Chapter 4
The Dockyard Killer
Two days have passed after the terrible incident of the grim butcher. While the headquarter's occupied, I decided to investigate more about the Vipers. Seems the mission is a bit tricky, I still haven't figured out who the leader is. The database hasn't enough information on the latter.
"Hi, Deputy Keirah! Ready to solve a new case?" Jones peeked on my desk.
"Great! Enlighten me." I grinned.
Jones chuckled. "After what we had to put up with last time, I'd understand if you were reluctant..."
"But I guarantee you this murder is not as gruesome as what we just went through!" He added.
"I'm not reluctant. Just still getting the hang on what happened to the poor girl." I said.
"Well maybe you'll gonna move on when you work on the next case. They're waiting for us to process the scene, let's go!" He smiled and I nodded, following him.
According to the report, the Victim was found at the Docks in Industrial Area. Jones drive as the radio gave us the report on the area. We arrived at the area shortly. The forensic investigators started inspecting.
"So, our victim's name is... Dan Broke, at least according to his ID." He noted through the document.
I peered down to the body, inspecting it. His stomach was stabbed. I tried to find what could be the murder weapon, instead I found a broken badge and a wallet. Near the victim's body. The forensics have carried the Victim to the ambulance.
"Jones, this might help." I said handing him the wallet. "And this." I showed him the badge.
"The autopsy results won't be ready for a few hours, but what you found will keep us busy enough!" He noted. "As for that broken badge you picked up, I wonder... Do you think you could piece it back together? It might be relevant to our case."
"No problem." I nodded, placing the evidence on the bag.
"Oh, and the man who called it in, James Smith, is right over there. We can go speak to him whenever you're ready, Keirah!" He said.
I smiled. "I'm always ready. Let's go!"
James Smith wears a beanie covering his long blonde streaks, matched by grey hoodie and white inner. He stared as we came in. We casually introduced ourselves.
"I was driving the barge back to port when I saw that guy on the docks. I called out to him, but he wouldn't answer." James explained.
He then pointed out to where the victim was found. "That's when I saw the blood. I freaked out, like... and I thought I'd better call the cops!" He said staggering.
"Did you see anyone else on the docks?" Jones asked.
"Nah. That part of the river's always deserted. That's why I was surprised to find someone there..." James answered.
"Well then, thank you James."
"That wasn't I expected." Jones said.
"What do you think?" I asked. "The killer's a bit clever not to leave a murder weapon." He said.
"I've got several things for you. Dan was stabbed in the stomach with a sharp object, probably a knife." Nathan noted.
"Obviously, yes." Jones sneered.
"From the angle of the wounds, I can already tell you that your killer is left-handed!" Nathan smiled.
Jones and I were surprised finding him that. "You can't seriously see that from a gash, can you?!" He snorted.
Nathan grinned. "I wouldn't work here if I couldn't."
"He's serious." I muttered.
"I also found some red hair under Dan's fingernails. Needless to say, those weren't his. Which means your killer is a redhead!" He added.
"Great, just what we want for additional information." I smiled.
"So our killer is left-handed and read head. But no murder weapon." I noted.
"Yet." Jones added. "At least we're moving further in this investigation. In any case can you fixed that." He pointed out the badge.
"Yup." I said and started to work on it.
After a few minutes, I've put the pieces back together, revealing a skull badge. "Well that was fast! Great job, Keirah!" He noted.
"This being said... A skull badge, really? Are we still in the 80s?" He wondered.
"This seems familiar, maybe I've seen some people wearing this." I said.
"You're right, this badge didn't get on our crime scene by chance. Let's send it to the lab for analysis." He said.
"Hey Alex!" I greeted. "Hey!" He replied. "Would you mind analyzing this?" I handed him the badge. "I wasn't interupting something was I?" I stared on his large monitor, he's playing an arcade game? "Sorry I got bored." He grinned. "No worries, this won't take long."
Then I started to examine Dan's wallet. I search through the pockets and found a calling card. "What did you find, Keirah?" Jones peered in. "Hey, I know that address, it's in Caribou Corner! We're often called there for ODs and fights. Not the safest neighborhood..." He added.
"Let's go see Gloria, she's the building superintendent. With a bit of luck she'll recognize Dan!"
