Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Common Ground ❯ Chapter 2
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: NeekerBreeker 
Anime/Manga: Fake Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Police | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.13.2004 | Updated On: 01.13.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 405 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Fake Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Police | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.13.2004 | Updated On: 01.13.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 405 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter Two
Late mornings were somewhat of a problem for JJ. He was a morning person, which meant that he couldn't sleep late if his life depended on it. However, he always felt he had to do at least *something* to set the late mornings apart from the early ones. In spite of that, most of the time he ended up doing nothing at all. He'd wander around his apartment in his underwear, watch morning television and eat breakfast, forgetting he had already eaten it once, before it was finally time to leave for work. Not that the thought of work filled him with glee, but it put an end to the endless waiting. JJ had never been particularly good at waiting.
This Tuesday he had tried to murder his time as efficiently as possible, but had ended up arriving at the station thirty minutes too early anyway. The station was quiet and sleepy; the people from the earlier shift were getting ready to go home, and others from JJ's shift hadn't yet arrived.
JJ stretched his arms for the umpteenth time and finally decided that since he was here, he might as well get started. He picked up the case file from Drake's desk and started reading through it carefully. He had done some thinking last night, but wanted to check what Ted and Marty had had to say before drawing any conclusions. He'd meant to ask Ted about the case, but somewhere along the extended lunch break yesterday he had forgotten all about it. Of course, he couldn't trust Drake to remember it. Drake was never even half awake on Mondays, and this week he seemed to be downright hibernating.
JJ flipped open the file and spread the photos of the victims on his desk as a sort of a background before diving into Ted's report.
The first murder had taken place six days ago. The victim was a student, a black man in his 20s who had a clean record and no connection to any known criminals or gangs. Yet, he had been killed by a gunshot to the head, execution style, which immediately brought gangs to mind. It didn't help solve the puzzle that he had been killed in a small park in Bronx, in a pretty good neighborhood, the most unassuming place in New York. The second victim, a homeless, elderly black woman, had been killed the same way a day later, only a few blocks away. Then, after two days, a Korean restaurant owner, a 53-year-old man, had become the third victim on the opposite side of the city, in southern Brooklyn. Try as he might, JJ just didn't see any pattern behind the murders. He quickly looked through the other two victims; a 15-year-old Spanish girl and a black man in his 30s.
*These people,* he thought, *would most likely never have even crossed each other's paths. The latest victim has a record for driving under the influence, but otherwise, they're all clean. So what would a gang want with them? No, it seems more like the work of some kind of a psycho, a lone killer. Considering that no one saw anything or even caught a whiff of the killer, he had to know the environment well and time his murders perfectly, since he committed most of them in public places. This is the work of someone who knows what they're doing.*
He turned the page, grimacing as he came to the nasty part. The killer had executed the victims by shooting them in the head, but he or she had not stopped there. And the handiwork was pretty hard to mistake for someone else's. That had led first the beat cops and now their detective squad to link the murders together, even though they otherwise looked random and unconnected.
JJ jumped a little when he heard the door being opened.
"Morning," Drake said. His gaze wandered from his desk to the file in JJ's hands. "Oh, so I did leave it here after all." He began to take off his jacket.
"Good morning, senpai," JJ said, then glanced at the clock on the wall and continued, "Well, it was morning a few hours ago. Did you read the whole case file?"
Drake sat down at his own desk. "Yeah. Why do we always get these loonies?"
JJ thought it silly to talk with Drake when he was on the opposite side of the room. He seemed miles away, even though the office was quite small. JJ blamed the desks; it was like they were shouting at each other over barricades or something. So he got up excitedly and crossed the distance between them, jumping to sit on Drake's desk.
"So you don't believe in Ted's idea of a gang either? I knew it!"
Drake jumped back a little. "Uh, no. Not really. Looks more like some kind of a specialist. What with the precise cuts and all."
JJ began to dangle his legs and turned his attention back to the file in his hands. "Hey, that's interesting. You know what, senpai? The killer must have gone to medical school. How else can you remove the spleen that quickly? Imagine the mess if you screwed it up!"
"I'd rather not," Drake said and made a face. "I'm going to go get coffee, do you want some?"
"Sure. With too much sugar," JJ said and grinned at their old joke.
Drake dug some coins from his pocket and left.
JJ looked after him. Well, Drake seemed to be pretty much back to his usual self now. Good. JJ was running out of ideas of how to cheer up his partner, who certainly didn't make things any easier by insisting that *JJ* was the one who needed tea and sympathy. Drake could be such a pain, really. Downright impossible. Which partly explained why JJ liked him so much.
Welp, no time to dwell on that, they had a case to solve. JJ picked up Drake's pen and started scribbling down the ideas he had got that morning.
When Drake returned with the coffee, JJ had already made a plan for the rest of the day.
"Senpai, we should probably start by going to talk with the Coroner to get a clear statement on what kind of a gun was used. Ted and Marty didn't seem to get that far yet. Oh yeah, and the other weapon, too, you know, what the killer used to cut out the spleen and mutilate the feet and dig out the teeth."
JJ glanced up from his notes to see if Drake was listening.
"And don't forget the slicing up of the earlobes," Drake said. "Thanks for listing all the gruesome details. But yeah, sounds fine to me. Didn't Ted write something about the weapon, though?"
"No, Ted-senpai just wrote that... uh, wait a sec..." JJ looked around for the case file, but Drake had already found it.
"'A sharp, accurate weapon, most likely a knife'," he read aloud. He laughed, which assured JJ once and for all that he really was back to normal. "Sharp and accurate weapon? Might be a friggin' pencil for all we know. Let's go and find out for sure."
