June 21

Abandoned Building

3:00 PM

Venus Rinko

After examining the writing on the floor, we ultimately decided to shift our attention to the body. The first thing that struck me about the scene was just how violent it was. The culprit had unleashed countless bullets into the chest of the victim. Well, it was probably easy to figure out how many had been fired, but I decided that I didn't want to know. There was so much blood that I was confident I was going to wind up being sick, so I chose to look at the ground near my feet so that I wouldn't wind up losing my lunch. I didn't know who the culprit was, but I could say rather conclusively that they had been incredibly dreadful to the victim.

"Five gunshot injuries to the chest," Mr. Morix murmured as he looked down to the victim, answering my unasked question before I could avoid it in full. "That's what the autopsy report claims, at the very least. I can't say for sure what gun fired the bullets though... There isn't much of anything here for us to follow in terms of clues. There's the writing on the floor, but... That's all that we really have at the moment."

"It's unfortunate," Chrysalis agreed with a sigh and a shake of her head. "But if we can't find anything here, our best bet would be to speak with the witnesses. I mean, we did hear that there were a few people here who saw something relating to the crime."

"But you said that they were going to be Interpol agents," I reminded her with a frown. "I don't know about you, but I don't think that I like the idea of talking to Interpol agents too particularly much. I don't know... It just kind of sounds like an added dose of stress in a case that's already not going to be easy."

"We're going to be even more stressed if we don't talk to the witnesses before the trial gets into full swing, so unfortunately, that's just something that we're going to have to put up with," Chrysalis shrugged. She pulled away from the victim's body with a small sigh. "I wish that there was a little something more for us to latch onto as far as the crime scene was concerned, but I guess that wasn't exactly bound to happen. Fine. We'll just have to talk to these two mystery witnesses of ours."

My stomach did a flip. There was something about this case that just felt... Wrong. I didn't quite know how to articulate it, but there was something off about this case, and I hated it. The witnesses were just one part of the greater issue, I supposed. I didn't want to think about the fact that there were Interpol agents involved with a case like this, but it wasn't as if I had been given much of a choice in the matter. I ultimately shuddered before choosing to shift my focus ahead on what was bound to come next: talking to these two mystery witnesses of ours.

Mr. Morix led us out of the building, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was still suspicious about what was going on within this case too. There was something off that I didn't know how to describe, but this look had only appeared in his eyes after we saw the scene of the crime. To be more specific, he had only shifted when he saw the writing on the floor, and somehow, that was even worse. I winced at the realization and did my best to shove it as far from my mind as possible. This entire situation was a mess, but I supposed that we didn't have much of a choice but to stay focused.

After we left the building, I glanced around the area to see if I could find anything relating to the witnesses. If the crime scene was barren, then those two were bound to be our best bet. Eventually, I was able to settle my gaze on a pair of people who really didn't seem like they belonged just judging by their clothing. Well, they stuck out like sore thumbs among the police officers, but saying that they didn't belong wouldn't have been true at all. They didn't just seem to belong in their own special way; it was like the woman was commanding the investigation even though she wasn't saying a word. People gave them a wide berth when they passed by, almost as if they were afraid of the duo, and that was more than enough in terms of confirmation that these two were the ones that we were supposed to be speaking to.

I started to make my way over in their direction, the other two members of our investigation team hot on my heels. The woman was speaking in hushed tones to the man at her side. Her hair was a pastel lavender color, and it fell long and straight down her back. The man beside her, on the other hand, had black curly hair that didn't seem to want to fall in any specific direction. The two of them were both looking at a device that was pressed into the man's hand, but they glanced up when I cleared my throat. "Um... Hello," I said with a light smile. I immediately cursed my awkwardness; I was good enough when it came to talking to people most of the time, but there were most certainly exceptions. I had never been the best when addressing authority figures, and unfortunately, this was one time when that was really starting to bite me.

