Head Detective Candace Sutton parked her unmarked car at the edge of the yellow police tape and pulled her shield out, tucking it into the pocket of her jacket. The recording officer noted her official status and let her pass, watching her round ass twitch away as she headed to the knot of dark-suited men, most of whom looked away as she approached. It was 2005 and the tight-knit world of New York City's finest detectives still ostracized women. She was considered to be an inferior being, although she had the highest solve rate in the borough.
Still, Candace Sutton hadn't survived near death at the hands of an abusive husband to let a few men with small dicks push her around. Her partner, Victor Fusco, gave her a respectful nod, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking upset.
"Hello, boys." Carlo Bonatelli and Mike Mainwaring murmured salutations, watching as she walked through their circle and headed for the sheet-covered body. She pulled the covering back and examined the young woman, noting the deep slice in her neck and the amount of blood that surrounded her inanimate body. "So what have we got here?"
The men exchanged glances and Fusco left the circle, kneeling on his haunches beside her while extracting his notebook. "Her name is Samara Wilcox, age 20. She's a prostitute that runs out of Gibson Ramey's stable. She was found by Mark Miller, the garbage man standing over there."
"Any witnesses?"
"None."
"Is she missing anything?"
"Not that we can determine. Her purse is over there. She had $700 in cash, nail file, phone calling card and a bottle of clear nail polish."
"No condoms?"
"Nope."
"Make sure that you make a note to tell the coroner to check for diseases such as HIV/AIDS. She looks pretty healthy but if she's doing tricks bareback, you never know."