Realistic or Modern Blue Lights and Late Nights

[Shireling]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD
LOWER MONTEZUMA

11:08 PM
​

The blue lights of three cruisers flashed and illuminated the peeling stucco walls of the Westwood Apartments, a decrepit low-income housing complex in Lower Montezuma by the river. On the railing of the second floor, and in the parking lot, the faces of the residents, mostly African American, were watching the officers cordon off apartment 114 with a mix of curiosity and disinterest.

While homicide was on its way, someone would have to go examine the body and search the apartment and surrounding area for anything that could assist the detectives. One of the three officers at the scene was Wayne Carmichael, a long-time MZPD patrolman and an uncle-like figure to most of the younger members on the force. He approached Officer Sutton ( Libellule ) and hooked his thumb at the apartment door.

"Hey Mona, while we're waiting on the homicide dicks, why don't you go take a poke around inside? We're secure out here. Go ahead and get the victim's ID. The neighbor called it in, but we need to double check." He leaned against his patrol car. "Knowing the area, it might be drug related as well," he said as he pushed his hat higher on his head with his thumb.

STATE HWY 112 ON-RAMP
UPPER WEST MONTEZUMA

11:08 PM
​

Officer Miller ( LoneSniper87 ) was out on traffic control, rounding up the usual offenders: people speeding as they forgot to decelerate off the freeway. Traveling west on Canal Street, his cruiser found itself behind a white, 1999 Ford Escort. Although the vehicle was driving the speed limit, the left tail-light had been shattered and the driver seemed oblivious to the matter as some pieces of glass carelessly shook off the car as he hit a bump traveling towards the highway.

NORTH PRECINCT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA

11:06
​

Eddie looked up from his computer long enough to see the time, then went back to his game of solitaire. He had almost beaten the game, when a desk sergeant walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're going to the Westwood Apartments. Neighbors found a fresh one. Uniforms are looking the place over now, but you need to get down there before the meat wagon shows up."

Edward sighed a long, tired sigh and set his hat on his head. "Alright, Yantz, I'm movin'."

"Oh, and that hat looks silly."

"Not as silly as your face, Yantz."

The sergeant shook his head, muttered, "What are we, twelve?" Then he disappeared into the next room. Edward took his coat from around his chair and threw it on, stopping into the breakroom to grab a soda from the machine. He noticed that a few people were still here at this time of night and stopped for a friendly chat.

"Hey, Egert." He said, directing his attention first to the handsome young detective before turning to glance at the other officer, a uniform with K9 patches on her arms. "You're uh, Sheapher, right?" ( Reine ) He said, tipping his hat to the female officer. He knew Egert from the millions of times they had stolen cases out from one another. It was a traditional rivalry of homicide and vice dicks. The lady cop, on the other hand, was fairly new to him and he hadn't ever really talked to her even though she had been on the force for a few years. She was a pretty thing, though, so Hanagan turned on the charm. His face was windswept, slightly cracked by the cold, but it had character. He dipped his hat strategically below one eye and sat down.

"Where's the pup, doll?" He asked deadpan.

 

[thepression]

NORTH PRECINCT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA

Years ago Hansel Egert was capable of sleeping through a earthquake, and wake up completely rested. Now the slightest noise has him wide eyed and careful, untrusting toward anything but the gun at his side. Perhaps it was from all the things he had seen, from all the losses, or perhaps it had to do with the major quantities of caffeine he had learned to consume daily. His hands almost shook sometimes, but it was something he tended to hide.
That day had been particular hard on Egert, a long call with his father followed by the news of a well known "pimp" he had gotten into jail after months of investigations being absolved. He had proceeded to sit in silence for an hour or so, else he would have most likely crushed the poor policeman's face on his desk out of rage.

Now it was deep in the night, and Hansel felt the desire for a cigarette. A groan escaped his lips once inspecting the empty packages, and he had to set for another coffee. The breakroom was empty except for a young woman he had never seen ( Reine ), so he offered a mere nod of aknowledgement to her before getting his beverage from the machine.

