Second Chances

Try Everything

Who is the sadist who created the damn alarm clock ?!

That was my first ever thought this morning.

I was in the middle of a rather bizarre dream when my alarm clock went off. Without opening my eyes, I fumbled with my hand on the dresser to turn it off. A sound of something crashind and probably breaking tells me that I dropped it.

So much the better, it won't bother me anymore in the morning...

I get up lazily, rubbing my eyes and yawning. A quick glance at the mirror makes me pause and notice the awful state of my blonde hair.

Why is there so many knots...

With furrowed eyebrows, I go straight to the bathroom to take a shower, brush my teeth and fix the nest I have for hair. After getting out, I put on my police uniform, go downstairs to get my keys and get out of the house. I don't bother making myself a coffee today, maybe I will have time to grab a Starbucks.

So... I did not. There was too much traffic, I should have guessed, stupid me. Waiting to get to the cafe would have made me late and I hate that. I know with my position I can afford a bit of liberties but I guess the perfectionist in me strongly disagree with that. So I find myself parking in front of the police station, coffee-less and very suspicious of a start of a bad Monday.

What Mondays start well anyway...

Once there, I greet Cassy, our sweet receptionist, with a wave and a warm smile that she give back to me bashfully. I, for a long time, thought she was too shy to be the first face anyone would see entering the station but she proved herself being a real breeze of fresh air among all these brutes and straight faced people. I take alone the elevator to my floor and enter my office. I slump in my chair and sigh as the reality of the last few days comes back to me.

My supervisor, Chief of Police Mr. Johnson, will be retiring soon. I'd like to have his position, so to test me, he's decided to have me solve a horribly difficult case.

I know this is not the usual procedure and that he can only recommend me to the higher ups. But this is how our relationship is. He has been my mentor and father figure since I stepped into the police station for the first time. He taught me everything I know now, things you don't learn at the police school. It's always been like that between us, he gives me hard cases just to test me and I do everything I can to solve them. But this time, it seems like I ran out of luck.

I am stuck...

The murderer is too much of a professional, I can't believe this is his first murder.

No clues, no suspects...

This is without a doubt, the most important investigation of my career and I can't fuck it up... As I sighed for the umpteenth time, my door suddenly bursted open. I only know one person with the audacity to do this.

"Kate, how many more times do I have to remind you to knock before you enter ?"

Kate Morgan is a few years younger than me. When I met her, I was supposed to form her, and after that we've remained good friends. Unfortunately, in a few days she's going to be transferred to Las Vegas. She is nice but a little too nosy for my taste.

"I'm here to give you a tip, so stop complaining." she rolls her blue, almost grey eyes at me.

Like almost everyone in the station, she knew I was struggling with a case. 

"Give me a tip ?" I raise my eyebrows.

She sat down in front of me and simply gave me a folded piece of paper. Looking like a cat who got the cream and making me weary because she was never up to good with that face. Curious nonetheless, I unfolded it and read :