Murder on West 50th street.

Chapter 4: Confidential informant (CI).

It was presently 6:45 am. I had just come back from my jog; I took off my trainers and my kit before jumping into the shower. The warm water gently caressed my body, instantly relaxing me with its touch. I started to think about the case. The fingerprint results should be coming back soon; we will finally know who our victim is. I will find out if it really is James...the thought made my stomach churn and I felt the tears starting to sting my eyes, my breath starting to hitch and my throat getting tight. I quickly composed myself, saying soothing words to myself such as "he is alright; he just has the flu", "what if it's not him?" I got out of the shower once I had calmed down. I dried myself off, got dressed in my work outfit and grabbed my stuff before heading out the door.

...

I arrived at the precinct almost an hour later; the line at Starbuck's was longer than usual. I made my way to my desk and put my gun in the drawer with my badge like I usually do. I sat down at my desk and started thinking of ways of finding out if Eric really was the killer. After a few minutes of thinking, an idea came to my mind. Perhaps I could make use of one of the precinct's C.I.'s? I turned my computer on and logged onto the precincts database. I scrolled through the list of names but stopped my mouse in the middle of the screen. One name stood out from all the others, a name that I thought I would never see again: "Lucy Baker". Seeing that name brought back many happy memories. Lucy was my dorm mate at Uni., we were best friends back then but we both drifted apart. I came to work in the States whilst she chose to stay in the UK.

I remember the first time I met her...

I had just walked into my new dorm room and set my bags in a corner. The dorm had been quite simple; there had been two beds, one on each side. The left side of the room had been blank, bare of any decorations. The right side of the room had a bed covered with a colourful blanket and the wall had been covered with posters; one in particular had stood out. I got closer to examine it when the door burst open. My head had turned in the direction of the noise and my eyes had widened in shock. A girl, around my age, was rushing into the room. She was tall and had caramel coloured hair that went down to the middle of her back, slightly curled at the tips. Her vibrant hazel eyes had glittered with excitement as she jumped into my arms, giving me a warm hug.

"My name is Lucy what is yours?" she had asked with a bright smile.

"Ella" I answered, still shocked by her warm greeting. Her eyes had flickered to the poster I was previously checking out and her eyes had widened in realisation. "You like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. too?" She had asked, excitement clear as day in her voice, her features becoming even merrier, which I didn't think was possible.

"Yes, I love that TV series, it's fabulous!" I had answered, almost as enthusiastically. It's at that very moment that I knew we were going to be very good friends.

I clicked on the name and started typing. About 20 minutes later I had finalized the paper work and had set up a meeting with Lucy at the United Nations Headquarters. I still had an hour and a half before I had to meet Lucy. I got back onto my computer and started typing the case report. After 30 minutes of trying to concentrate, I finally gave up. I sighed in defeat. I couldn't stop thinking about what Eric had done. How was I supposed to act normal around him anymore? The worst part was that I had no way to prove it was him except for the feeling in my gut and his suspicious behaviour since the beginning of the case. The task at hand was going to be hard to accomplish but I had to do it. My mind reeled at the thought of James being the victim but I hurriedly pushed the sickening thoughts away. I got out of my chair, deciding to walk to the meeting point so that I could clear my head. I grabbed the items that I had previously placed in my drawer, threw my jacket I always left at the office on my back and headed out the door, into the drizzle. I started walking down the busy streets of New York City; abandoning myself to my surroundings, the weather, the noise and the faint smell of car fumes. I walked ahead peacefully, not thinking about anything in particular. The rain had finally stopped and the sky was clear again as I made my way down the road looking at the buildings looming over me. I could now see the top of the grey rectangle that was the United Nations Headquarters.