His cup was almost empty when a familiar voice reached his ears.
( Shireling )
"Hanagan." Hansel brushed a few strands of his dark hair back, wondering why exactly the homicide detective was passing by there. Egert respected the older man, though they did tend to butt heads once in a while, and him addressing the K9 agent only made him roll his eyes.

"A little bit late to tease, isn't it Edward? You have another case for me?"
He smirked, finishing the last of his coffee.
Truth is homicide cases in Montezuma were always somehow related to money, and where money was involved so was Egert. It's not that he liked to steal others' cases, but Hansel considered himself the best at them.
​

 

[Libellule]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD
LOWER MONTEZUMA
11:09 PM
​

Mona reached behind her and smoothed her low ponytail, a habit she had when she was thinking. Truthfully, this was her first homicide case, even though she had been on the force for a bit. She was not, however, about to tell anyone that. She figured that the Ed knew, being the lead homicide detective, but didn't have a problem with that - She somehow instinctively trusted Ed. On the other hand, Mona didn't know Wayne very well, and hesitated to take orders from him. Mona generally had no problem taking orders from superiors, but she wasn't sure if this one followed procedure.

Mona bit her lip, considering the consequences, as she always did. If she pushed her hesitation aside and had a look around inside, she could risk pissing multiple people off. At worst, however, if she stayed outside, she may only piss Wayne off. Then again, she may not even do that. He seemed like a pretty even-tempered guy. Her decision made, she spoke, but slowly, choosing her words carefully and respectfully.

"I think I might wait out here for homicide... I'm still a bit of a rookie. I don't want to screw up the crime scene," she smiled.

Mona would never screw up a crime scene - She was incredibly careful and precise - but she figured that placing the blame on herself would make her come across as more respectful.

 

[Reine]

Her carefully-filed nails clinked on her thermos. She took bites of a granola bar between sips of coffee. Her delight in the steam rising from her cup and warming her cheeks was childlike in its simplicity.

People socialise. It was the best and worst part of her day. The part where she genuinely wondered why she was in law enforcement and service instead of being at home, leeching money from her parents and spending time with just one of her forty-eight hypothetical dogs and cats. But then, it was also the part where she found comfort and reassurance to that thought. Her coworkers were lovely for the most part—
It was the feeling someone gets upon being stared at.
Shaepher? The words registered and Daya nodded enthusiastically, giving a tight smile until she was able to speak( Shireling ). He looked like a guy she would like to drink with(specifically cheap beer). And she didn't even like to drink. Comforting. Then he probed her with another question.

She took a quick swig of bitter coffee before clearing her throat. "Department kennel," she managed. Her eyes flickered to a man in uniform( thepression ). Daya raised her hand to wave, but by that time his attention was elsewhere. She played it off, pretending that she needed to adjust her ponytail. Her laugh came out in two short syllables. "Ha-ha. I can't have her around when I'm eating..." She searched for the words that could make her lack of self-control sound more like that of an actual grown woman. "She has such sad eyes. I just can't not give her food—"
The girl cut herself off with the arrival another man. Daya inched away to give them space and tried to tune out their conversation for the sake of privacy.

 

[MadiRaiCat]

NORTH PRECINCT​

MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA

​

Gabriel sat at his desk, tapping away on the keyboard of his computer as he entered logs and data from the previous few weeks' cases. It was his last day of his desk duty penalty, and he couldn't wait to get back out on the streets. Two weeks ago, Gabriel had been out on a routine call for a domestic abuse situation. The woman had been beaten nearly to a pulp, and yet still didn't want to report the abuse and send her boyfriend away. Gabriel had gotten frustrated with the lip the boyfriend had given him, and subsequently decked him in the face.

