Raindrops rolled down the window of the taxi cab that carried NYPD’s newest homicide detective to his first day on the job. Chase Wolfram drummed his fingers anxiously against his knee, his dark brown eyes flitting over all the businessmen and women outside hustling beneath their umbrellas to get to their own places of work. He had just recently passed his promotional exam, but he hadn’t thought he would get the position this fast. After spending the last five years as a police officer, it felt strange to be heading to an office instead of the station. Of course, it was what he wanted. It had been his ambition from the start to become a detective. To actually do it though… That was going to take some getting used to.

Chase let out his breath in a long exhale, fidgeting absently with the handle of the briefcase at his side. It was mostly empty, filled only with a few papers to prove his credentials and an orange he’d brought along for a snack later. He hoped that over time, those items would be replaced with casework for important jobs. Preferably sooner rather than later. After all the hard work he’d put into his career with the PD to get to this point, it would have been disappointing to be reduced to newbie errand boy to all his senior detectives. He wanted to prove that he was just as qualified to take down killers as they were.

Peering out the cab window, he saw the building come into sight up ahead, the place where he was soon going to be spending every day of his foreseeable future. It was also the place where he would be meeting his new partner, Alix Andrews. He didn’t know anything about her aside from her name—it was all the agency had given him—but he was eager to find out who she was. He hoped she was friendly, at the very least. It would make the more gut-wrenching parts of the job bearable if he had someone around whom he felt comfortable talking to. His former partner and lasting friend, Jake Kelly, had been great for that. The other officer knew exactly how to keep their spirits up whenever they had to handle any brutal or disturbing calls. He already knew he was going to miss having him by his side.

“We’re here, sir.”

Chase blinked, realizing he’d gotten swept up in his thoughts. “Thanks,” he said, passing the driver a ten to cover the ride. “Keep the change.” Grabbing his briefcase, he climbed out of the cab and made a dash for the door. Even though he wasn’t outside for very long, he was still moderately soaked from the heavy downpour before he reached the cover of the lobby. Water dripped from his dark hair onto the white marble floor as he approached the receptionist’s station.

The blonde girl behind the desk looked up at him from her computer, “Are you here to see someone?”

“Sort of,” Chase ran a hand through his hair, attempting to pull out some of the rainwater. “Chief Martinez said I’m starting today. My name is Wolfram.”

“Oh, yes,” the girl turned back to her computer screen, typing something out with rapid precision. “Mr. Wolfram… Mr. Martinez is in his office on the eighth floor.” She unlocked a desk and retrieved a card from inside. “This guest pass will give you clearance in the elevator,” she explained, handing it off to him with a smile. “You’ll be getting your own later today, so just remember to bring it back when you don’t need it anymore.”

“I will,” Chase nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

Stepping around the reception station, he made his way over to the elevator at the back end of the lobby. There was a small electronic pad on the wall instead of the usual “Up” button, which he waved his pass in front up. A green light turned on, and the steel doors opened, admitting him inside.

As he rode up to the eighth floor, he could feel his heart race with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. He’d been waiting to become a detective for so long, it almost felt like a dream that he was really there. It was a big step up from being a regular officer. Half of him was elated that he had been chosen to replace the man who had recently retired from the agency, while another half of him was worried he wasn’t qualified enough to do the job yet. He was only in his mid-twenties, after all. Solving murder cases was a weighty commitment for someone his age.

I passed the exam, Chase reminded himself as the elevator doors slid open again. By NYPD standards, he was fully prepared to handle the responsibility. He couldn’t let his doubts get the best of him. It was just the jitters that came along with getting a new job. He was sure that in a couple weeks, he would feel right at home in the agency. There was nothing to worry about.

With that thought in mind, he made his way more confidently down the hall that led to Chief Martinez’s office, eager to find out what he would be doing on his first day as a homicide detective.

"Alix, be nice.."

"Sir! I'm always nice.." An incredulous expression spread itself across Detective Andrews features. Nice. Nice?! She was damn well lovely. Most of the time. Well, a little over half of the time. Sometimes. Sometimes she was definitely lovely.