***
The visit to the Coroner's didn't amount to much. They learned that Ted and Marty had been right so far; the wounds had been done with a surgical knife. The cuts were accurate and certain, almost impossibly expertly made, which hinted at someone who dissected people for a living.
JJ raised the cover and looked at the latest victim's feet to see for himself what the photos always seemed to leave so vague. JJ was a hands-on person; he needed to actually see the details before they became real to him. The feet had been slashed deep at the ankles. Clean cuts, right to the bone. A small chip of the shinbone had been cut out along with the flesh. The coroner helpfully told them that judging by the amount of blood on the victims' feet, this had been done while they were still alive.
That put JJ to thinking. He was no psychologist, but at the moment, he tried to do his best at it. Why couldn't he think of this killer as a good doctor gone bad? There was something he was missing, and that worried him.
Drake was trying to chat him up when they walked back to their car, but JJ didn't really pay attention to him - although he *did* remember to check out his partner's ass when he bent down to open the car door. Realizing this, JJ kicked himself for not concentrating hard enough. But it was too late; his train of thought had already vanished when he got into the car and slammed the car door shut.
Their lunch, which they ate a little past six PM, was cheap Chinese food from a nearby restaurant. JJ unwrapped his food hungrily and grabbed the wooden chopsticks.
"How come you always have to eat garlic chicken?" he complained. "It'll be days before the smell leaves the office."
Drake glanced at him over the newspaper he had spread open on his desk. He always borrowed the papers from the counter. Janet didn't seem to mind letting him have them after she was done reading them.
"I don't like any other Chinese food." Drake speared some chicken on his fork and put it in his mouth as he went back to reading the Sports pages. "If it's double garlic, it's edible. I don't complain about the weird shit you eat."
"Nobody's going to want to kiss you after all that garlic," JJ went on.
"It's not as if anyone wants to kiss me whether I eat it or not," Drake said to his newspaper.
JJ had to eat a few mouthfuls before replying. Funny how hungry a visit to the morgue could make you. "I'd kiss you." He was pleased with his nonchalant tone as he said it. If he handled it right, he could continue teasing Drake for as long as he liked, and he did like it.
"Oh, sure." Drake flashed him a very quick smile. "I feel all warm and fuzzy already."
"I said, I *would* kiss you if you weren't such a bastard." JJ took another bite of spring roll. "A bastard who eats smelly food," he added with his mouth full.
"JJ, shut up before I remove your spleen with a pencil."
JJ burst into laughter, which brought him near to choking as his mouth was still full of food, and he started to cough frantically. Drake looked at him and sighed as if to say it hadn't been *that* funny.
A knock on the door interrupted their intellectual moment. Ted opened the door immediately afterwards and came in. He had a file in his hand.
"Why, yes, I *would* like a fortune cookie," he said, grinning, and grabbed himself an empty chair from the corner. Apparently he had smelled the garlic all the way to his office. JJ would have said something to indicate it, but he was too busy trying to keep from dying a very embarrassing death.
"Are you having a Kill Your Partner Day, or what?" Ted asked.
*He could at least try to pat me on the back!* JJ thought, miffed.
Drake stood up, the familiar look of concern on his face. "Jesus. Are you all right, JJ?"
Ted looked around and opted for stealing JJ's fortune cookie. Unfortunately for him, JJ's quick reflexes were still intact even though he could hardly catch his breath. He slapped his hand down on the paper bag and tried to kill Ted with his ultimate Evil Glare. Nobody touched his fortune cookies.
Drake walked over to JJ and patted him helpfully on the back. JJ coughed weakly a couple of times, and nodded that he was okay. He wiped his watering eyes and regained his composure.
"Better?" Drake asked. He looked as if JJ had really come back from death's door, his eyes all big and sad. Oh, but JJ did like his eyes.
"Yep, I'm fine," JJ said, looking Drake straight in the eyes, mentally telling himself to eventually stop doing it. Noticing Drake was getting uncomfortable, he averted his gaze slightly and gave Drake the best smile he could manage.
*Now go back to your desk and finish that smelly stuff before the whole station is here for fortune cookies,* JJ thought, but hadn't the heart to say it out loud.
Ted, apparently giving up the cookie hunt, opened the file he had brought with him. "Well, if you're not gonna die just now, I wanted to show you this." He pulled out a folded map that said "New York City" on it. JJ quickly cleared his desk of all the trash and Ted spread the map on it so that they could all see.
"I know we're off the case, but you know, I gave it almost a week of my time. I just couldn't get it out of my head like that." Ted pointed at circles that were drawn on the map with blue Magic Marker. "I was doing some paperwork yesterday and then it just hit me. Look at the murder locations."
JJ quickly connected the circled place names to the victims. The old woman on the northern side of Bronx, near Van Cortlandt Park... where JJ often used to go jogging.
"Well, it looks like the murders have been committed in two main areas," Drake put in. He pointed at Bronx, where the first victim had been found, then at Brooklyn.
"On almost opposite sides of the city," JJ said, nodding.
"So it would seem. But look at this." Ted took a pen from his pocket and connected the circles indicating the murders in or around Brooklyn. The result was an almost perfectly vertical line. "The murderer didn't commit the murders in the chronological order, but if he had, he would've moved northwards, as if following a straight line. Now look at the others, in Bronx."
"Damn, they form a vertical line, too," Drake muttered.
Ted connected the circles. "See? Only this time, it's as if he moved southwards."
JJ tapped the map with his finger. "But Ted-senpai, the murderer didn't follow these lines. The first two murders were committed in Bronx, but the next murder was in Brooklyn. And the fourth was back in Bronx again. It doesn't seem like he was planning his route beforehand."
