Chapter One
The sound of the gunshot wasn't heard over the sound of the party happening upstairs. In the darkness of the wine cellar, a body dropped to the floor. Followed by a wine bottle shattering against the tiles. A dark figure turned and calmly went back upstairs. Then silence.
"Body was found this morning," Detective Harvey Bullock reported to his partner, James Gordon, as the two walked into the manor owned by the deceased. "Time of death was around 1:30 am."
"No one saw anything?" Gordon asked, looking around as they walked in. The manor reminded him of Wayne Manor. He didn't think anyone else in Gotham was as rich as that. And this manor was within city limits.
"There was a party going on around the same time," Bullock said. "We're still trying to round up the guest list."
"And the vic?" Gordon noticed the group going over everything in the other room. Where the party had been held, no doubt.
"Mark Fischbach," Bullock said. "Moved to Gotham recently. Used to be a big time actor."
"Used to be?"
"Now this is just hearsay," Bullock said. "Supposedly Fischbach ran into financial troubles, which was why he moved to Gotham. He was also good friends with the mayor."
Mayor Damien. Fairly new to office. If he was friends with the vic... "What are the odds of the mayor being at the party?" Gordon asked.
Bullock picked up on his partner's suspicions. "If the vic was pressuring him about borrowing money..." he started then nodded his head. "It'd be a good place to start."
So until further notice, they would be visiting the mayor right after checking out the crime scene.
The crime scene was in the wine cellar. The body had yet to be taken away, so the scene was still untouched. The body was lying facedown in a pool of his own blood. A broken bottle was beside the body. The bottle had to have been empty since there was no sign of its contents on the floor. Nothing else in the room seemed to be disturbed.
Filling in as a form of medical examiner, Detective Abe Lincoln was kneeling beside the body. Gordon would have preferred someone more professional looking over the body, but Lincoln had pulled some strings so he was the only one allowed to examine the body.
"What've you got?" Bullock asked, standing with hands on hips as he waited for Lincoln's report.
"Death was around 1:30 am," Lincoln confirmed. "Single gunshot to the chest, but the bleed out killed him."
"So he just laid there waiting to die?" Gordon asked. There was no sign that the vic had crawled searching for help. And if he had called out, he would have been found sooner. "And no one thought to look for him until morning?"
"He was probably drunk and passed out," Bullock said, giving the most logical reason as to why the broken bottle had been empty.
"Have your own idea?" Gordon asked when he noticed that Lincoln had been shaking his head as Bullock spoke.
"Mark didn't drink," Lincoln said. Both Gordon and Bullock were taken aback that he knew the vic on enough of a personal level to be using his first name so casually. "He wasn't drunk at that party."
"Were you friends with the vic?"
"He hired me for a job a while back," Lincoln said. "We weren't exactly best friends, but I wouldn't have hesitated to take him out for a drink. If he could drink, that is." He rose to his feet and looked at Gordon. "Before you ask, yes, I was at that party last night."
"Did you take your gun with you?" Bullock asked, but was ignored.
"Do you know who all was at that party?" Gordon asked. They would question Lincoln later, but for now there was no evidence or motive for him having anything to do with this.
"I don't know everyone who was at that party, but I have a list of possible suspects."
"You already have suspects?"
"It's the reason he hired me."
"Wait," Bullock said. "Are you saying he knew someone was going to off him?"
"He didn't know," Lincoln said. "But he was counting on it."
Lincoln took them to a room in the manor he had closed off as his office. Everyone in the house had been instructed to leave the room alone. Gordon understood why when they drew near.
From what Gordon could see from outside of the room, the walls were covered with photos, news articles, and notes. It would take some time to sift through it all, but Lincoln made sure they weren't able to look too closely at those clues he had gathered. Said they were part of the investigation Mark had hired him before this last time.
Lincoln grabbed what he needed and left the room, locking it behind him. Gordon made a mental note to find a way back into that office. What Lincoln said about the stuff on the walls might be true, but Gordon wanted a closer look at what Lincoln had been looking into for Mark. Maybe it explained why Mark had been counting on someone killing him last night. Either way, Lincoln wasn't explaining anything.
"This is a list of everyone at that party," Lincoln said, handing over a slip of paper. Bullock took it. Then he held up the file he had also brought with him. "And this is everyone who had possible motive." He handed the file to Gordon as Bullock skimmed his eyes over the list.
Gordon opened the file and just saw another list of names. This one considerable shorter than the one given to Bullock. He looked back at Lincoln. "Are the motives on another list?" he asked.
"Didn't write that down," Lincoln said then tapped the side of his head. "It's all up here."
"Great," Bullock rolled his eyes.
Gordon ignored his partner, keeping his eyes on Lincoln, waiting for him to elaborate. Lincoln didn't look too happy about giving any information away. Gordon almost understood. Lincoln didn't want anyone jumping into his investigation and taking the credit for what he had been hired for, whatever that had been. But there was the fact that the man who had hired Lincoln was now lying dead in the wine cellar.
"First on the list," Lincoln started. Gordon was just relieved that he was now cooperating. "The butler. Nice guy, but a little obsessive. Spends a lot of time in the wine cellar.
"Two: the chef. You'd think he's just a big teddy bear behind all that anger.
"Three: the mayor. Automatically raises suspicions."
Lincoln looked like he was starting to enjoy himself. "And lastly...the colonel," he said a bit over dramatically as if he was speaking to a crowded room and enjoyed the spotlight. "He and Mark had a falling out some years back. The colonel hated Mark. Maybe enough to kill him."
"That motive makes more sense than the other three," Bullock said, not mentioning what he and Gordon had discussed about the mayor earlier. Something more could always be found out about the butler and chef. "And what about you? You were at that party."
"I've been working with Mark for years," Lincoln said. "It might have been just a job, but he was still a friend. If you find motive of why I could do such a thing, let me know. While you're doing that, I'll find the murderer."
Gordon and Bullock both said nothing and just watched as the other detective walked away.
"Even if nothing turns up, I still say we should look into Detective Lincoln," Bullock said.
Gordon nodded then they got to work.