Thus, the chief had sentenced to two weeks of desk duty. But after today, Gabriel would be free to patrol again. He leaned back from in his chair, stretching his back. The officer barely caught the flash of brunette hair as his sister rushed out the door, most likely heading to a crime scene. Gabriel rolled his eyes, she got to have all the fun. Glancing around the precinct, Gabe noticed a group of officers standing in the breakroom. He stood up and crossed into the room, grabbing a cup of coffee before acknowledging everyone else ( Reine , thepression , Shireling ). "I just saw the CSI rush out, new case I take it?"

​

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX​

VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD
LOWER MONTEZUMA

​

Veronika barely had time to finish her breakfast granola when her pager began beeping sporadically. Glancing down, an address flashed across the screen, followed by the code the signified it was a homicide. Ronnie sighed and grabbed her forensics kit from her lab desk and rushing out of the precinct. Ronnie drove her large SUV to the address given, pulling over to park. Ronnie quickly entered the crime scene, flashing her badge before ducking underneath the police tape. She had just caught the end of Officer Carmichael and Officer Sutton's interchange.

"C'mon Wayne ( Shireling )," Ronnie said with a teasing grin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know better than to mess with a crime scene without gloves." Opening her forensics kit, Veronika snapped on a pair of latex gloves before stepping inside the apartment with her kit in hand. The sight of the body was gruesome, but she would leave dealing with the body to the coroner. Reaching into the pants pocket of the victim, she pulled out the wallet and handed it to Mona ( Libellule ). "So what's the name of our guy?"

 

[Shireling]

NORTH PRECINCT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA
​

Hanagan's attention to Officer Shaepher was unwavering in a friendly sort of way. He had a way of looking at you that set your mind at ease, knowing someone was listening and paying attention to what you had to say. He frowned as she shrank back, thinking to himself that perhaps she was merely shy.

"Hansel," he began as he turned his attention to the vice detective, "the next case you steal off of me will be your own murder." He said, jokingly, before rising to his feet.

"I really gotta run, I'm late as it is." He shot an extra glance back to the K9 officer. "Nice to finally meet you, Staepher. If you want some pointers on how this place ticks, my office is upstairs in Homicide." He looked back at Egert, "Where the real detectives play, right Hansel?" He smirked and chuckled good naturedly before waving goodbye and disappearing outside into the motor pool to retrieve his cruiser.

Reine thepression

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD
LOWER MONTEZUMA
11:09 PM
​

Entering the apartment for the first time, Mona and Veronika were assaulted by the stench of death. The call had came in at 10:56 and the landlord had received a rent payment from the victim in person at 5 PM, meaning the victim could have been dead anywhere from one to five hours. The interior of the apartment was dingy, and consisted only of a living room with second hand furniture, a bedroom, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. The victim's body was in plain sight, lying face-down on the carpet in the hallway in front of the door. A pool of blood had collected around the victim's head and upper torso. The victim was a black male, aged approximately mid 20's, wearing a green windbreaker, black sweatpants, and Nike athletic shoes. The victim's hair was shaved close, revealing a nasty wound on the mid-and-upper right side of the back of his head.

Spoiler: Search of the Victim's Pockets Reveal:

A wallet, a lighter, a package of cigarettes, a subway ticket, two marijuana joints.

Spoiler: Examination of the Wallet Reveals:

Proof of Insurance Card on a 1999 Ford Escort registered to a Mr. Ladarius Rhodes, two subway tickets, a note with a telephone number listed "556-8321," the wallet contains no state or federally issued IDs.

Spoiler: Search of Kitchen Reveals:

Nothing of importance.

Spoiler: Search of Bathroom Reveals:

Bloody rags, presumably used by the assailant to clean up, several bottles of vicoden prescribed to a Mrs. Norma Elmsberry

Spoiler: Search of the Bedroom Reveals:

Eight ounces of uncut marijuana, a letter from the State of Maine suspending the license of Mr. Ladarius Rhodes as penalty for $5,600 in owed child support payments, family photos of the victim with two young children and a young black woman, photos of the victim with another unknown black female.

