Death & Tequila [mxm]

9. Bloody Maria

****Some graphic/bloody scenes in this chapter****

The drive to the location took no time. The officers blocking off the scene let Jaiden come through with his motorcycle and greeted him. He gave them a quick nod and examined the property. The home was beautiful two-story house that looked welcoming. He hated knowing that something terrible happened here.

His eyes swept the area and the people in the growing crowd. It was an upper-class neighborhood, so they residents were probably nervous that something happened here. He would normally ask the officers what happened, but he didn't want to in such a public place, and seeing how pale and sick the officers looked, he knew it wasn't a simple death.

He pulled over two officers. "Have you pulled the security cameras?" He pointed to the doorbell camera and two others on the sides of the house.

"Working on it, Detective."

He nodded. "What about indoor cameras?"

"We have a couple of men who are doing that now."

He gave them a short 'thank you' and went inside. Something about this case gave him a foreboding feeling and he was already anticipating some overtime.

Nate came in shortly after him. He gave him a wave, grabbed his camera, and took off to the crime scene.

One officer greeted Jaiden nervously. "Detective Ryder. We have one victim, pronounced dead on the scene... it's a little... much in there."

"Break it down for me." Jaiden said as he examined the foyer a little.

"No signs of a break in and no one heard anything unusual. There are tracks in the backyard that we are checking out now. It's a possible one-man job and he may have known how to enter or may have known the victim. There are three residents who lived here, but the father and son were off at a retreat, leaving the mother home alone. They are heading back now and will be in the city in about three hours."

"Tell me about her."

"We believe she is Cynthia Silva. 32 years old. Woman of the community. Always volunteering her time with marriage counseling at the local church. House mother, dedicated to her kid and was hoping for a second child. When asked, no one has any idea why someone would hurt her because she was adored."

"Cause of death?"

"We're not too sure. There's too much blood so we have to wait for the autopsy. But we're thinking the victim was either bludgeoned or stabbed to death."

"Was she killed on scene?"

"Not too sure about that either. There's a lot of blood, but it doesn't seem to indicate a struggle, so we're hypothesizing that she was drugged, placed in the room, and then killed."

Jaiden nodded. "Thanks. I'll take a look around. Keep me updated with anything you find."

"Yes, Detective."

He walked into the room and immediately was overwhelmed by the metallic smell. He took a deep breath and pushed his headache to the back of his mind. He needed to focus.

He was annoyed when they couldn't tell him the cause of the death, but he understood why once he saw the scene. It was carnage.

He could tell that the victim was female, but she was damaged beyond recognition and stained red with blood. She wore a thin dress that clung to her body, but the original color was lost from the red that was now turning brown because of the exposure to oxygen.

He noticed that there were wounds on her face, but he couldn't make out the extent because of the blood. In fact, there was too much in general and it couldn't all be hers.