In the Middle of Love's Crime *BWWM Mystery Romance Thriller (2 page)

              They both laughed as they stood in front of Drew’s office before he entered.

              “Good morning, Detective Slater.” said a cop walking by as he nudged Drew on the shoulder. Drew nodded his head to respond to the greeting.

              The red head gave a flirtatious smile. “Ohhh so a detective, huh? Well, I’ve better not tell too much of my business either.”

              Drew leaned on the door and allowed his eyes to meet hers. “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t know your name. If I did then that would give me access to google search you.” He said jokingly.

              “My name is Emily Grant.” She said as she walked off, checking the time on her watch. “But be careful if you’re google searching me. My military boyfriend is very aggressive and jealous.” She winked.

              “Now that’s not anything to tell a detective. He had better cool it before he gets in trouble. ” Drew laughed, stepping into his office.

              “I’ll be sure to warn him of that!” Emily shouted back, looking over her shoulder.

              Drew peered from his door, watching her switch her hips until she disappeared around the corner of the hall. He shook his head.
That’s a sexy piece of ass.

              There was so much work that needed to be done and covered today. He needed to follow up on a few cases and meet with a few witnesses regarding a burglary.

             
Knock. Knock.

There was a knock on the door. Drew sighed as he looked up from his desk. Detective O’Brian walked in with a manila envelope. His shiny bald head was glistening under the light, a few strands of hair peeked from his scalp. He was going through a bitter divorce and it explained his cause for going bald.

              “Detective O’ Brian. What can I do you for?” Drew asked, leaning back in his office chair. “Have a seat.”

              Detective O’Brian rejected the offer to have a seat by waving his hand. Whatever he had to say probably wasn’t going to take long, he was a jumpy type of guy.

              “I need you to look over this new case we have. This is the second murder of a woman being slaughtered and stuffed in the trunk of her car.”  Detective O’Brian motioned, tossing the manila envelope on Drew’s desk.

“Is it similar to that Amanda Stone case?” Drew asked as he shifted in his seat to take a look inside the envelope.

A few weeks ago, Amanda Stone’s convertible was found at a lake and she was stuffed in the back of her trunk. She had been inside the car for what seemed like weeks, her body was brutally wounded.

Detective O’Brian cleared his throat. “Yes, it’s very similar. I’m beginning to think that we have a local Jack the Ripper. The victims are all left for the dead in the exact same style. This new case is regarding a young woman that was also murdered last night. Her body was discovered in the trunk of her car as well. Cops and ambulances are at the murder scene right now. Turn on the television.” Detective O’Brian said with a heavy voice.

              Drew sat up in his seat, the expression lines on his forehead were frowning as he reached for the remote to the portable TV across from his desk.

              “By the way, I saw you checking out the new receptionist down the hall. You should give that a try. Seems like she was flirting with you.” Detective O’Brian joked.

              Drew sighed and rolled his eyes. “Nah, she’s taken by some military guy. Not really looking for any drama, bro.”

              “Whatever, man. If there isn’t a ring, it doesn’t matter to me.” Detective O’Brian shrugged.

              The commercial break on TV was over and Simona Cox, the beautiful African American news anchor, led Drew into a gaze as he watched her deliver the story.

             
“A serious crime. A serious matter. A beautiful, young woman by the name of Natalia Karpova has been found slayed in the trunk of her vehicle this morning. The scene of the murder took place in the parking lot of Tree Mellows Court. This is the second murder of a Columbia woman being found dead in the trunk of her car. The victim was said to have been going to meet her estranged boyfriend who resided at the apartments. Authorities are trying to locate who Natalia may have been dating and the reason for her death…”

              Detective O’Brian was shaking his head as he listened to the news. “We have to get on this case together, Slater. The victim was hog tied in the trunk of her car and her neck was slit very deep. It’s very disturbing to think about and I just want to nail this guy. If we can pin point who the boyfriend was, maybe we can get some answers. Are you in?”

              Drew was barely paying any attention, he was smiling and rubbing his chin as he watched Simona on the television. “Huh? Sure. Yeah. I’m in. We need to go out to the crime scene right now and question a few of the tenants that live there.”

              “That could be a start. Let me grab another cup of coffee and we can head over there shortly” Detective O’Brian exclaimed. “Oh yeah…and Slater?”

              “Yeah?”

              “Stop drooling over the TV at that sexy black woman. I’m gonna have to catch you up on this case. Not sure if you were actually following along. I’m pretty sure you weren’t smiling about a murder story.” Detective O’Brian said, taking a bite into a donut.

              “Seriously, I am concerned about this case, O’Brian. It’s just I used to date that news anchor years ago.” Drew replied.

              Detective O’Brian gave a surprised look. “Wow, well what do ya know? Looks like someone had jungle fever.” He laughed before exiting the room.

              Drew took a stand from his seat as he walked over to his large office window. Sunlight peered through the blinds as he twisted the tilt wand.

The view of Columbia was a sight to see and it was breathtaking. He sipped from his cup of coffee and inhaled the caffeine as he looked at the WFTX building.

His flame still burned for Simona, a flame that never went out. Somewhere deep down in his heart and soul there would always be a piece of her inside him. He opened his wallet and realized that he never got rid of the photo they took together at Riverbanks Zoo.

He smiled as he recaptured the memory of that photo. Two parakeets were sitting on both their shoulders as they posed near the botanical garden. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek as he snapped the photo. Those were joyful times they shared.

Drew fantasized about reliving those days with her again, but he just didn’t have the courage.

