3
March 25
Daphne's alarm clock bleeps loudly, dragging her out of her peaceful slumber. She groans and slams her hand on it to stop the bleeping and the radio comes on.
Goooood Morning Washington D.C.! It's March twenty-fifth, Spring is here and Easter is coming!
Daphne groans and pulls the covers over her head. The day has finally arrived; her thirtieth Birthday.
Fred was the first to turn thirty on March 12, they celebrated with his mother who came to visit. They watched old Western movies and ordered pizza from his favorite place. Maggie Jones came with an envelope filled with old photos of Fred, which she happily showed Daphne.
Daphne watched his face light up as he opened her present; a book of Laurel and Hardy's movie scripts and still photos from filming. Maggie joked that all Fred used to watch when he was a kid was Laurel and Hardy and Western movies.
Daphne turns the radio off and drags herself out of bed. She enters the bathroom and turns the shower on. She strips her pajamas off and waits for the water to warm up. The cold bathroom floor is like ice on her feet.
After her shower, she returns to her bedroom to prepare for the day. She picks up her phone and wanders into the kitchen to put the coffee maker on.
On here phone, she sees several "Happy Birthday" messages on her phone, mostly from her family members. Thalia's message reads "Happy Birthday from Thailand!" with a photo of herself and Charlotte under a palm tree, already sunkissed.
A message from her Aunt Kate reads, "Happy Birthday! Welcome to the '30s."
Thirty. She's thirty.
Her mind flashes back to her twentieth Birthday which she celebrated at NYU with just Fred, and she wonders how was that ten years ago.
She distracts herself by making a coffee, it's not too difficult a task; she takes it black with no sugars. 'Pure bitterness.' Fred would say but it's the way she likes it.
When finished, Daphne puts the mug in the sink, pulls on her coat, and grabs her bag. She locks up her apartment and leaves for work.
As she walks down the stairs, her phone pings again and she sees a notification from Facebook, reluctantly, she clicks on it. Thalia has posted a photo, wishing Daphne "a very Happy 30th Birthday".
Daphne recognized the photo; it was her 7th Birthday at Pizza Hut. She's wearing a huge "ITS MY BIRTHDAY" badge and was squashed in the bundle of her cousins and Kate, who was 16 and fitted with braces. She remembered Tyler was sick from eating so much pizza and ice cream.
Maggie Jones commented on the photo, wishing her Happy Birthday and some family friends left Birthday wishes. Daphne puts her phone into her pocket and removes her car keys from her bag. She braces herself for the cold weather outside.
She shivers as she unlocks her car and quickly climbs inside, turning the engine on. After scraping the ice off the windows, she climbs inside the warm vehicle and sets off to work.
The radio station had played Mr Brightside as she de-iced her car, now she has to listen to the presenter talking about things in the news. Weather warnings, current affairs, and pointless information about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry so she turns the volume down.
Soon, she pulls into the parking lot of her office building and parks in the space next to Fred's car where he's waiting for her. They normally wait for one another on the wall by the parking lot and walk into the office together.
Fred climbs out of his car when he sees her, a huge grin spreads across his face, and she can't help but smile. 'Happy Birthday.' He cheers. 'Thanks.' Daphne replies. 'So, how does it feel to be thirty?' He asks.
'No different than any other day.' She lies and Fred can tell so he laughs. 'I don't know why you're laughing, Fred Jones! You're thirty too.' Daphne laughs and playfully punches his solid bicep.
'Don't remind me.' Fred chuckles as he holds the office door open for her and they escape the cold.
They enter the elevator and Fred pushes the button to the fifth floor. The elevator journey is short and chimes a ding when they arrive on their floor and the doors slide open.
Fred and Daphne hang their coats in the staff room and wander toward their desks. Daphne breathes a sigh of relief as her colleagues greet her with simple "Happy Birthday" greetings.
However, when she approaches her desk, she sees two huge rose gold balloons in the shapes of a 3 and 0, hanging by strands of ribbon and a weight keeping them from floating away. She's startled by two loud bangs before she's covered in rose gold confetti.
Fred is chuckling behind her and the whole office erupts into a sing-song of "Happy Birthday" and clapping when the song finishes.
'Thanks guys.' Daphne smiles, her cheeks are burning. She can only guess this is Fred's idea. Her suspicions are confirmed when she looks at him and he winks, she feels butterflies in her belly.
'Got you good, huh Blake?' Alexander Johnson laughs. 'I sure wasn't expecting this.' Daphne replies. 'It was all Fred's idea.' Green says, 'He came in early this morning to put these up.'
Daphne glances at Fred, truly surprised he's done this for her. 'Uhh, I don't have any plans.' Daphne admits. Kramer shrugs, 'When you get older you stop celebrating Birthdays.'
'Say goodbye to the twenties.' Alexander Johnson says as he throws the confetti cannon in the trash. Everyone returns to work leaving Daphne and Fred at their desks, 'Are you surprised?' Fred asks.