The woman glanced at me, Mr. Morix, and Chrysalis as the man tucked his small device away. "Who might you three be?" she questioned. Her voice was completely monotone, lacking in anything resembling emotion. A shudder sprinted up my spine, and I did my best to hold back a cringe. Okay, yeah, I could say conclusively that I was scared of her. I liked to think that I was good at not being afraid of people, but this woman was pretty terrifying.

"My name is Cotoli Morix, and these two are Venus Rinko and Chrysalis Starr," Mr. Morix introduced, and I let out an internal sigh of relief at the fact that he had taken over the conversation for me. I don't know what I would have done from there, but I most likely would have found a way to muck it up. "We're the defense team involved with this case."

The woman offered a light nod, but she still didn't seem any less terrifying as she addressed us with her eyes. "I see," she said simply. "You may call me D. This is Q."

"I take it that you're the witnesses of this case then," Chrysalis murmured. "You seem to be Interpol agents, and Interpol agents only ever use letters as identifiers."

"Smart girl," Q commented with a smile, but I could tell that the motion was strained as could be. In fact, he seemed to be a bit of a nervous wreck. D was the only thing that was keeping him from completely exploding, and while that was somewhat entertaining to see from an Interpol agent, it only really added to my anxiety. His nerves were contagious, as much as I hated to admit it.

"It's true. We are the witnesses for this case," D replied, her expression remaining just as level as it had been previously. "What do you want to know?"

Mr. Morix glanced to me and Chrysalis a moment later, trying his best to figure out what he was supposed to say to address her in full. "Um... If you can tell us anything about what you saw at the time of the crime, that would be great," he said simply. He was just as nervous about this as the rest of us, it seemed. Interpol appeared to be such a great institution that it could turn even the most confident people into stammering messes, and that was certainly saying something. Mr. Morix wasn't the most confident person out there, sure, but he still did a good enough job of pretending he had everything pulled together, and yet, that didn't seem to matter when we were presented with Q and D.

This case was certainly going to be an interesting one.

Q nodded. "W-Well... We were in the area investigating a case, and we just so happened to overhear the gunshots," he began to say. "We came to the building upon hearing the sound, and from there, we saw the victim on the ground. By that point, the killer was already gone. There wasn't anything of note in the building either. It was just... The victim on the ground."

"Did you look through the area when you arrived?" Chrysalis questioned, confusion starting to overcome her gaze.

D nodded. "In a way, yes. When we got here, there was already a man standing over the victim's body... Chief Prosecutor Hans Cristopher. I began to keep an eye on him, thinking that his actions were peculiar. From there, we started to look through the building, but we didn't see anything out of the ordinary," she explained.

Mr. Morix's head tilted to one side. "Then... Does that mean that you didn't see anything written on the ground in blood?" he questioned. "Whenever we were looking over the crime scene just a few moments ago, we saw that there was something written seemingly in the victim's blood at the scene of the crime. Did you truly not see that during your initial investigation of the building?"

"We didn't see anything out of the ordinary," Q reiterated. "All that we saw was the victim's body on the ground. There was no murder weapon and no clues left behind when it came to figuring out who could have done it. The culprit was already gone when we got here, but the chief prosecutor was here, so we decided to keep an eye on him. I guess that we did something right in doing that, huh? After all, he's been arrested for the murder now."

"Do you have any ideas as to why the victim would die?" I asked next. "Surely somebody out there must have had a reason to want to kill her."

"What about your investigation of the area?" Chrysalis inquired. "The same way that somebody would have wanted the victim dead, you must have had a reason for being here. It's a shady area, and I hardly would have expected Interpol agents to be in a place like this so late at night."

"That's classified," D cut in before Q could even think of offering an answer. Unfortunately, it seemed as if he was going to agree with her even if he was given the chance to say something, so he simply nodded his agreement as D went on. "We were here because we were looking into something unrelated to this case. That's all there is to it. From there, we found the scene of the crime, and the defendant was arrested when police officers arrived in the area. We were not the ones who arrested him; we simply kept an eye on him until there were others here who were able to investigate the case in full."

"If your investigation really is so important, then it must have something to do with the case," Chrysalis pointed out. "The only way that we're going to be able to figure out the truth behind what happened is if you tell us, so why don't you go on and explain it?"

