Detective Ceronio was woken up during the early morning hours on this 'lovely' Monday morning... Well... not that lovely exactly, considering that he would've like to have still been fast asleep in his glorious King-sized bed with the down pillows and duvet (an extremely expensive buy, but worth every single cent).
He stared at his watch for the third time in the last 5 minutes as he waited for the cruiser's tank to fill up with gas. His partner, Detective Sean Reynolds, was inside the all-hours Quick Stop café, getting them each a cup of coffee since they hadn't had any as of yet this morning.
Quite a few gallons later, the tank was filled to the brim and Luke headed inside to pay - Sean still hadn't returned. As he entered the café, Luke saw Sean leaning on the till counter. Sean appeared to be deep in conversation with the lovely cashier as he paid for their coffee and Luke wondered - not for the first time - how women seemed to instantaneously divulge all kind of personal details to Sean that would otherwise remain secret, unless asked for by a close and personal friend.
Sean most definitely had a way with people... He could set them at ease (because most people ARE intimidated when they introduce themselves as Detectives Ceronio and Reynolds) and have the person in question talking to him as if he were a long lost friend they have known since childhood... It's a trait that Luke has much admiration for - and possibly a considerable amount of envy, too - Sean's eloquence...
As Luke came within earshot of Sean (which Sean realized when the sight of Luke interrupted the cashier's story) Sean introduced her "Luke, this is Grace Jenkins. Grace, meet my partner, Detective Luke Ceronio." Grace offered him a friendly smile, and Luke nodded in return. "So this is what's taking so long, huh." Luke teased, with a timid, cool smile towards Grace.
"You know we have official business to attend to, right Sean?" Luke reminded his partner, slightly agitated at the obvious cause for Sean's delayed return. "Yeah, man..." Sean mumbled, rubbing both hands over his face in a hopeless 'whatever' gesture before retrieving the coffee from the counter, and then headed towards the cruiser.
"Tank 3, thanks." Luke said to Grace. "Anything else?" Grace enquired as she tapped purposefully at the cash register. "No thanks." was Luke's reply. "But if YOU ever need anything, give me a call..." he said as he handed her 2 cards with a mischievous smile. One with his number on it, the other to pay for the gas.
She took it, and smiled a little too widely - obviously flattered - when she saw his business card. Is she blushing??? Luke thought to himself - very amused - and maybe even a little taken aback at how easily she took it, without wavering for even a second. No wonder these young girls disappear so easily these days - they're too hungry for attention... Okay, woah now - she DOES already know you're a detective... Luke quickly reminds himself.
Grace asked him to enter his pin, and while she waited for the transaction to process, she asked "But how will you know it's me if I DID end up using this?" She enquired, waving the card just in front of her. Luke again smiled mischievously as she held his debit card toward him, and as he took it, he quickly took a firm hold of her wrist with his other hand... He stared up into her big, beautiful eyes the colour of an azure sky, and kissed her wrist. He felt her quiver slightly, and in a very low husky voice, he replied: "Trust me. I'll know..." before exiting the café as quickly as he entered.
Sean laughed accusingly as Luke headed towards him, shaking his head slightly with his eyes on the ground. "Man, please tell me you didn't just do that..." he said, still laughing. Luke had a mock shocked look on his face, knowing very well that he wasn't the most charismatic man - at least his good looks made up for what he lacked in the charisma department. "Was it that bad???" Luke enquired, faking a hurt tone of voice, and Sean pat him on the back whilst saying "You seriously need help, man..." before heading toward the driver side of the squad car.
Luke burst into laughter as he got in on the passenger side. "From the man who just found out he has a 'bun in the oven'??? I'd rather not!" Sean raised his hand with his wedding band as his other turned the key in the ignition and said "Legally wed, and licenced to bed!" to which Luke said "That's the worst poem ever..." and for the first time in a long while, Luke joined in Sean's burst of laughter as they took off towards the crime scene, with quite a long stretch off road to go.
Luke was truly happy for Sean and Vanessa - they've been struggling in the kids department for quite a while now, and Luke had noticed the toll it had taken on his partner. They weren't just partners anymore, but the best of friends, too. Working so closely together usually resulted in a relationship of some sort. That was how Luke had met April, the girl he thought would he his wife - soon enough...
* * *
Luke's demeanour had darkened so quickly yet again that it all but gave Sean whiplash. In the little over a year since Luke's horrific break-up with April James, Sean had been called quite a few times to pick a drunken Luke up at the watering hole close to his apartment. This troubled Sean, seeing as Luke rarely ever drank - but it's not like guys ever talk about problems or feelings with friends.
Sean couldn't blame him - catching your fiancé in your bed with another man was enough to drive the most decent guy to insanity. Sean sincerely hoped that this - Luke giving his business card to a woman - was the beginning of happier times, that he was finally moving on.
