Bella took in step beside her and whispered, "It's about time.”
BELLA
Bella parked just beyond the crime scene tape and pulled a couple of pairs of latex gloves from the glove compartment. She handed Niyah a pair. The call came over as a man down. He was black and naked with puncture wounds in his torso.
“Let’s do this,” Niyah said, opening the door.
They got out and walked toward the scene. An officer raised the crime scene tape for them to enter. Like most homicide scenes, there were more cops then need be. Just like civilians, cops had a tendency to be nosy.
Bella walked over to a group of officers. “Hey. Which house is it?” she asked.
One of the officers pointed to a brick bungalow in the middle of the block. “That one.”
“Did you guys do a canvas?” Bella asked.
The officer shrugged. “It’s not my case.”
Bella was instantly aggravated. “Then, why are you here?”
The officer glared at her with a frown. “Traffic control.”
“Ain’t no traffic!” Bella snapped before walking away.
Niyah chuckled. “You are quite the people person.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “They get on my nerves.”
“I’ll bet you used to do the same shit when you worked patrol.”
Bella dropped her head. “I did,” she admitted through laughter.
When they reached the gate, Bella noticed a familiar face in the yard. Lieutenant Maria Mendez was having a conversation with an evidence technician. She must have been supervising the scene. Bella and Niyah entered the yard and walked over to Maria.
“Hey, Bella. Hey, Doc,” Maria spoke as they approached. “
“Hey,” she and Niyah responded at the same time.
“What we got?” Bella asked.
Maria pointed toward the house. “He’s on the porch.”
“On the porch?” Bella repeated with a wrinkled brow.
The body on the porch was significantly different than her last case. “Is anyone canvasing the neighborhood?”
“I got the tactical team on it.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
Maria was a new lieutenant, but she was supervising the scene like a veteran. Niyah slipped her fingers into a pair of rubber gloves and walked up the porch steps. Bella put on her gloves and followed. When she reached the top step, she realized that the scene was more similar to the first one than she’d initially thought.
The victim was young, black, and had the same gang tattoos as the last victim. But more importantly, the victim was naked, and the puncture wounds on his torso were similar to those on the last victim.
“This one tried to get away,” Niyah muttered. “It’s more than likely the same killer.”
“Yeah,” Bella concurred with a sigh.
CHAPTER 7