"I'm talking about the sarcasm. Just give the guy a moment or two to get a feel for you before you go straight for the jugular.."

"Bronson always loved my sarcasm." The blonde declared loftily as she sat herself on the edge of the Chief's desk.

"Bronson was dead inside." Martinez retorted through a smirk. Truth be told, he had an easy rapport with Alix, but it had certainly taken a while to figure out when she was serious, and when she was merely being a jackass for her own amusement. The Chief looked slick in a tailored royal blue ensemble. His dark hair gelled immaculately into position. It was impressive, and Alix had to suppress the urge to poke it, just to see whether it was actually as crispy as it looked.

Alix herself was dressed down, in fact - she never dressed up. Hell, perhaps this was dressed up for her. A black and red plaid shirt, was paired with dark blue skinny jeans that clung delightfully to the curve of her hip. Leopard print converse completed the look. The curls were down and unruly, and she had a small green stud through her nose. In fact, it looked a little like she'd just walked in from a gig.

"Chase is a very talented officer, and I just want to ensure that.."

Alix huffed out a sigh and held up her hand in a Brownie Guide salute, "I solemnly swear, that I will be on my best behaviour."

Matinez shook his head, working hard to suppress a laugh. "I let you work with Bronson for too long.."

"I miss Bronson, he used to buy the doughnuts..."

The phone buzzed to life, and instinctively, Alix picked it up. It was Sandra, the PA. A platinum blonde woman, a terrifying wall of perfume and teeth. So busy fighting the menopause that she hadn't been clothes shopping since Dallas was popular.

Detective Wolfram is on his way in..

Let the games begin.

Chase lingered outside Chief Martinez’s office, one hand raised in a fist as he worked up the nerve to knock on the door. He knew he was just having first day jitters, but boy, were they hard to fight off. It was the first time he was going to be meeting the head of the agency, and he really wanted to make a good impression. This man was about to be his boss, the head honcho in charge of promotions, raises, and pink slips. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the greatest luck when it came to encounters like these.

When he’d first met the police chief down at the station, he had accidentally spilled the man’s coffee when reaching across the table to shake his hand. Though he had recovered from the blunder after a while, it had taken some time before his old boss stopped looking at him like he was a hazard to the force. The thought of starting off in a similar hole at his new job made him cringe.

It’ll be fine. Just don’t touch the coffee, he thought reassuringly as he rapped his fist against the door. What were the odds that he would ruin his first impression with two separate chiefs, really? He was probably just overthinking it. Damn jitters.

Upon hearing a muffled “come in” from the other side of the door, Chase took a steeling breath and stepped inside.

Having expected a one-on-one with his new boss, he was surprised to find that they weren’t alone. A curly-haired blonde girl around his own age was seated on the edge of the chief’s desk. He paused near the doorway as he looked her over, wondering if he had interrupted something. She didn’t look like a member of the agency to him. Sporting casual street clothes and carrying herself in such a relaxed manner, his natural inclination was to believe she was a relative of Martinez.

His eyes flicked to the Hispanic man.

An adoptive relative, he decided.

“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, fumbling for the door handle. “I thought I was supposed to be here at nine o’ clock.”

“You were,” Martinez stopped him. When Chase’s gaze wandered back to the girl, the chief smiled amusedly. “This is Detective Andrews,” he explained. “I thought it would be good for you two to meet, since you’re going to be working together.”

Chase couldn’t help the look of astonishment that crossed his face. This was Alix Andrews? She looked like a grad school student who went to raves on weekends. He glanced down at the suit he’d chosen to wear for his first day, suddenly wondering if he was overdressed. Though it was a bit shocking, her easygoing appearance also came as a relief to him. After all, anyone who dressed like that to work had to be friendly, right? Maybe he’d gotten lucky and had been paired up with someone like Jake again.

Suddenly, he found himself more eager to get to know her.

“Right, Detective Andrews,” he said knowingly, offering his new partner a smile. “My name’s Chase. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Walking over to the desk, he held out his hand to her in greeting.

