The Detective Prince
Chapter 129
An Eye for a Koenigsegg
He met his hand with demanding force, knowing first impressions were as important as anything else.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Officer Allen." Heiji said releasing his grip.
"Ditto, I look forward to working with you."
He then directed his attention to the other the officer standing next to him.
"You must be Detective Norwich, the one to give first word on the situation to our department." Barry said shaking her hand as well.
She nodded giving confirmation.
"In all fairness it wasn't my suspicions that lead to the call," Kylane admitted. "It was Detective
Hattori who pressed on the situation."
"Is that right," Barry said not surprised to hear. "So, what do you say we get right into it?"
"That works for us," Kylane said. "But first, there's one thing I'd like to ask."
"I'm all ears."
"When the car was discovered, was there any weapons found," Kylane asked. "Particularly any guns that might have been in new condition?"
"The situation has yet to fully be accessed," Barry replied. "Only the first stage of the investigation has begun, our photographers are working as quickly as they can, once they've finished their initial shots we'll move on with the search."
"Who was the first to discover the vehicle?" Heiji asked.
"It was first seen by a civilian who had been driving by," Barry replied. "After giving a written statement they were released."
"I see," Heiji said. "And who was the first officer to arrive on the scene?"
"That would be detective Noles."
"What's with the minor questions?" Kylane asked.
"Just getting everything lined up from the base up." Heiji replied.
"I like the way you think," Barry said. "I tend to approach things in a similar matter, that way less questions are needed to be asked later."
"Just curious," Heiji said dropping his hands into his pocket. "What's the field you work within the force?"
"Forensics."
"Forensics huh, I bet that's a lot of fun."
"It has its ups and downs, but it keeps the days interesting," Barry said. "So I can't complain."
"How long do you think it will be before we're allowed to cross?" Kylane asked re-entering the conversation.
"How long you ask," Barry said turning back for the crime scene tape. "Right this way."
The two shared a brief glance while following after him. They came upon the same officer who had confronted them when they arrived. He gave the two a nod before lifting the yellow tape to allow both to pass. He had stopped, waiting for the two of them to find their way to his side.
"And here we are," Barry pointed. "You're free to examine the car from a distance, can you confirm that this is the Koenigsegg Agera R you reported?"
"I think I'll do just that." Heiji said taking him up on this.
He immediately pulled out his phone which he then turned on. There was no time to waste, taking only seconds for him to bring the video footage of the car to the screen.
"Here we are."
The video was paused after a clear view of the license plate could clearly be seen, and with that he walked further left to get a look at the backside of the car. He came to a stop in no time, pleased to find his thoughts confirmed.
"This is it," Heiji said turning back to face the two who weren't far. "This is defiantly the same black Agera R car seen in the video, the license plate found here is a perfect match."
He stepped back as another police official made their way around the car, taking photos as they did. Not wanting to get in the way of things he headed back over to rejoin the other two.
"It shouldn't be too much longer before we begin the next step," Barry said checking his watch. "I'd give it another five at most."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about the circumstances," Heiji asked. "Was there anything unusual that you came to find when you arrived?"
"Maybe not anything unusual given the situation, but something worth noting," Barry replied. "There was no wallet found on the deceased, no form of identification whatsoever."
"That heats things up a little."
"More work for us," Barry agreed. "But once we get a fix on his blood type and I check his dental work once the body is taken to the lab we should have an answer for who this guy is sooner rather than later."
The sound of a ring intruded at that given time, both looking to see it had come from detective Norwich's phone. She brought it to her eyes before finding herself turning away from the two of them.
"This is one I need to take," Kylane said before strolling off. "I shouldn't be long."
He watched as she walked, the first time he had really paid attention to her figure. It was then that he discovered that her height weighed heavily on the length of her legs. He looked away soon after to find Barry had been doing the same.
"I heard today is the day you and detective Norwich met, and also your first investigation together," Barry said. "That's a pretty quick pace if you ask me."
"Who'd you hear that from?"
"Wayne let me in on it." Barry replied.
"Wayne," Heiji questioned. "Are you referring to Bruce Wayne?"
"One and only," Barry confirmed. "And when I heard you would be coming to Central City I made sure I'd be here to assist you."
