Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Is there a body?”

“A murder on this side of town, not surprising.”

“Are there any leads?”

            The crowd of onlookers was growing fast. Eddie and Aaron struggled to maintain the perimeter and secure the scene. Meanwhile, Jack and Eric stood in silence waiting for Eric to open the envelope. With the use of the forensics technician’s blade, he carefully opened the package in his hand. Jack was slightly shaking despite the temperature being well in the 80’s. As expected, a note slipped out of the envelope. Unlike the outside, the letter was pieced together with newspaper clippings, very 1940’s ransom note style.

            One dead ginger, how many to go?

            Crimson, crimson, all on the floor

            Sit back and watch it pour

Are you ready for my little war?

Cian…

            The note itself wasn’t what bothered the detective. It was nothing more than a taunt just as he guessed. The troubling element was the name, “Cian.” Unlike the rest of the note, the name was spelled out using a charm that had once belonged to, what looked like a beloved piece of jewelry. At a quick glance, Eric assumed it was white gold and well-taken care, if not a little scuffed from age. He was too intrigued by the piece of jewelry to notice what Jack and the technician had noticed.

            “There’s got to be something else there. Do you have a UV light or anything?” Jack asked.

            “I mostly just collect the evidence. You’ll have to wait until Richards gets a hold of it. Are we about done?” The forensics guy was losing what little patience he had left.

            That was always the case with the forensics guys. It was either hit or miss. Half of the team held a grudge against Eric for ‘turning his back on them’ as they called it. The other half, including the man in charge, Kevin Richards, idolized Eric and wanted to do all they could to help him even now that he was a detective. But Eric wasn’t listening to the tech or Jack though. All he could think about was the note in his hand and the piece of jewelry. Cian…

~~~

            Richard was holding onto his son’s hand firmly as they cruised the local mall.

            “Daddy I’m hungry,” Eric said as he tugged the side of father’s neatly pressed suit. Richard had just left the LAPD’s Hollywood station and hadn’t gotten the chance to change.

            “We’ll get there soon lad, but first, we are going to get your mother a gift for her birthday. Don’t you want to help me pick it out?” Richard smiled down at his son who was just a few months shy of his sixth birthday. Eric nodded with the innocent grin of a child.

            Father and son walked the rest of the way in silence stopping in front of a fancy looking jewelry store. It wasn’t your cart found throughout malls, but a fairly decent sized shop with a security guard planted at the door. Eric wasn’t bothered by the big man’s presence; he was used to people like him. People with a stern look, built like a tank which carried a gun and a badge. The lady behind the corner smiled as she saw Richard and Eric approach the glass.

            “Detective McEvoy, and would this be the little guy of yours?” the lady smiled fondly at Eric. Eric, who was pretty observant for a child, spotted her gold plated name tag “Katherine.”

            “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Katherine,” Eric said with confidence, something else most children lacked with strangers.

            “Such manners, just like your dear dad,” Katherine said as she playfully touched Eric’s wavy ginger, hair.

            “Is it ready?” Richard asked leaning in closer.

            “Yes of course. Come this way.” Katherine gestured for her guests to follow her to the end of the glass counter where several necklaces and matching bracelets stood on display. The young jeweler slipped on a pair of gloves as she unlocked the glass cabinet. Eric was in awe of the beauty behind the glass just barely out of reach. He was still too busy staring at the jewelry when Katherine pulled out an elegant looking gold chain necklace with two charms, a heart, and a name.

            Katherine held it up for Richard to examine. “It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined.”

             “When the second one comes along we can hand craft another charm,” Katherine said with pride as she watched Richard admire her work.

            “I’ll keep that in mind. How much do I owe you for the moment?” Richard was reaching into his pocket for his wallet, his badge shining brightly on his belt. Katherine wrote down a price and offered the payment plans. Eric began to wander around the store being careful not to touch anything. The security guard at the front smiled at the innocence of the child in front of him.

            Richard kneeled down to be level with Eric who was looking at a row of beautiful earrings ranging from silver to platinum.

            “What do you think, do you think mommy’s going to like it?” he held out the box so his son could see what his father had just purchased. Inside the red velvet box was a small silver chain. A heart with emeralds was one of the two charms. The second was Eric’s middle; a name passed down from his grandfather and his father. Eric said nothing as his eyes grew twice their size as he giggled.

            “I’ll take that as a good sign.” Richard chuckled.

            “Mommy will love it!”

            Richard closed the box and took his son’s hand. “She’ll always have something of you wherever she goes. How about we go get some ice cream?”

~~~

            “Eric are you about done? We can finish examining it back at the station.” The sound of Jack’s voice startled Eric out of one of his fonder memories of his father. The memory had consumed him more than he realized as he saw the forensic guy standing by his van with a scolding look holding out his hand for the evidence. Eric’s hand was holding onto the note, his finger over the name as if he could block it out. He managed to gain control again as he slipped the note back in the envelope and back inside its protective evidence bag. Signing off the evidence as he did when he first got it, he returned the bag to the impatient tech as he walked for his car without waiting for Jack.

            Eric could hear Jack saying something to the tech before his footsteps caught up with him.

            “What’s the rush, Mac?” Jack asked.

            “I just thought we could get back to the station and give O’Brian an update. I’ll meet you there okay?” Eric forced a smile before racing off to his car before Jack could say anything on the matter. Inside his car, he tried his best to remain calm, but his body was failing him. His hands were shaking and felt very cold. He managed to turn his key and switch on his car’s CD player. A song from a band he loved fondly started playing.

            “Do you worry that you’re not liked

            How long till you break

            You’re happy because you smile

            But how much can you fake…”

            Eric sighed as the song filled the car with words than rang very true for the detective. He closed his eyes for a moment and a flash of his mother smiling as she opened her mother’s day present came to him.

