Catching Shadows

Day One

"Wednesday January 26th, 2007 11:37 A.M. I am detective Felicity Ambers and there has been a new case put on my table. This particular case involves an unknown serial killer with an unknown motive. We have four victims, and one of them is unidentified body. The killings are very violent and it seems to be the case of a copycat killer trying to bring back the works of Braydon Rice, a serial killer from years ago, because every detail matches except for this little one. This killer hasn't dressed up his victims in a woman's wedding dress. The killer has struck more than once,like I said before this is the fourth body that was found and we are waiting on the DNA to identify the newest victim."
I shifted in my chair and grabbed the files paying attention to every detail attempting to spot anything off about the case, maybe the suspect left something behind. I wasn't able to focus much knowing that I was getting a new partner today and that he would be here any minute now, and should have been here a few minutes ago, but that's okay that will give me something to pick on him for, he better be worth my time. I was interrupted by Victoria, The intern that works with me talking in the hallway outside my door.
"What's an attractive business man like you doing in a dump like this?" I heard her say with her obnoxious laugh.
"I am not a businessman for one, and two I work here now," a man said with noticeable irritation in voice.
"Well lucky me then," Victoria said laughing yet again. I rolled my eyes and hoped she wouldn't be a bother during this case especially if that is my new partner.
"I am looking for detective Ambers," the man said changing the subject very abrupt.
"Oh... she's in there," she said sounding disappointed as she pointed to the door that was cracked open. I looked back down at the file and ignored what I had just heard.
Shyly a man who looked about mid 20s stumbled into my office, he looked to be around six feet tall. He had light brown hair which was spiked to the right, and he seemed to have quite a bit of muscle which is a good thing; my last partner was weak and scrawny; and his body language was showing no confidence, or was it lack of sleep? He was carrying a stack of papers up to his chin, and the door which seemed to have a mind of its own at times shut striking him in the shoulder. The papers out flew out of his hands and gracefully down to the floor below him. Looking embarrassed he bent over and started picking up the loose paperwork hoping that I hadn't seen it.
"Well look who finally showed up, you must be Detective Andrew Sanders," I said glancing up from the files on my desk trying to hold in the laughter that so desperately seeking to escape. He turned bright red and was apologizing about a thousand times a minute which really was unnecessary at this moment.
"You must be Detective Ambers, so sorry I'm late I'm not really used to the traffic around here."
"Yes, I heard they transferred you but no one really mentioned from where,where are you from?"
"I am from High Point North Carolina, it only has around eleven hundred people living there which seems like a lot but there aren't many people who drive around all the time or at least around the times I would need to be heading to work."
"Well welcome to Orlando, the city of oranges."
"Well it's better then the city of little action , that's not how I was born im used to all of the crimes and stuff, maybe it was just where I grew up."
"Sounds lame, I wouldn't have even wasted my time out there I would have come straight here, you'll never be able to sleep here, so say goodbye to to time with your girlfriend." Sanders looked at the ground immediately
"No... No the last one broke up with me about three months ago, she claimed I stole her wheelchair, and got really upset with me only to come crawling back to me a few weeks later. He looked up with a really serious face. I had to turn away a moment to keep in the laughter "So what do we have," he looked over at me as if he was asking to sit down, I nodded and he took his seat across from me
"We have a new case that we were given this morning, let's take another look at the copycat. Maybe you'll see something that I missed."
"What do you have on him?"
"Well with all of the evidence he is copying the well known killer Braydon Rice, who picked recently engaged men, kidnapped then and within about a twenty four hour proxicimity he would kill them, but before braydon would kill them,he put them in a wedding dress."
"Sounds kinky" Sanders said with an eyebrow cocked.
Unable to hold it in any longer I started hysterically laughing, I think it was the nerves kicking in because I just really couldn't stop. I looked up expecting there to be a comedian,but it was only Detective Sanders.
"Alright let's see what we have here, from what I understand we have a pretty limited time frame on this case." Sanders moved around a little in his chair.
"Well there were a few people who were extremely interested in this particular case. They came to the station waiting outside asking many questions about if Braydon had committed the the murders and what he did to the John Doe, or unidentified body. We could start there and see if anyone of them have motive or cause for committing the murders"
"Do you have a current list of suspects? Family members? Ect?"
