The Inferior

Chapter 4 - Investigation 1

11 October 2021, Monday morning

THE DAILY NEWS

An 18 year-old girl, Vanessa Smith, daughter of Leonard and Olivia Smith, was brutally murdered last night in an abandoned restaurant. It was assumed that she was killed with a small knife because of a small stab on her throat...

Det. Mac Peters folded the newspaper into two and dumped it in the dustbin as he walked up to the crime scene

It was a slow Monday morning. It was also the day the detectives examined the crime scene of the homicide of Vanessa Smith.

"What do we have here, Brown?" Det. Mac Peters asked, crossing his arms. He ducked under the neon yellow police tape carefully but coolly. He just arrived at the crime scene where Vanessa Smith had been murdered. He was excited because not many homicides happened in that town. Usually measly crimes like theft and shoplifting by teenagers occurred. However, Peters had to keep his excitement inside and not show any to be professional. He felt his hands shaking with thrill as blood rushed to his brain to keep the gears running.

"Obvious incision around the neck, cut from a small knife I'm guessing?" Det. Alex Brown replied. Brown was a bit new to the detective gig. He had recently been promoted from uniformed officer about 3 months ago. Hence, he relied on his partner a lot.

"Apparently, two uniformed officers,-" Brown sneaked a glance at his notebook, "Officer Nelson Raj and Officer Dylan Matthew, were walking their beat and noticed the body through the window of the restaurant and reported it. Vanessa Smith, 18 years old, Principia High School. She's the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Smith, the rich family. Only someone insane would dare mess with that family. They have a lot of influence in the public. Her father is that guy who donates to her school every month. Lucky kid, never gets away with any trouble she causes." He continued.

"Oh, and why were you two walking together again?" Det. Brown asked, turning to the two officers who were chatting.

"'Cause we're besties!" Off. Matthew said, looping an arm around his friend, who flinched at his touch. He grinned cheesily at Brown.

"Bruh," Off. Raj said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and laughed. He knew it was true and he tried his best to hide his agreement. He did not work hard enough, though because Off. Matthew then punched his shoulder playfully, indicating that he was for sure correct.

"Give me a list of her parents' enemies later. For now, let's examine the crime scene," Det. Peters suggested to Det. Brown. Det. Brown nodded in agreement and proceeded towards the crime scene.

"OFFICER NAREN KARTHIK DID YOU MISLABEL THE EVIDENCE AGAIN? NAREN YOU IDIOT!" Det. Brown boomed as he looked up and sighed. Then, he stormed out of the restaurant and ducked under the police tape angrily. He clutched the evidence bag under his arm with rage and was irritated that this had happened again. Det. Peters rolled his eyes and laughed slightly then realised there was a dead body in front of him. This was no time or place to be cheerful.

The sunlight streamed through the ash-covered windows. It barely lit the room but was enough to see in. It was cloudy that day, looking like it was going to rain cats and dogs. The sunlight lit up Vanessa's face, making her look beautiful even though she was a corpse. She was gorgeous even when dead.

Vanessa was wearing a flowery sundress with a hot pink jacket that was slightly spotted with blood. The whole scene was disgusting, but Det. Peters had seen a lot of such scenes in his line of work. It was as if he was immune to the blood and the expression of the lying carcass. Det. Peters scanned the body for clues, not in a creepy way but in a swift motion of his eyes. Det. Peters then noticed a small bright yellow piece of paper peeping out of Vanessa's inner jacket pocket. He put on his rubber gloves quickly and picked it up to examine it. It was a handwritten note. Before reading it, he put it in an evidence bag to be tested for prints later. Though, he was suspicious that there were any in the first place. He suspected the killer was smart enough to cover their tracks properly since he or she disabled the security cameras at the school. Peters then copied down the note into his notepad messily.