Thread: Monster [ Burke x Arianna  ]

For a Tuesday afternoon, the press office of The Bay City Times was unusually busy. There seemed to be no shortage of misery and mayhem to report a veritable boon to a business that thrived on exploiting human tragedy until every last ounce of it lay naked in depersonalized black and white for public consumption. Alexandra Stafford leaned in the doorway with her arms crossed, and watched with mild amusement as young interns, some with laughable ambitions, practically fell over themselves trying to be the first to do the bidding of some senior reporter. She remembered her own climb up the press ladder, which had been a vicious battle each step of the way in a business where you are only as good as your next story, but through tenacity and sheer force of will, Lexi never doubted shed succeed. Now, as the papers top investigative reporter, she refused to let her grasp of power slip even one inch. Chief Editor, David Gibbons glanced up from his desk, and saw her standing there. At sixty-two, his white hair was cut military style, and though he was considered short for a man, five foot six inches at most, he was built like the proverbial brick house. Still, people liked him because he had an easygoing countenance and his dark brown eyes never failed to relay his good sense of humour. David smirked now, certain he knew exactly what Alexandra was thinking. He met her five years ago when she was a junior reporter for the legal news department who spent her days sifting through the hundreds of mundane court cases trying to find something newsworthy. It was not the kind of assignment that typically led to glorious advancement, but somehow the woman had managed to not only turn out a decent story every day or two, but exposed a scandalous affair and corruption between a top judge and fledgling prosecutor, leading to both being arrested and charged with evidence tampering and obstruction. Of course, her promotion soon followed, but curiously, nobody looking at the thirty year old with unusual red hair and hazel eyes would ever guess at the core of steely resolve that lay underneath. Dressed simply in tight boot cut blue jeans, a white cotton tank top, black leather stiletto boots and short black leather jacket, she looked more like a young college student, but if someone could get close enough, they would get a hint of the strength and ambition that was the true Lexi. The sticking point was if, since the career obsessed woman seldom let anyone get too close. In a rare moment of candor over drinks one night, she told him that in her line of work, relationships of any kind were an unnecessary distraction at best and a dangerous liability at worst. Over the years, she had witnessed the brutal, ugly side of human nature too many times to believe in people, and as a result, she could count those she considered true friends on one hand. Thankfully, she considered him one of them, and as such, they made a good team. Perhaps because he was more than twice her age, he was actually proud of her, almost as though she was the daughter he never had. Noticing David staring at her, Lexi smiled then felt her cell phone vibrating in her jacket pocket. She quickly grabbed it and turned away from the room, walking into the hallway to answer it. The male voice on the other end was instantly recognizable. If Detective Groot was calling her with a lead, it was bound to be a good one and she said, Ill be there in ten minutes. Snapping the phone shut, she ran outside into the oppressive wall of humidity, instantly regretting the leather jacket. Once in her black BMW 325i, she cranked up the air conditioning and took off for 1824 Riverside Terrace. On the way over, she was brimming with excitement. Though she had seen the detective many times at social functions, she never thought he was the sort who liked journalists much, let alone drop a story in ones lap. However, she wasnt the type to question where a lead came from. All that mattered was the story. Pulling up in front of the house, the entire property was surrounded by yellow caution tape and judging by the suits that the forensic team were wearing it was definitely a murder, and a messy one at that. Adrenaline rushed through her system and she saw the burly Det. Groot standing by the curb, looking decidedly sweaty and uncomfortable, and more than a little impatient. Getting out of the car, she took off her sunglasses and walked over, while he stared at her with that typical calculating gaze of a jaded police officer who believed he had seen it all, except this time, she saw something else in his eyes that told her he was shaken. I got here as quickly as I could, what have you got? She nodded towards the house. He regarded her silently for a few seconds almost as if trying to reassure himself he hadnt made a mistake calling her, but said, Murder. Follow me and Ill show you why I called you. He turned towards the hedgerow, and Lexi followed close behind, observing that despite the callous jokes that often accompanied such scenes floating in the air, the face of every person they passed, held a hint of shock and horror. Curious now and steeling herself for what she was about to see, she let the detective lead her through a side door in to the living room where the acrid, copper scent of death and blood enveloped her like a shroud, so powerful she unconsciously put her finger to her nose and began breathing through her mouth. Detective Groot stood still allowing her to walk inside, where she noted it looked like a typical living room, except of course for the unbelievably large pool of crimson spread out on the floor around the couch. Nothing seemed out of place. Turning to Groot she asked, Was anything taken? Nothing, it was not a robbery. He was about to say more when one of the white suited CSIs beckoned him through the window. Excuse me Miss Stafford, Ill be right back. Dont touch anything. He warned with a glare. Nodding she said, Of course, I know the drill. Thrilled to have the chance to look around by herself, if only for a moment, she quickly scanned the scene for anything the CSIs might have missed and zeroed in on the black mark on the windowsill. Moving closer, she bent down and gently lifted the blinds to reveal a cigarette butt. Heart pounding, she quickly snatched up and shoved it into her pocket, before turning around just as Det. Groot returned. Sorry about that, had to sign off on some reports. Now, arent you curious about the body? Lexi coughed. Well, yes but I didnt think it would still be here. Where is it? She asked curiously. Groot grabbed her arm and led her to the couch, carefully avoiding the blood pool, and pointed behind it. Shes there, or whats left of her. Youll have to peer over to see it. He watched carefully to gauge her reaction. The moment she leaned over, bile rose in her throat and she had to swallow hard against her gag reflex. The bloody mess of flesh lying there didnt look like it remotely belonged to a human being, and it certainly didnt seem to be big enough for a whole person. Lexi quickly moved away, and with a strained voice said, Ive never seen anything like that, what the hell happened to her? Before answering, Groot led her back to the centre of the room, and she noticed the doorway leading to the kitchen, but more specifically, the broken blood stained window. What about the window? Is that how the killer left the house? She asked absently. The gruesome image behind the couch still burned in her mind and it was difficult to focus. There were so many questions, but the one she most wanted to know now was why he called her. What did he possibly think she could do in a case like this? Of course, she wouldnt actually ask him that, after all, this had front page written all over it, with months of investigative follow up afterwards. No, shed have to play it cool and wheedle the details out of him slowly. Perhaps it was her intuition or simply her experience, either way, she had a feeling there was a lot more going on here than she first thought. Trying not to look impatient, she stared at Groot and waited for him to answer. If she were lucky and she played her cards right, maybe he would show her the entire crime scene, and share what evidence they had uncovered so far. With that in mind, she leaned towards him, her eyes brimming with intensity, and whispered. You dont have to worry Detective Groot, whatever you show me will be strictly off the record until we decide to go public, and even then I promise Ill never reveal my source. Just so were clear on that.