White Night

Chapter 6

A body lay facedown on the frozen aggregate of the construction site, the only stationary person in a scene already swarming with cops and CSU. The site was dark except for CSU's floodlights and the soft glow from the city.

"What've we got?" Connors asked.

"Male victim, looks like he was shot in the head, no wallet or ID," Detective Banner responded solemnly, then added with a smile, "This your case?"

Banner was an up-and-comer in the department. Enthusiastic, energetic, and often exhausting, he walked the invisible tightrope of being a black officer in the world's largest police force with resilience and humor. Stopped and frisked multiple times when not on duty by cops that didn't know him, he fought hard to keep his faith in the department. But he was still one of the few remaining who actually enjoyed working with her.

She nodded and his smile broadened.

A dark waterfall had poured from the victim's head and the amount of blood meant it was likely he'd been killed here.

Ross moved toward the body, crouching on the balls of his feet to get a better look. His eyes widened at the halo of blood around the victim's head and he quickly looked away. Not comfortable looking at a body? How did he get through the day?

The drive to the scene had been quiet. Ross read the preliminary notes on the case while she drove. The only words spoken were about the case and even those were minimal.

"M.E. here yet?" she asked.

"On her way," Banner responded.

"It's Janey?"

His grin widened. "Yep."

Dr. Janey Walker was brilliant but difficult, and Connors didn't need difficult today.

"Witness saw a car pulling away quickly; she's talking to Tejo now," Banner continued, poring through his notes.

Tejo was the perfect partner for Banner. Quiet, calm, and steady, he balanced out the intense rookie.

Nodding at Banner's summary, she purposefully moved away from everyone and started to walk the scene on her own. Soon she would talk to the witness, take a detailed look at the body, and talk to the medical examiner. First, she needed to investigate by herself, allowing her mind to form its own pathways before others clouded it.

Connors traveled carefully over the uneven ground, her skin flushing warm. She knew she looked awkward and unsteady. Her leg was strong enough to walk and even run through the park most days, but she couldn't trust it over the frozen ridges of a construction site.

The site wasn't large. At the end of a quiet road, it was the last building on the street before the East River, hidden from most potential witnesses. The surrounding buildings were in varying states of repair as the area was slowly converting from industrial to residential, but only a warehouse directly overlooked the scene.

The construction company had fenced off the site, probably so their equipment and materials didn't disappear overnight, but the victim lay outside the open gates. Plastic signs that covered the gates, warned of various dangers, but none of them mentioned being shot.

The victim didn't belong here. Dressed in a black racer jacket and Dockers, he was no construction worker, more likely the owner of the site or a property manager. He wasn't dressed for the weather, so he hadn't expected to be outside for long, and without transit nearby, he couldn't have easily walked here. Cab? Driven by his killer?

She looked back at the placards on the gate. One of them had a hole in it. Most of them had dents and scratches, but this was too neat, a perfect round hole. The corrugated plastic had been pushed from the front through to the back, where it rose in small, tattered peaks. A bullet hole?

An indoor crime scene would've been preferable for her first case back. Evidence would be better preserved, signs of forced entry or an altercation more obvious, and she wouldn't be struggling over crappy terrain on a leg that felt like it belonged to someone else.

As she stopped to look around the site, Banner took the opportunity to bounce over and continue his summary. Where the hell did he get his energy from?

"Uniform was on scene within a few minutes, thanks to the witness: Lisa Wilson, an NYPD dispatcher who was driving home after breaking up with her boyfriend."

"Witness saw the shooting?"

"Nah, but reported hearing shots and then saw a silver SUV speeding past her."

It was too much to hope that a reliable witness would be close enough to see anything in this area at this time of night.

"She get the plate?"

Banner shook his head. "Couldn't see it for the headlights. Grinair was the first detective on the scene, he—"

"Grinair? From Vice?" Connors asked.

"Yeah. Was in the area, heard the call, and secured the scene." Banner motioned to Detective Rory Grinair, who stood twenty feet away, holding a wad of tissue to his nose as rivulets of blood crawled over his fingers.

Connors traveled over to him. "That happen here?"

"Nah, some junkie resisting arrest. Gotta love Vice." Grinair smiled.

Grinair was the classic hairbag or old timer. Bitter, burned out, and constantly griping about the "white shirts" but universally respected. With almost three decades spent picking up human garbage, he was the authority on working vice and how to survive on the job.

"You should get that looked at," Connors said. The blood was thickening into slick red threads across his fingers that quivered with every movement.

"Had the damn thing stopped, but it started bleeding again while I was securing your crime scene," he said with a laugh.

"Hope you didn't contaminate the scene. If CSU finds your DNA, I'll have to report it." She smiled back.

"Look who's being a cop now. At College Point, you couldn't have found the reporting form if it was stuck to your elbow."

She'd forgotten that Grinair taught at the academy. He'd been tough, and ripped them a new one more than once, but just when you wanted to quit, he threw you a wink and started you on the next task before you could think about how you screwed up the last one.

"Hey, hear you got Sir Ross assigned to you. How's that going?" he asked

She sighed heavily. The department grapevine was blossoming. "Fine. He's got a good track record and more than half a brain."

"Yeah, but—"

"Thanks for your help here. We're good now." She didn't need to hear more reasons to doubt Ross from an old mentor.

The humor left Grinair's face and she didn't like what replaced it. Anger? Disappointment? It didn't matter. She had to get on with her job, not stand here and stoke Grinair's ego. Returning his stare, she waited for him to leave.

"M.E just arrived," Ross interrupted.

Grinaircontinued his glare, but he was the least of her problems tonight.