Deputy Newsome and Detective Mackey climb the narrow steps to the third floor of Rose Perry's apartment building. Dave's attitude is all business. Mackey is more concerned with details; noting everything he can about the building, its people, and its condition.

  At the top of the stairs, Detective Mackey puts out an arm to stop Dave's forward motion. Dave's wide chest bumps James' hand and he glowers at his youthful counterpart.

  "Sorry. Just wanted to stop you before you go knocking on the poor guy's door like it's World War Three," Mackey says with a shrug.

  "The poor guy? This man...Michael Blaine is a suspect," Dave grumbles. "He gets the same respect as any other person of interest. Which is...Nada."

  "Dave...Dave," Detective Mackey says in a mocking voice. "Have you ever heard the saying...You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar?"

  "Yeah. But we're not catching flies, James. We're trying to catch a cold-blooded killer," Dave growls back. "A killer who has already taken the lives of two beautiful young women. I don't have time for games."

  "Then...You really don't wanna catch this guy... Do you, Dave?" Mackey challenges.

  Dave's blood boils in his veins and he takes a hostile step toward Detective Mackey. The enraged deputy's face reddens and his chest heaves rapidly up and down. To say Deputy Newsome is angry would be a gross underestimation. The deputy literally fantasizes smacking the smartass young detective so hard that his face comes off.

  However, Mackey's face remains right where it is. He stares back at Dave with very little emotion, the ghost of a mocking smile on his lips.

  "You want to hurt me, don't you?" James asks, meeting Dave's fiery gaze. "I'd go so far as to say...You may even want to kill me."

  Dave remains silent as a pair of women rush up the staircase and offer the two lawmen a passing glance. He gives the women a chance to enter their apartment before continuing his conversation with Detective Mackey. Dave's voice is deep and full of wrath.

  "Of course, I want to catch this murdering son of a bitch! You ever say anything like that again and so help me I'll..."

  "Save that energy for our killer, Dave. And right now, we don't know who that is," James says, rudely cutting Deputy Newsome off. "Going off on some grieving kid isn't going to solve our case. And like I said, we'll attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. It won't hurt you to be a little respectful to the man. You think he's guilty? Fine. He could also be innocent. You've worked enough cases to know...Never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes, what looks like a turd is actually chocolate. And vise versa. Besides, Sheriff Northrop wanted you along to get results. Not to push our witnesses deeper into hiding. Give the kid a break. A small one."

  A group of teenagers pass by Dave and Mackey, headed for the staircase. They stop one by one to offer awkward salutes. Dave shakes his head with minor annoyance.

  "Salutes are for the military, son!" Dave hollers to the last kid, who spins to face him. "Or during a funeral."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The teen has a skateboard held between his side and his right armpit. The youngster twists up his face and nods.

  "Yeah. We know. It's just that...We were pretty sure we saw him on the television the other night. We just wanted to show our gratitude," skateboard kid says. "My brother Shane is in the academy. He'll be joining the force soon."

  Mackey nods to the skateboarder and then glowers at Dave. The kids amble off down the stairs.

  "What did I say, Dave? Honey...Not vinegar."

  Detective James Mackey proceeds confidently down the hallway.

  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  Rose Perry/Mike Blaine's Apartment

  Detective Mackey knocks rapidly on the front door of Rose's apartment. He listens for any sign that someone is alive in there. A moment later, shuffling can be heard from inside. The deadbolt is sprung and the door is slowly slid open.

  A bedraggled Michael Blaine stares out at the two law enforcement officers. The man's face is red and his eyes are puffy. It is obvious he has been crying for a long time. Mike observes the officers standing in his doorstep with a solemn expression.

  "Yes. Oh. It's you, Detective Mackey. Please. Please, come in."

  Mike Blaine backs away from the door, opening it wider, so that the two men may enter. He nods politely at Deputy Newsome. However, Deputy Newsome does not return Mike's head nod. The deputy follows Detective Mackey into the apartment and stands just inside the doorway with both hands crossed at the front of his belt. Mike hastily shuts the door and moves to address Detective Mackey.

  "Any word, Detective Mackey? Any sign of Rose? It's been more than two days since she went missing. Is there any word at all?"

  "Uh...No. I'm sorry, Mr. Blaine. We've received a few calls from tipsters claiming they may have seen her. At the station, our officers are thoroughly checking out the validity of those calls right now. We came to talk to you about the night Rose disappeared. We were hoping you might have remembered some more details about that night. Something which could help further our investigation."

  "Oh. Yes," Mike says, his voice and bottom lip trembling. "Of course. I'll tell you everything I can remember. I'm actually quite glad you came back, Detective Mackey. I do remember something I forgot to relay to your officers the other night."

  At this statement, Dave's ears perk up. How convenient? The person of interest suddenly has more information. So helpful. But of course. How else do you throw the dogs off of your scent? Dave scowls suspiciously in Mike's direction. The grieving man is too sad to notice, giving his full attention to Detective Mackey.

  "Rose...She had. On her back, she had a tattoo of a rose. It was about the middle of her back, to the left of her spine. She got it when her cousin died. They were named after the same aunt. Rosemary Robinson. Rose was always telling me how she missed them. She got the tattoo to remember them both by. No one would have noticed she had one. Well, not many people. Rose was very critical of her own body. Very self-conscious. She covered up herself most of the time. The woman you all found...Did she have a rose tattoo on her back?"

  Dave shakes his head emphatically, unable to get the images of the woman's nude contorted body out of his mind. If there had been a tattoo, he would have remembered. Detective Mackey steps closer to Mike, a worried expression on his face.

  "Did you say...A rose tattoo?" Mackey asks.

  "Yes," Mike confirms. "It was a typical red rose. Only a tiny bit of green stem."

  Dave realizes that something is wrong. He stares hard at Detective Mackey. Mackey stares hard at Mike Blaine.

  "We'll uh...Need to ask you some more questions about Rose. Her mannerisms, her appearance, routines, things like that," Mackey finally says in a droll voice.

  "Okay," Mike says.

  Deputy Newsome continues to share his glances between the two men.

  As things stand right now: Whose jersey would you wear? Team Newsome or Team Mackey? The winner will feature on a shirt in my online store. My first official merch to release at the conclusion or if there is demand.