Enter Chapter 2.

Remember, Ash's POV.

Special guest-star this chapter. Kaz (Former author Kaz-Ohki)

The morgue boys finished bagging Bruno. Amazing that they need five men to carry him. Then again, half of them were distracted by Misty who was still watching the telly.

As I was watching them carry the body out into the night, I pulled a cigar from my coat pocket. I bit off the end and dropped it in the trash bin. As I was watching it to make sure it got in, I immediately saw a single piece of paper. I put on a latex glove to avoid getting my fingerprints on it. "Chief!"

As the chief ran over I stuffed the cigar back into a coat pocket. "Ketchum, I told you not to call me 'Chief' outside of phone calls."

"Sorry, Tracy, but look at this." I handed him the letter. He shined his flashlight on it. "Looks like this is the only evidence so far. Seeming that it's made of newspaper clippings, I'd say there's little chance of finding fingerprints on it and there's no handwriting on it what so ever. To add to this, the grammar and spelling's all wonky, too. Probably used to cover up all clues to identity."

"Nice work, Ash." He turned around just as Kaz walked in. He put his arm around her shoulder. "Ah, Ash. This is Kaz, my fiancée."

She gladly showed off the ring. I couldn't help but whistle. I haven't seen that many diamonds since the huge jewelry theft a few years back. "Woah, that ring must have sent you back a fortune."

"Well, the ring didn't set me back that much. Sold a bunch of my art and traded some of my golden brushes at a pawnshop. Imagine my shock when I found out Professor Oak owns a pawnshop."

Tracy obviously wasn't finished ranting and raving about how little the ring really set him back, but Kaz interrupted him with a poke to the ribs. "Where's your headband? I told you not to ever take it off until the wedding!"

He took on an almost childlike tone of voice. "You know I can't wear that with my uniform."

"Jenny said that any addition to the standard uniform is acceptable as long as it isn't obstructive, obscene, disrespectful in any way shape or form, and other stuff like that. You know, stuff that you read in a high school's student/teacher contract." She turned to the open front door. "Isn't that right Jenny?"

Through the dark of the night, Tracy could see Jenny smile, yawn, nod and give a thumb up. "Yeah, I know that, but...pink with blue? How incredibly unfashionable! I'd rather be stripped of my clothes and rubbed with a cheese grater!"

In a joking tone, Kaz muttered, "Wait until the honeymoon." Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a light blue headband that matched Tracy's uniform color near exactly. "Here, then. I made this out of some scrap fabric I had left over from making a noose for Togepi. I can believe why Misty gave me the blasted egg in the first place. I always hated birthdays." She sighed and seemed to forget the last sentence of what she was saying. "Anyway, I want you to try it on." She handed him the bandanna.

"Are you kidding? It doesn't match!"

I decided to step into this little pre-marriage bar-room-brawl. "What are you talking about? It's exactly the same."

Kaz looked at me with a cold glare. "I know we all have something to bring to this argument, but I think the thing you need to bring most is silence."

Tracy ignored what she said and went on dibbling like a fashion-sensitive...well, person. "It's not the same. Look at my uniform. Periwinkle. See the bandanna? Denim! I'd rather wear the pink one."

Kaz grabbed the pink one from her pocket and fitted it snugly around his forehead. Tracy and Kaz started fighting about little things like color oddities. I took this time to make an exit to find other leads. I looked around and saw a thermostat. "Geez, it's hot in here." I turned to Tracy who was still bickering about fashion with Kaz. "Chief! Erm, I mean, Tracy! It okay if I lower the temp in here a bit?"

Tracy paused his little argument. "Of course. Just use gloves so you don't get prints on it!" Of course, Tracy kept on arguing.

All right, I thought. I put on another glove from a hidden pocket in my coat. I turned on the AC. I listened to the slight hum for a while until I heard a clanking sound coming from inside the vent. I quickly shut off the AC and opened the main vent above me. A haze of dust fell from the vent. I took out the filters. More dust. I almost sneezed but I held it in to keep from attracting Misty's attention. Standing on a near-by chair, I looked inside the vent. I jumped and hit my head on the top of the vent when I heard a voice.

"What the hell are you doing?" Misty was standing directly behind me.

I took he head out the vent and said, "You scared the begeezes out of me. Go get a flashlight. It's darker than Mount Moon in there. Officer Jenny will have one."

She scurried off, got the flashlight and shoved it in my hand. I turned it on and looked in the vent. Suddenly, the light went out. I turned it around and shook it a few times only to get the high powered beam of light straight into my eyes. I flailed from surprise and panic knocking a bunch of dust around. The dust seemed to gather around my head and nose.

I couldn't help it. "ACHOOOOOOO!!!!!" I started to move my head out of the vent when I noticed a red shotgun shell right on the edge of the vent. I grabbed it with my gloved hand. I nearly hit my chin on the vent getting out. "Tracy! Get an evidence bag!"

Tracy quickly ended the argument with Kaz by putting on the blue bandanna. Kaz left satisfied. "What did you find?" He pulled out an evidence bag.

I placed the shotgun shell in the bag. "More evidence. Possible proof of murder weapon. We are definitely up against a smart son-of-a-wench."

"I didn't know Misty had any kids." He chuckled at his own joke. I just hoped Misty wasn't around to kill him. "I'll have my team do fingerprint and ballistics checks, the whole nine yards." He turned and left. On the way out, he nearly ran over Officer Jenny.

I started talking to myself. "All we need now is the actual murder weapon. Odds are it's not here. Where'd Misty run off to?" I started my search in the living room. Coincidentally, it ended in the living room where I found Misty asleep on the shag carpet. "Should I wake her, carry her, or..." I decided on the unsaid option. I grabbed her wrists and dragged her out to the car.

I went back to shut the front door, but as I was a good twenty feet from the house, a ball of flames accompanied by a loud boom erupted from the house. The shock wave knocked me on my backside. "Well, no more evidence for tomorrow there." I went back to the car. To my surprise, Misty was still asleep. Her job must really take a lot out of her.

I jumped in my car and started the twenty-minute drive to her apartment.

End Chapter 2