Chapter 3 Still that same day

"Sorry to hear that" Grace said looking around to make sure she hadn't been spotted yet. All the other officers were still busy so no one was paying any attention to her interviewing the homeowners "I'm sorry but tell me again why you think the ripper king is going to keep killing?"

"I'm sorry?" The wife asked not understanding what Grace asked.

"You said the killer will keep killing, why would you say that?" Grace repeated

"He's gonna keep looking for his queen. He's looking for a queen... whatever that means. He wrote it in blood on my wall, right above the headboard and you know the blood probably stained the headboard." The wife started working on a new nail and Grace grinned her teeth to stop herself from yelling at the woman for trying her patience.

"He wrote the message in blood" the husband explained.

"What exactly did the message say?" Grace asked.

Fred paused for a dramatic effect and then leaned forward "The search for my queen continues." Grace was shocked to silence that hardly ever happened. It was until she heard someone yelling at her that she got a grip of herself.

"What the hell is she doing her? Get her off this property immediately" David Jones the head detective on the Ripper king case ordered the other officers to remove Grace. "Can't I trust you to keep these bottom feeders out of the way?"

Grace turned towards David he was a big guy in his late thirties, he had dark hair and dark eyes to match. He clearly didn't like her as his eyes were currently giving him the look of death. Grace raises up her hands in surrender "calm down detective, this bottom feeder is leaving now" she caught sight of detective Paul Wilson her friend and David's partner. Paul winked at her and she shook her head and laughed. He was a notorious womanizer Grace considered him a good friend. He was also very useful in getting her leads on stories.

"Hi Grace!" Paul called out to her.

"Don't encourage her!" David yelled at his partner who just shrugged in response. David looked back at Grace and scowled "I don't know why I'm starting to see you at every crime scene, Smith."

Grace laughed "my father was a reporter, my mother was a reporter, I'm a reporter. What can I say? Curiosity runs in my blood."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that curiosity kills the cat?" David sneered.

"Yes but... "

"Yeah yeah, but satisfaction brought it back. I've heard it before" David muttered.

Grace grinned "actually. I was going to say curiosity killed the cat but so can ignorance."

"You gotta be kidding me. That's it, get out of here Smith. I want this scene secured, that means no reporters!" David was yelling at some officers who began scrambling to follow his orders.

"Don't worry Jones, I'm leaving already" Grace turned to Paul who was stretching his arms. "Bye Paul!"

"Bye Grace, I'll see you later on our date" Paul waved.

David turned to face him "date?"

"In your dreams Paul" Grace walked from the crime scene, her hands raised in farewell.

"Most definitely" Paul smiled.

David shook his head in disgust as he passes his partner "pathetic."

Paul watched Grace's car as she drove off the scene and sighed "Yup, most definitely."

Grace wasn't stupid to still hang around the scene of the crime. She decided to spend some time at the police station to see if she could pick up any news from the other officers. After driving for about fifteen minutes, and stopping at a local coffee shop to pick up two lattes, she pulled up at the police station and parked next to a black BMW. 'Fancy' she thought to herself. As she strolled into the station, she couldn't help but notice a handsome man arguing with Gina a police officer she considered a friend. She took in his expensive suit, Rolex and leather shoes. 'And we have a rich boy here folks' Grace thought. His face looked familiar but she couldn't quite remember his name.

"I'm telling you, she's missing! We were supposed to meet up and she never showed up" the handsome man was clearly frustrated. He slightly loosened his tie in frustration.

The officer took a deep breath and said "Sir, don't you think it's possible she just stood you up?"

Grace couldn't help but giggle. No woman or man for that matter could stand this attractive specimen up. He held an air of authority that Grace couldn't ignore. The man rolled his eyes, clearly no used to dealing with people not automatically doing what he wants. "She hasn't been picking up her phone, she never returned to her hotel room last night. She never checked out and her friends haven't heard from her. She's missing, dammit."

Gina replied "Sir if she was really missing, wouldn't her family be here making a report?"

The man took a deep breath and said slowly "As I said before, she has no family"

Tired of dealing with him, Gina handed him a clipboard "okay sir go ahead and fill in the missing person report. Take a seat against the wall and then I'll be with you in just a few minutes."

As soon as the handsome man sat down, Grace swooped in with her extra latte. She smiled at the officer that had just asked Mr handsome to take a seat. "Hi Gina. Latte?"

Gina a total coffee addict smiled and held her hands out "Grace you're a life saver. I wasn't looking forward to drinking the crap we have here in the break room and I've been working a double shift. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Grace smiled at how Gina's entire demeanor had changed for a moment before, "trust me I know what you mean. I thought I'd stop by and bring you a coffee while I was listening for leads."

Gina laughed. She had know Grace long enough to know her tricks. "We'll take a seat and don't let Jones see you."

"He already saw me at the crime scene earlier, I was kicked out. I promise to be quiet and just sip on my coffee." Grace laughed and sat next to Mr handsome who was trying to fill out his missing person form. Grace loved listening on the police chatter, officers felt so comfortable at the station that they usually talked freely as they pass the main entrance. After ten minutes had passed, Grace finally got what she was looking for. Two officers coming in were talking quietly but Grace could hear one of the officers say "The captain is asking the FBI to step in. Jones isn't going to like that."

"Well, it's not like he's getting closer to finding this guy." The second officer replied. "Did you see his last victim? It was looking like a horror movie that was filmed where they found her body."

Yeah, she was out there for five day man. Ugh, I bet that house smelled like death. She was wearing some fancy yellow dress too. You think he's dressing them up now?"

"A yellow dress?" Grace said out loud. That seemed to get Mr handsome's attention.

He turned his head toward her "Excuse, did you say something?" Grace didn't bother to look at his direction. She was still trying to overhear what the officers were still saying.

The attractive man continued "my missing friend... she was wearing a yellow dress the last time I saw her."

Suddenly intrigued, Grace whipped her head around and found herself staring into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.

Me handsome gave a single nod "Hi, my name is Josh."