Loves Redemption

sat across the desk from the lieutenant, all she felt was numb. Numb and
cold.
Her gaze took in the small office. The walls were painted the same washed-out color as
the rest of the precinct and filled with standard, government-issue furniture that could stand a good scrub down.
Maya rested her gaze on the lieutenant. He’d been kind to her from the moment she
entered his office. His soft brown eyes were wide set and thickly fringed behind the round
glasses perched at the top of his small, straight nose. His lips and cheeks were a natural pale shade of rose and provided a light contrast to his olive complexion. His mild demeanor and show of sympathy had put her at ease the moment she sat down in front of him.
“Dr. Richardson, thank you for coming in with the officers. As you know from the news,
there have been a series of violent murders involving ‘clients’ of prostitutes in the city over the last six months,” Lieutenant Hernandez told her directly. “We believe we’ve discovered two
more victims. We’re hoping you’ll be able to identify the body of the latest victim.”
She couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears at his statement. He handed her a tissue as she began to cry. A knock made him look away from her to the door.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Lieutenant, is the forensic report in on the slayer’s latest?”
Maya glanced up with tear-stained eyes to see the detective with whom she’d made brief
eye contact earlier enter the office.
“Come in Mark. Dr. Richardson, this is Detective Mark Halstan. Detective, this is Dr.
Maya Richardson. Dr. Richardson has come in to possibly provide an identification for the
female victim.”
Lieutenant Hernandez waved him in to have a seat. The detective moved further into the
office and shook her hand, holding it a little longer than necessary before sitting down.
“As a matter of fact Detective, I was going to send for you to escort Dr. Richardson to the morgue to identify the body,” Lieutenant Hernandez said. “This is a very difficult process, and we will do anything within our power to help make it as painless as possible for you,” he
promised, returning his attention back to her.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Hernandez. From what I’ve learned in the news, I was under the
impression the killer was targeting the ‘clients’ of the prostitutes and not the prostitutes--is that wrong?”
“Actually you’re right. So far, the offender has targeted the clients. However, in the case of this female victim, we believe she may have interrupted the killer in the act, and she was then forced to kill her.”
“How do you know?” Although saddened by the possible death of Ally, Maya was
acutely aware of the close proximity of Detective Halstan. She instantly felt guilty, but the office seemed to grow smaller with his presence.
It wasn’t only his physical bearing, although he was considerably taller and larger than
either she or the lieutenant. He just seemed to take up more space than seemed necessary.
Overlong sable brown hair barely reached the collar of his shirt. His dark blue eyes were
deep set and stared at her from beneath lashes no man should have. His mouth held a hard edge of sensuality around the corners. The beauty of his face was saved from perfection by the slight crook in his nose, which only served to make him even more appealing. There was no denying
he was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen.
Uncomfortable with the direction of her thoughts, Maya glanced guiltily away, blaming
her grief and confusion for her errant thoughts.
“The projection of the bullet, and where the shell casings were found near the victims,
indicate your foster sister was likely to have been a small distance away when she was shot.”
“Lieutenant, you said the victim had interrupted the killer and ‘ she’ had then been forced to kill her as well. Do the police believe this person is a woman? I assumed the killer was a man.
Isn’t that true for most serial killers?” Maya couldn’t bring herself to actually say Ally’s name as the victim in connection with the murder.
“While it’s true for the majority, women do make up a small percentage of this
population. To be honest with you Dr. Richardson, we don’t have a good working profile on the killer, to make a determination either way, but the evidence at present suggest the slayer is female. Once we have a profile, we will make headway into this investigation.” The lieutenant promised grimly.
“If you’re ready, Dr. Richardson, we can go. Lieutenant?” Mark asked both Maya and his
commander, as the interview came to a close.
“Yes, and afterward, Dr. Richardson, would you be able to come back to the squad room
in order to answer a few questions?” Lieutenant Hernandez asked, coming from around his desk to walk the pair to the door.
“Of course, anything I can do to help. I’m more than willing.” She shook the lieutenant’s
hand.
“It’s going to be okay, Dr. Richardson. Detective Halstan will take good care of you.” He
grasped both of her hands between his, and patted them.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Hernandez, I appreciate your concern.”
When the detective ushered her out of the office with his hand resting lightly on the small of her back, she felt electric warmth tingle through to her skin the minute he touched her. She was caught off guard, and she casually stepped out of reach of his hand as they walked down the hall, uncomfortable with his touch, and more uncomfortable with the spark it had given her.
* * * *
Mark steered Maya toward the open doorway to the squad room. “I’ll be right back,” he
said and walked to his partner’s desk in the open bay room.
“Jordan, I’m leaving to take Dr. Richardson over to I.D the female victim we turned up
yesterday. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”
His partner stole a glance at Maya as she waited for