Spoiler: Examination of the Body by Veronika Reveals:

Likely cause of death blunt force trauma to the head, most likely murder weapon a bat or other long blunt object, body is fresh, estimated time of death around 7:45 PM. Defensive wounds consisting of bruising on the forearms indicate a struggle.

Libellule MadiRaiCat

​

 

[thepression]

NORTH PRECINCT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA
Hansel listened carefully, as always, a small smirk forming on his lips.
"I'll bury you and dance on your grave Hanagan." He watched the detective leave, turning his attention back again to the K9 agent.
"Don't mind him, he likes to play."
The detective studied the woman's figure with a few glances, unable to take the habit of overoobserving anything from himself. He reasoned that with her being in the K9 unit, and him being often involved with narcotics, her dog would have probably been a useful resource.
"We will probably work together often, miss. My name is Hansel Egert, Lead Vice Detective."
He offered a small tired smile and his hand, both of them retired after she returned the gesture.

His blue eyes moved toward the new figure in the room, officer Hartmann.
The man's inquiry had him tighten his lips, but he responded in a normal tone nontheless:
"I believe so. But don't rush after Detective Hanagan, I have a feeling my depertment will have a good look in this case as well officer."

After all what had his brother been killed for? Three stolen ounces of cocaine, and a few games' debts. Life wasn't a value in the underground, not when drugs and crime ruled the life of most. Homicide had started investigating his case, but digging deep Vice was also to be involved. It wasn't often Hansel thought about his brother, even though sometimes the victims' faces reminded him of Gregor so much he felt like throwing up.
He snapped himself off from his own wonder by adjusting the ripples in his clothes one by one.
​

Shireling MadiRaiCat Reine

 

[Reine]

location: department kennel
mentioned: Shireling thepression MadiRaiCat
other:

She gave a final polite nod as Hanagan left the break room.

The only business she minded was her own. Daya glanced between the other two over the rim of her thermos cup until the last mouthful of coffee was drained. A sense of disappointment washed over her as she stared at the bottom of her cup and swished the last few drops around. Coffee was the only thing that sufficiently staved off her exhaustion. If she didn't sleep at least twenty-eight hours a day, she was more or less useless until her first cup of coffee. She had just finished off her sixth.
She clipped the empty bottle to her belt. There really was a chance that they needed her. She came in later than usual today, expecting slow business. Her heart sped up for a moment at the thought of Bess, her dog. She usually greeted her before anyone else.
Daya slipped out of the breakroom, heading towards the thick aluminium door at the back of the department, full to the brim with kennels.
Over half of them were empty.
They lined the walls in no specific order. The officer's hand swiped for a leash and chain from a rack by the door. It smelled faintly of sawdust and heavily of dogs... of course. A couple of the crates flew into a frenzy of barking and whining. Each empty kennel was a stab to the gut. Either the other officers were working late—a possibility—or they took their dogs home. They had the option of leaving their canine partners in the kennel or taking them home at night. Daya didn't, due to restrictions on her apartment. The thought of moving elsewhere just for Bess had crossed her mind more than once.
The girl crouched down. She whispered gently, "Hey sweet girl."
The sleeping bloodhound looked up with droopy eyes. The same routine; stretching, standing, wagging her tail, stretching again, and finally hopping out once Daya opened the cage.

 

[Libellule]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD
LOWER MONTEZUMA
11:09 PM
​

Mona couldn't help but put a hand over her nose as she entered the apartment. The smell was... indescribable, far unlike and more foul than anything she'd ever had the misfortune to smell before. Her mind went back to one of her first cases - A car accident. When she'd arrived, the smell of burnt flesh had hit her nostrils and she had been sick. This was worse.

Mona closed her eyes, collected her thoughts, and moved her hand down to her side. She knew that Veronika had to be used to the smell and sight of bodies, and didn't want to come off as weak. The truth was, she wasn't afraid - Just disgusted.

