Chapter 2: Joe's Investigation
True to his word, Joe went straight to work. As the first week began, Joe had Brian's body brought in for examination, the forensic medical examiner examined the dog thoroughly. In the end, it was revealed that the tire tracks on Brian's body came from a silver 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe. But outside of that, there was not much to go on as the license and registration papers were nowhere to be found. Remembering what Peter said earlier about Ernie and his family, Joe brought in them for examination. "Thank you for coming down to the station, Mr. Fowler."
"Of course, Officer Swanson." Ernie nodded, "How may my family and I help you?"
"I trust you remember the day of the incident when you and your family ran over one Brian Griffin?" asked Joe. "Let alone, heard about his death?"
Shaking his head sadly, the chicken replied, "Oh yes, we've heard. We were so sorry to hear the news. He seemed like a good dog."
"He was." added the officer. "Well, depending on who you ask… Anyway, I'd like you and your wife to give me some information as to what you and your son were doing on the day of the incident."
Ernie looked at his wife Nicole, who spoke up, "Well, for starters, we were going to visit my sister, Birt's aunt Henrietta. The reason for this is because her birthday is a few days away and we wanted to surprise her."
"Ah, my early congratulations to her." smiled the toughest officer Quahog had, his face then became serious again. "And was that the only reason you were driving earlier on the day of the incidentally?"
"No, looking back on it, there was one other reason." answered Ernie, who shook his head.
Intrigued, Swanson raised an eyebrow, "Would you care to elaborate on that?" he inquired.
"Of course." replied the fat avian male. "I was hoping to make amends with Peter, as it's no secret me and him aren't on the best of terms."
Having heard about his and Peter's streetfights, Joe nodded, "So I've heard. Well, if there's nothing else, I'd like to call Aunt Henrietta to come down to the station and have her give her input about everything. If you two don't mind?"
"Not at all, Officer Swanson." replied Nicole.
Sure enough, Aunt Henrietta came on down to the station.
"Thank you for coming down, Aunt Henrietta." said Joe. "I would like to ask you a couple of questions."
"Of course, how may I help you, Officer Swanson?" nodded Aunt Henrietta.
"First off, Happy almost Birthday." beamed Joe, his face then became stern again. "Secondly, I trust you've heard about the incident with one Brian Griffin?" he asked.
"Thank you." beamed the middle aged bird, who then saddened her eyes. "And yes, I've heard about that dog. Shame about his death."
"I have it on good authority that your sister Nicole, your brother-in-law Ernie and your nephew Birt were on their way to pay you a visit, so as to surprise you for your birthday." explained Swanson. "Anything that I've missed?"
"Well, other than Ernie wanting to make amends with Brian's owner… What was his name, Petro? Pytor?" Nicole's sister asked, trying to remember Peter's name.
"Peter." answered Joe, calmly.
"That's the one." said the Aunt. "But no, I can't think of anything else."
After a little thought, Joe decided that, like the rest of her family, Aunt Henrietta was telling the truth and let them off the hook. "Very well, that is all." he said. "Thank you."
And so Ernie and his family were let off the hook.
Later on, that same week, Joe got around to thinking and was told by Lois that the only person who Brian was not on good terms with was her father and Peter's father-in-law, Carter Petwerschmidt. So, Carter came down to the station to be questioned. "Thank you for coming down on such short notice, Mr. Petwerschmidt." said Joe.
"Whatever makes this day go by easier for you, Officer Swanson." grunted Carter.
"Now I know it's common knowledge from Lois that you and Brian rarely saw eye to eye," Swanson went on, "but could you tell me what you were doing on the day of the incident?"
"Very well, if you must know," replied Peter's father-in-law, beginning to recall his day. "I went to work as per usual, and it was not until I got a call from Lois that I heard of Brian's, what's the word?" He just wording carefully, "Predicament."
"And how did you react upon hearing the news?" inquired Swanson, there was a long pause. After what seemed like half an hour, Joe went on pressuring Carter. "Mr. Petwterschmidt? Please answer the question."
The old man answered after finding his voice, he spoke and sighed, "I was devastated. I knew Brian was a tough cookie, rather like me. So I knew something was awry when Lois told me everything." He reached into his wallet and pulled out a picture, "I too, know what it's like to lose a beloved one, whether it be pet or human." He handed the photo to Joe.
Examining the photo, Joe saw that in the photo, there was a munch younger Carter in his teenage years with a light brown Belgian Sheepdog. "Who's the Belgian Sheepdog? I always thought Seabreeze was your main dog." he asked.
"First off, she wasn't always." replied the billionaire. "Secondly, I had many pets before Seabreeze." Pointing to the Belgian Sheepdog, he continued his story, "That was my very first dog, Cooper. He was a good dog, me and him did all sorts of things together: Running, walks on the beach, we did everything." He smiled in happiness, "Cooper and I did everything together, until…" He paused and his smile faltered.
"Go on." Joe nodded.
"He was bit by a rabid wolf." sighed Lois's father, as newfound tears came to his eyes. "My parents offered to shoot Cooper for me, but I did it myself."
"Huh, just like Old Yeller." pondered Joe.
Carter simply hung his head down in shame, "I came to decide on two things on that day. First, I would never take another life, unless it was in self-defense."
"And the second?" quizzed Swanson, handing the photo back.
"Second, if I was ever gonna have a pet again, let alone have them start a family, I would do my best to take better care of them." answered Carter, as he whipped away his tears and took his photo back.
