Had a near stroke over redoing a video project, my program kept crashing and had to start from scratch too many times. Thankfully autosaved worked a few times.
HAPPY NEW YEAR BE SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE!
Please review/comment! Much love! Enjoy!
Just a few hours ago, Mickson had been released from suspicions of the death of Nick Stolesman. Now, Charlotte and Loki stood before Mickson's body, laying over the bar.
The bar was scattered with glass and broken liquor bottles. It looked like a fight had occurred, but with no cameras, it was becoming difficult to find the culprit. The body had multiple stab wounds in his large chest, shards of glass picturing his flesh as he bled out onto the wooden surface and floor.
"Stabbed to death." Charlotte said, looking over the body.
"There was a struggle. With who?" The forensic officer shrugged. "Trying to find any other DNA around here."
"How long?" She asked.
"Three hours."
Charlotte turned to Loki. "Mickson left the precinct around six, that means he died an hour after leaving."
He nodded, "Didn't he leave to discuss his position here with Mr. Winston?" Loki asked.
He was right, "I told him myself." she muttered, staring down at the body. She felt a pang of guilt, as if she had sent the man to his death. Was this bar becoming a death site, what if a third would be found soon?
"Charlotte?" Loki shook her from her thoughts.
"Who found him?" She asked, pocketing her hands in her coat.
The officer threw a thumb behind her where Mr. Winston was standing by two other officers. Charlotte checked the clock on the wall, it was near midnight, she frowned. The body was found by the owner again, four hours after his death. She turned and approached the man.
"Mr. Winston," She greeted, Loki following behind her silently. "This is becoming a concern at this point."
He nodded, wringing his hands looking nervous and shaken. "I-I don't know what's going on. First a random person, now my worker! It's like this place is cursed!"
"Where were you when this occurred?" Loki asked him.
"I had decided to close the bar today. I can't let people come in with blood stains, I was planning to call in a special cleaning crew." He explained.
"What brought you back here to the bar?" Charlotte asked.
He was about to answer when a shriek pierced the air.
"Mark!" The three turned as a distressed woman came running in through the front door. "Are you- Oh God!" She spotted the body and stopped in her tracks. "What happened!?"
The woman had short pixie cut brown hair and fair skin. She was petite and small, wearing a thick cardigan and dark leggings with Uggs. She was hugging and held by Winston, and spotting the rock on her finger, Charlotte figured this to be his wife.
Charlotte frowned, "Ma'am, who are you?" she asked, wanting to verify it by her.
Winston walked over, comforting the woman and bringing her away from the sight of the body. "This is my wife, Kathy."
Loki stayed silent, arms clasped behind him as he let Charlotte question them. "Mrs. Winston, were you with your husband between the times of 6pm and 11pm."
"Yes, she was." Mr. Winston answered, causing Charlotte to raise a brow. "I was on the phone around that time, 6pm or such. Kathy was in the other room at our home preparing dinner."
Kathy held a look of grimace, looking up to her husband. "A-Actually, I wasn't home."
He spun at her, holding her out at arms length. "What? You-You were, you were in the kitchen when I got on the phone. Remember?"
Loki stole a glance to Charlotte, she returned the look as if thinking the same thing. The couple bickered on whether Kathy was at home at the time for a few moments before Charlotte had to break up the on coming yelling match.
"Mrs. Winston." She called over the yelling, gaining their attention. "Am I understanding that you can't verify your husband's alibi?"
"I was home! I swear!" He cried, desperate to assure he was innocent. "I didn't even know Mickson was coming by!"
Kathy bit her red lower lip. "Honey, you mentioned about giving him the axe. Weren't you going to talk to him about that today?"
He looked to his wife appalled by her words, speechless at throwing him under the bus by those two sentences.
"And the night before, between 4am and 10am?" She asked her.
Kathy shook her head, almost looking guilty by her next answer. "I-I was asleep. I haven't been sleeping well with my hours at the hospital, I'm a nurse." She added. "So I took a sleeping pill to try and get some hours in. I didn't even hear him come home or go to work."
Charlotte heaved a sigh and got out her hand cuffs. "Mr. Winston, you're under arrest for the murders of Nick Stolesman and Sonny Mickson." She told him, turning him around and bringing his wrists behind his back.
