Page 23 of Tops
A loud knock on the door startled me back into reality. It sounded like the way a police officer would knock.
Nik.
I looked at the time, noticing it was seven on the dot.
“I need five minutes, and I will be out!” I yelled to the door as I scurried to get ready for class.
“You should look at your phone more often,” Nik laughed from my open doorway.
“No! You’re not supposed to come in unless I tell you to,” I semi shrieked at him. In my defense, the past thirty seconds had been an anxiety-inducing cocktail. He startled me, and I was late.
Plus, manners, sir.
I stopped to glare at him, thankful I didn’t need to get dressed. The peaceful nature of his demeanor immediately slowed my heart. It was almost infectious. He cocked his head slightly and smirked at me. One hand was in the pocket of his black slacks. Today he wore a button-up and a tactical vest. His hair was styled back away from his face, the picture-perfect plastic preference. It was hot as fuck. I wouldn’t even pretend like it was anything else.
I heard both of my ovaries cry out when I saw him.
A gun sat on one hip with a taser opposite. Nik looked ready to go to war, not to anthropology class.
“I didn’t realize the forensic departments pack that much heat,” I said, my voice a tad lower than usual.
“Crime scene analysts are the anthropologists. I said I am a detective for the NYPD that works with the forensic department. I am investigating crime scenes more than I am in the lab.” Nik smiled, looping his thumbs into his vest.
“Are we going somewhere dangerous today?” I felt an intense thrill rush through my body, almost making me shake. This was the part of my anxiety that confused me the most. Things like crime scenes and texting Tanner set my heart racing, but an unexpected knock at the door nearly paralyzed me.
In addition to a crime scene being possibly dangerous, it also was likely outside. Maybe I should’ve changed after all. I had leggings and a shirt with a sweatshirt to throw on top. My weather app said the rain had finally moved on. Not that I had gotten to see the end of it.
“Not dangerous, but not pleasant, either. Since we will be at an active crime scene, I need full gear,” Nik said as he cupped the holster of his gun. “You will have gear identifying you as part of the CSI team.”
I looked back down at my clothes, deciding they were fine. Depending on the crime scene, I might have to throw everything away when I took it off. I wouldn’t shed a tear over this outfit.
Getting out of the blacked-out van with the other students, I noticed the crime scene wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Large spotlights illuminated the area just beyond the part marked with yellow police tape. Nik flashed his badge at another police officer standing beside the crisscrossed barrier. After gaining a nod of permission, Nik held the barrier down as we formed a line and stepped over. My gaze caught Nik’s for the seconds it took me to cross, almost sharing a moment of silent laughter over the secret we shared. I had to remember he wasn’t Nik here.
The body had already been moved, and the initial sweep of the area had been done. In other words, they allowed us to experience the field without fucking up their crime scene too bad. I still had to wear the obnoxious yellow lanyard, but at least the CSI coats were fantastic. They were white lab coats with our last names on the pockets. They didn’t insult us withstudentsortraininglike the lanyards did.
“An unknown female victim, in her early twenties, was found yesterday evening just under the bridge,” Nik said, pointing the spot out for us. “Her body was half in the water and half on the concrete slab. She sustained multiple wounds to her face, abdomen, and arms….” Nik continued, but I stopped listening. I turned to look at the concrete slab. Although there was no red spot to direct me to the exact location, my gaze felt drawn to one place. Water lapped at the edges of the hard rock. The ground rumbled and shook as cars passed overhead. This was a loud place to die.
Multiple wounds suggested at least a mild struggle.
No one would have heard her screams.
“Professor Cage, you said she was in her early twenties. Was she pretty?” Devin, the one I had thought was cute, asked.
“Why? Does someone have a hard time closing the deal with the living ones? That’s fucked up, bro,” the asshole that had touched my arm said before turning to two other men and laughing.
“There will be no references made to necrophilia in my classroom, Trevor,” Nik said with his full, scary cop voice. We were all immediately silenced, and I noticed my spine wasn’t the only one that straightened. “Here, you will remember to respect the dead. We are their last voice in this world to find and bring their killer to justice. They all have someone that misses them.”
“I was just trying to see if she was someone that people would notice missing or if she lived on the streets,” Devin muttered, clearly still embarrassed.
“I can see what you mean, but I want to stop that train of thought now,” Nik said, turning his attention back to Devin. “It isn’t only the pretty ones that deserve to have their case solved. If I told you she was found wearing a dress fit for an escort, would you work any harder on this case? Or would you simply write her death off as a risk of the lifestyle she chose?”
My eyes traveled back to the spot of cement. If I focused on the sound of the waves lapping at the edges, I could almost ignore the constant stream of honks and sirens. My gaze drifted further into the water to the base of the support beams that held up the bridge. In the glint of the moonlight, I thought I saw a flicker of the light shining back.
“What’s that on the beam foundation?” I pointed with my finger toward the object with variable luminosity under the moonlight. Nik raised a flashlight, and I verbally directed its beam until it landed on something reflective. It almost looked like metal.
“Hold this,” Nik muttered as he handed me the flashlight.
I kept the light shining on the glistening metal as Nik searched for a real CSI agent to retrieve the object and ensure the evidence was collected properly. With the flashlight trained on the spot, I watched as a necklace was retrieved. It took several minutes for the proper paperwork and images to be taken. Still, as soon as Nik could, he brought the bagged evidence over to us.
