Starfox in: The Coto Murder Mystery

Note: Starfox, Fox McCloud, and Krystal are all property of Nintendo like I already said. Every one else is maid up.

Chapter two of my on-going story. The clues start to appear and the mystery starts to unravel.

Fox went to check the body for a pulse. Knowing full well that there was no point to it, he still checked out of profession. "He's dead alright," said Fox. "But the body is faintly warm so he couldn't have been killed too long ago."

"K-killed?!..." stuttered Raechel as she fainted.

"How...why...who could have done this?" asked Faye, on the verge of crying.

"I'm trying to figure that out," answered Fox. "Okay, let's see. He was probably killed about five to ten minuets ago. Faye, Krystal, Mrs. Coto, and I were all together in the sitting room then, so our only suspects are Laura, David, and Ellias."

"WHAT!?" yelled Ellias. "How can you count me as a suspect?!"

"I'm sorry, but we can't rule anyone out until we have a solid alibi from all of you. Where did you go after you left the sitting room a short while ago?"

"I stepped outside to the balcony for a breath of fresh air."

"Do you have any witness' to that?" asked Krystal.

"Well...no."

"Okay," said Fox. "What about you David? Where were you?"

"Well, after I was finished talking with Mr. Coto, I went to get a drink from the lounge," David explained. "On my way there I saw Laura run into the girls' restroom. I couldn't see her face, but she seemed upset about something."

"Okay and you Laura?"

"I was walking back to join you in the sitting room when I tripped and broke a nail," answered Laura. "It was bleeding so I ran to the bathroom to wash the wound."

It was then that Fox noticed the paper towel wrapped around her right thumb. "Okay. Krystal, go check where Ellias and Laura said they were," commanded Fox. "I'll stay here and search this room."

"Okay," complied Krystal.

"Faye, call the police. Everyone else should wait in the sitting room, and no one leaves until the police arrive." Everyone except Fox and Krystal left to the sitting room. Fox resumed examining the body.

"How could someone have done this to a family member?" asked Krystal, who was upset by this whole ordeal. Although she had seen plenty of violence in her life she hated the thought of someone killing an innocent person.

"I don't know, but we can do our best to help by trying to solve the crime."

"You're right, Fox. I'll go search the..."

"Wait, Krystal, check this out!" Fox's tone had suddenly become more enthusiastic.

"What is it?"

"There's another cut by the stab wound." Fox pointed out a small, shallow cut, millimeters away from the right of the wound. "It looks like it was scratched in."

"How do you think it got there?"

"I don't know. I'll keep searching here. You go search some other areas, okay."

"Right, I'm on it."

Ellias had told Krystal which balcony he had been on while the crime took place, so she decided it was the place to start her search. After opening the sliding glass door, she carefully examined every inch of the scene.

'No obvious evidence that he was here,' Krystal thought to herself. Turning around, she noticed the standing ashtray by the door. Upon closer examination, she noticed a recently extinguished cigarette butt, still smoking.

'Ellias must have had a relapse. Wait! Then Ellias was here. His alibi checks out!'

'Nothing on the body,' Fox thought to himself. 'Maybe there's something hidden in his desk that might help.' Fox walked over to Saimon's desk and knelt down to search the file drawer. 'Sorry to violate your privacy, Saimon, but this is important.'

When he opened the drawer, he saw that it was full of files about other companies and CEO's. Even though the drawer was packed with files, one label caught Fox's eye. "Panthera Industries," he said aloud. 'I remember hearing about that. Coto Industries bought it out in a hostile takeover. Not long after that the former CEO of it was found hung in his own house. How awful.' Fox removed the file and opened it. As he did, a photo fell out of the file and face down onto his lap. He picked it up and saw that it was a photo of a grown man and a little girl. Both smiling. Both cats. Both black and white cats. 'This must be the former CEO. The girl must be his daughter they said was orphaned when they found him.' Then something clicked in the back of Fox's mind. 'Wait...this girl...it can't be...Laura.'

One more chapter to go. I hope you liked it. I can't think of anything to say. Please R&R, thank you.