “We should head out to Riverview Park, maybe we can find some clues about what happened. We should try to find out more about the victim’s identity too and see if they have any connections to the previous victims or any other possible suspects.” Joshua nods his approval and we head out to his car to head to the latest crime scene.

The Monday morning traffic in New York is never something that can be overlooked. we noticed that the streets were already filled with cars and pedestrians. The morning hustle and bustle was in full force as people made their way to work. Despite the constant flow of traffic, we managed to make our way over to Riverview Park without any major delays. As we pulled up to the crime scene, we saw that the area had already been blocked off by police tape and several officers were already on the scene. “Sally, Joshua, you’re finally here.” We both nodded and stepped out of the car, “We caught wind of the situation just as we were on our way to the office.” The officer nodded and motioned for us to follow him, “Come on, it’s this way.” He started walking us towards the crime scene. We followed the officer up to the body bag where another officer was working. As he zipped down the bag, we were met with a gruesome sight. The body of the victim, a (probably) 20-year-old woman, lies inside. There was blood everywhere and the victim's skin was pale white, giving it a frozen appearance. Her eyes were wide open and staring up at us, and there was an empty hole where her heart once was. “Shit, just like the others.” I looked over at the officer standing over the victim’s body and asked, “Who made the call?” I asked, “The victim was found this morning, around 7:00 a.m. by someone taking their morning jog. Upon finding the body, they immediately called 911 and some of our officers were dispatched to investigate.” I take a deep breath and lean closer to inspect the body, “Thanks for the information. We’ll take it from here.”
We walked around the area where the murder took place, looking for any clues or evidence that could lead us to the killer. Even though it’s a public park, there were surprisingly few people around at this time of day. The sun was high in the sky and it seemed like everyone was either at work or at school. We took in the surroundings, looking for anything out of place that might indicate where the killer went after the murder. But like the two previous murders, there was no trace of blood or any other signs of violence. Joshua looked back at me and said, “Looks like this person knows what they're doing.” I nodded in agreement, “It’s almost as if the killer has this down to a science. They know exactly where to attack and how to leave no evidence behind.” I pause for a moment to think and add, “The way they take the victims’ hearts does seem to be professional. It’s as if they are a skilled surgeon or mortician.” We stood there for a moment in silence, trying to wrap our minds around the gruesome murder and the strange methods of the killer. As we stepped away from the body, I took out my mini journal and started making some notes. I wrote down the information we’d gathered so far, We walked over to where the coroners were gathered and I took a moment to observe their work. One coroner was busy taking pictures of the victim’s body and the other was performing an examination on the body to determine the exact cause of death. “We should talk to the witness and then the victim’s family.”

As we entered the investigation room, we immediately got to work compiling our notes and discussing the details of the case. We referenced the map and compared it with our notes. As I looked over the details of the third victim, I couldn’t help but ask, “It’s strange that the killings have all been so similar. The victims are all women around the age of 20, black hair, 5′4" tall, and 110 pounds. It’s like he has a specific target in mind. Why would he be so specific with his victims?” I lean back in my chair and rub my forehead, contemplating the complexity of the case. The sheer precision and skill behind these murders are unsettling. There was clearly a connection between the victims, but we don’t yet know what it is. Joshua looked at the file once more, “It’s certainly a complex case. We’ve got three women killed in separate locations, with no apparent connection between them. And the M.O. is so specific, it’s almost as if the killer is trying to send us a message or something... ” “A message...Hold on.” I murmured, I rushed over to the map and examined the red lines connecting the three locations of the murders. Sure enough, they form a “S” shape. “Wait, that’s not a coincidence,” I said aloud. “It looks like the killer is intentionally spelling something or giving us some kind of message.” Joshua looked up from the desk where he was working and joined me to investigate the map. “The first victim’s body was found in Washington Square Park, the second victim was found in Union Square Park, and this latest one was found in Riverview Park.” I gave him a moment to process the information before speaking up again. “Let’s get over to the autopsy room. I need to check on something.”