“Jesus, fuck,” the chief spits.

  There she was. Sarah.

  Her right breast sits snugly between her teeth, her hands tied by the long intestines. I kept her legs spread because I thought it fitting, though I left her panties on in case some desperate hobo wanted to defile her. I tied her hair in a bow, to keep it away from her mouth.

  I look at the faces of my co-workers. Disgust, grief, pity, revulsion. These are the words I would use to describe their faces.

  I hover over her, trying my best to act shocked. I check to make sure I am not smiling by rubbing my hand against my mouth, which I found some people use as a self-comforting motion. Weird.

  “’Scuse me, Will,” Samantha says, squeezing past me. In her gloved hand was her forensics camera and some other tools I couldn’t describe even if I wanted to.

  “How long has she been dead?” Lee asks.

  “Around eight hours?” Close.

  “Cause of death?”

  “Take your pick. She seems to have been beaten severely by some sort of blunt object, then stabbed, then disemboweled then—”

  “We can see that. God damn, what killed her?”

  “She bled out.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Lucky girl.

  “What’s with her tits?” he asks.

  “Dunno. Whoever did this must hate women,” Samantha shrugs.

  “I don’t think so,” I blurt out.

  Everyone is looking at me. I feel their eyes burning into my flesh.

  “Will is right.”

  I turn around.

  There James is, his flashy as fuck red car sits on the curb waiting.

  “Didn’t hear you come in,” spits the chief. He is clearly agitated at the arrival of James.

  “It’s electric, Chief. Quiet.”

  James smiles and then winks at me.

  What is he gonna say about our joint project, I wonder?

  “What did you mean when you said Will was right? He clearly hates women!” protests Lee.

  “It was more playful.”

  Silence.

  “What I mean when I say that is that whoever this sick fuck is, he did this more out of a childlike curiosity rather than malice.” James shrugs.

  Lee turns to me.

  “How could somebody be so fucked up and not even know it?”

  Before I can respond, James chimes in.

  “That’s the thing, Lee. These guys are everywhere. Hell, one could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn’t even know it!”

  He walks over to Lee and me and puts his arm around us.

  The Chief interjects.

  “Get your shit done and get out! You’re messing with my crime scene. Don’t you have a book to write?”

  “Sir, yes sir!”

  I feel his hand linger on my shoulder a moment. His grip tightens slightly before releasing me. His touch lingers with me for a moment, then two. Then—

  “Will! Dispatch called and said they need you to check out a disturbance down by Nail Avenue. You got this?”

  “Sure thing,” I say.

  Lee looks at me expectantly. By the way she is slightly flushed in the cheeks and the stance she is taking, I’d say she wants me to kiss her.

  Obediently, as the ever-dutiful boyfriend, I lean in and give her a kiss. Her lips are dry and taste like coffee, and up close I can see crust under her eyes. Nonetheless, she seems happy with me, so I suck it up.

  “Well, well! Two cops find themselves thrown into both a dangerous case AND a steamy romance. I can feel my pen moving all on its own!”

  James’s mouth is smiling as he says this, but as I step into my car, and even as I drive down the highway, I can’t stop thinking about the look of pure bloodlust in his eyes.