"This can't be a coincidence. You could draw a straight vertical line through all the places where the victims were found!" Ted said, and using his pen, demonstrated it to JJ and Drake.
Drake scratched his chin. "One thing. There haven't been any murders in northern Brooklyn or around Long Island City, although the line goes through the area."
"Of course!" JJ practically bounced up and down when he realized what Ted had meant. "That only means that the line is closing in! The next murders will be made around that area!"
"And then the murderer will have made a straight line to cut New York in two." Drake sighed. "I don't like to admit it, but that gang theory of yours is starting to sound plausible."
Ted grinned. "Hey, I don't just pull these ideas out of my ass, you know."
Drake seemed to remember his food and returned to his desk. He picked up the container and started hurriedly finishing the chicken. "Except that I can't imagine why a gang would want to separate the eastern New York from the western side. And why the mutilations? This is all in way too big a scale for a normal gang. And if it was a bigger gang, we would've most likely heard more about them."
JJ wasn't ready to give up on his single killer theory just yet. He agreed with Drake; it was all too complicated for simple, territorial gang murders. It was much more likely that there were just one or two people behind the murders. Still...
"Thank you, Ted-senpai," he said aloud. "We'll think about it."
Ted stood up and smiled. "Always happy to be of help. I just hope you'll solve it soon so that the damn case won't bother me anymore. But I've got to go now, I have a huge pile of paperwork waiting for me."
"Uh, wait up, Ted!" Drake quickly gulped down the last remains of the chicken and continued, "Dee asked me to tell you that he's having a housewarming party next weekend."
"A housewarming party?" JJ asked, momentarily forgetting all about the case. "Has Dee-senpai moved?"
Ted looked slightly taken aback. "Well, why hasn't he said anything before?"
Drake raised his brows meaningfully. "Dee's not moving anywhere. Ryou's moving in with him. So, will you be able to make it?"
JJ frowned, confused. He thought he was the office expert when it came to gossip about Dee. "What? I haven't heard anything about this! When did Ryou-senpai --"
"That's all I know. You're going to have to ask Dee and Ryou. I'm just an errand boy," Drake interrupted, and started to gather the trash from the takeaway lunch. JJ thought he rustled the wrapping papers more than was strictly necessary. Obviously further questions weren't wanted. JJ pouted and glared at Drake annoyedly.
Ted laughed. "I was wondering what Janet was talking about when she said her chances of dating Ryou are now officially gone! The office rumor mill amazes again." He shook his head. "Ah, what's a normal heterosexual guy to do around here? You're my only hope, Drake. If even Ryou can be converted --"
"If Dee was here, he'd say you're nowhere near as pretty as Ryou, so don't worry," Drake said with a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Why on earth would I want to be? As long as women find me irresistible, what do I care?" Ted retorted smugly.
"Then why haven't you yet won that bet on Linda? It's fifty bucks, Ted, and you're not going to see it."
JJ sighed overdramatically. The bet on who would first take out Chief's secretary Linda Bromley, the office beauty, had been going on for as long as he could remember. His annoyance grew when he realized Ted had given Drake the distraction he had wanted. JJ was positively bursting with further questions about the latest news of Dee-senpai, and now it seemed both Ted and Drake had decided to make sure he wouldn't get to ask them.
"Drake-senpai," JJ said aloud, "don't you think we should tell Chief that we've narrowed down the area? The local police have to be informed. And that report isn't going to finish itself, you know."
"Yeah, in a moment." Drake glanced at JJ, then turned back to Ted. "Yes or no?"
"Hell no, if someone's going to win that bet it's m --" Ted started.
"Not the damn bet, Dee's housewarming party," Drake said, interrupting.
Ted shrugged. "I'll do my best. If I don't get killed by a paperwork monster, then it's a deal. Tell Dee I'll call him. Cheers!" He left, whistling.
JJ managed to remain quiet for the time it took to fold up the map Ted had brought and put it into the case file with all the photos. Then he took a deep breath and fixed his determined gaze on Drake.
"Senpai, how come you didn't tell me earlier?"
Drake seemed to have been deep in his thoughts. It took a moment before his eyes focused on JJ. "Huh?"
JJ wanted to smack him on the head with the file he was holding. "About Dee-senpai and Ryou-senpai moving in together! How come you didn't say anything? Did you think I'd get upset or something? I can't believe you'd keep something like that from your own par --"
"Hey, hey," Drake interrupted, scowling and raising his hands in defense, "that's not what - damn, JJ, I wouldn't --"
JJ pursed up his lips. "You would! That's why I'm asking."
Drake's gaze wandered along the walls and the floor. He looked annoyed; irritated, even. Yet his eyes had inexplicably turned sad. It was the sadness that JJ simply didn't want to see. He started to regret his outburst. Drake could look so lost and confused.
"Dee said you're invited, too," Drake suddenly blurted out, speaking to the trash can in the corner.
"Really?" JJ tried for a bright tone.
Drake sighed and gave JJ a vague glance. "Look, I did mean to tell you. I only heard about it last night myself."
"Oh, that's okay, then," JJ said quickly, trying to turn the atmosphere lighter. "Great, if it's Saturday, I think I'll be able to make it! But come on now, let's hurry up and finish the report to Chief."
Drake seemed to relax; his shoulders slumped down slightly and he gave JJ a weird half-smile as he sat down in his desk. "What's your hurry?"
"Oh, I thought I'd go to the gym. It's been ages since I've last been there." JJ stretched his arms. His joints ached. "I'm a complete wreck after all that sitting in the car on the last case."
