Chapter Text
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
- “Hope” Is A Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson
***
“Uncle Lou, uncle Lou, look at this!”
Louis chuckles against the rim of his coffee mug before looking down at the sheet of notebook paper his nephew had been coloring on next to him at the dining table.
There’s a crude drawing of what looks like a stick person with a red rectangle drawn around them from neck to ankle.
Louis tilts his head at it. “Brilliant!” And then after another squint. “What is it again?”
Lucky pouts, and for a brief moment he looks almost exactly as Lottie always did at that age. Louis isn’t surprised though. His mum was always boasting about how they have strong genes. She was obviously right.
“It’s you!” Lucky proclaims as if that should have been obvious.
Louis smiles. “Oh right, of course it is. I knew that. Was just checking if you knew.”
He gives the toddler a playful wink then that makes him giggle. Louis points down towards the page at the rectangle. “What’s that I have on?”
Lucky beams at him. “Mummy said you save people, so I gave you a cape!”
Immediately Louis feels warmth flood his chest. Although he’s always wanted pups of his own, it just doesn’t really seem like that’s in the cards for him. But it’s fine.
He loves being able to watch his nieces and nephews grow up.
Just then Lottie sweeps into the kitchen. “Morning Lou, didn’t know you were coming by today.”
Other people would probably be annoyed at Louis just dropping in unannounced all the time, but he knows that Lottie isn’t. In fact, she welcomes it.
Louis figures it’s yet another product of their upbringing. People were always coming in and out of their childhood home, their mum always just welcoming anyone who showed up with a big smile and whatever homemade food item she had already prepared.
She gives both of them a kiss on the cheek before grinning down at Lucky’s drawing. “Super Lou.” She smirks. “Fitting.”
Louis gapes at her. “How could you possibly know that’s what it was?”
Lottie just shrugs as she starts putting a kettle on to make herself a cup of herbal tea. “It’s a mum thing.”
“Momma, momma, I’m gonna draw the baby next!” Lucky proclaims.
Lottie smiles as he caresses the small round bump on her stomach with her free hand. “Please draw her as a footie player. She’s already got the kicking part down pat.”
Louis smiles. Although Lucky is nearly three now, it’s still so strange sometimes to wrap his mind around his baby sisters’ having babies.
It’s completely normal of course. They’re all of the age for it. And they’re fantastic mums, not that Louis is surprised.
But still, in Louis’ head they’ll always be his little sisters who need him to guide and protect them.
“Want to come over for dinner tonight?” Lottie asks, pulling him out of his reverie. “We’re doing build your own pizza night.”
“Pizza, pizza!” Lucky cheers next to him.
Lottie laughs. “He’s probably going to get more sauce on his face than the dough, but it should still be fun.”
Louis laughs too. “I’d love to.”
Louis is eternally grateful that Lottie includes him so much in their lives. Although she does have a wonderful and supportive alpha for a partner, she still always seems to welcome Louis’ presence. And he adores spending time with her and her family.
“I might be late though, I have a mountain of paperwork I have to finish at the office.”
Lottie frowns. “You work too much.”
Louis rolls his eyes, but it’s playful. “And you worry too much. You sound like mum by the way.”
She really does. Except they both know that if Jay was here she would have been much more blunt about it.
Louis feels a twinge of sadness deep in his gut as he thinks about their mum. Just how much she would love seeing the way they all spend time together and getting to watch her grandkids grow.
Alas, that wasn’t in the cards for her.
Grief is such a strange thing. At the beginning, Louis thought he would be in grief-stricken agony forever. Of course that wasn’t true, but it fades slowly. Almost so slowly you don’t even notice.
Except that it’s never fully gone. Like a lingering injury that can’t quite heal all the way. And it still flares up sometimes, usually in little moments like this.
Lottie’s face goes softer then. As if she can practically feel what Louis is thinking about.
Sometimes Louis thinks that maybe she actually can feel his emotions, and he hers. He’s close with all of his siblings, but as the oldest two of eight, his bond with Lottie has always been the strongest.
“I’m not trying to get on your case Lou. I just worry about you is all.”
Louis stands up from the table then and moves over to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. “I know, and I appreciate that. But I’m fine. Really.”
