Death at 105

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"Our day begins when your day ends" [[Welcome to Homicide |home]] <<set $time to 20>> <<set $karina to 0>> <<set $karina_fail to 0>>

Another day at Homicide, as the room around you bustles with activity, or a lack of it. Your partner has called in sick, though a hangover sounds more likely than gonnaherpasyphillis. The Lieutenant yells "Looks like you've caught one, someone called in a body on West 54th and Hyle." "Any details?" you respond. "Just looks like a botched robbery so far, you'll learn more at the scene." "Had to catch one when my partner was out." "City never sleeps. Go on, get moving" You snatch your coat off of your chair and walk to the lot. You fire up the tired Crown Victoria and [[drive to the scene |the drive]]

You pass by the high buildings into the neighborhoods and small shops in the city. The homes and stores look worn and disheveled by time, but spots of newer contruction are seen. You spot the crime scene after a few minutes, the black and whites with an officer watching the front of a new apartment building. The coroner's van next to the apartment. You park the car at [[the scene]].

You take a look around as you leave your car and walk to the officer. There is a new shopping area just down the street, and around the apartment building is older homes and neighborhoods. The lot for the apartment contains a Chevy Tahoe and a Toyota Corolla. You walk up to the officer and discuss the situation. "Hey, how many bodies?" "Just one" "Another day in the city, huh?" "Yep, was called to a homicide a few weeks ago" "Signs of struggle?" "Place was a mess, seemed like a prolonged fight." "Any luck canvassing the neighbors?" "We're working on it now, but it seems they didn't really hear or see much." "Good work. Do you know the apartment number?" "Apartment 105" "Must be nice being able to take a break from patrol" as you scale the steps "Well sitting and watching the scene is just like sitting and patrolling." "Could be worse" You walk down the hall watching the number placards. 101 102 103 104[[... |apartment hub]]

The door is open, as you walk in you see the coroner taking pictures, and few other forensics experts finishing up their work. The apartment is nice but sparsely furnished, with a kitchen/living area, and a bedroom with restroom. The main living area appears to be ransacked, with the few furnishings in disarray, and a cabinet with the drawers empty. The body lies on the coffee table, a caucasion female looking like she's in her twenties, with black hair, wearing a sweater and pyjama pants. There are two gunshot wound on her chest and a slightly oval wound on her forehead. There is a large pool of blood on the table under her body. The clock reads <<print $time>> to 12. <<if $time gte 1>>The couch next to the table seems to have been shoved to the side, and a [[pillow]] from the couch lies next to the table on the ground. As you are taking in the scene, the coroner stops his work and [[walks to you |coroner]] The doorframe has signs of [[damage |doorframe]] The bedroom door is [[open |bedroom]] The kitchen is relatively [[untouched |kitchen]] The living room is a bigger [[mess |living room]] than your marriage. <<else>>You leave the scene as they wheel out the body, as you'd rather not be sealed in that tomb. An officer standing down the hall gestures to you and you walk over. You see the landlady and begin to [[question her|landlady]] <</if>> <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The coroner is an all too familiar sight for you, and you nod at him before he tells the details. "This victim is Claire Boyle, aged 28 according to the landlady, who was the one that found her." "Any friends or family?" "Just a boyfriend and parents who are out of the country right now, landlady says she'll try and get in touch with them." "Could you have some officers tell the boyfriend to meet us at the station?" "Sure" "Signs of forced entry?" "Some damage to the strikeplate of the lock. The landlady found the door ajar before discovering our victim." "Signs of struggle?" "We can't tell if the apartment is in a mess due to struggle or from the perp wrecking the place. She does have a wound on her head, from what seems like a blunt object with a hard edge." "Any obvious evidence that points to a suspect?" "None we can find so far, the perp didn't do anything stupid like spit or take a selfie." "Would've been too easy." "Nothing is easy with homicide." "Do I have much time at this scene?" "Not much, there's a double we need to get to after this one, we'll seal the scene in at 12." "Guess we should stop burning time then." You turn back to the scene and begin [[looking |apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

