Dave was surrounded by blood. Not his own, but it might as well have been. He felt the life drain out of him like it had out of her, spilling out like a never ending supply, the red pool inching closer and closer to his shoes. Dave fought the urge to vomit as he felt the acid creep up his throat. He gulped it down and bent over in pain, bringing him closer to the blood, and the process repeated. The smell of iron made the hair on his arms stand up and he grabbed his head as an intense headache hit him. He stepped back to get away from the horror of it all.

A few deep breaths brought him back to the room. He stood up, life reentered him, filling him with purpose. He knew that he would be forever changed by this lifeless body on the ground. Before the week was over, there would be one more life taken. He’d make sure of that. 

2

“Hey, Jane,” Annie said as she darted out of her desk chair when she saw her boss walk in. She followed her, trying to close the gap while maintaining good posture, strong shoulders, and an upright chin to mask the confidence she was lacking. She was wearing her nice black work pants and a white button up shirt, with her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, trying to look as serious as possible. She’d been unable to sleep all weekend, practicing over and over in her head how this conversation would go. Jane, I know I’ve only been here a few years, but I believe my exemplary work on your cases has proven that I can take on a homicide case on my own. I believe I have shown— her thoughts were abruptly cut off when her leg slammed into a desk. 

Annie saw one pair of eyes quickly dart from her to their owner’s computer screen. Her face flushed, but she straightened her back and continued walking in Jane’s direction, who had by now stopped at the printer. Annie’s heart was racing and her hands were clammy, but she knew she had to do this. She had to put all of her focus on her work to maintain her sanity. It had been five days and seven hours since she’d last seen her husband, slamming the door on his way out, and she had to do everything in her power to not think about it.

Jane wobbled unsteadily from one foot to the other. She had on her bright red high heeled shoes and a black pantsuit that just barely hid her midsection. Each day this past year, Jane’s pants had been getting tighter and her face puffier. Her hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed in days and her mascara had already smudged, possibly the same mascara from yesterday. The skin under her eyes was as purple as a bruise.

“Hey, Jane,” Annie said, preparing to make the same speech she had been practicing in front of her mirror.

“Annie! Good, I’ve been looking for you,” Jane said. 

“I’ve been looking for you, too. I was hoping to talk to you about something,” said Annie, wringing her hands.

“Annie, I have some big, big news,” Jane said. “We have an important case on our hands. Are you ready for this? A famous actor’s daughter has been found murdered. Yup, uh huh, I know. Huge shocker. My jaw dropped to the floor when I got the call. I’m going to be working on a case involving someone famous! I can’t say who, but the poor girl got her neck sliced and bled out before she could call 911.”

Annie was frozen still. This was huge. A case this big hadn’t come to their department since before Annie had started working there. Their department’s work on it would make it to the news. And for it to have gotten to Jane, of all people. Sure, she probably deserved it; Jane had been waiting for something like this to accelerate her career. Annie, on the other hand, would be even deeper in Jane’s shadow. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered her as much, but Annie had built up the courage to finally talk to Jane about her own career. Should she still talk to her about it? Would she possibly let her step up on this investigation?

Annie’s adrenaline from this morning subsided and she realized that she’d have to wait for another opportunity. There was no way Jane would let her lead such a high profile case. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a breath with closed eyes. She felt selfish for worrying about her own career in this situation, but she couldn’t put aside her emotions. All of the anxiety and preparation from these past few nights was wasted. She’d have to suffer a few more sleepless nights before bringing it up with Jane again.

“No kidding, that’s awful,” Annie said as she tried to hide the disappointment from her voice. “How is the family doing?”

“Well, they are trying to keep a low profile for a bit. You know how the media will get. 

Gotta plan the funeral and whatnot. This actor – I can’t name names, now – he’s a wreck, as you can imagine. I can’t say much, but I can say that he’s appeared on crime shows. Imagine that! He’s read script upon script of murder and horrendous things. But this one? This one is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Awful tragedy.” As Jane was saying this, her face didn’t move. If Annie hadn’t known better, she would have assumed Jane had had botox. Unfortunately, Jane had no physical excuse for her lack of emotion. Her stoic nature was probably how she got to be a Lieutenant at the young age of thirty-five.

“Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need me to work this case with you?” Annie was at a loss. None of the anxiety from this morning mattered anymore. She knew Jane would run this case and that was that. 

Jane had a sparkle in her eye as she said, “There actually is a way we can help! Annie, we are going to investigate this case! The best gift to the family will be to put the murderer behind bars!” 

Annie took a step back to create some space between herself and Jane. Something horrible had happened and Jane was more excited about the opportunity than she was sympathetic to the family. It sent a chill down Annie’s spine to realize that she was feeling the same way. She replied, “That’s a huge case, Jane. Do you think we can do it?”

“I know, it’s insane. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate already!” Jane wasn’t the type to give credit where it was due. If it was her case, she would take full responsibility for all work done on it, including everything Annie did. It was infuriating, but there wasn’t anything Annie could do about it.

