Chapter 3: Snow White pt. 3

Merida sighed as they arrived back at the office. She pushed her hair out of her face as she collapsed behind her desk and began unpacking her duffle bag. She began setting her laptop, pencil cases, sticky notes, pictures of her mom, dad, and three brothers, some horse figurines, and a family picture of her family at her last archery tournament. Merida smiled sadly as she ran her hand over the frame.

Archery. It had been so long since she'd touched a bow or arrow. Sometimes she thought she should take it back up, but she couldn't. She just…

…couldn't. Not after…

There were even times she wondered if she should throw the picture out, but she couldn't, because it was the last happy moment she and her family had before…it happened.

Setting the picture on her desk, she turned to see what the rest of her colleagues were doing. Astrid was examining pictures from the crime scene and comparing them to pictures in a book. Hiccup was looking over various fingerprints found at the crime scene, and comparing them to fingerprints taken from Grimhilda White.

Jack, and Kristoff looking up information on their laptops. Eugene was looking over his interview notes. Looking about she saw Elsa watching over the scene from the balcony. There was an unreadable expression on her face as she watched everyone work. She stood there for a while longer, before slipping off.

"Hey, rookie, need a job?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes," Merida cheered as she raced towards him. "What do you need me to do? Go keep watch on Step Mom White? Or the boyfriend? Or go hunt for an informant? Or checking on the lab's progress?"

"Nope," Kristoff answered as he handed her a slip of paper. "Lunch orders. Go get 'em. Subway's two blocks to the East."

Merida huffed as she snatched the list from Kristoff and stormed out.

"Well, that was rude," Hiccup remarked as he pulled up another sample of fingerprints.

"She's the rookie!" Eugene called. "She's supposed to do our dirty work. Like when we got you-"

"Don't remind me!"

"To Lysol the entire facility when Jack ate the ruined sushi!"

"That was you," Jack corrected.

"What part of 'don't remind me' do you not understand?" Hiccup sighed.

"The 'don't,'" Astrid answered with a grin.

"Thank you for summing that up."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Parrots squawked as Elsa walked in between their cage and the chameleon's tank to enter into the lab.

"What do you have for me ladies?"

"Just got done configuring a crime scene sketch," Rapunzel said as she placed a piece of paper on a table in front of Elsa. "Due to the amount of blood being shed increasing as the attack went on, it would seem that the attack began in the kitchen. The victim then ran through the living room, down the hall, and then into the sunroom. She was probably trying to escape out the side door. But she either fell due to injuries, or was held to the ground by her attacker, who then went to town on her with some sort of weapon."

"A blunt object," Astrid called as she entered into the lab. "The blood splatter patterns are consistent with an attack with a blunt object."

"Like a baseball bat?" Anna asked.

Astrid shrugged. "Baseball bat, golf club, pipe, chair leg. I'll have to take a closer look to figure out an approximate size, point is, the possible murder weapon could have been anything. Furthermore, Merida's theory was right. There are areas where the patterns on furniture and décor is broken up, meaning the objects were moved after the crime was committed, probably in an attempt to cover it up."

"The stepmother said she last spoke to Snow White at 8 p.m. last night. She called us at 9:05. That gives the perpetrator about a 13 hour window to commit this crime, and…"

Elsa phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello...okay...yes, let Go first. We don't want to scare him. Yet…meet you up there."

She hung up and turned to the other four women.

"The boyfriend's arrived, I'm going up to watch the interview. Astrid come with me. The rest of you, keep up the good work. Tell me if the stepmom's DNA matches the glass or can we found, and when Snow's DNA matches the blood at the crime scene."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Merida came huffing back into the office, and found no one there. Curious, she walks about, until she reached her desk and saw a note.

"In interrogation room. Down the hall, first door. DO NOT GO IN SECOND! You'll interrupt."

Merida sighed and followed the directions into a cramped room with a one way window, a monitor showing the video recording, and a table where Astrid, Jack, and Eugene were seated. Elsa and Kristoff stood in front of the window, watching as Hiccup spoke to a teenage boy as they both sat across from one another on a table.

"...yeah, I hit her once. But it was right after losing a big game and getting a flat tire, and all she wanted to talk about was her hair. I was having a rough night. But I said I was sorry and I never did it again. Besides, that was four months ago. Why are you bringing this up now, man?"

"Oh," Merida was brought back to the inner room by Eugene tugging a bag out if her arms. "Thanks, rookie!"

"Well, let me get mine!" Merida exclaimed as snatched her drink and meatball sub before everything was yanked from her. Grumbling, she sat down and began eating while watching the interview.

"I don't know what her step mom said, but it was one time! You don't have to do this!"

"Okay. Okay. I just wanted some background. I'm not here to bust you for domestic violence."

"Then why am I here?"

Hiccup sighed as he pushed up his glasses.

"Florian, Snow is missing."

The young boy's entire demeanor changed.

"Wha-what do you mean she's missing? I was with her just last night, how can she be missing?"

"When do you see her last?"

"I...uh...1:30 in the morning?"

"What were you doing?"

"Just hanging, yah know? Her mom doesn't like me, so when I heard she was going to be out of town I took my chance."

"Want to be a little more specific than 'hanging out?'"

"Just...you know, talking, watching Netflix, doing Snapchat."

"And you left at 1:30 you said?"

"Somewhere around that time, I think?"

"Think?"

"I don't know man, I wasn't paying attention, I was mad-"

"Why?"

