Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 6 (Numerous Suspects)

She wanted her husband here, and she wanted him here now. Martin still wasn't responding to her, which she understood, but she still needed support from him. Parked at a stoplight, Trina held her phone in her trembling hands and stared at it with tears in her eyes.

"He'll call," David said with a quiet voice. Trina's body shook and her father looked at her with a furrowed brow. "If he's any kind of man, any kind of husband, he'll call. Just give him some time." She wiped the tears from her cheek and lifted her head.

"How much time does he need?"

"As much as it takes him to swallow everything." The light changed, so David started driving again. Trina switched off the display of her phone and looked out the window, watching the scenery pass by. "Tell me about him." Trina took a breath and her mouth turned to a broad smile.

"He's a nut. The good kind." David chuckled. His eyebrows rose and he turned his head slightly. Trina's leg swayed gently as she bit the corner of her lip. "Cheesy and fun, incredibly smart. He's got a master's degree in history and taught at a university for a while."

"Past tense?"

She curled her hair over her ear and smacked her lips. "Yeah, he got laid off just after our wedding. At the same time, Deputy Chief Perez said the sheriff department was going through a hiring freeze. We both were without a job, but he continued to do his best to find work and we supported each other…"

"I see."

"We had to move in with Gary and Carol down at that retirement community they live in." She laughed once, remembering how terrible she felt about that. It wasn't so bad in the long run, but Martin was the one that tried to be optimistic about it.

"Martin found work at an auto shop, because he'd done some body work on cars when he was in college. I decided to volunteer with the SST. That's the sheriff support team, looking after the elderly. It wasn't much, but it was something. Gary might have thought I was giving up on my dream at first, but I wasn't. I had to wait out that freeze somehow."

"In the end, you got your career."

"Yeah. Two AC workers were breaking into homes, taking advantage of the elderly, and robbing them. I caught on because I saw the signs, but Commander Chapman didn't like that I was overstepping my bounds-we were very limited and according to her, I was acting on hunches without evidence or proof."

"Did you ever get proof?"

"Martin. Once Principal Beck called him and offered him a job as a substitute teacher." She closed her eyes, grinning wider. "He put some money to obtain public records for the two men, discovering a rap sheet for burglary and assault." She leaned her head against the window and her eyes opened halfway. "We staked them out, tried to video their robbery in progress."

David took a deep breath. "What happened?" Trina moved her eyes towards him and frowned deeply as she studied his stiff posture.

"They caught us." She saw her father's hands tense and a flash of fear shone in his eyes. "Took us to the car, trying to force us in. Then Martin." Trina chuckled and wiped her tears again. "Martin was firm, telling them we weren't getting in. He got hit pretty hard, but it was enough of a distraction."

"Meaning?"

"Gary followed us. He figured out we were staking them out and realized I was right about the string of robberies happening. So he knocked out one guy, distracting the main guy enough for me to kick the gun out of the man's hand and bring him to the ground."

David relaxed, beaming with pride at the story. "Pretty damn good of Gary to be there. My favorite part? You kicking the bad guy's ass." Her heart skipped and she straightened her posture, grinning wide with pride.

"Yeah. It was pretty badass." She punched forward twice, taking a breath with each punch. She laughed again and slowly shook her head. "Oh Commander Chapman was pissed though. She suspended me from the SST."

"What?" David raised his hand, scoffing. "You prevented a robbery for Christ sake."

"That's what Gary said, but she wasn't hearing of it." David rolled his eyes and brought his hand down to the steering wheel. Trina crossed her arms and raised her shoulders. "Doesn't matter, because Deputy Perez was so impressed by what I had done. He said that maybe my tactics were a little unorthodox for the SST, but not for the Sheriff department. He still had the hiring freeze, but he created a position with me in mind."

She unfolded her arms, raising her hand to the air and looking at her father with a great deal of pride. "I had suggested before that maybe a more personal relationship between the SST and the Sheriff Department could benefit, so a liaison or something. He created a deputy liaison position and put me there."

"That a'girl."

"Yeah. It's great, but one day I'd like to move into something else."