"Wait- Wait! I didn't-!"
Charlotte read him his rights and told the officers to take him to the precinct. He struggled at first, yelling how he didn't do it while his wife watched with tears in her eyes. She wiped her tears on the sleeve of her cardigan, looking around the place. Charlotte watched her, Loki smiling at her side.
"Well, it seems you've solved the case." Loki walked out with her as Mr. Winston was put into a police car. "Tomorrow morning are we expected to be known as Detective Lane?"
Loki looked down, her brows creasing when he saw the look of concentration on her features. She was thinking deeply, her eyes scanning over the building before them.
"Charlotte?"
"Something doesn't add up." She muttered, looking over the place top to bottom, then through the window where Kathy could be seen talking to officers.
"Whatever do you mean?"
She turned to Loki, nudging him away from the scene across the street. "Why would Winston kill Mickson?"
Loki looked at her like this was a trick question. "...For not coming to work?"
She shifted her stance, giving him a disbelief look. "How about Nick, he never even knew him."
"Possibly defending his establishment on a robber." Loki shrugged. "Where are you going with this, Charlotte?"
"I don't think Mr. Winston did it." She told him.
Loki frowned, "Who else is there?" he inquired.
She nodded her head across the street, Loki followed her eyesight spotting Kathy leaving the place escorted by a comforting officer. They were wheeling out Mickson's body and she cried out in shock, as if having a panic attack over the events.
"You think his wife did it?" He questioned her, an amused look on his face. "Don't you fine that far-fetched?"
"Am I?" She countered, folding her arms as the cold midnight breeze passed through. "The reasons for killing Nick and Mickson are just throw away reasons. He doesn't seem to be the violent type and-"
"Humans kill for the most ridiculous reasons, you said so yourself." He argued.
She huffed. "Kathy could have a more reasonable motive than her husband-"
Loki guffawed at her claims, bringing a hand to his chest at how hilarious she sounded to him now. "My dear, have you seen Mrs. Winston's stature? She couldn't bring down a cat, let alone a full grown large man or two."
"Women have their ways!" Charlotte glared at him, placing her hands on her wide hips. "Are you seriously finding my theories funny?"
He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "Quite the contrary, Darling-"
He felt a sudden shove at his shoulder by her. "This is serious, Loki!" She snapped at him. "I have a hunch that we got the wrong guy. I'm gonna prove it."
Loki gave her a challenging look. "I see, you're too stubborn to let this case close."
"And you're too eager." She retorted. "I want this case done right and having you rushing to finish it doesn't help me jack shit."
Now Loki was growing agitated. "You should consider yourself lucky for having me to aid you."
Charlotte scoffed. "I would've been perfectly fine without you!" she barked.
"You think so?" He hissed, tower over her small stature. "Sergeant thinks differently; Who helped you get into that apartment? Who caught the first suspect that nearly got away? Who recalled his memories to prove his innocence?"
"Recalled what?" Charlotte took a step back, eyeing him up. "You seriously think you did that?" She questioned, like he was the crazy one now. "You- You honestly believe it was thanks to you that he recalled that drunken stupor he was in?"
"Yes! Of course it was!" He bellowed out into the night. "It was all me, and always me! Not you!"
That hurt, those words felt like a stab in the chest to Charlotte. Loki seethed through his teeth, failing to notice the pain he had just caused her. She had to take a step to keep from stumbling as she tried to refuse the words sinking into her heart.
Everything she thought about Loki, she was wrong. This man who was understanding and cut from the same cloth, was just like everyone else. A man after his own gain to prove his father what a shitty person he could be. Taking all the credit, stealing all the praise, and refusing to accept her words valid as he blinded himself with selfishness. Charlotte heaved a sigh, grounding her teeth beneath her lips and nodding at him.
"Fine." She spat. "Then go tell the boss I'm not detective material." Loki's eyes narrowed at her change in demeanor. "You seem to be a better fit than I am."
Charlotte looked down at her shoes, she clicked them together at the heel and turned around. "Hope you make your father proud, dickhead." Loki blinked at her insult.
Loki clenched his fist at her insults, watching her march off into the night of the city. He would send a binding spell or nightmarish illusion on her right now if it weren't for the crowd at the crime scene.