"They took down the names of people who asked too many questions and seemed too interested in the case for their own good."
"I can start on that today, pull in the people I can" Sanders said with almost no enthusiasm. He stopped a moment and continued.
"How many bodies have they identified?"
"There have been three bodies identified; Kenneth Rodgers, Jordyn Stevenson, and Mac Hamilton; and one that we haven't identified, we should have the last one identified any day now, we sent the DNA out seven and a half weeks ago."
"Is there anything similar about the families, do they know each other, anything worth taking note of?"
"The men,they all go to the same pub, the families don't know each other. There very well could have been an incident at the pub or something worth taking note of, they may have conversed with the killer while at the pub. The wife of Kenneth Rogers had said that's the last place he was before he went missing." I said taking a sip of hot coffee on my desk I spit it back out into the cup trying to be unnoticed. I made a mental note to speak with Victoria, the one who gets me my coffee.
"So let's start with questioning the owner and all of the workers on the day each victim went missing we can check surveillance and look for familiar faces. While your watching the tapes I can do some of the questioning, Ill contact our list of suspects and see if there is a compermental time frame today, and if there is I can just take a cab back to the station." Said Sanders getting up from the seat. He shoved all of his paperwork in his little bag and left it on the chair he had sat in.
As we were walking out the door, Victoria was walking by with some bagels and gave Sanders the wink and then the up down checking him out.
"See you soon," she said while smirking. I gagged as we walked past her and tried to push that out of my head.
We walked out of the stations big glass doors and took the short walk to the unmarked, Jet black suburban.
Screaming "shotgun," I walked to the drivers side and swung the door open and slid inside the Suv.
I locked the door on Sanders side as a ritual, not allowing him in the car for a solid minute while he knocked on the window. I finally allowed him inside when he started staring me directly in the eyes with a puppy dog look. He plopped in the car and stared at me with the most blank stare id ever seen, I just looked forward and smiled.
"Sorry Detective but it's a ritual for this car, ready to go?"
"Do you have the address for the pub?"
"I thought you had the address Sanders, I was waiting for your direction."
"I do, just testing you."
With multiple complications adding the address into the cars navigation system Sanders resorted to his phone as a way of navigating which was about a block off for each turn.
Thinking about it the first couple of minutes were silent with the exception of...
"I'm going to pull you over," that I had repeated every time we passed a cop car on the road. It was something I did way before I became a detective, or even a police officer in that matter.
Ten minutes later we had arrived at the Pub. as early loud as the music was I was surprised we weren't called here for a noise complaint. I got out the the car first walking inside and straight for the counter. Sanders got out and brushed the pretzel crumbs off the seat, and waved me off then proceed inside with his notepad in his hand.
As I walked in all I could think of is the horrible smell of cigarettes and the aroma of liquor, it was hard for me to understand why anyone would want to come here but in all reality who am I to judge? I stepped up to the young woman standing at the counter.
"Excuse me Ma'am, I am Detective Ambers and this is Detective San..." I looked over my shoulder to point to him but he was -MIA- for the moment causing the funny thought of him getting lost on the way to the door I continued...
"Is your manager here?"
Sanders walked up a little bit late nodding like he had heard the whole conversation that had taken place so far. He motioned that he was going to go start the questioning process with some of the people there.
The woman nodded and yelled for her manager hoping that he would hear her over the blaring music. He walked over pretty quickly looking a little worried when he saw the badge.
"We would like to see the surveillance and know of any conversations you or your employees have had with these men." I handed the manager a sheet of the three men that have been seen around the pub fairly recent to their disappearances, where they were later found dead. The manager took a deep breath and nodded
"Will you give me just a minute? I'll go get the room cleaned up..." he left in a hurry.
My phone started ringing and when I looked at the caller ID it was the coroner. I walked over near Sanders, and answered the phone.
"Detective Ambers please hold for a moment." I leaned in and whispered
"When your done, the manager will be ready to show the surveillance. If you can, get the tapes or a copy of them to bring back to the station, i'm going to go step outside for a moment it's the coroner." I pointed to the phone and he nodded, and turned back to the employe who honestly looked scared as hell and continued to question.