Welcome back to Black Words-White Pages!! This week we get to read an excerpt from Author G.K. Curry's debut, Drained!! So let's check it out shall we....
EXCERPT
Chapter 1
THUD! I startled at the sound of a fist pounding on my desk. “Yo, Hawthorne! We got another one. Get your partner, get some coffee to snap out of whatever the hell trance you’re in, and report in when you reach the scene.” Captain Palmer vanished, likely heading into his office to await another phone call from one of the local mayors or the governor wondering when we would erase the negative image damaging their re-election chances.
The last thing I wanted to do this morning was head to yet another crime scene. I knew what was there awaiting us: a uniform who called in a “suspicious death”, another innocent life lost while we chased our damn tails, and the press demanding answers they knew we didn’t have. Reluctantly, I glanced down at the post-it note Captain Palmer had left.
1374 Natural Woods Lane
I flipped the file I had been working on, or rather staring at, shut and slid it into the small metal drawer underneath the center of my desk and turned the key to lock it as I walked away. I checked the
time on my phone as I walked out of the detective’s bullpen to find my partner.
“9:12 am,” I muttered, “glad I haven’t had breakfast yet. Time to go find Danny.” I knew where he’d be. While we’d only been partners for five months, I knew Danny’s routine. This time of day, he’d be at the shop next door deciding which flavor of overpriced, vegan, protein bar he should buy for a late breakfast. Daniel Viviani was promoted to detective five months ago, and the department immediately assigned him my partner. He’s a good kid, a seven-year veteran of the Jericho County Sheriff’s Department, smart, by-the-book, and eager to succeed. Danny looks closer to twenty instead of approaching thirty, with light brown hair and deep blue eyes. He keeps his face clean shaven and his hair short and trimmed. Let’s just say he turns quite a few heads and is great when we need to interview the college co-eds. He definitely gets more information than an almost fifty-year-old with a scruffy face, shoulder length dark brown hair, hazel eyes that have seen too much, and a scowl that comes with years on the job. Ultimately, other than nagging me about my caffeine addiction, he’s not a bad partner for a 25-year veteran to pass the proverbial torch to.
“Danny, we caught another one. Pick out your crappy hipster bar and let’s go!” I chided him.
“Uh—coming, Shaun!” he exclaimed as he grabbed whatever flavor was on top. Danny was the only one who called me by my given name. Most people referred to me as “Hawth” or maybe “Thorny”, depending on how much my sarcasm led them to believe I was a prick. Danny threw a five on the counter without even stopping for the change, and we walked next door into a garage full of black Ford Explorers that had all seen better days. As usual, I tossed him the keys, so I could review notes and files on the way to the scene.
“We’re heading to Natural Woods Lane up in Crowley, off Route 175. We’ll have quite the crowd to look at.”
The city of Jericho was the county seat for Jericho County, but Crowley was where the university was, and therefore, most of the population and activity.
“Got it, Shaun.” Danny flipped on the lights of our unmarked SUV, and we pulled out of the garage and sped away.
It only took about 15 minutes to reach the scene, and we hadn’t said a word to each other the entire trip. We knew what we’d find. Both of us dreaded getting called to a sixth scene like this, but Danny struggled more than most. You couldn’t tell by looking at him while on the job, but when I brought him home to meet Liz, he opened up over a couple of beers. He hadn’t had any homicides before as a detective. The couple he did come across as a uniform were at a distance, and he only saw the second-hand photographs. I, however, have seen way more of this than I had ever wanted. I transferred down from Chicago P.D. about seven years ago. My wife got a job teaching English at the local university, and it seemed like a welcome change to handle college-town policing vs. the dangers of the urban environment. The moment we found that first victim, everyone, including the captain, turned to me. This is not a violent area, so I had as many solved homicides in my jacket as the rest of the department combined. I guess you could call it job security since I was the man for the job, but I can tell you it’s not always nice to be wanted.
We pulled up to the scene, but you couldn’t see through the crowd that had gathered. If you squinted and craned your neck, you could see the area cordoned off beyond the squad car lights and the ambulance—where the medics were likely unnecessary to begin with. However, they responded, so they’re here to give us a statement before they got on their way.
“Tap the siren a few times to clear a path and pull off to the side up there,” I instructed Danny as I picked up the radio. “Dispatch, let Captain Palmer know David-30 has arrived on scene.”
“Copy, David-30,” the radio responded.
Danny and I got out of the car and walked around the side of the crowd. Two guys in suits walking up to the commotion drew a lot of eyes. I tapped Danny’s shoulder and nodded, signaling him to watch the crowd for any onlooker who appeared suspicious. This was easier said than done in a college town, particularly at 9:30 on a Monday morning. Many folks hadn’t worked off the weekend hangover, or some pulled all-nighters while pounding energy drinks and cramming for the last few finals before the semester ended. Either way, it looked like a horde of zombies mixed with eager paparazzi trying to get a snapshot of the latest teen heartthrob. Danny’s eyes darted around, searching for anyone who looked out of place as I stared forward to the scene. One of the officers, who was trying to keep the crowd at bay, lifted the tape for us after having seen the badges on our belt when we opened our jackets. This was a mere formality as we both knew each other and said “Hey Phil” and “Happy Monday, Hawth” as we passed by.
“Nothing unusual in the crowd. Just the usual gawkers hoping to get a gore shot they can either sell to CNN or tweet to their buddies,” Danny noted, and I nodded in reply.
Despite being a college town, this department knew its protocols. The police kept the crowd back far enough they would see nothing other than the uniforms and forensic techs coming and going. Well, that, and they got a shot of the rookie who just sprinted by me to lose this morning’s eggs and bacon. As we turned the corner into the alley between a bakery and Chinese restaurant, we saw the covered blanket, which we knew we’d dread having to lift. There was no aroma from the bakery, and that was both unusual and unfortunate, given that lovely freshly-baked bread scent would cover the lingering smell of restaurant dumpsters and the permanent linger of smoke from employee smoke breaks.
“Coffee, Hawth?” a voice asked. It was William Epps, the head of forensics for Jericho County, his hand extending a dark brew from Campus Grounds, the on-campus coffee shop. Epps was a character. For a science guy who spent most of his time behind glass and avoiding people, he had one hell of a personality and was always smiling under his bushy, black beard and rectangular glasses that emphasized his brown eyes. He had a deep voice and an always friendly tone.
“Always, Epps,” I responded as I grabbed one cup. “How’d you get here so fast?” I asked.
“Interviewing an intern candidate on campus at the coffeehouse when I got the call. Man, you should interview some of these millennials. This guy actually asked if he’d have to work past 4.”
“We’ll let the criminal element know to keep their activities to normal business hours,” I replied in deadpan fashion as I took a huge swig of coffee and handed it to a patrol officer. I slid on my gloves, glanced at Danny who got his note pad out, and knelt down. Taking a deep breath, I lifted then corner of the blanket and got to work.
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