D opened her mouth to protest, but she was ultimately cut off when Mr. Morix cleared his throat to earn her attention. "We learned that there was a case that took place in this area not long ago... The victim of this case was friends with someone who witnessed something unfortunate in this general vicinity. Were you perhaps looking into something related to a back alley deal?" he questioned.

That was enough to earn the shock of both D and Q, and I assumed immediately that he had struck gold. After a moment of the two Interpol agents looking at each other, D relented. "That would be correct," she said carefully, though I could tell that she was still weighing if it was a good idea to tell us what it was that they were looking into in full detail.

"There have been a lot of evidence forgery cases taking place recently, you see," Q explained a moment later. "We were here to see if we could figure out what was going on. We think that the exchanges of forged evidence have been taking place somewhere in this general area, and that was what brought us here. So many cases have seen issues as of late, and we decided that it would be for the best if we started to look around as soon as possible."

"Wait a moment... So the case at the gymnastics competition..." I began to say, my mind already racing too fast for me to keep up. I knew what I was thinking, but I had no idea as to how I was supposed to be articulating it.

Chrysalis nodded. "It seems like the victim of that case wound up witnessing one of these evidence forgery exchanges. That was the reason that she died. According to Detective Wattson, the victim of that case just so happened to be close friends with the one who died in this situation as well. I think it's safe enough to assume that she died because she found the truth behind the evidence forgeries too. She was trying to figure out the reason behind the death of her friend, and in the end, the path led her into an early grave."

Mr. Morix shook his head sadly at the conclusion. "That certainly seems to be likely... Do you two have any suspects when it comes to the ones who could be involved with this evidence forgery case? Any clues at all will help. If they truly are involved with this case, then we need as many details as you're willing to provide," he told them.

"I'm afraid that we're just as clueless as you are," Q frowned. "We were sent out here to look around because the evidence forgeries have made their way up into Interpol cases. We started to explore to see if we could figure out just what was going on, but we haven't been able to find anything that would be able to help us."

"Great. Everybody's just as clueless as we are," Chrysalis murmured under her breath with a shake of her head. "There has to be some reason for the culprit doing all of this though... We already know at least one thing about them, and I think that could be our best place to start from here, as much as I hate to say it."

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I turned in her direction, a small frown on my face.

"Remember the gymnastics case? Erin Rowland... She was the one who killed the victim for stumbling upon the truth. She wasn't the only one in the video that was taken by the victim though. There was one other person there... One other person who would have had a motive to want the victim of this case dead. They would want to keep her quiet so that she didn't spread any information or dig any deeper than she already had, and so, she was killed," Chrysalis explained with a deep frown. "That's the best conclusion I can come to, at the very least."

"The video that was recorded on the night of the back alley deal though... It's been deleted. Somehow, the culprit must have managed to get into the police records and do something to delete the evidence that could have helped to expose them. I don't know how we're supposed to figure out what we're doing with this case as long as the culprit deleted that video file long before we could get to it," I muttered with a heavy sigh.

"The video file still exists in Interpol databases, but it isn't anything special," D told us. "It's been kept there for a short while now because of how crucial the video footage seems to be to the evidence forgery case. We've been having problems with it in all sorts of cases, and we're here to stop it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it seems like the one who was investigating the case locally was the one who ultimately wound up dead in this case, so that means that we can't do anything to speak with her about what she knows."

"Yeah, I guess not," Mr. Morix murmured softly. He was quiet for a long moment before he glanced up to her and Q. "Are you sure that there wasn't any writing in blood on the ground when you arrived?"

Q shook his head. "No, we're positive that there was nothing there. We haven't looked at the crime scene again, but we haven't seen any writing in blood since then. We investigated the scene thoroughly before the police arrived, and there was nothing out of the ordinary then. I don't know what you're talking about," he said firmly, his face still set in something solemn.

Chrysalis glanced up to me and Mr. Morix before shaking her head. "So... That's peculiar, wouldn't you say?" she questioned softly. "I don't think that these two would have a reason to lie to us about something like this. If that's the case, then where did the writing in blood come from?"

