#yeah i know the correct way to draw a four-armed being is to duplicate the muscles but i didn't want to make it too complicated

[thecutofmylove]

Detective Turner - Layer I

This is the first layer of a Serial Killer Reader request I’ve received. I’m planning this out so that the individual layers will be shorter and there will likely be more of them. This is written in a male reader’s point of view, but each layer will focus on a single person, each being: the Storyteller, Alex, Tyler, Josh, and Brendon.

00:14:21:31

“Murder is a horror, but an often necessary horror, never criminal, which it is essential to tolerate in a republican State. Is it or is it not a crime? If it is not, why make laws for its punishment? And if it is, by what barbarous logic do you, to punish it, duplicate it by another crime?” - Marquis De Sade

-

Zero days, fourteen hours, and twenty-one minutes since the Saratoga Slasher was arrested and placed into a maximum security penitentiary after murdering eleven women and scattering their bodies across a nearby forest. Zero days, five hours, and three minutes since Alex arrived home from his flight, after closing one of the most disturbing cases he's ever worked. It was just after twelve AM when Alex arrived home to his apartment, and just after two AM when he went upstairs to find his girlfriend, Taylor, asleep in their bed. She was naked, tangled in the sheets and her hair was splayed across her pillow. On an average day, Alex may have taken the time to admire her beauty, but Alex was exhausted. He had been awake for thirty-seven hours reviewing evidence, surveying the slasher's home, and keeping his team in check. On top of that, Alex spent another three hours finishing paperwork and submitting his final report on the case, a grueling process that should have taken an hour, if only he wasn't so tired.

But Alex didn't have to think about being so tired anymore because now, his subconscious was conjuring up lustful dreams about the sleeping brunette beside him, wearing nothing more than-

"Al."

She was sitting in the corner of the living room  with her feet on the end table and a book propped open in her lap. Her fingers were wrapped loosely around a wine glass that was only half full of-

"Alex."

Her hair-

"Alex are you up?"

He groaned.

Her hair was-

"Alex. Your phone."

Alex sucked in a quick breath through his open lips. His throat, dry from sleep, betrayed his ability to speak and instead caused Alex to cough.

"Baby, it's your supervisor," She cooed. He could feel Taylor's delicate hand on his shoulder, rubbing soft circles into his skin.

"Le'm ring through," He groaned, turning over and rubbing his dry and tired eyes.

She sighed softly. "Alex, I've already answered. He says it's important you take his call." He could feel the bed shifting under her weight, and then he could feel her hot breath against the shell of his ear as she began to whisper. "Was everything okay in New York?"

His eyes opened at the thought. No, New York wasn't okay. "Fine," He mumbled. He was now quickly turning over onto his side and sitting upright to take his cellular. He pressed his back against the headboard of their bed frame. Even half asleep he was concerned about reclining himself comfortably. He tried to clear the sleep from his vocal chords as he signaled for Taylor to pass the phone.

She uncovered the microphone and spoke awkwardly "One moment."

Alex took the cellular from Taylor's well-manicured hand and despite his best efforts to sound awake, he sighed a raspy "Agent Turner."

"Turner," A familiar voice echoed. He sounds troubled. "Special Agent Gregory Sheppard." This isn't my supervisor. "We spoke a few years ago when you worked the Atlanta case." He paused. Atlanta, right. Alex was unable to hear anything on the other end. There were no rustling papers, no chatting voices, no elevator dings, no ringing office telephones, no background noise. It was stark silence surrounding this man. Where are you calling from? "I've got some troubling news, Alex," He continued.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut. Fuck. He had only been sleeping two hours, he was in no shape to take on another case. He licked his lips. "With all due respect, agent Sheppard-"

"Gregory; please. I insist."

Alex stopped. Had 'Gregory' seriously stopped him mid sentence to correct him with a first name? I couldn't give a shit who you are. "Gregory," Alex mirrored, slightly annoyed. "Have you got any idea what the hour is? I've just arrived from New York five hours ago. I haven't got any sleep, I can't work now. I spent two weeks on the other side of the country, the last thing I want is another airplane." Alex bit his tongue out of regret. He was the last person in his department that should have spoken to his superior that way. Sleep deprived or not, it was wrong.

Gregory audibly sighed. "Alex, I know this is inconvenient, but I need you to collect your team and meet me downtown in an hour." An hour? Had you heard anything I've just said? "Can you do that?"

