Yes the holiday season is drawing nearer, so you know what that means! MURDER! Wasn't expecting that were you? Here's my present to you guys "The Santa Under the Ice" which most of you guys have already guessed who it was.
This story will start off differently than usually, as I have a few subplots that will be featured here. Enjoy. Also, I have added some references to the Total Drama Island special so sory to those who have not seen it yet, nothing big in here though.
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In the meadows we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Parson Brown…
Walking In A Winter Wonderland was slowly being played from a nearby radio while a man, bundled up in every winter wear you can imagined walked through…well, a winter wonderland. Park Commissioner Hollis Dolan walked through Kensington Park, as snow fell down softly. The view looked like something out of a Christmas card: snow covered evergreens, kids playing in the background, dogs rolling on the snow…All that was left was a bona fide outdoor lake skating rink, and that was where Hollis came in. He carefully stepped onto the ice of the lake, making sure it was thick enough to open the rink, a usually big attraction around the holidays. If Charlie Brown and his friends could skate outside, why shouldn't kids here?
"Let's see, safe wiring, check," he said as he spotted an intern give him a thumbs up from a booth, near the lake. That was where the DJ usually played music; the intern was in charge of checking if the wiring inside as well as the wiring to the big, tall, speakers were safe.
"Benches secure, check" Hollis carefully checked off boxes on a clipboard, 'ice thickness…:"
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something underneath the ice. It was thick, but clear enough to make out what seemed to be a red blob.
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RING! RING! Dr. Bridgette Dodson, owner of multiple PhDs suddenly slammed her hand on the bedside table, blindly trying to turn off her alarm without lifting her head away from the warmth of her pillow. After a minute or so of trying to locate her clock by feeling, she realized that the ringing was coming from the telephone, and that being that it was midnight, her alarm wasn't going to ring anytime soon.
Great, not again, she thought as she pulled herself up in a sitting position. Her window binds were pulled open and the streetlight clearly reflected off the snow on the ground. It was rather quite pleasant looking, but Bridgette was too busy trying to keep her eyes open to notice.
It had been a little over a month since Trent's death, but Gwen was still living with her. She had gotten over most of the grief but was now staying while she looked for new living arrangements. Something about the memories at her old flat and the fact that her neighbour was a killer seemed to have persuaded her in the decision to move.
While Gwen staying had its advantages and Bridgette liked the companionship, there were downsides to the whole thing. One being concerned friends and family members, who lived on the other side of the country, calling constantly to check up on her. Correction, concerned friends and family members who seemed to not understand the concept of time zones. The fact that the guest room where Gwen was sleeping didn't have a phone was irritating as well. Usually Bridgette would have to wake up, answer the phone, take the phone over to Gwen, come back, plop down on her bed, and then get wakened by Gwen who would come into her room to put the phone back. After the first ten times, it could get very aggravating.
"Dodson," Bridgette answered as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. There was a mumbling on the other line, and soon the forensic anthropologist was really awake.
"She did what?"
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"Hey Bridgette, great to see you, wish it was under better circumstances though." Beth said, sitting across from a sleep-rumbled Bridgette at a table in a jail house.
"Beth, you really have to stop stalking people,' Bridgette replied.
"Hey, I don't stalk, I observe. Plus, this woman was going to pay me fifty grand for checking up on her ex-husband."
"So that gave you a right to sift through his garbage and break into the Hall of Records at City Hall?' Bridgette said, arching an eyebrow.
There was a pause, "…maybe…"
"Beth, you do realize that you'll be spending the next two weeks in jail right? And that was the lightest punishment."
Horror adorned the private detective's eyes, "what? No, I'll miss Christmas with my family, and then my dad will be giving me a field day about my chosen career. Please, help me out; he can't know I was in jail. I already missed his last birthday party because of the police. Come on, just let me have my freedom over the holidays and I'll serve my time afterwards!" She pleaded with the good doctor across from her.
Bridgette sighed, it was becoming a bit too apparent to her that she was a pushover when it came to friends, "I'll try but I have no idea how."
"Don't worry, I know the way. Turns out my judge is great friends with the District Attorney."
"So?'
"So, the District Attorney works for the government, and so does the FBI…"she trailed off, "and who works as a consultant for them, and is one half of the best homicide investigation team in Canada?" Bridgette looked unsure.
"I don't know, I'm not a string puller or a name dropper usually."