"Guys! I have some news for you regarding the badge!" Alex called out. "Your badge was covered with Dan's fingerprints... but only on its backside, as if Dan had grabbed it during the struggle." He added. "And there are no holes on Dan's shirt, meaning he ripped the badge off his killer's clothes!"
"Right! Will add that up to my info." I noted. "Thanks Alex!"
Just like Jones said this is not the safest place. Worse than Cooperville. You never want to walk on the narrow alleys in this place.
A brown haired woman with curlers around and wearing a pink robe appeared to us when the door opened. Jones smiled "Gloria! My favourite superintendent in this dodgy neighborhood." He greeted. Gloria gave a wide grin and hugged him. She looks in a mid 40s and she had a blue eyeshadows and red lips. "Long time no see honey!" She said.
"And oh, who's your new partner?" She glanced. "This is Deputy Silvers." Jones said.
"Nice to meet you, honey." She gave me a handshake.
"We have some questions Ms. Gloria, it's about Dan Broke." I asked smiling.
She nodded. "Oh yes, I knew him, he's my tenant for a long time. His girlfriend was on the third floor. Got on the trouble again?" Her eyes widened.
"Actually, he's dead." Jones said.
"Oh!" Gloria blinked. "Oh well, at least he won't be throwing up on the stairs anymore, right?" She said.
"Your grief is touching, Gloria. What's his girlfriend's name?" Jones asked.
"Sally Stone. She lives in apartment 315. And I'll be here if you need to..." She grinned. "Interrogate me some more, honey." she added.
"We'll be back." Jones chuckled. "Thanks."
We head upstairs, apartment 315. Jones knocked on the door. "Go away! I made my payment earlier!" A female voice shouted. "Uhh. We're looking for Sally Stone." Jones said.
"Who the hell are you?!" The woman yelled inside.
"Grimsborough P.D. we need to ask you about something important." Jones said in a serious tone. Finally the door opened. Appearing to be a red head girl, her hair was short. A cross earring was dangling on her right ear, she wears a navy blue t-shirt with skull print, and grey hoodie. I also noticed that she wore a badge same to the one I found on the crime scene.
She stared at us. "What?" Her mouth agaped. "Have you known Dan Broke?" Jone asked.
"I... I don't know any Dan." She stuttered. "Really? Your superintendent told us you were dating." Jones raised his brow.
Sally frowned. "Mrs Roach is an old witch, always snooping around, telling stories! She should learn to keep her ugly nose out of other people's lives!" She shouted.
"All the same, Deputy Keirah and I are going to have a quick look around your studio, miss." Jones said.
"What?! You can't do that..."
"This is for an investigation, Ms. Stone." I said. She couldn't stop us. I searched on the living room and found nothing so far. But noticing the bag over the couch feels like I have to inspect it. "Jones we might want to check this." I called, holding the bag. "Nice catch, Deputy Keirah! Miss, we're going to have a look at your bag." Jones said.
"What? You can't do that! This is mine! ...I want to see a warrant. I know my rights!" Sally shouted grabbing the bag.
"That's sweet. We'll return your bag to you when we're done." Jones grabbed the bag and handed it to me.
She sighed and I started to inspect the bag. Besides some make up thingies I found also a bracelet that has Dan's name on it. I turned to show it to Jones. "Keirah, I think you've struck gold with that bag!" He noted.
"So Sally, you were saying you don't know any Dan? But who's this Dan on your bracelet?" He asked her. She widened her eyes. "This bracelet isn't mine. I don't know how it got in my bag!" She stattered.
Jones frowned. "Look, there's only so much bullshit we can take. Stop lying and tell us what you know!"
Sally was taken aback by Jones' remark. "Alright! Me and Dan were dating." She sighed. "But I hadn't seen him in days, and I don't know who killed him!" She added.
We glanced up to her. "...you know, we never told you Dan had been murdered." Jones furrowed.
"Why else would you be here? Cops only pay attention to people like us when we're DEAD!" She wailed.
I felt sad for Sally, she seems to have a stressful life. Especially now that her love one died. She may be had a point on what she've said. Cops paying attention only when someone's dead? We couldn't know for sure how everything might end up. We serve and protect but that wasn't enough. Surely, because we're living in a harsh world, were injustice is mundane.
