Second Chances

Awkward

Even though I agreed with Nick to not make things weird, I've been avoiding him since that night at his hôtel. I'm talking like fleeing as soon as he entered the same room as me for a whole week. I'm aware that I'm not being subtle at all. Actually he gave up trying to catch me and just stared (glared) at me from afar like I'm going to regret it the second he corners me.

I can't help it ! It's just too embarrassing ! To think that he saw me that way, shy like a virgin and so debauched. I cannot look him in the eyes.

This shouldn't have happened, now that I'm clear-headed and out of whatever daze, his amazing penthouse and his gentle care have brought me into. This relationship is just an arrangement and we're colleagues. What happened to the Judy who swore off dating in the workplace ?!

I shouldn't have let him see me in such a vulnerable position a second time, what if it happens again, what if he hurts me again ?

So when a new case is dropped on my desk this morning I jump on it like a starved man, anything to get out of the station. I try to tone down my joy because, this is a murder case, somebody died for fuck sake.

I get in my car and drive all the way to a butcher shop somewhere in Brooklyn. When I park the vehicle, I notice the shop is already shut down and surrounded by the familiar yellow ribbon. There is a small crowd of curious people, journalists and cops that I cross before flashing my insignia to the one garding the entrance and entering inside.

A familiar colleague comes to meet me as soon as she sees me :

"Lieutenant Harper, I see that you're joining us for this case !"

"Hey, officer Garcia, right, it was time I get back to work."

"Happy to see you back." We shake hands with a smile.

"So what can you tell me about this case ?" I ask as she leads me to the crime scene.

We enter a freezing room, I shiver from the drop in temperature as I take out latex gloves to wear.

"The victim is called Angela Bassett, luckily, she was close to the shop owner, Brandon Hopkins, so we could identify her rather quickly."

I stop infront of the body inside a black plastic bag on the floor. I crouch down and unzip the bag to look at her. She is blonde, her skin and lips are pale like snow, from sheer experience I can tell she has been dead for at least 12 hours. There are marks around her neck that suggest strangulation.

"How did you find her ?"

Garcia points to the chain dangling from the ceiling and replies :

"Hooked up like the rest of the meat here, the owner found her and called us immediately."

Sounds vindicative.

I nod and close the bag again before standing up.

"I'm gonna go ask him some questions."

I leave Garcia there before going back to the main shop. I scan the crowd of policemen and spot the witness quite easily. It's a middle aged man, he looks like he is in his fifties, wearing an apron and sitting with his head in hands behind the counter. He seems pretty disgruntled, it's understandable, nobody expect opening their shop to a dead body in their freezing room. Especially if the victim is somebody they know.

I join and adress him as quietly as I can :

"M. Hopkins, My name's Lieutenant Judy Harper, I will be the supervisor of this case."