Author's Note: After some thoughts and considerations about the name of this series, especially given how the term "streets of" provides an impression of being in the streets of a large city, which Coolsville isn't, coupled with a desire to feature the other mystery-solving groups like the Neptunes, Teen Angels, Chan Clan and Speed Bugs, I have officially decided to change the name of this series to Crystal Cove Chronicles.
In addition, having had watched the pilot episode of the fan-made live action Mystery Incorporated series on YouTube, expect elements from it to be incorporated into this story and Paranormal Instincts.
Chapter 6: The parents' response and police investigation
Over at Marine Corps Air Station Barnstow just an hour away from Coolsville, Sam was at the range and firing several practice shots as part of the mandatory refresher in his firearms skills as a reserve officer of the United States Marine Corps.
The lieutenant colonel was accompanied by several more fellow Marines at the range on base as they spent the past afternoon practicing their shooting and weapon assembly and disassembly skills after spending the morning at the classroom.
Firing a shot into the target, Sam gritted his teeth.
Rule 19. Sam thought as he fired a shot into the heart of the target. Never underestimate how much work and problems you need.
As he fired another shot, he thought. Not when the mind rebels at stagnation.
His trip to the Marine base came as Sam find himself still struggling to sleep while still thinking about the murder books he have copied from his days in homicide, the cases that he has not been able to clear and has continued to gnaw at him.
Many of these old cases have shuffled over to the department's Open-Unsolved Unit, which he often made the effort to drop by during his downtime at Homicide Special, even after his promotion to lieutenant and subsequently captain, the latter which saw him shifted out of RHD.
There was something about his old unsolved cases that continued to bother him, which Sam figured was normal, since he has been carrying those unsolved cases with his conscious throughout his policing career.
But now, the retired police captain was beginning to notice that the nagging feeling from his unsolved cases have become more pronounced lately, ever since the move back to Coolsville two weeks after his resignation from the Los Angeles Police Department.
In particular, he found that the nagging feeling acts up whenever his mind stagnates, maybe on account of him not having much to do since he quit the police force.
Of course, being a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Forces Reserves and commanding the 9th Reconnaissance Battalion meant he always has a chance of getting recalled to active duty for deployment, but as he hasn't been getting any younger, no further promotions are in the horizon and hitting 28 years of service in the Corps in a couple of months, it's only a matter of time before retirement is mandated.
G*dd**nit. Sam thought to himself as he fired another shot.
A short while later, he was finished with the shooting practice at the range and was back in his office following the debrief.
His flip phone rang just as he was finishing up on the computer, prompting him to frown and flip it open.
"This is Sam." Sam answered.
"You're a hard man to reach, Sam." The party at the other end responded.
"Danny." Sam arched his eyebrows as he recognized the voice of his childhood friend Daniel McBride, who he knew has since joined the Coolsville Police Department right after graduation and has continued to keep in touch as he raised through the ranks in Los Angeles. "How are you doing?"
"Fine, it's all the usual at the station, though I'm afraid this is no social call." McBride responded. "It's your son."
Sam exhaled as he felt his insides tightening. Not again.
There was a long silence, which prompted McBride to ask, "Are you still there, Sam?"
"Yes, yes, I'm still here, Danny." Sam responded. "What's going on?"
The police response to the grisly discovery at the principal's office was swift following the 911 call, and the gang soon find themselves swarmed with questions from officers as they try to piece together what had happened.
There was one investigator who was overseeing the questioning, which itself would be considered unusual unless one takes into account of the size of the Coolsville Police Department.
As a small city with a population somewhat on par with San Fernando, if not more, the Coolsville Police Department has a total of 60 sworn officers, including seven full-time investigators.
At least, that was the strength it was at until the financial crash that occurred two years ago in 2008.
With budgets trimmed, the Coolsville City Council, with support from Mayor Fred Jones, Sr., made the decision to slash the size of the Coolsville Police Department and impose a hiring freeze.
As a result, the Coolsville Police Department went from having 60 sworn officers down to 45, and the number of dedicated investigators trimmed down to three, one dedicated to investigating property crimes, another for crimes against persons and the third as a backup.
However, with the third investigator on sick leave after having his wisdom teeth removed, it meant the investigator responsible for investigating crimes against persons was on her own.
Captain Grace Yoon exhaled as she watched the crime scene technicians arriving and heading into the school building to get to work, then she turned towards Detective Matilda Vicars, who had just wrapped up her questioning.
"Anything, Mat?" Yoon asked, prompting Vicars to shrug.
"Well, much of the school hallways looked like a hurricane has torn through the place, and while on their way out, those four kids happened by the principal's office when they saw the principal dead at his desk." Vicars replied.
"Did those kids explain what they were doing at school at this time of the day when classes are out?" Yoon asked.
"They said that they were in the library working on their assignments when all h*ll broke loose." Vicars explained.
"Right, right." Yoon nodded. "Any idea what could've caused the mess in the hallways?"
Vicars frowned. "Hard to say."
