Kings Gambit

Chapter 5 - Past and Present

"Hank? Are you doing alright? You're looking kinda down," I looked over my left shoulder. Jessy, My best friend and work partner, was driving the car to a crime scene we were assigned earlier in the day. Jessy was very slim, always wearing his grey suit and purple tie. His hair was frizzy and long, covered by a white fedora with a black stripe.

Jessy always had a sense of charisma that I found humorous, a kind of dry humor that is a niche to a few people. It made him easy to get along with, well, at least for me. Jessy and I have been working on cases together since joining the academy. Our peers started calling us the "Star Duo" after a few years of solving crime after crime. 

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache, is all," I reassured, looking out the window. 

"I got some Ibuprofen in the glove compartment if you need some." He offered as his teal eyes focused on the road. I opened the hatch and grabbed the pill bottle.

"Thanks," I responded, taking two pills out and swallowing them with a gulp of water.

"No problem. With all these murders, I can't blame you for having a headache." He chuckled.

"No kidding, who would have thought catching a serial killer would be so hard." I sighed. 

"What is it, the fourth murder this week? They're crafty to be able to get away with so many," Jessy put his turn signal on.

"Maybe we're just bad at our jobs." I shrugged.

"Perhaps." He chuckled a bit. There was a moment of silence.

"We're almost at the house. Apparently, the victim is 45-year-old Michael Killman, A single father to two sons and a daughter living on the poverty line. Poor kids..." Jessy sighed.

"Tch, what an asshole," I grunted. Jessy continued.

"We're going to meet one of his sons at the scene. He told our officers that he may have been a witness." Jessy turned the car into a neighborhood.

"I'm guessing you want me to interview him?"

"You're the professional here." Jessy smiled. I've always been better at the interrogating part of the job. Still, it would be nice of him to cut me a break...

 We slowly stopped at the house, which now had caution tape surrounding the parameters. I stepped out of the car and straightened my trench coat—the bitter cold outside piercing my skin as I left the vehicle.

"Ah, Detective Anderson and Parker, if it isn't the Star Duo. We were wondering when you would arrive." Lead investigator, Harrison spoke in his mighty voice. He was a big dude. One we see pretty often.

"Morning, Harrison," Jessy tipped his fedora.

"Any new information?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"That's what you're here for, isn't it?" Harrison responded swiftly.

"Just checking," I shifted my eyes toward the son of the victim. He seemed to be young, maybe 17 or 18 years old, with a rash scowl on his face. I could almost see the fumes come out of his head.

"That boy over there is the witness. He wouldn't speak to me, so I got nothing for ya. Oh yeah, the house is clear to investigate, too," Harrison reported.

"Great, thank you. Jessy, you start looking at the crime scene. I'll try to talk to the kid." I patted Jessy's shoulder and began walking over to the kid.

"Good luck," He grinned before sauntering off into the small two-story house. As I approached, the kid got tense.

"Tch, what do you want?" He crossed his arms.