Ooooh, the new boy is cute.

When Chase held out his hand, Alix smiled cheerfully and shook it. "Hi, I'd tell you my name too, but he already beat me to it." An amused smirk crossed Alix's features as she slipped herself off of the desk. Martinez chuckled, mildly relieved that the senior Detective had gone for a softer approach, at least for now. He felt a great sense of endearment for Andrews. The woman was formidable when she wanted to be, and sure she was a sarcastic jackass - but she had a heart of gold. If you needed her, she'd be there. Usually with some sort of confectionary.

"I'm surprised you made it past Sandra." The older woman was known to frisk the guys at the station whenever she got the opportunity, "Just keep a meter gap between you and her at all times, and you'll be fine." Alix patted Chase on the shoulder reassuringly, "If in doubt, shoot."

Speaking of shooting, Martinez shot Alix a warning glare at that point..

The blonde merely held up her hands in feigned surrender, "Hey, that's not my motto. It's just some advice I heard somewhere.."

"Bronson. Even retired he's giving me gut ache."

"That's a very smart suit." Alix noted, her green eyes now on Chase, "With you two so formal, I feel like I'm at a divorce hearing.."

"How's that going by the way, Alix?" Martinez cocked his head to the side and slid his Officer some paperwork.

"Shockingly. Don't divorce a Lawyer. Hell, don't marry one in the first place." The blonde flicked her gaze down to the paper in her hand. An autopsy report.

The marriage had been a High School Romance that went sour in the early twenties. However, like with everything habit forming, it took a while for the pair to see what a disaster zone it was. Still, here she was - almost divorced and happy. And most importantly, she got Scout, their chocolate Labrador.

"How are you with the morgue?" Alix asked, "We need to head down and see the pathologist.."

Martinez clapped, "Yes, Wolfram, I'll leave you with Alix." He perked a bushy dark brow in her direction, "Make sure you show him around and get him settled."

Alix saluted dorkily, "Over and out Captain." With that, she stepped to the side and held the door open for Chase. The Chief nodded to his new detective, a grin evident on his lips, "Good luck.."

Much to Chase’s relief, it looked like his first impression of Alix had been right. As she took his hand in a friendly greeting, he could already feel his previous tenseness start to melt away. He’d been hoping for a laidback partner, one he could get along with easily, like Jake. Now that he knew she wasn’t just some overbearing workaholic, he was confident that he was going to fit into the agency a lot faster than he’d thought. To a socialite like him, coworkers were one of the most important factors of getting a new job, after all.

To make things even better, it seemed that Alix had a sense of humor. At her comment about the woman down at reception, he laughed. “Really? I’ll keep that in mind next time.” He could tell he was going to like working with this detective. However, her age did throw him off. When he was told he’d be partnered with someone who’d been at the agency for a while, he had expected a woman in her mid-thirties at the very least, but this girl couldn’t have been older than he was.

As an added twist, it sounded like the twenty-something detective was in the middle of getting a divorce. Chase eyed her curiously as she and the chief spoke. Even though they were close in age, she seemed to have experienced a lot more of life than he had. Already a seasoned member of the agency and leaving a serious relationship to boot? He only had a roommate and a couple ex-girlfriends who hadn’t lasted more than a few months—and he hadn’t had the best luck when it came to dating either. It wasn’t really his fault though. Working long hours at the police station made it hard to meet people.

Paying attention to the conversation, he discovered he already had a task to do on his first day. He felt a thrill of excitement. A visit to the morgue had to mean he’d been assigned to a case. It also meant no hazing or coffee runs for the newbie. He was glad Chief Martinez and his new partner seemed to trust him enough to get his feet wet right away instead of making him run errands around at the office to start.

“If I couldn’t handle the morgue, I wouldn’t be here,” Chase grinned, deciding to return a little banter with Alix now that he knew she was the type to enjoy it.

He turned to follow the other detective out of the chief’s office, only looking back once when Martinez wished him luck. “Thanks,” he said appreciatively before he stepped into the hallway.