The detective then paused as she briefly turned towards the kids before turning back and continued, "But Danny knowns one of them, who calls himself 'Shaggy'. He and the boy's old man went to school together years ago, and the old man was LAPD until recently, has moved his family back here, and is currently a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Forces Reserves."
"What are you saying?" Yoon arched her eyebrows.
"Those kids, especially Shaggy, claimed to have seen ghosts before discovering the victim's body." Vicars replied. "He has sworn up and down that he and the trio were chased by ghosts, which led them to the main hallway and discovering the victim in his office. I had Danny phone his old man and ask him to come on down here so he could sort out the boy's story, because he's practically sticking with it."
"Perhaps I should give it a try, Mat?" Yoon offered.
Vicars shrugged. "Be my guest, Cap, but I doubt he would change his story."
Yoon nodded as she broke off from Vicars and walked over towards the kids.
Eying Shaggy's hair, the captain prompted, "Are you Shaggy?"
Shaggy looked at her and nodded in confirmation.
Revealing her badge, Yoon introduced herself. "I'm Captain Grace Yoon, I would like to follow up on the questions Detective Vicars had for you and your friends."
"Like, technically, they're not my friends, ma'am." Shaggy said. "Classmates, maybe, but I hardly interacted with them in any of my classes."
"I understand that you have recently transferred here, am I correct?" Yoon prompted.
Shaggy nodded. "I only started last Friday."
"Alright." Yoon nodded. "Would you mind explaining the moments leading up to you discovering the victim's body?"
Shaggy sighed. "Like I told Detective Vicars earlier, I was in the library working on my English essay, figuring I could get a head start on that, and then I was joined by them."
He nodded towards Fred and the girls as he made that remark before continuing, "Anyways, about half an hour later, the vice principal walks in with three students who are to serve detention, and since the only working chairs were taken by us, we had to head out so those three guys could serve their detention."
"I see." Yoon said. "What happened afterwards?"
Shaggy swallowed, prompting the captain to notice his hands were shaking. "We were walking down the hallway and chatting idly when the lights began to flash on and off. Then, the temperature suddenly drops and the wind picks up speed, like a hurricane was shifting through the place."
With another gulp, Shaggy continued, "That was when...a h-h-hideous-looking...book landed right in front...of us after the wind had...died down."
"A book." Yoon repeated. "Could you describe it?"
"Oh, it was thick with a hard cover, and...it had a sk-sk-skull on its cover, and by cover, I meant solid, not printed, on a cover." Shaggy winced. "The pages flipped open and then they...began to rumble before...*gulp*...they showed up."
"'They'?" Yoon asked.
"Two of the most horrific things I've seen, like, phant-...I mean, ghosts..." Shaggy swallowed again as the tremor on his hands became more pronounced. "Emerging from the pages...reaching towards...us...menacingly...we did the only thing we could think of doing..."
Yoon was now staring at his trembling hands, then she turned towards Vicars, who replied with a knowing look, then she turned back towards Shaggy.
"Are you alright, Shaggy?" Yoon asked.
Before Shaggy could respond, Velma suddenly interjected. "He's on medical cannabis to sooth the pain in his left arm due to a botched surgery a few months ago."
Hearing Velma's words prompted Shaggy's cheeks to flash red in embarrassment, while the captain nodded.
"Perhaps the cannabis was the reason you were seeing 'ghosts'." Yoon said, prompting Shaggy to shake his head.
"No, I can't even stand the smell of the stuff, and besides, they also saw the ghosts." Shaggy said as he gestured towards Fred and the girls.
Yoon exhaled, which is when her attention was diverted away by an altercation outside the perimeter.
"I must see my son." A man in a Marine Corps service "C" uniform can be heard arguing with a patrol officer.
Before the patrol officer could interject, Sergeant McBride arrived just in time to see the Marine officer and rushed over.
"Jenkins, at ease, the lieutenant colonel's good people." McBride barked, prompting the patrol officer to stand aside.
Lifting the crime scene tape, McBride allowed the lieutenant colonel in as he said, "Apologies, Sam, there appears to be a miscommunication on our part."
Sam nodded as McBride lead him towards the kids. "What's the situation that led to my son Norville claiming that he saw a ghost?"
"Apparently, the school principal was found dead in his office." McBride explained as they approached the kids, Vicars and Yoon. "Captain Yoon and Detective Vicars will explain the rest, though like I said, you better get your son to set his story straight if he doesn't want to get in deeper trouble."
Sam grunted in response before he approached Yoon and said, "Captain Grace Yoon, I presume?"
"That's me." Yoon nodded before she extended her hand and continued, "You must be Lieutenant Colonel Sam Rogers."
"Yes." Sam nodded as he shook Yoon's offered hand. "I understand that the statements provided by my son and his schoolmates is what's keeping them here for more than an hour, is it?"
"We just needed to set some details straight on the moments leading up to the discovery of the victim in his office, sir." Yoon replied.
"Of course." Sam nodded before he turned towards Shaggy. "Norville."
Shaggy swallowed as he looked at his father. "It's them, Dad."
"Who's 'them'?" Sam asked.
"Like, remember Maggie and I went out to take Scooby out on a walk on Monday night and how he was practically scared out of his wits when we got back?" Shaggy asked.