Examining the doorframe, the strikeplae of the lock around the knob has some damage, dislodged and damaged as if it was kicked in partially. The deadbolt strikeplate has no damage and is intact. [[Go back to the living room|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The bedroom is well furnished unlike the living room, with a nice white bed and spotted blue sheets on the. A [[desk]] sits on the wall to the right, with a [[dresser]] a bit messy and an entrance to a [[bathroom]] to your left. There are pictures and painting on te walls, nothing notable, just enough to add some life to the bare walls. On a nightstand sits a [[phone]], presumably the victims, and one [[picture]] on the floor just in front. A [[closet]] sits in the corner to the right of the dresser. [[Go back to the living room|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The kitchen looks untouched, and you check all the drawers. Nothing appears to be missing, at least from what you think would be in the kitchen. [[Go back to the living room|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The living room itself is a mess, with furniture and other items strewn about. Drawers and turned out and it appears some kind of game console has been torn out. Poking around in some of the scattered papers you find some of the usual bills and papers, but nothing of importance. There are two thumb shaped marks of blood on the scattered papers, but a chat with forensics says there are no fingerprints. [[Look for a shell casing|casing]] [[Search the rest of the apartment|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The landlady was a short, middle-aged asian lady, with a bob cut and jet black hair. She seems fairly steady considering the circumstances, but you notice a slight shake as she sips a glass of water. You grab a seat at the kitchen table she is sitting at. "How are you feeling." "I don't really know, I never really knew her very well, but seeing her dead like that, I'm shaken." "I'm very sorry this happened." you pause for a moment "Is there anything you can remember, anything out of the ordinary, that could help us find her killer?" "Well I've heard her arguing with her ex some, and I overheard her boyfriend wanting to move forward in her relationship but they sounded unsure." "Nosy landlords, my job would be harder without them." you think "Thank you for the information, we'll look into those two leads. " "My god, do you think those two could have done it?" "It could be anyone at this point ma'am. We'll be sure to get whoever it is." You casually get up andwalk away before the nosy lady gets anymore odd ideas and decides the press is worth talking to. You [[drive|station]] back to the station to meet the boyfriend.

Arriving back at the station, you walk in and pour yourself a cup of coffee as you wait for the boyfriend to arrive. You muse on an old saying, called Rusty's razor, that in cases like these it's either robbery gone wrong, or the person she's seeing, cheating or not. After a while the boyfriend finally arrived, and you direct him to interrogation room [[#1|mark]]

You enter the interrogation room gently and take a seat, asking if Mark would like water or coffee. Mark is caucasian, with jet black hair and a slim build, about 5 foot 8. Well dressed, looking like any young tech employee you've seen in the past few years. His eyes tell you he knows why he's here but doesn't want to accept it. You settle in, and in a sequence you've done countless times before, tell him the [[news|mark2]].

You enter your apartment, not as nice as the one the victim owned, and end the day with a quiet dinner. You wake up mulling the possibilities of who would have a reason to kill the victim. You head to the station, hoping the autopsy and ballistics will clear the murky waters of this murder. You drive over to [[the station|day2]].

You saunter into the station and find the reports sitting on your desk, asking to be read. The autopsy describes only 2 wounds, a blunt force impact from an edge blunt object, and a gunshot wound to the heart. Ballistics came back with the fatal shot being a .38 special JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point). No gunshot residue was found on the wound so the revolver was not in direct contact with the skin. The ballistics did not have a match on either a gun or a specific ammunition, so it's purely evidence and interview now. You decide to call [[Mark]] to the station.

You decide to call Mark in for further information and to look deeper into the relationship. You call him into the same interrogation room and take a seat, and begin [[questioning|Empathetic Approach]].

Jonathan is an asian male, larger build than Mark at around 5 foot 9. He is dressed similarly, that same feeling that he probably works at a tech company and prefers his coffee complex. You settle him down and explain it's only a few questions. [[Questioning|Friendly Approach]]

Before you call her in, you do some investigating and find out she reported her backup revolver missing. You talk to her duty sergeant about having her come in under the guise of helping with a new handbook for patrolman. She comes into the interrogation room, and you humor her for a bit, then switch subjects. "Oh did you know Mark Refn?" She shifts slightly forward "Yea, I knew him from a while back." "How well did you know him?" "I was friends with him for a while?" "Mark mentioned he had dated you for a number of years?" "Yea, back in school, UCI I think, we met and started dating. We dated for a while at that time." "How long did this last?" She tenses a bit "For a few years I mentioned, what does this have to do with me coming down here?" [["I'm just here trying to quell some rumours, and if we spoke of this in the usual office areas people would gossip."]] [["What we're dealing with is the murder of Mark's girlfriend."]]

