Cuts Like A Knife

PHILADELPHIA -2040


It was at the Shareway mobile park..Where people used their credit cards to rent small plastic electric cars for an hour or so...where I saw the body...

A very attractive and shapely African-American woman....about 28 years old..blood seemingly flowing from a cut in her back.....Very,very dead...

She was fully clothed...... a uniformed officer found her purse..It had about $600.00 cash in it, three credit cards and one debit card....It also had her smartphone and she was wearing a very expensive watch....

"We can rule out robbery Detective Nellis." said a uniformed officer at the scene...

"Yeah...I know." I said as I put on my latex gloves and kneeled down and observed the body...

Me? I'm Detective Nate Nellis....Homicide...and I've only been back from my honeymoon for two days and already I've got a homicide...

My wife and my partner...The former Detective Monica Talbert...now Detective Monica Nellis...(I like the way that sounds) had just arrived on the scene...  She looked around and was led over to where I was by one of the uniformed officers...

"He's over there looking at the body Detective....Uh...I guess it's Nellis now right?" said the uniformed officer...

Monica smiled..

"That's right....Detective Monica Nellis..but I won't get mad if you call me Detective Talbert....It's hard for me to get used to too." she said smiling....

She walked over to me and leaned down and gave me a long, soft kiss...

"Hi baby." she said..

"Heyy wifey..." I said smiling from ear to ear....She had a new hairstyle and a new dress I hadn't seen...

"What?" she said laughing...

"Nothing...Just checkin you out..."I laughed...

"Oh stop it.." she said blushing..

"So...what do we have? Robbery gone wrong?" asked Monica...

"No robbery....Here's her purse...Credit cards,debit card....cash, smartphone and look at this watch..."I said.

Monica put on latex gloves and rolled the body over...She looked at the gaping wound in her back and the other wounds that accompanied her huge wound...

"Myyy god...she was butchered....but the killer did this with precision...quickly and unemotionally...This wasn't personal..it was more like a contract hit....Who is she?" she asked....

"Her drivers license says her name is Penelope Purcell...She's a buyer for a huge department store chain..."I said...

Just then , my wife's identical twin sister and my new sister in law....Dr. Monique Talbert...the Medical Examiner walked over to us....

"Hey Sis...Hi brother in law..."she said and kissed me softly in the lips....

 I could get used to this..married to a fox and brother in law of a fox...How lucky am I? I thought...

"Sis look at these cuts on her back..."said Monica, who pulled up her blouse and showed her the gaping wound...

Monique felt her back.....and looked at us in horror...

"Oh my goodness...I think some of her organs were removed...Judging by that and how cold  the body is..She couldn't have been killed here...How long was she here?" she asked..

"I don't know....some guy found the body and called the police....about an hour ago..." I said.

"Where is he?" asked Monica...

Three of the uniforms looked around...

"He was here detectives!!!!......He appears to have slipped away..." they said looking baffled..

"With all these cameras around here somebody must have gotten a visual of him and whoever killed this girl and brought her here...What did your witness look like?" said Monica...

"Short, white guy about five foot six or seven, Dirty blonde hair...Average looking guy...He had on jeans, sneakers and a blue polo shirt." he said.

She looked at me...

"Our first case as a married couple hubby." she said and kissed me again...

"Yeah, how about that?" I said..

"Awwww you two are so cute..." gushed Monique...

Just then, she was kissed on the cheek....She turned and blushed...

"Ouuuu..."she said...

It was Lieutenant Cotton....He put a fresh carnation on her dress and smiled...

"Hi Dr. Talbert..." he said.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii Frankie...I mean..I mean Lieutenant Cotton." she corrected herself..

"Hey Nellis's...I'm glad you two are back and on this case....The officers filled me in....This is the damndest thing.... Can't believe somebody killed Penny.." he said.

"You know the victim sir?" I asked..

"Yeah...we dated a few years ago.." he sighed...

"My My My....seems like you're quite the ladies man.." joked Monique...

He whispered in her ear....

"Now I'm YOUR man...I thought I uh proved that last night..." he said..

Monique blushed something terrible....

"Yes you didddd!Oh My god!" she said and rubbed his hands....

He subtley squeezed her butt and smiled...

''Alright then.."

"Ouuuuuuuu....Frankieeeeeeeeeeee...Not in public." she whispered, blushing..

I smiled to myself..

"Release the body....I need to know as much about the cause of death as possible." I said.

II-

 While the body of Penny Purcell was headed back to the M.E.'s office... Monica and I headed to her job.....It's corporate offices...

 
We interviewed about 20 of her co-workers and associates... None of them had a bad word to say about her....

"We loved Penny...She did good work for us."said her supervisor...

"Was she having any problems with anybody?" I asked..

"No....nobody here."said her boss...

"Did she have a boyfriend?" asked Monica..

"No,not really...she dated on and off...but she was married to her work..."said one of her close friends..

"How was she the last time you saw her?" I asked..