"Where is Lane?" Johnson asked Loki when he got back to the precinct. "She's supposed to question Winston."
Loki himself really had no idea where she went. "Home, I'd assume? She left the scene to look more into the case." He informed.
Johnson shook his head, "Mind questioning him?" He asked the god. "I gotta file out some paperwork, you can let me know when you're done."
Loki was about to protest, but Johnson left with a slam to his office. "Damn." He hissed, rolling his eyes as he trudged toward the interrogation room.
What was supposed to kill his time to get past the year of being on this planet, was now something he wished to walk away from entirely. Loki had been here for a solid two days and he didn't know if he could handle another three hundred and sixty-three days!
Walking into the interrogation room, Mark Winston sat there, handcuffed to the table looking distressed as hel. He looked up, not seeing Charlotte with him. "Guess you'll be questioning me?"
"Unfortunately." He sighed, taking a seat and folding his hands on the table. "I want this done as fast as you do."
Mark shook his head, "I'm telling you, I really was at home." he urged. "I don't know why my wife wouldn't defend me."
"She tells the truth, though it seems you assume you can spread lies." He accused. "Any more lies you'd like to let fall off your tongue while here?"
Winston hung his head, his hands attempting to thread through his braided dreads. "Call the company, they can assure I was talking to them at that time. It's the truth!"
"Of course, but nothing covers you after that call. You could've been at the bar when you made the call, Mr. Winston." Loki countered.
"Oh, God…" He shook his head, digging his nails into his scalp. "Please, Lord, don't do this to me. I'm struggling enough in life as it is." He murmured.
Loki tilted his head at him. "What was that?"
Mark raised his head, hands lowering to his neck. "It hasn't been a good few months. I have the membership to help pay more, then just keep the chaos down at the bar." He started to explain, dropping his hands to the table.
"Financial issues?" Loki asked.
He nodded, "I started this membership thing as an idea from Kathy. She was concerned about the bar being lost and suggested it. A monthly payment to come to the bar, but it's made matters worse!" Mark heaved a shaky sigh. "My wife can't handle that bar without me."
"She has rights to the property?"
"Of course, she's my wife!" He answered, tears shining in his dark eyes. "Why wouldn't I share that with her, we share everything!"
Loki looked down, his eyes shifting about the table figuring something out. They looked for someone that had access to the bar, not only did Mickson had this access, but so did Kathy. Loki shook his head, folding his arms and slouching in his seat as his long legs stretched out under the table. Impossible, he thought. She was still a small woman against two large men.
The door opened, the forensic officer from the scene poked her head in. "I have results from the autopsies of Stolesman and Mickson. We found something."
"Pardon me," Loki stood and left the room to take the folder she was holding. "What is it?"
"Well, it seems the men had alcohol in their systems, at least 0.8, which is the legal limit."
Loki nodded, they were huge men and he assumed they held their alcohol as good as his brother did. He read the files, then frowned when he read on. "What is a 'date rape drug'?"
She nodded, solemnly. "It's a drug that's used on women, mostly, to y'know… Rape them." Loki was shocked, jaw near dropped and stared down at the words on the paper. "The drugs found in their systems were flunitrazepam, known as Rohypnol . Mostly used by doctors as an anesthesia."
Loki glanced up, "What are the side effects this drug can cause?" he asked.
"Mostly it knocks them out, and a lot of the time we'll get phone calls of people found with these on them in bars and restaurants. They drop them in their drinks on unsuspected people who leave their drinks, takes only a second." She explained. "With the mixture of the alcohol, it could cause the men to go unconscious."
"Unconscious enough for anyone to take advantage, such as kill." He figured.
"Yeah."
It was then Loki realized, Charlotte had been right.
The bar was pitch black, only lights were reflected off the glass windows outside from the street lights. After the crime scene had been cleared, it was dead silent for the past hour. The scuffling of metal scraping metal was heard from the back room where the pipe lines for the bar were found. Once the pip had been broken through, Kathy Winston bolted from there and ran through the bar. If she did the math right with the timer set for the lights, she had ten minutes to get as far from the location as possible to be safe from the gas explosion she had planned. She made it to the door when the sound to glass clinking caught her attention.
"Not one for alcohol, but the soda is good."