"I'm very sorry for your loss Mark, but we need to know more about your relationship." "Well, what do you want to know?" "Relationships are complicated, something I'm sure I don't need to explain, and any insight would be helpful when trying to determine what happened." "We really loved each other, but just before we died we had a few minor fights and were getting over those." "Is that why there was a lack of pictures in her apartment?" His breathing increases slightly "Yea, I guess it was a bit rockier than I said it was." "What was the conflict about?" "She was still talking quite a bit with her ex, and I felt it was getting a bit out of hand." "Tell me about Jonathan." "He's a nice guy, she dated him for a few years, and as you can tell they were still pretty close." "Were you jealous of him at all?" His eyes dart a little "Not really, they were just friends after all, and she was honest with me." "Out of curiousity, how did you know about the car being stolen?" "Oh, I um noticed it was gone when I passed the apartment." <<if $karina gte 1>>"When we were searching the apartment I found an old notebook by a women named Karina, do you know her?" "My god, Karina, I dated her for years before I met Claire." "Did you part amicably?" "She was incredibly reluctant to let go, and I was with her recently." "What do you mean?" "I slept with her a month ago, I'm ashamed to admit." "Is there any reason she would attack Claire?" "No, she barely even knows of Claire." "Do you know how I could contact her?" "Yea, I'm pretty sure she's a cop also." <<set $karina to 2>> <</if>> Out of questions, you [[return to your desk]].

The bathroom is average, with a nice modern shower and toilet. The mirror holds a medicine [[cabinet]] of course. [[Go back to the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The desk has pictures and a cup of pencils. A desktop computer sits on the desk, and luckily has no password. There is not much of note on the computer, other than some emails from a guy named Jonathan on items she left somewhere. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The dresser has a few pictures of the victim and her family. Usual shots of various trips and getaways. One picture shows Claire sitting in a BMW. Her family is in one picture. The drawers haphazard but they don't look thoroughly searched. You decide to peek yourself, and find nothing but the usual selection of clothing. You do notice however two pictures of herself and her boyfriend are tucked under some clothing. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The picture is of Mark and Claire, and seems to have been knocked over while the criminal was searching the place. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The closet contains nothing but clothes and shoes, but there's an old [[notebook]] fallen in the corner. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

Nothing spicy is in the cabinet, just a few extra brushes, old medicines, and bandages. Unfortunately the perpetrator didn't leave anything like a government issue I.D. or an Instagram handle, so you ebtter check elsewhere. [[Go back to the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

The notebook is just an old math notebook, wedged in the corner behind a dusty shoebox. Nothing of value is in there, just old math you don't remember how to do, and apparently the former owner was some girl named Karina. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $karina to 1>> <<set $time to $time - 1>>

You pick up the phone and turn on the screen, and see nothing but the lockscreen which is a selfie of herself and Mark along with texts from someone named Jonathan. You'll have the boyfriend unlock it or get IT to crack it. [[Search the rest of the bedroom|bedroom]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

You search among the scattered objects but can't find a shell casing. [[Go back to the living room|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

You examine the pillow and see a hole and a faint burn on the pillow around the hole. [[Search the rest of the apartment|apartment hub]] <<set $time to $time - 1>>

His grief fills the room, and you decide to wait until he settles down before you ask him any questions. After Mark seems to have settled downe nough, you begin questioning him. [["What was your relationship with Claire?"]]

"I was her boyfriend, we had been dating for a few years." "Did you know anyone who might have wanted hurt her?" "No, she was always friendly to people, I can't think of anyone she was really enemies with." "Any trouble with exes, old lovers, people of that type?" "No, she in fact is still good friends with one of her exes, Jonathan. They parted on good terms." "Is your relationship with Claire stable?" "Yes, I loved her very much, and she loved me." "Thanks for your help, we'll contact you again if we need more information or find a suspect." "Please find whoever did this." As you leave he mentions "Could you return the stolen car, she loved that old BMW?" "I'll do what I can" You escort Mark out of the station, and decide to head home to mull things over and wait for [[forensics|home1]].