JJ had always disliked stakeouts. It was downright unnatural to sit and do nothing for hours on end. JJ just wasn't suited for that. He had to go buy coffee all the time to keep himself occupied. More coffee naturally only made it worse, and Drake had wailed that he wasn't keeping watch with a partner but a Duracell bunny. Not that it had mattered with regard to the case because it had all turned out to be for nothing, anyway; it was the 25th Precinct guys who had been following the right lead. JJ was itching to get back to the action again, once the paperwork that always came with a new case was dealt with.
Drake kept his eyes on the paper he was quickly writing on. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"You should come with me. I'll bet you could use some workout, too." JJ smiled innocently. He knew Drake wouldn't be able to say no after he had teased him a little.
"No, I don't think so. I'm going to go home and turn in early. I could use a good night's sleep for a change." Drake finished his part of the paperwork and stood up. "All done? Then let's go."
JJ waited outside Chief's office while Drake handed their first report to Linda. Of course Drake took his time doing this; JJ could hear Linda giggling through the door. The damn redhead had to flirt with everybody, didn't she? Talk about giving false hopes. He wondered idly if Drake actually stood a chance winning the bet, but in the end convinced himself that it wasn't likely.
Finally Drake reappeared into the hallway.
"Ready?" JJ smiled brightly at him.
Drake made a face. "I told you, only for an hour or so. I really have to get some sleep."
JJ nodded, putting on his most innocent face. "Sure thing, partner."
***
The night air was nippy against their skin when they left the gym. The smell of old leaves filled the air and reminded JJ of fall. Was this supposed to be spring weather? At least it wasn't windy like the day before.
Then again, maybe that wasn't a good thing, either. With the air standing so still, the silence started to turn from companionable to uncomfortable.
JJ sighed under his breath. He wished Drake would start the conversation for once. JJ couldn't understand why, but he had a feeling that Drake was biting back something he wanted to say.
And he had a hunch of what it might be about. Of course; last Friday. He should never have bawled his heart out that way. It wasn't Drake's business, anyway, if JJ was so lousy at picking the ones he loved. What had he been thinking? Well, granted, beer had done some part of the talking for him, but that didn't explain it all. JJ had never needed to tell anyone just how much it gnawed at him to be in love with someone who didn't give a rat's ass. He had kept it all to himself - and perhaps that was why he had been able to deceive himself for so long.
"Didn't you drive?"
JJ's head snapped up. "What?"
Drake looked at him funny. "Why are you walking this way? I thought you drove to work."
JJ shrugged. "That's okay, I'll walk you to the metro station."
Hell if he'd let Drake leave before his partner had coughed up the furball he seemed to keep in his throat.
*Friday.* JJ bit his upper lip. *What am I supposed to say? Well, okay, so I kissed my partner. He was being so nice and his eyes went all sad and warm. I'd kiss Linda Bromley if her eyes ever looked like that. Okay, maybe not her...*
It was not the first kiss that worried him - and most likely Drake, too - but the second, and JJ knew it. He had told himself not to think about the second one, because, frankly, he had no idea what it had been all about.
JJ had taken Drake to a new restaurant that had just opened not far from the police station. It had seemed interesting, and didn't let him down on that account - every dish was named after a 50's hit song. The rock n' roll food hadn't been half bad, either. All through the dinner and their first few beers, JJ had talked. He hadn't been able to stop himself. He had told Drake about his time in the Police Academy, how he had bribed the person in charge to give him a locker next to Dee's in the gym; everything, really. Drake, in turn, had grumbled and mumbled a lot, but had among it also talked about Jill. He had mentioned some people called Stevie and Matt, but JJ couldn't quite remember who they were and what they had to do with the big picture. JJ was vaguely relieved that he didn't remember nearly all that had been said, and he doubted Drake did, either.
They had both been drunk. The night had been cold, just like tonight, when they had stumbled out of Sal's. JJ remembered feeling warm and satisfied from head to toe. His stomach had still been pleasantly full from the early dinner, and the buzz of alcohol had kept the nasty deep thoughts away for several hours. Drake had hailed a cab and, miraculously, one had stopped almost right after he had done so. They had been chuckling at some joke that had long since escaped JJ.
Drake had opened the cab door, then squeezed JJ's shoulder fondly, smiling. He had said something like "thanks", but what he had done next had permanently erased the exact words from JJ's mind. When JJ had opened his mouth to answer, Drake had closed it with a warm, firm kiss that had tasted like beer.
JJ had watched the cab take him away, and never in his life had he felt so strongly that he had been had.
"It's damn cold out here."
That was the second time Drake had broken the silence. JJ shook his head clear of recollections and decided to give direct approach a try. Maybe he could just quickly throw the cat on the table and hope it didn't scratch his eyes out.
"Yeah, isn't it? And last week was so warm. You'd think some universal clock started ticking backwards on last Friday and it started to turn back to winter again."
Drake didn't say anything. He buried his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket.
JJ wanted to kick something. He had tried. What was he to do if Drake refused to grab the easiest bait he could think of?
They reached the stairs leading down to the station and Drake stopped, his back to JJ. He seemed to take a deep breath before turning to look at him.
"Okay. What about last Friday? Just goddamn *say* it, JJ."
JJ tried to pack as much encouragement in his eyes as he could. "I thought maybe *you* wanted to say something."
Drake looked around, frowning. "Look, JJ - could we just forget about it? Whaddya say? Just drop this subject now, once and for all."
JJ looked at his loafers. "Sure, senpai. No problem."
"Right." Drake was still frowning. He waved at JJ absent-mindedly as he started descending the stairs. "See you tomorrow."
"Good night, senpai."
The headlights from a passing car blinded JJ for a moment, and when the lights passed, Drake had already disappeared.