Lottie still doesn’t seem fully convinced, but she must be willing to let it go. At least for now.
“Alright, I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
After that, they bundle up Lucky in his coat and mittens so that she can take him to the shops to buy their pizza toppings for the night’s dinner.
Louis gives them both big hugs and kisses on the pavement before waving them off and heading in the opposite direction towards his office for work.
***
“Morning Tomlinson, slow start to the morning?”
Louis just narrowly manages not to give into the urge to roll his eyes.
He’s barely even a few minutes late, and not that it really matters. Most of the other agents show up much later than he does, and no one says a word about it.
Of course all those other agents are alphas.
Although society is getting better as a whole, there are still plenty of people who believe that omegas don’t have the skills or disposition to do the same jobs as an alpha.
And unfortunately, that is a sentiment that still seems to be felt by many at the FBI.
But Louis never let that stop him. Instead he clawed and fought his way to the top. And after nearly a decade of exceptional performance reviews and a solve rate better than most of the other alpha agents, he’s more than earned his place.
And thankfully most of the actual hazing has all but stopped. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to put up with little micro aggressions like this.
He’s learned to ignore it. More or less.
Louis gives the alpha in front of him his sweetest fake smile. “Morning Wilson.”
Joe Wilson has never made any attempt to hide his disgust at the idea of an omega being his equal at work.
Not only is he loud and obnoxious, but his scent is extremely off putting. Like burning rubber and dirt. Louis isn’t usually that sensitive to scents, but he always has to try not to wrinkle his nose in disgust whenever Joe steps too close.
“Just a few minutes behind. Must be because I was running laps around you. How’s that cold case coming again?”
Wilson just glares as a few other agents milling around the office snicker at his expense.
Louis grins as he makes his way to his desk and fires up his laptop.
It’s just barely loaded when a shadow falls over his desk. Louis already knows who it is before he even looks up, the strong scent of green apples and bourbon giving it away.
“Good morning SAC Laughton.” Louis greets, and only gets a curt nod in return. But it isn’t personal, he knows. That’s just the alpha’s personality.
Stern and to the point. Although he isn’t the friendliest, he is effective. Which is why he’s been the Special Agent in Charge, or SAC as most agents refer to his title, of the London field office for over twenty years now.
And he was one of the very few people willing to give Louis a chance all those years ago. Louis owes him.
“Got a body uptown. Local police are on the scene, but they think we should have eyes on it. I’m sending you and Payne.”
Louis nods. Although they don’t formally have assigned partners, he usually ends up working cases with Liam Payne.
Probably because he’s one of the few alphas in the office that doesn’t seem to mind at all that Louis is an omega. And SAC Laughton prefers pairing them together because he knows Liam won’t fuss about it.
Louis’ not sure that Liam would ever fuss about anything though, to be fair. For an alpha, he’s got an extremely mild temperament.
Louis doesn’t mind though. He and Liam work well together, it’s a good fit.
“I already caught Payne on his way in, he’ll meet you in the car park.” His boss drops a small white envelope on Louis’ desk then. “And this is for you, came in the post this morning. Just make sure I have a preliminary report on the murder before the end of the day.”
And with that he’s gone.
Louis sighs. Not that he isn’t more than willing to take on a new case, but this does not bode well for pizza night.
He notes absently that he’ll need to send Lottie a text warning her that he might not make it after all, as he tears into the envelope.
He figures it’s probably an advert or summat. All mail sent to the FBI gets scanned for any suspicious powders or substances before it’s distributed, so he doesn’t need to worry about that.
Inside is a one sided card, printed on heavy card stock. Almost like a postcard. There’s a glossy picture of a white bird sitting in a tree on one side, and a note scrawled in meticulously neat handwriting on the other.
Dear Special Agent Tomlinson,
I don’t normally reach out like this, but I must admit I’ve taken quite the shine to you. You look wonderful in that jumper by the way, the color blue really suits you. Brings out those gorgeous eyes of yours.
Louis frowns, before glancing down at his dark navy cashmere jumper. It had been a gift from Lottie for his birthday last year and at the time she had mentioned something similar about it making his blue eyes pop.
