They were both woken by the sound of ringing cell phones at god-awful hours as always. Individually answering with groggy greetings, it wasn't long before they were both up and getting ready for the day, already discussing case details.
"They said the body was found in New Town?" Sakura asked as she ran a brush through her hair, doing her best to make sure the tangles were out. "That's a low-crime area. Isn't it mostly just bars and clubs?"
"Yeah. This one's especially garish. Small localized bomb in the vic's jacket, just large enough to kill one person, but not enough to be truly destructive." He frowned. "I hate dealing with bomb-related attacks," he mused.
Sakura could understand that. Bombs could mean so many things; it could be a protest on behalf of something from the bomber, and bombs tended to leave very little evidence. To top it off, bombers were usually cowards who preferred to watch at a distance, which made them especially difficult to track sometimes.
That... and it could sometimes mean organizations bigger than just one or two people.
"Yeah, I get what you mean. That kind of bomb sounds like something an expert would make, though. Aren't most bombs larger-scale, intended to make more of a scene? This sounds more like someone being shot or stabbed in nature, except the preferred method for this guy is to blow his target to smithereens." That was the other thing Sakura hated. Finding evidence from a corpse was incredibly difficult when they were in a thousand different pieces.
"Yeah. Or it's being used to obscure evidence. It's clever, and I hate it." Oh, boy. This was going to be one hell of a case for them to deal with. Sakura could already tell that much.
Without much delay, they were in one vehicle and on their way, Sakura taking the time to tie her hair up in a small ponytail so she could work better at the scene. He helped to grab one of her large bags and carry it over, ducking past the tape and leaving her to investigate while he started talking to the officers who'd responded to the scene. Information gathering was always the first step.
"What do we have?" He asked, approaching one of the uniformed officers.
"Witnesses saw the victim walking to his car when the bomb went off. It wasn't small enough to do any damage or harm anyone, but it was undoubtedly a bomb."
"Bomb squad's already taken fragments?" He asked curiously.
"No, the fragments were too small to be recovered without damaging the remains. They cleared the area and ensured that there was no other danger to your people but figured it was best to leave the fragments' retrieval to the medical examiner. We're already going to be short on evidence in that respect."
Sasuke smirked. "Don't worry too much. I'm confident Dr. Haruno could solve a crime with a tooth and a magnifying glass." Perhaps a bit far-fetched of a scenario, but he wouldn't put it past her. The things she'd figured out on cases were impeccable. She truly was the greatest asset when it came to solving the kinds of cases they dealt with.
"So, any idea what he was doing all the way out here?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, the approximate length of the femur and the shape of what I have left of the pelvis indicates the victim was in his twenties. That's not to say they were or weren't female in terms of the social construct of gender, though. What have they found in the car thus far?" She asked as she was still examining what she could find.
"Appears to be women's clothes, makeup bags, false lashes, wigs, nylons, and..." Sasuke frowned, lifting what appeared to be a wooden arm. "Looks like someone had tried to smash what was in the car."
"Oh, now I get it," she said nonchalantly. "That's a puppet arm, like from a marionette." Their vic had to be some kind of performer if that was the case. The womens' clothes made sense; they were too small to have fit their target, but the way they were made, they likely belonged to the various marionettes.
"Here we go. Last night he had marked down a 10:00 pm performance at ART*Xplosion."
"That's a local club in the area. It's a hot-spot for up-and-coming performers as of late. It's owned by a drag queen who goes by Dynamite Divine, I believe. She's known for using explosive theatrics and pyrotechnics in her performances. She did all of the design inside of the club, too; the place is covered in handmade clay sculptures." Sakura had gone to see one of Dyna's performances with Ino; it had been a blast, from what she could recall.
"Huh. And this time slot being a Friday night is likely a hot one, I assume." He pulled up the club information on his phone and scrolled through the schedule. "Looks like the corresponding time slot for last night was Akasuna. Something to do with marionette performances?" This was all new to him; it was a demographic he rarely dealt with.
"Yeah, Akasuna was known for using marionette puppets as part of his dance performances. His most common one was actually moving his own body as if he himself were a marionette puppet. I believe lots of dancing, and one time he was even in a harness that allowed him to do acrobatics. I heard it was getting pretty popular. It sounded like he was working toward a TV deal. I'll ask Ino; she tends to keep up with many reality TV stars and gossip. It's her hobby." Sakura snapped her gloves off and tossed them in one of the biohazard bags. "I can't do much more until forensics recovers the rest, so for now, we should go over the evidence we have. What are your thoughts?"
"Well, based on what you told me, this seems like a targeted attack. Maybe one of the other queens was getting back at Akasuna for the TV deal, or perhaps was upset that he had a prime performance time at the club." Sakura pondered on that. The up-and-coming and famous could be vicious sometimes, but this? Something felt off about it.
"Yeah, but a bomb? I don't know about that. The theory's sound, but wouldn't the method show signs of being a crime of passion? This is detached, cowardly in a sense. It doesn't add up. And besides, I don't know about you, but I'm not sure a performer fits the profile of a bomber. Bombers are usually cowardly, detached, but this? This feels personal. Something doesn't add up."
Sasuke huffed softly. "Yeah, you're right. Something here doesn't add up. Let's talk to this Dynamite Divine and see what she has to say about things. Maybe she'll have some insight." That was the most they could hope for, that she might be able to provide them with something that would give a lead. Granted, she would also have to be treated as a suspect, given the nature of the crime.