"Something's wrong?" Jones noticed my silence as we drove off.
I smiled. "I guess we gave Sally a hard time."
"She's having a hard time already... Although, I'm really sorry for her, to what happened to Dan." He said.
"So! Deputy Silvers, Jones, how is this case going? Have you found Dan's killer yet?" Chief King peered in the office. Right timing, coz we're on the verge of discussion regarding the case. "It's a... slow start, chief. We found Dan's girlfriend, Sally, and we know his killer was left-handed. That's pretty much it." Jones rubbed his nape. Chief King came in. "At least that rules out Gloria, she's right-handed. Not that she was a likely suspect anyway." Jones added.
Chief King smiled. "Likely suspect or not, a good police officer follows every lead. Always remember that, Deputy Silvers!" Did I just saw his sweetest smile? I nodded and smiled back. "Got it Chief."
"And now I would like you both to have another look at the crime scene. Dan died in front of an open container, you might find more clues in there." He said.
"Will be there Chief!" Jones noted, Chief King smiled and leave.
"Well, seems he's in a good mood." I whispered.
"Right. A very rare sight eh?" He chuckled.
"I just wish he's always smiles like that." I smiled.
We head back to the Dock and inspect the area near the container where Dan found. We found some trashes and old litters around, but what caught me is the cigarette butt that looks a bit fresh. "Jones isn't it odd to have a cigarette butt here if no one's been here all along?" I showed him the evidence. "A cigarette butt? Didn't James say nobody EVER comes here?" He noted. "That's what I'm thinking. If no one's been here then why does it look a bit fresh?" I stated.
"I agree with you, Keirah. Let's have a closer look at this. It may well prove interesting."
I reached out to my tools and track down the prints. After a few minutes, I gave the prints to Jones. "Clever call, Keirah! DNA would take hours to process, but the fingerprint you collected from that cigarette butt might give us a suspect in a matter of minutes!"
We head to the lab to send the prints to Alex.
While Alex decipher the prints, I reviewed the documents and files. Almost all of the killers profile matches to a certain person we talked to. "Uhh... Jones. Did you notice that Sally was wearing a skull badge?" I asked. "Yeah. It also matches her inner." He said.
"And it's the same as we found in the crime scene." I noted. "You're right." He pursed his lip.
"It's possible that she may have killed Dan, but something's missing?" I noted.
"Could be. But all the evidence leads to her and is there any reason she wouldn't kill Dan?" Jones said.
"We're gonna have to find more evidence." I said.
"Hey guys! I got news!" Alex came in after. "The fingerprint you found on that cigarette butt matches the prints of a certain James Smith." He read the document and handed it to Jones. "Oh. I'd been hoping for something different..." Jones sneered. "But you know, Keirah, this cigarette is the perfect opportunity to put some pressure on James."
"I bet." I raised my brow.
"He looked really fidgety when we first talked to him, and I don't think it had to do with the fact he discovered the body. I'm sure he's keeping stuff from us." I thought I wasn't the only one who noticed that.
James Smith was already on the interrogation room when we arrived. He's still a bit fidgety when he saw us coming. Jones seated in front of him. I stayed behind them, let Jones do the talking, he's good at it. Asking him about the cigarette butt we found. "Y-yes, I smoked that cigarette while I was waiting for the police to show up, after I found the body. Am I going to get a fine for littering?" James answered. "Contaminating a crime scene is a serious offense." Jones placed his hand on his chin. James stared, mouth agaped.
"But we might forget about it, if you cooperate. Are you a righty or a lefty, James?" Jones grinned.
James blinked. "... I'm right-handed, but, uh, what's that got to do with your dead guy?" He asked.
"Let us worry about that. Now, are you SURE there's nothing you'd like to tell us?" Jones asked.
James puckered his brows. "I, uh... Well there is ONE thing, like, that I found. Next to the body. Maybe... maybe you need it?" he reached from his pocket and placed a small bag. I take a closer look at it following Jones' gazed. "I knew it! ... Either that's a drug package, or I'm the Queen of England! I can't make out what's written on it... Deputy Keirah, what do you see?"
"Seems like a drug package... Why did you bring this up just now?" I asked James. "I...I'm sorry, I don't know what to do. I was in panic and I forgot to mention that in the first place." James out waved his hands.