"The culprit was already long gone by the time the police arrived at the scene, so it's safe to say that they weren't the one who did it... But if that's the case, then just who did write the message in blood?" Mr. Morix questioned. "The other problem here comes from wondering why it reads what it does."

I glanced back to D and Q, doing my best to shove aside my rattling nerves at the fact that I was talking to Interpol agents about matters related to this case. "Do you know anything about what the message in blood says?" I asked. "Because... I don't think you're going to like it."

Q shook his head once again. "I already told you that we didn't know that there was anything written on the ground at all. We looked at the crime scene before the police arrived, and we didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There's nothing that could be said beyond what we've already told you. There wasn't any writing on the floor when we were there, and I don't think that it could have magically materialized either," he pointed out, starting to gain confidence the more that we talked about the matter.

"What Q means to say is that we don't know where it came from. We never saw it, so we haven't been able to read what it supposedly says," D said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about this situation is so dark and strange that it could be unsettling for us? I'm afraid I don't understand."

I glanced over to my companions once again before I turned on my heel and started to walk into the building, gesturing for D and Q to follow me. I pointed down at the writing in blood on the ground that, while messy, very clearly said their names over and over again. Obviously, it wasn't their actual names, and while the letters were blurred together as could be, I could tell that there was something going on out of the ordinary.

"I don't know why that would be there," D said evenly, her voice not shaking in the slightest. "I already told you that it wasn't there when we first came here to investigate. I wouldn't have lied about something like this, and neither would Q. We have no reason to want the victim of this case dead. If anything, she's worth more to us alive because she was investigating the case of evidence forgery that we've been struggling with for quite some time. We weren't involved with her killing in the slightest. That much I can promise you."

"But... Don't you think it's odd?" Q asked as he looked down to the ground with a deep frown. "We had nothing to do with the murder, and yet, our names are... They're clearly written here even if it's kind of a mess. It's just... The letters 'Q' and 'D' over and over again. I think that somebody was trying to pin this on us, but they didn't do a good job of it if their message is this messy. It couldn't have been from the victim, but if that's the case, then... What's going on here?"

Chrysalis' expression grew tense. "It means that somebody tampered with the crime scene. They were trying to pin the crime on you, and they didn't give a damn about the consequences about what could happen to you as a result of their interference," she said simply, her arms crossing over her chest. "Unfortunately, we don't have any ideas as to who could have done this. If the supposed true culprit was already gone by the time that you arrived, then that doesn't leave anybody that would have been able to pull something like this off."

"But whoever did this has to be important when it comes to finding the truth behind what happened," I pointed out with a frown of my own. "I don't know who did it, but we have to figure that out before we go any further."

"I wish you luck with finding the truth on the matter, but Q and I won't be able to help you. I already told you that we know nothing about this. We're still trying to determine more about the evidence forgery case, and if all goes well, we may be able to figure out who did this before the trial goes into session tomorrow," D told us evenly. "We're going to continue investigating as soon as we're given the chance to."

"Can you tell us anything else about these evidence forgery deals?" Mr. Morix questioned. "Any information at all would be considered helpful on the matter. Just... Talk to us."

Q turned to look at him after almost turning away to walk off at D's words. He let out a sigh, pushing his glasses up his nose with one finger. "Well, it's been an issue for a short while, I suppose... Back alley deals have been taking place in this area for a while, but nobody wants to acknowledge it. That would mean that they would have to admit that there's a problem, and that's the last thing that any of the people living in this area are willing to do. The evidence forgeries were tracked here as per D and I's investigation, so here we are. We're just here to see if we can figure out who could be behind it. Like I said, the evidence forgeries made their way all the way up to Interpol, and that means that it's our problem. We've still got a lot to figure out about who was involved with this though. All that we really have right now is the video footage that was taken a few months ago by the victim of another case," he explained.