"All in courtesy of Bruce no doubt," Heiji said. "That would explain why he didn't respond to my messages I sent to him earlier, he must have been getting in contact with you on the situation."
"Not something that should surprise you," Barry said. "Well, at least after knowing him for a while."
"Perhaps."
"So tell me," Barry said. "What do you think of her?"
"What's that?"
"Detective Norwich, how's the first step coming along?"
"It has had its up's and down's." Heiji said not afraid to admit.
"First argument already?" Barry said quickly coming to figure.
"How'd you figure?"
"Your response, and from what I've monitored between the two of you since you arrived," Barry replied. "Everything that has come from the both of you has been direct, usually toward me; sparing any of the smaller details."
"Touché."
"Hey, the sooner the first argument the better," Barry said putting it into perspective. "It makes future collaboration much smoother."
"Interesting way of putting it."
"Hey, I'm just going off of experience," Barry said with a growing smile. "No way you can go wrong there."
He took that moment to look across the way, coming to find she was now engaged in conversation before turning back to face him.
"Since we've got a little time to ourselves I think now would be an appropriate time to ask." Heiji said.
"What is it?"
"Your connection with Bruce Wayne," Heiji replied cutting to straight to the point. "How do you know him?"
He took a long hard look into his eyes, taking little time for him to come to an obvious realization.
"He hasn't told you… has he?"
"About what?" Heiji asked.
"About me." Barry clarified.
"No," Heiji replied. "You haven't come up in any conversations I've had with him."
"I see," Barry said with a smile coming to his face. "I guess that does leave a bit of a wedge in certainty."
"What can I say, I'm curious."
"I'll tell you what," Barry said turning back for the car. "Once we're done here I'll cover that in full with you, sound fair?"
"That works for me."
They stood there for a short time longer, rejoined by detective Norwich who walked up from behind the two.
"Anything new to report?" Kylane asked.
"Not yet," Heiji replied. "We're still waiting."
"It shouldn't be too much longer." Barry said checking his watch once more.
The wait continued, all three keeping a high degree of patience during this process.
The city was now in the heat of things as the middle of the day took form. The increase in traffic was one of many signs showcasing this. There was no need in waiting for a bus or waving for a cab. They had only walked for minutes, clearly sighting what they believed to be the building they were looking for. They moved in closer, quickly finding a sign stamped onto the front of the building.
"Noun One Library."
They only stopped for a mere second, walking up the stairs soon after.
"This is the place."
There was no doubt about it; this was the name of the library that had been brought to their attention. There was much to find upon entering. Straight ahead was a series of book cases, all lined up in proportion to one another. On the right was a number of tables which they assumed to be where most went to read after checking out a book. Last to come was what they were looking for, the front desk. It was located on the left side of the room, heading in that direction straight away.
"Welcome to Noun One library," A smilingly librarian greeted. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes," The visitor replied. "I would like to apply for a library card at this time if possible."
"Well of course," The clerk said happy to inform. "Just give me a second to get to the main screen."
They immediately turned for a computer sitting atop the desk, typing only a few lines before they were approached with yet another question.
"I was told of this library from a friend," The visitor began. "He said there were many activities that are held here on weekly bases, can you confirm this?"
"There's a lot that goes on here," The clerk said in response. "Do you think you could be a little more specific on what you're detailing?"
"Chess," The visitor replied. "I was told there is a popular chess club that is held here once every month."
"Then you heard right."
"Any idea when the next exact meet is to be held," The visitor asked. "That's something that could be of interest to me."
"It should be in the next few days if I'm mistaken."
"Excellent."
They turned back toward the computer screen at that given time, coming to find everything was now in place for the next step to begin.
"Alright, we're ready to get you started."
"Sounds good."
"Now," The clerk said looking up to face them. "First I'm going to need your first and last name."
"Kindly," They replied dropping a hand to the desk. "Kuroba, Kaito."
The lights continued to flash with each given click. It was a seemingly never ending process, waiting with patience the whole way through. His phone had been turned off by this point, not wanting anything from the outside to cause for any distraction. Nothing had been said since the last exchanged words, all three waiting to get the ok to move on with the next phase of the investigation.
"It's been nearly fifteen minutes now, it doesn't usually take this long for the initial look," Heiji thought. "Especially since they began before we even arrived."