"Okay, for now, we'll excuse you for that, thanks for cooperation by the way." Jones said.
I proceed to check up the package and found a code. DOG-KTX 2ED? I wrote it down. "Great job, Keirah! I just wish the code on that drug package wasn't a total mystery!"
"I guess we don't have any other choice..." He added. "We must go see Bart."
"Who's Bart?" I wondered.
"He's our snitch in Caribou Corner; knows everything that's happening there." Jones answered.
"Oh..." I blinked.
He furrowed. "It's just that he really, REALLY gets on my nerves. Cocky son of a..." I glared at him.
He chuckled. "But anyway! Maybe we also should have a better look at Sally's studio later. She's clearly keeping stuff away from us."
Bart stared around the room, his green eyes looked intently, he wears a light red jacket and white inner. "What do I get if I help you out?" Bart chewed on his gum. "I can't tell you that, but I can tell you what you won't get: my boot in your face." Jones snickered. Bart scratch his already disheveled dark hair. "...alright. Show me the code." He cocked his head.
I handed him the note. "Oh yeah, I know this..." He smirked. "That's Bulldog's handle! He mostly deals in Oakville alley, behind Kempe's Barbershop."
"One last thing: that badge, on your jacket, where did you get it?" Jones asked regarding on the badge pinned on his left side of the jacket.
"What, this? Dude, EVERYONE wears them, it's the latest fad. You really don't know anything, do you?" Bart snorted.
"You didn't answer my question! You..." Jones leaned down to Bart. "Alright! Let's take it from here!" I cut out, pulling Jones.
"You know, I really wish Bart had red hair..." Jones muttered. "Why? Because he's left-handed of course!"
"That and red hair would have been enough to get him a few hours behind bars, as a suspect." He added.
"Seriously. Don't be a Jerk." I rolled my eyes.
"Ah, if only..." He pouted. "Anyway! Let's go see this Bulldog he told us about!"
Bart was right, we found Bulldog at the Oakville Alley. He so tall and tough looking guy. He has a nose bull ring, ear stretchers and a red haired beard as well. A badge skull was pinned on his right denim jacket. He also has a tattoo on his neck, some kind of a B signature with a punk collar around it. Jones began to asked him about Dan Broke. "Wait, so a stupid junkie's found dead miles away from here with a piece of paper... how exactly is this supposed to implicate me again?" He snorted. "Don't play smart with me, Bulldog! We know you were Dan's dealer!" Jones hissed.
Bulldog raised his brow. He's so towering even Jones looked up to him. "Oh really? Do you see drugs on me? What kind of moron do you think I am?!" He hissed back.
"A pretty big one. Step aside, we need to take a look around this alley, or should I say your "office"?" Jones said. Bart squinted as we passed by. He then left us muttering.
I searched beside on the trash bin. "That's pretty sure is one of your frenemies." I remarked. "Say, seems all the people in Grimsborough pisses you Jones."
"That's one of the perks of being a cop Kei." He sneered.
I laughed as I searched through. I found a poster beneath the junks and it was covered with blood. "Jones, this gives me the chill." He turned. "Keirah, I'm impressed. The blood on this poster is still fresh, and it might very well belong to Dan!" He said. "I guess so, but how does it end up here." I said as I collected the sample.
"I just hope that poster's not a red-herring." He noted. "Let's get this blood to the lab and find out!"
We gave the sample to Grace and headed to check on Sally. "What are you doing here again?" She asked. "We just want to check up your studio Sally, in case we might find anything about Dan, we need your cooperation for Dan's sake. If you really want to find his Killer then you will help us." I told her. Jones let me do the talking, he was still on the hang of her. "I am telling the truth, I never killed Dan. Go on and search something if you find anything at all!" She said.
We head in and inspect the area. I looked to her side of the bed and found the shoes. I looked at it, finding a soil and dirt around. "Jones, we could track her down by this." I held up the shoes. "Nice. We could send the soil sample so we could track down her moves." He said as I took out the sample.
"Are you done?" Sally asked in an indignant tone. "Yes, this will be enough. Thank you." I said.
"I'm telling you, I would never kill Dan." She said. "Let's see about that when we're done testing the sample." Jones said.
