Divine Chaos (#wattys2017)

Chapter 5 - Failures and Tears

Detectives Luke Ceronio and Sean Reynolds sat in the Chief's office, waiting for him. They both know that his call regarded the body found in the river the day before - hopefully they have identified the girl.

Both Detectives stood up as soon as they heard the door click before it was opened. The Chief finished his conversation with his secretary before entering his office and closing the door behind him. He greeted the detectives with a simple nod of his head before motioning for them to be seated. His expression made them both leave any niceties unsaid, instead they waited in silence for him to speak.

 After a few moments of tapping on his table, staring at the closed file on his desk, the Chief sighed deeply. A sigh which held decades of sorrow and sadness - whether from his line of work or his own personal experiences, or perhaps both - neither detective knew. The Chief dragged both hands through his ailing hair in a frustrated gesture.

After another moment of silence, the Chief finally opened the file and began talking - words that were never easy, words that could never be practiced beforehand - words that were difficult to utter, regardless of how long he has been in this field of work.

"Doctor Harlow has informed me that the body has been identified. This solves one problem and creates numerous others... The body has been identified as Jordan Theresa Bailey. Her case is no longer classified a missing person's case, but homicide. Her parents are waiting to see me in IR B, which means I will personally give them this tragic news."

"Doctor Harlow hasn't found any evidence on the body, except for the very deep lacerations, which were presumably caused by a scalpel or a very sharp blade. No evidence of sexual assault has been found... That complicates this case even further."

"Needless to say, we HAVE to search as far and wide as possible for ANY clue which may lead to the apprehension of our killer, before more get abducted or murdered..."

Luke simply stared at the photo in the file, his fists clenching in his lap. How could he not recognize her face? What were they missing? This was THEIR failure, for not finding clues sooner... But how can you find clues if NONE exist - and if there ever were clues, they were covered so carefully...

The Chief took another deep breath before dismissing the detectives. After another moment of silence, he closed the file and tucked it under his arm. He was about to unleash pain and tragedy into Jordan's parent's lives.

He took another moment to steel himself before opening the door to IR B. "Mr and Mrs Bailey, I am David Roberts, Chief of the 9th precinct..." The Chief stayed silent for a moment... How was he supposed to utter the words that no parent should hear? How could he possibly soften the blow of their daughter's early demise?

After racking his brain for an easy approach, and finding none, he decided it would be best to say it as it is... "We have found your daughter's body -" Before he could finish his sentence, Mrs Bailey's broke out in tears, which halted his speech...

***

Luke stood behind the mirrored glass, watching the tragic scene before him. He was even more determined to solve this case - to give the Bailey's some justice - and to stop yet another from befalling the same fate as Jordan Bailey...