"You still want to work homicide?" She hummed as David turned his eyes onto her. They pulled up in front of the morgue and shut off the car. "I remember you growing up, that's all you ever wanted to do was work homicide. It's rewarding, but the hours are long and the job is beyond stressful…I'd say it takes a certain kind of person with a certain kind of strength."

"We'll see, I guess." She still wanted to, but was reminded of the case she was doing now. David pressed his lips together and looked up at the morgue beside them. Her voice grew quiet and a soft exhale blew from her nostrils.

"Hell of a first homicide," they said together. Trina flinched and turned her head, flashing a smirk at her dad. "Jinx."

"I'll buy you a coffee," David said with a laugh.

They made their way through the morgue, each step felt heavier than the last. The coroner was ready for them, and Trina was surprised to see both Holly and Andre laid out on stretchers.

They'd already been cut into and stitched up. "Anything new, Dean?" David moved alongside his wife's body, looking Dean in the eyes. Trina was sick to her stomach, studying her mother closely while trying to keep from breaking down.

"Not much aside from what I've already told you. They were both shot by a 9mm caliber weapon. Smith and Wesson." Trina approached her mother's body, listening to the man's description of everything found as though it were background noise to her.

She curled her fingers over her mother's wrist, gasping at how cold the body was. The skin had been cleaned with great skill, showing the three holes in her body. The shots were not strategically aimed, and did appear more matched with the idea of a startled shooter firing off their remaining rounds.

This would match with a standard six bullet magazine capacity. One shot to Jade's back, one shot to Andre, and four remaining shots before the assailant took off running. Realizing this, Trina took a breath and let a whisper tremble from her lips.

"Mom might have saved Tori's life." David and Dean looked over, raising their eyebrows. Trina sniffed and raised her head up. "The shooter was startled by Mom, and emptied his weapon as a result. Four shots. Three hit her, but the other went into the wall. Andre and Jade had already been shot, so he couldn't execute Tori with the gun; and the police were closing in so he couldn't continue beating her to death before they caught him."

"That's a fair point." David rubbed his chin and hummed as he examined Holly's body. Dean moved over to Andre, motioning at him.

"I've also been able to determine that this man here has had HIV for approximately six years." Trina raised her eyes, scoffing slightly. "Possibly he contracted it from a former girlfriend of his."

"He's dated so many people in any given amount of time, it wouldn't surprise me." She folded her arms and glared down at the man, angry that it seemed more likely than not that he infected her sister. Her anger was brief, as her sense of duty took precedence more.

It could have been a revenge hit. If Andre infected someone, and that person or their significant other wanted to make him pay, this was a good way to do it. Except, she didn't buy that as a motive, as good as it sounded. Why go after Tori in the way the killer did if Andre was the sole target.

A new idea came to her mind for consideration; the possibility of multiple targets. It seemed unlikely, given the crime scene, but possible if the killer wanted to eliminate quickly and conserve their hatred and energy for a key person.

"There is every bit of hatred towards Andre as there is for Tori, you guys realize that?" She pressed her fingers down on the metal slab and looked up. David's hand was gripping his chin, his index finger sliding carefully across his upper lip. "Think about it." She pointed to the circular marking on Andre's forehead. "The attacker had the gun inches away from Andre's head. He was staring Andre in the eyes and pulled that trigger mercilessly."

"Maybe." David pulled his hand away and hummed. "When paramedics found him, they noted the state of his body. His eyes were open in surprise, like he saw the man behind the mask just before being shot."

"It's possible he knew the attacker."

"Of course, the level of attack suggests a crime done by someone that knew their victims." In the case of Andre, his shot was more personal. Jade was shot low as she was running, which told her the killer wanted to stop her. He took no further action against him. Holly was shot three times not because of any personal vendetta, but because the killer was startled and unloaded his clip into her. By this time, he was already fueled by adrenaline and anger towards Tori.

That left Andre. Shot point blank, staring into the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer. The killer would have seen the shock and terror in Andre's eyes, he would have watched the life flee from them, and he did not hesitate.

