Living In Entropy (Chaos) – L.I.E. – 02.10 – Sold My Soul

            “JO!” Pez yelled and Jo Wheaton turned, seeing Alex jogging towards her, Jo had all the equipment they would need lined up and she looked at Pez. Jo‘s blue eyes sweeping her just as she’d sweep a crime scene taking in every detail in a quick moment of time.

            She looked dead tired and Jo figured that she too, hadn’t gotten any sleep. The frazzled look was gone from her eyes replaced with a vigor. Jo was sure it was to find this killer to put an end to the madness that was drilling into all of them.

            “Didn’t get any sleep either huh? Did Shane take good care of you?” Jo said with a hint of suggestiveness. Pez grimaced, why did everyone think that all dykes were after was a good fuck? Because Jo had pegged Shane for what she was, a player. Alex gave her hat a good tug, pushing it down and hiding her eyes a bit as she muttered.

            “No….. She didn’t.” Was all that Pez offered and Jo handed her one of the suitcases. Pez looked down, wondering what was going on. Why was Jo giving her the CS case, she was crime scene, she knew that. But they ran scenes different here in LA they had whole teams of forensic officers to canvas a scene. At the moment there was just she and Jo hauling cases.

            “We are the lead on this one, I waited for you. Two heads might be better than one.” Jo offered, motioning for Pez to follow her into the small quaint house located just two streets over from Shane‘s place.

            “Wait, it’s a virgin scene? We are first team? Me and you? That’s it?” Jo rolled her eyes, pushing the door open slowly. Why did that stun anyone, to be just one person, alone in a room, getting into a killers head before 10 other people went in there, and tainted it. Big city thinking, Jo liked pulling things down to a personal level.

            The cleaning lady had found the woman and a day early it seems. The woman had come on Saturday instead of Monday, a detour from her routine. Something that the killer might not have planned on or she was getting sloppy. Jo was hoping for the latter, sloppy killers are caught killers.

            Jo pushed a button on a small black recorder handing from her belt, she put the stalk mike on and said into the mike. She liked to talk a loud sometimes she blurted things out, and that would lead to something. She could at least hope that it would lead to somewhere this time.

            “Look, sometimes less is more. Scene is in the bedroom, cleaning lady didn’t touch a thing, or so she said. Wheaton case number 1773, house was locked, nothing in the kitchen or living room seems disturbed. Going into the bedroom, we’ll let the boys get the rest of the house right now I want the scene.” Pez followed Jo she took a deep breath, smelling something. She stopped, not able to catch a second whiff of the smell. She looked around, as if looking for the smell. She smelled again, this time she caught it, yes. Sweet alluring perfume.

            “Jo, you wearing perfume?” Alex asked and Jo turned sniffing the air her nose wrinkling as she did this, she smelled it, faint as the wind.

            “I smell it we’ll check on the perfume she’s got in the bedroom. Nice catch.” Jo said, stopping at the bedroom door.

            “Female, early 30′s lying on her stomach. Natural pose, not propped or moved it seems after death. Eyes opened, facing to the left towards the door. Bedroom is clean, nothing on the floor. Drapes are closed as is the door to the private bathroom.” Jo stopped Pez went to the body. She pulled open the kit and hit the poly light shaking her head and Jo turned the lights on. No blood, and no seminal fluid, making it that much more certain that this was their girl.

            “How about we old school this? No techno until we get stuck?” Alex asked and Jo nodded, they relied on evidence and it to date, had led them nowhere fast. Alex took her hands, and scrapped under her short nails, bagging it as Jo stood and closed her eyes.

            “We have a theory, Amy and I. Is there a red mark on the back of her neck?” Jo asked and Pez pushed back her dark brown hair and saw a red blemish. Something about that mark always seemed familiar to Pez but she still couldn’t put her finger on it until earlier that week.