Louis looks up from the card then and glances around. Surely this is just some prank or something. Probably cooked up by Wilson or one of the other knotheads to rile him up. No one seems to be paying him any attention though. He frowns even deeper before continuing to read.
Because I like you so much, I’m going to give you a little hint: Look in the red box.
Do not tell a single soul about this note or you will surely regret it.
I’m sure we’ll talk again soon, have a lovely day.
With love,
The Dove xx
(P.S.: Your sister and nephew are quite lovely. You all have the same cute little noses. I’m sure Lottie’s little girl will as well once she’s born.)
Immediately Louis feels his blood run cold.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time he’s been threatened during his time at the FBI. But it is the first time, someone has directly targeted his family. Not only that, but they seem to be very well informed.
Louis’ always known this job could be dangerous. They deal with incredibly violent and usually delusional criminals on a near daily basis. It’s not the first time that one of them became infatuated with an agent. If that’s what this even is.
Louis glances around the bullpen again. But just as before, no one is paying him any attention. They’re all just going about their jobs as if everything is normal.
Louis looks back down at the card in his hand. It isn’t just his own life that’s in danger this time. It’s his family. And in that moment he realizes with suddenly clarity that he doesn’t really fear death.
No, it will happen eventually he knows. Whether he likes it or not. It’s the only guarantee in life.
What he can’t bear, is the thought of anyone he loves being harmed because of him. He wouldn’t survive it.
And whoever this Dove person is, has managed to figure that out with chilling precision.
It’s startling, to forcefully be reminded just how fragile you are.
Louis tucks the card into his leather satchel along with his laptop and heads for the lifts.
Normally he would report something like this right away. If fact, protocol dictates that he must. But Louis isn’t doing that this time, at least not yet.
He needs to process this for a minute. See if he can figure out where the card came from. There’s a good possibility this is all just some demented prank, or at the very least a baseless threat.
But on the off chance that it’s real, and not an idle threat, Louis can’t risk angering this Dove person. His family could pay the consequences.
He thinks of Lottie then, completely unaware of the possible threat to her and her children. He shudders at just the thought of any of them being caught up in all this.
He pulls out his phone as he descends in the lift and types out a lame excuse for why he can’t attend pizza night.
Less than ten seconds later he receives a reply in the form of a sad face emoji.
He hates disappointing her, and the truth is he was really looking forward to spending time with all of them tonight, even her alpha Lewis. He’s a good man who loves his family, and Louis’ inner omega always feels safe tucked inside their little family bubble with them.
But he can’t be near them right now. At least not until he figures out what the hell is actually going on.
Louis walks briskly though the car park and wrenches open the passenger door to one of the many black sedans with dark tinted windows parked neatly in a row.
He knows this is the one he’s meant to get in though, it’s always the fourth sedan parked in the second row. Liam is meticulous like that.
As soon as he drops into the black leather seat and closes the door Liam gives him a sideways glance and a raised brow. “Alright?”
Louis can tell by the creases on his forehead that he’s worried, and he groans internally. Liam’s demeanor is always so calm and measured that sometimes Louis actually manages to forget that Liam’s even an alpha.
Although just looking at him basically gives it away. He’s built tall and strong like an alpha. Even if he didn’t spend so much time in the weight room, Louis’ pretty sure he would still adequately fill out his frame with muscle even if it were less defined.
Unlike a lot of the other alphas Louis encounters on a daily basis, Liam has a kind face and soft brown eyes. He’s always reminded Louis a bit of a puppy.
Or maybe more accurately a lion. You know, like when you see a lion cub in the zoo or something and you’re tricked into thinking they’re cute and harmless.
That’s Liam. Cute and sweet until provoked. Then he bites.
Louis’ always liked that about Liam. In his opinion, that’s how alphas should be. Docile, until they’re given a valid reason to need to show their strength.
Along with all the muscles though, Liam was also gifted with an acute sense of smell, just like all alphas. Which means he can likely smell the fear and anxiety which must be rolling off of Louis in waves.
Louis does his best to keep his expression neutral. “I’m fine, just had a weird morning as all. SAC Laughten said we had a body?”
