Breaing the Rules

Andy Bartholomew is a tough NY Cop with fifteen years experience in the force. Promoted to Detective five years ago he commenced working for the Vice Squad, but is now a respected Homicide Detective. He’s a man’s man and takes no crap from anyone, whether that is a partner, another cop or a criminal. He’s the kind of Cop who works within the rules and takes great pride in his honesty and integrity. He’s the type of cop who instantly demands respect. At 6’3’ with a very muscular build he regularly represents NYPD at the Police Games. He has a reputation of being uncompromising and hard-hitting. Other cops knew never to test Detective Andy Bartholomew to the limit. It was a view that Andy never discouraged.

At 35, Andy has never been married. It’s not that he hasn’t had some very serious relationships in the past. It’s just that his type of career and a family life don’t always go well together. He’s watched to many other Cops’ families suffer when they sacrifice there personal lives for career and sadly it’s usually the kids who suffer the most.

Andy and his partner, David Rawkolsky, have been together on Homicide for the past 3 years. Although Andy considers Dave to be one of his best mates that doesn’t mean they live in each other’s pockets though. They’re partners, not bosom buddies, but they both know they can rely on the other 100% of the time.

They are currently working on a homicide investigation related to the murder of a young prostitute. Their investigation is going nowhere fast. Too many people in the department and the media saying, ‘it’s just another hooker,’ but that’s not their way. As far as Andy and Dave are concerned someone’s life has been taken in the most heinous and violent of circumstances. Apart from the fact that nobody deserves to die that way it also means that there is a murderer out there on the streets who could strike again anytime soon.

There investigation was leading Andy back onto some old familiar turf. He’s been reacquainting himself with some of the girls on the street, who he knew from his days in Vice. He was checking out all news on the street. At this stage nobody had anything serious to report. The girls were rather frightened though and were sticking close to each other and their pimps for added safety.

‘Celebrity’, the young hooker found murdered in the park, had been subjected to some of the most brutal abuse that Andy and Dave had witnessed in there time. Her body had been repeatedly slashed in a frenzied attack and both her breasts had been severed and as yet not located. Andy wondered whether this meant the killer was keeping trophies? This was the second of a similar type of attack in the last month. Andy’s fear was that this had the potential to be a serial killer on the loose. The previous murder was a hooker too. There were similarities between these two murders, but the latter one was much more violent.

Tonight Andy and Dave planned on doing a bit more footwork and getting around some more of the girls on the beat. They needed to know more about Celebrity; the places she haunted and the circle she worked in.

Their first port of call was a seedy little bar called ‘Bob’s Bar & Grill’ located close to the scene of Celebrity’s murder. Bob’s was well known to the cops as a frequent pick up place for the girls. They cruised down the street and pulled up around the corner from the bar. They’d already spotted 3 or 4 girls standing just back from the corner.

Andy was first to walk around the corner, Dave trailing a couple of paces behind. As he turned the corner he bumped straight into one of the girls. Andy immediately recognized Kelly. She hadn’t changed all that much in the last couple of years. She was still a stunning piece of ass, Andy thought. He could never work out why Kelly was on the street. She was no junky and she could have been a model, had her life taken a different turn.

Kelly recognized Andy too. Although he was a cop and she should have bolted into the night, Kelly knew that Andy wasn’t here to bust her. ‘Detective Bartholomew, so nice to see you again,’ Kelly drawled. ‘Here for business or pleasure?’ Kelly asked. ‘Purely business, Kelly,’ Andy answered. ‘Detective Rawkolsky and I are investigating the murder of Celebrity and we want to speak to anyone who saw her between the hours of 11pm last Friday and the time she was found the following morning,’ Andy said. Kelly shook her head and said, ‘Celebrity was here that evening, but she took off with some trick about 9.00pm and that was the last we saw of her.’ Andy quickly asked, ‘Can you give us a description of the john or his car?’ ‘No, none of were taking any particular interest. We just thought it was another john. I can vaguely remember seeing the guy through the care window, but I can’t really give you any details,’ she replied. Kelly provided him with whatever info she could recall, which didn’t happen to be much. They spoke with the other girls, but didn’t really find out anything they hadn’t already learned. Before leaving Andy gave Kelly his contact details and said, ‘If you remember anything else or see this guy again you call me, ya hear.’

