Chapter 7

Jenna flipped out her badge at the uniform that was standing at the barricades in front of an old warehouse in the factory district down town. He quickly moved the bright yellow over sized saw horse aside and let Ethan drive his Grand Prix through, putting it back behind them.

They had already driven through a warren of police and news vehicles, parked haphazardly down the street, some over the curbs, some in tow away zones, and some were even double parked. She made a mental note to send a couple of uniforms down there to start writing tickets as soon as some of this mess was cleaned up.

She had Ethan park behind a cruiser, and got out, motioning him to stay in his car. He got out too, walking around the car towards her and to where they could see the crime scene tape being strung. Bright portable lights were being set up by the crime scene unit that was already there. There was a crowd of people milling around just outside that tape, photographers snapping pictures, setting up video cameras while reporters shouted out questions to the people already on scene on the other side of the tape.

"Ethan, thanks for the ride. I can catch a black and white home." She was itching to get over there and find out what was going on and to start yelling at the cops who were just standing there not doing anything to control the throng of people trying to push through the barricades.

"I'll wait for you. Unless something comes up at the hospital, I'll be in the car."

"It could be awhile. Really, if Justin's here, he can give me a ride home."

Ethan felt a small pang of jealousy which shocked him. "And it's not a problem. I was hoping to con you into buying coffee later," he grinned down at her.

"Okay," she gave up. If he was so determined to wait, she'd let him. "Just remember, I warned you." She turned on one classy heel and started towards the crowd of reporters.

He watched her walk away, admiring the sway of her hips under the short skirt, the long firm line of her thighs as her stride changed, becoming less the siren and more the hard nosed detective.

She pushed her way through reporters, barely hearing them as they shoved microphones and cameras in her face. She'd been hot news since Kevin Elliot's arrest and had been the object of many articles and news bulletins. Her face was now well known which wasn't always the best thing for a homicide detective.

"No comment," she growled for the fifteenth time since she started walking towards the yellow tape across the long parking lot. "Which part of those two words don't you people understand?" She stormed through the reporters, not stopping, 'accidentally' knocking a camera out of her face. She didn't even flinch when she heard it hit the ground with a crash of broken parts. Nor did she stop when she heard the cameraman cursing at her, a small smile flickering across her lips the only acknowledgement of the deed.

She spotted Justin, resplendent in jeans so faded that the stress points were white and thin and a tee shirt, his shoulder rig and badge prominent against the white material, arguing with a man she'd never seen before. She knew her partner, she knew all the signs of his temper and he was ready to blow.

Her heels clipped loudly on the blacktop surface, alerting Justin to her presence. His head came up, his nostrils flared and she smiled, knowing he was smelling the perfume she'd put on earlier. She never wore perfume on the job, there were too many clues the scent could interfere with, too many ways that it could hinder a case besides being a distraction for the poor males of the species who were controlled by the pull of their hormones.

Without turning, he spoke to her. "Jenna, tell this asshole what happens to city councilmen who stand in the way of me doing my job."

Jenna stopped, snapped to attention as if this were a requirement before she answered. "Said city councilmember will spend the next two to three hours in the emergency room getting his head removed from his ass." She stepped between the two men, pushing Justin back slightly with a hand on his chest. "What's his problem?" She thumbed her hand towards the little man, talking over him as if he weren't there.

"Hemorrhoids. Come on, I'll show you what we got."

Justin turned away, ignoring the furious snarling and threats of the politician, and headed towards a small covered courtyard between the buildings. There were some picnic tables set up, a couple of small coffee cans for use as ashtrays, a couple of larger metal garbage cans, one tipped over on its side. Laying in the middle of it all was a body under a white sheet that was quickly turning red with blood. Blood was also splattered across the tables and the garbage cans, looking black despite the bright lights that were being set up around the crime scene.

"How's the date going?"

Jenna looked up, a pissed off expression crossing her face quickly before she shuttered it. "I didn't even get fed, and you damn well know it." She stepped quickly in front of him, throwing off his stride and managed to shove an elbow into his stomach, smiling with pleasure as she heard his loud woof. "Next time, I think you could manage without me long enough for me to have a decent meal. Don't you?" Her voice was saccharine sweet, oozing with sarcasm.

Justin rubbed his stomach, a chuckle escaping him. Despite the tiny, ultra feminine exterior she was showing tonight, she was all grit and determination. You just had to admire that in a woman, especially one that could put that kind of muscle into an elbow punch.

"So?" Jenna carefully pulled the sheet aside, crouching at the edge of a pool of blood. The girl had been a brunette, a tiny chunk of hair had escaped being matted and covered in blood. Her face was piquant, big eyes staring unseeingly up at the ceiling covering the courtyard. Her expression was one of horror in a face that was untouched except for a huge gash just in front of her left ear that seemed too small to be accountable for all the blood. She lifted the sheet a little further and suddenly she was glad she hadn't eaten.

Her breath blew out in a rush, her stomach rebelling for just a second before she got it under control. She'd seen bad, hell she'd seen almost as bad with the Elliott case, but this had to be one of the worst. Her body was foully marked, streaks of bloody slashes crisscrossing her naked skin. Some of the cuts looked merely superficial while others were deep, gaping wounds exposing muscle and body organs. Her breasts were marked with bruises, her thighs also and there were indications of rape, very violent rape if the blood pooling between her legs was any indication. She'd been used, tortured and killed, and if Jenna knew her bodies, and she did, used again.

"Ahh, dammit. She felt most of that didn't she?" She let the sheet fall back over the body and stood up grimacing at the smell of death and the body waste that comes with it that wafted to her nose.

"Yeah, I'd say she felt about seventy-five percent of it." Justin shook his head sadly. "Poor girl."

"Do we know who she is, yet?"

"No. No ID, no purse, no nothing found near the body. I've got a team of uniforms out searching dumpsters and alleys around the neighborhood. Hopefully we'll find something."

"Yeah, before the news hounds start flashing her picture all over the TV." She glared at one particularly aggressive cameraman who tried to sneak under the rope, catching the eye of a uniform who hurried over and stopped him.

"No witnesses? No one heard screams? She had to have screamed. Who you got doing the knock on doors?" Jenna was staring sightlessly down at the sheet covered body, her mind busily putting things together. "She was killed out here. Had to have been with all the blood spatter, no drag marks present. Even if our guy was strong, there's too much blood..." Jenna looked over towards the road, noting the street lights, the fast food restaurants that she knew were just a block away and heavily trafficked at this time of night. "Damn, all this traffic, people so close. Pretty gutsy."

"Or pretty stupid. We've got some more spatter over there. I think he grabbed her there, played with her for awhile until he got sick of the torture games and then let her run. She'd lost enough blood by then to knock her off balance so she wouldn't go far. Then he grabbed her, raped her and finished the job here." Justin walked around the outside of the scene, his eyes scanning the ground. "Is Doc Hot to Trot waiting for you at the restaurant?" He glanced up at her.

"No, actually. He's not."

"Ah, tired of him already?" Justin stooped down over a foot print, carefully staying back so that he wouldn't disturb the fragile dust. He studied her as he signaled for someone from the CSI unit to grab some pictures of the print.

"Why are you so nosey tonight? Do I horn in on your dates?" She moved back to the body, taking the pair of thin latex gloves he threw to her and sliding them on with a resounding snap. She set to work, ruthlessly ignoring her gag reflex and pulling the sheet to the side. The smell of intestines and vicious death was fierce, crowding into her nostrils with a force that told her she'd be smelling this for a while even after they left the body.