Joe pondered Carter's answers, he then spoke after a long silence, "You know, Mr. Pewterschmidt, when you take the time to talk to people, you're not as all hard headed and stoned faced as you may appear." he smiled, "Hell, you're not an asshole at all. Deep down, I think you're a good guy."
This caused Carter to smile in relief, "Thanks, Officer Swanson."
"I thank you, for taking time out of your busy schedule." he replied.
And so, Carter was let off the hook.
So Joe went on talking with other people of Quahog who may or may not have known Brian, but each of them gave their own answers: Either they only heard of him and didn't know him professionally, but if they did know him, they were more than happy to answer any and all questions. It soon became apparent that the trail was going to go cold, unless he found a suspect, all his efforts for finding the killer will have been in vain. One day, as the second week went down, Joe got a phone call, he answered it. "Hello, this is Officer Joe Swanson." He nodded to the fellow officers, who started to record the phone call.
A voice spoke on the other line, "Are you still looking to find out who wanted the Griffins dog Brian killed?"
"I am indeed." answered Joe. "Who is this?"
"My name is not important." replied the voice. "What is important is that I can help you."
Joe pondered the answer, normally, it was normal for the caller of 911 emergencies to identify themselves. But if indeed this was anonymous tip, Joe could identify the caller and his voice later, "Go on…"
"Meet me at the Quahog Public Library in 10 minutes."
"Okay." nodded Swanson.
"I'll have some information for you. Come alone…" The voice continued and then hung up, the recording stopped.
"What the hell was that all about?" Joe quietly asked himself calmly in confusion, as he faced the camera.
Minutes later, as per the stranger's request, Joe arrived outside at the Quahog Public Library. He then saw a hooded figure approach him, Joe raised an eyebrow, "Are you the one I received a call from earlier, I understand that you have some information for me?"
The stranger nodded and spoke, "I do." He took out some manila folders and handed them to Joe. "Here you go."
Joe didn't know what to say, on the one hand this stranger was a curious man to say the least, but on the other hand, this guy could be very helpful. As the figure turned to leave, Swanson called to him, he found the words, "Wait!" The newcomer turned around, "I would like to know your name. How can I possibly thank you, uh…?"
"No thanks are necessary, Officer Swanson." said the mystery man. "I'm just trying to do what feels right."
Still curious, Joe went on, "At least tell me your name, that way I can ask you for further help if needed."
After a long pause, the figure gave in and told Joe their name, "My name is Oh Long Johnson."
"Thank you, Mr. Johnson." said Swanson, who received no 'you're welcome' in return. The strange figure, no, Oh Long Johnson, was gone. "Huh, now I know why Commissioner Gordon hates it when Batman does that to him."
In Joe's mind, we saw that exact cutaway:
On top of Police Headquarters in Gotham City, Commissioner Gordon was talking to Batman about enlisting the newly appointed District Attorney who the people of Gotham had just appointed and voted for, as well as reaching crime all time high and how the would need the DA's help to tackle crime if they wanted to bring it to a much lower rate than where it currently stood.
"When the new DA gets wind of the rate crime is climbing," Gordon implied regarding the crime rate, "he'll want to join our posse."
"You mean, Harvey Dent?" asked Batman, pondering the name. "Can we trust him?"
"It'll be hard not to include him." The Commissioner replied, looking away for a moment. "From what I've heard, he's as stubborn as you and he seems to be the best that…" When Gordon turned around, Batman was gone. "That we got." He let loose a heavy sigh, "Son of a bitch, I hate it when he does that." He turned off the Bat Signal.
"Boo!" said Batman, scaring the cleanest cop in Gotham, who screamed in fear.
"Don't ever do that to me again, Batman!" bellowed Jim. "I'm not getting any younger, you know."
"Sorry, Commissioner." The Dark Knight said, smiling rather sheepishly. "Neither am I."
Back at the Police Station, Joe opened the manila files, he then put some rubber gloves and set to work on beginning to examine the evidence that was inside. "Okay, let's see what we got." Among the items he found inside included, but not limit to: Records of threatening text messages to Brian, the rental paper work belonging to the silver 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe, which had the Peter Griffin's signature, etc. Upon seeing everything, Joe's eyes widened in horror and in shock. "My God, it all makes since now… The Griffins aren't as clean or good neighbors as I once thought." he paused to think. "They in fact murdered their own dog…" he frowned. "Those bastards! This ends now!" He spoke into a walkie-talkie, "Come in, Officer Mills."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant Swanson." replied a voice on the other side.
"Officer Mills, have a warrant from Mayor West made at once. We've got an arrest to make, first thing tomorrow." continued Joe.
"And who are we arresting, Officer Swanson?" inquired the new officer.
"The Griffins, Officer Mills… The Griffins!" answered Swanson, who frowned.
Author's Notes:
* Uh-oh, looks like the case to find Brian's killer has taken an unexpected turn! But the big question remaining left is this… "Why would the Griffins want to murder their own family member, let alone, their pet?" Or is it possible they are being framed? Find out in the next chapter…
* I know that Ernie and his wife Nicole don't actually have a given last name, but I thought it be only fair to think up one for them.
* Family Guy is owned and © by Seth MacFarlane.
* Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon are owned by DC Comics and are © by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
That being said, until the next chapter, I am maxparker89 signing off…