SHWuuu—
"Stop the car!" Ben called from the passenger seat.
Darin, behind the wheel, hit the brakes. They had arrived in Milestone Valley — a middle-class neighborhood with houses arranged in a numbered grid from 1 to 50.
"House 23," Ben said. "Right side."
The place looked… sad. Paint peeling off in chunks, grass in the lawn grown to knee height.
"Ugh," Darin muttered, wrinkling his nose. "How does anyone live in this dump?"
"He's living in it, not you," Ben replied dryly.
"Quiet, both of you," Mary ordered. "Guns out. It's too quiet here."
Click-click. (the unmistakable sound of gun slides being racked)
Mary knocked. KNOCK KNOCK."Drill Den! Police! Open the door!"
She tried the handle. Click. Clack. Locked.
"Alright, step back," grunted Darin, rolling his shoulders. "I'll just break it down."
Mary caught his arm. "Hold it, musclehead. This isn't a boxing ring. Let's be smart about it."
"Smart? It's a door," Darin said. "You either open it or—"
Mary crouched, peered at the keyhole, and pulled a hairpin from her hair.
Darin raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna MacGyver your way in? You watch too many crime shows."
"Shut up," Mary muttered, working the pin. Snap! The hairpin broke and pinged off the wall.
"…Well, that's broken."
"Permission to break it now?" Darin asked.
"Not yet." Mary's eyes flicked upward to a narrow, dusty window above the door. "I am the smallest here I can crawl through and unlock it from inside."
Chief you must not...it might be dangerous...Ben replied
Five minutes of bickering later, Darin sighed, stepped forward, and kicked the door. It burst open with a deafening CRACK.
Mary and Ben stared at him."What?" Darin said with a shrug. "I waited. That's smart, right?"
"Whatever. Move."
They entered, guns raised, silent but alert.
"Darin, kitchen. Ben, living room. I'll take the bedroom," Mary ordered.
Ben's POV – Living RoomThe living room was small but tidy. A sofa faced a dusty TV, and a couple of framed photos hung on the wall. Ben started checking every corner, opening drawers, running his gloved hands along the edges of furniture.Nothing stood out — no overturned chairs, no broken glass. Just the faint smell of stale air and a quiet that pressed against his ears...there is something...
Darin's POV – Kitchen"Gross…" Darin muttered under his breath as he stepped into the kitchen. How the hell does anyone live like this?
He opened the fridge.Cup noodles. Cup noodles. More cup noodles.…One sad bottle of ketchup...huh
Derin shut it before the smell got him. He glanced around. Sink piled high, plates growing some kind of science project. sticky floor, sticky counter. The whole fuckin kitchen was sticky and dirt.
His eyes caught on a couple of matching mugs and plates stacked off to the side. Huh… guess this bastard's into cute little sets. Girly. He snorted, shaking his head.
"Haaah… this place could be a crime scene on its own," he muttered.
Mary's POV – BedroomThe air here was colder. Curtains drawn, shadows stretched across the walls. Mary flicked on her flashlight and froze.
Hanging from the ceiling fan by a frayed rope… was a man's body.
SHIT...
Her voice was sharp, cutting through the silence."BEN! DARIN! GET IN HERE!"
They rushed in, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Mary's tone dropped to something low, controlled."We've got a corpse."
Fuck...
"It's… it's Drill Den," Ben said quietly.
"Don't touch anything. Call the forensic team. Now."
"Yes, Chief." Ben pulled out his phone.
"Darin — check the room." She tossed him a pair of gloves.
"Yes, Chief."
They worked quickly. Darin scanned the space. "There is no sign of a struggle, from the looks of it he must have hanged himself."
"Chief," Ben called, holding up a phone he'd found in the cupboard.
Mary took it, frowning at the locked screen. "Password protected. We'll get Brittney to crack it later."
Darin stepped in from the hall. "Nothing special in the kitchen either."
"Chief," Ben added, "in the living room there's a fire casket. Looks like he burned some papers, but… I can't tell how fresh or what is was."
"Show me," Mary ordered as the papers can be a major clue if they can recover.
Darin stayed behind as she followed Ben. She crouched, touched the ashes, rubbed them between her fingers."Still soft. He burned these this morning."
"So he killed himself today…" Ben muttered. "Any way to recover them?"
"No. They are completely destroyed."
"Then what should we do...it feels like everything normal in the house but it is still not...?"
Take samples of everything..any necessary handprint of footprint other than the victim..Mary replied
Yes...chief,Ben replied
After scanning through the whole...house for at least half an hour...as there were advance tools nowdays..it didn't take much time and there was literally no footprints, it was just of one person coming from door and going directly to the bedroom.
How is that possible..Ben tried to confirm with Mary after telling her the reports...
Yeah...he burnt papers this morning...and even didn't go to the cafe...or maybe he went for some time..but still. I think he must have cleaned the area...or there was a preparator who was ready for this he forced Drill to hang himself and vanished, still there must be something there is no way someone came or go until...Mary assumed
They must be professionals in these kind of things...ben and Mary spoke at the same time..
I think so too...chief, Ben replied
Still I want to you to check the courtyard and everything in case there is a footprint..Mary said to brain explaining him what to do...
The sound of sirens grew louder outside.
"Looks like the forensic team's here. You called Bella, right?" Mary asked.
"Yes, Chief. She's leading her team."
Bella — Mary's most trusted forensic expert she has been helping Bella in all her cases— entered with her team."Salute, Chief," Bella greeted, her confidence evident.
"The body's upstairs. I'm counting on you."
Bella gave a firm nod, and the team moved in.
Mary stepped out into the hall and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. Her hands rested on her knees, but her mind wouldn't still.
If I'd been here earlier… if I'd moved faster…
Her jaw tightened, eyes stinging. How can I be so damn careless?
Fuck...
A hand landed gently on her shoulder."Stop it," Darin's voice cut in — firm but steady. "It's not your fault. No one knew this would happen...I mean there was not even a god damn possibility that bastard would hang himself. You're the Chief — you have to be the one who stands tall and anyways it's not the first time she had died."Derin supported her with a stiff and shy face as he never consoles anyone.
She let out a slow breath calming her mind down because she knew there was no time for mourning or blaming herself and nodded once, while pushed herself to her feet. "…Alright. Let's finish this."
I have to solve this case no matter what...Mary thought with a face of confidence...I damn don't wanna get anyone else die...
Yeah...that's more like you...let's go Bella is done possibly, Darin muttered
With that they both went inside...
Bella's voice carried from the room."Nothing unusual, Chief. Looks like suicide, but we'll need an autopsy to be certain. And Violeta Sunrae's full report is ready too. You can collect both this evening."
"Got it." Mary's reply was distracted; her mind was elsewhere.
"Ben — show them the door."
"Yes, Chief."
Bella came close to Mary and put her hands on her shoulder and muttered silently.."Don't stress, it'll be okay" and Mary replied with a nod
Mary turned to Darin. "It's too suspicious. First Violeta, now him. Drill was our only link to Lyla Brojorn — and now he's dead. Everyone connected to that girl is 'committing suicide.' That's no coincidence."I think even Violeta's case is no normal suicide.
Darin shrugged. "What if he too… couldn't handle it after Lyla left him like Violeta? They could've been dating...I mean they were working together for so long..you know"
Mary shot him a sharp look. "Drill was ten years older.than her. That doesn't make sense even if they were.... Forget that — let's check with the neighbors and anyone who visited the café. Call Luther for his list of regulars visitors, relatives and closed ones...I want the details as soon as possible"
"Yes, Chief," Darin said, already dialing.