~ His Pet ~ Chapter Three

"~ His Pet ~ Chapter Two" 

Chapter 3

Jamaica Ave, Queens
Wednesday June 4th

The young, colored woman leaning against the battered van certainly didn't look like a member of the cloth with her shoulder-length beaded braids, well-worn fatigues, and WWJD t-shirt but the lord worked in mysterious ways. She eyeballed the approaching Detectives skeptically over purple-tinted Lennon glasses. Bryce gave her his most charming smile and held out a deli bag. She tried to hold the look but couldn't keep the corners of her lips from curling at the grinning six foot Catholic schoolboy. She accepted the "free" lunch with a nod of thanks to him and his partner.
"What's it going to cost me?" she asked knowingly.
"We just need a little information, Sister," Gina said pulling the photos out. "We believe all three victims to be working girls and the work of a single perp. The first one there, we have identified as Melissa May. We would be grateful for any help you could give us with the other two."

Sister Pearl's stomach rolled looking at the graphic photos. It was just something you never got used to. She closed her eyes for a moment but nodded grimly, indicating the second vic's picture.
"This is Alicia Jennings. She's from Indiana, near Chicago. Showed up here about 6 months ago looking for a fresh start. Hope she gets one now," she muttered crossing herself. "This other one I've seen around. She goes by the name of "Sugar Bare, as in B...A...R...E, get it right." She would say. I don't know her given name. The last I heard, she was working over at "T&A" on Atlantic as a part-time dancer part-time waitress. She has a bad habit and works the street to get her fix."
"We really appreciate your help," Gina said softly as she took the pictures back.
"We would appreciate it if you get the word out to the girls. That's three working girls in less than two weeks. All three were blond. All three were taken elsewhere for the "action", then dumped. We need all the help we can get here. Maybe they could let you know if they've seen or heard anything suspicious. We're not vice. We have no desire to bust them; we want to protect them by nailing this sick fuck!" Callahan said firmly. Sister Pearl held the detective's gaze for a long moment then nodded. The girls trusted her and she wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize that but she trusted these two as well. The girls were in real danger until this creep was behind bars.
"I'll ask around and if I come up with anything, I will give you a call detective."


T&A Bar
Atlantic St., Queens
Wednesday, June 4th

The slick looking bartender barely glanced at the picture before shaking his head negatively.
"Sorry. I don't know her," he muttered. Gina reached out and pushed his sunglasses up to rest on top of his head, resisting the urge to wipe her hand after touching his limp, greasy, dishwater blond hair.
"Look at it again. Maybe that will help," she said a little sarcastically. He glared at her with watery, blood-shot eyes for a moment but glancing at her partner, wisely shut his mouth. Looking back down, he actually took a look.

"Shit. That's Sugar Bare. She dances here a couple times a week."
"Does Sugar Bare happen to go by any other name?"
"Like most women she will answer to anything if you wave a little green her way, baby," he sneered, leaning close. Gina moved a little closer and dropped her voice to a husky purr.
"I'm sure it would be more then "a little" green in your case slick, and it's Detective Baby to you."
"Joyce. Joyce Bare," he stuttered.

"When's the last time you saw her?" Bryce asked suppressing a grin at the dazed expression on the poor sap's acne pitted face.
"I don't know. I guess it was Saturday night/Sunday morning. She waitresses on Friday and Saturday. As you can tell she's not the best looking woman and we have better to dance the prime nights," he said looking Pancamo over again.
"What time did she leave?" she asked, ignoring his slam on the deceased.
"She stayed for clean up and left when I was counting down, so about four o'clock."
"Do you have an address for her?"
"I'd be happy to give you mine, detective. You know, in case you ever decided to do a little moonlighting as a dancer or maybe a little private entertaining," he murmured, the slimy smile returning as he moved his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans offering up some strudel.
"You couldn't afford me in this dump and I wouldn't want to hurt ya Jr," Gina said coolly, her dark eyes flashing dangerously. The guy obviously took note because he sullenly answered her question.

"If she couldn't find herself some loser to lay under, she flopped with some of the other girls upstairs."
"Did she leave with "some loser" Sunday morning?" Callahan snapped. His patience with the insolent snake was growing thin.
"Not that I saw. She headed towards the back. She may have gone upstairs but she could have gone out the back door just as easy. It's not my fucking job to watch her. Now if we are done here, I got shit to do," the slight built man whined. Bryce moved forward so that his broad chest pinned the punk to the bar. Looking down at him with a smile that was sinister in its charm, he chewed his gum for a long moment, letting the creep squirm.
"Point us to one of her roommates, and we are done with you for the time being."


Precinct Station house
Manhattan, NY
Late Wednesday, June 4th


"I figured I would find you both still here," a deep baritone greeted from the doorway, dragging both detectives out of their research.
"Hey, Stern," Bryce greeted the shrink, happy for any reason to stand and stretch.
"You're working late," Gina said, trying to smile around an insistent yawn.
"No rest for the wicked they say," the doctor offered with a cynical twist of his lips and a sparkle to his pale blue eyes.
"That explains not only us but our perps as well," Bryce muttered wryly as he moved to start another pot of coffee. Stern commandeered an office chair and spinning it around, straddled it to rest his forearms across its back. His pale eyes landed on Gina as he said,
"Fill me in."

Gina studied Stern while she presented what they had so far. She was a people watcher and Stern was worth watching. He had close cut strawberry blond hair, a long handsome face lined with intelligence and humor, and hooded ice blue eyes. It was the eyes that always drew Gina's attention. His eyes could be warm and laughing, thoughtful and calculating, or as cold and lifeless as a shark. He smiled then, as if reading her thoughts and she shivered. The small spark she felt warming her core made her wonder if the shiver was fear or pure animal attraction.

Stern rested his forearms on the back of the chair and regarded Detective Gina Pancamo. The woman was striking as hell. Even as long as he had worked with her, he still caught his breath at the first sight of her. Her mink brown hair was cut in a short pixie that teamed with her olive complexion, exquisite high cheekbones, brilliant smile, and huge dark sparkling eyes gave her an impish look when happy. Those same dark eyes could take on a haunted sadness that the man inside the shrink ached to erase.

Bryce clearing his throat brought both out of their musing.
"What do you think, Doc?" he asked. Stern ran a hand over tired eyes, then the top of his head.
"Male, early twenties to mid-thirties, single, most likely Caucasian. From the M.E.'s report, he's a large man. It looks like six five to six six, probably over three hundred pounds. From the sound of things, I would say abused and molested as a child by his mother or a female relative. All the victims have been blond, chesty, and in their late twenties to early thirties, mature women. It's likely that the abuser matched these characteristics. He's not worried about the DNA evidence, leading me to believe he's never been a rape suspect previously. The care he is taking in the abduction, concealment, and the dumping of the body is inconsistent with the unbelievable rage involved in the actual attack. We have ourselves a winner of a Sociopath here that's not going to stop until we stop him."

"~ His Pet ~ Chapter Four"