“Chad, we have a dead body on the ground on the other side of the car and a suspect who ran into the woods as I came up about five minutes ago.”

“Okay, Detective,” he looked at his partner, “Turn on the spotlight and shine it into the woods.”

Chad called in the license plate and then we walked over to the body to wait for the response from dispatch.  He aimed his flashlight at the victim’s face.  She was pretty.  He lowered the light slowly to her torso.  There was blood all over her that seemed to come from the small red hole in the center of her chest.

“Yep, there’s no doubt she was shot, detective, and with a small caliber round at close range it seems.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “I did not check for any identification because of the unknown subject in the woods.”

“So detective, what brings you out this way?” he asked as he started looking around I suppose for the woman’s purse.

I knew the drill. Chad was following protocol, asking questions because he had to do the Police Report.  “I was going to visit Judge Middlebrooks at his home but I think I got lost somehow.”

He nodded with a smirk, “It wouldn’t have anything to do with you punching out the District attorney in court today, would it?”  I gave him my best I-don’t-know shoulder lift.  He knew it was bullshit.

“Yep detective, you missed your turn about three miles back.  You should have turned left on Highway 11 and then got on route 71 North.”

I glanced over at the other officer.  Chad looked also.  “He’s my trainee.”

“Got anything, Bill?”

“No sir, nothing so far.”

“Ok, go ahead and shine your light over here by Chad and me so we can secure this scene.”

The Dispatcher came over the radio.  “Headquarters to Papa 294!”

Chad keyed his handheld radio mic, “Papa 294; go ahead.”

“Papa 294, the 10-28 you requested information on, comes back to a Julia Middlebrooks.”

The mention of her name startled us all and then we looked at the body.  Chad looked at me and then reluctantly spoke into the mic again.

“Papa 294 to headquarters, do we have anymore 10-18 on this subject and also a description?”

“Standby Papa 294.”  A few seconds passed and the dispatch was back on the air.

“Headquarters to Papa 294, that is affirmative.  Subject is Julia Middlebrooks, Date of Birth 04/01/72 with blonde hair and blue eyes, 5’2” in height and 127 in weight.  The address on file is 4750 Country Club Lane, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.”

“10-4 Headquarters,” said Chad somberly, “that subject is going to be our 10-89.”

It seemed like the dispatcher took a minute to digest the reply and came back on somberly, “10-4, I will notify homicide and the CSU’s and change the call sign to 10-92.”

Police 10 codes are used to keep the nosey ear hustlers such as the media and private citizens who have scanners, from knowing what we are talking about.  10-89 is for dead body and 10-92 is the code for murder.

It did not take long for the word to spread.  There were five reporters, two helicopters, and a few onlookers who probably were asleep until they saw all the flashing lights and heard the helicopter circling in the air.  K9 units were already in the woods searching for the unsub, which is cop shorthand for “unknown subject.” The scene got chaotic quickly and my biggest concern was trying to keep everybody including other officers from trampling over evidence until CSU arrived.

Once CSU arrived, they put up a shelter over the body and started collecting evidence from the crime scene.  I couldn’t help but wonder if our unsub was still out in those woods watching us.  I figured he might be gone with the helicopters circling the area with that bright spotlight they use.  Still I was not sure.

*    *    *

Chief Pate walked under the yellow crime scene tape after speaking with Bill, who was logging everyone’s name at the scene.  He spoke with Chad first and I saw Chad point him over to me.

“Detective, what do we have so far?” he said buttoning his suit jacket.

I assumed he needed something to go on before he did his press conference. Since he had put his hat in the ring for Sheriff, this was going to be a high profile crime.

“Chief, so far we have the body of a woman that has been shot in the chest. Her assailant ran off in the woods.  K9 units are on the trail as we speak, but it does not look like a robbery gone badly.”

“That’s pretty thin Detective,” he said, a little disappointed. The way he gritted his teeth, it looked like he wanted to fire me right then and there.  But he had to smile for the cameras.

He turned to face the reporters who were all hurling questions at him at once. They got quiet when he began to speak.

“Ladies and Gentleman, a short while ago, one of my officers discovered a body and at this point, we are still working the crime scene for more information.  I will provide you more details in the morning in the City Hall Conference room.  Thank you and have a good night.”  He then got back in his car and drove away.

The other officers at the crime scene tape started expanding the tape as an encouragement for the reporters to leave.  They all got the message except Charlotte Reed.  She was a news hound and beautiful too I might say. She and I were going together, but we tried to keep everything professional. Charlotte had the warmest personality.  Her big brown eyes, smooth cocoa skin, and sexy frame could influence a man to do what she wanted him to do even if it meant he would get hurt in the process.  We met at Johnny’s in Central Plaza after I had just testified in court on a murder a few months back.  I bought her a hotdog, all the way, with mustard, ketchup, onions, relish, and sauerkraut.  We had a few dates and I really liked her. Smart as she was she had a gentle way about her. I might have been falling in love. That was a real romantic hot dog.

When it came to work, Charlotte did her job efficiently. I knew she was waiting to hit me up for some questions.  She looked at me and I looked at her and gave her the call me signal with my thumb and little finger to my head.  She then left with the others.  The helicopters still circled the area, which I didn’t mind because we needed the spotlight to help the K9 units.

It started to rain.  I knew once the rain fell the dogs would lose whatever scent they had of the suspect and the integrity of the crime scene would be ruined.  Officers hurried to gather what evidence they could and the Medical Examiner recovered the body.

The rain covered the parcel of ground where the body lay. I recalled all the events taking place from the moment of the gunshot to the time I tripped and discovered the body in case I might have missed something.  My mind was blank.  I had almost forgotten the incident at the courthouse that brought me here in search of the judge.  The vibration of my cell phone released me from my deep thoughts.

I figured it might be the chief with his great expectations for me in the morning before he does a press conference.  I looked at the number but didn’t recognize it.  I answered.

“Hello,” I said.  I waited on a response.  Often we detectives get calls from citizens who see our numbers on Crime Stoppers and believe they have information that can help us solve crimes.  The phone was silent.  I said, “Hello?” a couple of more times and then gave my name.

“Hello,” this is Detective Jackson, are you there?”

A cold shiver raced down my spine to the end of my toes at the robotic voice on the other end.

“I’m here, all right, Detective. The Reaper. This is just the first. Many more to come, Detective Jackson. Many more.”

Chapter Two

The rain pounded her windshield.  Charlotte Reed opened the door of her Nissan Maxima and deployed her umbrella.  She quickly closed her door and ran up to the front porch of her parents’ house.  They lived 10 minutes outside of the city and had been in the same house since Charlotte was born.  She had been staying with them since she had lost her apartment due to the tornado that had ripped through parts of Tuscaloosa four years before.