Two Weeks Later

Scott felt numb, he felt so confused his parents were planning a funeral for Alice. Michael ended up calling his school and saying Scott would be absent for a few days the other morning. He couldn't get out of bed. It was like he was having a nightmare being put on repeat.

Scott finally checked his clock. It read 11:45 P.M. he then got out of bed, and sulked downstairs and sat down at the kitchen island. Michael was standing at the opposite side of the island, staring at his son seeing how absolutely heartbroken he was. But was wondering why Scott was awake this late.

He lost his sister, his better half, Alice meant the world to Scott and now she's gone. Michael didn't know how to proceed in talking to Scott, he looked so exhausted like he stayed up crying for hours. So he tried to talk to him, "Hey bud, what are you doing up?" He asked.

He got no response, Scott just sat there staring into a void of emptiness. Michael decided it was best to get him back in bed. He poured his cup of water into the sink and then got Scott, carrying him upstairs to his room laying him in his bed.

Before he could leave Scott tugged at his hand, Michael leaned down to him. "What is it Scott?" He spoke in a gentle tone.

"P- please stay, I d- don't wanna be a- alone." He stuttered.

"Do you wanna sleep with me and mom?" Michael asked, stroking his fingers through Scott's hair. Scott nodded and Michael took his son in his arms carrying him to his and Rosie's room.
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The Next Morning

Meanwhile at the precinct, Detective Bowen was writing up some reports. Alice's autopsy was going to be worked on later today, he felt awful, he wished he'd found Alice in time so she would have been safe and home with her family.

But here he is, investigating a homicide instead of a kidnapping. The fact that the murder weapon wasn't found at the crime scene, Ryan knows this case won't be open and shut, but that's a good thing. It's adding more fuel to his fire.

Michelle didn't show up to the Blair's house to inform the family of their tragic loss, but she shows up on time to the precinct. Technically she's on this case too, Ryan isn't about to do everything on his own, even though he likes it that way.

He sat at his desk, absentmindedly tapping his mechanical pencil repeatedly. Part of him knew it was bothering Michelle, but he didn't care, she should be annoyed. Just like he is right now because he called her nine times but she didn't pick up.

That is why he had to go to the Blair's by himself, so as he kept tapping his pencil, in the corner of his eye Michelle had an annoyed expression. Hey, if he had to suffer then she was going down with him. "Hey, Bowen, do you mind some of us are trying to work." Michelle said.

Bingo. He thought, "Now that I have your attention, why didn't you answer my calls two weeks ago? I called you nine times. And you never called back. Why is that?" Ryan began to interrogate.

"I was busy, besides you had it covered." She replied.

"Yeah, well, two weeks ago I had to tell a family that they lost a loved one. And if I remember correctly you're on the case too, which means you get to deliver some of the news too. Good or bad, doesn't matter. If you're not going to take this seriously, then maybe you should be off of my case." Ryan said.

Michelle crossed her arms, "Yeah, I'm not emotionally invested when it comes to telling people their loved ones are dead, but when there's a murderer out there, I'm going to find them and bring them to justice for their crimes."

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah, well it's part of the job, whether you like it or not. So just remember who's the detective and who's the officer."

"I'm gonna set some ground rules. One, if I call, you answer, plain and simple. If you don't then the captain will love to hear about you not doing your job. Two, you better show up on time no matter what we're doing or where we are."

"Three, I am the person in charge of this case, if I find out you're withholding any and I mean any information, you will be kicked off the case and most likely won't have a job, I've tried to be polite and civilized, but it seems you don't care about that. So again if you disobey any of these rules then there will be a problem between you and me." Ryan explained.

Michelle scoffed, "Fine."

"Good, now let's go we've got an autopsy to review." Ryan got up from his desk and began walking towards the stairs leading to the morgue.
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Once Ryan and Michelle got to the morgue they were greeted by the Medical Examiner, Dr. Ezekiel Thomas, he had Alice's body laid down on the table. She looked so gone, so grey, so cold, so... lifeless. "Hey Dr. Thomas, what have you found?" Ryan greeted.

"Detective Bowen, Officer Collins, well my findings weren't that great. Since we don't have the murder weapon we have no finger prints, or any identification of where Alice was killed."

"What we do know is that she was starved and dehydrated, considering how skinny she is, but her cause of death was blunt force trauma." Dr. Thomas explained.

Michelle made an observation, "She has multiple contusions and bruises, she was tortured."

"So this wasn't a normal killing, but what confuses me is the question: Is this guy a sadist?" Ryan questioned.

Ezekiel nodded, "Exactly, there is some evidence that Alice fought back but ultimately lost, when her head made contact with something. But obviously the object is unclear."

"So if this guy's a sadist, that means he took pleasure in torturing Alice. What the heck is going on in the world?"

"I don't know honestly, the full report is on my desk Ryan, you can go ahead and take it." Dr. Thomas said, Ryan went over and to his desk and took the file.

"C'mon Collins, we gotta go locate some other witnesses. See if they saw anything." Ryan started heading back to the stairs, and heading back upstairs to his desk, sighing, and typing names, locations, and hidden areas near where Alice's body was found.

Now they just need to call on witnesses and hope they saw anything that could bring them closer to the murderer, and get justice for Alice.
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The End of Chapter 6