Here's the next part of the Detective's Story universe. Chronologically, this takes place during the Player Character & Jones's ninth case together.
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DaleJr.88 - I just want to say how much I appreciate you taking the time to leave reviews on every single chapter. I know I've mentioned it before, but as a writer, it really means a lot when someone takes the time to do that. I'm hoping you enjoy this one too, and I'm actually really looking forward to reading your review of this chapter!
Disclaimer - I don't own Criminal Case. I own some of the dialogue said by the Player Character, but nothing else.
"Ugh, look at this corpse. I don't think we'll be eating barbeque any time soon".
I groaned and rolled my eyes, instinctively covering my mouth with my hand as the stench of burnt flesh hit me. Forcing back the sudden urge to throw up, I gritted my teeth, slipped on a pair of disposable gloves from a packet my partner passed me and knelt down next to the body, intently examining it. There was a snake tattoo on his hand. One Jones and I had seen before, several times. By the victim's outstretched hand lay a charred piece of paper with a faded address, almost as if the victim had been reaching out to it in his last moments. " Ramirez retrieved our victim's id card. His name was Chad Whickman. Let's get him autopsied, see what else we can find out".
"He was a member of the Vipers gang. The tattoo on his hand? It's the Vipers gang sign" I said, looking up at my partner from where I knelt at the victim's side.
"Ugh, not again!" Jones complained.
I knew what Jones was thinking. We'd dealt with members of the Vipers before, particularly Ash Bison, one of their higher-ranking members. They were one of the two major gangs causing trouble in the area. If Chad Wickman was one of them, which he was according to the tattoo, then the rest of them wouldn't be very happy. "Let's just get on with this case".
I shifted to pick up the note next to the body, examining it intently. "… top balcony, don't be late again. Rose."
"But what address?" Jones queried.
I shrugged. "I don't know. The address is pretty faded, give me a minute".
I pulled my notebook and a pencil from my pocket and rested the crumpled sheet of paper on the notebook, and then stared thoughtfully at the note. It was faded like I'd told Jones, but traces of letters and numbers remained, and I was able to quickly make out what the two of us needed to know. "I found the address. 25 Whisp Lane."
Jones nodded. "Alright then, partner. Let's go meet this Rose and find out exactly how she knew the victim".
"Sounds good to me. Right after we get this body to Nathan for autopsy", I smiled, taking the keys from his outstretched hand.
~Rose's studio apartment, 25 Whisp Lane~
My knock on the door was immediately answered by a young woman, who appeared to be about 27 years old and was wearing a red dress that had the sleeves cut at elbow-length. "Rose?"
She nodded. "That's me. My name's Rose Cassidy. What can I do for you, officers?"
"We need to ask you a couple of questions about a man named Chad Whickman. Would it be okay if we came in?" I asked, my voice soft and gentle.
Jones and I were about to give this woman some very bad news, if my intuition about how she knew the victim was correct, and I didn't want to make her cry any more than I already knew she was going to. Rose nodded, turning away from the door and walking further into the room as Jones and I followed her. "Is Chad okay?"
I waited until she turned back to face us before shaking my head apologetically. "I'm sorry that we had to tell you this, but we found his body in an abandoned parking lot 25 minutes ago".
Her eyes widened, and I could already see tears forming in them. "His body? Do… Do you mean that he's… Dead?"
I nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Rose, I really am. I wish I could say otherwise, but yes. He's dead".
She broke down in tears almost instantly, sinking onto the couch. "I... I waited for Chad all night. I knew it in my... my mind, but my heart refused to... to believe it... that my one true love was dead".
"Did you know Chad belonged to a gang?" Jones queried softly.
The girl nodded. "My brother Troy made sure I knew. As gang leader of the Skulls, Troy refused to let Chad in here. Even though this is MY place!"
She paused for a couple of seconds to wipe her eyes before continuing. "As if we cared what they all thought! The Vipers and the Skulls have been at war for years. But Chad and I looked beyond all that hatred and found love".
I smiled gently. "I'm sure you did. I'm really sorry to ask this, but would it be okay if we had a look around your apartment? If Chad left anything here, it might give us a lead as to who killed him".
She nodded. "Of course, go ahead. Whatever you need to do to find the person that did this to him. I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit…"
She walked away and we heard the soft click of a door closing behind her just a few minutes later. Jones and I glanced at each other. "What a heartbreaking story. They're just like Romeo & Juliet. Don't these gangs hold anything sacred?"
I was about to point out the fact that in the play (and the movie based on the play) both Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, but I stopped myself just prior to opening my mouth. There was no need to make things any sadder. "I guess not".
"They'll keep fighting until there's nothing left. We have to stop them before they do." Jones said softly.
"We should have a look around the apartment before we go. Like you said to Rose, we might find something belonging to Chad here, which will give us more evidence to take down whoever did this. And we should find Troy Cassidy, Rose's brother, and take him to the station. Since he's obviously stationed himself somewhere nearby to keep an eye on his sister, it should give her a break from him for at least a few minutes" he added quickly after a couple of seconds.
I nodded, already turning to scan the main room of the studio for clues. "I'm way ahead of you".
~Three hours later, back at the police station~
"You're absolutely sure about this, partner?"
I nodded, staring down at the evidence we'd collected. "He wears blue, has dandruff, smokes, wears sports shoes, and he's six feet tall. All our evidence points to him".
"Then let's go arrest him".
It didn't take long for us to drive to the mini-market run by Joe Stern. As we got out of the car, the man himself appeared in the doorway to the shop, watching us. "What do you want now?" he demanded.
I reached my hand down to my belt, brushing my fingers up against the handcuffs that sat there. "Justice. Joe Stern, we're placing you under arrest for the gruesome murder of Chad Whickman!"
"You want to arrest me for that?! Every day the Vipers come in here and destroy my shop. EVERY DAY! And then this low-life Viper comes in all smiles asking for a job! At first, I was too shocked to do anything... But then my legs started moving again. Then my arms. And before I knew it, I had poured gasoline all over him. And then I flicked my cigarette at him and WOOSH! See, I finally stood up to that scum. I'm a HERO! I deserve a medal for bravery!"
Jones and I glanced at each other in shocked disbelief. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the store owner, slipping my handcuffs free of my belt. "Well, in reality, Mr. Stern, what you'll be getting is a one-way trip to prison. Put your hands behind your back".
Songs for this update are:
The Middle, by Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey
Roots, by Grace Davies
Oh! And I mentioned this on my profile as well, but I don't know who actually reads my profile so I'm gonna mention it here too: Everything I write can also be found on AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) under the username Josh89. Maybe I'll see you guys there? Who knows. Until next time!