Taylor hadn't gone back to sleep after handing Alex the phone. She was curled up to Alex's side with her cheek on his chest and her fingertips gently running up and down his left arm. Truthfully, she was just as anxious about the call as he was, almost as anxious as she was thinking about Alex leaving again for another long-distance case.

Alex sighed. An hour wasn't much time to gather his team at all. "I'm not sure they've got their phones on at this hour," He said with a touch of sarcasm. "Being half four."

Taylor, however didn't seem to like that remark. She took it upon herself to correct Alex's behavior by flicking him on the ear. "Be nice," She scolded.

"Ow!" He jumped instinctively at the sharp sting, ducking his head away from her fingers and reaching blindly beneath the sheets for her side. "I apologize Gregory, I've run into the end table. You still engaged?"

"Yes," He sighed. "I'm here. Alex"

Alex continued to grab at Taylor's side, tickling her and feigning concern to the man on the other end. "Matthew is a short drive from my flat. I can stop by and see if I can't wake him, yeah?" His eyes flickered to the squirming body beside him. Taylor had a hand clasped over her mouth and the other, pushing on Alex's forearm. Leaving was a ridiculous thing to be upset over. Alex knew when he accepted his promotion that he would be in the field much more frequently, especially during cases outside the comfort of Los Angeles. He hoped that whatever this case was, would end at the California border. "I suppose he would be 'Agent Helders' to you, wouldn't he?" Alex asked.

"I've already contacted Helders and briefed him on the case, he was the first agent I phoned," Gregory confessed. "I needed forensics I could trust." 'Trust'. Why are you being so cryptic?

"Forensics?" You could have phoned a local department, but you specifically chose Matthew Helders. Why? Alex was baffled. "What sort of 'case' is this, exactly? Occurring at half four in the AM?" Alex's fingers stopped and Taylor's laughing ceased. The mood had changed considerably.

"I'm not sure yet." That's a lie. The dread was thick in Gregory's voice; this wasn't a 'friendly consultation' for 'old time's sake'. "It's best we don't discuss this over the phone. If the press gets a hold of this before we have any information-" His voice faltered. Is someone there with him? "I-I'm sure you understand Alex."

"I'm not sure I do, Gregory." Of course, Alex understood perfectly. Exchanging pertinent information over the phone could compromise the credibility of the evidence or the security of the case, but he wasn't satisfied with so few details. If I'm getting out of bed after two hours of sleep and driving across town, my career had better be on the line. "Who's jurisdiction does this 'matter' fall under?"

"Christ Alex," He cursed. "Just get your god damn ass over here." No answer. Are you violating the chain of command by phoning me? "If this could wait, I wouldn't have rang at such an hour." He inaudibly grumbled under his breath, likely insulting Alex. That was fine, Alex had done the same just moments ago. "I'll have my tech send the addresses to your PDA."

"Addresses?" Plural? "Two cases?"

"One case. Two locations," Gregory corrected. "I'm hours away. You'll meet my team at the scene, local PD was left out of this one. I requested a discreet investigation, and I'd like to keep it that way. No flashing lights, no fancy bureau-issued cars, Alex. The last thing I need is someone seeing federal plates." His demands felt like a verbal attack against Alex's department, but he knew Gregory Sheppard had no personal 'vendetta' against Alex or his team. He's upset. Is this case personal?

Alex exhaled loudly through parted lips. "I'm two short. Agent Nicholson is consulting on a case in Hidalgo County, a triple homicide, and Agent Kane is attending a wedding in Virginia." Alex released Taylor's side completely and raised his hand to his face. He harshly rubbed over his right brow bone; right to left, left to right, right to left. He then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have three available agents until further notice."

"That's alright, I'd like as few cars as possible. My guys have Helders, get agents Cook and O'Malley, and get there as timely as you can."

Before Alex could argue, the line was dead and a pattern of three short beeps signaled that Gregory had hung up on him. "Fantastic," Alex scoffed.

-

When Agent Turner arrived at the scene, it was exactly as Gregory Sheppard said it would be. It was a very small pub with no 'crime scene' tape and no police patrolling. Gregory had two agents casually standing outside the front door, and that drew enough attention. Alex could tell by the amount of expired cigarettes surrounding their feet that they had been outside a while. He could not, however, tell if they were planted there intentionally to keep civilians out or to draw attention away from what was happening inside. He supposed it didn't matter either way. However, what did matter was their blatant disregard for preserving evidence. Neither of the agents were wearing gloves, and both of them were continuously touching the hand rails and the door. "What sort of agent doesn't wear gloves at a crime scene?" He mused under his breath.