Liam still looks unconvinced, but he shifts the car into gear and starts maneuvering onto the road. “Yeah, high rise in Chelsea. Thirty-three year old female. Police were called for a wellness check after she didn’t turn up to work for three days without notice. Found her and called us. That’s all I know.”
Louis frowns. “No one missed her before then?”
Liam just shrugs. “Guess not. She must have lived alone.”
Louis stares out the tinted window and watches the streets fly by. “Must be ugly if they’re calling us in right away.”
Liam nods again. Although technically they are all on the same team, inter-department relations are often strained. Local police authorities often feel that the FBI come in to commandeer their cases and then take all the glory once they’re solved. As a result they’re often reluctant to share, until they absolutely have to.
The fact that they’re calling now, while the body’s still fresh, for lack of better phrasing, means it must be bad.
Really bad. Like the stuff that haunts nightmares bad.
There was a time when a call like this would have really intrigued Louis, maybe even delighted him. Although it’s obviously a tragedy, he’s always felt that solving murders was the most important of all the work they did. Giving peace not only to the victims, but their families.
It was a challenge that he always welcomed.
But now, with this new terror looming over him, all he feels is a deeper dread.
Liam must be picking up on his sour mood again. “You sure you’re alright?”
Louis rolls his lips together in frustration. Usually the fact that he and Liam know each other so well helps a lot when they’re working on cases. Right now, it’s only making keeping this secret harder.
If Louis told anyone about this, it would be Liam. He’s one of the few people at work that Louis has actually let into his life a bit emotionally, and he’s certainly the only person here Louis would trust with something like this.
But even so, Liam is very by the book. It makes him an exceptional agent, but Louis can’t risk Liam bypassing him and reporting this up the chain.
So he’ll need to stay quiet, at least for now.
“Seriously, Li. I’m fine. Probably just my heat coming, makes me antsy sometimes.”
Liam’s face immediately turns bright crimson, just as Louis knew it would.
Although Liam is one of the most evolved alphas Louis has ever met, that doesn’t mean he’s fully immune from being embarrassed by omega traits that are considered taboo by society.
It’s a heat, every omega has one. It shouldn’t be treated like a dirty word.
But in this case, Louis is going to use the stigma to his advantage. Liam immediately drops it, just as Louis knew he would.
Liam clears his throat a little awkwardly. “Right, of course sorry.” He winces then as if he suddenly realized how dumb his own words sounded.
“Sorry.” He mutters again.
Louis gives him a soft smile, taking pity on him. Although it had the desired outcome, Louis still feels a little bad about using Liam’s own kindness against him. Liam’s a good egg.
“It’s alright. No harm, no foul.” He makes his tone serious again. “Do we know anything else?”
Liam shakes his head. “Not really, we’re going in blind basically. I’m having Zayn meet us at the scene, in case we need a profile.”
That makes Louis smile. Zayn Malik is one of the best profilers in their behavior and analysis unit, maybe even one of the best in the whole agency. He often works with Louis and Liam when they need a profile on one of their unsubs.
It’s unusual to work with the same profiler all the time. There’s plenty of others in the London field office and often they get shuffled around to work cases with a variety of agents. At first, Louis thought they always got Zayn because he’s another one of the few alphas in the department that doesn’t seem to care that Louis’ an omega.
He’s not sure Zayn cares about much to be honest, he’s cooler than a cucumber that guy. Louis suspects he may have been a Greek God in a past life. Not that Louis really subscribes to that sort of thinking, but if he did, Zayn would definitely be an ancient deity of some sort. There’s a very regal air about him.
Louis’ starting to suspect though that Zayn’s constant involvement in their cases doesn’t actually have anything to do with Louis at all.
Louis’ pretty sure that he and Liam have a thing for each other, whether they want to admit it or not remains to be seen.
It’s cute.
Although Louis considers his bond with Liam as something stronger than just a working relationship, they don’t really talk about those sorts of things. Relationships and feelings and whatnot. It’s just not in either of their natures’.
But even so, if Liam and Zayn are a thing, Louis supports it.
They would probably never actually go public with it though. Relationships with a coworker aren’t forbidden in the FBI, but they are frowned upon.
That isn’t the reason they would keep it under wraps though. There’s also the simple fact that they’re both alphas.