Kathy turned, seeing a figure in the dark bar sitting at a table. As she approached her cautiously, the street light shone to reveal Charlotte sitting calmly at the table, bottle of coke with her.
"Shame you don't have any black cherry, that's the best." She shrugged, sipping from her drink.
"C-Can I help you?" Kathy asked.
"I was hoping you'd help me." Charlotte crossed her legs, narrowing her eyes at the woman. "Why would a woman kill two men and turn the blame on her husband?"
Kathy frowned, "What are you…"
"I just can't fathom it, unless you wanted the bar to yourself?" Charlotte tilted her head forward, "Care to monologue? Just for me?"
Kathy counted to herself, she had eight minutes left. "If you wish to question me, officer, just take me to the station. I'll gladly-"
"Why? I think it's best we stay comfortable and just talk here. Woman to woman." Charlotte slouched and kicked the chair across from her, opting her to sit.
Kathy took a breath and complied, keeping her mental timer in check. "You claim I killed those men?"
"Well, just a simple hunch I had, wanted to check for myself while your husband is being detained." Charlotte explained. "You got time, right?"
Seven minutes.
"Of course, please. Erm, just, can't see how. Could a small woman like me take down two large men?" She chuckled, finding the idea funny to just say it.
"He said that too." She murmured.
"Your partner? The tall, dark, and silently handsome?"
"He's no partner, just supervising my job." Charlotte shuffled her chair closer and leaned onto the table, gripping her soda in her hand. "You mentioned you were a nurse, correct?"
"Yes, so I have crazy hours being called at any moment. Which means I must always be free." Kathy explained.
Six minutes.
Charlotte nodded, "But, that would give you access to… say any drug?" she asked.
"What makes you say I could get any drug? Because I work at a hospital? That's stereotyping." Kathy accused.
"Your sleeping pills." Kathy blinked at her. "You used the sleeping pills to knock out the men then you killed them."
The wife just laughed, folding her arms and smiling mad. "So, you're assuming all this because of what I said beforehand? You've been watching way too many cop shows, Sweetie."
Five minutes.
"Trust me, I haven't been binging Columbo like I used to." She mused. "Did you think they wouldn't find the drug in the system of the victims?"
Kathy's confidence started to face, which Charlotte noticed. "Weren't they were intoxicated?"
"I never said they were intoxicated, how do you know they were?" Kathy was visibly shaken. "But, now that you mention it, how else could you have got 'em to ingest the drugs?"
Four minutes.
The bar wife sighed, a sardonic smirk playing on her lips. "Y'know what, fine, I'll admit it!" She threw her arms up, getting to her feet. "This bar is my husband's lively hood, it was his father's and he passed it down to him. He got it about ten years into our marriage after the old man kicked the bucket. Suddenly his whole life was rolled around this damn place."
Charlotte leaned back, listening like being at a lecture. "What better way to fix it than insurance fraud?"
"Well, I had to have Mark out of the way." She threw in. "You wouldn't be too surprised how many men try to drug women, that's how I got them. Not at my work."
"Isn't framing murder a bit far?" Charlotte asked, tucking her hands into her jean pockets. "You could've just divorced."
"Yes, and that costs money I don't have!" Kathy barked, slowly stepping back toward the front door.
Three minutes.
"So frame two homicides on him, get him arrested, make the money off of insurance by exploding the bar and collect?" Kathy nodded, each step back she took, Charlotte stayed by the table.
"That was the plan." She confirmed.
Charlotte hummed, rubbing her chin. She kept tapping as she moved around the table and toward the bar. "That's pretty elaborate, I must admit. Haven't seen anything that mind spinning since that painting theft from that one Columbo episode. Classic."
Kathy eyed her up, pausing in her steps as she stood a foot or so from the bar, just a few steps from the door. "You really do watch too many cop shows."
"Nah, not really- Oh, they arrived!" She announced, looking past through the window.
Two minutes.
Kathy felt her heart skip as she turned, but found it the empty street outside just as it had been since the police left. A tug was given to her wrist, she spun back around finding herself handcuffed to the bar pole by Charlotte. The cop sat at the bar, sighing.
"I think you do, though." She countered.
Kathy gripped her arm, shaking and tugging causing red marks to grow from her desperation. "What have you done!? We're both gonna die!"
One minute.
