Team 3: A Tinted Nightmare

Chapter 2

It's been 3 days and we still haven't been able to find whatever that was used to kill Katy. Her autopsy reports came in the following day after the murder, and just as I guessed it was a sharp tool used to kill her. She had died at 8.30 that night. The burns on her fingertips were from a cigarette, like all the others. And that officially proved we were dealing with the same killer from 12 years ago.

There was no sign of sexual assault and the scrapes resulted from her clash with the killer. But no matter how much we hoped there would be some form of DNA, the body was clear of it. Her makeup was smudged. Her nails were wiped clean. And the forensic team could find nothing more than whatever there already was. No fingerprints. No shoe prints. Just nothing. All the blood in the scene was hers.

"Did you meet Ned?" I asked Max beside me.

"Apparently he's out of town. His grandma died on the day of the party and he had left right away. At least that is what James had to say".

"So he doesn't know about Katy?"

"He does. But he was not able to come because of the funeral".

"What did James have to say when you questioned him?"

"He had texted Katy asking her to get there soon because it was her boyfriend's party after all. They had planned some surprise. But because of everything that happened it was forgotten".

"Is that all you got?"

"James Anderson. 25 years old. Best friends with Katy. Has known her since Kindergarten. Lives a few kilometres away from Katy's apartment. Was at the party since 6.30 in the evening".

"What about Ned?"

"Ned Thomas. 25 years old. Katy's boyfriend. Has been dating her for 3 years. Lives with his parents in Tribeca, NYC. Grandma died on the day of the party so he left before Katy could even get there".

Maybe it's just me but if I knew that my boyfriend was murdered I would've rushed...

But why was she killed?

Thinking back on the past cases, there was nothing odd about Stacy either. She was a single mom and her files show she was a diligent worker. She worked at a bar and had left after her shift ended at 7. She was killed the same night in her house after being stabbed with a kitchen knife. She had died at 9 p.m. Her 10-year-old daughter was away at the time and was staying at a friend's place. It was the friend's mom who called in the police after discovering Stacy the following morning surrounded in a pool of blood. She had gone to drop Stacy's daughter at home after their sleepover the previous night.

The case reports also say that the neighbours hadn't seen or heard anything suspicious at the time. There were no signs of a forced entry and no evidence for sexual assault. Her autopsy reports revealed excess bleeding as the cause for her death and the gory pink circles on her fingertips added her case to the others that happened the previous year in 2008. There was nothing much to work with back then and the cases had been left aside for 12 long years.

But now with new ones resurfacing similar to the past, I wonder what made the killer stop? Did he suddenly know we were reinvestigating the cases? But there's no way that information would've been let out. Even the press had been blocked from any information about our team....

Lost in my thoughts and sleep-deprived I suddenly jumped for the ping on my phone.

Do you want to get dinner together?

Just that one sentence was enough to put a smile on my face.

Sure baby. Where are we going?

Charlie and I have been engaged for almost 3 years now. We had been dating since I was 18 and he was 21. We had been friends a year before that. He was with me during one of the hardest times in my life and helped me get through it. Honestly, if it weren't for him I would've given up on life a long time ago.

When my dad died I felt as if my whole world came crashing down. My dad and I were a team and we stuck by each other ever since mom left us. Even though he was busy working in the force and hardly had time to spend at home, he still made sure to make time for me. And when he died I was not sure what I had to do anymore and what I was living for. And that was when I met Charlie.

Wherever you want. I'll pick you up. Drop me a message once you're done.

Okay :) I love you

I love you too <3

"Susan! Susan! Pick up the phone Susan!" yelled Dave from his table.

"WHAT?" I asked annoyed at the caller.

"Susan is that you?"

"Yes, Mike. Now, what do you want?"

"Well excuse me for ringing at the wrong time! But we got a call in report from a person in Brooklyn. She claims to have found an axe stuck deep into a tree at the local playground"

"Well Mike FYI we have a crazy murderer on the loose and I have no time for a stupid axe on a tree. And shouldn't you be reporting this to someone else and not the cold case team"

"I would've but the axe has blood on it and it was found in the same neighbourhood Katy was living in"

"What! Why didn't you say that at the beginning?"

"I was going to..." I cut him off by slamming the phone.

"Max we got to go to Brooklyn, Katy's neighbourhood. An axe with blood was found. Dave?"

"Get there and report on what you find. I will ring up the forensic team and have them there right away. While you are at it, get a statement from Ned too. He seemed to have just returned for Katy's funeral" said Dave.

"Funeral?"

"Sí, Katy's parents want to be done with it today. We've got her autopsy reports too. So they don't think there's any reason to delay. But make sure you drop by there Niña. See if you can find anything more on Katy. She's our only lead for now".

"Was Jay able to dig up anything on her?"

"Her laptop was clear. There was nothing much except for some movies and assignments. She didn't have a credit card and there wasn't much money in her bank account either".

"What about her phone?"

"He's working on it"

"Dave...why do you think he's started again?"

"No lo sé Niña. I don't know. But there is something you need to know about this case"

"What?"

"It's related to your papá ...Jeff...But first you need to get going. We'll talk later".

                                                                        

Author's Note: 

How are you enjoying the story so far? 

This is my first time writing a story on a genre that I've loved for a very long time. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I love writing it. 

Let me know how it's going in the comments. And vote too :)