Although he had been nervous before, all his inhibitions were gone after the meeting had gone so well. His new boss seemed like a kind and fair man, and his partner was exactly the type of person he had been hoping to be paired up to. With the addition of the promotion he’d received to get here, it was looking like this career had everything he’d wanted.

“So,” Chase started as he fell in step beside Alix. With the whole length of a walk to the morgue, now was as good a time as any to get to know her better. “I’ve gotta admit, you’re not as old as I was expecting. How long have you been working here?” He turned to her with interest. It was the biggest question on his mind. He’d thought he was young to start working as a detective, but she seemed to have been in the field for a while already. At least, long enough to take on a novice like him as a partner.

In the next moment, another thought crossed his mind. “Oh, and do you mind showing me where my desk is before we hit the morgue?” He held up the briefcase he’d brought along. “I’d rather not drag this around all day if I don’t have to.”

The banter was appreciated and noted with a chuckle. At least she hadn't wound up with a straight laced Susan. That would have driven her to absolute distraction. No, Chase seemed to be an alright sorta' guy. When the new boy asked to see the office, Alix cringed somewhat. Paperwork was her nemisis. Give her a blood thirsty Murderer over an Excel spreadsheet any day of the week. Still, she was too distracted by the dude's questions to protest.

"Three years in this department. Before that I was just a regular officer in Florida. We moved here for Rob's Law Firm, and I fancied a change. Detective work seemed interesting, and I met Bronson at an information evening. It all sorta' snowballed.." A small chuckle escaped her lips as she pointed to a door up ahead.

"The office is just here.. It's more like a closet - but there you have it. Budget cuts and all that jazz. You should see Vice, they have a whole damn floor - vending machines and all.." The blonde opened her eyes wide in feigned shock.

The homicide office on the other hand, was your standard battle ship grey affair. The desks were all separated into cubicles, and a coffee machine sat on perculate at the far end. All nighters happened, a lot.. Everybody appeared to be out and about doing their thing, so it was a ghost town in there.

"This is my desk." The words were accompanied by a swishing movement and a cloud of dust. "I prefer to do my work in the ICT suite.. It's light and doesn't smell like takeout."

Alix opened a few drawers as she waited for Chase to get settled. A cheer emanating from her as she gathered something up. Reeses peanut butter cups. Today was going to be a good day.

"Want one?" She offered breezily, "When you're ready, we'll head down and see Karl. We have a new guy in for an autopsy." She paused, "Karl likes to tell charming annecdotes.. You might want to take a snack.. And maybe a drink... Or three.."

The grimace that appeared on Alix’s face didn’t slip past Chase for a second. He wondered what it was about the homicide department that would make her look like he’d just asked her to introduce him to her ex-husband. It couldn’t be that bad, could it? The office at the police station hadn’t been anything special either, just a bunch of old desks and chairs with no lumber support in a room lit only by dim yellow incandescents. It was a place meant for filing papers and virtually nothing else. He had a hard time believing the workspace here could be worse.

As Detective Andrews explained her history at the agency and as an officer, he raised a brow. Florida was quite the state to start out in. That was where most of the stories came from that he could only describe as the weirdest of the weird. His peers at the NYPD often joked that they would take the high crime rates of New York over nutjobs streaking with chainsaws any day. Of course, he knew outlandish situations like that were in the vast minority of cases, even in Florida, but he still wanted to ask if she had encountered any wild jobs worth telling.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance before they arrived at the office. “Well, damn. I wish they would have told me that before I took the exam for homicide,” he shook his head when she told him about Vice. Despite the joking, he didn’t actually care much about what his workspace was like. As long as there was room enough to get things done and lighting that wasn’t so white it would give him a headache, he would make it work. It was what he’d done at the station for five years before this.

Upon stepping inside the room, Chase’s first thought was that it was a step up from his last place of work—not a big step, but enough that it was noticeable. He followed Alix over to one of the desks that she claimed as her own. It was evident from the layer of dust on the tabletop that the cubicle hadn’t been used in a long time, but he didn’t need to ask about it as she explained that she did her work in a different suite.