"Oh come one, Doc. It's already made easier with the fact that Leshawna's the District Attorney." It was true, that women definitely had a way with words, that and her stubborn and in your face attitude made her the perfect lawyer.
The doctor sighed, 'I'll try, but I'm not sure if that'll make things easier or harder."
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"Hot chocolate, Bridge?" Geoff asked as he came up to her with two steaming cups in his gloved hands.
Bridgette tried to stifle back a yawn, "Thanks, Geoff." Both of them were standing in foot high snow, by a lake. There had been remains discovered, although it was taking a while for the remains to actually be taken out from under the ice.
Geoff adjusted the tightness of his green scarf, "Get a good night's sleep last night, Bridge?" It didn't take a scientist to know that the answer was no.
Caught red handed, she stopped trying to resist and let out a yawn, "Beth was arrested for stalking …again. And now, maybe because of my lack of sleep, I've agreed to convince "Iron Will" Leshawna, to let her go for the holidays so that she can spend time with her family."
"Or, maybe you agreed because you're a great person," Geoff replied, punching her gently in the arm.
"Hmm, nope, pretty sure it was sleep deprivation," she joked back, "Anyways, you see Leshawna more nowadays, what do you think her reaction will be?'
He thought for a minute, "well, since you two were great friends on TDI, she's probably going to try to at least make a compromise, but she'll be expecting a favour in return."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say the last part."
"Agent Murdock? The technicians finally got the body out," a young agent in training said. The two investigators walked over, in special boots with spikes for easier walking on ice, but Bridgette paused as Geoff carefully stepped onto the frozen surface.
He turned to his partner, "What's the matter?"
Bridgette was having a difficult time choosing her words, "well, the thing is...I'm a bit...iffy, around ice."
"What? But you surf."
"That's with water Geoff. Ice isn't water...well it is, but its frozen water, and anyways, I was never a really good skater in the first place."
Geoff mulled for a bit, glancing occasionally at the taped off hole in the ice where Peyton was already helping put up pylons and police tape. After a while he held out his hand, "come on, we've got a job to do."
"Are you serious?" She looked at his hand for a while, and finally took hold of the proffered help.
Gently guiding her along, Geoff couldn't help but smirk, "I can't believe it took me fifteen years to finally find something that I'm better at than you. Other than throwing people off cliffs accidentally." (AN: Yes, a TDI special reference!)
Fighting the urge to push him down by reminding herself that she was currently holding onto him for dear life, she decided to go for another tactic instead, "Laugh it up, but you won't be getting any presents from me this year."
"Oh, come on! I can teach you how to skate. I taught my younger brothers, all four of them." He replied rather proudly.
She was about to make another comeback when someone interrupted her. "Took you guys long enough," muttered Peyton O'Riley as he passed his co-worker a ski pole, "here Dr. B this should help you a bit with balance."
Grabbing the pole while letting go of Geoff's hand she carefully bent down at the frozen corpse that was laid down on a tarp, a few metres from the hole in the ice.
"Male, early thirties, obviously very large. Some of the aquatic life must have had an all you can eat buffet," she said as her partner grimaced at the comment. Sometimes, when you're constantly work around things like these, it helps to joke around, although the joking can get a bit morbid at times.
"And he's Santa Claus," said Peyton. He turned around, yelling to the CSU workers, "don't tell your kids about what you did today guys."
"A man in a Santa costume, Peyton," Bridgette corrected him, "Jolly Old St. Nick doesn't exist."
"And if he does, he's way too busy working at the North Pole, it has to be an impersonator," Geoff quickly added, as if trying to correct Bridgette's grave mistake. He promptly received a few odd stares; he cleared his throat and started talking again, this time to Bridgette.
"So our victim was an overweight guy who was a Santa Clause impersonator, not much to go on, especially around this time of the year."
"We'll have to thaw this guy out carefully at the Jeffersonian without damaging the tissues. You two move the body to the truck while I take a sample of the pond water," she directed to her two male companions.
Geoff's eyes swiftly looked to Peyton who smiled cheekily and said, "You want to support the head or the feet?"
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"So...what are you guys doing for the holidays?" Geoff asked Peyton and Sarah, absentmindedly stirring his cup. Bridgette was busy getting ready for a meeting with Leshawna and Maurecia was busy trying to find the identity of their Santa.