"She was in good spirits...We were all supposed to be going to New York in a few days......Such a shame this had to happen." said the girl...

Monica and I went down her Twitter and Facebook friends list and tried to talk to as many people as we could...We interviewed all of the people she talked to on her phone...Nothing!

We checked her financials..Nothing out of the ordinary...

Finally we got a call from Monique in the M.E.'s office...

"Guys...this is weird...The killer made these incisions here...to make it look like it was a wild stabbing...but I'm suspecting they were made post mortem....This hole here..it was done with a surgical knife...and death was rapid...and I was right..some organs were removed...You're looking for someone with surgical skills ..."said Monique..

"So our killer came up behind her and cut her?" said Monica...

"Yes...It was so random...and so quick..she had no defense...I've never seen anything like this...."said Monique....

"I still have guys checking those cameras....."I said.

Monica's smartphone rang....

"Detective Nellis." she said..

I smiled...Monique smiled..

"You like that don't you Nate?" she said.

"I do...Monique..I pinch myself every morning...I can't believe it."I said..

"Awwwwww...that's so sweet how much you love her......" said Monique...

"Partner...We got another murder!!!!" she said.

III-

The victim was a young attractive and shapely white woman....She was sitting in the back seat of one of the street trolley's....slumped over....a puddle of blood just pouring from her...

She hadn't been discovered until the end of the line.....

Monica kneeled down with her latex gloves on and observed the body....

"Nate..it's the same kind of cut...with a gaping wound in the back...and a series of minor cuts around it...she's lost a lot of blood..."said Monica..

"Who discovered the body?" I asked..

"One of the passengers..." said the official...

"Is he around...??" I asked....

He looked around...

"He was right here...I uh don't know where he uh went...What in the hell,I told him to wait until you guys got here. Short, white guy about five foot six or seven, Dirty blonde hair...Average looking guy...He had on jeans, sneakers and a blue polo shirt.""he said.

"That fits the description of the guy who was at the other crime scene..." said Monica...

"Sure does...and like that one...we can rule out robbery in this one too... a uniformed officer found her purse..It had about $150.00 cash in it, three credit cards and one debit card....It also had her smartphone and she was wearing a very expensive necklace...."I said.

"You find any ID?" asked Monica..

"Her name is Virgina Riley and she's an Office Manager for a firm that's downtown somewhere...She was probably on her way to work..Which is why she was riding the trolley." I said.

"You think these two girls knew each other?" asked Monica..

"They're around the same age...and this one's office is just about 10 blocks from our first victim...It's a question worth answering..."I said.

Monique showed up and observed the body....

"Oh My God....same kinds of cuts as the last victim...Her body is still warm..So she doesn't look like she's been dead that long...Whoever this guy is...He's very proficient...Look for someone who has Special Forces or Military experience...or someone with a medical background."said Monique...

"That widens the field..."I said.

Lt. Cotton showed up...He was horrified....

"Oh My God...Jenny...."he exclaimed...

"You dated her too Lieutenant?" asked Monica...

He laughed...

"Come on...I didn't date every pretty girl in the city." he said,smiling sheepishly....

"I wonder..."laughed Monique...

He whispered in her ear...

"I'm gonna rip your clothes off of you, you just wait..."he joked...

"Frankieeeeeeeeee...stop, you're making me blush..." she laughed...

"Ahem!...Release the body...." said Monica, just shaking her head...

"You guys look like you've got a serial killer..Anyway...Virginia here used to live next door to Penny when I was dating her...We were all very good friends..." he said.

"Hmmm you seem to be the common denominator here Lieutenant....WHERE WERE YOU EARLY THIS MORNING?" joked Monica...

He didn't answer, he just gave Monique the side eye....

''Sis, you know he was with me...I'm sure you heard all the racket he was making..." she said both blushing and laughing...

I smiled...We did!

Our Lieutenant was completely gone over Monique....We heard the bedsprings just a squeaking and heard him howling with pure joy as they made love....It was funny and embarrassing all at once...

Monica and I lie in bed trying not to laugh......

"It doesn't make any sense for a man to be howling that much during sex."she said..

"Must be good."I mused, cracking up myself...

We knew he was nowhere near the crime scenes....We were just joking....He wouldn't have had the energy to do anything after the hurting Monique had put on him....

IV-

 At the M.E.'s office....Monique had finished examining the bodies.....

"These two died about a day apart.....Your killer was probably taking this one out while you were here discussing the other girl with me..."said Monique..

''Well Mo-Mo and I went to her office and interviewed her friends and co-workers....Nobody had a bad thing to say about her and she didn't seem to have a care in the world..."I said.

"The two girls knew each other...They were neighbors at one time...but they didn't hang out socially...They worked about ten blocks from each other...They didn't have any Facebook or Twitter friends in common...We checked her phone...She didn't talk to any of the people our first girl talked to."said Monica..

''I checked her financials.. Nothing out of the ordinary." I said.

"You think our killer just picked them randomly and it's a co-incidence that they used to live next door to each other..?" asked Monica..