“Oh, come on. The leftover wontons are part of the charm,” he said with a smirk as he set his briefcase down on the desk adjacent to hers. It was empty, and he guessed it had belonged to the man who’d retired—Bronson, if he correctly remembered what Chief Martinez had called him.

It didn’t take long for him to put his belongings away, since he’d only brought the bare minimum of things he would need. He would personalize the space after he felt more settled in. Once he was done, he turned back to Alix, whom he’d heard rummaging through the drawers of her own desk. She had a pleased look on her face and surprised him by offering a piece of candy.

“Sweet tooth, huh?” he asked amusedly. “Sure, I’ll have one.”

As she told him about Karl of the autopsy lab, he laughed. “I’m almost afraid to ask what kind of anecdotes a forensic technician has to talk about. Luckily, I did plan ahead though.” Opening the top drawer of his desk, he retrieved the orange he’d packed that morning and tossed it in his hand. “Eagle scouts pays off, huh?” he grinned. “Alright, I’m ready to go.”

"An orange?"

Alix blinked, disappointment was etched all over her features. "I mean, you need to up your game - you're replacing a doughnut buying, coffee swilling pastry guy. Oranges? Nuh uh." The blonde shook her head, "By rights, I should be karate chopping that straight out of your hand.. But hey, I'm not athletic." And with a waggle of her eyebrows, she led the way down to Karl's domain.

"So, this male we're going to see is in his early thirties - found floating near the Dockyard." New York had a busy port, initially there was nothing suspicious about it. People fell off of boats or into the water all the time - but this was different. This cadava had turned up in nearly the exact same spot as the Jane Doe the coastguard had retrieved the previous week.

Alix led the way down the stairs, the air became noticibly chillier, and the smell took on a more dettol inspired hospital vibe.

"Have you smelt an old, wet body before? " She asked as she paused by the heavy double doors that separated them from Karl and his team. "It's not pretty.." And with that, she hit the green button and wandered into the lab.

"Ah! Alix - I was wondering when you'd pop in." A short, dark haired male in scrubs stood behind a gurney, his attention focused on the new arrival.

"Hey Karl. What have you got for me.. I mean us.."

"Bronson, have you been on Vacation? You're looking marvellous."

The blonde sniggered at the joke, and pointed to her new partner, "Karl this is Chase, Chase this is Karl.. Who is by the way, terrible at jokes."

Karl smirked, "I am guilty as charged." The middle aged man bowed his head, "It's great to meet you." A well to do English accent set him apart from the rest. "So, our chap here.. Did you read the tox report?"

"I've scanned it." She nodded, "What are your thoughts?"

"I'm rather concerned." He peeled back the sheet on the male in question. A bloated green appearance greeted them. The detective cringed, but it didn't stop her from popping another peanut butter cup. "No physical trauma to suggest a fall, or an altercation of any sort. A few superficial scratches to the wrists.."

"Defensive?"

"Perhaps.. But here.." He handed a sheet of paper to both Chase and Alix. "Compare the two reports, and tell me what you see.."

"So, I have the report for our Jane last week?" Alix confirmed as she glanced over at Chase..

"That's correct. And Chase has our fellow here.."

“Judge me all you want, but I saw what happened to the guys at the station who ate like that,” Chase rolled his eyes, resting his free hand on his washboard stomach. “I’d prefer not to turn into a walking heart attack if I can avoid it.” Despite the training the officers went through to get their jobs, plenty of them put on guts after just a few years in the field. The job really wasn’t as demanding as most people thought it was. They often spent most of their days doing paperwork or patrolling in cars, rarely exercising. He wouldn’t have been surprised if more than half of his old coworkers couldn’t pass the physical exam if they were asked to take it again tomorrow. The only reason he hadn’t become like them was because of his personal habits.

