Love after the darkness

Chapter 

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

I forced one eye open to glare at the offending noise. My phone lay on the bedside table, vibrating with every silenced ring. I slowly clawed my way from the blankets to grab for the piece of machinery.

"This had better be good!" I growled after hitting the answer button.

"It isn't. We got a body down at the lake. Captain said to call you in on this."

I shut my eyes and groaned. "I just finished a sixteen hour shift. Can't you call Shay in?"

"No can do. Captain says its your kind of case."

I squinted one eye towards the bright neon numerals on the clock. It was 3:17 in the morning. I had only been asleep for two hours. "Fine." I ground out between clenched teeth. "Give me about fifteen minutes to get myself awake. Where is it?"

I quickly scribbled out the location on the tablet I keep by my bed for these exact reasons, "Will be there in about 45 minutes." I disconnected the call and threw the covers off the rest of me. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. I blew out a breath.

My life as a homicide detective in the city of Sin guarantees that I don't have much of a social life. Las Vegas is constantly moving. People are everywhere, bumping elbows with undesirable figures, which in turn will find them a nice cozy resting place in the middle of nowhere, until a happenstance meeting with a passing individual gets them noticed and then they come to the city morgue. That's where I come in. The name's Tristen Matthews, I'm 35 years old and have been in homicide for the last ten years. I was one of the youngest detectives promoted into homicide. My law career started when I was barely 21. Top in my class and most dedicated to the cause. My arrest record was in the top five for having the most criminals behind bars. I had a knack for solving the case quickly and efficiently.

I stood and walked to the dresser, grabbed a fresh pair of jeans, some socks and a pair of skivvies. At the closet I grabbed a plain dark blue t-shirt. After pulling on a pair of black hiking boots, I was ready to go.

The crisp morning air hit me directly in the face as I stepped out of my three bedroom condo. Las Vegas might be mostly desert, but mornings were on the cool side. I jumped in my Dodge Ram and started it up. The radio instantly blasted out the chorus to Kid Rock's Cowboy. I cranked the sound up and backed out of my driveway.

Lake Mead was 30 minutes away from the strip. My condo was five minutes from there. At three in the morning most cities would look like a ghost town, but not Vegas. Taxis, limousines, patrol cars and bicycles filled the streets. Everybody was rushing to find their big pay day.

I shook my head. Gambling was the means to an end for the majority of visitors that came to Vegas. A quick buck to help pay off their debts. Big mistake! Casino's had the nasty habit of taking more money then they dished out. People didn't know that most of the casino's were rigged to make their customers loose their life savings then to put more in their pocket. The profession I'm in makes me a first hand witness to the devastation these places bring to the customers that walk away with nothing. Bank accounts where thousands of dollars have been taken out and nothing to put back in. I will never understand the need to gamble away my life savings.

I pulled my truck to a stop behind the red and blue flashing lights of a city cruiser, 52 minutes after I got the phone call. I grabbed the extra large cup of coffee I had picked up and slowly got out. I headed for the largest group of bodies. We were in one of the smaller lots that were scattered around the lake. A trail surrounded the area for those who wanted to keep fit. The lake was situated on 1.5 million acres with 820 miles of shoreline. There were about a dozen small parking areas like this one where the people that were less inclined to hike all the way around could park. There was a larger lot that had security cameras and patrolling guards to watch the vehicles of the more ambitious hikers.