            “Looks it, let me guess. Strangulation but with a heavy cloth around their necks to hide the marks of the rope? I was thinking that the killer is taking a necklace, pulling it off them, that is what is leaving the red mark on the back of the neck.” Pez said softly.  Jo was taken back, how long as Alex been sitting on that theory.  “About a week. It’s… something I’ve seen.” Alex offered and Jo gave her a grave look. Alex had answered her without Jo having asked interesting turn of events for the FBI agent. Jo crossed her arms, waiting. How deep had Alex dug to get that thought out, she seemed to be straining as she spoke.

            “In another case?” Jo asked and Alex stood feeling vulnerable suddenly, she played with the latex glove and said in a soft voice.

            “This between me and you?” Jo nodded then added with a soft smile.

            “Perhaps Amy?” Jo asked and Alex nodded, she swallowed and thought it was time to open the can of worms that she’d capped three years ago in New York.  How to begin, something that was so dark and prohibited as this?

            “You ever seen a snuff video?”  Alex asked.  “Where they fuck and choke the woman, killing them as they are being fucked, strangled?” Jo nodded not having thought of that at all, another light in this oblique case. What sort of games was this killer playing at?

            “Ok, well. In the world of um.” Alex cleared her throat, not believing she was saying this out loud. “BDSM, some Dom/mes like to do that, but not until you are dead. Its called scarfing, but sometimes the scarf leaves marks, so a heavy cloth is used, to hide it. Not every woman, or sometimes man wants these crimson marks on their necks. To obvious to the vanilla onlooker, leads to questions which lead to people not accepting you. So on and so forth. Wider band across the neck no marks or at least not as pronounced but the same effect and less of a chance of accidentally killing your lover. I was thinking that if it’s a she most Dommes like whips, it’s a thing….” Alex said her eyes clouding over for a moment, and Jo saw her delving into a place that Alex didn’t like in herself. The detective was pushing deep to say these things. She continued to stare at the naked body of the dead woman, not able to meet Jo‘s honest blue eyes.

            “She’s covering the whip marks, the coils of the leather would show up on the neck. She WAS covering her tracks. We came up with a variation last night. It’s coming together Alex, it is. How did she pick her? Think?” Jo coaxed and Alex knelt on the floor, looking deeply into the eyes of the dead woman blinking and thinking for a long moment. Jo said nothing, waiting she knew that Pez was thinking, she could feel it.

            “She’d be a loner, someone alone in the corner. Would have a not so obvious weakness; perhaps looking away during eye contact. Not dancing drinking a lot, or not alcohol at all. Shy, but not shy enough that when spoken to wouldn’t speak back. Amy was at the bar, it was too obvious, she should have been in a booth, alone in a corner, away from the doors. Casual dress nothing that was too flashy because that would attract attention. Nothing to business like either same reason as the flashy dress she’d have been alone, in a crowded room.” Alex stopped closing her eyes and falling into that lightless place in her soul.

            “Drives a car no pickup or SUV. Four door car, in hopes of a family, but never to have one because she is alone. A lesbian with no where to go and no one at home waiting for her but always looking no matter where she’d be. Neat, clean clothes, hair and nails. No makeup as you can see, but very pretty. Not heavy, but not too thin either, athletic and slim.” Alex swallowed closing her eyes and taking a deep haggard breath, steadying herself as she felt weak.

            “Weakness, push into that.” Jo coaxed again staring at the dead woman, there were no pictures of anyone in the house, the living room walls and shelves had been bare. Had Pez noticed that, or was all this coming from her, was she that in tune with this killer? The thought scared Jo for just a moment, as she saw Pez start to shake, almost has hard as the night before.

            “Loner no family. At least none close by…” Alex stopped and Jo met her eyes. She couldn’t anymore it was to hard to got into that dark place that every mind had, but was rarely visited. Jo nodded seeing her desperation and she said lightly.

            “I am not going to ask why you know so much, but I’ll take it. Let’s process her and let the M.E. get her, ok?” Jo asked and Pez got back to work her eyes stormy with memory.

