Written for the Houses Competition, Year 3 Round 5, and for Monthly Challenges For All (By Any Other Name, Seriously Important (Not))
House: Hufflepuff
Position: Prefect
Category: Additional
Prompt: [Genre] Mystery
Representation: Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Falsely accused, murder, investigating
Bonus Challenge(s): Second Verse (Missshapen Pods (NC); Middle Name (ToS); Tomorrow's Shade (ToS); Unwanted Advice (ToS))
Word Count: 2004
Beta: Aya
Note: Muggle AU, and in this, Sirius only spends five years in prison.
The door closed as Sirius entered his brother's flat, looking disgustedly at Regulus, who just pulled his hood over his face. Sirius crossed his arms.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" he questioned. Regulus pulled his hood off and turned to face his elder brother.
"It wasn't me! I swear! I know I've done some bad things, but I would never, I swear! Please believe me, Sirius!" Regulus exclaimed.
"And why should I believe you?" Sirius snapped. Regulus wasn't the most well-behaved kid, even before he became a teenager and ran off to join some gang that ran around at night and spray painted the walls of buildings, vandalized cars, and robbed a few places. He was the worst out of all the kids in his little gang, always the leader, always getting in the most trouble with the law. This behaviour continued into his twenties, and now, at twenty-five, you'd think he would've quit a long time ago.
So, of course, based on his reputation, it came to no surprise that Regulus was the main suspect after the woman in the flat next to his was found murdered the night before. At seven o'clock in the morning, the police showed up at their mother's home, who called Sirius and told him what had happened. Now he was there, in the shadiest part of town, to try and get the truth out of his brother.
The police didn't have enough evidence at first, but when Sirius was on his way to his brother's flat, he got another call from his mother saying that the police came and told her that Regulus's DNA was found all over the crime scene. Sirius was still in disbelief that his brother had the heart to murder an innocent woman.
"Well, fine, if you don't, that's okay. Let them come and arrest me, an innocent man. Surely you'd know what it's like when they get the wrong man!" Regulus said. Sirius froze. Sirius had spent the last five years in jail, framed in murdering a man that used to be his friend, and aided in the murder of two of his closest friends. In reality, he faked his death and Sirius was caught at the scene. He was only released when the police found the man in another town in a similar gang years later.
"Well, first, prove me your innocent and then maybe I'll help you, but nothing you'll me will explain the fact as to why your DNA's everywhere in that apartment," Sirius said, sitting down at the kitchen table. Regulus pulled a cigarette out of a pack and lit it, taking a puff before speaking.
"Well, first of all, tell me one good reason why I would murder someone. I have no want or need to go to jail, and second of all, they found my DNA everywhere, but why? Wouldn't it only be on what I touched and used as a murder weapon? I have plenty of enemies that would love to frame me for a murder. So, come on, help me find out who murdered this poor woman, get her the proper justice she deserves, and keep me from going to jail," Regulus stated. Sirius hesitated before speaking again.
"Okay, I'll help you find the person who did this. I don't believe you did it, but I don't trust you fully. Well, we better get started, then," Sirius said.
"I think we'll start in her flat, see if there's anything connecting her to anything suspicious. I don't think the police are there now, they carried her body off about ten minutes ago and shouldn't be back for a bit, but we'll have to be careful and quick."
"Look at this, an old photo album." Regulus motioned his brother to his side and showed him the old book. "This picture, right here. It's from the last ten years, I'm sure. That man, right there. He looks a lot like one of the men that I used to be friends with, Markus Tobus, but he switched gangs, to our main rivals. Bunch of vicious bastards, they are. It's beyond me why he'd switch. This must be his father right here. Wait, what's this woman's last name?" Regulus asked.
"Vicky Strongia, according to these certificates," Sirius said, going through a stack of papers.
"Huh, as I go more into these photos, I see more pictures of this woman, my old buddy and his dad, but mostly the woman and his dad. His dad had been single for ages, I wonder if they perhaps dated…" Regulus said.
"We might just have to pay a visit to your little friend," Sirius said.
"No. Nuh uh, no way in hell. Perhaps if we visited his father instead? He would probably know more about it anyways, would he? He was the one that dated Vicky anyways," Regulus said. Sirius nodded in agreement. They left the apartment, taking care not to make a mess or leave any evidence that they were just in there. They walked downstairs and hopped in Regulus's car.
"Do you even know where he lives?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah…. Well, no, not really, but I'll figure it out soon, don't worry," Regulus said, pulling the car out of the parking lot of the apartment building and down the road.
"I'm thinking that he might live in the seniors village, because I saw Tobus coming and going from here a while back," Regulus said, turning right into the neighborhood where most of the old folks lived. "I'll probably know what house he lives in. From what Tobus told me, he is all about making the front yard, well, very noticeable …" he sighed.
