Page 7 of The Raven
“Boss,” Nick said after I’d parked the car and stepped out, the glaresof the Vipers watching my every move. Nick nodded in their direction. “They look like they’re gunning for blood.”
I twisted my head to look over my shoulder, meeting Grim’s narrowed eyes.The two of us glared at the other for a long second until he finally pulled his gaze away and began whispering animatedly to Butcher, his second-in-command.
“What do we know?” I asked, returning my attention to Nick.
He began walking in the direction of Boogie’s apartment block, thefront door also taped off, and a uniformed cop standing guard, sheltering from the rain.
“Anonymous call came in claiming the occupant of the top-floor apartmentwas screaming for help,” Nick explained. “The first officer on scene says the door to the apartment was insecure, so he went in and found Boogie. There were no life-saving opportunities; you’ll see why when we get up there. But brace yourself, it’s not pleasant.”
I doubted anything could be worse than what I’d seen a year ago, butI didn’t divulge that to Nick. He was still new to the team; he didn’t need to hear things that would turn his stomach.
The officer manning the main door stepped aside to let us pass,making a note of the time to record in the scene log, a bored expression on his face. Understandable, scene guards were boring as fuck.
Nick continued talking as he passed the officer, but as I was about tofollow, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and the feeling that I was being watched crept over me. I paused before spinning around, my eyes scanning the street.
The Vipers were still in the same spot, but the five of them werein a heated discussion amongst themselves, no longer paying any attention to me. Locals watched on, no doubt exchanging theories with each other, but no onespecificallywatched me.
Figuring I was on edge because of who had been killed, I scannedthe street one last time, doing my best to shrug the ominous feeling off when my gaze landed on a hooded figure lurking in the shadows on the other side of the street.
A sense of familiarity washed through me.
The figure was a woman based on the way her leather pants clung toher shapely thighs, and the way her tight leather jacket showcased her tiny waist and the curves of her breasts. Frustratingly, her face was completely hidden in the shadows, not helped by the hood she wore.
Something about the woman had my feet moving in her direction withoutconscious thought. Perhaps it was the way she was trying to keep out of view, or maybe it was that the feeling of familiarity had grown so strong that curiosity got the better of me, even though I knew it couldn’t be who my brain was telling me it was.
I kept my gaze on her as I tuned out everything going on around me, solelyfocused on finding out who she was. She didn’t move, didn’t make any attempt to run, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel her eyes burning into me.
Watching me.
Brrrrrr!
The shrill blaring of a horn startled me from my daze, and I leapedback onto the sidewalk in time for the ambulance to pass by without making me their casualty. The paramedic behind the wheel mouthed what looked like a curse inmy direction, and I held my hand up to apologize for almost stepping in front of his truck. It only took a second or two for him to drive past, but it was enough time for the figure to disappear.
My gaze roamed up and down the street, trying to catch the retreatingwoman, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was like she’d vanished into thin air.
Fuck. Was I seeing things?
“Boss, you good?” Nick called.
Taking one last look and confirming the woman was nowhere to beseen, I turned back to him. “Yeah, lead the way.”
The crime scene investigators were already hard at work, takingpictures and seizing evidence. Once Nick and I were in our forensic suits to ensure we didn’t contaminate the scene, I followed Nick up to Boogie’s top-floor apartment, adrenaline flooding my system.
I’d been a homicide cop for over five years, and during that time, I’dwitnessed my fair share of gruesome deaths and gory scenes. I thought nothing would faze me, butnothingcould have prepared me for the scene I’d faced last Halloween.
Pushing thoughts of that night aside, along with the eerie feeling left behindafter seeing the woman outside, I crossed the threshold into Boogie’s apartment. The stench of death surrounded me instantly, a smell I wouldneverget used to.
“He’s in the bedroom,” Nick said sullenly from behind me.
Ignoring him, I glanced around the living area. The place was a state.Crushed beer cans littered the floor, empty take-out boxes abandoned on the coffee table, and at least a dozen cigarette ends in the ashtray.
But no sign of a disturbance.
I tore my attention away and headed along the small corridor to where Iknew Boogie’s bedroom was. I’d been in his apartment following his arrest last year, and despite turning the place upside down, there hadn’t been the slightest piece of evidence to link him to the crimes I knew he’d been involved in.
The door was ajar, and using a gloved hand, I pushed it open. Thetangy smell of blood hit me like a tidal wave, and my eyes almost bugged out of my head at what lay before me. If it had been anyone else who’d been murdered so viciously, I would have felt sympathy for them.
But not Boogie.