*Tit for tat, I guess,* JJ thought as he started his walk back to the police station where his car was parked. The ends of his coat flapped against his thighs.
The wind was rising.
Late mornings were somewhat of a problem for JJ. He was a morning person, which meant that he couldn't sleep late if his life depended on it. However, he always felt he had to do at least *something* to set the late mornings apart from the early ones. In spite of that, most of the time he ended up doing nothing at all. He'd wander around his apartment in his underwear, watch morning television and eat breakfast, forgetting he had already eaten it once, before it was finally time to leave for work. Not that the thought of work filled him with glee, but it put an end to the endless waiting. JJ had never been particularly good at waiting.
This Tuesday he had tried to murder his time as efficiently as possible, but had ended up arriving at the station thirty minutes too early anyway. The station was quiet and sleepy; the people from the earlier shift were getting ready to go home, and others from JJ's shift hadn't yet arrived.
JJ stretched his arms for the umpteenth time and finally decided that since he was here, he might as well get started. He picked up the case file from Drake's desk and started reading through it carefully. He had done some thinking last night, but wanted to check what Ted and Marty had had to say before drawing any conclusions. He'd meant to ask Ted about the case, but somewhere along the extended lunch break yesterday he had forgotten all about it. Of course, he couldn't trust Drake to remember it. Drake was never even half awake on Mondays, and this week he seemed to be downright hibernating.
JJ flipped open the file and spread the photos of the victims on his desk as a sort of a background before diving into Ted's report.
The first murder had taken place six days ago. The victim was a student, a black man in his 20s who had a clean record and no connection to any known criminals or gangs. Yet, he had been killed by a gunshot to the head, execution style, which immediately brought gangs to mind. It didn't help solve the puzzle that he had been killed in a small park in Bronx, in a pretty good neighborhood, the most unassuming place in New York. The second victim, a homeless, elderly black woman, had been killed the same way a day later, only a few blocks away. Then, after two days, a Korean restaurant owner, a 53-year-old man, had become the third victim on the opposite side of the city, in southern Brooklyn. Try as he might, JJ just didn't see any pattern behind the murders. He quickly looked through the other two victims; a 15-year-old Spanish girl and a black man in his 30s.
*These people,* he thought, *would most likely never have even crossed each other's paths. The latest victim has a record for driving under the influence, but otherwise, they're all clean. So what would a gang want with them? No, it seems more like the work of some kind of a psycho, a lone killer. Considering that no one saw anything or even caught a whiff of the killer, he had to know the environment well and time his murders perfectly, since he committed most of them in public places. This is the work of someone who knows what they're doing.*
He turned the page, grimacing as he came to the nasty part. The killer had executed the victims by shooting them in the head, but he or she had not stopped there. And the handiwork was pretty hard to mistake for someone else's. That had led first the beat cops and now their detective squad to link the murders together, even though they otherwise looked random and unconnected.
JJ jumped a little when he heard the door being opened.
"Morning," Drake said. His gaze wandered from his desk to the file in JJ's hands. "Oh, so I did leave it here after all." He began to take off his jacket.
"Good morning, senpai," JJ said, then glanced at the clock on the wall and continued, "Well, it was morning a few hours ago. Did you read the whole case file?"
Drake sat down at his own desk. "Yeah. Why do we always get these loonies?"
JJ thought it silly to talk with Drake when he was on the opposite side of the room. He seemed miles away, even though the office was quite small. JJ blamed the desks; it was like they were shouting at each other over barricades or something. So he got up excitedly and crossed the distance between them, jumping to sit on Drake's desk.
"So you don't believe in Ted's idea of a gang either? I knew it!"
Drake jumped back a little. "Uh, no. Not really. Looks more like some kind of a specialist. What with the precise cuts and all."
JJ began to dangle his legs and turned his attention back to the file in his hands. "Hey, that's interesting. You know what, senpai? The killer must have gone to medical school. How else can you remove the spleen that quickly? Imagine the mess if you screwed it up!"
"I'd rather not," Drake said and made a face. "I'm going to go get coffee, do you want some?"
"Sure. With too much sugar," JJ said and grinned at their old joke.
Drake dug some coins from his pocket and left.
JJ looked after him. Well, Drake seemed to be pretty much back to his usual self now. Good. JJ was running out of ideas of how to cheer up his partner, who certainly didn't make things any easier by insisting that *JJ* was the one who needed tea and sympathy. Drake could be such a pain, really. Downright impossible. Which partly explained why JJ liked him so much.
Welp, no time to dwell on that, they had a case to solve. JJ picked up Drake's pen and started scribbling down the ideas he had got that morning.
When Drake returned with the coffee, JJ had already made a plan for the rest of the day.
"Senpai, we should probably start by going to talk with the Coroner to get a clear statement on what kind of a gun was used. Ted and Marty didn't seem to get that far yet. Oh yeah, and the other weapon, too, you know, what the killer used to cut out the spleen and mutilate the feet and dig out the teeth."
JJ glanced up from his notes to see if Drake was listening.
"And don't forget the slicing up of the earlobes," Drake said. "Thanks for listing all the gruesome details. But yeah, sounds fine to me. Didn't Ted write something about the weapon, though?"
"No, Ted-senpai just wrote that... uh, wait a sec..." JJ looked around for the case file, but Drake had already found it.
"'A sharp, accurate weapon, most likely a knife'," he read aloud. He laughed, which assured JJ once and for all that he really was back to normal. "Sharp and accurate weapon? Might be a friggin' pencil for all we know. Let's go and find out for sure."
***
The visit to the Coroner's didn't amount to much. They learned that Ted and Marty had been right so far; the wounds had been done with a surgical knife. The cuts were accurate and certain, almost impossibly expertly made, which hinted at someone who dissected people for a living.