            “Richard this is beautiful,” Cecily said as she hugged her husband.

            “I can’t take all the credit. Eric was a big help.” Richard patted his son’s head. Eric smiled up at his mother with his bright eyes.

            “Yes of course. My baby. I’ll carry you with me always. I love you both.” Cecily smiled brightly as she gave both Richard and Eric a warm embrace. Richard helped Cecily with the necklace, pulling back her beautiful orange curls and placing a kiss on the back of her neck.

            “I’ll wear it always,” Cecily said.

            “What’s even real from that night…” Eric said allowing himself a private cry before making the short drive to the Hollywood division.

            The detective’s floor was relatively empty when Eric arrived. Jack had beaten him and was chatting with the only other detective in the room, the head detective, Russell Galloway. Russell had joined the force at the young age of twenty-one and quickly rose up in the ranks. Aside from Tyler Gordon, he was the oldest detective in the LAPD. Unlike most of the detectives, he was often in the detective’s area. Divorced for twenty years, he spent most nights alone. His only daughter from the marriage, Monique, was already grown and starting a new life, one with Jack Hicks.

            Eric wasted no time heading to the coffee station. The coffee there was probably already old and flavorless, but bad coffee was better than no coffee in his eyes.

            “I’m glad Riley got you addicted to something other than those smokes you used to carry around. Bless that woman.” Russell said.

             “I couldn’t let the bad guys outrun me.” Eric smiled as he took a seat at the desk he shared with Jack.

            “Never mind that it’s bad for your health,” Russell added getting a short laugh from Jack.

            “So what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Jack asked joining Eric at the desk.

            “There isn’t a whole lot to do this early. Richards has been given the okay from O’Brian to start processing the evidence, but it’s going to take time.” Russell was gathering up a thick stack of binders.

            With the growing rise in technology, a lot of the detectives now stored their cases on computers, but Russell preferred the old fashion way, a murder book. Monique, an aspiring author, was slowly getting him to cross over.

            “I suggest a nap then. I haven’t slept well in weeks.” Jack let out a long yawn as he stretched his arms out.

            "Why not join the late night officers downstairs? I’d rather have you fully rested for this case.” Eric suggested.

             “What about you?” Jack asked eying his partner.

             “I’ve got this. Go rest; we can start in a few hours. I want to check out the scene during the day and have a chat with the business across the street.”

             Jack eyed Eric with a look of uncertainty, but after being his friend for twenty years, he knew better than to question him.

            “Keep an eye on him will you Russ? If nothing else at least make sure he gets enough coffee. Junkie.” Jack shook his head as he left Russell and Eric.

            “How long are you staying tonight Russell?”

            “I was getting ready to leave. Can I offer you some fresh coffee before I go? It will probably still taste like s**t, but at least it will be warm. I’d wager you’ll finish yours by the time it takes me to finish the fresh pot.” Russell rose from his desk and was heading for the coffee pot already knowing what Eric’s answer would be.

            “I never say no to coffee.” Eric smiled.

            Eric sat at his desk looking down at the photos he kept taped on his side of the desk. On one side were pictures of family and friends, including one with himself and Riley and another of his childhood friends, Jack, Evan Kelleher, and Jake Haarland. The other side belonged to the several cases that not only haunted him but fueled his work. Eric had just placed his hand over his father’s picture when Russell returned, fresh cup in hand.

            “Two shots of Irish crème, no alcohol I’m afraid, and one sugar, just like you like it.”

             “Not half bad for police coffee. So why are you running off so soon?”

            “I have well put in my hours today alone beside I’ve got an early morning breakfast with Monique. She’s researching her new book.” Monique Galloway spent most of her free time down at the station. When she wasn’t visiting her well-respected father or her equally respected fiancée, she researched. She was a crime fiction author and also a former crime reporter for Times. She was also the only reported Eric could tolerate.

            “Don’t let me keep you. Thanks for the coffee and send Monique my regards.”

            “Always. I heard about the case you got, good luck to you and Jack both. I hope you can catch this creep before Monique asks about it. Some cases are too much for her.”

            “I’ll make sure Tex stops bringing his work home,”

            “Thanks. Try and get some sleep, McEvoy.” Russell said before leaving Eric alone. 

            Eric reached into his desk pulling out a murder book. A murder book contained a complete paper trail of an investigation but had lost popularity throughout the years. Most cases now were being recorded digitally including crime scene photographs and autopsy and forensic reports. But there were still some officers, like Russell, who kept them and some that never made it to the digital world. This one, in particular, was one Eric kept close. It was a copy of the original; the original was stored away in the Cold Case unit. It had been a while since he had opened the book, but after today he knew he needed answers. If the murder book couldn’t help him, it would have suspects and witnesses that might.

            Eric looked down at his photos with a look of sadness before building up all his strength to open the book. The first page of the book was always a table of contents. At this point, he could recite the whole table. He had skipped past the first few pages which included the official report containing the police call that reported the crime. He always felt sick to his stomach when reading that page, and it wasn’t even the worst part of the book, but for him, it would always be something he never wanted to re-live.

            Instead, he stopped at the investigator's notes on the crime and the autopsy report. Taking one last gulp of coffee, he prepared for a long night as he looked down at the pages in front of him. The corner of the autopsy report contained the case number “89-1-00042”. The 89 stood for 1989, and the 42 meant it was the 42^nd criminal case reported for that year. Underneath the case number was the name of the victim, “MCEVOY CIAN, RICHARD.” Eric felt the usual sick feeling in his stomach as he read his father’s name on a report detailing what killed him eighteen years ago. But more importantly, his heart felt like it had stopped today as he read not only his father’s middle name but his own. A name only his parents and Gordon knew about, or so Eric had thought.