  Chapter 3

The October wind blew its breath on the auburn maple trees, causing a few leaves to fall to the ground.

The pigeons soared over Finlay Park through the foggy Columbia, South Carolina sky; the beautiful city buildings were adjacent in the distance.

Simona kept her pace as she took long strides during her power walk. Her arms moved from side to side.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
She concentrated on the breathing exercises she learned from yoga class.

She assumed that the early morning walk would take her mind off a recent murder that took place in the neighborhood of where she lived. Images replayed in her mind of Natalia Karpova’s pale, bloody body. The image of her tied up in a trunk was mind haunting. Stress at times came from being a news anchor, the stories were horrific and sad. Sometimes she found herself sitting up at night.

After Simona was warmed up, she bounced into a jog. Her dark ponytail was neatly pulled back under a baseball cap. It was a good thing she wore the army sweat pants that her fiancé, Ben, bought for her. You would have thought she was in the army from the serious way she was jogging. She kept her focus on the trail.

Simona was a very popular news anchor for WFTX News channel 7, her career meant the world to her. It had been a lifelong dream of hers as a child. She could remember being so excited to receive a camcorder for her sixteenth birthday from her father.

Growing up, she and her brothers would run around the neighborhood to record fictional news stories, this gave Simona all the practice she needed.

Upon completing high school, Simona attended South Carolina Capital University earning a bachelor’s of arts degree in broadcast media. She had landed the position right on at WFTX News, thanks to her articulate voice and stunning good looks. Soon she became the talk of Columbia every weekday morning. Simona was extremely beautiful, especially on and off camera. She had that wholesome look that captured the hearts of many.

Taking it up a notch, Simona energetically began running along the trail as her sneakers crunched on the pavement. She hadn’t notice the cool autumn breeze hitting her skin because her pumped blood created body heat.

Phew. She couldn’t stop now, she was on a roll. The goal was to run 1 mile nonstop around the park to challenge herself. She felt her legs and abs burning.
Great
.
That means its working!
 

Her serious duties at work caused her to get behind on her normal workout routine. Taking the morning runs had targeted all of her areas at the same time.

“Good morning! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You’re Simona Cox from TV!” shouted a short, chubby woman. She had to have been no later than her forties. Her brown, curly hair framed around the freckles on her face.

Simona tried to hide her aggravation.
Damn, all I wanted was a little me time and seems I’m spotted quickly
.

She reached out to gradually shake the woman’s hand. “Yes, that would be me, Simona Cox! How are you doing today?”

The lady’s lips quivered with excitement. She couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with a popular South Carolina news anchor. Simona had never gotten such star struck reaction from a fan, but she had to admit that she was amused.

“I…I…I’m doing fine now that I actually have a chance to meet you…in person.” The lady stuttered. “I’m Jill… Jill Morgan. How often do you run here?”

Wanting to rush away from Jill, Simona knew that she couldn’t do that or she would receive negative feedback from the media. It was important for her to have a good reputation in the city. Now this damn lady probably would start jogging around the same time that Simona jogs at Finlay Park. Nice going.

“I..uh..jog on some days. Usually when I feel like it.” Simona said with a fake smile, hoping to cut the conservation short.

She looked at her watch and started to lightly jog in place. “But it was such a pleasure meeting you, Jill. I’ll give you a shout out on TV. Remember to stay tuned with WFTX News Channel 7. Take care!”

Jill’s face turned red as a tomato as she watched Simona jogging away, a big smile was spreading across her face. She stood there with an open mouth, frozen. She was too excited and overjoyed from Simona’s response. She quickly dialed a number in her phone to call up a friend to share the news.

“Yes…hello..Emily? You will NOT believe who I just ran into jogging at the park? SIMONA COX!
THE
Simona Cox! YEAH... She’s gonna give me a shout out on the news!! Oh my Lord! You have to watch the news today!” she said excitedly.

Simona overheard the conversation in the distance. She shook her head, smiled and continued with her run. She usually had an effect on people, but sometimes it was tiresome and overwhelming.

After Simona completed the run, she stood in front of the waterfall. The waterfall display had been one of the amazing attractions in Columbia. It was always on the Columbia, South Carolina greeting cards.

The sound of the water running mentally cooled Simona off. It so sounded refreshing, like those meditation nature CDs.

Simona hesitated, drinking in the view of the city. The buildings stood strong together. Simona inhaled and exhaled the air, placing both hands on her hips. She checked her stop watch and smiled with a heavy breath. She had mastered the mile in seven minutes and fifteen seconds, which was great timing.

She walked to the parking lot and as soon as she sat inside her black PT Cruiser, she opened a bottle of water. She dipped her head back as she took a large gulp of the H20. It was as though she hadn’t drunk anything in forever because of her intense run. The water was the reason for her youthful appearance and fast metabolism.

Simona was what others would refer to as a hippie health freak. She believed that being healthy was the key to being positive. Her home library always consisted of positive audio CDs and she’d attend life coaching seminars in town. Yeah, she was one of those people.

Simona snapped on her seatbelt before pulling out the parking lot. She had the day off from work and it was very much needed; (Especially since she hadn’t seen her fiancé, Benjamin, in weeks.) The army always sent him to the woods or on duty at the last minute. Simona couldn’t stand it at times, but it was the sacrifice she had to deal with when being involved with a military man.

At times it was like hell being away from him and it meant so much when she was around him.

When she was around him, the thoughts of missing him had disappeared. She always wanted to tell him how much she missed him and how it was so hard for her. Once they were together and made love, she really didn’t care about explaining that anymore.