Hostage

Chapter One: The Victim

Chapter One: The Victim

It was bloody scene.

Officer Gomez shook his head in dismay, "This is brutal..." he murmured to Detective Jackson. "Even for this guy! This woman has literally been sliced open!"

Detective Jackson nodded grimly; "That's seven women just this week! One for every day!" he ran a tired hand through his raven-black hair. "The Feds called and now the FBI is involved."

Gomez swore. "The Feds?"

Jackson nodded. "Luckily for us, I've requested Special Agents Johnson and Woods. They're the best on the force and two of my close friends. If anyone can catch this serial killer- they can."

As if on Que, a black Chevy-Impala pulled off the onto the curb. The driver was male and he seemed engaged in a conversation with his partner.

"That'll be them," Jackson said. "You'll like them," he told Gomez as the two made their way across the street to meet their new partners.

The driver's side door opened and a wide smile crossed his lips. "Hello Jackson!" he called and the two clasped each other on the shoulder. "Sorry it took us so long to get here. Some people take longer to get ready than others..." he shot a look at the slender female who exited the vehicle and came to his side.

She rolled her eyes; "Oh whatever, Johnson." A bright, cheery smile crossed her face as she reached out to hug Jackson. "Mike! It's been too long!"

The Detective smiled, returning her embrace.

Gomez coughed.

Jackson turned to his partner, "Right! My apologies. Officer Gomez, it is my honor to introduce to you Special Agents Daniel Johnson and Samantha Woods."

Samantha and Daniel exchanged handshakes with Gomez, introducing themselves and sharing a casual: "Hello, nice to meet you."

"This must be one of those years" Daniel muttered, "Seems like all psychopaths are emerging all over the country."

"Mike, have you seen anything like this before?" Samantha asked Detective Jackson. "Isn't this the Seventh murder this week?"

Jackson nodded. "It almost seems occult-like to be honest, Sam."

"Where did you find the body?" Daniel asked, skipping formalities and further questions.

Daniel was a tall, masculine man with dirty-blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He was handsome: the type of man that women swooned over and threw themselves at. His squared jaw was clean-shaven and rugged. All in all, Daniel looked like someone who should be in a Calvin Klein magazine or on posters in teenage girls' rooms.

Samantha Woods seemed to be the exact opposite of what you thought an FBI agent should looked like. She was tall and slender, her dark, wavy hair reached past her shoulders and her gray eyes hid behind long, thick lashes. She had smile lines on her face and a handful of freckles dotted across her nose. She had an innocent look in her eyes: the look that all men knew was that of a virgin.

"We found the body right around the corner from the ballet studio," Jackson informed them, nodding to an area swarmed with reporters and forensics. "We estimated the time of death to be around 11:45 pm."

"Lead the way, Detective," Daniel said, authority rippling from his voice.

The four made their way across the street and to the scene of the murder. Several of the forensics looked up but didn't say anything to the FBI agents.

One of the forensics, an attractive Asian man met Detective Jackson at the scene. "Hello, Detective. My team has scoped out the area and been through the murder scene with a thin comb. Anything- any DNA or evidence has been collected and will be sent down to the lab pronto."