*****

            “I’ll be back in two weeks pet you’ll see me then. I’ll be busy, I’ll see if I can drop you a call.” Crystal teased and Bette nodded as Crystal kissed her softly, and Bette sighed at the touch. Bette smiled a bit, as did Crystal, she was gentle when she wanted to be, and at other times, as firm as Bette thought she needed to be.

            “Yes, please you have to call.” Bette said and Crystal smiled, her clear eyes delving into Bette as she held her close. Sweet touches as she nuzzled against Crystal‘s cheek, kissing it softly and lovingly as Crystal rested her hand on her lower back.

            Crystal had reappeared a few hours before and had driven her repeatedly into the abyss of passion. She’d climbed into the bed, tugging Bette‘s clothes off gently and she’d been more passionate than Bette had ever seen her be before. Just straight forward sex it had been hot, heavy and sweaty. It had stunned Bette but she’d loved every mind blowing second of it.

            Bette‘s legs were still sore from all the coming, her ass even ached from the clenching as Crystal had pleased her. Bette watched her walk down the front steps and to the cab that was waiting there. She turned and Tina was standing there, her arms crossed, staring at Bette.

            “Next time, keep it the fuck down! I don’t like to be woken up by the screams of you and your fuck buddy.” Tina growled and Bette had forgotten that Tina had been in the house, how could she forget that? How? Or had she just been so elated to see that Crystal hadn’t abandoned her, that she didn’t care. Why was Tina so angry she and Helena were hot and heavy all over the place, at least when Bette had seen them together at the Planet.

            “I do live here.” Bette said without much conviction, Tina gave her wide eyed look. She was brimming over, she was about to pop.

            “So do I!” Tina yelled back, and Bette was taken back by the wrath. She had hardly ever seen Tina angry like this, Tina never lost her temper.

            “You know, it’s only been two months! Two! And you are fucking everything in sight, is that how little I meant to you? Huh? Who cares, you fucked while we were together! Is that what we should have been? Just a fuck?” Tina blared, her anger finally breaking through, no more miss nice girl.

            “Tina, you were never…” Bette began, trying to quell her anger, but Tina was having none of it. She grabbed a vase and threw it at Bette, not towards her, but AT her. Bette ducked, she stood back up, and she tried to stare Tina down, but was unable too. She deserved this, she did she’d been the one that was in the wrong.

            “Fuck you Porter! You know what, you do that all the time, fuck suck and do who you want well you know what? Me too! Why? Tell me why you won’t even feel bad about us not being US anymore? Tell me?” Tina yelled her face red as she let her anguish spill out, scarlet hot as she clenched her fist.

            “You left.” Was Bette‘s simple answer her body shaking as Tina let out a primal scream and Bette closed her eyes to it, forgetting how much she hurt. She hurt, Tina hurt, it was all about the pain, wasn’t it? The fine line between pleasure and pain, love hurt, didn’t it?

            “I left because you left a long time ago Bette! Way before Candace, you left this relationship, and became this bossy over achieving under handed, manipulative bitch! You used me, ordered me around spent money obscenely on things we didn’t need. Pick this up at the cleaners Tina, can you get this done before I come home tonight Tina. You did what you wanted, we went where you wanted, did what YOU wanted! I was your good little HOUSEWIFE!” Tina screamed; Bette stepped back. She had never realized how Tina felt.

            “I-I-I loved you. I need you Tina.” Bette stated, but she didn’t have the feeling to back that up anymore, now did she? She was right she’d doubted their love after they’d lost the baby. Before that too, she’d had a growing feeling that they were going through the motions of a relationship. The lack of sex had just been the end game of a long road to nothingness.

            “You just took what you wanted and when you were done with me, you discarded me like yesterdays newspaper!” Tina said heatedly grabbing her purse and heading for the door. Bette shook her head, that wasn’t what she’d done. Sure she’d messed up, she’d cheated, but she never had wanted Tina to feel that way. They were finally getting somewhere, and she was leaving, again. Why did Tina always leave?