Having always participated in athletic sports or otherwise worked out in some form or fashion, Chase considered himself to have a pretty active lifestyle. Of course, he didn’t shy away from indulging in sweets and snacks once in a while, but he’d never ate them regularly enough to get a taste for the stuff. His biggest vice was alcohol. While he wasn’t an alcoholic by any means, he did like to go out to the bars in Manhattan with his roommate, Derek Morris, on a fairly regular basis. If there was ever a reason to hit the town—celebrations, holidays, breakups, you name it—the two of them would be there.

As Alix led the way to the morgue, Chase fell in step at her side, absently working on peeling the thick skin off the orange in his hands. He’d heard a bit about the body she was telling him about. It had been found recently enough that his old coworkers were still talking about it down at the station. They hadn’t thought it was strange though. Usually the bodies found on the coast belonged to drunken sailors who stumbled over the edge of their ships. He wondered why they were supposed to investigate this one now.

At her question, he shook his head. “Wet, yes, but not old. We never dealt with the bodies after they were taken to autopsy.” In fact, this was the first cadaver he was going to see. He wasn’t sure what to think about that.

Trailing slightly behind her, he took a moment to look around the lab they had walked into. It was clinical in appearance, like the surgery room at a hospital, with ominous steel tools on the surface of one of the tables near the back. He shivered at the cold air. It certainly wasn’t a place he hoped to find himself in very often.

His attention was drawn back to the matter at hand when the technician greeted them. As the man referred to him as Bronson, Chase stared at him, unsure if he was being serious or not. Luckily, Alix cleared it up as a joke.

“Nice to meet you too,” the new detective nodded, though privately he wasn’t sure what his opinion was of the scientist yet.

Moving on to the examination of the body, Chase edged a little closer to the table, morbidly curious as Karl pulled back the sheet that covered it. Right away, the pungent odor of partially rotted flesh made him wrinkle his nose. No dead body ever smelled good, but this one was particularly stomach-churning. It didn’t look any better either. He had to force himself not to avert his gaze as the technician described his findings.

When Karl handed over the tox reports, he accepted his eagerly, happy to look at anything beside the cadaver in front of him. He skimmed over the paper in his hand and glanced over Alix’s shoulder—an easy task, since he stood about a foot taller than her—to read hers as well.

“They both ingested cyanide,” he connected aloud, looking up at the technician with some alarm. “They were poisoned?”

"Well, fuck."

Alix ran her index finger along the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed momentarily as she seemed to process her thoughts.

"Are you saying, that we're looking at the same killer here?"

"Absolutely." Karl confirmed, "Both bodies also have a large amount of sodium present throughout the skin. And it wasn't the saltwater."

"So, they were either killed and stored somewhere that there was a salt deposit of some kind, or they tried to preserve them?" The blonde's nose wrinkled endearingly, "This is Florida crazy."

"Exactly...and I very much feel that we'll have another victim very soon. Perhaps within the week."

There was a momentary silence, but Alix snapped back into action. "We should probably head over to the Dockyard. Take a look around, get a feel for it." Alix scribbled a few notes down and stuffed it into her back pocket. "You might want to let Martinez know. The media will go nuts with this, and there will definitely need to be a press conference.."

Chase glanced at Alix as she cursed, saying pretty much the exact same thing he was thinking. First day on the job and he was put on the case of a double homicide… maybe even a serial killer if this psychopath was still on the loose. It was a lot to take in. His dark eyes flicked back to the cadaver as a grimace made its way onto his face. Well, in a way, this was what he’d asked for. Even though this felt more like a nosedive than a splash in the shallow end, he was going to get the experience he needed to be a good detective.

He was definitely going to need a drink later.

As Alix evaluated that the killer might have tried to preserve the bodies, Chase felt nearly sick. Who the hell would poison someone and then salt them like fresh meat? It sounded like the plot of a horror flick. However, with the disgust also came a sense of determination. Whoever was doing this needed to be stopped, and it was now his job to help bring them down. He had to do everything he could to solve the case before they took any more lives.

“Yeah,” he murmured when Alix said they should go to the dockyard. Looking up from the body, he frowned. “I want to know more about the victims too… who they were; if they had any common connections to each other. There’s gotta be something here.”