'Completely.' Daphne smiles. She sits in her chair and Fred sits opposite her. Daphne combs the confetti from her hair and shoulders. She glances up at the balloons. It didn't feel that long ago that she was celebrating her twentieth Birthday.
Fred can tell she's not overly pleased about turning thirty, 'Hey, come on, it's fine. It's not the end of the world.' He pulls confetti out of her hair.
'Can you believe we were in college twelve years ago?' Daphne asks. Fred nods, 'I know, crazy. Back then we weren't worried about even turning twenty.'
Gilroy emerges from his office and strides towards Alexander Johnson's desk where he jokes with Kramer and Green, 'Green, Kramer. I've got a job for you. Cops just busted a drug ring in Danbury, go check it out.' Gilroy ordered. Green salutes Gilroy and Kramer collects his notepad and pen, 'Come on, let's go.'
Daphne's phone chimes in her pocket indicating an email. She removes her phone and opens her emails. She sees the new email, titled Steven Shelby, clicks on it, and begins to read.
Daphne Blake,
My name is Larissa Shelby. Four years ago my father was murdered in Anacostia Park during the covid pandemic. The police still haven't caught his killer and they are calling it a "cold case", but I believe they are uninterested because my father was an addict.
My siblings and I have lived the last four years without our dad, and I'm desperate to find his killer. I've read your articles and I know you can help me.
I will be at Starbucks at 10 o'clock today if you can please meet me there.
Thank you,
Larissa Shelby
Daphne shows Fred the email, 'What do you think?' He asks. 'I dunno.' Daphne replies, and types Steven Shelby into Google.
The results show various news articles about a man stabbed to death in Anacostia Park in May 2020. Daphne opens the first link, it's an article. It shows a mugshot image of a man; weatherbeaten with dark circles under his soulless hazel eyes.
The article is brief, painting a picture of an addict killed in a suspected drug deal gone wrong. A man who had been in and out of prison in his late teens and early twenties, only to carry on his addiction into his thirties.
Daphne reads one line over and over again with a knot in her stomach, "he left behind four children whom he rarely saw due to his addiction,".
'Do you think we should go and meet this girl?' Daphne asks. Fred shrugs, 'Where's the harm? Starbucks is only across the street, if she doesn't show then it's not a total waste of time.' Fred explains.
Daphne glances at her watch, it is nearly nine o'clock. She emails Larissa Shelby telling her that she and Fred will be at Starbucks at ten o'clock.
Danbury, Washington D.C.
Kramer and Green drive along Winter's Road to the house at the end of the street which the police raided. The street is lined with uniform houses on both sides. Boot prints and tire tracks clear some of the snow on the ground.
They park on the left at the end of the street. Police tape surrounding the house blows in the breeze, and the house looks desolate with an overgrown front lawn and misty windows.
A lone police officer stands at the end of the driveway, arms crossed over his chest, and the tip of his fedora shielding his eyes from the winter sun. He wears a black winter coat and his police badge shines in the sunlight.
'Creepy, the last house on the left.' Green says eerily. They climb out of the car and step towards the police officer.
'Good Morning Officer…' Kramer reads his name badge, 'Stone. Officer Stone.'
'What can I do for ya?' The officer asks in return, he doesn't look up but Green sees he's wearing sunglasses. 'We're looking into the drug bust that happened here last night, any information you can give us?' Green asked.
Officer Stone shrugs, 'Police were tipped off by a whistleblower sayin' he knew "for a fact" that the owner o'the house was growin' Mary Jane inside. Arrested three men and a woman.'
'How did the whistleblower know what was happening in that house?' Kramer asks. Officer Stone shrugs again, 'Who knows, but the guy was certain when he called the hotline.'
The police hotline was set up in hopes of the public tipping the police off about drug dealers, but members of the general public were smart enough not to get involved in issues like this or were involved with it somehow too.
'Who do you think the whistleblower is?' Green asks. Once again, Officer Stone shrugs, 'I don't know. He might o'been one o'them for all we know. Rivals an' all that.'
'That's it?' Green asks as he makes the notes on his pad. 'Well, there was one thing.' Officer Stone says, 'When we talked t'some o'the neighbors about what they thought was goin' on here, they said for the last few days some guy dressed in dark clothes and wearin' a baseball cap was seen watchin' the house.'
'Watching the house?' Kramer asks. 'Yep. I think that might be the whistleblower. Gatherin' his information.' Officer Stone says.
'Were the neighbors cooperative when you spoke to them?' Kramer asks. Officer Stone shrugs, 'Some were not as helpful as others, which gives one the impression they knew what was goin' on.'
Kramer hums, 'Well, thank you for your time, Officer.' Officer Stone bows his head, 'Pleasure.'
Kramer and Green return to their car to escape the cold air. 'Did he remind you of some sort of old cowboy?' Green asks. 'Yeah, he did.' Kramer replies, 'Did you get everything?'
Green waves his notepad, 'Yeah, but I don't think we're gonna get far with this.'
'We'll need to speak to the neighbors.' Kramer says. Green agrees and they begin their house-to-house with the neighbors.