His age disappointed Mona, in a way. She hated herself for it, but she had been sort of hoping that the victim would be older - Not a life cut short early. But the victim looked to be only a bit younger than herself. Mona took a breath, crouched down, snapped on a pair of gloves, and began to do her job.

"I've got two joints," Mona said as she placed them and the other contents of the victim's pockets in evidence bags.

The ticket, lighter, and cigarettes probably held no importance, but Mona had a habit of saving everything from a crime scene. Putting the evidence aside, Mona opened the young man's wallet.

"1999 Ford Escort..." Mona muttered, scribbling in her notepad. She hadn't seen the vehicle outside the apartment.

She continued, making a note of the phone number and name, then placed the wallet in another bag. After searching the kitchen and finding nothing noteworthy, Mona entered the bathroom.

"Veronika, I've got blood in here," she called out.

Mona entered the bedroom, finding more marijuana and placing it in evidence bags, along with the notice of suspension to the same Ladarius Rhodes. She looked at the photos for a while, wondering who this man was - His story, and who he was leaving behind to mourn him, if anyone. Shaking her head to focus on the task at hand, she exited the apartment, placing the evidence she'd collected on the hood of her car, and waited for Homicide to arrive so that she could brief them on what she'd found.

(Keep forgetting to tag people, my bad. Second roleplay ever.)

MadiRaiCat

 

[Shireling]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
VALLEY ROW AND HOUSTON BOULEVARD​

LOWER MONTEZUMA
​

11:17 PM
​

Hanagan's weathered unmarked Crown Vic hit the parking lot just as Veronika was still examining the body and Mona had finished her brief search of the apartment. As he stepped out, one of the uniforms walked over to him and filled him in on the details as they had discussed thus far. Putting on a pair of rubber gloves, the detective looked over to his left to see a group of black males huddled around a car near the police line. One of them grinned unnervingly and then spit at him. "Fucking pigs."

Hanagan shook his head. "Alright. Let me just," he sat back down in his car and booted up his police computer, "you said the vic is Ladarius Rhodes?" He asked, before typing the name into the database.

"Whelp, three priors. Two for possession and one for possession with intent. Nothing violent. I'll bet my lucky stars this is drug-related."

The uniform shrugged. "They're waiting inside."

Hanagan entered the apartment and steeled his senses against the decomposing body's stench. It was fairly fresh, but the air was not circulating well due to it being late autumn in Maine and the room was warm from the radiators by the windows.

"Hello, ladies." Hanagan said, looking at Veronika who he had seen before and then at Mona, who he hadn't.

"Detective Ed Hanagan, Homicide." He said, looking down and noticing she had a several evidence bags. He folded his arms. "Tell me about what you've found in the apartment."

Libellule Reine

​

 

[Plutoni]

CAIO GARCÍA
NORTH PRECINCT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA
WITH thepression | MadiRaiCat

There was a muffled screech of tires outside as a police car pulled and braked swiftly into the motor pool outside the MZPD Headquarters. The engine's purr was cut off abruptly as the car door opened and was promptly slammed shut, keys jingling loosely with his footsteps as he strode up and into the building.
It had been a long night of chasing up anonymous calls with petty, dead-end leads, and Caio needed caffeine.

He moved with a single-minded determination through the breakroom towards the coffee machine at the other end. He took the cup and drank without hesitation, barely pausing to breathe before setting it, empty, back down on the side with a small, pained noise. He should've learnt how hot it comes out of the machine by now.
He really should've.

He leant there for a moment, gingerly prodding the now rather burnt roof of his mouth before he straightened and turned, becoming fully aware the other late-night residents of the department for the first time. Barely anyone was still around. Gabriel's presence was unsurprising enough, seeing his current, although soon-to-be-lifted, punishment. Needless to say, he'd found it rather entertaining how one of the most cool and responsible cops on the precinct got saddled with desk duty after laying the guy he was supposed to be questioning out. Caio was just sad he didn't get to see it, but he felt he made up for it with the teasing he had subjected him to when he heard.
His eyes gravitated towards the second figure in the room. Hans Egert - Lead Vice, and his immediate superior now, apparently. Wonderful. Caio had no idea what he was doing right now. He rarely did. God, what he'd do to know what went on inside his head.
He wasted no time in sliding into one of the wheelie chairs from an empty nearby desk and pushed himself out towards his own, and, coincidentally, Hans.