They moved on and cruised around for a few hours, until they decided about 3am to call it a night and head home. Dave dropped Andy off at his apartment, before heading home too.

Andy opened the door, switched on the light and headed for the fridge. It was late, but he needed a beer to unwind before getting some sleep. He sat down on the lounge, without turning on the TV, and surveyed his surroundings. He’d really done quite well for himself over the years. It was an up market apartment, very stylishly furnished with art deco furniture, which complemented the modern feel of the apartment. Looking out the wide window in the lounge he could see the lights of the city twinkling in the distances.

Andy leaned back with his eyes closed and started to run the days events over in his mind. Nothing new had really presented itself in the investigation. As yet there was nothing to link the two murders, but gut feeling had him a little anxious. Andy knew that more often than not his gut feeling had a way of becoming reality. For once he hoped that wasn’t going to be true.

Lying there thinking through the conversation with Kelly, Andy pondered again why a girl like her was on the street? She was obviously well educated and he’d never known her to be involved in the drug scene. That in itself was quite extraordinary, as that was what brought most of the other girls there. In her own way she seemed even a little shy. She certainly wasn’t your average hooker, he thought.

With his beer finished and knowing he had an early meeting in the morning Andy headed off to bed. He was beat and was asleep in seconds. His mind wandered from dream to dream and funnily enough Kelly was in most of them. Some hours later a shrill ringing disturbed a very provocative dream of him and Kelly, which he shutdown immediately the phone roused him.

Grabbing the phone, Andy answered in a gruff sleepy voice, ‘What?’ Dave quickly replied, ‘We’ve got another one.’ Andy was totally awake now and sat up in bed quickly. ‘Is it the same MO?’ he asked. ‘Yeah, but even more frenzied than the others,’ Dave replied. ‘I’m hitting the shower, pick me up in ten,’ Andy replied as he replaced the receiver and headed for the shower. Standing under the water Andy’s thoughts momentarily drifted back to his night of aimless dreams, wondering what they all meant. He remembered Kelly’s significant role in them and instantly felt himself stir. Now wasn’t the time to reminisce though. He had a case to solve.

Showered and changed, Andy headed to the lift and made his way down ready to meet Dave. He jumped into Dave’s car as it pulled up in front of him and said, ‘Ok, you better brief me, Partner.’ Dave quickly filled him on the details he’d received over the phone from a desk sergeant at headquarters. They were being called in to go over the three crimes and to start running analysis. It was too early to alert media of the potential of a serial murderer, but it sure was shaping up that way. They needed forensic reports back and they need to run tests on the latest victim too, before they could make any serious comparisons.

During briefing they had learned that the latest victim was found not all that far from where Celebrity’s body had been dumped. They were shown initial first photos from the crime scene and were to attend the autopsy later that morning. It was evident that the stabbings and marks had a very close similarity to the previous two victims and this one’s breasts were severed too. But the violence was even more alarming. There was hardly a square inch of flesh that didn’t have a stabbing mark. So violent was the attack that the victims face was totally disfigured. They were only able to identify her from cards found in her wallet.

Andy and Dave left headquarters and were driving to the morgue, when they heard the news bulletin announcing that another prostitutes body had been found. ‘Christ, it doesn’t take those vultures long to pounce,’ Dave spat out. ‘At least they didn’t mentioned the word SERIAL yet,’ Andy replied. ‘Yeah, the bastards just love creating news, before we even know what we’re dealing with,’ Dave said. ‘They’ll have every hooker in NYC starting to panic, which probably isn’t a bad thing’, Andy commented. ‘At least it might make them a little more careful,’ Dave replied.

After spending an hour at the morgue, they knew that the victim had died from multiple stab wounds. She’d been sexually assaulted, just like the other two. She had burn marks on her wrists where she’d been struggling to free herself from whatever it was that she was manacled with. Like the other two, the only evidence was fibres found on the skin where she’d been tied. Each time the killer had cut them free and removed the restraint. They’d yet to identify exactly what the restraint was made of. It was some unusual kind of fibre, not the normal rope you’d expect. Forensics was making it a priority.

Andy turned his cell phone back on and it immediately beeped alerting him to messages. He listened to the messages one after another, until he got to a frantic message from Kelly, the hooker from the previous evening. In her confused ramblings she was saying that she knew the victim and that she’d been at Bob’s Bar & Grill late last night. Kelly also thought she might have seen the John that picked her up.

