Phoenix Rising

On Monday afternoon homicide Detective Logan Phoenix was sitting at his desk with his partner Detective Nathan White researching the life of their newest victim, 30-year-old Anna Thompson. Anna had dark hair, green eyes with a petite circular face that reminded him of his mother; A woman he hasn't seen in eight years. Anna met her demise via a sexual assault and strangulation. While taking notes Logan heard his Captain voice echo into the room.

"Phoenix!" yelled his Captain. The twenty-six-year-old looked up to see him with an entourage. Behind the Captain was a representative from Internal Affairs and Officer Sean Book. Sean was like a father to Logan since he never had one. Growing up Logan constantly flirted with death; drinking, drugs, smoking, petty theft he could get away with. No one cared about him enough to tell him he needed to stop, or he was going to be dead by twenty. Sean had picked up fifteen-year-old Logan after being caught stealing. Sean saw right through the mouthy teenager and gave Logan what he needed; A parental figure. After that Logan straightened out. He quit the drugs and the drinking. He managed to bring his grades up, found an outlet in baseball and even played varsity his senior year. At eighteen he left home and joined the Baltimore City Police department. Book was still an officer not a detective, so what was he doing here?

"The hell did you do?" Nathan whispered.

"Not a clue. I swear I got my act together." He mumbled to his partner. Nathan knew a little of Logan's past, but not as much as Sean or Sean's son Aaron. Aaron was his roommate and the closest thing to an older brother. Logan cautiously stood up from his desk and walked towards the Captain's office. With every step he took, the weaker his knees felt. His feet were like lead as he put one foot in front of the other. His mind racing for anything he may have done to get himself in trouble. Scrambling for any law he may have broken, he tried to reassure himself that he's fine, He's been on the straight and narrow for ten years now, He's not the same troublemaker he was. His green eyes look towards Officer Book in attempt to read his facial expressions to find a clue as to what is going on. Book looked at the young man he's grown to see as his own with kind eyes and placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, patting it before stepping into the room.

The Captain walked behind his desk, both arms resting on the back of the leather chair. Logan tried to read the captains face, but it was calm and stoic. The same look he gives suspects in interrogation when you don't want to show your cards. The representative from I.A. quietly shut the door behind her. Logan took one seat in front of the desk and glanced at everyone again.

"You're not in trouble Phoenix. Breathe." The Captain said calmly. Logan let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "We found some information about the Thompson case." The Captain leaned into his chair. The rep, a woman no older than fifty placed a manila folder in front of Logan. Hesitantly, he took the folder but didn't open it.

"You're an only child Detective Phoenix, correct?" The woman spoke in a cold, no nonsense tone.

"Yes, Ma'am." Logan spoke carefully, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice while gripping on to the folder tightly.

"What about your father's side? What do you know about him or his side of the family?" The woman asked him. He internally cringed at the question he had been asked countless times in the last twenty-three years.

"Nothing Ma'am, I was three when he left. I don't even know his first name. I wouldn't consider him a father. What does this have to do with the case?" Logan asked, trying to get off the topic of his parents. He could barely call them that; Both deadbeats. The Captain nodded towards the folder. Logan took a deep breath before opening it and studying the contents inside. It was the DNA results from the semen found on his victim. Although Logan couldn't understand the scientific jumble, he did understand the last page in plain English: