The Precinct

6:45 flashed in bright green on the alarm clock sitting on the kitchen counter. Chief Investigator James Smith didn't notice. Nor did he notice the flickering lights of cars moving along the street or the increasing brightness of daytime as the sun came up. He did, however, notice when the cat came in and planted its tail in his face.

"Sorry Jenga." He said to the calico as he gently nudged her away from the papers strewn across the table. "I'm working.” James ignored her as she rubbed against his leg and mewed. He was too absorbed in studying the case file in front of him.

His phone buzzed at his side. Once. Twice. On the third time he picked it up and held it a short distance from his ear, expecting it to be his ex yelling at him about the child support. Nobody else called that early. When he didn't hear her shrill tones he looked at the phone.

A text message. Damn those young kids making newfangled electronics necessary. He would take an old brick of a phone over the 'smart' one any day. James fumbled with the phone and nearly dropped it before finally figuring out how to read the thing.

It was Ben letting him know the team was assembled in the conference room. That made James late, something he very rarely was. He checked himself in the bedroom mirror and noticed that his hair was a mess, his cloth were thoroughly wrinkled, and he had bags under his eyes. All of it made it obvious that he had not slept in at least one night, maybe more.

There was no time to spend taking a shower, so he threw on a newly pressed pair of black slacks and a pale green shirt, doused his hair with water before combing it into place, slipped on his loafers, and quickly left the house in his truck.

Seven minutes later he walked into the conference room, an air of confidence and purpose about him. He gave a nod to the team members assembled before starting in on the new case.

“I am sure you have all seen news of the ' Couples Killer'.” He spoke the name with a slight tinge of disapproval. The naming of criminals was a mistake in his opinion. “As of the fifth murder, we have officially been asked to take over the case. “

James slipped a disk into the computer stationed at the front of the room and brought up a series of photos from the crime scene while explaining the details of the case so far. It didn't take him long to finish; there wasn't much evidence found to talk about.

“The storm a few days ago washed away nearly any chance of finding evidence, but we will head there first anyways.”