That would probably go over even worse than an omega agent, for some people at least.
Liam turns the corner onto another street and they’re suddenly met with a barrage of activity outside of a rather swanky looking building.
Several police cars and an ambulance are parked on the street haphazardly, and crime scene tape has crudely been strung in a wonky square around the entrance to the building. Several police offices are attempting to keep the rather robust crowd of onlookers as far away from the perimeter as possible.
Liam parks as close to the scene as he can manage before they both exit the vehicle and head towards the mayhem.
The police officer they approach immediately lifts a hand to stop them, palm out. But he soon drops it when they both flash their badges. One badge should be enough, but Louis finds people to be more cooperative when they see his too, and not just Liam’s.
Yet more bias he has to deal with on a regular basis.
“You can head on up.” The officer tells them as he holds up the tape so that they can more easily duck under it. “Twentieth floor, I’ll let my captain know you’re on the way up. Your colleague just got here.”
They both nod and enter the building. It’s just as posh on the inside as it looked from the street. The floors an immaculately polished dark marble, and the lobby is filled with mahogany furniture that surely costs more than Louis’ entire monthly rent. Maybe even two month’s worth.
Police officers are interviewing a man in a perfectly pressed suit just inside the gold plated revolving door. Likely the concierge.
They head straight for the lift, once inside, Liam hits the button for the twentieth floor. It isn’t the top, but it’s high enough up to have a good view and likely be pricy. Their victim must have done quite well for herself to be able to afford such a prime unit in a ritzy place like this.
As soon as they step out onto the floor it isn’t hard to find the right unit a few doors down from the lifts. The door is propped open and there are several uniformed officers bustling in and out of the doorway.
They flash their badges once again to the officer posted at the door and she leads them directly to the police captain who is just inside the entryway to the flat.
He’s an older man, probably in his mid to late sixties with graying salt and pepper hair that suits his somewhat pudgy face. He’s short and stout, but obviously still formidable. He’s also obviously a beta. His face looks weary and exhausted.
“Hi gentleman, thank you for coming so quickly.”
Liam gives him a curt nod. “What do we know?”
“Victim is Anabelle Harptrand, we’re told she went by Belle. Thirty-two, female beta, and single as far as we know. She was a successful financial advisor at one of the major firms. Her boss phoned us for a wellness check after she didn’t report to work for three days, said it was wildly out of character. The doorman let my uniforms up about an hour ago and they found her. ME doesn’t have a time of death yet, but it’s likely several days ago.”
Louis fishes a small pad of paper out of his satchel and starts jotting down notes. He’ll need the details to file his formal report for the director later, but writing it down also helps him make sense of the facts.
“Do we have a cause of death?” Louis asks.
The captain shakes his head. “No, but we’ve all but ruled out natural causes.”
Liam furrows his brows. “How can you be so certain?”
They both watch as the captain’s pale skin turns a bit green. “Have a look for yourselves. I must warn you though. I’m no stranger to bodies, but this one made me queasy.”
Louis frowns. Although the police probably encounter murder scenes a bit more infrequently then Louis and Liam do, this man is a captain. He’s likely encountered all kinds of gruesome scenes throughout his tenure. The fact that this one is making him especially uneasy is troubling.
They follow him through the flat. It seems tidy, and definitely expensive. There are gloved officers teeming all over the lounge as they pass through it, snapping photos and collecting what could later be considered evidence throughout the space.
They go through a narrow hallway, lined with what is no doubt priceless art, and step into the second door on the right.
There are even more officers collecting evidence here. It’s obviously a bedroom, with the large canopied bed in the center of the room. It’s fitted with perfectly pressed white linen sheets. It looks undisturbed, the bed still made with perfectly tucked corners.
The only disturbance being the large brownish red blood stain that’s leaked onto the otherwise pristine white cotton duvet.
The body is arranged neatly atop the bedding. Her head resting on the small mountain of brightly colored decorative throw pillows. Her long red hair cascades around her face in waves forming almost a halo of sorts around her pale freckled face.
Even in death, it’s obvious she was pretty. She looks peaceful and serene, almost as if she’s napping.
It’s clear that isn’t the case though. The blood is also staining her white silk sleep gown, and by the looks of it the blood mostly stemmed from her abdomen.