"How's it feel to finally be off desk duty, Gabe? Feel like getting into another fight?" he called breezily as he wheeled past. He spun smoothly to face his desk as he reached it, pushing some trivial paperwork off the keyboard.

"Hans," he acknowledged, small smile curling one side of his mouth, keys pattering rapidly as he logged in.
His eyes flicked up briefly over the monitor.
"What are you still doing here, sourpuss? I mean, people might get the idea that you haven't got a life or something."
He loosened tie slightly as he began briefly logging the wild goose chase he'd been on all night, a lock or two of hair falling over his eyes as he half watched the words he typed appear across the screen.

 

[Reine]

location: department kennel - break room
mentioned: x x x
other:

The two did their daily routine. Some time outside so Bess could do her business, followed by basic training to keep the K9 cognizant, and a meal of top-notch athletic dog food while Daya fed the dogs whose owners were gone for the time being.

Her pager was still dead silent. Daya looked at Bess's droopy red eyes and sighed, nudging her back into the kennel.
She walked down to the locker room, sweaty from her run with the Bloodhound. The girl shoved her clothes into her locker. She didn't use the showers very often, but on occasion she worked nonstop with critical drug or fugitive cases, so she remained on call at the station in case someone reported seeing a suspect.
She scrubbed her hair with the lukewarm water and some shampoo she brought from home.

Daya stepped out, wringing her hair of excess water and getting dressed in her usual black uniform.
Bess's tail thumped against the bottom of her kennel. Daya clipped on the leash and they headed down to the breakroom. It seemed natural for the Bloodhound to be hunched over, sniffing the ground. The action was nearly constant in order to satisfy her curiosity. Her head only picked up when she saw other officers. Daya took a seat with Bess lying down beside her. No news was good news, of course—always. But she still felt nervous and lazy, anticipating a case any moment now. Just a matter of time.

 

[Libellule]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
11:18 PM
​

Mona fought back a yawn. Damn, she could use some coffee. She had no problem staying up this late - she usually had night shift - but she had gone out with her sister the day before, when she had planned to catch up on sleep. Normally, she would have declined, but her youngest sister, Alice, had just been through a divorce and she wanted to take her out. So, like she had a habit of doing, Mona sacrificed her needs for her family's. She was regretting it now, though, with the adrenaline of her first homicide case rapidly fading and fatigue replacing it. Mona smoothed her ponytail, wondering where to start, and chose the drugs.

"Does this guy have any priors for drugs? I think the name's Ladarius Rhodes. I found about seven or eight ounces of weed in the bedroom and two joints in his pocket." Mona motioned to the bags, then continued.

"I've got blood - probably his - in the bathroom and proof of insurance to a 1999 Ford Escort, which I haven't seen around here. The three bags on the hood are kind of obscure items, but I figured they may come in handy: Just some subway tickets, cigs, and a lighter."

Mona took two photos she'd taken from the bedroom out of her uniform shirt pocket and placed them on the hood of the car. She pointed to the one with Ladarius with the woman and children.

"I have a notice for unpaid child support - specifically, $5,600. I assume this is his ex and children." She pointed to the photo with just one woman. "I assume this is his new partner."

She looked up at Ed for the first time. His face was a little worn, but his eyes were kind. Mona realized that she'd been so absorbed in the task at hand, she'd forgotten to introduce herself, or even look at him. She smiled a little sheepishly.

"Sorry, I'm Mona Sutton. Good to meet you, Detective."