JJ raised the cover and looked at the latest victim's feet to see for himself what the photos always seemed to leave so vague. JJ was a hands-on person; he needed to actually see the details before they became real to him. The feet had been slashed deep at the ankles. Clean cuts, right to the bone. A small chip of the shinbone had been cut out along with the flesh. The coroner helpfully told them that judging by the amount of blood on the victims' feet, this had been done while they were still alive.
That put JJ to thinking. He was no psychologist, but at the moment, he tried to do his best at it. Why couldn't he think of this killer as a good doctor gone bad? There was something he was missing, and that worried him.
Drake was trying to chat him up when they walked back to their car, but JJ didn't really pay attention to him - although he *did* remember to check out his partner's ass when he bent down to open the car door. Realizing this, JJ kicked himself for not concentrating hard enough. But it was too late; his train of thought had already vanished when he got into the car and slammed the car door shut.
Their lunch, which they ate a little past six PM, was cheap Chinese food from a nearby restaurant. JJ unwrapped his food hungrily and grabbed the wooden chopsticks.
"How come you always have to eat garlic chicken?" he complained. "It'll be days before the smell leaves the office."
Drake glanced at him over the newspaper he had spread open on his desk. He always borrowed the papers from the counter. Janet didn't seem to mind letting him have them after she was done reading them.
"I don't like any other Chinese food." Drake speared some chicken on his fork and put it in his mouth as he went back to reading the Sports pages. "If it's double garlic, it's edible. I don't complain about the weird shit you eat."
"Nobody's going to want to kiss you after all that garlic," JJ went on.
"It's not as if anyone wants to kiss me whether I eat it or not," Drake said to his newspaper.
JJ had to eat a few mouthfuls before replying. Funny how hungry a visit to the morgue could make you. "I'd kiss you." He was pleased with his nonchalant tone as he said it. If he handled it right, he could continue teasing Drake for as long as he liked, and he did like it.
"Oh, sure." Drake flashed him a very quick smile. "I feel all warm and fuzzy already."
"I said, I *would* kiss you if you weren't such a bastard." JJ took another bite of spring roll. "A bastard who eats smelly food," he added with his mouth full.
"JJ, shut up before I remove your spleen with a pencil."
JJ burst into laughter, which brought him near to choking as his mouth was still full of food, and he started to cough frantically. Drake looked at him and sighed as if to say it hadn't been *that* funny.
A knock on the door interrupted their intellectual moment. Ted opened the door immediately afterwards and came in. He had a file in his hand.
"Why, yes, I *would* like a fortune cookie," he said, grinning, and grabbed himself an empty chair from the corner. Apparently he had smelled the garlic all the way to his office. JJ would have said something to indicate it, but he was too busy trying to keep from dying a very embarrassing death.
"Are you having a Kill Your Partner Day, or what?" Ted asked.
*He could at least try to pat me on the back!* JJ thought, miffed.
Drake stood up, the familiar look of concern on his face. "Jesus. Are you all right, JJ?"
Ted looked around and opted for stealing JJ's fortune cookie. Unfortunately for him, JJ's quick reflexes were still intact even though he could hardly catch his breath. He slapped his hand down on the paper bag and tried to kill Ted with his ultimate Evil Glare. Nobody touched his fortune cookies.
Drake walked over to JJ and patted him helpfully on the back. JJ coughed weakly a couple of times, and nodded that he was okay. He wiped his watering eyes and regained his composure.
"Better?" Drake asked. He looked as if JJ had really come back from death's door, his eyes all big and sad. Oh, but JJ did like his eyes.
"Yep, I'm fine," JJ said, looking Drake straight in the eyes, mentally telling himself to eventually stop doing it. Noticing Drake was getting uncomfortable, he averted his gaze slightly and gave Drake the best smile he could manage.
*Now go back to your desk and finish that smelly stuff before the whole station is here for fortune cookies,* JJ thought, but hadn't the heart to say it out loud.
Ted, apparently giving up the cookie hunt, opened the file he had brought with him. "Well, if you're not gonna die just now, I wanted to show you this." He pulled out a folded map that said "New York City" on it. JJ quickly cleared his desk of all the trash and Ted spread the map on it so that they could all see.
"I know we're off the case, but you know, I gave it almost a week of my time. I just couldn't get it out of my head like that." Ted pointed at circles that were drawn on the map with blue Magic Marker. "I was doing some paperwork yesterday and then it just hit me. Look at the murder locations."
JJ quickly connected the circled place names to the victims. The old woman on the northern side of Bronx, near Van Cortlandt Park... where JJ often used to go jogging.
"Well, it looks like the murders have been committed in two main areas," Drake put in. He pointed at Bronx, where the first victim had been found, then at Brooklyn.
"On almost opposite sides of the city," JJ said, nodding.
"So it would seem. But look at this." Ted took a pen from his pocket and connected the circles indicating the murders in or around Brooklyn. The result was an almost perfectly vertical line. "The murderer didn't commit the murders in the chronological order, but if he had, he would've moved northwards, as if following a straight line. Now look at the others, in Bronx."
"Damn, they form a vertical line, too," Drake muttered.
Ted connected the circles. "See? Only this time, it's as if he moved southwards."
JJ tapped the map with his finger. "But Ted-senpai, the murderer didn't follow these lines. The first two murders were committed in Bronx, but the next murder was in Brooklyn. And the fourth was back in Bronx again. It doesn't seem like he was planning his route beforehand."
"This can't be a coincidence. You could draw a straight vertical line through all the places where the victims were found!" Ted said, and using his pen, demonstrated it to JJ and Drake.