"I'll let the techs finish up with the scene, then. I won't be able to examine much until I can run lab tests and such, but I have enough samples to work with for the time being." Tossing her gloves in one of the biohazard bins, she followed the detective back to his vehicle, pulling out her phone and tapping away at some documents. She figured she might as well get a head start while they were travelling.
"Can you run the ID of our victim on the way?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, sure, give me a moment," Sakura replied as she began to plug the information gathered in. "So... Akasuna is the performance name for Sasori Akasuna. The last known address was in Suna. Great," she said with a sigh. "That probably means we have to share jurisdiction on this one if he was a Suna citizen. I'll talk to Shikamaru since I think his wife is our Suna liaison. Last I checked, her brother Gaara was the chief there, and her other brother Kankuro is one of their best detectives."
"Great," Sasuke replied dryly as he observed the road. "Just what we need: more cops crossing paths. The murder's in our city, so it's primarily our jurisdiction, at least. What can you bring up about Dynamite Divine?"
Sakura searched again. "Not much, really. Page doesn't have her real name listed. We'll have to ask, I guess. Without that, we can't run any records. Hold on, though—let me check the business license registration on the club." She tapped away again at the searches, scrolling through the list until she found it. "Here we go—Deidara Katsu. Damn. It's amazing the transformation that drag queens pull off," she remarked as she looked at the official ID, remembering the look Dyna had. "It's stunning the level of work that goes in. I can't imagine wearing that much makeup, though."
"You don't wear much, do you?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly. "I thought most girls liked makeup."
"Not all," Sakura corrected. "I don't, honestly. I guess... I never really got into wearing it. I didn't have anyone to impress, so I never bothered to try." She shrugged. "Why? Do you want me to wear more?"
"No," Sasuke replied quickly. "You don't need it. You're beautiful without it." Those words left Sakura speechless, cheeks flushing. It took every ounce of willpower for the detective not to smirk at her reaction; it was the truth, though. She had a natural beauty unrivalled by anything a girl with a full face of makeup could pull off. She was exquisite.
They reached the club, just as Sakura could see a blonde man making his way toward the door from his vehicle, shoulders laden with heavy bags, one of which she recognized as a large makeup bag. Only one person was likely to be here at this time of day; most clubs were closed until the afternoon in this area.
"Excuse me," Sasuke called as they got out of the car and approached. "Deidara Katsu?" He flashed his badge. "Detective Uchiha, Konoha P.D. This is my associate, Dr. Haruno. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"
The blonde scoffed at the both of them, frowning. "What, now the cops are harassing innocent club owners? Sheesh, now I regret coming in early to finish my paperwork." He was a snarky one, that was for sure.
"Well, it's your choice if you want to talk here. Otherwise, I can haul you down to the station, and we can talk there. Your pick," Sasuke replied swiftly.
"All right, all right, fine, good lord," Deidara relented, grumbling as he reached for his keys. "Annoying Uchiha brat," he mumbled, though Sasuke couldn't hear him; Sakura thought she heard it, but she wasn't entirely sure if the words she'd heard were correct.
Deidara led them into the club, depositing his bags in another room before making his way to the bar. "Can I get you anything while we 'chat'?" He offered sarcastically.
"I'm fine," Sasuke replied.
"I wouldn't mind iced tea if you'd be so kind," Sakura asked politely. "We appreciate you taking a moment to speak with us."
"Yeah, yeah," Deidara replied with a wave of his hand, putting the iced tea down in front of the doctor. "Now, what is it that you want again?"
Sasuke held up a photo on his phone. "Do you recognize this man?"
Deidara squinted at the photo. "Yeah, that's Akasuna—Sasori Akasuna. He's been performing at the club Friday nights with his marionette act. He wanted to get into using drag as part of his performance, so I was helpin' him. What about it?"
"He was found dead this morning, and last we checked, you used to perform in his time slot dressed up as Dynamite Divine," Sakura stated.
"Yeah, I gave up my time slot. Friday nights got too busy, and I lost a bartender. I decided to make my wage in tips instead, servin' while in drag. Worked pretty well, honestly. And he brought a lot of new customers in. What, you think I had somethin' to do with it?" He scoffed at the thought. "You guys really're graspin' at anything, ain'tcha?"
"Just following up leads," Sasuke replied curtly. "The last place Akasuna performed was here at your club before someone killed him. Naturally, that puts any of your performers up as suspects. Who's likely to take over Akasuna's spot if he doesn't show?"
"I'unno. That's my accountant's job to figure out, and in the interim, it'd be me 'til we find somethin' to fill the time slot. If ya think I killed 'em for his time slot, you're way off. I control the slots. I could move him wherever I wanted if I wanted that time spot back. It's my club." He crossed his arms and frowned. "We almost done here? Now that he's no longer here, I have a week to find someone to fill his spot."
"Almost. Need a list of your employees, performers, and prospective performers up for his spot, as well as any security footage from the night of his performance." Sasuke wasn't going to leave empty-handed.
"Lemme grab the tape," Deidara said with a sigh, ducking into the office. He was gone for a few minutes before returning with a file and a CD in a case. "There ya go. Now, if ya don't mind, I got a club to run, and it won't prep itself."
"Sure. If you think of anything, call me," Sasuke said as he slipped a business card onto the counter. Deidara followed them to the door, locking it after they left.
A/N: Hey readers! As of the next chapter, this story will begin coinciding with a new fic I will be releasing that is more centred on Ino and Sai. For the most rounded reading experience, I recommend keeping up with both fics to give a more robust view of the overarching plot. Chapters for both stories will come out simultaneously, so stay extra tuned for the next update!