"Suppose it doesn't matter to them," Nicholas O'Malley said matter of factly from the back seat. "If Sheppard isn't here, this place is going to be a circus."

"Messy," Jamie Cook confirmed from the passenger seat.

Alex audibly sighed and brought his elbow back to rest on the center console between the front seats. "A mess I'll have to clean."

The two agents could hear the agitation in Alex's voice and they both stiffened their spines as if sitting up straight would fix the situation. Jamie, especially, knew how terrible Alex's temper was when cases overlapped with local departments. "Perhaps Matt's found something of use?" Jamie offered innocently.

Alex groaned an 'mm' sound, rolling his eyes and tossing his shoulders backwards into the driver's seat. "What are the chances he's kept it to himself?"

Nick cleared his throat awkwardly, drawing the attention of the other two men in the car. "By chance, has Sheppard shared any details about what happened here exactly?"

Alex shook his head.

"He's called you in and hasn't told you anything?" Jamie could see now why Alex had been unusually quiet. He looked over at the side of Alex's face. Alex's jaw was clenched as he watched the two agents at the door of the pub chatting innocently back and forth. His left arm was bent, elbow resting on the car door as he drew the backs of his first two fingers up and down his cheek. Jamie couldn't tell what Alex was thinking about exactly, but the feeling in his gut told him to drop the subject.

"He didn't." Alex suddenly opened the car door. "Gregory's hours away." He swung his left leg from the car, placing his left foot flat on the pavement of the parking lot. Before he climbed out of the car, he turned to look both Jamie and Nick in the eyes. "I'm not waiting."

"Al!" Nick called after Alex, once he'd gotten out and closed the door behind him. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Jamie smirked. "He doesn't follow rules, why should we?" He asked teasingly.

The duo sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other and grinning. Nick supposed they were asking questions with their eyes. Questions such as, 'are you serious?' and 'do we value our jobs this little to risk losing them over breaking the chain of command?'. The answers were obviously decided a 'yes' as the two climbed out of the car and began speed walking to the front door of the pub. They raced each other like children would have, in a more ridiculous fashion. A shameful display of elbow shoving, chest grabbing, arm tugging, absurdity. They were just grateful Alex hadn't seen them. However, when they slowed their pace and approached Alex from behind, Nick knew Alex had heard everything.

Alex had pulled his credentials from his jeans pocket and flashed them to the agents standing at the door. While doing so, he'd looked over his shoulder and given the duo a stern look. He then turned back to the man checking his ID and licked his lips. "Agent Alex Turner." He introduced himself first. "These are Agents Nicholas O'Malley and Jamie Cook. I've got another inside, Matthew Helders. We were personally phoned by Gregory Sheppard himself. We're with the-"

The agent adopted a friendly smile and gestured for Alex to put his ID away. "Detective Kelley Browder," He extended his hand towards Alex. "Agent Sheppard informed us of your arrival, he neglected to state when you were arriving. I guess, it's now." He shrugged his broad shoulders and looked to the much shorter agent beside him. "We were given six names, but there are only four?"

The shorter agent flicked his spent cigarette aside and turned his head away from the group to blow smoke from the side of his mouth. "Will the others be arriving later?"

Alex accepted Kelley's formal gesture. He clasped their hands together and partook in what was a rather sloppy handshake for Alex's own taste, but he kept that bit to himself. "Uh, no. My technical analyst is taking care of a case in Hidalgo county, a bit of a busy department down there."

Kelley released Alex's hand and returned his hand to his pants pocket. "The triple homicide, right? Sheppard was phoned about that one, but our department doesn't have the resources to hand out."

Alex nodded in agreement. "My team typically doesn't go on solo cases, but agent Nicholson's services were requested. It's not a problem. If we've got something, he's only a ring away."

"I don't think you will," The shorter agent said solemnly. "This one's pretty cut and dry, a homicide on a John Doe. Agent Helders did find something that you might want to see, Agent Turner."

Me? Alex was confused. "I don't believe I've got your name agent..."

"Dooley. Randall Dooley." Randall too, extended a hand to Alex as Kelley had. "Word is, the sick fuck that did this wants you on this case."

A firm grip, Alex thought. "I suppose I'll have a look then, won't I?"

"Of course." Agent Kelley stepped aside at Alex's request and reached for the door handle. Respectful, Alex noted. "It's a mess in there," Kelley warned. "Two of our guys opted to speak to the witnesses instead of collecting samples."