            “No, no you can’t go, not again Tina.” Bette begged and finally Tina got what she wanted, Bette in pain, her voice was filled with it. For some reason, the victory wasn’t as sweet as she’d thought it would have been. She saw the pain in her eyes, and Tina almost relented, and stayed. Instead she did what she had wanted to do from the moment she saw Bette with Candace, she inflicted the same brand of pain in Bette as she had in her.

            “I am going to see Helena, someone who CARES about me, who wants me for me! Not for who they want me to be!” Tina said slamming the door closed and Bette went crashing down to her knees as the door vibrated shut. One of the window panes in the door shattered, leaving small shards of glass in the wake of Tina‘s tidal wave of emotions.

            “TINA!” Bette lamented, bellowing her name, over and over again. So loud and so gut wrenchingly painful that Shane was awaken from her sleep by them.

            Shane found Bette, on the living room floor, on her knees, repeating Tina‘s name until her voice was hoarse.

******

            Alice rolled over in the huge bed she stretched, forgetting where she was for a moment. Alex‘s bed, oh-oh. She got up, sitting up fast, her head reminding her that she’d been drunk just a few hours before. She rolled over she was wearing one of Alex’s shirts, a huge black tee shirt that said, Bite Me with an arrow that pointed to her crotch. The cop had a sense of humor. Alice so wanted to see that sense of humor, since her enigmatical side was alluring, how sexy would the funny in the cop be?

            Alice pulled the book to her she’d read half of it before her eyes began to get hazy. It was dark, and wonderful in a way that Alice couldn’t quite describe. She wondered why someone like Alex, had ever written things so foreboding and forbidding. It seemed much different from who Alice thought Alex was.

            Alice saw the time and grabbed the phone from next to the bed, she dialed the office number. She tapped her fingers on her naked thigh as she waited, that receptionist sucked so bad, took her forever to answer the phone. When she did, she asked for Maura and the editor’s smooth voice came drifting over the phone line.

            “Alice? Are you ok?” Maura asked true concern in her voice as Alice calmed her down.

            “Oh yeah.  I’m good, well could be better, obviously. I was going to go into work today, but I’m really not feeling well. I was wondering if I can have a few days? Personal time, I have some time coming; I need to get my head wrapped around some stuff you know? I was going to save it for the wedding, but after the other day, I don’t think I’ll be going.” Alice sighed, her eyes caught to the book, and she touched it, tracing the embossed words as Maura answered her.

            “Alice, take all the time you want. How about you take the week, I was going to ask you for a piece on this serial killings… But…” Alice got serious, and she switched the phone to her other ear, as if she might not have been hearing right the first time.

            “WAIT! You mean a true blue down to the dirt investigative piece?” Alice asked, sitting up straight and holding the phone a little bit tighter.

            “Yeah, I was but…” Maura began, twirling her auburn hair as she listened to the timber in Alice‘s voice, it was filled with hope. Maybe this is what Alice needed, something to change her mind, to switch her gears, and help her forget how badly her life was turning out.

            “I’ll do it. Don’t you dare give that to anyone else. Please? I need this, this is something I can sink my teeth into and really let it rip. No tight vagina’s or botox injections, this is true reporting, pure journalistic dream.” Alice said, her fingers clenched hard, scared that Maura was going to take this away from her.

            “Ok, Alice we go to print in 10 days on this issue, I need something in 8 days. That is less than a week, the cops are not talking. There is something out there that they are hiding. I have Kalvin working on background, I’ll have him email you. How does that sound?” Alice nodded, and she said.

            “Excellent.” Alice said the light back in her voice as she bounced up and down on Alex‘s exquisite bed.

            “Ok, keep in touch and keep out of trouble.” Alice said a quick goodbye and she looked around for her clothes. She needed to get to her computer, and to her apartment, and hit the streets and see what she could come up with. There was someone at the front door, and she heard it swinging open. Oh, oh. Alice tried to jump into her clothes, but she almost went crashing down to the hard wood floor as Vanessa stood at the bedroom door.

