Angels with Newfound Hope
Chapter 6: Investigation
Tatsu Park - Day 2, 11:24AM
That night was one of the only ones where Alex actually felt scared. His daughter and friend were both on the line, and would've both been killed had he not been there. The forensics guy in charge suffered Viper's personal death penalty for his actions. Macy and Chris were both returned to their respective homes and he took the rest of the night off to keep the former safe...
The human was taken from his thoughts the moment he and Bryce arrived on scene. They were met by Sebastian, who debriefed them on the situation as they listened intently.
"The victim was found by a delivery flyer for a restaurant earlier this morning. Likely cause of death is blood loss from multiple wounds. Forensics was already here, so feel free to poke around." The raptor looked specifically at Alex with the last sentence. He bid the duo farewell and left them to their own devices. A few paces away lay the victim. A white sheet masked them well enough, but not the crime. They approached whilst Sebastian deterred any onlookers. The brunette felt bad for the poor guy. Most of them may very well have just been there to gawk at the 'mythical' human.
"This won't be pretty. I'm sorry for putting you through this. You say you've seen murders before, but I still can't help but worry. I really hope you'll be fine." The chief murmured whilst his companion knelt by the corpse. His eyes scanned the outline of what was to come. When he was done, he nodded for the reptile to remove it.
The sheet came off in one fluid motion, exposing the body itself. There were several stab and cut wounds immediately visible.
"What do you think?" Bryce got on his haunches next to him. The smaller man inspected the wounds more closely. They were rather deep, inflicted by a knife of some sort.
"He's definitely dead. Rest in peace." He joked. The larger allowed himself a small smile at the quip.
"Rest in peace indeed. So here's your first test. Just tell me what you can deduce from what you see. Give it your best." The chief explained. Alex nodded, glazing over the body again.
"It's as Sebastian said. The wounds themselves look like they were inflicted by a sharp implement, most likely a knife. This tells us just one thing. It was only ever someone with hands." The human explained. Bryce was admittedly more than a little glad he didn't go with some stupid joke.
"Good going there. One could blame a runner like him, but it would conflict with any eyewitness reports. So that brings us back to Reza. There is one thing though. He still has his gun. Why wouldn't he use it instead?" The reptile reasoned. That was a good question. One Alex already knew the answer to.
"That one's easy. He didn't want to make any noise. Firing a gun would lure you guys to his location rather quickly. He's on the run, and attracting the attention of anyone would normally be a shitty idea." He exposed further. Bryce nodded, internally suppressing a growing sense of pride.
"Good reasoning there. So which one do you think was the lethal one?" The chief waited for him to point out the right wound. The human thought for a second before pointing at the victim's neck.
"The stab wound here. It most likely sliced his jugular open. That alone will cause tremendous damage. Combined with the panic from trying to to stop the bleeding, and that spelled his doom." Alex paused for a moment to breathe before continuing.
"There's also the blood puddle beneath him. There's no evidence of smearing, so that means he died here. The splatters also mean the fight took place here as well. I imagine the blood on his muzzle is Reza's, so he didn't get away unscathed." He suggested further. The larger reptile allowed his smile to widen. That human was a bit better than he thought.
"And I imagine forensics took a sample already. Damn, I guess I underestimated you a bit. Maybe we should have you around more often." He patted the human on the back. It wasn't so much as 'patting' to the brunette as much as it was 'slapping' He nearly lost his balance and fell into the corpse.
Still, he couldn't help but smile. Making Bryce proud like that made himself ecstatic. He'd been out of it so bad, he forgot how good being an asset felt. At that point, Sebastian walked back up for a chat.
"Hey Chief. You still need the witness around for anything?" The smaller officer asked. Alex didn't even notice Adine behind him until she was mentioned. She looked more than a little distraught. Then again, her situation didn't really help anything either.
"I don't think so. Just take her to the station, get her statement written up and that should do it." Bryce said nonchalantly. The raptor acknowledged his request with a short nod.
"Sure thing." He turned to the waitress. "Alright miss, we're going to have to go to the station for a bit." He stated a bit bluntly. The brunette couldn't exactly say he liked his tone too much.
"Of course." Adine's expression remained somber until she spotted Alex. "Oh! It's the human again." She brightened up visibly as he walked over.
"The magnificent human, at your service!" The man bowed a curtsey. The gesture and terrible joke somehow managed to make her snort at least a little.
"Really? Why am I laughing at that?" The wyvern asked. Alex just shrugged. He really didn't know, that was even one of his worst jokes.
"Oh well. How about we get properly introduced before you start calling me that anyway?" He offered, to which she shrugged out of slight embarrassment.
"No harm now. I think you already know my name." She introduced herself, garnering a polite nod. He remembered the joke she seemed fond of from yesterday.
"Right. So Adine, now you'll finally know the name of my human self, which is Alex. I'd tip my hat to you if I had one." The brunette said the last sentence in a goofy British accent. The wyvern just rolled her eyes.
