Circumstantial Evidence

Chapter 3: A Called Bluff

Gohan and Videl cruised down Interstate 72 on their way to Ciara's Haven. Videl had placed a call to the precinct and had gotten the address for the club from one of the other detectives. Now Gohan sat back against the leather seat of Videl's car and let himself think about the evidence that they had uncovered so far.

He knew that Capsule Corp was involved. Vegeta had been there, as well as Yamcha. Moreover, the girl herself worked for Capsule Corp and this made him a little nervous. His close relationship with Bulma could be both a hindrance, and at the same time a boon. He was sure that Bulma would be honest with him, but the question was, how would his partner and fellow officers perceive his personal relationship with the President and CEO of the world's most powerful company. Would they think that he was biased? After all, he was the new guy on the block and would automatically come under more scrutiny than if he had been a veteran like Videl.  Being honest with himself, he knew that their scrutiny would be justified. He definitely gave the Briefs the benefit of the doubt. Partially because they were his friends, but even more so because he knew them so well.

The murder was not Vegeta's style. If Vegeta wanted to kill the woman, he would not have used a gun. He would have snapped her neck with his bare hands, or more likely simply have incinerated her and left nothing but ash as evidence. As for Yamcha, well the same went for him. Furthermore, Yamcha had a lot to lose in committing such an act. He was still playing baseball and was a huge celebrity. His super human strength and speed made him the best player around and at the moment he was almost as loved as Mr. Satan himself. No, it probably wasn't either of them. The problem was, how could he prove them innocent, and how were they related to this case?

"Gohan," said Videl as she weaved her way through traffic. "You need to tell me what you know about this girl. You said you met her before."

"Huh… oh yeah. I don't know much Videl," answered Gohan. "I just met her at a Capsule Reception. I thought she was nice enough, but other than that I didn't speak to her much."

"Do you know who her friends were? Or anyone that she hung around with?"

"Nope… I was just introduced. She was nice, but definitely not my type."

Videl laughed. Son Gohan talking about a girl that wasn't his type was something she found vastly amusing. This was the same Son Gohan who would blush whenever a girl in high school started flirting with him. "Not your type huh Gohan? You have changed indeed."

"Heh… Yeah, I finally picked up some social skills in college. I'm surprised that you Erasa and Sharpner hung around me in HS. I didn't realize until I got to college that you guys were the ultra elite in high school."

"Why wouldn't we have hung around with you Gohan? I mean you were smart and athletic. A bit naïve but you are a good looking guy. Even in high school you were. Why do you think so many girls hit on you?"  

Gohan laughed. "You flatter me Videl… So you really think I'm good looking huh?" He teased.

"Please Gohan, spare me the false modesty. I just call it as I see it," she said with a smirk on her face.

"Speaking of Sharpner and Erasa… What are those two up to? Have you guys stayed in touch?" asked Gohan.

"Yeah… I see them once in a while. We go out for drinks whenever we get the chance. You're the one that was missing MIA because you went off to West Capitol," said Videl. "Anyway, Sharpner and Erasa graduated with me from Satan U. Sharp's working as a broker for JP Mormon. And Erasa… would you believe she's a hot shot assistant professor now at Satan U?"

"Erasa? A professor. You lie," said Gohan incredulously.

"No joke… seems her brain hit puberty in college. She did her undergrad and sub-matriculated into the PHD program at the same time. 5 years believe it or not. Her dissertation on Political economy caused a serious uproar in the academic community. She's a prof now and is working as an advisor to the government as well. Pretty amazing huh?"

"Totally… I think I'm in awe."

"Ahh well… Anyway I think this is it," said Videl as she pulled into a parking lot in front of a small nondescript building. Amazingly it wasn't flashy as most clubs are. There was just a single sign on the road that said "Ciara's Haven."

Videl and Gohan walked in and saw that instead of a club it was a restaurant. It was very modern and seemed to be one of those new-age places where they serve the Euro-Asian dishes and such. There was a large bar in the corner of the restaurant, but otherwise it seemed like any other nice restaurant.