He turned to the right for no specific reason, coming to find a uniformed officer heading straight toward them. He stopped once reaching the three, holding out his right hand to reveal a box.
"What's this, a box of latex gloves?" Barry asked.
"Yes," The unnamed officer confirmed. "They've just finished up with the shots needed, as you know moving forward we'll need you all to slip on a pair."
"Already ahead of you." Barry said holding up his hands to reveal the gloves sitting in place.
The other two didn't waste any time in grabbing a set of their own before securely sliding them on.
"Right this way." Barry said taking charge.
The two followed from behind, taking no time for them to reach the car which was now only surrounded by two other detectives. They didn't stop until reaching the man who was down onto a knee, examining something around the trunk of the car.
"Detective Noles," Barry said calling out his name. "What have you gone over thus far."
"Not much," Detective Noles replied. "Just dusting for prints, already took care of all doors."
"And the evidence?"
"Already sealed away," Detective Noles replied pointing to a black bag sitting aside him. "I'll hand everything over to you when we return to the lab."
"That will be just fine," Barry said in response. "Just make sure it's all sorted properly this time around."
"You bet."
Just from hearing that he was able to determine his stature, even if it was meaningless.
"It's pretty clear Mr. Noles is new to the police force," Heiji said. "Or at least to how things are done within this particular unit."
Just as he was to turn back to face the two his name could be heard called from the passenger side of the vehicle.
"Allen I think you had better come have a look at this."
This not only raised interest for him, but for the other two as well. He immediately responded to his call, stepping around the car to see what he had discovered.
"What is it?" Barry asked a few feet away from reaching him.
"Look what we have here." The police investigator said turning around to reveal what was now in his possession.
"A gun?"
"Yes, and it still has the tag attached." The officer added.
He lifted the tag for all to see in that next second.
"Well what do you know." Kylane said becoming intrigued.
"Where did you find it?" Barry asked.
"In the glove compartment on the passenger side."
"Go ahead and report that to the others." Barry instructed.
"Right away."
He handed the gun over to him before taking off completely. Barry took the next few seconds to examine it before turning back to face her with an update.
"It's a Grande Puissance 35," Barry informed. "I recognize the design."
"It looks to be that way." Kylane agreed.
"This could very we'll be one of the stolen weapons mentioned in your report," Barry said. "And since the tag is still intact we should be able to confirm with them is this gun was in fact taken from their shop."
"I took the liberty of saving their number to my contacts before coming here," Kylane said reaching for her phone. "I'll give them a call right away."
"Here," Barry said tossing her the gun. "You might need this."
"I'll return it to you once I'm finished."
"There will be no need," Barry said in response. "You can go ahead and hand the gun over to detective Jellson, he usually handles the big time accessories found at a scene."
"Detective Jellson?"
"That would be the same officer who discovered the GP 35 in the glove compartment of the car just now."
"I'll see to that once I'm finished."
She took off from there, walking around the car to the other side. It was no sooner after that he was joined by detective Noles.
"Allen," Detective Noles said coming to a stop upon reaching him. "I've finished collecting prints from all sides of the car, would you like for me to begin searching on the inside?"
"Don't bother," Barry said in response. "I'll see to that myself, you just go ahead and get all that stuff back to the lab."
"I'll have it waiting for you on your desk, sorted of course." Detective Noles smilingly promised.
"If we need you back here you can expect to receive a call from me," Barry said. "So be sure to have your phone on."
"No problem there," Detective Noles replied. "But I'm still curious about one thing."
"What is it?"
"About the way this man died," Detective Noles replied. "If he was shot while driving, don't you think it would have been hard for him to stay on the course of the road?"
"You're right," Barry said understanding the positioning of the car. "In this particular case it looks as if they had been parked at the time of the shooting."
"That might be a true statement."
The two turned at the sound of his voice, coming to find he was already on the driver side of the car.
"Please do enlighten us." Barry said interested to hear.
"There's a burn mark at the top hash of where the bullet entered," Heiji informed. "And with that known fact it's safe to assume that they were shot at close range."
"I didn't notice that on my first initial look at the body," Detective Noles admitted. "Wouldn't something like that usually indicate suicide?"
"In many cases," Heiji agreed. "But there was no gun to be found near the body that could have been used in the incident."
"Good point."