"So what are you even doing here? You work for the police now?" The waitress looked him up and down for a badge of some sort, whilst he just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Looks like it, huh? Maybe I should be called 'the magnificent officer human' pretty soon?" Both of them shared a chuckle at the mock arrogance. The human spoke up again when he calmed back down.
"By the way, I didn't know you delivered." Alex let his smile die down as the conversation went back to casual territory.
"Funny you said that. I actually do a bit of everything." Adine informed casually. The man cocked a brow with a smile.
"So you're a jack of all trades? I bet that's perfect for your resume. By the way, loved that fish yesterday." The stormy-eyed human bubbled. He bet himself they were stunned by his clean platter.
"Right. I'm surprised you cleaned your plate like that. It's quite an achievement for most anyone. Hey, if you ever want more, here's our number. We'll get your order right to your door in a snap." The wyvern handed him a card with said number on it. He pocketed said card with a cheerful 'Thanks'. Unfortunately, Sebastian notified them of the rush by clearing his throat.
"Ah shoot. Guess we'd better be going. See you around sometime?" She proposed. Alex nodded his confirmation and waved them off. Now only he and Bryce remained.
"So..." The smaller of the two drew out. "Do we just head off too or...?" Another pause so the larger reptile could answer.
"I guess so, unless- oh no." His expression sank at something behind Alex. The human spun around to find none other than Maverick lumbering up to them.
"We had a violent homicide go on last night and of course, nobody tells me. I had to find out from a neighbor who wanted to ask me about it. Guess it's a good thing rumor travels fast." The silver dragon scolded them both. The human's expression fell into that of annoyance, whilst Bryce's turned stern.
"Of course nobody told you. You're on mandatory sick leave. What are you even doing here anyway?" He took his turn for scolding now. The gray officer simply shrugged him off.
"I'm not here in any official capacity. I was merely enjoying a curative walk in the fresh air, and happened upon you by accident." Maverick's attitude was not helping Alex's irritation. He really wanted to slap some sense into that damned dragon, but thought better of it. What good would pissing off someone at least five times his size do anyway?
"What do you want?" Both investigators questioned in unison.
"Nothing. I just find it interesting how nobody tells me about this, yet you bring the prime suspect's buddy here. He's probably already screwed the investigation right under our noses." That was about it. That officer could be pissy with the brunette all he wanted, but blaming him for conspiring with a criminal was where he drew the line.
"Don't jump to conclusions, Maverick. You'd be suspended for attacking Alex if you weren't on sick leave already. Do you have any damned clue the repercussions this could have on us all?" Bryce raised his voice. It honestly scared the smaller man a little to hear him that loud.
"Me attack Alex? I was defending myself from him! He and Reza both had weapons. All I did was disarm him. I'm so sorry for being the only one doing my job and keeping myself alive here! I'm sure you'd all rather sit idly by while the suspect plans his next move." And now, Maverick just stepped over that line. First bias, then conspiracy, and now he was painting himself as the only victim? Alex took a step forward.
"In case you forgot, I only fired at Reza. We'd know his next move too had you stayed hidden! I was going to report what he said to you guys the next morning." The human chided. Said dragon got right up in his unwavering face. Rage ripped through his typically numb features, giving the dragon a ferocious snarl.
"I don't need you of all people belittling me about this." The enraged officer practically spat at him. The smaller man kept from flinching, even when he was just an inch from him.
"What the hell is even your problem? Again, I shot at Reza before you knocked me on my ass. If anything, I want to get him just as badly as you." Alex growled. Maverick didn't seem to take it so well if his staggering shove was anything to go by.
"Don't you dare compare yourself to me! You brought a gun here just like that fucker! Your words mean nothing." The man was about to get in close when Bryce shoved them apart. He ended up falling flat from the brute force.
"Enough! Both of you! Maverick, you shouldn't even be here right now. Go home and rest before I take disciplinary action!" The chief shouted toward his coworker, who was still glowering at them.
"And you!" He whipped around toward Alex. "You need to work on your temper before it gets you killed. You piss someone off like that while I'm not around, and you will end up dead. I don't care how strong that shield of yours is!" The stocky reptile's pupils narrowed into slits as he yelled, giving him a much more vicious appearance than he'd hoped for. Alex just nodded softly with a softer 'Yes sir'.
"You'll see I was right when we find him." Maverick stated ominously as he walked off. His posture was so calm, it was almost as if nothing had happened. Both human and reptile sighed heavily from the stress.
The brunette was too caught up in his momentary depression to say anything. His mind was filled with thoughts of losing any chance with Bryce he may have had. His entire body numbed as his eyes glazed over.
"Alex?" The officer noticed the silence rather quickly. He half expected him to put his two cents in, but was met with nothingness. He kneeled adjacent and looked him in the eyes. They were glazed over in deep reflection. There wasn't even that blush he'd found out about. Alex's face was just... blank.
"I need to be alone." The human muttered, finally getting up. He began the trek back to his apartment with the chief in tow. The walk back in itself was uneventful and quiet. Not like he wanted to speak anyway...