Will Henry reveal his secret? Keep reading to find out! Please comment and criticize so I can improve my work, thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Forever or the characters, I'm just doing it to express my love for the show!
It was about 9:45 a.m. when Henry arrived on the scene. He looked as dapper as per usual, wearing one of his favorite maroon scarves, and proceeded to head towards the body. It was a bit difficult maneuvering through the crowd of anxious onlookers due to the alleyway being so narrow. If it weren't for the surrounding NYPD officers, it would have been much more difficult. Primarily focused on getting to the body, Henry went directly to work. He hastily walked towards the body whilst putting on his blue, latex gloves. It was a young, Caucasian, twenty-something female lying in a pool of her own blood, and she had several stab wounds in the torso. She was surrounded by broken glass and various amounts of other rubbish, but that was to be expected in an alley. He bent down and crouched near the body in order to get a better look. Not a minute later and Henry had already made his conclusion.
"It doesn't appear that any major organs were punctured, so I would assume that the cause of death is exsanguination. Her killer had enough power and endurance to stab her with what appears to a short, single-edged knife, most likely a pocketknife, about fourteen times repetitively, suggesting her killer is a male with a decent build. Not only that, but it would seem that her murderer was not a thief, but perhaps someone she had known," Henry said as he looked up to Detectives Martinez and Hanson.
"How on Earth did ya' get that?" Detective Hanson challenged as he put his hands on his hips.
"Well, stabbing one isn't as easy one might think. It takes power and endurance to do such a thing," he said whilst talking with his hands, "especially when done fourteen times. The stab wounds aren't very deep, and while it is only a guess, I would say it is safe to assume one might carry a pocketknife with him in a dark, narrow alleyway. The necklace around her neck isn't cheap and her purse seems untouched, so that excludes a robber, unless they are incredibly senseless. And last but not least, while guns are more frequently used, they are usually used impersonally, but knives are different. Knives indicate a more personal, closer relationship. Whoever the killer is, they are most likely someone the victim knew, and she was able to anger them enough to do this." He stood up confidently and smiled.
Jo looked to him, crossed her arms, smiled, and said, "You never cease to amaze me, you know?"
"Thank you Detective, I do my best. Of course, I will need to perform an autopsy in order to properly inspect the body, but I would assume most of my findings are correct. I will most likely drop off my report to you tomorrow." He started to walk towards the street, but before he could, Jo called to him.
"Hey! Do you need a ride?"
He swiveled around on his heels and said, "That would be lovely, thank you for asking."
"Really?" Detective Hanson asked quietly. "You know we took my car, right?"
"I know, I just thought I'd just be nice. Besides, it's not that big of a deal, right?"
"No, but I mean, the dude's just weird."
Henry walked up to the two of them with a grin on his face and confronted Hanson. "I assure you that I won't be too troublesome, I promise."
"We still have to wait for the toxicology report, but from what I can tell, the cause of death is still exsanguination. Time of death was around four a.m., and interestingly enough, there were no fingerprints on the body, but there were trace amounts of skin under her fingernails, indicating she didn't do very much damage to her attacker, so we will have to wait for those results as well," Henry said as he walked up to Jo's desk and startled her.
"Alright. Good to know. I've done some digging and our victim, Alexis Whiteland, was working three jobs and was living with her boyfriend, Luke Daily. Her body was found a few blocks away from one of her places of employment, Sal's Pizzeria. And her boyfriend is currently unemployed and has had some drug charges in the past."
"Interesting," said Henry. "What was her financial situation?"
"Well," she said gazing at her computer, "she had almost no money despite the three jobs. I guess what she earned went up his nose. Let's go talk to some people, you want to come with me?" she asked, hoping he would accept her offer.
"Absolutely," said Henry.
"Hi, welcome to Sal's Pizzeria!" a well-groomed teenager with a face full of acne said shyly. "Table for two?" he asked.
"No thank you, we'd like to talk to the manager," Jo said sweetly yet sternly.
"Oh, okay," the boy said awkwardly. He walked to the back to retrieve his supervisor. There were no patrons in the restaurant, just unfilled tables and chairs. A larger man came out from the back and approached them.
"Hello, how can I help ya'?" said an older man dressed in all white and a greasy apron. The man was well into his fifties and wasn't in the best of shape, but retained a genuine smile. His restaurant was just a small, hole-in-the-wall place, but it served its purpose.
Jo flashed her badge and introduced herself and her assistant, "Hi, I'm Detective Martinez and this is Dr. Morgan. We're with the NYPD and we'd like to talk to you about Alexis."
"Hello Detective, I'm Sal. Might I ask what all this is about?"
"Well, we found Alexis' body a few blocks from here, and we hate to say it, but she was murdered. We were just wondering if we could talk and get some info." Worry and disbelief came over Sal's face.
"Oh my God," he said, "I can't believe someone could do something like that." He looked down at the floor in shock. "She was such a sweet girl, and a great worker. Do you guys know who might've done it?" he said as he looked into Jo's eyes.
"Not yet. That's why we're here. When was the last time you saw her?" Jo asked.
"I- I just saw her last night. We close at three in the morning, but stay 'til three thirty to clean up and stuff."
"So you last saw her at three thirty?"
"Yeah."
"Did she seem worried or did anything seem unusual with her?"
"No. She was fine as usual. She usually takes a cab home, but sometimes her boyfriend will come and walk her home, like he did last night."
"He might have been the last one to see her alive, did you see him or how he was acting?"
"No, I usually don't see him, he stands outside waiting for her, then she goes with him. Hey, what's he doing?"
"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just looking around!" Henry said enthusiastically whilst looking under some tables.
"Don't worry about him, he won't do anything." She cleared her throat and proceeded, "Was there anyone else here last night?"
"No, it's usually just me and her on the late shift. Sometimes Jimmy, the kid in the back, will stay late, but not very often. Hardly anyone else'll do it, ya' know?"
"Did she have any arguments or anything else unusual happen between her and some customers?"
"No, she was too sweet. She always got along with them. She was even somehow able to calm down the mean drunks." He slightly chuckled to himself and said, "Damn. She was one of the best. I'll never understand how she did it, but she did."
"Thank you so much, if you can think of anything else, please, give us a call." She handed him a card and yelled jokingly, "Come on Henry, time to go!"
"Alright!" he said as he was coming out from underneath the table. He strode towards her and held the door open for her.
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
"Well, yes, but nothing that pertains to the case" he said light-heartedly.