However, Annie saw a glimmer of hope and a small opportunity in Jane’s statement. Jane couldn’t be the only one finding a benefit from this situation. She said, “Jane, I know you have a lot on your plate. And I have been working under you for several years now. What if I took the lead on this one to help you with your load of work?” Annie could feel the shakiness in her voice as she said the last sentence, but she stood up straight and lifted her chin.

Jane paused for what felt like a few minutes and Annie slowly slumped. At least I tried, she thought. 

Jane shocked her by saying loudly, “You know what? I think that is a fantastic idea! I think this will be great. I was actually stressing out over leading another case on top of this one — involving a girl named Mallory Madden — but you could take it on while I solve this new one!” Jane grabbed the papers she was waiting for at the printer and handed them to Annie. “Here is the background. You can read through it quickly. And, I have even better news. Come, come,” Jane said as she waved for Annie to follow her. 

Annie pinched her arm. There was no way that actually worked. This wasn’t exactly what she had imagined, but at least she would get the chance to have her own case, even at the loss of working on one that involves a celebrity. She knew Jane would have steam-rolled her had she been on that one with her. Plus, Annie knew she had to take the opportunity while it was there. She had waited too long to let this chance get away.

She couldn’t believe it; she was finally going to get recognized for her work. But, as the stress of  waiting for the ownership she wanted drained away, a new stress crept in telling her she would fail. This was her first solo case, and Jane would be wrapped up in another one. Annie was afraid that she’d lose her role as lead if she didn’t do well on her own. She had no one to rely on but herself. She wouldn’t be able to ask Jane for advice. What if she messed it up? Would she be out of a job? Would she be stuck at the rank of Sergeant forever? Would she have to work in Jane’s shadow for the rest of her career? 

Annie dazedly followed Jane to the entrance at the opposite end of the office. There sat a young woman who looked fresh out of college, playing on her phone. She sprang out of her seat when she heard the clonking of Jane’s heels that echoed down the hall with every laborious step. The woman was wearing a dark gray pencil skirt with a white button up shirt tucked in, adorned with a blue statement necklace. She had on modest one-inch black heels and her hair was tied up in a bun. She had some mascara on and a pink hue of lip gloss. She looked more put together than Annie had been since her first day on the job.

“Annie, meet the newest member of our team and your partner for this case, Jessica Zheng!” Jane’s voice boomed in the small entryway. Annie stuck out her hand to shake Jessica’s. Her handshake was firm but not overpowering. Looks like this isn’t your first gig, thought Annie. Jessica's eyes were wide with energy and excitement. Annie remembered what she was like her first few months on the job. Now the only thing that could keep her energy up was the badly brewed coffee they had in the breakroom.

“Very nice to meet you, Annie,” said Jessica. Her voice was sweet and sounded much higher when compared with Jane’s deep voice.

“Likewise,” said Annie. Her vision was foggy with all of the adrenaline pumping through her, but the fog gave way to annoyance. The last thing she needed was a new investigator as her partner to slow her down. She was already nervous to be taking this case as her own. She wanted to be completely focused on the investigation, not to be dragged down by this bright-eyed weight. However, she needed to keep moving to forget the fact that she’d be going home alone tonight. Maybe Jessica could be a way of keeping herself occupied. Think positive, this might not be such a bad thing, thought Annie. 

Jane was standing in the background, the light fixture behind her head created an ominous glow, leaving her face in a shadow. Annie looked back at Jessica and, trying to imitate Jane on her own first day as best as she could, said, “Ok, let’s get started.” Annie handed her the papers. “Take a look through this and you can brief me in the car. It’s a quick bio on our victim.” She sneaked a glance at Jane to see her reaction, but Jane’s eyes seemed glossed over. Despite the years under Annie’s belt, she deeply wanted to impress Jane and lead this case as she would have.

Jessica took the papers happily and nodded. They both began walking towards the back entrance which led to the garage.

Annie opened the folder to read the address of the crime scene. “Great, it’s not too far into the city,” she said. “Let’s head down to my car, then.” 

Annie took Jessica to her beautiful, blue 2000 Toyota Camry, which was what Jessica could expect to afford on her modest salary in a city like San Francisco. While Annie was looking through her bag to find her keys and Jessica was looking at the papers Annie had handed her, a stranger in the parking garage, distracted by her phone, ran right into Jessica. 

“I am so sorry! I’m such a klutz. I shouldn’t have been looking down at my phone. I am so sorry,” said the stranger to Jessica.

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Jessica as she carefully picked up the papers that had fallen all over the pavement, looking up at Annie with a modest smile and round eyes. Jessica finally moved her gaze to the stranger and was struck by the vibrant red silk scarf she was wearing. “That’s a beautiful red scarf.”

“Oh this thing? Thanks. I can’t seem to stop wearing it; it’s so soft,” the stranger said as she pulled the scarf tighter around her neck. She helped Jessica pick up what was left of the papers, stood, and then hurried off. 

Jessica turned to Annie and said, “I am so sorry. I was just trying to be proactive. I should have waited until we got in the car.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate your enthusiasm. But let’s hurry up. Something tells me this will be a complicated one,” Annie said as she got in the car.