Chapter 2

The petite brunette manning the register called out "Quad grande hazelnut latte" as she saw Luke push through the doors of Java Joe’s. "Hey Luke! Good to see you. Dan’s got your drink going."

"Thanks Joe," said Luke. “I’m going to need the extra buzz this morning.” The Joe of Java Joe's was no longer Big Joe Davis, the ex-cop who opened the coffee shop years ago. His daughter, “Little Joe” as everyone had called her when she first started working in high school, was now running the place. Now that big Joe retired to Arizona with his wife to be a snowbird, she was just Joe.

Luke waited for his latte in the corner of the coffee shop. The new barista, Dan, was chatting with two blonde teens and ignoring his drink. Luke fixed Dan with a glare and the new kid finally noticed the forgotten drink cup and fumbled to make it.

Like any good cop, Luke kept his back to the wall and took note of the other occupants of the comfortable coffee house. Usually this place was packed during the week, between the cops from the station house next door and the courthouse around the corner. A couple of cops in uniform sat in one corner taking a break. A few families and tourists occupied a few other tables, probably on the way to the Seattle Center just a few blocks down.

Looking at his watch and swearing, Luke exited Java Joe’s, almost running into a pink haired punk. Luke made his way next door to the West Precinct building, took one swig of his coffee and choked. Peppermint? The dumbass had been too busy flirting to make his drink right. Luke forced himself to take another drink, for the caffeine and sugar if nothing else.

Three horrific murders in three weeks meant everyone was working around the clock. After just a few hours sleep he was working at 7 damn o clock on a Saturday morning, and his coffee sucked. His mood nosedived as Luke tossed the offending drink in the trash and descended the stairs into the lab. “Hey, Turner where’s my weapon analysis?”

The tall, lanky lab tech looked up from the computer screen, “Maggie’s got it.” Ned Turner was Maggie’s right hand geek man extraordinaire from his Green Lantern t-shirt to the convoluted gadgets he worked with.

“She is in her office, sunshine,” said Tessa, the secretary who had been working here as long as anyone could remember. The sprinkle of silver in her hair gave away the aging that was gracing the black woman well.

“Hey beautiful,” said Luke, blowing her a kiss. “Please tell me you baked again. Those oatmeal cookies last week were amazing.”

Turner’s teasing voice carried across the lab, “Tessa, I think he likes you.”

Her arthritic fingers curled around a pen, she looked up and chuckled softly. “What? No! Luke’s default setting is flirt uncontrollably.”

He winked when he caught her eye.

She shook her head at him. “That’s not going to get you anywhere. I have been working so much I don’t remember what my kitchen looks like. Catch this guy so we can all go back home and I’ll make you a blueberry pie.”

“Now that’s an incentive,” smiled Luke.

Luke looked up to see the new lab intern approaching, his overgrown silky blonde hair falling into his eyes.

“Detective, I have the autopsy report for you,” he said breathlessly, running up to him. The wiry young man fidgeted nervously as Luke looked through the paperwork.

“Thanks, kid,” said Luke, distractedly.

“Seth, my name is Seth,” the young man’s brow furrowed but he followed as Luke walked away. “So what do you think of his work? They’re calling him ‘The Stripper Ripper’ in the news you know. They say he is killing women just like Jack the Ripper.”

Luke looked up to see Seth still staring at him, pale blue eyes unblinking. Anyone who majored in death was screwed up, Luke himself knew that, but Seth seemed to enjoy it a little much. Maybe he should tell Maggie to send Seth out on a few murders so he can be exposed to some of the realities of death. That might wear off some of the novelty.

“What do you think he is doing with the parts he collects?” asked Seth with macabre fascination, wringing his hands excitedly.

Luke shook his head in disgust. “I am not sure but I can think of a few things I’d like to cut out of him.” He walked away, leaving Seth with an odd look on his face.

Luke heard the music before he entered Maggie’s office. The door was partially ajar, “Knock-knock,” said Luke but Maggie didn’t hear him over the music.

Crime scene photos lay scattered on Maggie’s desk and her lab coat tossed onto a side chair. Maggie was leaning over a counter examining slides under a microscope, her foot tapping to the beat giving her ass a suggestive movement that made his groin tighten.

Luke scanned Maggie’s body automatically. He had never seen her without that oversized, ever present lab coat and now he wished he could be the slacks hugging her trim body. “I think I need that song on my playlist,” said Luke.

Maggie jumped. “You scared the crap out of me!”

Luke smiled, eyeing her breasts showcased in the red sweater that covered everything, yet clung to her curves in a way that made a man take notice.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she demanded “Quit undressing me with your eyes,” said Maggie.

“OK I’m done,” said Luke, raising his hands up in surrender.

She raised an eyebrow. “No, you're not.” She reached for her lab coat but Luke dove for it and tucked it behind his back.

“You put the idea in my head,” replied Luke.

“I was just enjoying the music. It wasn't an invitation,” said Maggie.

“With a body like that, it'd be an insult not too. That's like going to a restaurant and not ordering anything. I don’t know why you hide it under this tent.”

Maggie glowered.

Luke looked away. “Ok. Now I'm really done.” He reluctantly returned the coat which she donned like a shield, buttoning every button carefully.

“Now I am sure you came here for something more important than ogling me,” said Maggie. “It is not like I don’t have other, nicer detectives needing work done too.”

Nick sat in the chair near the desk. “Did you get an answer on the weapon?” he asked, fiddling with a nativity scene themed snow globe.

Maggie slapped his hand and replaced the snow globe back on the desk next to a photo of what must be her parents. “Yeah it looks like your psycho probably used a carpet knife,” she said, holding one up. “It is amazingly sharp but has this curve to it. It explains why there was a discrepancy in the wounds. Another knife would have left straighter wounds.”

Luke pondered this development, playing with the snow globe again. “He’s doing this all while they are still alive, the bastard.”

Maggie took the snow globe from his hands and put it on the cabinet behind her desk. "Stop touching!”

“Sorry, I like to keep my hands busy and the globe made me think of other things,” his voice drifted off suggestively.

“If you touch anything in my office again, I will chop off your hands with a meat cleaver,” said Maggie, pointing the carpet knife at him. “Do you want the rest of the information or should I kick you out now, cowboy?”

Nick sighed, opening up the autopsy report Seth had given him. He knew it would be gruesome. “He took a heart and lungs with the first one, liver and kidneys with the second, and stomach and uterus with this one. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“No rape, though.”

“Probably impotent. Guys like that can’t perform.” Luke scanned the report to confirm his suspicions. “She was gutted while she was alive like the other victims. Fuck.” Luke’s phone sounded. He looked at the text. “I gotta go.”

“Anything for us?”

“No, looks like our undercover operation is a go. I will let you know if anything develops.” Luke started to leave but hesitated at the door. “What is up with that new intern? Maybe you need to send him out in the field a bit- take the shine off death.”

“Take it easy on Seth. His mom died right before he started last month, and from what I hear, they were close.”

Luke nodded.

“I am still waiting on the profile from my friend at the FBI but he warned that with the rush we probably aren’t going to get much of a reading from it,” said Maggie.

“Crap. I should have known from the way my coffee tasted like buffalo piss that this was going to be a shitty day,” said Luke as he left.