“Any signs of struggle?” Liam asks.
The captain shakes his head. “None. It’s the damndest thing. The doorman reports she seemed to be alone, he didn’t see or hear anyone else coming or going and they have pretty tight security here.”
Louis frowns. “Cameras?”
He shakes his head again. “We’re still combing through the footage, but nothing of note yet. We don’t see anyone entering this flat besides her.”
“The perp must have known where the cameras were, how to avoid them.”
They all swivel their heads in the direction of the new voice. Zayn. He must have been quietly waiting for them in the corner of the room amidst all the chaos.
Liam nods. “This was obviously premeditated.” He glances at the body again. There’s pity in his caramel colored eyes, but he otherwise looks unaffected.
Louis knows it’s mostly a front. Liam is one of the deepest feeling alphas Louis has ever met. An empath to the highest degree. How he manages to keep it at bay while working horrific cases like this, Louis has no idea.
“She looks peaceful. So either she knew her killer or she was otherwise impaired.” Liam surmises.
“Or both.” Zayn supplies.
“You think she was drugged by someone she knew?” Louis asks.
Zayn shrugs. “We won’t know for sure until the tox results come back, but that’s my hunch. Either she knew the person or for some reason felt at ease with them. Even in death, people still wear their emotions on their sleeves, and she shows no signs of struggle or distress.”
It sounds like woo woo, but unfortunately Louis has seen enough dead bodies during his lifetime to know that Zayn is right. Based on the calm look on her face she either knew her killer, or accepted her fate for some reason. Maybe a combination of both.
Her hands have been arranged just above the wound in a sort of prayer gesture. There must be a significance to that.
As if voicing his thoughts, Zayn adds. “Her positioning was clearly deliberate. I also believe the body was staged, so to speak.”
Liam tilts his head. “What do you mean?”
Zayn gestures towards another doorway with his head that Louis suspects holds the en-suite. “They’re still going through all her things, but there doesn’t appear to be a trace of makeup in this entire flat. But look at her.”
All of their gazes fall back to Belle’s face, and suddenly Louis realizes Zayn is right. It’s subtle, but she’s clearly wearing makeup. Her skin too flawless, her seemingly natural eye lashes too long and too dark. Her plush lips too red.
“He did that?” Liam breathes incredulously.
“I think they did, yes.” Zayn corrects.
Liam turns red. “They, right. Sorry.”
Zayn gives a pleased nod as acknowledgment and Louis can’t help but smile at their exchange.
“I think our unsub dressed her too.” Zayn continues. He gestures at the silk nightgown. “Nothing else in her wardrobe is like this. All designer sure, but she seemed to prefer flannel pajamas. And her style overall was muted and more buttoned up. This silky lace chemise seems out of character compared to everything else she owns.”
“Sure.” Louis acknowledges. “But some people act differently in the comfort of their own homes.” His mind immediately flashes to the pair of lacy black knickers tucked discreetly in the very back recesses of his sock drawer in his own flat. No one else knows about that, it’s just for him. When he’s sometimes in the mood to feel pretty. It’s a bold contrast to the boxer briefs, joggers, and football jerseys he usually sports when he leaves the house.
“True.” Zayn concedes with a nod. “But something tells me that isn’t her. I think the killer wanted her to look this way.”
“Which is what exactly?” Liam asks.
Zayn opens his mouth to answer, but Louis beats him to it. “Virginal? Pure? Something of that sort.”
Zayn nods. “I think so, yeah.”
Louis looks over at the captain who seems to have gone slack faced as he listens to them talk it out. “Any signs of sexual assault?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing physically, but the ME will test for it of course.”
A man wearing a lab coat with dark mousy hair and thick framed glasses steps away from the body then and closer to their small group.
“I don’t think she was touched in that way.” The man says. “In fact, other than what appears to be a fatal stab wound in her abdomen, she looks to be completely unharmed.”
“This is Arnold Archibald.” The captain introduces. “He’s our chief medical examiner, one of the best.”
“Well, unharmed except for her ear of course.” Arnold adds.
