Valen: Chapter 2

Liam meets Valen

Two

Liam

My day had started out as a typical, manic Monday for me. First, I spilled chocolate milk on my navy blue suit pants, while all of my other good suits are at the cleaners, leaving me with no choice but to wear my two year old, and almost too small grey suit. Then it got even worse when I saw my ex-girlfriend in line at the coffee shop that I happen to stop at every morning. Not only is the café's chai tea delicious, but also it's conveniently located right down the street from the station. There was no doubt that Kristie knew I would be in here this morning, but she wouldn't admit to it. I watched as she finished up at the counter, and then made her way to the back of the line where I was standing. 

She gave me a big Cheshire cat smile. "Hello Liam."

"Hello," I said nonchalant. I only gave her a glance before looking straight ahead again. Even though I'm mad as hell at her, I'm still going to speak to her. My old-fashioned parents and grandparents taught me to have respectable manners in any situation.

She sighed heavily. "You're still mad at me," she said, stating the obvious.

"Well, I did just recently catch you in bed with another man," I replied, keeping my voice low. It had only been two weeks. I had been working late on my most recent case regarding a serial killer who targets prostitutes. He, or she, has killed three women in the past three months. We call him the Camden Butcher because he stabs his victims multiple times. He stabbed his latest victim over thirty times.

"So I made a huge mistake," she said as if infidelity was no big deal. "It was only because you were working all day and all night. I'm only human, I have needs and besides, they're only prostitutes."

Her last comment really pissed me off. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed. "Those women were someone's sister, daughter, and even a mother." I shook my head in disgust. "You know what " I'm almost glad I caught you in the act, because I was too damn blind to see how heartless you truly are."

She gasped ever so dramatically, and then stormed out of the coffee shop without saying another word. 

Shortly after I got to work, I was scanning through my emails when my partner, Ivan, walked up to my desk. "Hey! Commissioner McVey is on squad side with Chief Russell if you want to talk with them about the possible overtime for squad, and also about the briefing with everyone regarding our case," he told me. 

"Thanks. I'll go talk to them." I locked my computer and headed for the other side of the station. And that's when I accidentally collided into one of the most beautiful women I think I'd ever seen during my twenty-five years of life.

"I'm so sorry," she said, empathy evident in her tone. She had a voice like an angel, and she's as angelic as one. Her eyes are what really caught me off guard though. They're as green as emeralds, and they seem to have certain mysteriousness to them. 

"Oh no, pardon me. I need to watch where I'm going," I said.

I watched with a smile, as she looked me up and down. I think I saw her blush once our eyes met again. Without saying another word, she simply smiled before quickly walking away. I don't know why, but it felt strange to just watch her walk away. A piece of me wanted to see that gorgeous smile again...and again.

I was able to catch Commissioner McVey coming out of the conference room. "Commissioner McVey, may I have a word with you and Chief Russell in private?"

Commissioner McVey glanced at her watch. "Sure Fitzgerald. I only have about thirty minutes to spare you though, unless you would like to schedule a meeting at a later time."

"It won't take long."

She turned to Chief Russell. "May we use the conference room Gary?"

"Yeah, there's nothing scheduled for a while," Chief Russell answered.

Once we were in the conference room, I briefed them on the facts of the case thus far, and I asked for permission to speak with everyone at the station, including the squad officers. I also asked if there was any possible way that they could spare some overtime for the squad officers. We could use more patrol on the streets at night I told them. Lord only knows that Ivan and I can use all the help we can get to catch that Psycho who's killing innocent women. 

Commissioner McVey said she would try to get as much overtime approved by the board of commissioners as possible. Chief Russell said he would be okay with the briefing, and also okay with getting his squad officers involved. He wanted that monster off the street as much as anyone else. After twenty minutes, they left me alone in the conference room where my thoughts drifted back to the green-eyed angel I had met in the corridor. After a moment, I silently scolded myself. I don't have time to think about my personal life right now, I have a very important case to work on. I quickly left the conference room and headed back to my desk.

Copyright © 2016, R.J. Snow

Reviews

[M.R Steiner]

hey there :)

Another pretty solid chapter, the reference to the butcher is obviously going to be important I expect :)

my only real beef with this one is that the name Commissioner McVey is a little overused for a secondary character. on the other-hand I had no problem remembering her name after that so it may just be my personal preference :)

I'm guessing the perspective will leap frog between these two main characters as the story progresses.

on a level of structure, my only suggestion may be to turn the serial killer angle into a hook at the bottom by maybe showing your character confronted by crime scene photos (again just a thought). again not a big issue, but I feel the second chapter is always the second most important aspect to keep the reader going.

all just amateur opinions as before mind. you have a far more solid grip of your prose than I, that's for sure :)

I'll keep coming back to this

[RJ Snow]

Good points. Thank you!