Blank Canvas ( A Kate Beckett story)

The Ukrainians

I dragged myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to try and bring some order to the mess that was my hair and face this morning. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and threw my hair up into a neat bun. I made my way back to my bedroom and put on a pair of jeans and a white V-neck, and of course my favorite leather jacket. I stood in front of the mirror, contemplating for a minute.

"That'll do" I mumbled to myself

I left my bedroom and went downstairs to grab a cup of coffee and some cereal before I left for work. Today was going to be tough.

I finished up my breakfast and took my car keys from the kitchen table and made my way outside. I was in a daze this morning, I just couldn't seem to concentrate on anything other than James. I drove to the 12th precinct and made my way up to my office. I slumped down into my chair and began sifting through today's cases.

"Morning Beckett" a familiar voice spoke from beside me

"Hey Kevin" I smiled up at Detective Kevin Ryan, he's a good friend of mine and works with James and I often

"How you holding up?" he asked concerned

"I'm good, yesterday was rough but a good night's sleep fixes everything" I gave a joking laugh

"You got that right" he returned a joking smile "Listen, we just got a case in, the captain wants us to take a look at"

"Sure, what's it about?" I asked standing up from my chair, I was happy to have something to focus on

"Mitch Donovan" Kevin said as he walked ahead of me to the murder board

"Mitch Donovan from the Bronx Donovan crime family?" I asked, a lot more intrigued now

"Yeah, and it's not pretty" Kevin said as he pulled out the pictures from the case file and stuck them up on the board

I cringed as I saw what went up on the board.

"We only found him in body parts, we were able to identify him by his tattoos and dental records" Kevin said matter of factly

"Do you think this has something got to do with a family feud?" I asked curiously as I mulled over the M.E report

"I don't think so, this isn't Donovan style, to be honest I don't think I've ever seen any of the families in the Bronx be this brutal" Kevin said in horror as he stared at the photos

"The fingers and toes were removed anti-mortem, dear god what are we dealing with?" I said in disgust

"Let's get his father in here and see if he can make sense of this" Kevin suggested

"Good idea! I'll get one of the street cops to pick him up" I said as I walked back to my desk and picked up the phone to call one of the guys

Ronnie, Mitch's father, arrived at the precinct, a little while later, and made his way to my desk.

"Detective Beckett, I believe you have some questions for me?" Ronnie said subtly

"Yes Mr Donovan, please follow me" I said politely as I showed him to one of the waiting rooms, I didn't bother bringing him to an interrogation room as I knew he was not a suspect

"I'm very sorry for your loss Mr Donovan" I said softly as we sat across from each other on the opposite facing sofas

"Cut the crap Detective, Mitch was nothing but trouble for you people here, I'm sure you all celebrated when you heard the news. He brought that trouble on himself but he was a good kid. Now for me to help you I'm going to need to see those crime scene photos please" Ronnie said bluntly