"Tests are positive: the blood is Dan's." Grace announced. "You've got your primary crime scene, guys. Dan was killed in Oakville alley, then dumped on the docks!"
"Maybe, that's why we couldn't find the murder weapon. But we've search the area and found nothing other than that poster." I said.
"Well, Keirah, Bulldog's just earned himself another visit!" Jones said.
"Wait. I also got something on the soil sample." Grace halted. "I compared it with samples taken from the docks and found similiarities... but there's something more troubling."
"I also found traces of Dan's blood in the dirt! So, not only was Sally with Dan when he died..."
"...but she may be his killer! Keirah, I think little Sally has got some explaining to do..." Jones remarked.
"So who do we start first? Bulldog or Sally's?" I raised my brow. "Bulldog first!" Jones furrowed.
"Oh looksie, here comes the Incompetent Parade." Bulldog snickered. "Look, asswipe, you're getting on my nerves and I can guarantee you won't like me when I'm angry." Jones said, annoyed. "Dan's blood is all over a trashbin in the alley where you "work"! Any idea how it got there?"
Bulldog frowned. "No, and I don't give a crap about it. Now get off!" He pushed Jones over and walked out.
"This isn't over, Bulldog. One way or another, I'll make your life a living hell!" Jones shouted, but Bulldog never turned he just gave us a bitter response.
Jones turned back and rubbed his head. "Remember, Deputy Keirah, getting suspects angry often yields interesting results..." He smirked. "You always made your suspects angry." I noted.
"Did you see which hand our friend Bulldog gave us the finger with when he left? He's left-handed!" He whispered.
"Right!" I smiled.
Now the second suspect. "I'm afraid the evidences claimed that you were with Dan when he died. The soil sample that we collected on your shoes matches on the Docks." Jones remarked. Sally began to tremble. "Why won't you leave me alone?! Yes, I was on the docks last night! I found Dan, but when I realized he was dead, I freaked out! I ran away!" She said.
"And you just HAPPENED to hang out on that godforsaken place at the exact time Dan was dying?! Come on, Sally!" Jones grilled in.
Sally began to cry. "I... I... I got lost, looking for him! I didn't hurt him, okay? I loved him! Now leave me ALONE!" she wailed. I looked at Jones signalling him to get back.
Jones turned and sigh. The door banged closed. "I know, I shouldn't make girls cry... but a little more of that and I'm sure she'll come clean!" Jones said.
"She's really distressed." I noted.
"What's more, did you notice? Sally's wearing her watch on her right wrist..."
"She's wearing the watch on the right wrist." I noted. "Which means she also might be the one." I sighed.
"Alright, the killer's lefty, red haired, and has a skull badge. Which leads to only two people. Sally and Bulldog." I sighed, reviewing the documents. "So much information for such suspects." Jones added.
"Face it, officers, you won't get anything more from Bulldog and Sally." We halted on Chief King's remark. He held on the documents on my desk and look at it. "What? No, we're so close! I'm sure we can make them spill the beans!" Jones pleaded. "In a week, maybe, but we don't have a week! No, what you NEED right now is a murder weapon!" Chief King noted. We nodded. "You've found the bloody poster beside the trash bin right? Silvers." He asked. "Yes, Sir." I said.
"Go back to the alley! Anything could be hidden in those trashbins!" He ordered.
"Why does trash bins has the mystery of clues." I said as we dig down on the trash. "Coz killers thought this might the lesser we thought." Jones said.
"Right." I groaned. Cans, receipts, straws, papers, etc. what else could we find here. Then a pocket knife? I took another look, and it is a knife. And traces of blood could be seen on it. "Jackpot! A knife, and it's got traces of blood on the blade! How much are you ready to bet this blood is Dan's?" Jones said with triuamph. We head back to the lab to take some sample. "All done!" I said. "Perfect job as always, Keirah! When I think of how long it took ME to master those procedures..." He said and I smirked.
"Send it to Grace. I'm sure that knife was used to kill Dan, we just need to prove it!" He said.
"I've got good news! Not only is this knife covered in Dan's blood, but Nathan confirms it matches the wounds on Dan's body!" Grace said after a while.
"Officers, you've got your murder weapon!" She added. "Just like we thought." Jones noted.