Drake scratched his chin. "One thing. There haven't been any murders in northern Brooklyn or around Long Island City, although the line goes through the area."
"Of course!" JJ practically bounced up and down when he realized what Ted had meant. "That only means that the line is closing in! The next murders will be made around that area!"
"And then the murderer will have made a straight line to cut New York in two." Drake sighed. "I don't like to admit it, but that gang theory of yours is starting to sound plausible."
Ted grinned. "Hey, I don't just pull these ideas out of my ass, you know."
Drake seemed to remember his food and returned to his desk. He picked up the container and started hurriedly finishing the chicken. "Except that I can't imagine why a gang would want to separate the eastern New York from the western side. And why the mutilations? This is all in way too big a scale for a normal gang. And if it was a bigger gang, we would've most likely heard more about them."
JJ wasn't ready to give up on his single killer theory just yet. He agreed with Drake; it was all too complicated for simple, territorial gang murders. It was much more likely that there were just one or two people behind the murders. Still...
"Thank you, Ted-senpai," he said aloud. "We'll think about it."
Ted stood up and smiled. "Always happy to be of help. I just hope you'll solve it soon so that the damn case won't bother me anymore. But I've got to go now, I have a huge pile of paperwork waiting for me."
"Uh, wait up, Ted!" Drake quickly gulped down the last remains of the chicken and continued, "Dee asked me to tell you that he's having a housewarming party next weekend."
"A housewarming party?" JJ asked, momentarily forgetting all about the case. "Has Dee-senpai moved?"
Ted looked slightly taken aback. "Well, why hasn't he said anything before?"
Drake raised his brows meaningfully. "Dee's not moving anywhere. Ryou's moving in with him. So, will you be able to make it?"
JJ frowned, confused. He thought he was the office expert when it came to gossip about Dee. "What? I haven't heard anything about this! When did Ryou-senpai --"
"That's all I know. You're going to have to ask Dee and Ryou. I'm just an errand boy," Drake interrupted, and started to gather the trash from the takeaway lunch. JJ thought he rustled the wrapping papers more than was strictly necessary. Obviously further questions weren't wanted. JJ pouted and glared at Drake annoyedly.
Ted laughed. "I was wondering what Janet was talking about when she said her chances of dating Ryou are now officially gone! The office rumor mill amazes again." He shook his head. "Ah, what's a normal heterosexual guy to do around here? You're my only hope, Drake. If even Ryou can be converted --"
"If Dee was here, he'd say you're nowhere near as pretty as Ryou, so don't worry," Drake said with a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Why on earth would I want to be? As long as women find me irresistible, what do I care?" Ted retorted smugly.
"Then why haven't you yet won that bet on Linda? It's fifty bucks, Ted, and you're not going to see it."
JJ sighed overdramatically. The bet on who would first take out Chief's secretary Linda Bromley, the office beauty, had been going on for as long as he could remember. His annoyance grew when he realized Ted had given Drake the distraction he had wanted. JJ was positively bursting with further questions about the latest news of Dee-senpai, and now it seemed both Ted and Drake had decided to make sure he wouldn't get to ask them.
"Drake-senpai," JJ said aloud, "don't you think we should tell Chief that we've narrowed down the area? The local police have to be informed. And that report isn't going to finish itself, you know."
"Yeah, in a moment." Drake glanced at JJ, then turned back to Ted. "Yes or no?"
"Hell no, if someone's going to win that bet it's m --" Ted started.
"Not the damn bet, Dee's housewarming party," Drake said, interrupting.
Ted shrugged. "I'll do my best. If I don't get killed by a paperwork monster, then it's a deal. Tell Dee I'll call him. Cheers!" He left, whistling.
JJ managed to remain quiet for the time it took to fold up the map Ted had brought and put it into the case file with all the photos. Then he took a deep breath and fixed his determined gaze on Drake.
"Senpai, how come you didn't tell me earlier?"
Drake seemed to have been deep in his thoughts. It took a moment before his eyes focused on JJ. "Huh?"
JJ wanted to smack him on the head with the file he was holding. "About Dee-senpai and Ryou-senpai moving in together! How come you didn't say anything? Did you think I'd get upset or something? I can't believe you'd keep something like that from your own par --"
"Hey, hey," Drake interrupted, scowling and raising his hands in defense, "that's not what - damn, JJ, I wouldn't --"
JJ pursed up his lips. "You would! That's why I'm asking."
Drake's gaze wandered along the walls and the floor. He looked annoyed; irritated, even. Yet his eyes had inexplicably turned sad. It was the sadness that JJ simply didn't want to see. He started to regret his outburst. Drake could look so lost and confused.
"Dee said you're invited, too," Drake suddenly blurted out, speaking to the trash can in the corner.
"Really?" JJ tried for a bright tone.
Drake sighed and gave JJ a vague glance. "Look, I did mean to tell you. I only heard about it last night myself."
"Oh, that's okay, then," JJ said quickly, trying to turn the atmosphere lighter. "Great, if it's Saturday, I think I'll be able to make it! But come on now, let's hurry up and finish the report to Chief."
Drake seemed to relax; his shoulders slumped down slightly and he gave JJ a weird half-smile as he sat down in his desk. "What's your hurry?"
"Oh, I thought I'd go to the gym. It's been ages since I've last been there." JJ stretched his arms. His joints ached. "I'm a complete wreck after all that sitting in the car on the last case."