"So...why aren't you at your own office right now?" was the response he got from Sarah. Geoff immediately frowned while Peyton just snickered; this is why you never have small talk with the O'Riley siblings.
Their little banter was currently taking place in the second floor of the Jeffersonian lab, which held the offices. Although, it wasn't a true, complete floor, it had more of a design of a shopping centre where the ground floor of the lab could be seen over the metal banisters that kept people off the halls of up above. Jutting out slightly, like an indoor balcony, was the open staffroom. Of course, it wasn't really a room; there were no walls, just a floor with nice plants, couches, tables and an extremely good view of the scientific activities going down below. It's amazing how much the budget of this place goes to getting lovely furniture and kitchen supplies. And it's no wonder Geoff preferred to lounge here than at the stuffy, plain staffroom at the bureau.
"Oh come on guys, humour me," he took a sip from his cup. He was sitting at one of the glass tables that looked like it would fit at a patio party.
"Eh, I'm probably gonna stay at home, watch a train reach the North Pole and see how Clarence gets his wings. Then Sarah and I are off to our parents' house. What about you?" Peyton finally replied.
"Going home to Nova Scotia for the annual Murdock Family Christmas Bash, everyone in my family always goes. Nothing but food, games, carolling and fun."
"Sounds...ah, fun."
"Yeah, the only downside is my mom and dad who keep pressuring me to start finding 'the one' and settle down." Geoff said, remembering of how his father always greeted him when he came home for the holidays with a "what? No girlfriend?"
'Whoa, I never thought your parents, the most chilled people of all time would say things like that," Peyton said, as he leaned in his bean bag chair.
"I told my mom that once and she said, "Geoffy-kins if I could meet your father, marry him and conceive you in a whole week surely you could find someone in a few years." And the fact that all my brothers are happily married with kids doesn't help either."
"But...you're the oldest brother," Sarah stated slowly.
"That's the point!" he sighed and he spotted Bridgette hurry up the stairs and pass them, but not before giving him a small wave, "anyways, what are you guys getting for Bridgette this year?"
"Oh I see what this whole conversation was leading up to, you want ideas for the best present ever," Peyton said in a mocking sweet tone.
"Doctor Dodson isn't the type who likes people lavishing her with things. It's one of the reasons she broke up with that millionaire's son, Tom, that and the sex change operation. But my point is, Bridgette doesn't celebrate it as much as she used to ever since her mom...you know..."
"Died," finished Peyton abruptly, "Christmas gets pretty depressing if you don't have a family, and Bridgette doesn't have any aunts or uncles or other relatives, unlike you."
A determined look adorned Geoff's face, "well I'm going to make this her best Christmas ever. Then, maybe as a gift to me she'll finally agree to go out on a date with me."
"You know, there are times when I just wanna drill a hole in your head and see how your mind works," Maurecia said, having caught the last part of the conversation, "Is the Doc around, I'm done with the identification."
'She has a meeting with Leshawna, so just tell me and I'll relay it to her latter."
"If you insist, but makes sure she sits down first." Ignoring the confused looks she continued, "Now when I first saw the body the first thing I managed to draw was this," she showed her colleagues a nicely drawn picture of a stereotypical Santa Claus, standing besides a Christmas tree, with a fireplace in the background.
"Maurecia..." spoke Geoff, a little sternly.
"Patience is a virtue Agent Murdock."
"I don't even know what a virtue is."
"It's a...never mind. Anyways after I got the holiday cheers out of my system, I started using the tissue markers and drew a pretty decent picture." She held it up.
"Huh, that's strange, it looks so familiar," stated Geoff, turning his head on the side and squinting to see if he could make it out clearer.
"It should look familiar, I checked it with the odontology department and the records. Our St. Nicholas is the guy who beat both you and Bridgette at TDI."
Geoff took a few moments to overview his memories. Then, he gasped, "Duncan?"
Maurecia groaned, "No, someone who beat all of you! Owen!" Geoff, of course, gasped again.
"Owen? But the dude was such a great guy. Who would want to hurt him?"
"Obviously someone who doesn't like Santa Claus," spouted out Sarah. She stood up, along with Peyton and said, "We'll go examine the remains. Geoff, see if you can contact any of Owen's relatives and friends."
"Gotcha," with that he quickly descended the stairs.
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Well, that's it for now. But I'll update real quick since I already have parts of the story typed up months ago. We'll be starting off with Bridgette trying to make a deal with Leshawna in the next chapter.