Andy knew that it was useless to head to Bob’s this early in the day, as none of the girls would be there. They decided to return to HQ and go over some details; hoping to find some other common links in all the statements they’d taken so far.

It was many hours later that Andy and Dave left HQ and headed out for a meal. They’d worked through lunch, as they were now accumulating an extensive amount of material. They decided to head to Bob’s Bar & Grill to eat, hoping that Kelly might show up early, if she showed at all. Her message gave the impression that she was particularly distressed, which Andy could understand completely. Three of her working colleagues had been murdered and she thinks she may have seen the killer. That’s one hell of a load for any young woman to bear, he thought.

Andy and Dave were sitting back having a quiet beer after their meal. Although they were on duty, they knew to sit somewhere like Bob’s and not have a beer was going to bring obvious and unwanted attention from other patrons. Kelly showed about 11pm. She wasn’t alone. She was with another 3 or 4 girls. Dave spotted her first and nudged Andy. ‘She’s here old mate,’ Dave said and shrugged his shoulders towards the window. At least they had enough sense to try for safety in numbers, Andy thought, as he glanced out the window. Andy suggested that it might be wise to speak to her alone, as he knew her from the old days and she was already frightened enough. Dave agreed, as Andy stood and then made his way towards the exit.

Kelly spotted Andy immediately and broke away from the other girls and headed in his direction. Andy could see the frightened stunned look in her eyes as she approached him. ‘Thank God you’re here’ Kelly stuttered. ‘I took the chance that you’d come tonight and decided to come with the other girls,’ Kelly continued. Andy could tell from the way her voice raced that she was frightened beyond belief. He draped his arm over her shoulder, pulled her close offering comfort and told her to ‘Calm down love or you’ll give yourself a heart attack.’ Andy could feel Kelly’s body sway into his like she was ready to pass out. He tightened his grip on her. ‘I know you’re worried Kelly, but you need to calm down so that we can talk,’ Andy said. ‘Calm down, Jesus, how can I calm down I’m sure I saw the bastard who’s been doing this, killing my friends,” Kelly jumbled out all at once.

Andy looked her deeply in the eyes and said, ‘You know who’s doing this?’ ‘Not exactly, but I’m sure I’ve seen him here before picking up other girls. I just don’t know who he is though. I’m almost certain he’s the same guy who picked up Celebrity too’ Kelly replied rather shakily. ‘Kelly, do you think this guy realized that you recognized him?’ Andy asked. ‘Not initially, no, he pulled up in his car and Stella and I both walked over to the window, but I allowed Stella to pick him up, as I knew she was desperate for cash and needed a fix. I leaned down catching a glimpse of his face and said, ‘Your lucky night to night Darling, you’ve got one of the best,’ Kelly disjointedly said. ‘It wasn’t until he was driving away from the curb that he glanced back and we made fleeting eye contact, that I think he may have realized I recognized him. The look in his eyes was pure evil’ Kelly mumbled.

Andy thought fast and realized he couldn’t leave Kelly out here alone. She was going to be a sitting duck if this guy had recognized her and he needed her alive to help identify whoever this bastard was that was committing these murders. Andy motioned through the bar window for Dave to come and join them. Dave quickly rose to his feet and made his way out. As he approached, Andy said, ‘Dave, we need to get Kelly out of here. I think she’s in real danger.’ ‘Why, what the hells going on?’ Dave asked. ‘I’ll brief you on the way,’ he replied.

They turned the corner and headed to Dave’s car. Once they were all belted in Dave pulled the car out into the flow of traffic. ‘Right, starting talking Partner and fill me in,’ Dave demanded. Andy quickly told him of his conversation with Kelly and about her suspicions that the guy who picked Stella up was possibly the same guy who picked up Celebrity. ‘Where we heading man?’ Dave asked. ‘Hell, I don’t know. All I thought of was getting Kelly out of there and out of immediate danger,’ Andy replied. ‘We don’t know that the bastard hasn’t already got Kelly under surveillance, especially if he realized that Kelly maybe able to ID him,’ Dave whispered to Andy. ‘I know, I’m worried about that too,’ Andy replied. ‘We need to get her out of the city, Dave,’ Andy said. ‘The only thing I can think of at short notice is my little holiday house out at Island,’ Andy said. ‘Kelly we’re going to get you out of the city tonight. I want you as far away from your normal haunts as we can get you, until you’re able to help identify this bastard, ok?’ Andy told her. Kelly silently nodded her head in agreement.