"Is that it?" Sirius asked as they drove up to a house that's front yard looked like a chaotic mess of lights and garden gnomes.
"Sure looks like it." Regulus sighed as they parked the car and walked through the messy yard, to the front door, which was painted vibrant orange and red. They rang the doorbell, which made the sound of some sort of classical music.
"This place sure is… pleasant…" Sirius said, staring at all the ornaments like they were something that the cat dragged in.
"No kidding. Tobus would always make fun of this place. His mother died so many years ago, and does it because he's lonely and it keeps him occupied, apparently, " Regulus said with a scoff.
A smiling, balding man that looked just like the one in the picture in Vicky's flat answered the door just then. Sirius and Regulus turned around and shook hands with him.
"Mr. Tobus, correct?" Sirius asked the man.
"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you two fine gentlemen." Mr. Tobus smiled.
"I'm Sirius Black, this is my brother Regulus. I would imagine you're aware of the murder of Vicky Strongia?" Sirius asked. The man stopped smiling.
"Oh, yes, I-I did. It was really heartbreaking to hear," he said.
"We were looking through her flat this morning because Regulus's DNA was discovered through the entire apartment when they found her body, but we are sure he had nothing to do with it, and we found some pictures with her, you and your son. Regulus was friends with your son a while back and recognized him in the pictures, and we want to know your relationship with Vicky, if that's fine with you?" Sirius stated. The man opened the door even more and motioned them in.
"Come in, we better go inside." the two men followed him inside and to his kitchen table, where they sat while he left and came back with a photo album.
"Vicky was my girlfriend around five years ago. She lost her husband a few years prior. We met at a friend's daughter's wedding, and we talked all night. We started going out for coffee and started dating soon after. We had a lot in common, but mostly we were lonely and wanted someone to love, after all, she had no children." he sighed as he opened the photo album and pointed at pictures of him and Vicky, looking a bit younger but almost the same.
"She adored Markus, spoiled him as if he were a child, bought him anything he could ever want. I started leaving the two together as I went on golfing trips with the friends she'd introduced me to. It was a horrible mistake," He said, tearing up a bit.
"Whenever I came home, I noticed my son was covered in bruises. I just believed that he got himself beat up in his activities, and I only found out when I came home early and walked in on her beating him half to death with a bat," He said. Sirius and Regulus stared in shock.
"It broke my heart in two. I couldn't believe it. Vicky would never hurt a fly, she was the kindest person I knew, but she hated the fact that he had was ganged up. Thought he was no good and that he needed to go before he decided to kill us, because she had this paranoia that Markus was going to murder us all in our sleep and frame someone else," Mr. Tobus explained.
"I broke up with her soon after, and asked Markus if he wished to get the police involved and press charges. Due to his criminal history, he refused. She never got over her hatred of him and tried to pick fights with him whenever he saw him in public. I would not be surprised if her death was her either being murdered by Markus or one of his buddies, or her killing herself and framing it on Markus, but that's next to impossible if your DNA was found everywhere, unless…" Mr. Tobus paused, looking at the two men as he was thinking.
"Have you had any encounters with Vicky, Regulus?" he asked.
"I don't believe. The last time I saw her alive was around two months ago in the lobby of our building. I was with some of my gang buddies and…oh, you don't suppose?" Regulus replied.
"I do believe she saw you and recognized you from the pictures that were in Markus's room and thought that you were still friends with him and how it would affect Markus if one of his closest friends were to go to jail," Mr. Tobus said.
"But, then, how would she have gotten your DNA?" Sirius asked.
"Wait, my apartment was broken into about a month ago, but I never thought much of it because nothing was taken. It happened in the middle of the night, while I was sleeping, and I did wake up with a small, cat scratch sized cut on my neck. She might have taken some of my blood, sweat, and fingerprint markings because I'm a very heavy sleeper," Regulus revealed. The two Blacks looked at each other before quickly getting up from their chairs.
"We gotta go back to the apartment. Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Tobus. And next time you see Markus, tell him I wish him well." Regulus smiled happily as they left the house and ran for the car.
The two smiled contently at the police station as they told the officer what they found out. They went back to Vicky's flat afterwards and made sure no police were there before going through her things and finding notes and plans on her death. Turns out, after this newfound evidence and an autopsy, they determined that she had committed suicide and framed Regulus because she thought that he still was close to Markus. After telling the police about the break-in, they found the tape of this and were able to confirm it all, and Regulus was let go, scot-free.
The two exchanged happy looks as the officer led them out of his office and shook hands with them. Sirius smirked widely and turned to his brother.
"Well, I suppose you won't be living there much longer."