JJ had always disliked stakeouts. It was downright unnatural to sit and do nothing for hours on end. JJ just wasn't suited for that. He had to go buy coffee all the time to keep himself occupied. More coffee naturally only made it worse, and Drake had wailed that he wasn't keeping watch with a partner but a Duracell bunny. Not that it had mattered with regard to the case because it had all turned out to be for nothing, anyway; it was the 25th Precinct guys who had been following the right lead. JJ was itching to get back to the action again, once the paperwork that always came with a new case was dealt with.
Drake kept his eyes on the paper he was quickly writing on. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"You should come with me. I'll bet you could use some workout, too." JJ smiled innocently. He knew Drake wouldn't be able to say no after he had teased him a little.
"No, I don't think so. I'm going to go home and turn in early. I could use a good night's sleep for a change." Drake finished his part of the paperwork and stood up. "All done? Then let's go."
JJ waited outside Chief's office while Drake handed their first report to Linda. Of course Drake took his time doing this; JJ could hear Linda giggling through the door. The damn redhead had to flirt with everybody, didn't she? Talk about giving false hopes. He wondered idly if Drake actually stood a chance winning the bet, but in the end convinced himself that it wasn't likely.
Finally Drake reappeared into the hallway.
"Ready?" JJ smiled brightly at him.
Drake made a face. "I told you, only for an hour or so. I really have to get some sleep."
JJ nodded, putting on his most innocent face. "Sure thing, partner."
***
The night air was nippy against their skin when they left the gym. The smell of old leaves filled the air and reminded JJ of fall. Was this supposed to be spring weather? At least it wasn't windy like the day before.
Then again, maybe that wasn't a good thing, either. With the air standing so still, the silence started to turn from companionable to uncomfortable.
JJ sighed under his breath. He wished Drake would start the conversation for once. JJ couldn't understand why, but he had a feeling that Drake was biting back something he wanted to say.
And he had a hunch of what it might be about. Of course; last Friday. He should never have bawled his heart out that way. It wasn't Drake's business, anyway, if JJ was so lousy at picking the ones he loved. What had he been thinking? Well, granted, beer had done some part of the talking for him, but that didn't explain it all. JJ had never needed to tell anyone just how much it gnawed at him to be in love with someone who didn't give a rat's ass. He had kept it all to himself - and perhaps that was why he had been able to deceive himself for so long.
"Didn't you drive?"
JJ's head snapped up. "What?"
Drake looked at him funny. "Why are you walking this way? I thought you drove to work."
JJ shrugged. "That's okay, I'll walk you to the metro station."
Hell if he'd let Drake leave before his partner had coughed up the furball he seemed to keep in his throat.
*Friday.* JJ bit his upper lip. *What am I supposed to say? Well, okay, so I kissed my partner. He was being so nice and his eyes went all sad and warm. I'd kiss Linda Bromley if her eyes ever looked like that. Okay, maybe not her...*
It was not the first kiss that worried him - and most likely Drake, too - but the second, and JJ knew it. He had told himself not to think about the second one, because, frankly, he had no idea what it had been all about.
JJ had taken Drake to a new restaurant that had just opened not far from the police station. It had seemed interesting, and didn't let him down on that account - every dish was named after a 50's hit song. The rock n' roll food hadn't been half bad, either. All through the dinner and their first few beers, JJ had talked. He hadn't been able to stop himself. He had told Drake about his time in the Police Academy, how he had bribed the person in charge to give him a locker next to Dee's in the gym; everything, really. Drake, in turn, had grumbled and mumbled a lot, but had among it also talked about Jill. He had mentioned some people called Stevie and Matt, but JJ couldn't quite remember who they were and what they had to do with the big picture. JJ was vaguely relieved that he didn't remember nearly all that had been said, and he doubted Drake did, either.
They had both been drunk. The night had been cold, just like tonight, when they had stumbled out of Sal's. JJ remembered feeling warm and satisfied from head to toe. His stomach had still been pleasantly full from the early dinner, and the buzz of alcohol had kept the nasty deep thoughts away for several hours. Drake had hailed a cab and, miraculously, one had stopped almost right after he had done so. They had been chuckling at some joke that had long since escaped JJ.
Drake had opened the cab door, then squeezed JJ's shoulder fondly, smiling. He had said something like "thanks", but what he had done next had permanently erased the exact words from JJ's mind. When JJ had opened his mouth to answer, Drake had closed it with a warm, firm kiss that had tasted like beer.
JJ had watched the cab take him away, and never in his life had he felt so strongly that he had been had.
"It's damn cold out here."
That was the second time Drake had broken the silence. JJ shook his head clear of recollections and decided to give direct approach a try. Maybe he could just quickly throw the cat on the table and hope it didn't scratch his eyes out.
"Yeah, isn't it? And last week was so warm. You'd think some universal clock started ticking backwards on last Friday and it started to turn back to winter again."
Drake didn't say anything. He buried his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket.
JJ wanted to kick something. He had tried. What was he to do if Drake refused to grab the easiest bait he could think of?
They reached the stairs leading down to the station and Drake stopped, his back to JJ. He seemed to take a deep breath before turning to look at him.
"Okay. What about last Friday? Just goddamn *say* it, JJ."
JJ tried to pack as much encouragement in his eyes as he could. "I thought maybe *you* wanted to say something."
Drake looked around, frowning. "Look, JJ - could we just forget about it? Whaddya say? Just drop this subject now, once and for all."
JJ looked at his loafers. "Sure, senpai. No problem."
"Right." Drake was still frowning. He waved at JJ absent-mindedly as he started descending the stairs. "See you tomorrow."
"Good night, senpai."
The headlights from a passing car blinded JJ for a moment, and when the lights passed, Drake had already disappeared.
*Tit for tat, I guess,* JJ thought as he started his walk back to the police station where his car was parked. The ends of his coat flapped against his thighs.
The wind was rising.