"As for who it might belong to... I took a closer look at the blade; there's a weird symbol etched on it. Does it look familiar to either of you?" She handed over the knife, looking at it closely, there was a familiar carving of B. "Of course!" I widened my eyes. "I believe it does, yes! Deputy Keirah, time to put that killer behind bars!" He said.
"The game is up, Bulldog! We know you killed Dan. WHY you killed him, however..." Jones said. Bulldog frowned and stared at us, like we accused him. "We found the evidences, and all of it leads to you, obviously, the knife was even yours." I said.
He sighed. "That punk had it coming! I TOLD him it'd get nasty if he didn't pay me the $2000 he owed me!"
Jones furrowed. "It's going to get even nastier very soon, for you at least." He held out the cuffs and turned in Bulldog. "Bulldog, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law..."
The court hall was filled with indistinct discussions. Sally was there as she witness the file allegations on her boyfriend's murderer. She never turned her eye out on Bulldog. "Silence in Court! Mr... Bulldog, what do you have to say for yourself?" Judge Hall spoke. "*&ack lawyer said it all, didn't he? I'm a victim of circumstances! That crazed junkie came at me with his fists, I had to defend myself!" Bulldog said.
"You ought to take this more seriously. You took a human life! Does it mean nothing to you?!" Judge Hall said.
"Yeah, does it mean nothing?! How COULD you kill Dan, you BASTARD?! He was going to pay you back, he just needed a little more time!" Sally cried as the guards tried to hold her.
"I swear, I will kill you for this, Bulldog! I WILL KILL YOU!" She hissed.
"Young lady, calm down. There is no need for further bloodshed." Judge Hall cut.
She then raps the gavel. "Bulldog. For the murder of Dan Broke, the Court thereby sentences you to 20 years to life!" She filed.
"For doing this city a favor?" He said, cocky. "You're gonna cry for a f*ing parasite?! Burn in hell, all of you!" he shouted.
"Officers, take this man away. Court is adjourned!" Judge Hall ordered.
Bulldog never stop saying the words as he held up by the guards and walked out the court.
"Well, that's one murderer out for good, hopefully. I think we handled it all pretty well, don't you, Keirah?" Jones noted leaning on the cubicle. "I'd say, there's still a bunch of jerks out there to be pinned down." I said. clearing my desk. "I'm going to get crazy if the case didn't solved." I snickered. "But we did it. Thanks to Chief King's motivation." He said. I plopped down on my desk, after such a stressful case, I feel a bit tired, and famish. "I want to eat. The case took all my energy." I joked. "What do you say we go out for a cup of coffee? The doughnuts are on me!" He offered. "Good idea!" I smiled.
"Deputy Silvers, Jones, splendid job on that case!" Chief King remarked. "However, don't forget that you're working for the citizens of Grimsborough City. I'm sure some of them still need your help!"
"We're on it Sir." I said enthusiastically.
"That's the spirit!" Jones grinned.
"I want you to check up the others and the crime scenes for the last time. See if there are anything suspicous you might get." Chief King said handing a document to Jones. We nodded and bid a salute.
We head back to the Docks and saw James getting busy on his job. "Oh, there you are! Inspectors, I really need your help here!" He said as we came in. "Right timing!" I commented. "What's wrong, Mr Smith?" Jones asked.
"Your guys have completely shut down the docks, but I lost my delivery form there! How am I supposed to keep my job if I don't know where to go?!" James rubbed his head.
" I see. We'll see what we can do, ok?" Jones said. He turned. "Keirah, can you go ahead to the docks? I'll finish that report for King and be right with you!" He smiled.
"Got it!" I nodded and began to do the job.
I came back to the area near the container, cans, old newspapers, junks etc. but no form to be found, then I proceed to the old table on the front, shoving some trash, then, finally found it! But looks a bit mess.
"Jones I guess this is what we're looking for." I said.
"Good job on finding that delivery form so fast, Keirah! Let's get it to James!" Jones said.
We found James, waiting on his barge. "Mr Smith, good news! Deputy Keirah has found your delivery form!" Jones said handing him the form.
James smiled. "Cool, thank y- Oh crap. Crap!" He stared.
"What?" Jones asked.
"The paper's soaked through, I can't read the delivery address! ...what am I going to DO?!" James eyes widened.
