Second Chances Ch. 01

“Det. Ross, this is Rory Baldacci.”

“Nice to meet you.” He said in his most suave voice, holding out his hand to shake hers. He had to fight the urge to kiss her hand, wanting nothing more than to make her swoon the way he had with women back in California.

Rory rolled her eyes and shook his hand, shaking her head slightly as she turned back to look over the scene.

“What’s wrong with this scene?” She asked her new partner, not missing a beat as McCartney turned to yell at the young cop from the hallway as he walked through the puddle of blood, tracking footprints everywhere.

Daniel was taken back by the slight southern accent in her voice. Something about her appearance had her pegged as a city girl, born and bred.

“Umm…The victim isn’t hanging from the rope?” He said, being a wise guy, but at the same time, not sure what to tell this girl.

“Funny.” Rory said, glaring at him. “The window’s open, smart guy.”

“What’s unusual about that?” Daniel asked, looking over at the window. “People open their windows all the time in LA.”

“Winter in New York. You don’t keep your window open, that’s for damn sure. Looking out the window, you would see the fire escape within reach. The person who did this wasn’t seen because he didn’t walk out the front door, just like the first case.”

“You mean to tell me there’s a serial killer on the loose?”

“Welcome to New York, Det. Ross.” Rory said, sarcastically as she started writing on the pad of paper again.

Daniel couldn’t help but notice the odd way she clutched the pad in her left hand, the tightness of her fingers left wrinkled marks on the page. Her handwriting was hard to decipher, almost childlike in its crooked letters like she had never used her right hand to write before.

She didn’t wear any jewelry on her arms or fingers, although her hands were beautiful to say the least. Long, graceful fingers that were tipped in elegant French tips. Daniel couldn’t help but think that he had the pick of the litter standing right here in front of him.

“Mind if I looked over your notes?”

“Knock yourself out.” Rory answered, holding out the notebook to him. “Hey doc,” She shouted across the room to the medical examiner, not missing a beat. “How much longer?”

“Just have to bag and tag her.” He muttered as a stretcher was brought through the door with a body bag spread over the metal surface.

“Thinks he has a sense of humor.” Rory whispered to Daniel, a small almost smile showing on her full lips. Daniel laughed softly, squinting to try and make sense of the writing before him. “Well, no sense in waiting around here. Just have to wait for the photos to come back from the lab and we can start piecing together a suspect.”

“I thought you said that you had another case like this.”

“We do, but it’s kind of hard to pin specifics to one person off one case. You have a lot to learn about big city crimes, Ross.” She said with a laugh as she grabbed the notebook out of his hands and started out of the apartment.

Daniel was in awe of this woman, so fiery and bold. If anyone were in doubt of how strong she was, all they had to do was watch the way she walked. Head held high, shoulders squared with her hips swaying with grace. It was that left hand that caught Daniel’s attention again: curled tightly into a fist although she wasn’t carrying anything in it. Something he would have to ask her about later he decided as he hurried out of the room behind her.

“Hey. I’m going to need a ride back to the precinct. Had to take a taxi to get here.” He shouted to her as he rushed to follow her down the fire escape, some of the other cops snickering at him as he followed her like a puppy.

Rory stopped somewhere between the fourth and third floor, a few officers grumbling as they sidestepped her on their way to the ground. She turned to face him, her brown eyes blazing as she stared at him. “I’m not a taxi service.”

“I didn’t say that.” Daniel said quickly, disturbed by her standoffishness. “Jesus, why are you so defensive?”

Rory sighed, running her left hand absently over her hair. Again, it as still clenched tightly, never straightening her fingers. “I’m sorry. Just haven’t worked with a partner in over a year.”

“So, how about that ride, partner?” He asked, his light green eyes wide and pouty as Rory shook her head and turned from him with a sigh. “I take that as a yes.”

“Once. Just this once.” She said over her shoulder.

Daniel just laughed as they started back down the fire escape. Rory nodded to the first officer who Daniel had seen, pushing through the throng of people who had gathered at the first sign of flashing lights.

Struggling to keep up with her brisk pace, Daniel felt winded by the time they reached her small black Mini Cooper at the end of the block. Rory quickly opened her door and sat in the car, waiting for the heater to defrost the windshield.

He stood outside, looking back down the street, wondering again just why he left LA and how long it would take to get back there if he caught the next flight out.

“You coming?” Rory shouted from the inside of the car and Daniel quickly got in, looking over his partner once more as she pulled out into the street, heading off through the snow towards the precinct. This was going to be a very interesting job.

*******

Chapter 2 coming soon: Rory and Daniel get to know each other as the mysterious man strikes again.