Thread: Monster [ Burke x Arianna  ]

The suspicious glances cast her way by the remaining forensic team were not lost on Lexi, but she couldnt blame them really. How often did a journalist get a personal tour of a fresh crime scene by the lead detective? However, she really didnt give a rat's ass about their opinions there wasnt room for that kind of sentiment when pursuing a story. So she squared her shoulders and stayed close to Groot, confident that nobody would challenge his authority. As he led her through the kitchen, the painstaking effort the CSIs had taken to uncover and catalogue every detail no matter how seemingly insignificant, was obvious. Careful to step only where Groot did, she followed him outside to the backyard gate, where he hesitated to make sure she was ready, which spoke volumes. Whatever he was about to show her promised to be even worse than the horror behind the couch, and Lexi shuddered inwardly. Yes Im sure. I need to see everything. She said in earnest, hiding her trepidation behind a mask of calm. There was no going back now, and when they walked through the gate, a spacious and meticulous backyard sprawled before them, like a sparkling oasis amidst the rather mundane suburban surroundings. She immediately observed the childrens toys left carelessly on the ground and asked, What about the children, is there a husband? Did they... Her words stopped abruptly the moment her gaze fell on the shredded torso dumped so forcefully in the sandbox the tiny grains of sand glittering where they stuck to the gore, blood and bone protruding from it, as if highlighting the spectacular way in which this woman died. She was slashed and ravaged so horrifically that Lexi felt a tidal wave of nausea and began gagging, turning away and covering her mouth, worried she wouldnt be able to stop the overwhelming need to throw up. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenched her fists and took several deep breaths until it subsided, and then turned back to the scene, her breathing shallow. She cast a sideways glance at Groot to see that even though this wasnt the first time viewing it, he was nonetheless just as affected by it as she was, but his next words stunned her. He wasnt here to give her a story he wanted an opinion...an objective take on what could possibly account for a woman being literally ripped in half. Gathering her wits, Lexi slammed the door on her emotions and crouched down, trying to focus on the details while avoiding the mask of terror frozen on the dead womans face. An animal did this. It was the first thought that jumped to mind, followed by the sickening realization she had seen this before. Eight years ago, she was tagging along with Margaret Hicks, one of the top investigative reporters at the time, a tough as nails forty year old whod clawed her way to the top by cultivating some of the best snitches and sources in the business. It was from her that Lexi learned the most important resource to a journalist were the people on the street the homeless, drug addicted, and destitute, cast aside by society like so much unwanted trash. They saw it all, whether they wanted to or not and often proved invaluable, though the trick was weeding through the crazy ones to find the rare few with intelligence and strength who were willing to give up their precious little nuggets of information for a price. It was during an investigation north of the city into a series of fatal and bizarre dog attacks, at least that what the politicians insisted they were. One of Margaret's sources led to the two of them to sneaking into the morgue to view the bodies first hand. Margaret had been highly suspicious of the lack of details from the coroner, and after the tip, decided to take matters into her own hands. Her exact words were, Lexi, rule number one... never take anything the bureaucrats say at face value. Every one of those bastards would sell their mother to save their own ass. Im telling you, something about this reeks of a cover-up, and the odour is coming straight from the Governors office. You mark my words sweetheart, were gonna find out the truth and then blow this story wide open. The best part about being a journalist is sitting back and watching the shit hit the fan, while you get all the credit. Margaret grinned and then slapped Lexis shoulder. Ill make a star out of you yet girl, now lets go! It had been remarkably easy to sneak into the morgue once they donned the requisite green scrubs and white coat, and luck was on their side because it was empty, though the fact it was after midnight probably helped on that score. Once they were in, Margaret amazed Lexi by knowing exactly where to go and which body lockers to open, but when she saw the condition of the first victim, it took Lexi less than two seconds to rush to the nearest garbage can and vomit violently. Then the older woman exclaimed Sweet Jesus, before letting out a low whistle, and when Lexi recovered enough, she watched from a distance as Margaret examined the hacked up body lying on the cold metal slab. Suddenly, Margaret turned white a sheet and whispered, There isnt a dog alive that could do this. Her eyes grew wide with fear and recognition. Were in deep shit Lexi, and we gotta get outta here...now! The urgency in her voice was terrifying because if something had Margaret spooked, it had to be bad, and Lexi was dying to know what it was. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to find out. When they left the hospital, Margaret was visibly shaken, mumbled something about finding them, and then disappeared into the night. There was no word until two days later when Lexi received a cryptic message from her warning to let the story go, and not to worry, that she was fine, but that no one would be seeing her for a while. In truth, nobody ever heard from Margaret Hicks again and though Lexi tried to find out what happened and where she was, there were no clues and none of Margarets contacts would even acknowledge her. The toughest and smartest reporter Lexi ever knew had literally vanished without a trace and taken whatever information she had with her. Curiously, the attacks stopped at exactly the same time, and though Lexi always wondered at the strange coincidence, every lead turned up dry and shed had no choice but to let it go. Now, as she looked down on the torso in the sandbox, she knew in her gut whatever had done this was also responsible for the attacks years ago, and it promised to be the biggest story of her life. An impatient cough from behind reminded her that Groot was waiting for some kind of answer, and it was clear she had to tell him something or he was likely to pull her off the site. Calculating her options, she quickly came up with a game plan and said, I think its safe to say that the way shes torn open resembles a vicious animal attack, wouldnt you agree? I mean look at the jagged edges on the gashes, and scrapes on the bone, as though something gnawed through it. I couldn't have been any kind of weapon, because the wounds would be somewhat uniform, and besides, no weapon I know of could account for bone splinters or explain how she was torn in two. She stood up slowly and turned to face him, glad to put the gore behind her, and pretended as though something just dawned on her. You know...eight years ago there were a series of supposed dog attacks resulting in the deaths of about a half a dozen people, do you remember that? Anyway, if I recall, they never solved the case, so perhaps it would be worth checking into. Im sure youll have no problem getting the evidence files through police channels. Of course, that wouldnt explain how the torso ended up thrown out of a window, so she added, Admittedly, she gestured to the body, I find it hard to believe a dog could have done this, but what about an exotic pet? A tiger, wolf, or something along those lines could definitely have done this. She lied. Lexi didnt know what it could be, but a mere wild animal would never have scared Margaret, and the woman had been plainly terrified. No it had to be something else...but what? Keeping her expression neutral, she said, I have some contacts that may be able to give me a list of all the illegal animal dealers in the city and Ill be happy to do that for you. If were lucky, I might even be able to get you the names of one of the smugglers, or even some clients. After I check them out first of course. You may also want to interview this womans friends and acquaintances with that in mind, in case one of them has a predilection for dangerous pets. Then she remembered the strange cigarette butt in her pocket, and felt a fleeting twinge of guilt at keeping that prized piece of evidence from Groot, but it quickly passed. There was something unusual about it, and she was now impatient to examine it more closely. There were also Margarets journals that David Gibbons allowed her to keep, and though shed poured over them for weeks after the disappearance and hadnt looked at them in years, it was clearly time to give them another read through. Perhaps there was some small detail, a name, a date, a place, that shed overlooked back then that might make sense now. Deciding it was time to ice the cake and give Groot the out she knew he needed, Lexi turned thoughtful and said, Come to think of it, there were questions surrounding the entire investigation back then. Some people even went so far as to suggest the Coroner at the time was in cahoots with the local sheriff to cover up shoddy evidence gathering. She lied again, convinced that the promise of blaming another police department would keep him busy for a while. Without missing a beat, she almost smiled when she added the last dollop of sweetness to make her theory irresistible. Clearly, she nodded to the victim, if your case can be linked to those ones, then the Sheriff's office didnt do a bang up job of it did they? In light of what just happened, I imagine the Mayor would be grateful if someone looked in that. She said meaningfully. Hoping she'd been able to strike the perfect balance between telling him just enough truth to set him on a legitimate path, and ensuring she had a good head start on said path, she checked her watch and said, Is there anything else I should see before I go detective? If not, then the sooner I get back to the Times, the sooner I can get you that list. The worst case scenario would be if Groot solved the mystery before she did, in which case, he was still almost certain to reward her for the tip by giving her exclusivity a decent consolation prize. Of course, she had no intention of letting him beat her to it.