Murder Investigation: Prime Suspect

[The Upright Man]

[Theme]

Yellow tape. Blaring sirens. The smooth lips of forensic officers as they drew from their expensive cigars. The flick of ash onto cold, unyielding pavement. Crimson blood slowly dripping into a nearby drain. Shattered glass. This is all that remains. A cold breeze sends a chill down the spine of Detective Manuel Mendoza. Black hair was slicked back, tight against his scalp. It glistened under the neon lights. Brown, uncaring eyes swept the scene. Analysing, scanning. It wasn't his job, and Lily knew it. The Keshiri craned her neck as a DN-724 forensics droid shuffled his way onto the field. Officers were crawling all over the place, and it made her sick. Not for the fact her father was dead, shot through the chest with a 7.62mm BASIC slug. There was something innate about law enforcement that made her skin crawl. She glanced briefly over the scene. Twenty meters from the crash was a gnarled body of a Keshiri male, late fifties. He had his right ear missing, crudely cut with a knife. A X-34 land speeder squatted across from her. It was horribly damaged with much of the front caved in. The driver had been launched over the windshield and some twenty meters ahead, they had been going fast when they hit the street pole. They were going fast when the trigger was pulled. Lily swept her gaze over the secondary occupant of the vehicle, small female child. Lily didn't know who, or rather why. There was little more to the scene, it was gruesome. Due to it's status as a murder, it couldn't simply be swept aside for traffic to continue. Lily was here as procedure for the local authorities; inform the family of the death.

[member="Malin Spritejägare"]

 

[Beowoof]

The blond CorSec officer pulled up to the crimescene in her squad landspeeder, a cup of hot caf bidding her drink from its cupholder. She had been working the early morning patrols this month, clearly the most volatile hours for Coronet City--or for any metropolis, likely. Another body had been dropped in her district, and her talents were being called upon to help in the investigation. Now stepping out of her vehicle, Spritejägare grabbed her caf and took a sip. She could be in for a long day.

A morbid scene lay before her like a still image, the event frozen in time. The only consistent feature of the scene she beheld was that there were two Keshiri--one alive; one not so alive. Her lips contorted as her Lorrdian-trained eyes noticed the bloody stump that marked the absence of an ear. They always have to add something interesting. Corpses seemed to come with the most unusual of decorations these days, though this was actually one of the more mild cases. Spritejägare sometimes wondered just how many citizens should really be locked up in a mental institution.

A sizeable bullet hole had been punctured through the victim's chest. Spritejägare visually noted the wrecked vehicle's final trajectory, lining the crushed nose of the craft up with a point in the distance. Someone had obviously shot him from dead ahead.

And then there was the baby in the passenger's seat. Spritejägare did not even want to think about that right now. Stepping back from the site of the murder, she came by the primary detective on the job. She had never worked with Mendoza before, but it was a familiar name. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the breathing Keshiri woman, the Corellian cop introduced herself to the detective, still clutching her cup of caf. "Lieutenant Spritejägare. Figured out the position of the shooter yet?"

[member="Luminous"]

 

[The Upright Man]

Mendoza looked the officer up and down, he answered, "Yeah, we suspect the shooter was a droid. Probably an assassin droid. Entry point indicates the suspect shot from the left of the vehicle, forcing the bullet down into the mans ribcage. It passed through his lungs, but forensics say the crash is what killed him." Mendoza flicked the ash off the end of his cigarra, "Forensics inspected the body. Keshiri died at three in the morning, one of his two daughters has been informed of the death, we can't locate the other. Male victim, fifty-eight, name on license is Graminae Rose, father of twin daughters, ages twenty-three, Lily and Venus Rose. Female passenger is eight, looks younger but forensics say otherwise. Human. No identification on who, and DNA brings up nothing." Mendoza jabbed a finger towards Lily who stood by the sidewalk, "Multiple charges in different sectors. The Mandalorians call her 'dar'manda', not an outsider, but someone who lost their heritage and thus their soul and identity. Probably has something to do with the charges of first degree murder against some Mando's on her name. Not much we can do here, she's yet to get any criminal charges in our corner of space. All we could do is call her and inform her of the death. She said she was nearby and chose to come in person."

[member="Malin Spritejägare"]

 

[Beowoof]

"A droid?" she mused, turning her gaze momentarily to the earless corpse. "How'd you figure that out?" It sounded like someone had been jumping to conclusions. She raised her eyebrow at Mendoza and watched the debris fly from his cigarra, hoping he could actually provide a logical answer to her inquiry.

The 'next of kin' was shady, indeed. Even without hearing the sketchy history of the woman, Spritejägare could tell that there was something quite off about her. This Lily was either going to be a troublemaker to deal with, or she would disappear on them completely. The CorSec officer had seen this several times before. "Happened to be nearby, huh?" the blonde muttered before calling out to the Keshiri woman, "Hey! Where's Big Sis?"

[member="Luminous"]

 

[The Upright Man]

"A droid? How'd you figure that out?" [member="Malin Spritejägare"] asked. Mendoza turned and jabbed his cigarra towards the crash, "Landspeeder at thirty-three kilometers-per-hour, far above the legal speed limit during low altitude." He glanced back to Malin, "You think anyone else can take a shot like that?" Mendoza trailed his gaze from Malin to Lily, watching the two.

"Happened to be nearby, huh?" Malin shouted to Lily. The Keshiri woman turned her gaze to stare upon Malin, "Yeah, I happened to be nearby." She answered it with some hostility to her tone. "Hey! Where's Big Sis?" Malin continued, Lily didn't take a second to answer, "I'm big sis, but if you mean Venus. Well, can't say for sure. It's a big galaxy, can't always keep her chained to me."

"Her alibi checks out," Mendoza butted in, "Holocams in the entertainment district shows her in a cantina, 'bout three hours from here at the time of the shooting." The senior detective dropped his cigarra and placed his boot over it, squashing it with the twist of his heels. He looked to Malin, "The case is on you, I'm only on call, and I need my sleep. Dog watch is a killer." He began to walk towards his vehicle, longboat flapping in the gentle breeze, "You need anythin', call."

 

[Beowoof]

Because a droid can't take orders from someone sitting in a cantina... Mendoza could have afforded to be bit a bit more objective with the 'facts'. Never assume anything, Spritejägare had come to realize. "Yeah... I'll call you..." She trailed off as the detective walked away and locked eyes with this 'Lily'. Nope. Nothing suspicious about her in the least.

"Why doesn't Venus keep in touch with you?" the cop asked, casually pulling out her datapad while glancing over at the adult's body. "Does she keep in touch with your father?"

[member="Private Rose"]