The two were greeted by a polite hostess and were seated together. Looking over the menu Gohan frowned. The prices were quite pricey. Appetizer's running from 8.50 to 10 dollars. The entrées, even during lunch time, were around fifteen dollars for the cheapest ones. "Damn," he said, "Looks like I'm not going to be eating as much as usual."

"I totally forgot how much you eat Gohan," laughed Videl. "Don't worry about it. I said I was paying right?"

"It'll be way too much even for you Videl," said Gohan. "Anyway, we detectives don't make that much money."

"Please… I'm Mr. Satan's daughter… You DO know what a trust fund is right?"

Gohan laughed. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Gohan was polishing up his seventh entrée when the waiter returned wide eyed. "Sir… I must say that I've never seen someone eat as much as you. Ever."

"This is nothing… he's holding back today. I've seen him eat ten large pizzas without a problem," commented Videl to the waiter. "Hey… I thought this was a club, not a restaurant?" she asked him.

"Oh… madam it is. Look under your table," replied the waiter. He waited patiently as Gohan and Videl ducked their heads and took a look. "Do you see the wheels there? We wheel the tables into the back starting at 9pm. This is the dance floor you presently are eating at."

"Wow… what a wonderful idea. This means you guys are open 24 hours a day?"

"Yes, ma'am. The restaurant and club are both quite successful. They help advertise each other and the two together help keep down costs," explained the waiter. "Anything for dessert?" he asked.

"No… I think we're fine. But we do have some more questions," said Videl as she pulled out her badge. "Do you think you could tell someone who works during the club hours to meet with us? Oh.. and the check please."

The waiter nodded. "You can ask the bartender over there. He works from 2 until 2 so he may be able to help you. I'll be right back with your check." He scurried off, but Videl and Gohan both noticed that he stopped and whispered something into the ear of the hostess.

When he came back with the check, Videl payed in cash and then the two of them went over to the bar. "Hey there," said Videl. "We're with the Satan City police. We need to ask you some questions."

The bartender raised an eyebrow at them and then walked over. "Name's Pix… We keep a clean ship here, so I don't know why you people are here. We don't do none of that underground drug stuff."

"We're not here about narcotics Mr. Pix," said Gohan. "We're with homicide."

"Oh… Well how can I help you?"

"Do you know of anyone by the name of Amanda Rochester? She's about 5'7, blonde haired, green eyes. Was quite attractive."

"Mandy? Yeah… I know her. She comes here a lot… what… you mean she's?"

"Yup," said Videl matter of factly. "Shot in the head with a .50 caliber rifle. Did you see her leave with anyone last night?"

"Yeah… she came in here with a couple of fellows. No one that I recognize, but she left with a scar faced man…. Yamcha. You know that baseball guy? I hear he's real famous dude, but I don't follow the sport."

"Yamcha, huh? What about the guys she came in with? You know any of them?" asked Videl.

"No… never seen them before. They were young though. Younger than her at least. Looked like a couple of hoodlums to me. Dunno why Mandy would associate with them, she was a sweet girl."

"Alright… thanks Pix," said Videl giving him her card. She watched as his eyes widen when he read the name. "If you can think of anything else to help us, or if those guys show up again give me a call will ya."

"Uhh… sure Ms. Satan," he said with a little awe in his voice. "I'll be sure to do that."

The two of them left the restaurant satisfied with the information they got. They now knew for sure that Yamcha had been with her last night. Also they knew that she was a regular here and that she came with two unknown men.

"So… off to Capsule Corp or do we find Yamcha?" asked Gohan.

"Capsule Corps… We can deal with Yamcha tomorrow. No real hurry," answered Videl.

"What? Won't the trail go cold if don't talk to Yamcha?"

"Nah… he'll be there tomorrow… but when news of this gets out, we won't be able to even come within 10 feet of Capsule Corp without a search warrant. They'll have all their lawyers ready and we won't be able to get anything out of them. Gotta hit them when their guards down."

