A POUND OF FLESH

A MEETING

A MEETING

12

All around her she could hear the clicking of keyboards, the noise resonated through the mass of cubicles. She quickly realized, she would not be getting any sort of peace this evening.

Emma reached forward and turned off the radio sitting on the corner of her desk. The constant buzzing was giving her a headache.

"I was listening to that," Ethan nudged her playfully from behind. With his desk directly behind hers, if they both stood up at the same time one of them would be knocked over. Emma would have complained but there was really nowhere else for them to go. All the techs were in the same position and they had all managed to make it work.

Desk space was not a priority anyway, as they spent most of their time in the field or the lab. Emma also suspected that a lack of personal space encouraged them to focus on their work and keep the socializing to a minimum - and she could not argue at the effectiveness of it.

They had tried configuring the small space every which way, but it was tight. Emma found facing Ethan to be a greater distraction and it was easier to ignore him this way.

It did not bother her much if he snooped over her shoulder, as she never really had anything to hide, which she suspected he did often. Working in close quarters meant certain sacrifices.

"I'm sorry, it's just the same thing on all the stations and I really can't concentrate."

Over her shoulder she could make out Ethan give a nod of understanding and turn back to his work.

The file sitting on her desk was a huge distraction. She had moved it around several times over the last few hours. From the right to the left corner, to the file organizer she kept above her shelves, to the cupboard and in the drawer... After all the moves it had made its way back to the right hand corner of her desk. There is sat staring at her, bulging at the seams, tempting her to open it and examine the contents once more.

She did not need too, she knew what was on each page, where each page was and everything that she had written and added to it.

Emma had spent several hours thoughtfully organizing things in the most logical order to debrief Ron.

Looking at the slowly transforming shape bouncing around on her computer screen, she could not focus her attention on the work that she should be doing. The domestic that Ethan and she had worked a few short days ago still required some attention.

Emma could hear Ethan typing away behind her and she pushed down the urge to turn around and check his progress. She did not want to be the hold up and knowing that she will not be able to accomplish anything with that file staring back at her, she got up from her desk and makes her way to the lab.

Emma always hated the harsh industrial grade soap they used in the lab. It had a strong chemical smell and often left her skin feeling raw and dry - and with winter approaching it only got worse.

The irritating sensation was only intensified by the powder pressed against her fingers and palms as her hands sweat within the area required vinyl gloves.

The inconvenience is minor however in compared to the enjoyment she found in her job. Working in a smaller jurisdiction offered greater variety. Allowing her the opportunity to process scenes and then testing in the lab.

Emma's eyes scan the cabinet until she finds the drawer she is looking for and pulls the samples she needs.

As she works on preparing some slides, Emma takes the time to go over the speech she has planned out in her head. As she thinks it through, there is a tap on her shoulder. An intern lets her know that there is "some old guy" looking for her. Lifting her head she sees Ron looking back at her. She waves to him and motions to him with her hand that she will need a minute.

Ron does not even make an attempt at chit chat as they weave their way back to her cubicle so she can pick up the file off her desk. Ethan gives them a puzzled look, but before he has a chance to ask any questions Emma ushers Ron the short distance to a small conference room down the hall.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure you would still even be here." Ron looked tired, circles rimmed his puffy blood shot eyes.

"I heard the news." It had been the reason that she turned off the radio, and the reason that Ethan had been so interested in it. It is all that you heard about. A female body, with evident signs of mutilation found in a suburbia garnished a lot of attention. The morbidity of it being something out of the norm for Burlington. Little detail was actually mentioned in the news other then those two details, yet statements from distraught housewives frozen in utter horror over what has happened close to home and montages of crime scene personnel, with yellow tape, was enough to sensationalize it. Varying experts from the field of psychology to criminology were interviewed to provide their opinion on an incident they knew nothing to little about. The Toronto Sun had been quick to give the killer a nickname, the Burlington Butcher, it was catchy and before any officials could release a comment it stuck. All occurring in less then twenty four hours.

There was no talk about any connection to the previous bodies, and Emma knew that that must be intentional.

Sitting down, Emma chose her first words carefully, she could tell that Ron's patience was already worn thin. People must have been bouncing off ideas, theories, and conspiracies to him over the last little while.

"Mutilation was worse this time right?"

Ron shock his head in agreement.

"He took a trophy?"

Ron eyed Emma cautiously and shook his head.

"Her name was some variation of Ann or Annie right?"

Ron shook his head again, "How?" It had been too soon for any reports to be filed.

"I can tell you what happened to her - to the detail. I also know that he is just getting started."

A/N: I hope you enjoy the second edit of this chapter.  Thank you for reading and please remember to vote.