My eyes shoot open and dart across the bed. I blink hazily, clearing the fog from my eyes. It's three fucking AM. Why can't I sleep? 

Any other night, I would be passed out well before midnight, but since making detective. My nights of well-deserved rest have come to a halt. It's like there's this nagging feeling in the back of my brain telling me I can't sleep till whatever case I'm on is solved. They never are, least not a hundred percent, but can be that sure with homicide cases. Not me, I want to believe the person we're putting away is the same one that committed the crime, but there's always that one piece of the puzzle. The one that doesn't quite fit in, that makes you think for a sliver of a second, maybe, just maybe, they didn't do it, and that's what's keeping me up at three in the morning. 

Figuring that I probably would get much sleep just lying there watching the ceiling fan. I shove the covers off and roll out of bed. As I stagger into the kitchen, I see my phone buzzing and lighting up on the counter. I groan, taking it off the charger and seeing the caller ID.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" I ask sarcastically to the person on the other end.

A light female chuckle fills the silence, "Yeah, I do, but I also know that you've become somewhat of an insomniac over the last few months. So, why don't we cut to the chase, huh? There's been an attempted murder over in the red light district. You in?"

"Well, for starters, I'm not the one on call tonight. That would be you. Two, what makes this case so dull that the great Jessica Martin wouldn't want to take it?" I asked with a little flair. I swear, being sleep deprived makes me act more tipsy than taking a double shot of vodka. Though Jessica Martin, Jess, is the only one who knows that side of me. We've known each other long before joining the police academy, and competing against each other in every sport, test, and number of cases completed is nothing short of new. I think of her as a sibling most of the time. For her to come to me with a case she doesn't want, well, there must be a catch.

A small sigh escapes from her end of the line before two words send my world into a state of disarray and turmoil, "It's Rena."