Now that you cleared up the relationship, you decide to call in another person to question. [[Jonathan]] <<if $karina gte 2>>[[Karina]] <</if>>

"Let's get started, you were an ex and are a friend of CLaire?" "Yes, we dated for a few years and I stayed friends with her after we broke up." "How close was this friendship?" "We weren't very close, we just spoke occasionally." "Are you sure? I mean she had some emails that looked pretty recent, and Mark mentioned you spoke recently." "Well, you know, recently she had a few conflicts with Mark and spoke with me a bit." "I mean as an ex, was this stepping the line a bit?" "I've always liked her, I couldn't really not help her in a time like this." "Did you take the break up well?" "Took as well as anyone would, which was not really well." "Do you know anyone who would have hurt her?" "From what Claire told me, Mark and herself were drifting apart, and were unsure if their long term goals were the same. Mark, Mark wasn't taking it so well." [[You end the interrogation, as there's little you can glean now]].

You speak to the DA, and he asks you who to charge for this crime, you choose [[Mark|Markconvict]] [[Jonathan|jonathanconvict]] <<if $karina_fail gte 1>> [[Karina|karinaconvict]] <</if>>

You tell the DA to charge Mark, as he seemed to be undergoing relationship issues he could not move past, and ended it violently. He knew about the BMW being stolen when he couldn't have. The DA says the case is circumstantial but doable. [[End]]

Jonathan seemed like the perpetrator to you, the crime was very off. Jonathan most likely saw the opportunity to insert himself back in the situation and reacted when rejected. The DA says the case is circumstantial but doable. [[End]]

"Are you saying I had anything to do with it?" "You knew Mark very well did you." "Yes." "You had issues letting go?" She stands up and heads for the door "I'm done here, if you want to talk to me again, talk to my lawyer." Having felt like you overplayed your hand, you [[end the interrogation|You end the interrogation, as there's little you can glean now]] <<set $karina_fail to 1>>

"I don't understand these rumours, I'm a police officer who has been working for a few years without any complaints. I mean I knew Mark back at UCI, we met at the dorms, I remember meeting at the dining hall during one of the first weeks." "Look I'm not making any accusations, I'm just trying to help you here. Mark mentioned that you had troubles letting go." "I didn't have any issues, I moved on." "Claire, Mark's girlfriend, was found dead in her apartment yesterday." "My god, how sad. Do you have any idea who did it?" "It appears to be a robbery on the surface." She relaxes slightly "I still don't understand what it has to do with why you're here." You decide to spring the trap now "Karina, I understand how you must have felt. You dated Mark for years and he leaves you for someone else. It must have been fairly angry and frustrating." "Yes, it bothered me quite a bit after the breakup." [[You continue to sympathize with her, trying to wear down her defences]].

After a while, you decide it's now or never. "Karina, your backup gun was stolen right? An S&W 638?" "Yes, just a week ago." "Karina, I understand, you were frustrated and agry, and you wanted Mark back" "Yes, that is true." "You went to Claire's apartment and confronted her didn't you? Confronted her about how much Mark meant to you and how she stole him from you." "I, I, I don't thi.." "In your frustration and envy, you knew Mark would be gone and Claire would be alone so you could confront her." "No, I.." "You struck her on the head with your revolver, grabbed a nearby pillow, and put two shots in her chest." "I swear I didn't" "You knew how to make it look like a robbery gone awry, something you heard tired detectives talk about often." "But.." "You killed that girl Karina, you killed that girl because you loved Mark and she did also, and you couldn't handle that." Karina hangs her head, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, the impact of her actions fully sinking in. You silently poke your head out of the interrogation room and ask for a confession statement and a pen. [[End]]

You drive back to your apartment, watching the city roll by. There are a million stories in this city, some larger than this one, and some smaller. Yet, the city seems to have been unchanged, unknowing or unfeeling of the brutal murder committed recently. A million stories in this dity town, and a million more to come.

You propose Karina as having committed the crime as she has the know how to set up a scene and the back up gun was "stolen", but the DA refuses, saying there is no conrete evidence to convict her, as she's a police officer, and the jury will likely take her side. [[End]]