Discerning Retribution

v

The Way to Treat an Outsider

THEY STARED AT THE MONITOR IN SILENCE as the facial recognition software continued to run through different photos. Red dots, marking specific features, and numbers, calculating degrees of similarity, appeared on the side every once in a while. Penelope's digital reconstruction of their Jane Doe's face gazed back at them on another screen beside it, looking more like an RPG character than an actual human being.

"How long do you think it will take before we get a match?" Reagan asked the computer whiz sitting beside her on her chair. Having an actual face to go with the body made the woman's death much more real. Her eyes that seemed so lifeless bored through her like she was daring her to fail.

Penelope hummed, running a hand through her unkempt black hair. "Could be a while."

The detective found it a bit difficult to determine if the other woman's thin-slit eyes were actually looking at her through her yellow, folding readers when she spoke.

"It's still going through the police database. I have the bureau's database lined up next, just to be really thorough. But if the woman doesn't have a record, we need to find other directories or something."

"Doesn't the club have a copy of their customers' IDs?" The agent offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

The two members of the homicide division merely glanced at him like he was some kind of nuisance in their conversation. Their treatment had been cold and unwelcoming from the beginning, although at least for his so-called partner it was after he apparently pissed her off. He didn't expect anything less though. He knew how guys from other agencies get treated when they are temporarily transferred to another department for a case. In the bureau, they treated outsiders the same way.

"Have you actually gone clubbing at least one point in your life?" The detective's question came with a touch of snide.

"I go to bars."

She pursed her lips. What the agent said just confirmed her initial assessment that he was some stuck up, all-work-no-play elitist. She had never met a guy like him. By the way he looked at them alone, she could tell he was gauging them if they were worthy of working the case. It could be that she was being extremely judgmental herself, but then his rudeness and natural arrogance speak for themselves.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." She exchanged an annoyed look with the other woman. "Clubs don't normally keep copies of the IDs to protect the identity of their clients. Especially their patrons."

Being new to the bureau himself, working for only close to a year, he had not encountered a case that involved a nightclub yet. Mainly it was due to the nature of the cases they handled, most of it being on terrorism, kidnapping, and serial cases. But the logic was simple enough to understand, if he take into consideration that many of the happenings in a club might not all be legal. This was an assumption on his part though. Nevertheless, he decided not to ask for an elaboration.

"We can review the CCTV footage - see if we can identify a woman that looks like our 3D victim when she shows the bouncer her ID - if Penelope doesn't come up with anything."

The agent's choice of words and delivery struck a wrong chord, and both women shot him a glare. It wasn't something he intended though; it was simply the way he had always spoken. He had never intentionally made an enemy of anybody, at least not until he was finished assessing them and deem them unnecessary and incompetent. So far, the members of the homicide team were still in his 'possibly useful connections' list. He needed to pile more observations.

"I have my ways, Agent Sy." The computer whiz crossed her arms in front of her, which made her broad form look even more menacing. "I can give you her name before you even press the rewind button."