"That's a big co-incidence..."I said.

Just then...my phone rang...

"Hello...Detective Nellis."I said..

"WHAT?? You gotta be kidding me..."I said.

"Uh Oh...I don't like this..."said Monica..

"We got another murder?" I said...

"Just back from our honeymoon and we got three open murders....Imagine that?" said Monica....

V-

 We were at Skyport...Where we had left for our honeymoon to go to the moon just weeks before and where we had returned from our honeymoon just a week ago....Here they had Shuttle flights going from Philly to the moon every three hours...

Our victim was a shapely and attractive Asian woman named Nancy Woo....Like the other two girls...She was 28-29 years old....Unlike the other two she did not work downtown...She worked here at Skyport....She worked in the ticket booth....Which was where she was found this morning...

"Well one thing is for sure...Our killer doesn't discriminate...If this is the same killer...He has killed a woman of almost every race.."I said..

"I found her purse."said a uniformed officer who passed it to me...


"Look....Credit cards,Debit card....Smartphone and $250.00 in cash....lipstick, compact....Nothing missing...Drivers License...Her name is Nancy Woo and she's 28 years old..."I said.

''Who found her?" asked Monica..

"Oh I did!!!" said a young woman..."I was wondering why she was still here...Our shift ended an hour ago...I was talking to her and she didn't respond...I tapped her on the shoulder and she fell over and I noticed all of the blood.."she said....

"Did you see anybody else around? A man ." she asked..

"As a matter of fact,I did...He was white, about five foot six or seven...blonde hair , blue polo shirt, jeans....Average looking guy..." she said..

"This is our guy...We gotta find him and stop him...before he kills again.."I said.

"We gotta find out who he is first partner.."said Monica.

Monique was once again on the scene...

"You two are keeping me busy...Maybe you two should go back on your honeymoon." she joked..

I whispered in Monica's ear...

"I sure wouldn't mind that..." I said.

Monica actually blushed...

"Ouuuuuuu, you aint never lied..." she said and softly rubbed my hands....

Lt. Cotton arrived and observed the body....

"Damn...Same kind of cuts.....same amount of blood...."he said.

"Did you date her too?" joked Monique....

"No...I don't know her...."he sighed...

"Well I'll be...a woman you don't know." joked Monica...

"Nate...Get your wife please!" he joked as we all laughed....

"Oh My God....Same kinds of cuts as the last victims...Her body is still warm..So she doesn't look like she's been dead that long...Whoever this guy is...He's very proficient...and he's moving very fast like he's on a schedule..." she said.

"Two of our victims knew each other and lived next door to each other at one time...I'm wondering if this girl lived near the other two?" I said.

"I'm afraid not partner...according to her drivers license...She lives across town and this is nowhere near where the other two worked or lived.."said Monica...

I scratched my head....In most murders..We went back over the people the killer knew and we traced the last days  leading up their death and we usually found our killer....but these three cases were not like that at all...At once they seemed random  and yet , they didn't...

Monica put her arms around me...

"What I wouldn't give to be on our honeymoon and in that jacuzzi right now ."she whispered....

I thought about the jacuzzi in our hotel room on the moon.... We had a beautiful almost surreal view of Planet Earth and our sun.....

Monica joined me in the Jacuzzi that was in our suite...Like I said...This was far beyond my imagination..Hers too!

"Ouuu Nate..Ouuuu Nate...The water is soo warm, she said as she eased in...

 "Come over here and let me show you what else is warm.." I said ,while staring at her salaciously...

She laughed..

"Ouuuu, you are sooo nasty.." she said as she came closer and we kissed...

I pulled her to me...

''My God Nate...In the Jacuzzi? Didn't we do it enough last night?" she asked while kissing my chest and my neck...

I didn't answer...I slipped her bikini bottom down and entered her slowly and softly....Her eyes got wide and she gasped...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyy."

Finally,I answered..

"I don't think we did.." She giggled and kissed me softly...

"I don't think we did either...ouuuuu.."she moaned.

"Ohhhhhhhh Nate.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Nate this is soooooo gooood..."she moaned as we continued to make love....

She positioned herself on top of me and began going up and down , up and down.....Her hair partially blocking her face....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  Mo-Mo..." I moaned...as she held on tightly and began moving faster and harder..

I pulled her to me and began kissing her passionately.....

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  Nate ,honey...this is beyond goood...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed..

"Yessss...arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it is..." I moaned as we continued....

We made sweet love in the warm bubbly water for the next three and a half hours...Neither of us would ever forget our honeymoon on the moon.

It was another hour of sweet lovemaking before I came so hard that once again I was frightened it could be this good...

Monica climaxed too and turned her head from side to side...Tears just flowing from her eyes...and sweat running down both of our bodies...

"You're thinking the same thing I was thinking weren't you?" asked Monica..

"I sure was...We didn't get much sleep that night did we?" I said.

Monica sighed...


"Yeah,just like we aren't going to get any sleep tonight with this triple murder." she said.


(TO BE CONTINUED-)