With a sigh, he turned away from the cadaver to head back out of the lab with her. “I hope the rain cleared up,” he mused a bit absently, still chewing on the prospect that there was another serial killer in New York. “The way it was coming down earlier, it might be hard to find anything outside.”

"Unfortunately, we haven't managed to ID either victim yet. Background is going to be really tricky. I mean, we could be dealing with an illegal human trafficking ring. It's a working port after all."

Alix chewed the inside of her cheek as the pair made their way outside. The one person that would know exactly how to handle this, would have been Bronson.

Come on Alix.

The blonde spoke sternly to herself, but it wasn't audible. Far from it.

You can totally handle this.

A divorce, a new work partner.. Now a potential serial killer on the loose in New York. What else did the poxy universe want to throw at her? Plague, pestilence? She must have been a terrible person in a past life for Karma to bite her so hard on the ass.

Oh well.

"You want to drive?" Alix stopped in front of a Ford SUV and tossed the keys in Wolframs direction. It was a smart looking beast, with tinted windows and black alloys. The perk of being a detective - you got to drive a pretty nice vehicle. Hands down it beat a squad car any day of the week.

"It's a crazy first day for you, huh?" The detective shot Chase a playful wink as she slipped into the passenger seat. At such close proximity, it was hard not to notice that her new buddy smelt pretty darn good. Intriguing.

"So, do you live in the city?"

Well, if they were going to spend everyday together, they might as well get to know each other. Right?

Chase noticed that Alix seemed just as distraught about the findings as he was. He was slightly relieved to know that it wasn’t just him who was concerned about the possibility of a serial killer. She had been in this field a lot longer than he had, so at least he could be sure he wasn’t overreacting. But, then again, someone who had been a detective for three years was just as concerned as the rookie who didn’t even have his own ID card yet. That had to mean this wasn’t the average, easy-to-solve case. If she was worried, it was probably going to be nothing short of a nightmare.

He wanted to groan in frustration. His meeting with the chief had gone smoothly enough, but it seemed his bad luck had caught up to him in another, much more twisted way. Who else but Chase Wolfram would be assigned to take on a dangerous serial murderer on his first day on the job? The odds of being struck by lightning were probably better. Yet, here he was, walking out to the parking lot with his new partner on their way to investigate the scene of a double homicide. It felt like a scene right out of a bad movie.

At least the rain had cleared up to a steady drizzle.

As Alix asked if he wanted to drive, Chase turned to her just in time to fumble for the keys she had tossed at him. It looked like he was driving whether he wanted to or not. Not that he would have turned down the offer though. He didn’t have a car of his own—it wasn’t practical in Manhattan, where walking was almost always the faster way to get around—but he’d liked patrolling in the squad cars provided by the station. Driving around the city with the music turned up was how he and Jake used to unwind on shift.

Circling around to the driver’s side of the car, he unlocked the doors and climbed into his seat. Compared to the vehicles he used to drive, being in the SUV made him feel like he’d won a game show. It was obviously a new model with all the fanciest bells and whistles he could think of, and it still had the infamous “new car” smell that he could only get with Christmas tree air fresheners in the old police cars. Even though it wouldn’t have the same oomph as a sports model, he couldn’t wait to see what it felt like on the street.

Taking a minute to adjust the seat and mirrors to fit his stature, Chase glanced at Alix who had just shot him a wink. Despite the dismal reason for their excursion from the office, she was keeping the mood light. Just like Jake, he thought with relief. “Nah,” he grinned. “Dead bodies and psychotic serial killers? Just another day at the office.”

Finished setting up to drive, he turned the key in the ignition, listening to the satisfying growl the engine made as it revved to life. “Yeah, I’ve got an apartment a few miles from here actually,” he answered her next question as he backed the SUV out of its space. There was a video of the rearview on the dash—another fancy upgrade—but he looked over his shoulder out of habit anyway. “It’s nothing special. Just a one-bedroom loft I share with a buddy of mine. Everything is so expensive around here that it’s nice to split the rent.”

He glanced at her again as he drove the car out of the lot, “What about you? Do you live in Manhattan, or are you a commuter?”