"Well, uh…" Florian dicked his head, embarrassed. "We were watching Netflix, and I wanted to turn it into Netflix and Chill, but she said no. We got into a fight, and I left."

"That so?" Hiccup asked, intrigued, rubbing his chin.

Florian's eyes grew large. "You think I did this!? No! I didn't hurt her! She was fine when I left! Upset, crying, but fine! I didn't hurt her!"

Tears brimmed his eyes. "I didn't hurt her. I didn't-oh, Snow…" He leaned his head on his hands.

Hiccup opened a small case he pulled out from under the table.

"I need your fingerprints and DNA."

"I didn't do it!" Florian wailed.

"Then you shouldn't have any reason to be worried."

Merida munched on her sub as she watched Hiccup collect the samples, Florian sniffling the whole time that he didn't do it.

As soon as he was done, Hiccup left, then came into the observation room.

"And?" Merida asked.

"He admits to being there around the time of the crime, and to being angry at the time," Hiccup shrugged.

"Angry enough the kill her?" Eugene asked.

"Maybe," Hiccup answered.

"We don't have any evidence, though," Elsa reminded them. "Let him go, but we'll keep a close eye on him. Eugene escorted him out, Hiccup get those samples to the lab. The Jack, keep looking into the stepmom. Kristoff, start checking out the boyfriend. Merida, look more into our missing person, see if she had any enemies."

Merida grinned at being given a real job.

"Astrid, she if you can dig up a more specific description of the murder weapon. I'm going to talk to some friends."

"Friends?" Merida asked.

"Want me to come with you?" Jack asked.

"I already told you. Look into the step mom," Elsa answered, and then left.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The late evening traffic buzzed as the San Diego nightlife began, and the whole team gathered for a status update.

"Okay," Elsa rubbed for forehead. "What have we got? Merida, missing person."

Merida smiled as she gave her first presentation.

"15 year old Snow White. Her mother died from preeclampsia when she was born. Her father died from carbon monoxide poisoning when she was 12. She's lived in her stepmom's care ever since. Cheer captain. National Honors Society. Two times on the homecoming court. Yearbook committee. She's pretty, popular, and smart. She was going to start taking dual credit this year. She's everyone's dream child with seemingly no known enemies."

"Except, maybe, her step mom," Jack added. "38 year old widow, Grimhilda White. She's a salesperson for a local medical facility. Married Snow's father 8 years ago. Seems to have a good social life, but doesn't seem too attentive to her step daughter. Cops have been called on the house twice when Grimhilda was drunk and attacking Snow. Aside from that, though, her record's spotless."

"Suspect number two," Kristoff cut in. "Florian Grim. Football captain at Snow's school, and he boyfriend. Admits to slapping her once, and sneaking over to her house the night of the crime and storming off angrily when she refused him sex. But no criminal record."

"Alibis?" Elsa asked.

"Well, Florian doesn't have one," Eugene said. "We called Grinhilda's place of work, and her's checks out."

"Motives?"

"Can't find one for Grimhilda, but denial of sex to a violent teenager boy?" Eugene shrugged.

"Are we taking stepmom off the list?" Merida asked.

"Not yet," Elsa murmured. "What do we have evidence wise?"

"Florian's fingerprints and DNA was on the coke can we found," Hiccup said. "And Grimhilda's fingerprints and DNA was on the apple cider glasses. However, while looking outside, I found a window that looked like it had been broken into and the fingerprints there don't fit either of our suspects. And," he sighed before continuing. "Snow's DNA matched the blood at the crime scene."

"The crime scene itself is a mess," Toothiana cut in. "This was a brutal attack that took place throughout the kitchen, living room, hall, and sun room with a blunt object. It's very unlikely this was a stranger. This looks like a crime of passion, by someone she knew."

"Astrid, do we know what that blunt object was?" Elsa asked.

"Well, it wasn't a candle stick, trophy, leg chair, baton, fire poker, ukulele, coat rack, book end, garden gnome, or decorative walrus tusk." Astrid sighed.

"I take that as a no?" Elsa asked.

"Not yet," Astrid groaned.

"Well keep looking. Tomorrow."

"What?" Merida wondered.

"It's late, get some rest, you're going to need it tomorrow."

"We're stopping? Shouldn't we keep going?"

"I'll inform you of we have any breaks. Go get some rest."

"We shouldn't stop, not if we want to find her alive-"

"Alive?" Elsa asked with a bit of a smirk. "We're not going to find her alive."

"How can you say that when there's no body?"

"You find a crime scene this bloody, you don't need a body. All we can do now is serve her justice, which we'll be able to better do with a good night's rest. See you all tomorrow."

And with that she retreated back up the steps. Merida huffed, shocked, bewildered, and stormed out to the parking lot. She fumbled with her keys, and ended up dropping them.

"Need help, there?" Hiccup asked as he picked the keys up for her. "Hey, you alright?"

"'We won't find her alive, so what's the point?' How can she be so cold? She doesn't know that, this...this isn't right!"

"Hey, chill out," Hiccup said. "She has a point. I haven't seen anyone survive a crime scene that bloody before-"

"But why is she so cold about it? She really is an ice queen!"

Hiccup sighed. "In this line of work, the stuff we deal with, well, you gotta be a little cold hearted every now and then."

Merida let out an upset sigh. "Besides, she's the leader. She's gotta be strong for all of us, and she can't do that if she's breaking down. She can't always feel in order to do that, y'know?"

He patted her shoulder. "Get some rest. You'll need it. I got a feeling it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."