Prime Suspect

Chapter 1 - Police Officer Harris

A/N: First time we've (me and my friend) published something here, I think this is honestly the best we've ever written. Give it a try, amuse me. You might like it. Reviews welcome!

Updated Author's Note: So, the direction of the story kinda stalled, so it's been almost completely rewritten, and here's the new stuff. Enjoy!

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"All units, woman reports suspicious man loitering in front of a storefront on the corner of Peachtree and James. Any unit, respond code two."  Police Officer Haley Harris reached down and grabbed the radio as she eased her cruiser out of it's hidey hole and onto Peachtree Street.

"Dispatch, 210-Zebra53 responding to the 54 on the corner of Peachtree and James." She sat the radio back down and sighed, wishing she hadn't volunteered for this shift. Working at night always gave her the creeps, and she was always paranoid when she had to get out of her cruiser.

4:28 AM - December 20, 2015
625 Willow Knoll Drive SW
Marietta, GA

The hall light clicked on, and Captain Jake Carter blinked a few times and pushed his glasses up before taking his Smith & Wesson Model 36 .38 revolver out of its tan leather holster as he flipped the deadbolt open. The door squeaked as he opened it, and the neighbor's orange and white tabby cat scurried away when Jake stomped once in the critter's direction.

"Stupid cat. Go claw someone else's door." The short blond grumbled in a heavy Southern accent, shutting the door and locking the deadbolt before he walked back upstairs to his room. He crawled back under the covers and set his glasses on his nightstand, hoping to get back to sleep before his alarm went off in an hour, but any hopes of sleep were dashed when his phone suddenly lit up and started to ring. "This is Carter, go."

"All units, all units, reports of shots fired on the corner of Peachtree and James, any unit respond code three."

5:18 AM
Corner of Peachtree & James
Downtown Atlanta

Rain had started to fall as Jake turned down Peachtree Street, bringing his 2009 maroon Dodge Charger to a halt near the taped off crime scene centered on an APD cruiser. A tent had been set up over the car and crime scene, and he ran towards it when he got out, zipping up his red fleece jacket as he went. A uniformed officer at the perimeter stopped him and checked his ID before letting him pass, and Jake walked that last few feet to the tent, shivering when he got under cover.

"Looks like she was shot." Dr. Danielle Pierce, Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Georgia, said, looking up at Jake from her crouching position on the sidewalk.

"What makes you think that, D?" Jake mumbled, looking around the crime scene.

"I'd say the bullet hole in her head."

"Lovely." Jake grimaced and glanced around the crime scene again, hairs sticking up on the back of his neck. "Time of death?"

"Mmm...about 45 to 60 minutes ago." Jake frowned and looked over at Lieutenant Salena Burnett, who had pulled up about 30 seconds after Jake had. "PO Haley Harris. Her wallet was in her pocket, but..." The way the M.E.'s voice trailed off grabbed his attention, and he watched the woman turn the body all the way over and point to a spot on the dead cop's uniform. "Notice anything missing?"

"Her badge. Trophy?" Jake asked, crouching down.

"Nope, I found it over there." Detective Brenda Allen said, butting into the conversation and pointing to a spot on the sidewalk a few feet away, marked with a yellow crime scene number.

"Why take it off if you aren't gonna take it with you?" The short captain asked, standing back up.

"Who knows? People do weird things everyday." Detective Sergeant Cassidy Howard interjected, handing her shorter boss the evidence bag that held the dead cop's badge.

"Whoever this guy is, he's brazen. Killing a cop?" Jake made a noise through his teeth and tossed the badge onto a folding card table that had been set up for the evidence and turned away.

9:37 AM
625 Willow Knoll Drive SW
Marietta, GA

"Zack?! Are you home?" Jake called, walking into the house and tossing his keys on the kitchen table. He walked through the house, peeking in doors as he neared his bedroom, before stripping his shirt off and tossing it in the floor. "I guess not." Jake mumbled to himself, taking his badge off and undoing his belt, undoing his pants and letting them fall as he entered the bathroom. He reeked of sweat and death, and he was still wearing the clothes he had put on the night before (which had been the outfit he had wore to work that day), so the stench of body odor, stale cologne and a stain of dried coffee was overpowering.

He turned the shower on and stripped his underwear, stepping in and letting the steam envelop him. He ran over the evidence in his head, trying to find some clues in his case as scalding water ran down his back. He missed the front door opening and closing, and he didn't realize anyone was in the house until Hunter Smith tapped on the frosted glass door of the shower, startling him.

Jake pressed his back flat against the shower wall, hand over his heart at his pulse returned to somewhat normal levels.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What th' heck was that for?" Jake said, reaching out and turning the water off. Hunter threw Jake's towel over the shower door, and waited until the detective slid the door open and stepped out.

"You left the door unlocked, my little paranoiac." Hunter mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to Jake's forehead. Jake rolled his eyes and grunted, walking out of the bathroom, running a hand through his still wet (but unwashed) hair.

"What are you doing here?" Jake asked, flopping down on the bed, facedown. Hunter gazed at Jake's back, stopping at the circular scar to the left of Jake's spine, in the small of the blond's back.

Instead of answering Jake's question, he asked one of his own. "How's your back?"

"Normal pain." Jake lied, rolling over to look up at ceiling. An identical scar was on Jake's abdomen, and the dark haired ER nurse felt a twinge of sadness for Jake. Jake raised an eyebrow as he felt the bed dip, and he started to sit up, only to lay back down when he felt Hunter's gentle touch on his arm.

"Lay back down, Jakers." Hunter murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Jake's neck. "How much sleep have you had?" He asked.

"In what period of time?"

"The past 72 hours?"

"Yikes. That'd be zilch." Jake laughed softly, missing Hunter's reproachful look. Hunter started to say something, but a tall, lanky, dark haired teenager cleared his throat and interrupted him.

"I'm home, padre." Zachary Carter said, hiding a grin by looking down at the floor. Zack Carter was the antithesis of his father, 6 foot 2 to Jake's 5'6, brunette to Jake's blond. The only three things Jake was certain he had passed on was his emerald green eyes, quick wit, and paranoia.

"I see that, my spawn." Jake said, sitting up in bed and reaching for his discarded glasses. "I'm going to finish my shower, and then..."

"And then you're getting some sleep." Zack told his father.

"No, my two mother hens, I'm going to catch a cop killer."