As the sun began rising over the tops of the cities skyscrapers, Detective Maiko Machi Nakamura is sleeping peacefully and satiated after a long night of lovemaking with her newest lover when her communication notification system started that irritating pinging sound it makes when someone is trying to contact her. She groaned in her pillows lying next to her lover trying to ignore it hoping it would stop. Trying to bury her face deeper in the pillows, her long brown hair covering most of her naked shoulders and face, she grumbled something under her breath unsuccessfully wishing for the sound to stop. Reluctantly she gave up withdrawing her shapely legs from under the covers sitting up in bed, her lover groaned pulling the covers over his head trying to block out the irritating sound.
Knowing the sound would not stop however hard she wished it would she grudgingly gave in; swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she rose languidly from the bed. Looking at her naked body in the full-length vanity mirror, she admired herself for a moment thinking she still looked good for recently turning thirty. Her body is indeed spectacular with her shapely legs and thighs to slim waist and firm breasts. The long brown hair that she cared for to the point of over indulgence to the temptation of vanity half cascaded down her back and the other half partly hiding one of her breasts making her look like an enthralling seductress. She looked at her still beautiful face and did not see any signs of aging, her Japanese heritage showing in her features.
Gracefully she reached for a short and not very concealing robe lying on the back of her vanity chair languidly wrapping it around her luscious body gazing at herself in the mirror. The silk robe added to her seductiveness hinting at what was underneath at the same time enhancing the shapeliness of her body. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, she exited her bedroom to the left unhurriedly walking down the hall to a spare room she used as an office.
The room is not too large, but is elegant nonetheless with its lavish accouterments. The rich carpet covering the floor of the room and the rest of her apartment kept the floors warm from the harsh winters prevalent in this area of the country. Antique paintings of old central park depicting people having picnics surrounded by the local fauna and wildlife decorated the walls. Since she was a child, she had a fascination with things and history from Old New York and these painting were part of her collection. Walking to her desk to a soft black leather chair behind it Maiko with apparent resignation sat.
Sighing she pressed a recessed button on her desk and a square panel slid forward revealing a ten inch by ten-inch control panel for the Stellargraphic System recently installed in her apartment at the departments expense. The system was too new and costly for most people, including her to purchase without the departments help. The control panel is a hand recognition system that identifies her by placing her hand over it and a Stellargraphic image appears slightly above and in front of her desk allowing her to move her hand slightly choosing from the menus displayed. When she chooses an menu an image of her hand appears in the image reaching up and touching it.
She chose to answer the call and instantly an image of one of her junior detectives quickly displayed beside of the visual control panel. He is young and a little ambitious but he did not usually bother her on her day off unless it could not wait until she reported to work. She looked at his young handsome face wondering what he would be like in bed quickly dismissing the thought. Although not against department policy for police officers to become intimate with each other but it is against hers.
“All right Garrett I am sure that whatever your reason is for waking me at the crack of dawn will be worth it since I have only been sleeping for an hour,” she scolded gently with a half-smile on her face.
“We have a body in an alley near Fifteenth and Main,” he answered dryly.
“Ok, I will bite what makes this body any different from any other body that ends up in an alley near Fifteenth and Main.”
“I am glad you asked,” he beamed like a little boy that new something his mother did not. “Let me show you.” He moved his Stellargraphic handheld device pointing it at the naked dead body.
“Crap Garrett you could have at least warned me,” she gasped view returning to him.
“I wanted to get your response to see if you had the same response as I did,” he laughed with that boyish smile on his face she found at most times quite cute but now is not one of those times.
“All right Garrett you have a hundred year old naked dead man in an alley why is that so important you could not wait until I had my breakfast,” she snapped. “At least then I would have something in my stomach to throw up,” she chuckled softening her anger some.
“That's clincher detective he is not even close to a hundred,” he said with a smug expression on his face.
“Get to the point Garrett I have a warm bed and a hot body I could be snuggling with right now instead of bantering words with you. This had better be good!”
“Right, I am sorry I will get to the point of all of this. I ran his handprint, his name is Engelbert Kennard Payne, and he lives with his mother at 10239 North 22nd Avenue. He was born on September 22, 3005 making him twenty-three.”
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“I am certain or I would not have disturbed you,” he pointed out brusquely.
“Your right Garrett I am sorry. I should know by now not to question your thoroughness, she said trying to mollify him.
“Not to worry detective. Do you want to come down to the scene?”
“Did you see any signs of a struggle, murder weapon?” she asked.
“No murder weapon in the conventional sense and certainly no real struggle either and what I did find is very strange to say the least. He has four lines of blood trailing from his cheekbone to his jaw line where claws of some kind ripped his flesh and puncture wounds around his neck that look like the same claws made them. What I cannot wrap my head around is the way he died, none of the physical wounds would have outright killed him. Why did he age and become this dried up shell? It looks like his life was sucked out of him,” he questioned frustratingly.
“I am sure you have done all you can do there, so it won’t be necessary for me to come down there. Notify me when the autopsy is complete, oh and rush it Garrett,” she said as an afterthought.
“I sure will detective. Meanwhile I will have the unfortunate pleasure of bringing the bad news of her son's death to Mrs. Payne.”
“Better you than me and Garrett quit calling me detective I really have a first name. I am going back to bed.”