Here is the third chapter of my upcoming novel, A Killer Present. Look for it in June 2012. I hope you enjoy it.

    When Detective Lilly Montgomery pulled into the construction lot it was a little after sunrise. It was also entirely too cold. The mercury was headed in the wrong direction, even though common sense said that the sun should have started to warm things up a bit. The weather never followed common sense, though. Especially not in Chicago.
    Climbing out of her car, she stuffed her hands deep into the pockets of her coat, as far as they would go. Even with gloves, that barely helped. She could feel her fingertips going numb already.
    It wasn't hard to figure out where she needed to be. The group of people milling about, all looking at the same spot, was a pretty decent clue. She headed over there and made her way through the crowd.
    A few patrol officers were doing their best to both keep their extremities hidden, and use them to keep the gawkers back. She didn't envy them their job. She'd done her time on patrol in weather just like this. She knew what it was like, and she knew she didn't want to go back to it.
    The butterflies in her stomach reminded her of her first day on the job, though. Back then, she'd been nervous simply because she was a newly minted cop, straight out of the academy. Now the butterflies were the result of something similar, though more sinister.
    This would be Lilly's first homicide investigation as primary. Since returning from a leave of absence months ago, she'd been part of a number of homicide investigations. Chicago averaged a homicide per day, so there were plenty to keep the Violent Crimes section busy. But she'd always been in a support role.
    Today a case fell to her. Lilly had the sneaking suspicion it was because of the weather. Perhaps the detectives with more seniority had all decided to stay inside where it was warm.
    Either way, Lilly was prepared to do her job. She wanted to solve her first case. Proving herself to her new co-workers in VC was part of it. The larger part of it was proving to herself that her transfer from Special Victims Section, Missing Persons Unit, was a good idea.
    Lilly was forced to remove a hand from her pocket in order to badge the patrol officer who moved to stop her. When he saw the metal, he let her through. His shivering was noticeable, even without her special detective powers.
    "I've got a thermos of hot coffee in my car, if you need it," Lilly said as she passed him.
    "Marry me," he replied almost instantly. Lilly laughed and continued on.
    There was an ambulance parked near a large steel commercial dumpster. The EMTs sat comfortably in its warm cab. Crime scene technicians were in the dumpster itself.
    A ladder had been set up next to it. Lilly climbed a few steps until she could easily see the entirety of the dumpster's interior space. There was plenty of rubble, pieces of metal, plastic, and wood. Plus one body.
    The first thing Lilly noticed about the body was its missing clothes. Most of the time, when you find a body, you find it either with all of its clothes, or none of its clothes. On average, women were more likely to be missing their clothing.
    But the bodies of female victims who were missing their clothing generally didn't get to keep their underwear. This woman still had on her matching peach-colored bra and panties.
    Lilly didn't even try to climb into the dumpster to get a closer look. It wasn't a matter of vanity, or even sanitation. It was simply procedure. The techs were here, so the crime scene would be better left uncontaminated. Or at least as much as possible. The detectives on television might wade through the dumpsters looking for clues, but that didn't happen out on the real world. Then again, murders were solved in an hour or less on television, too. That never happened in real life.
    Lilly climbed back down the ladder and went to the ambulance. She knocked on the back door of the bus. A few moments later, it opened and she climbed in. To her relief, it was toasty inside. She sat on the side bench as the EMTs resituated themselves.
    "You guys first on scene?" she asked.
    "Yep," one said. "Teddy, Shooms," he said, pointing a thumb first at himself, then at his partner.
    "Okay, describe it for me, Teddy."
    "We got here and the construction guys told us there was a body in the dumpster," Teddy said. "We got 'em to bring over a ladder, and I climbed in. Checked for a pulse, but she was a stiff. Literally. She's been out in the cold for hours, at least."
    "Did you see what kind of injuries she had?"
    "I'm not a medical examiner," Teddy said warily.
    "Yeah, but you guys have seen enough. You don't need the lab coat and fancy degree to know what you're talking about."
    That seemed to win them over. Teddy grunted his agreement.
    "She was banged up pretty good," he said. "Reminded me of a domestic call."
    "Bruises?"
    "Busted nose," he said, nodding. "Blood on the back of her head. Like someone knocked her a good one. There was a nice piece of metal going straight through her side, too. I think that one might've been from when she was dumped. But I'm no ME, so..."
    "Yeah I gotcha. I'm just trying to get a preliminary idea. I won't hold it against you if the coroner says something different."
    "Tell her what we were just talking about," Shooms piped up.
    "What were you talking about?" Lilly prompted.
    "Well, we were just thinking how it was weird she still had her underwear," Teddy said thoughtfully. "I mean, you figure if it's a rape thing, those would probably be gone, right?"
    "Maybe," Lilly allowed, though she had been thinking the same thing.
    "They didn't even look dirty or torn or anything."
    "I told him she could have been dressed afterward," Shooms said.
    "She still would have struggled when he was taking them off," Teddy said, turning to argue with his partner.
    "Unless she was knocked out cold," Shooms argued. "You said she got knocked on the back of the head."
    "I guess," Teddy allowed.
    "Did you see the rest of her clothes when you were in there?" Lilly asked.
    "No." Teddy shrugged. "I wasn't really looking for them, though."
    Lilly hadn't seen them either, and she had been looking. If the techs hadn't bagged them already, that probably meant they weren't there. She added that to her list of things to find out about.
    Lilly thanked them and got their contact information. Then she went back out to brave the cold. A tech was climbing out of the dumpster as she stepped out of the bus. He approached the ambulance and spoke to Teddy and Shooms.
    "We're ready to pull her out," he told them.
    The EMTs brought out their gurney and soon enough the body was on it. Lilly took the opportunity to get a closer look. It would be her first chance to see the woman up close. When she got a look at the face, she wished she hadn't.
    Lilly knew the victim.