Shireling

 

[thepression]

NORTH PRECINT
MZPD HEADQUARTERS
NORTH CENTRAL MONTEZUMA

A sigh threatened to escaped the detective's lips as both Edward and the K9 agent left the room, and he was left alone with the patrolman. Hansel did feel a sense of respect for Gabriel, though he did retain his actions unprofessional, so he was almost about to start a conversation when the other vice detective bursted in with his usual energy.

The sigh of before now left him, Hansel' light eyes following Caio's quick journey to the coffee machine. The dark haired man stared blankly at the younger detective as he gulped down the hot beverage as though it was holy water, and tiredness started to overcome him.
Caio was younger, more energetic, but working with him was not something Hansel always found pleasant. There had been a few cases in which the Vice simply went off, and Hansel could see something just missing, as though Caio would have rather been somewhere else.
But that was something he could recognize in himself to, so he chose not to aknowledge it, he was the superior after all.

Even when Caio, as usual, teased him with his words, Hansel responded in a bored drawl.
"Funny thing for you to say, Garcia. I was thinking the same thing about you."
He pinched the top of his nose, an headache expanding dangerously from his temples, and resumed to speak.
"In case you don't know, which I wouldn't find surprising, Kijek is out of jail and we don't have enough evidence to arrest those heroin dealers in the South-est. I just finished my report of them, since some of us actually value our work."
Perhaps a little too harsh, but if he hadn't known Caio wouldn't take offense Hansel would have stayed silence.

"Anyway it's late, with the murder there will be a lot of cops around so I'm positive we won't have much to deal with."
​

Plutoni MadiRaiCat

 

[Shireling]

WESTWOOD APARTMENT COMPLEX
11:18 PM
​

"Pleased to meet you, Mona," Ed replied with a charming grin before glancing back at Veronika hunched over the body. "Now this Rhodes fella had three priors, two possessions on the devil's lettuce, prescriptions, and a little bit of crack cocaine. You know, just a little." Ed squeezed his fingers together to add humor to the point.

"All the same, he's got no violent priors. Doesn't own a gun or a weapon of any kind as far as I can tell." He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "Here's the picture I'm painting. Small-time drug dealer, probably affiliated with a gang but not a member. For protection, you know. His first woman leaves him to get the kids out of the lifestyle. Maybe he's a good father, maybe he isn't. Either way he's trying to pay back the five and a half grand he owes the state. So he sets up a big deal, the guys show up and decide to off him and keep the money and the drugs. They took a bat to his skull and left in his car, I bet, considering it's not here."

He opened his eyes, sat back, and began lighting a cigar. He puffed a plume of grey smoke into the air which he waved away with his hand. "Call the coroner, we're ready to get the body off to the morgue. I think we have enough to go on here." He leaned over the body to examine the wounds on his head and arms. Then he turned back to Mona.

"Look, sometimes these punks get scared and they ditch the evidence near the crime scene," he said, pointing in the general direction of outside. "Let's say we canvas the place and see if they dropped the murder weapon somewhere nearby. Dumpsters are a good place to look."

With that, Ed held the door open for Mona as they walked back out into the parking lot. He opened the door to his unmarked and leaned inside enough to use the radio.

"Dispatch, I need the coroner out to photograph and transport this body at the Westwood Apartments. Cause of death is pretty apparent, but we'll do a full autopsy anyways."

MadiRaiCat Libellule
spectro

 

[Libellule]

(Sorry it's been a while, I just moved into my dorm!)

Westwood Apartment Complex
11:20
​

Mona bit her thumbnail as she listened to Ed, something she did when concentrating intently. She raised her eyebrows as Ed held the door for her - It was a small act, but surprising nonetheless. Mona was still sometimes considered a "rookie", especially by older superiors, and Ed had been very respectful to her so far. She was impressed.

Mona led the way to the dumpster, not even bothered by the smell after the odor in the apartment. She snapped on a pair of gloves and looked at Ed uncertainly. She'd never gone dumpster diving before.

"So do we just, um... start digging?" She asked, a smile playing at her lips.