"Yes, what about it?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Those two ghosts that we spotted, they must be the same ones that scared the wits out of Scooby, and-" Shaggy said, only for his father to cut him off.
"Okay, back up a bit first, son." Sam cut in. "I want you to start from the beginning, how it all started."
The lieutenant colonel then looked at Fred and the girls and added, "The same goes for the three of you as well."
"With all due respect, Lieutenant Colonel Rogers, they all were sharing the same story, so I don't see how-" Yoon interjected, which prompted Sam to turn towards her and interrupt.
"Yes, I am well aware of that, Captain." Sam said. "And having had spent twenty five years wearing a badge, twenty of which were spent approaching witnesses in a wide repertoire of cases, believe me when I say that I still have a thing and two on questioning witnesses."
Before Yoon could interject, another car pulled up into the school parking lot and came to a stop, and then out came a red-haired man.
At that moment, Daphne stiffened as she recognized her father George, while Shaggy noticed Fred mentally bracing himself. However, no one was more surprised to see George Blake than Sam, who did a double-take.
Likewise, George Blake did a double-take when he saw Sam in his Marine Corps uniform.
"Oh, man, that's George Blake." Detective Vicars remarked under her breath while the patrol officer manning the crime scene tape tried to keep George from getting close to the kids.
Hearing Vicars' remark, Yoon immediately walked over towards the perimeter tape and said, "Mr. Blake, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to-"
"If you have issues with me speaking to my daughter, then you can bring it up with your chief, Captain." George cut in. "Should I remind you that-"
"Of course, I am aware of that, Mr. Blake." Yoon cut in. "At this stage, neither your daughter nor her friends are suspects, we just need to set a few things straight with their statements."
"Friends." George snorted as he stared at Fred with a glare. "Some friend that blonde oaf is, must be something he has done that got my daughter into trouble."
Before Yoon could respond, Sam walked over and said, "Excuse me, I need a few minutes with Mr. Blake in private, Captain."
Yoon only nodded, prompting Sam to walk under the crime scene tape and lead George away.
Once they were out of earshot from the officers, Sam glanced around as George spoke.
"Didn't expect to see you again after all these years, Rogers." George said. "A shame we have to meet in such circumstances."
"Yes indeed, Blake." Sam nodded. "And before you ask, no, I'm not here on any official capacity, law enforcement or otherwise, not when I've pulled the pin in LA a few months ago and was wrapping up routine training at Barnstow when Sergeant McBride informed me of the situation."
George nodded. "I heard about you calling it quits and moving back here, Rogers, and speaking of the situation, what's the hold up?"
"Well, the kids claimed to have spotted ghosts in the lead-up to discovering their principal's body in his office." Sam responded as he nodded towards the school.
George raised an eyebrow. "Ghosts?"
"That's what Norville told me." Sam said. "Two ghosts appearing at school, similar to the ones that allegedly scared the wits of the family dog when he and his sister took him out on a walk on Monday night."
"I see." George nodded thoughtfully. "Isn't your son on medical cannabis because of the doctors f**king up his surgery in the arm following that 'accident' in LA?"
"He is, though he sure looks forward to not having to use the stuff again, not when he couldn't stand the smell, not that I blame him." Sam responded. "So you may want to save whatever suggestions you had on him seeing things because of his cannabis intake-"
"I get it, I get it, Rogers." George raised his hands in surrender. "And don't worry, given what he went through, I don't see any valid reason to judge him for his cannabis use, not when he was unfortunate enough to have an idiot as a surgeon operating on his arm."
As Sam nodded his appreciation, George continued, "But anyways, ghost story or no ghost story, the kids shouldn't be held up for this long if there is anything that would suggest that they were not the last to see the principal alive."
"Indeed not." Sam agreed as a couple more cars pulled up into the school parking lot.
Recognizing Chief of Police Louis Strickland as he got off the first car, Yoon said to Vicars, "Time to brief to chief."
When Mayor Fred Jones, Sr., stepped out of the second car, Vicars interjected, "And the mayor."
As she noticed Fred, Jr., tensing up at the sight of his father, Velma turned around in time to see her mother Angie stepping out of her car.
Concurrently, Vicars overheard a couple of grumblings from the uniformed officers as the mayor approached the kids with the chief at his side.
Not that she blamed them for their disdain towards the mayor and the chief, not when they were both responsible for implementing those drastic cuts to the police budget in the eyes of the rank-and-file.
The reduction of sworn officers wasn't the only source of grumblings from the rank-and-file.
Slashing the department's overtime budget meant having to give up downtime for nothing when working overtime is mandated for certain events, and the impact itself was much more pronounced on the detective squad, who were already stretched by the trimming down of detectives on the roster from the drastic cuts.
Strickland's decision to roll with the drastic cuts has led to him being christened with the nickname "Trickland" by the rank-and-file, who have also used other names to refer to him, such as "Weight", on account of his obese figure, not to his face of course.
Yoon didn't showcase her tiredness as Strickland and the mayor approached her.
"Talk to me, Gracie." Strickland spoke. "What have we got?"
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