Sean stole another glance at Luke where he was napping in the passenger seat, and prayed to a God he truly hoped exists that Luke would find some peace - that he would come to terms with the past, and maybe even find happiness as he did so.
* * *
At the scene of the supposed crime, Sean and Luke were met by Officer Dylan Whittaker - who appeared to be in his early 20's - on the shoulder of the road. Dylan shook hands with the detectives and then said "The body's down there, follow me." before climbing over the barrier and heading carefully down the sandy slope towards the river.
"Who found the body?" Sean asked. Dylan replied with "my da-" but interrupted himself, cleared his throat and started again "Detective Whittaker said that the paramedics called it in over radio."
"The paramedics???" Luke questioned... "Why were the paramedics here?" Sean seconded. "Usually there isn't much they can do for a corpse - being dead and all that... Why not call pathology directly?" Sean enquired.
Dylan's answer soon followed. "They responded to a call that a fisherman made a little farther upstream. They stopped on the bridge to see if he could be easily accessed from here. When the paramedics looked below the bridge to see if the terrain was even enough to travel on by foot, they noticed your victim, face down in the water." Dylan rubbed the back of his neck as he came to the end of the update.
"Where are the paramedics in question now?" Sean enquired. "They headed upstream to assist the fisherman. His son was bitten by a tiger shark, and was apparently losing a lot of blood..." Dylan replied. "You're kidding! A shark this far upstream? In a river?!?" Luke exclaimed, but Dylan's expression showed that he was, indeed, very serious...
Just then, they reached the body. "What info do we have on the vic?" Luke asked. "Not much. The paramedics turned the body over to see if there's a chance that she could be revived." Dylan answered, and shrugged his shoulders. The detectives could make the conclusion themselves, seeing as she was still lying here...
Luke shuddered at the thought. He used to swim in these rivers as a kid himself... He knew sharks could be found in the odd river... But he always thought that it was mainly in colder water, probably closer to the ocean. He felt guilty momentarily as his thoughts returned to the body now laying face-up on the ground - his job is to let justice be served; not reminiscing about his own happy childhood.
Luke was troubled as his thoughts returned to the victim. Who could have been cruel enough to murder this young girl so brutally, who obviously still had her whole life ahead of her... He stared at her hacked up face, which, most likely, used to be lovely... It would've made his insides twist with nausea if he saw them less frequently. A second look made him wonder why she looked vaguely familiar - he always remembered faces well...
One could have thought her to be asleep, had it not been for the deep red gashes spanning her neck - leaving her face unrecognisable. Luke wondered where her parents were... Why she was left defenceless, unprotected by those meant to keep her safe.
Right, then. Back to work... Was Luke's last thought before he started gathering evidence... Sean was scanning the area, searching for evidence as well. Luke searched through the clothing of the teenager who lay before him, looking for a means to identify her by, of which he found none - of course... The perpetrator made sure of that.
Right then the pathologist arrived on scene with her team... "Detectives, I can see you're busy - sounds like a fabulous tea party you're having... Mind stepping aside so that I can do my job???" Doctor Estelle Harlow asked as she neared the body.
"Of course." said Sean and Luke simultaneously. It was no wonder she was appointed as head of pathology... She had an air of authority few in her field ever achieve, most were intimidated by her - especially the men, and she knew this - which made her a women not to cross... The fact that most Pathologists prefer the dead over the living... Well, that doesn't help with their people skills, the communication-with-the-living aspect of it, that is.
Luke wondered how Estelle always remained so chirpy, so 'normal' when she spent most of her days with the dead. He would've thought her job to be quite depressing, at best. And after a few minutes of watching Estelle work, he mustered up the courage to ask her this. "Well... You see, the dead never lie... They aren't pretentious. And working with so many negative cases, so many bad elements... You come to appreciate the small rays of light in the vast world of darkness we live in..." Estelle replied with a thoughtful smile, never turning away from her latest 'subject'.
"I'm guessing the victim didn't carry any identification on her?" Estelle enquired rhetorically, tying her waist-length auburn locks into a quick, but stylish messy bun... "We found none, unfortunately..." Luke answered redundantly as he stood watching her, mesmerised by her every move. She had this gloriously beautiful physique most women her age could only dream about - not that she was old or anything. He wondered what sound she would make if he tugged ever so slightly on her hair before covering her lips with his...
I have GOT to stop this!!! Luke reprimanded himself quietly as he noticed Sean watching him intently. The loneliness must be affecting his brain.
After Estelle finished her initial post mortem investigation, she greeted the detectives with a smile and said "I'll let you know as soon as I have a positive identification." She then headed back to her car and followed her team's van, where the body now lay well preserved in one of the mini-morgue freezers - a necessity in the very hot state of Texas...