"Is there anything else you have to add?" Barry asked.
"Not from this angle," Heiji replied. "I've only observed the situation from where I stand; we'll need to search the car deeper before making any further assumptions."
That was something he could agree on, turning back to face his comrade who still stood at his side.
"Go on and head back to the lab Noles," Barry instructed. "Detective Hattori and I will handle things going forward from here."
"Understood."
"When I'm through here I'll contact you to let you know when I'm on my way back."
He nodded in response.
"I'll be waiting for the call."
With that he gripped the bag on his shoulder, turning for the other side before walking to where his patrol car was located.
"That leaves the main stage for us." Barry said looking his way.
"Since I'm here under an assistantship I think it would be appropriate to ask how you'd like to proceed."
"No need to worry," Barry assured. "Why don't you take that side of the car since you're already there, leave everything on this end to me."
"Works for me."
"All doors have already been unlocked," Barry informed. "So you should be good to go."
He gave him the thumbs up before attending to matters himself. The time had finally come, reaching down for the door knob with one simple tug. The door fell open, revealing the full story of the scene.
His analysis began from there, starting with the path of the blood spatter. Its path could be found flowing down all sides of the seat, almost like a spill on a counter top. He found this to be strange, the first note he took to himself. Next came the window located on the driver side which was more than halfway rolled down. His suspicions furthered with yet another discovery.
"There's no blood."
Both sides were checked just to be sure of this, even the top edges. Yet there wasn't so much as a spec of blood to be spotted. Wanting to expand his searches further he looked to the ceiling of where the body sat, only adding on to the growing mystery.
"No blood there either."
"So you've noticed."
He looked across the way to see Barry had already started his search as well.
"You would have thought after being shot a streak of his blood would have traveled to this side," Barry said. "Yet there is none to be found in the passenger seat, nor on any portion of this side of the car."
"Something's not adding up," Heiji agreed. "I don't think I've ever examined a scene quite like this to be honest with you."
"That makes two of us."
"The victim is covered in blood almost from the head down," Heiji said. "Including the driver seat, but everything else seems untouched for the most part."
"Something which doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Barry said. "We'll try and work through this the best we can, then when everything is transported to the lab we'll be able to dissect this even further."
"That's ultimately what it will come down to, in both cases," Heiji said. "After all we don't even have a positive identification for who this man was."
"Nothing our forensics won't be able to determine," Barry said before slightly shifting his focus. "Mind checking the glove compartment of the driver side, there might be something in there of importance."
He took him up on this, reaching across to pull it open. What was found inside was a flash light, an unopened set of batteries, a map, and two notepads.
"Doesn't look like something you wouldn't normally find in this case," Heiji said. "I'd say we're pretty clear here."
"Go ahead and close it up," Barry instructed. "We'll have a further look at the contents of that glove compartment when this car is taken to the Central City Police lab."
He did as asked of him, slowly pushing away from the body after doing so. It was in that instance that something else that really came to his attention.
"His eyes," Heiji said. "They're completely closed."
"Yea, I noticed that as well," Barry said. "There's still a chance the culprit in question closed his eyes after shooting."
"True," Heiji agreed. "But what really would there to gain out of this?"
"That's a really good question."
"The bodies all yours," Heiji said completely removing himself from the equation. "I'll check the back seats for anything additional."
He decided to leave the door open, stepping to the back half of the vehicle to find his hand to the door knob. The door was opened all in one motion, his first motive was to look for any traces of blood. The seats were the first to be checked, followed by the floor below. It was clear from the moment he opened the door, there was no blood to be found. But was that possible? Had someone cleaned a majority of the mess… and if so for what purpose?"
He leaned further in, continuing his skim of the back seats. It wasn't long after that he noticed something, a small fabric of some kind lying on the far seat across.
"What is that?"
He reached across, bringing the smooth dark blue cloth into his hand. Even with the gloves on a familiar smoothness could be felt as he glided his hand across.
"… I recognize this fabric, Italian silk," Heiji thought. "I'd say it's a handkerchief of some kind."
The cloth was held out at arm's length, taking the time to further examine it.
"What in the flying space pigs?!"
He turned at the sound of his voice almost instantly.
"What's wrong?" Heiji asked.
"His eyes," Barry replied from the front seat. "They're gone…"
To Be Continued