Louis’ eyes snap back to Belle’s head and he takes a sharp inhale at what he sees. He’d been so enamored by her soft beautiful face that he hadn’t even noticed. Her right ear is missing. Cut clean off, just a small trail of caked blood left in its wake.
“Based on the limited amount of blood flow, I believe it was removed after she was already deceased.” Arnold voices what Louis was already thinking.
“A trophy?” Louis asks.
Zayn nods. “Probably, yeah.”
“Bloody disgusting.” Liam mutters under his breath, the only tiny crack in his otherwise neutral facade.
Louis glances around the rest of room, it appears to be just as neat and tidy as the rest of the house. His eyes get stuck though when he scans across the desk.
“Did she work from home?”
“No.” Captain answers, just as Louis suspected he would. “Boss said she had the option to, but never did. The type that preferred to go into the office I guess.”
That was pretty evident already by the lack of paperwork or anything else that might be work related on her desk. Just some notepads, a cup of pens, and a few old paperbacks that looked well read.
None of those things are what had caught Louis’ attention though.
It was the small red jewelry box placed in the center of the desk. Almost as if on display. Like whoever put it there wanted it to be found.
Louis feels a chill of icy fear shoot down his spine.
He points to the box. “Have we checked inside this yet?”
Even to his own ears, his voice sounds hollow with dread.
One of the techs who had been taking pictures of the crime scene shakes his head. “Haven’t made it to the desk yet.”
Louis just grunts in response, pulling his own pair of black latex-free gloves out of his satchel and snapping them on before stepping up to the box.
“What are you thinking Lou?” Liam asks, but he makes no move to stop him. Neither does anyone else in the room.
One of the perks of being FBI, Louis muses, cops rarely try to tell you what to do.
“Seems out of place.” Louis mumbles as he carefully lifts the little red velvet lid off the box.
The others have all crowded around him now, and there are several gasps when the contents of box are revealed. It does contain jewelry, there is an earring inside. But that isn’t the problem.
The problem is, it’s still attached to Belle’s right ear.
Sitting next to the ear, on the velvet cushioned interior is a little white porcelain bird.
Liam furrows his brows. “A bird?”
Louis can feel the panic starting to claw up his throat. It’s crystal clear now. Whoever sent him that postcard this morning is probably the same person that killed Belle. And they also somehow knew that Louis was going to walk into this crime scene mere hours later.
“Not just a bird.” Louis murmurs quietly. “It’s a dove.”
In his peripheral vision he sees Zayn nod. “I concur.”
Liam raises a brow. “Does it matter?”
Zayn shrugs. “Maybe. Doves can carry a lot of symbolism. They’re often considered symbols of peace, sometimes hope and love too.”
Liam grunts. “That doesn’t really seem to apply here.”
Zayn gives him a rare soft smile. “No, probably not. There are other interpretations though. Doves are often released at funerals. They’re thought as spiritual guides to help our departed loved ones reach heaven.”
His words are just barely reaching Louis’ ears as he keeps his eyes firmly on the box.
“There are also a lot of references to doves in the Bible.” Zayn continues. “A dove could signal god’s presence, or that of an angel. That’s one of the more cheery examples.”
“And the less cheery?” Liam asks with what sounds like trepidation.
“They were also symbols of atonement.” Zayn answers. “In the Torah specifically it’s said that two doves were to be sacrificed to gain purity.”
They all stand in silence for a few beats as the weight of Zayn’s words wash over them until finally the Captain mutters. “Fuck.”
Louis can understand the sentiment.
“So what?” Liam asks a bit angrily. “You think we have some sort of lunatic vigilante on our hands killing people in the name of purifying them or summat?”
Louis knows Liam’s anger is directed at their unidentified killer, and no one else. But even so, he can’t ignore the way his inner omega cowers a bit at his friend’s sharp tone.
Zayn however, seems undeterred. “I’ll need some time and more research to do a more through profile, but that is my initial assessment yes.”
Unfortunately Zayn isn’t finished. “And based on the obviously very premeditated and symbolic nature of this killing, I would say it won’t be the last. Might not even be the first.”
Louis had suspected as much. But to hear it said out loud makes his mouth go dry.
Somehow he still manages to croak out. “We’ve got a serial killer on our hands.”
A serial killer who already knows Louis’ name.