"Would you be willing to show us the video?" I asked, my foot starting to tap against the ground because of how anxious I was about this whole situation. I could feel that there was more to this situation than met the eye. I just wished that I knew what I was supposed to do about it all, but unfortunately, I was just as lacking for answers as everybody else was.

Q reached into his pocket and pulled out the small device that he had previously been looking at with D. "We brought this to keep the video footage so that we could access it if need be. That way, it would be safe without any issues," he explained. He turned the device on, and I realized that he had made it as soon as I saw the prideful look in his eyes. I had no idea how he had managed to put something like that together, but I sure as hell wasn't going to object when it was going to be our best way of viewing the infamous video footage of the previous case. He began to tap at the buttons at the base of the screen, and I realized that it was probably just a glorified USB. It was likely just made to store and access data so that it wasn't on anything like a cellphone out in the field. It made sense, but that didn't make it any less interesting to me.

Q gestured for us to come closer, and just like that, I came in around him to look at the video that was displayed on the screen. Two people were talking, though they were primarily obscured by shadows. It was impossible to make out what they were saying, but I could tell that it was something unfavorable in some way or another. I recognized that the smaller of the two figures, the one that was handing over an object to the taller person, was most likely Ms. Rowland from the previous case. Her stature matched the figure perfectly, and I could tell that she couldn't have been the taller person.

But the worst part came when I heard the gentle murmurs of their conversation in full. I was straining to catch note of anything that they were saying, but I couldn't convince anything to be teased into coherence. In other words, all I was hearing was the vague muttering of what they were talking about, keeping me from really pinning down what they were trying to communicate beyond context clues.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the other voice was familiar somehow though. I couldn't exactly describe it, but I felt like it just had to be. There was a nagging sensation in the back of my mind that I had heard the other voice before, but I wasn't sure where it was that I had heard it. Maybe I was just being dramatic, desperate to grasp onto anything that could be considered a clue in this case, but I couldn't get it out of my head no matter how hard I tried. There was something going on here, and I knew who was talking. Well, I wasn't sure of their identity, but I had certainly heard their voice before, and that was enough to send my stomach into flips.

By the time the video had reached its final stages, I was barely paying attention to it at all, too focused on the crisis in the back of my mind. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I knew that it had to be the truth. The person in the video talking to Ms. Rowland was somebody that I had met before, but who could it have been? That was what really shook me to the core; just who was that? Was it possible that we truly did know the person who was talking? If that was the case, then jus how did I know them? Who were they, and why were they involved with this mess in the first place?

When the video ended, Q allowed the device to fall back to his side after he turned it off. "Like we said, there isn't that much to it. You can't really make out their faces or voices, but for a long time, that was all we had."

"The one thing that we can say for sure is that this conversation took place in the alleyway to the right of the building where the victim of this case was murdered," D declared. "That's the reason that we were here to begin with. And we're going to have to keep searching if we want to find answers regarding what's taking place in this video, so this is where we're going to have to part ways. I doubt that this will be the last that we see of one another though."

We all nodded and acknowledged D and Q as they retreated from the area, and I turned back to the other two people in the area. "Did... Did you think that the person who was talking to Ms. Rowland in the video was familiar somehow?" I questioned. "I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but... I have this gut instinct that I know them somehow. I know that it's ridiculous of me to say that about somebody that we could barely hear talking, but... I don't know. There was something weird going on."

Mr. Morix and Chrysalis shared a knowing glance, and that was all it took for my stomach to drop into my feet. "No... It isn't just you," Mr. Morix confirmed. "I think that we've heard that voice somewhere before too, but I don't know where we would even start when it comes to figuring out who it was that was talking int he video."

"For now, we should try to investigate anything else of note around here," Chrysalis said, but I could see the way that she was slightly shaking at the idea of what was going to be happening next. She shook her head and started to walk away, and I frowned to myself. Just like that, all of our confidence in a case that was already unstable and nerve-wracking had faded, and we were left only with anxiety and nerves in the place of that faith.

I knew one thing for sure: this case was going to be a tough one, and I wasn't just talking about the courtroom battle.

This case is going to be Something Special

-Digital