Chapter 5 Chapter 5: Flowers
Willow
Since last night, Vana has been grating my nerves. She wanted to find her mate, but I didn’t. Instead, I went back to my place. It’s only a one-bedroom condo, but it’s mine, and it’s in my name. No one can take it from me.
I sit at my small dining room table with everything from the file laid out in three parts. Testimonies, Evidence, and Crime Scene. This has always been how I analyze crimes. Vana and I are gifted. We spot inconsistencies. It’s what has always made us good at our job. No one knows I have an advantage in spotting anomalies in a crime.
There has only ever been one crime that I couldn’t solve. Both witnesses were killed, and the evidence destroyed or went missing. I’m not sure which. To this day, it has always bothered me, but it was three years ago, when I was first starting out. No one faulted me for it, because the situation was so unusual.
I shake my head and start learning everything that was already gathered. I started with the testimonies. Luna Marian’s testimony. As much as I would love to bypass her, she is the one who found the victim. I’ll just call her witness one. That way I won’t let my emotions get the best of me.
I am not heartbroken anymore, though I was in the beginning. Still, seeing her addressed as Luna reminds me of how little people thought of me. That’s what hurts. I touched my mother’s necklace. I never took it off after leaving Blue Ridge. It’s been my source of comfort. Witness one’s testimony says that she went to the victim’s office around one in the morning when the victim hadn’t returned to bed.
She pushed the door open, but the lights were out. After turning on the lights, she saw the victim lying face down with blood underneath him, and he was not responsive. There was one Enabower flower on top of the body. I looked at the picture of the crime scene.
There is the bastard who broke my heart, dead on the ground. If it wasn’t for the promotion, I’d probably be celebrating right now. I know that sounds vicious and mean, but that is my level of pettiness right now. I only wish I could have rubbed it in his face before he died that I was a strong and smart woman and he left me for trash.
‘Girl, get it together. You have a job to do. Put your personal feelings aside,’ Vana said.
I sighed, ‘I know, I know. I just feel like this case is going to open wounds that I have worked hard on healing.’
‘If you healed, then you wouldn’t feel anything. You are still bitter about what happened. I don’t blame you, but we have a new mate. So let’s get this solved so we can find our mate. He was in the councilman's office today!’
‘I don’t care about having another mate. Besides, we don’t have time for it,’ I said before shutting her down to continue working.
I continue looking at the crime scene. Something about it looks too perfect. In my experience, that means this is staged. The flower is bothering me, though. The report says that the Enabower flower masks scents… and it was just left on top of the body. Doesn’t that seem strange?
The Enabower flower is specific to Ashcrest, according to the report. Why leave it out in the open? If it masks scents, it likely could have been placed anywhere. Why on top of the body?
‘Maybe the flower needs to be close to the source that needed to be masked?’
‘Wouldn’t it make more sense for the suspect to wear it on their body at the time of the attack?’
‘There were no prints found either,’ Vana noted.
‘Yeah. That’s not unusual though. What is unusual is the placement of that flower. Unless that is the whole point. Point a neon light that suggests we look one way, when in reality, the suspect is running in the opposite direction.’
I continued looking at the pictures and then reviewing the witness reports. Everything is too well packaged. It’s almost like the flower on top was the bow the package needed to make it look like the obvious killer would be…Royce Sinclair, Alpha of Ashcrest.
I started running a profile on him. He was mated and has a four-year-old daughter. According to the alpha registry, he has been Ashcrest's alpha for six years. Met his mate shortly after, then they had their first pup. Two years later, his mate died in a rogue attack protecting her daughter. That was two years ago.
I sat back and looked at his picture. He’s quite handsome. Wavy shoulder-length brown hair. It’s tied half back. It shows off his strong jawline and sharp blue eyes. His eyes are sad though. His profile doesn’t show he has a new mate. Who is watching his daughter then?
The sadness in his eyes looks like grief. Why go after the victim?
I continue reading his file and see that he had bad blood with Blue Ridge, but it never escalated to violence. His pack was giving back to the community, but Dustin was getting the credit. That’s the complaint in his file. It looked like it was costing Ashcrest money from grants.
‘That could be motive,’ Vana said.
‘Possibly, but the man’s head was beating in. That looks more like a crime of passion, not of greed,’ I countered.
The more I look at this case, the more I’m convinced that something isn’t right. I keep coming back to that flower, though. It seems like the one thing that doesn’t match in this entire scenario is the one thing that points to the suspect.
‘Vana, I’m going to bed. Tomorrow we are going to take this case on formally. Then I want to meet the suspect. His pack produces that flower. I want to understand more about it and then figure out what we are doing from there,’ I said.
‘We could meet our mate too!’
‘Enough with the mate talk. We have a murder to solve,’ I said.
The next morning, I wake up, shower, put on a pair of black slacks and a red button-up blouse. I tie my hair back and put on some flats. I brewed some extra-strong coffee and grabbed an oatmeal muffin I'd stored in the fridge the night before. I grabbed my bag, put my files and laptop in it, and headed out the door.
I first stopped by the C.I.D. office and dropped off my things. I wanted to present my findings and be prepared to answer questions to the councilmen. Then I switched into my short heels. I loathe these things, but appearances matter, and for whatever stupid reason, women’s appearances should include some form of a heel. I can only manage two without feeling like I am going to fall and bust my ass.
I grabbed everything, and Penny walked into my office. “So?”
“You know that high-profile murder?”
“Yeah…”
“I have been asked to personally lead the investigation, in exchange for the Commander promotion,” I said with a sigh.
“WHAT?! That’s so unfair!” Penny said angrily.
“I know, but those are the stipulations. Either way, I think there is something strange about this case. I’m going to work this one. I need to go speak with the council, and then I will meet with the suspect. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“I will move your morning meetings,” Penny said.
“Thank you! You’re the best. Let’s have lunch afterward.”
Penny smiled widely and then turned on her heel with a little extra pep and went on her way, while I left for the council. Once I entered the building, Vana started getting agitated again. ‘He’s here. Our mate is here!’
‘Cool it, Vana. We have things to do.’
I knocked on the council chambers' door and went in after being told to come in. Sitting at the conference table were Pratt, Gimlet and Olford.
“Captain, good morning. How was your evening?” Pratt asked.
I smiled and held up my coffee. “Good morning, gentlemen. It was long, and I needed the coffee this morning.”
Pratt and Gimlet chuckled, but Olford looked unamused.
“What did you think of the case file, Ms. Ashford?” Gimlet asked.