Charlotte said nothing, she placed her phone down on the counter and just looked forward as if she wasn't there. "Let me go, NOW! I don't want to die!"
Charlotte huffed, "No one does." she calmly replied. "Like those men you killed."
"Then you don't want to die, right!? Let me go and we can get away enough to survive the blast!" Kathy violently shook the handcuffs her wrist was in, bound to the bar pole. "You're insane!" Gripping the pole and shutting her eyes tightly, she awaited for the explosion.
5
4
3
2
1
...
'Ain't nothing gonna break my stride
Nobody gonna slow me down
Oh no
I got to keep on moving'
She cracked her eyes open, expecting her body to be blasted to kingdom come. She heard what sounded like a muffled song, a phone ringtone playing throughout the bar. Kathy slowly turned, seeing Charlotte grin at the woman, lights now on and no gas explosion, no debris blasting into pieces, no fire or loud boom of destruction. Just a shit eating grin and a one hit wonder ringtone.
Charlotte flicked her phone open answering it with her eyes glued to Kathy. "Hello? Oh Loki, called to apologize?"
Sirens were heard in the distance, be it for the bar or another matter was unknown. All Kathy knew was she was starting to panic. And panic made people think irrationally.
"Yeah, she's here. Got her confession on tape and her detained. Just need to get into the security room and gather the footage." Charlotte continued her conversation, leaving Kathy to her own devices.
"How did you get footage? The cameras are down." Loki pointed out.
Charlotte plugged a USB into the computer to download the video file. She pressed the phone into her shoulder, typing at the keyboard. "All she did was cut the wires, I rewired them as if I was hot wiring a car."
"You know how to do that?" He asked, a tad astounded.
Charlotte grinned to herself, watching the video start downloading. "An uncle showed me when I was eight, I never hot wired or stole a car, of course." She readjusted the phone and leaned her palm flat on the desk. "You got police coming?"
Before she could get an answer, glass shattered over her head making her crumble to the ground like a sack of bricks. Her phone fell from her fingers, hitting the floor to lay next to her head.
"Charlotte? What was that sound? Charlotte? Hello?"
Kathy stomped down on the phone, crushing the screen and ending the call as she fizzled out the damn device. She ripped the flash drive out of the computer once the alert 'Complete!' popped up into the screen. She went through to wipe the footage and left Charlotte in the office, locking the door.
She still had to handle the bar, now with her initial plan out the window. She eyed up the bottles of liquor, and grinned like a wild cat.
Charlotte eventually felt consciousness return to her, her head spun as she rolled onto her back, wincing at the ache in her pain. She slowly sat up, pushing her hair out of her face and feeling for any blood, which she felt a cut hissing at the pain.
"Freaking crazy bitch." Charlotte gripped the desk and hauled herself up, seeing the flash drive was gone. "Damnit!"
She winced as she got to her knees, going through to see if she could get a backup. Sadly, she couldn't but went through the footage to find something better. Her eyes scanned the room, though it spun a bit from her headache, she fished through the drawers but found nothing. Desperate, Charlotte downloaded the file and opened up an email. She typed her email address, attached the file and sent it.
As Charlotte got to her feet, lumbering around the desk, she sniffed the air smelling something weird. Smoke? Something was burning. Her eyes focused on the door, once clear enough she had noticed smoke seeping under the door. Kathy started a fire with her in it!
She felt her adrenaline kick in, running to the door to check the heat, it felt like it was right outside the door. Sadly, there were no windows in the office, not even an air vent to try an old stereotype escape.
Her only escape was through the fire, if she even survived. Charlotte noticed the broken glass, she sniffed herself to make sure it wasn't alcohol, but felt it was sticky and smelled differently. She must have used her coke bottle to smash her head.
Charlotte took a step back, kicking the door a good number of times not even wanting to touch the door knob. She knew by the second kick it was locked or barricaded. The smoke was starting to fill the room, she brought her shirt up over her mouth and nose, continuing to kick the door in.
It didn't feel like it was budging, and her leg was growing sore, she tried shouldering the door but that hurt worse. Her head started to spin again, she stumbled from the door, dropping her shirt and coughing as the smoke got worse. She was finding it hard to see, the room was cloudy and stuffy, her air felt thin as she got lower to get proper oxygen.
