CHAPTER 3

The minute I entered the station house, Mack greeted me with a large mocha with hazelnut flavoring.  “There had better be an extra shot of espresso in here!”  I grumbled as I brought the cup up to my lips and inhaling deeply.  A slow smile spread on my face as I relished in the scent.  It was good to have a friend that knew exactly what I liked, I thought to myself as I took my first sip.

“Are you seriously asking me?”  Mack demanded, playfully.

“I think that I have trained you well.”  I grinned from ear to ear as he rolled his eyes at me.  I was very thankful and glad that we remained friends for all these years.  I was taken back to the day a life changing event left me scarred for the rest of my life.  My dad was frantically pacing around the kitchen, when Mack and I arrived at my house so many years ago.  The ringing of the phones in the station brought me out of my memories.

“Anything you want to get off your chest?” 

I noticed that Mack had been staring at me and he could tell something was wrong.  I was so blessed to have him be there for me, I could always count on Mack having my back.  I smiled at him.  “Oh nothing, I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.  My dreams have been getting weirder and more vivid lately.  I don’t think its anything to really worry about.”  I laid my hand on his arm trying to reassure him.

My back was turned toward the main entrance so I couldn’t see the seething look on our boss’s face.  Mack quickly ducked behind his desk and left me to face our boss’s wrath alone.  “Heads up, the chief is making a bee line towards you!”

I prepared myself as I turned to face our boss.  He was a well-built, middle-aged man.  He stood about six feet and had a wrestler’s build.  He has sandy blonde hair and blue grey eyes that usually turned dark when he was angry.  From the looks of him he was furious, so his eyes were even darker.  He was freshly transferred from Vermont eight weeks ago, so we all were still getting used to each other.  I plastered a smile on my face as he came to where I was standing.  “Staff meeting in Conference Room A in five minutes!  Bring everything you have on this latest victim.”

I blew out a breath as he walked by.  He was definitely a force to reckon with.  “We better get all our information together, what little we have and bring the rest of the team up to speed.  Chief Lewis looks irate today!”

Mack and I had only seen Chief Lewis this angry once and that was more than enough.  It’s going to be a very, very long day! I thought to myself.  “Maybe we should have brought in more coffee!”  I groaned and Mack and I headed to the Conference room.

The entire time I was in the meeting I could not shake this feeling of anxiety building within me.  I just clutched my coffee and tried to ignore my feelings, or the shivers running up and down my spine.