"Tori and Andre were targets." Trina exhaled and moved away from the table. "What are some things we know they have in common? They work for a modeling agency."

David moved his hands behind his back and closed his eyes. "They both have HIV." Trina laid out the potential suspects and motives in her head, snapping her fingers as she went along.

"What about their boss? Heidi." David raised an eyebrow and watched her as she paced. "She runs a strict company, checks her employees. What if she discovered one of her models and a photographer had an STD?"

"She could have fired them and sent them on their way. What incentive would an employer have to murder?"

"They file for discrimination. They sue, claiming wrongful termination. It would cost her money if she lost."

"True." David tapped his upper lip twice and walked to the right. "We need more information. We need other suspects." He lowered his hand. "Can we rule out Jade's husband yet?" Trina rolled her head from side to side, humming as she considered it.

"Beck claims back trouble. If he has back problems, then it might be difficult for him to move as quickly as it seems our killer did. Plus, what motive does he have for killing both his best friend, and Tori? Why would he shoot his own wife? What incentive is there? What does he have to gain?"

Trina looked down at Andre, humming to herself. In a case where a couple were both targets, it was always more than likely a jilted ex or jealous stalker. "We should look into their relationship. It's more than likely that Andre or Tori had an ex that wasn't ready for their relationship to be over."

"Andre has had a number of girlfriends, I presume. We would have to talk to each one." David took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. "As for Tori, I'm not certain. I only know of three men in her past that caused a problem for her: Ryder, Steven and Danny."

"They were a long time ago. Grudges can be held forever, but would they be angry enough to murder all these years later?"

"Possibly. We'll want to question each one." Even now, they made more sense to her than Beck or even a mutual employer. She just couldn't fathom what motive Beck would have here. They still needed to talk to him, but on the tier of suspects, he was not a prime suspect.

Yet, at this point, they had no prime suspects. "Detective," someone said. David and Trina turned to see a man walking towards them. He was a man from the crime lab, as far as Trina could tell. "Looking into the victim's computer, we found something…you need to look at."

Curious and eager to see what was discovered, they wasted little time following the man back to headquarters. Trina was nervous because she didn't know which victim the man was talking about, and she was curious to see whether this discovery would make or break the case.

What they found was horrifying. David and Trina were paralyzed and numb with shock, but they could not turn away from the computer screen. It was Tori's laptop, and what they were watching was one of many video files that had been uploaded to various websites.

"These were all locked, hidden in a zipped and compressed folder. It took us a bit of time getting into it…"

They didn't hear the man. All they heard was Tori's voice, and all they saw was her sister sitting on a bed responding to her boyfriend behind the camera. "I've never done this before," Tori said with a laugh, "I'm excited to try it out."

"If it's worth the money, I'll try anything once," Andre replied. The man didn't seem too certain, groaning with disgust as a partially nude man walked towards the bed.

Each video file had a word pad file associated with it. In that file was documentation outlining how much was offered and how much was made. Throughout the videos, both were getting more confident, to the point Andre eventually got involved and the couple made several videos of just the two of them.

Trina had to turn away, her stomach surging with bile. A heavy sweat overtook her, and her body trembled with anguish until she bolted for a trashcan. "Porn," she heard her father mutter in a shaky tone that was laced with anger and pain. "She's involved in…" He raised his hand to the bridge of his nose and started to shake. "Okay Jeremy. I need you guys to analyze each of these videos."

Jeremy was the guy from the crime lab that had shown them the discovery. He nodded and offered Trina a rag as she moved away from the bin. "Thanks." She grabbed the rag and wiped her mouth, gagging into it. "Dad's right. You need to figure out every person they were involved with."

Dozens of videos, and if the couple documented things well, they might have kept a record of people they associated with where they didn't make or upload videos.

"Lifestyle choices can lead to violent crime." Trina threw the rag away and stared at the computer while slowly shaking her head. She leaned into her father, not knowing how to react to any of this. "And we just found our list of suspects…"

So with our victims we have discovered something that will take some time to swallow, a lifestyle borne of curiosity and experimentation but a dangerous one that wields a bit of suspects.