            “Alex, you can’t sleep all day… OH god!” Vanessa screamed, turning away from an almost naked Alice. Alice slid into her jeans and giggled, seeing Vanessa‘s shocked look. She grabbed her shirt, and tugged in on trying not to laugh again, as Vanessa looked totally scandalized.

            “Hi.” Alice said taking it into stride as Vanessa peeked through her fingers and saw that Alice was dressed. She licked her lips and shyly looked away. She ran her hand through her hair, grumbling under her breath.

            “Hi Alice.” Vanessa said sheepishly clearing her throat and walking back to the living room, putting the coffee she’d brought up to Alex on the table and dropping a bag, and Alice smelled muffins.

            “Hi again it’s not what you think… See we were drunk and…” Alice thought she should explain since poor Vanessa had been scared to death by the presence of another woman in the house. Was Alex in the closet? Oh she had blown it this time, hadn’t she?

            “Oh hey I don’t need details, really!” Vanessa said making a distasteful face, and Alice laughed, rubbing her hands on her jeans. She liked Vanessa she was witty and she seemed very protective of her sister.

            “No, ok. I was drunk, but we didn’t do anything. Seriously we ended up here because Jenny freaked your sister out about her book and then we started talking. She got called to work, and she told me to get some sleep which I did. In the most comfortable bed I’ve ever laid my ass down in. Is that coffee? I need some caffeine, do you mind?” Alice asked and Vanessa waved to the cup and she pulled out one of the muffins, fresh from the oven and handed it to Alice.

            “Oh this is good.” Alice sighed as she bit into the muffin and took another cup of the very good coffee, and Vanessa gave her an odd look and Alice‘s eyebrows shot up.  “What?” Alice asked, and Vanessa gave her the once over, making Alice feel like she was a statue in one of Bette‘s exhibits.

            “You are so not her type, not that I think my sister has a type. She’s way too guarded to have a type. I’m not even sure my sister has sex to tell you the truth. So you two are just friends?” Vanessa asked and Alice nodded, her mouth full of muffin, and she put down the cup of coffee and went to the bedroom, coming back with the book of poems and she put it on the kitchen table. Vanessa followed her to the kitchen and she stared openly at the book.

            “She’s a brilliant writer why did she stop?” Alice asked sitting down at the kitchen table, her curiosity was so peeked by the detective. She wanted to know everything about Alex Pezinni, since she was going to be helping her on this serial killer story she just didn’t know it yet.

            “She didn’t. She just published it on a whim she was in the hospital, about a month after she got hurt. It was October when I got her the laptop and all she could do was write. One of the nurses, her name was Jayden she had some connections and it was published. It was scary, for her that is. Having people try and pick apart her life, her work and her words. She didn’t ever want that sort of feeling again she’s a very private person. I’m surprised that she even showed it to you.” Vanessa said, touching the book as Alice listened, and she saw the look in Vanessa‘s eyes.

            “She was hurt bad scared you?” Vanessa tried to keep the tears at bay she stood up and said in an emotion filled voice.

            “Alex was and is my rock there is no one on this earth stronger than her. She kept us together against every odd in the book when our parents died. She bartended, she went to school, she became a cop. She’s a great cop Alice I mean you should see her face when she gets back from a 20 hour day, but she got the bad guy. It’s the most beautiful look in this world, it’s the only time there is light in her eyes.” Vanessa stopped and she looked at Alice‘s honest face and continued.  “She got hurt being a cop, and when she started to walk again, I thought she’d go right back to New York and be a cop. She would send me money when she was in New York, and she called every other day. Then she told me if she never stepped foot in that city again, it would be a day to soon. I don’t know what happened in New York if it was the accident, or something way more sinister than that. I’m opting for the latter because of the way she was when she got here, she was dark, she was soulless. I never want to see her like that again, understand Alice?” Alice nodded, wondering what other mysteries lay inside of Alex‘s past.