letters to the stars ° barry allen ✓

thirty eight

April 3rd, 2007.

The door slammed shut, the sound dull compared to the sirens and constant chatter. Joe West ducked under the yellow crime scene tape. A fellow detective appeared, Detective Sanchez.

  "What do we got?" Joe asked the detective.

  " A young girl, mid to late teens."
  Joe sighed, it was always hard when it was a kid. Especially since he had two of his own at home. "What happened?"

  "Coroner says multiple stab wounds, there's signs that she fought back. She was one hell of a fighter," Detective Sanchez wanted to smile, but he couldn't. It almost made him smile because she put up a fight. Not many young women he has seen of this end of the yellow tape had done that, but the teen did, and she wasn't going to back down. His only wish was that her life didn't come to such a violent end.

The area was an open field, the land covered in dead grass resided side by side with the main strip into central city. The perpetrator wanted the body to be found. An open area, a park connected to it, and the main road into the city? Someone must have seen this guy.

"How long has she been here?" Joe West took a deep breath, as if he really didn't want him to answer.

"The body's still warm," Sanchez replied. "The witness who found the body was driving by and he said he saw a dark figure, presumedly male, make the dump. Said that the guy took off in a truck, but he couldn't make the model or the plate. The guys took the witness down to the station to report."

Joe nodded as Sanchez lead him down the small hill to the group of attendants standing over what he assumes was the body, laid under a white sheet.

"Any signs of sexual assault?" Joe clenched his jaw as he took in yet another deep breath.

Sanchez went silent. A couple seconds followed with a short, barely even noticeable, nod. Detective West shook his head. Poor girl, he thought.

He kneeled down on one knee, beside the white sheet. Maybe it was out of respect. Or maybe it was because he could no longer stand. A case like this would sit in the back of his mind for years, and this being a young girl made it all the worse.

Slowly, carefully he lifted the sheet up. Beneath it laid the face of a young woman. Her hair was clotted in blood, presumed her own. Her eyes wide open. Even in death, you could see the fear in her eyes. Her cheeks glistened, she had been crying. And blood had stained her lips, a deep red.

Detective Joe West brought a shaky hand to his mouth. Tears threatened to escape his eyes.

"Detective West," Sanchez stood behind him. "Do you know this girl?"

He nodded violently as tears rolled down his cheeks. Joe then turned his head to look up at the detective. "Her name is Cassiopeia Delphine. She was Barry's best friend."

"Oh God, sir, I'm so sorry."

Joe then turned his attention back to the young girl he had known so well. She would come over everyday after school to see Barry. Her and Iris weren't close but they were friendly and appreciated the other's presence. Cassie had become part of the family. "She came over for dinner. Her parents were out so we invited her over. Oh, God, what will her parents say? H-her brother will be heartbroken. A-and Barry. Barry can't lose someone else he loves."

He was rambling. So many thoughts were running through his head at this moment.

That night, Cassie had been over. They ordered in a pizza, then they all sat at the table talking about their day. It was almost a regular thing with them. If she wasn't over there, Barry was at her place. The families had grown close because of Cassie and Barry's friendship. When Cassie went home that night, she was almost instantly on the phone with Barry. The two couldn't seem to get enough of each other.

After hours of being on the phone, they finally hung up. Within an hour of the end of the phone call, she was dead.
And the person they would eventually arrest, would be innocent. Because the young boy would never hurt his sister, he loved her. His alibi will be solid, but the team who was assigned to her murder didn't care. They will put an innocent man in jail as another one goes free. A predator on the prowl, yet again.

But now, the future wasn't on Joe West's mind. Neither was the fact that he would have to exclude himself from the case because how personal it was. The only thing that was on his mind was Cassie.

He placed his hand over her eyes, shutting them. She could finally rest. No longer living in fear. Cassiopeia Delphine. Taken too soon.

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I'm slowly revealing more and more. Also, I think I should tell you now that not all the letters are in order.
-Mandyxx