"Gee, you really need to chill out, you know..." Jones said.
"You don't understand, I could lose my job for this! + *k! I'm dead, they'll fire me this time, for sure!" He panicked.
"Actually, you're in luck. Deputy Keirah is the best decipherer I know! They'll have that address straightened out in no time, won't you Keirah?" Jones said wryly.
I stared at him. "Me?"
"I know you can!" He leaned over. I pouted.
"Alright. Mr. Smith, I'll try to work it out." I smiled.
"Since when I am best, in deciphering?" I raised my brow as we turned back to the Dock to find some spot. "Since you became my partner." Jones commented, I blushed. "Seriously?"
I started to track the code and with the help of Alex' gadgets, I deciphered the address in a few minutes.
"Here you go Boss! Just as you wanted." I said sarcastically.
"Well, what did I tell you? You really have some magic in this." He snickered.
"There you go, Mr Smith, here is your delivery address! Didn't I tell you Deputy Keirah was the best?" I blushed on Jones' remark.
"Phew! Thanks guys, you just saved my neck!" James sighed a relief.
"No problem at all." I smiled.
"Oh wait. Please, take this, as thanks!" He handed me a yellow raincoat.
"You might gonna use it. For rainy days." James chuckled.
"Certainly." I smiled. "Thanks!"
We head to check up Sally after. She still getting the hang on everything. "Not you again! What, are you here to tell me, someone else I loved just died?!" She said when she saw us.
"Sally, Deputy Keirah and me just wanted to check up on you, see how you were holding up..."
"I'm NOT holding up! I can't even find those stupid antidepressants that damn doctor gave me! I... I..."
"Calm down Dear." I patted her back. "We're gonna help you find it." She stopped crying and looked at me.
"... Listen, why don't you go for a walk, take the fresh air? Deputy Keirah has a sixth sense when it comes to finding stuff, I'm sure they can find your pills!" Jones smiled.
"You'd do that for me?" She glanced at us. I smiled and nodded. "Thanks." She said and left.
I started to inspect her living room. I checked on the couch and found nothing but her bag and stuff around it. I proceed to check on her table. I found a grocery bag clumsily placed over and inspect it. "I've been thinking that clues usually found in a stuff like this." I snorted as I search through. "I think you're right. The pills may be in there." Jones said.
"What did I tell you?" I smirked, handling the pills to Jones. "You're a genius. You do have a six sense. Do you?" He said wryly. "Will you believe me if I say so?" I smirked and he blinked. "Just kidding, I say, we should give it to Sally..."
"Wait! what if they're not really antidepressants? I mean, with Dan's past... you won't make me believe Sally doesn't take drugs." Jones noted. I blinked. "What makes you think of that?"
"It could be that she might using one." He said. "She won't be back for a while. What do you think, Keirah? Maybe we could take these to Grace, see if they're safe..." He murmured.
"What if she came back and we're not here." I stated as I followed him outside.
"Don't worry this won't take long."
We drive back to the lab and gave the sample for Grace. While we wait, we decided to head back to Sally's apartment. Just then Grace called. "Alright, I've got your results. Those pills really are antidepressants. The girl didn't lie." Grace said on the line.
"Well that's a relief! Thanks a lot Grace, we won't forget this!" He hang up.
"So?" I raised my brows. "Sally's not lying about the pills, it's not drugs." He answered.
"You should stop doubting someone, especially when they're distressed."I blurted.
"What? Some people in Grimsborough are not a trusting type." He remarked and I raised my brow.
"We should give this to Sally." He added.
We found Sally on her doorway, and seems looking for us. "Where were you? Didn't you find my pills?" She asked as we came in.
"We did, don't worry! I told you, Deputy Keirah's the best at finding lost objects!" He said and handed the pills. "But be careful with the dosage, ok?" He grinned.
Sally smiled, finally, the look of relief. "I will, don't worry."
"I think... I think I'm going to go to my parents' for a while, get away from all this." She added.
"That would be good. Go try something new. You'll get away from this, eventually." I smiled.
"Thanks again, Deputy Silvers, Officer Jones! I won't forget this! Here, please, take this, for your time!" She gave us some of her stock of grocery.
"Thank you." We smiled.
