Office of the Medical Examiner's

North Midtown

Thursday, November 3

"The wounds certainly indicate a mugging; some bruising in the upper chest, two stab wounds to the stomach. However, the deep cut in the throat doesn't make sense."

"Well, Dr. Forrest, muggers aren't well known for smarts or clean jobs," joked Spongebob.

Forrest shook his head. "No; given the severity of the wound, it seems like whoever did it wanted to be sure that the victim died. And he did, slowly, painfully…" He trailed off.

"So, what are you saying," asked Squidward. "The perp meant to kill him?"

Forrest nodded. "That would be my guess: while I was still at Bikini Bottom General, most of the mugging victims had minor wounds or shallow stabs, and didn't die; I never saw anything like this labeled as a mugging." Spongebob and Squidward shared a look.

"Was there anything else you noticed that was inconsistent?"

"Yes." Forrest picked up a jacket from a nearby bin. "The victim was wearing this jacket when he died; contrary to what was reported, I don't think the man was middle-class."

"Why do you say that?"

"This jacket costs upwards of $5,000. How does a middle-class man afford a jacket like this? And what was he doing in that part of town, at night?"

"Are you telling me that you don't think this was a mugging?" Captain Krabs sat down at his desk, looking at the two detectives on the other side; Squidward was sitting in a chair, Spongebob was leaning against some filling cabinets. "Can you explain to me why?"

"The weapon was too nice to belong to a mugger," answered Spongebob. "We think it might have been stolen. Also, the victim's wounds indicate that the perp was trying to kill him. Not to mention, it seems like the victim was wealthy."

"Well that does, sound like homicide, but for all we know it could have been an accident." Krabs looked at his desk for a moment. "So what are we looking at here, at the least; manslaughter?"

"Most likely," said Squidward.

"Make a sweep of weapons shops in the area; figure out if any of the owners recognize the make of the knife, or if they sold it. See what you turn up." The detectives nodded almost in unison, and then left the office.

A/N I expect the chapters to get much longer as the plot develops. - LBL