‘Right Dave, you drop me off at home and I’ll grab my car and then you head into HQ and grab as many mug shot and whatever else you can think of so that we can make a start on identifying this guy and meet us at the house first thing in the morning, ok’ Andy said. Dave swung around and headed for Andy’s apartment, dropping them off about 15 minutes later.

Andy didn’t waste anytime. He knew it was imperative to get Kelly out of the city as quickly as possible. Poor Kelly, Andy thought, she’s totally spooked by everything that has happened.

Andy grabbed a few clothes and bustled Kelly towards the underground car park. They jumped in his car and started to make their way out of the city. Andy decided small talk was needed, something to help Kelly take her mind of things. ‘Well Kelly, I hope you’ll like my little holiday home. It’s nothing flash, but should be comfortable enough for the next few days,’ Andy said. ‘I’m sure it’ll be great Andy and I can’t thank you enough for taking care of me,’ Kelly replied. Kelly settled back into silence again and Andy continued on through the traffic. It was late and the traffic was fairly light this time of night. They were making good time and it shouldn’t take then too long to arrive, Andy thought.

The silence allowed Andy to think things through a little more in his mind. This certainly wasn’t a typical night for anyone. It sure wasn’t following police protocol; sheltering a known prostitute. Actually, Andy thought, I could get myself seriously reprimanded for taken things into my own hands. But at the time it seemed liked the only solution. Andy also knew that Kelly was no threat to him personally. She wasn’t what you’d class as the normal breed of hooker and didn’t appear to have a crooked bone in her body. For a hooker, she was a fairly straight chick, Andy reflected.

Before long they were pulling into the driveway of Andy’s holiday home. Andy looked at the little house as they come to a stop. This house held many wonderful memories for him. His parents had bought it when Andy was a teenager and they’d spent many blissful vacations here. When his parents passed away the house automatically become Andy’s. He knew he’d never part with it no matter what. The memories were to precious and all he had left of that time in his life.

Andy knew it was going to be late morning before Dave gathered all the info and headed on down to meet them at the house. He ushered Kelly inside, switching on the lights as they passed threw the door. ‘Oh, Andy it’s just so sweet,’ Kelly said. ‘Thanks,’ Andy replied in a slightly embarrassed tone. ‘Can I get you a drink or something? I come down here whenever I can get away and it’s always fully stocked,’ Andy said. ‘The one thing I’d really like to do is take a shower, if that’s ok?’ she asked. ‘Sure, be my guest, but I’ll show you around first, ok,’ he replied. Andy quickly showed Kelly where everything was located and told her to help herself to what ever she needed. He led her through to the bathroom and showed her where the fresh linen was kept. ‘There’s soap, shampoo and whatever else you need in the cupboard under the vanity unit,’ Andy said and then turned away to leave her to shower.

Andy returned to the little kitchenette and decided to rustle up some to eat before Kelly returned. It has been a long night he thought and she has most likely not eaten. Fifteen minutes later Andy heard the shower being turned off. He decided to fix them both a stiff drink. Sure of the fact that Kelly would appreciate one. Moments later she stepped out from the bedroom dressed in one of his T-shirts. He was a little startled. Without the gaudy make-up, the hooker outfit and with her long hair hanging damply over her shoulders, she was even more beautiful, he decided.

Andy stammered, ‘I hope you found everything you needed Kelly?’ ‘Yes, everything was where you said it would be and I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of raiding your closet?’ she replied. ‘Not at all, actually it looks better on you than it does on me,’ Andy laughed trying to lighten the moment. ‘Come into the dining room, I’ve fixed us some thing to eat and a drink,’ he said. Kelly followed Andy into the dining room and took a seat directly opposite him. After they’d eaten and were on their second drink, Andy said, ‘You realize I need to ask you some more questions Kelly?’ ‘Yes, I know we’ve got a lot of things to go through. I just hope that between us we can identify this bastard,’ she replied. ‘Ok, we are going to need to start at the beginning and go through everything you’ve already told me, but in a lot more detail,’ Andy said. Slowly they went back over the events of the night before, but other then filling a few gaps nothing else really emerged.