Her eyes searched the floor, to find her phone and contact Loki, but found it smashed. She was truly trapped.
Charlotte fell to the floor, coughing heavily trying to get clear air into her stinging lungs and sore throat. "So-" She coughed, crawling toward the desk and leaning against it. "This is how I die." Charlotte figured.
She stretched her legs out, her eyelids grew heavy as her sight became blurry. "How.. Emba...res..ing…" Charlotte let her body heave a few more coughs before slumping to the side with a thud.
She could start seeing the light of flames under the door, the fire was moving toward her and soon would envelope the door, the room, and her. Her eyes closed, accepting this face, as she felt her lungs burn and beg for oxygen.
Her slumber was shortened, when she heard thuds, crashes, and yells of her name.
"Charlotte! Charlotte, where are you!?"
Unable to respond, she felt her brain want to push one more effort in living. She reached out, inching herself closer to her smashed phone and got a grip of it. It slipped from her fingers, as she heard her name screaming above the fire. Once she got her fingers wrapped around it, she swung her arm back and threw it at the door letting it make a distinct thunk.
A few seconds of silence, but nothing was heard. A sigh was released from her lips as she let her eyes close, unable to try anything else anymore.
At that moment, the door heaved a pound, then another, and suddenly it flew open off its hinges. The air grew clear and a figure knelt by her body. Fingers pressed against her neck for a few moments before rolling her onto her back. Hands were pressed against her forehead and chest, green glow enveloping her.
A second later she gasped out loudly, her eyes shooting open as her chest rose to inhale as much fresh air as it could muster. Smoke lingered, making her cough with an aid of a hand on her back to sit up. Her weight was shifted against her savior, arms tucked under her legs and wrapped around her shoulders as she was lifted off the ground. Her head found a shoulder, the air grew clearer despite she swore to see smoke all around her.
"I've got you." Came a voice, a deep accent mixed in with comfort of a whisper.
Her red rimmed eyes looked up, the blurry face of dark hair and pale skin was seen, and slowly focusing on his features to be more clear.
"Lo...ki…" She wheezed, fighting her heavy eyelids to stay awake. Her voice was strained making her cough harshly again.
"Shh, easy now." He soothed, standing with her in his arms and turning back to the door.
What shocked Charlotte was he had no mask, no oxygen tank, or even clothing to protect him from the flames, still in his dress shirt from before.
"Loki, wait-!" She coughed, covering her mouth to try and speak. "The fi-fire…!"
He smirked down at her, then back up as he approached the flames. To her shock, the flames danced around but never touched them. The flames moved away as if being blown by wind to keep a distance, a force in protecting them. Not only that, it was like they were in a bubble, seeing the smoke move around them than past or through them. Loki walked with confidence as he strode through the blazing building, not bothered by the structure falling apart or the building ready to collapse at any moment. It felt like the air was cool enough around her to keep the heat at bay, she almost felt a chill in his arms instead of sweating from expecting overheating from the fire surrounding them.
How was he able to do this? It was some supernatural phenomenon that the flames barely touched them, the heat was nowhere, and the smoke was repelled. Loki hadn't even gotten a burn, scratch, or injury when pounding through the door to get to her. His hair was untouched by any embers, his flesh never burned or red, and his clothing was perfected without a mark of soot.
Eventually, the flashing lights of red and blue shined on her, people yelling and throwing orders to control the fire and tend to the survivors; Loki and Charlotte. Loki brought her to an ambulance and helped her onto a gurney where she was given an oxygen mask and strapped in.
"Get her to the hospital!" Yelled an EMT, wheeling her into the back of the vehicle.
The entire time she was strapped, tended to, and placed in the car, her eyes never left Loki. Something she suddenly remembered, she reached up, tearing the mask off her face.
"Loki!" She wheezed, "Loki, wait!" Charlotte coughed as he approached the car when the EMT scolded her.
"Put it back on." He ordered.
Charlotte pushed it back down from him, focused on Loki. "Email, get my email. It's the-" she coughed, having the mask shoved into her face again. "It has proof!"
"Excuse me, sir." The other EMT slammed the doors shut. With the sirens screaming in the air, it drove off to take her to the hospital to get tended to.
Proof; even early on the brink of death, the fact is still important to her.
Thank you AFeastFitForCrows for the follows/favorites!