"What I notice in people of Grimsborough... Is they're so generous." I remarked as we get in the car. "Really?" Jones made a crooked smile. "It's coz they're returning the favor."
"And that's a good way." I said. "This town might not be the safest place, but there are still people who return the favor, a good one."
"Like us." He grinned.
"Okay, like us." I rolled my eyes.
"We should head on check on Bart Williams." I said.
"As you say Ma'am." He smiled.
"Oh great, just the people I needed! I've lost my wallet, you've got to help me get it back!" Bart said.
Jones raised his brow. "And what makes you think we'd want to help YOU, exactly?"
"Oh come on! You know the Vipers are heavy in these streets! They tolerated Bulldog, but they've never exactly warmed up to me. I don't want to die for a freaking wallet!" Bart exclaimed.
"So you want us to do the job?" Jones snickered.
"... You're lucky, we've just solved a case and I'm in a good mood. But you'd better have something good for us in exchange!" He added. I nudged him.
"Okay, Keirah and I will do that." He answered.
Bart's face enlightened. "Thanks man! Just in case, it is dark brown and leather."
"Finding a wallet wasn't easy, especially in this kind of place." Jones noted as we stared on the backstreet. Pile of trash lined on the corner of the street, The trash bin was full and I don't even think to dig and search on that. "For a moment I agree. But it's our job to help people." I said.
"Okay." He rolled his eyes and we started the search. "Don't make me dig on those trash Jones." I warned him as I knelt on an old wooden box surounded with rotten fruits. I flinched on the smell. I shoved off the trash and finally, "Aha!" I take the what seemed to a wallet on a pile of papers and cartons. Dark brown and leather, yes it is! "This might be his." I said to Jones.
"Great, you found the wallet." He said. "Hey, Keirah, what do you say we... have a look at it?"
I glanced. "I didn't signed to pry in to someone's belongings. This is considered to be a personal." saying it, I began to feel guilty on barging in Sally's bag, though it's a different case.
"Come ooon, I'm SURE Bart's hiding stuff from us! Just a little look, okay?" He pouted, trying to make a puppy eye. "Stop it. You look stupid." I bluntly said. "Okay. If Bart knew this, it's not my responsiblity."
He nodded. "Great!"
We opened the wallet and saw some papers and receipts and a torn photograph? Who's this?
"Well would you look at that! I wonder why Bart keeps that torn photo in his wallet... I'm sure it's someone important!" He noted.
"Must be his girlfriend." I shrugged.
"Time to display your puzzled skill Keirah." He said.
"Wait. We shouldn't touch it!" I stared.
"Just in case, maybe we found something fishy on that." He answered. "C'mon."
I sighed and piece back the photo as he watched. I could finally see the image as I attached the last piece. "It's not a girl! But a man!" I said.
"Well would you look at that! I wonder why Bart keeps that torn photo in his wallet... I'm sure it's someone important!" He noted.
"Jones that tatoo!" I pointed the tattoo on the man's chest.
"Yep, I'll be damned if I know who's the guy on this picture, but he clearly belongs to the Vipers! Let's go grill Bart about it!" He said and we left.
"Bart, this is your lucky day, we've got your wallet!" Jones said. "Really?" Bart grinned.
"BUT... we also found a picture of one of the Vipers in it! You'd better tell us who this is, if you want your wallet back..." Jones showed the picture.
Bart gave a sharp glare on us. "Whoa, Jones, that's low, even for you." He squinted. He turned to me and I blinked. "And seeing the look on Deputy Silvers' face, they weren't the ones snooping around!"
"I mean what good is it, paying so many taxes, if cops search through your stuff..." He smirked, placing his hand on his chin.
"Yeah, like YOU pay taxes! Come on Bart, spill the beans!" Jones answered.
"Whatever." He sighed. "The guy on the picture is Salvador Cordero, the Vipers' new leader. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't know this already."
The leader? We exchange looks. "Holy Moly, I didn't expect him to be THAT important! The boss will be thrilled! Thanks Bart, here's your wallet!"
Things here are getting nasty. I have feeling we're getting close to the Vipers case.
A/N: I've censored some of the curse words. So I've changed them into this *! #$%^&*() or I just make some letters blank. Sorry I hate using extreme curse words.