Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 12: Evidence

Cody

He was required to wear rubber boots covered in plastic to not contaminate the crime scene. At first, Cody thought there was just puddles of blood. Boy, was he wrong.

The entire floor was drenched in blood. Slick enough to cause a person to slip and fall. (There were a few close calls) If it weren't for the smell of sawdust, the metallic scent of blood would've blinded him.

CSIs were taking pictures of the bloodied room and severed body.

When Cody caught sight of the body, he didn't even react. He's seen his dead parents, watched his uncle die by his own hand, and walked in on Adrian slicing up his math teacher's back. Though this body was more . . . cut up than Adrian's own victims, Cody is used to seeing blood.

"It's a sight, isn't it?" asked Aaric rhetorically as he steps up to stand beside Cody. A disgusted look was on the handsome man's face as he viewed the room. "What sick person could do this?" he questioned. 'My ex boyfriend. Though who knows, we might get back together after what happened last night.' Cody thought.

He takes detailed notes in his notepad so that he doesn't miss anything. Copying whatever the CSIs said and wrote down anything else that he notices.

Cody couldn't help but keep glancing at the body. The other officers kept their eyes away as they searched for any evidence around the room. His eyes ran over the cut up body, noticing a very interesting pattern:

Both his hands were cut off at the wrist, the two dismembered parts wrapped around their owner's neck. A blade had cut through his eyes in an x-formation. The throat was slit in an upturned cut. His torso was exposed and revealed the word 'bastard' carved in his bulbous stomach. The man's toes were cut off and were set in a pile beside his head.

This wasn't just some murder. This was a fit of rage.

"What did the witnesses say?" Cody asked Aaric as he finally averted his eyes from the body. He glances over at a few buff men that were being questioned by a police officer outside of the room.

"They all said the same thing: came to work at seven a.m to finish demolishing the place so that they can start remodeling. The first thing they see is the dead body lying on the table with their power tools covered in blood." Aaric said with a frustrated sigh. "CSIs checked the table, body, and tools. No fingerprints." he added.

'It's already clear that a woman did this.' Cody thought as he viewed the body again.

"A woman?" Aaric questioned suddenly.

Cody froze when he realized that he said that aloud. "What makes you think a woman did this?" Aaric asked suspiciously. 'Being with Adrian and Michaela have advantages.' Cody thought, trying not to sigh.

"Hands were cut off and wrapped around his neck, probably suggests he got to handsy and became too brutal. The cut eyes may mean he sees nothing. Also the fact that the word 'bastard' is carved in his chest means that well . . . he thinks he can get away with his actions." Cody explained, remembering how he would try to understand Adrian's MO. He would spout out ideas to Michaela, and the two would always try to figure out Adrian.

This killer was a very angry woman.

"You sure you're not some criminal analyst?" Aaric asked in surprise. "When murders happen all around you, you try to understand the reason behind it." Cody replied before pocketing his small notepad. Then he spins on his heel and walked out of the room. Ignoring the questioning and slightly concerned look from his new partner.

The flashes of cameras and screams of reporters exploded all around him once he steps out of the building. He hissed at the periodic flashes that blinded him as he covered his eyes with his arm. 'Reporters.' he thought annoyed. They all screamed for answers and quotes about the murder. Cody glared at all of them from behind his arm so they wouldn't see the disdain on his face.

'Why can't those reporters go suck a–'

A sudden bark from a dog stopped Cody from his brooding. He picked up his head to look over the ever-growing crowd. 'Honestly, don't these people have places to go?' he thought irked before he catches sight of a familiar face–and snout.

It was hard not to smile when he was in a very gruesome scene. Michaela was standing among the crowd with Marcella. She was waving at him to catch his attention. When she noticed that she had his attention, she waves him over before slipping back into the crowd.

Cody was able to slip through the side of the perimeter that the police tape made without any reporters seeing him. The last thing he needs is being bombarded with questions by nosy media personnel. That sort of thing is Aaric's job.

He slips away from the crowd and meets Michelle a couple of yards away. "I really hope you were just passing by." Cody said jokingly. It's barely been a few days since he last saw Michelle but it felt like forever. If it wasn't for her, he might've snapped at all of the people who hurt him.

"The university isn't far from here. And since my teacher allows pets as long as they are calm, Marcella gets to come with me." Michelle said happily as she pets her senior dog's head. The pitbull has a big smile on her face as she wags her tail.

"So what happened?" Michaela asked curiously, her tone becoming more serious. Being a criminology major, she always goes to crime scenes to get more experience. Even though she can't actually examine to scene herself.

"I'm not gonna give you any information about the crime scene but I will say we might have a serial killer by the looks of it." Cody said, mostly saying what he thought. Even if it weren't a serial killer, someone would've had experience in cutting open bodies because there weren't any signs of vomit if the person was an amateur. No one could've done that to a body without having some mental problems or a profession in anatomy.

"Was it You-know-who?" Michaela asked with a quirked up eyebrow. "Definitely not." Cody denied immediately. "Different MO. By my guess, it looks like a woman did it actually." he said, shuddering at how the body was positioned with the separated limbs and digits. Adrian was all about skinning and slicing his victims unlike this killer.

"Looks like my presence wasn't needed after all."

"Fuck." Cody cursed the second he heard Adrian. He and Michaela look to their right and saw . . . a black haired Adrian. The two nearly did a double-take because they weren't sure that was him for a second. All of the blue was gone from his hair and his long bangs were slicked back.

"What's wrong? Killer got your tongue?" Adrian joked as he winked at Adrian. That got Cody to glare as he regularly does with the psychopath. "How many colors are you gonna dye your hair?" Cody asked curiously, though he honestly liked the color. It fit him perfectly.

"This isn't dye," Adrian said, his cheeks suddenly brightening with red. "This is my natural hair color." he finished.

"It looks nice, Adrian!" Michaela complimented as Marcella reached out to sniff Adrian's hand. The dog's tail wagged harder as she recognized the killer and began licking his hand.

"Why are you here, Adrian?" Cody asked, straight to the point. "The police might recognize you from your association with Takanawa's murder." he added as he checks to make sure no one was looking at them. "I thought that I could come and offer my assistance with the case." Adrian said.

Cutting his eyes back to Adrian, Cody shook his head. "Hell no. I'm not having a killer help us with a damn murder!" he growled, hissing the word 'killer' so no one actually heard him. "Why do you even want to help?" he demanded.

The playfulness in Adrian's eyes darkened to the familiar insanity Cody has seen for years. "I will not have another killer be in hunting ground." he said darkly. "We both know I can get into the head of a killer. I can help you find who this person is." he pointed out.

'Even I can't disagree with that. The problem is that HE IS A FUCKING KILLER!'

"Whether or not you can help. I can't just have a civilian just waltz in the middle of a homicide investigation and say what we have to do!" Cody interjected. "Oh, my dear, Cody. There is something else you don't know about me." Adrian said in a teasing tone. "I've assisted in more cases then you realize. How else do I have no rivals?"