"Alright… Let's get going then." Unlike Videl, Gohan wasn't worried about getting information from Capsule. He was slightly worried that Videl was going to find out about his close relationship with the company. After all, he did do his internships there and knew most of the staff. There was no helping the matter now, though, so he just went with the flow.

Twenty minutes later they parked in a downtown parking lot and walked to the Capsule offices that were located in the Satan Tower. It was the tallest building in the city, but strangely enough the Capsule offices were on the 7,8,9 and 10th floors. Bulma didn't want her employees at risk from stray ki blasts or flying monsters that always just happened to hit the top of buildings.

The two walked into the reception area to find about thirty other people, salesmen, interviewees, and other people waiting for various appointments. A receptionist that Gohan didn't recognize was at the desk taking various calls and hustling people in and out of the office.

"Excuse me," said Videl to the receptionist. "I'd like to see person who Amanda Rochester was working under."

"Do you have an appointment?" asked the receptionist rather rudely. It wasn't that she meant to be rude, but people were always trying to force their way for appointments with various members of the staff and it was her job to make things orderly. She had to be firm sometimes.

"No, but I am with the Satan City police and we need to ask them a few questions," said Videl.

The receptionist paused. She was relatively new at the job, and was for a moment intimidated by Videl. "Just one second please," she said as she picked up the phone.

"Mr. Chestnut? Yes. There are a pair of officers here from the Satan City police. They want to ask a few questions about Amanda Rochester," said the receptionist into the phone. "Yes… Yes… Of course ma'am.

"Well?" asked Videl.

"Do you have a search warrant or a court order?" asked the receptionist smiling pleasantly at Videl.

Videl silently cursed. She had hoped to bluff her way in, now she probably had to deal through miles of red tape. "No, but…"

"Well I think you just have to get one then don't you?" said the receptionist with a sweet smile that Videl just wanted to smack off her face.

"Excuse me," interjected Gohan. "Did I hear you just speak to a Mr. Chestnut?"

"Yes… he's the vice president in charge here at the Satan City Offices."

"Well… can you tell him that a Gohan wishes to speak to him?"

"I'm sorry sir, but he gave me explicit orders that you aren't allowed in unless you have a court order no matter who you are. Even if you're Ms. Satan herself. You can speak to the lawyers."

"Listen here… I am Videl, and I'm telling you that if you don't let us in then we'll have to bring up charges against you on obstruction of justice."

"You'll have to speak to the lawyers ma'am," said the receptionist. The same smile on her face.

Videl was furious, but there wasn't much she could do. The lady was absolutely right, she couldn't just barge in there. The force would be slapped with a law suit faster than Gohan could down a cheeseburger. She simply turned away and walked out; Gohan followed her.

"So… what now?" asked Gohan as the two went back to Videl's car.

Videl didn't say anything for a moment or two. Finally she broke out in a wicked grin. "Well… we can't get into the offices, but there is somewhere we can go to get some info."

"Where we going?"

"The Brief's townhouse. I hear they are in town right now. I figure we might as well go to the top."

Gohan boggled for a second. He had forgotten how audacious Videl could be, and this plan was one of the most audacious he had ever had the horror of hearing. It was a good thing that he would be going along, otherwise Videl would definitely regret it.

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AN: So… w/ 13 reviews last chapter I thought I'd put up another one. If I keep getting this many reviews I'll keep updating, otherwise I'll work on aBMT ^_^.

This chapter introduces a little more evidence and another Z character. You guess which one. Next chapter Videl and Gohan have a chat with the Briefs themselves. Videl learns a thing or two about Gohan and more plot is revealed.

One thing I would like to point out to every one. More characters will be introduced and I tell you to suspect everyone. Please feel free to guess who committed the crime, but also remember that this fic is going along the lines of such movies as Usual Suspects, and LA confidential. It's going to be a lot of intrigue and this case is just the tip of the iceberg for a master plan. Beware! And Enjoy!