My Beautiful Doll

Chapter Two

"Eppes", Don said, his tone clipped and tired. Who the hell would be calling me at 3 in the morning?

"Agent Eppes? Sorry to call you on your break, but we have a case here that you might want to take a look at".

That had instantly woken him up. "Lieutenant Walker? Is everything alright?". Don could hear the older man audibly sigh through his phone.

"I have to be honest, it's not looking too good" Gary replied, disgust barely hidden from his tone. "I've even got senior officers throwing up like it's their first time on the scene". Don could hear the underlying commotion in the background, no doubt from the various people walking in and out of the crime scene. "In any case, we need you here".

Don cringed slightly, that doesn't sound good. "Why do you need me? I'm sure you guys are more than capable of handling this case".

"First of all, the victim was a federal witness in the ProdIntel case".

Don nodded, makes sense. "Shouldn't you be calling white collar crimes? I'm pretty sure Agent Robinson would be glad to take the case off your hands" and I'll be glad at the fact that I get to continue my break, hopefully undisturbed.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy," Gary replied sympathetically.

When IS it ever that easy? Don thought. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like what came next.

"You see, we have word that this case is the work of a serial killer. You were the one who investigated first before the case was transferred to another agent"

With that, Don could feel the beginnings of a headache forming in his skull. "Alright, just text me the address and I'll be there in five".

"Thanks. Appreciate it Eppes" then Gary hung up.

Don ran a hand through his hair, sighing in exhaustion. Looking over at the clock, he shook his head. 3 hours of sleep still counts as a break...right?

He got up from the bed and took a shower, contemplating on whether or not he should call his team or inform his family. He instantly disregarded the thought. After the hectic month they had, they all deserved this break. He'll let them know once he finds out more about what Gary was talking about.

After he finished, he put on his suit, grabbed his stuff, and walked out the front door and into his SUV. The streets of LA were starting to wake up, with quite a few cars still on the road. He used this time to think back to the cases he solved. Gary wasn't specific on the details, he mused. But the fact that he said that it was a serial killer and that even some senior officers had been disgusted told him that this case was a disturbing one. Noting a few possibilities in his head, he made his way through the dimly lit streets.

Soon, he reached the address. It was located in a small suburban area. The houses were mostly painted in white with a park located in the middle. The area gave off a calm and friendly energy, giving it a sense of community. The place would've been empty in this hour, if it weren't for the fact that it was full of police cars.

Weaving through the crowd, he saw the bright yellow police tape with a few uniformed officers standing guard. "Don Eppes, FBI" he said as he flashed his badge at one of the men. Then he ducked under the tape and went straight to Lt. Gary Walker. "What do we have?" he asked.

Gary turned around and nodded at him. Then he proceeded to take out his notebook. "Victim's name is Annalise Rogers. She worked as a computer software engineer for the company ProdIntel. She and a couple other engineers were supposed to testify in court but as you can see" he gestured to the busy crime scene, "that won't be happening anytime soon".

"Has anyone notified the rest of the witnesses? Just in case this wasn't some random attack"

Gary nodded, "My men are calling them as we speak". Walking past the crime scene techs, Gary continued. "Her colleagues informed us that she had gone off work at 7:30 PM last night. Her neighbours said that they had seen her car pull up into the driveway at around 8 and that was it".

Don turned to look at Gary, "What? No strange noises? No nothing?".

Gary shook his head, "The walls on these houses are pretty thick. It's hard for any sound to leak though. That and she closed the curtains every time so it's difficult for anyone to look in".

"Possible lucky shot," Don muttered. Now that they were in the house, he could smell the blood and decay permeating from one of the rooms. He winced as he saw an officer run out of the room, hand on his mouth.

Gary eyed the man in sympathy. "The body is in here" he gestured to a closed door. "I have to warn you though, it's not pretty". Opening the door, Don instantly understood why everyone had such violent reactions.

The crime scene was gruesome, to say the least. The first thing that Don saw was the artwork on the wall. The previously white walls were painted on, what seemed like a beach. But instead of bright colours, the entire thing was red. Judging by the smell and the dried, rusty look, it's clear that the red "paint" was in fact blood. Then he looked down and swallowed, taking every single ounce of willpower he had in him to not run out the door.

The body was even worse off. She was sitting down, like someone who is relaxing at the beach. But this scene was far from relaxing. Her chest was open, ribs broken and poking out like some sort of monstrous claw. Her lungs were barely hanging on, swaying slightly due to the fact that the bones were no longer there to support it. Blood still dripped down onto the floor, pooling underneath her. Her eyes were closed and her mouth had been ripped open from ear to ear to form an eternal smile.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Gary, silently asking for permission to inspect the body. Gary nodded. Don then proceeded to crouch in front of her, and took out his flashlight, intending to look into her eyes. But as soon as he opened up one of her lids, her eyeball fell out, falling onto her lap. Don froze, slightly horrified as the crystal blue eye looked up at him, as if begging for help. He could faintly hear the sounds of footsteps and retching as people ran out, desperate to lose their dinners but unwilling to contaminate the crime scene. He could hear Gary swear behind him, bellowing out "Someone get the techs on this!". Then, he felt Gary come nearer as he laid a hand on Don's shoulder. "You alright?".

Don instantly snapped out of his thoughts. He tried to smile, although he was pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine. Just...surprised".

"Well that certainly gave us a nasty shock" Gary said, looking at the body. Then he frowned, seemingly deep in thought. Don could see his face taking a slight green tinge as realization hit him.

"What is it?" Don asked.

"Annalise had brown eyes" Gary said, "Those...those aren't hers".

Don could feel his own stomach churning at the thought of that. Clenching his fists, he took a deep breath, hoping that his body doesn't decide to vomit violently on the spot. "This couldn't get any worse," he muttered to himself.

His eyes then found a piece of paper sitting on the table. "The killer left that behind" Gary spoke up, answering his silent question. Don walked over to the table and picked it up. Inside was a note:

A hidden flower amidst the gardens

The purest diamond will never shine brighter than the sun

Soon, you will be where you belong, my beautiful doll

~ The Artist

Nevermind, Don thought to himself as he saw who had signed it. This just got so much worse.