Detective Nick Forrest

1

The Next Day:

Her dead body lies on the ground with blood puddled around her and I wince inwardly, my short black hair becoming untidy in the wind.
"What happened here?" I ask the CSI worker, Jane.
"The victim was shot after trying to reach the hospital, supposedly for safety. First she was shot in the hip and then in the forehead, Detective. Died at exactly 9:17pm." She reports with her blazing red hair flying back in the wind.
She mutters and ties her hair up in a messy bun.
I stare at the motionless body, "Who was she?"
"Melissa Barns, aged 18 and worked at a coffee shop down the street." She says with a sad glint in her pale green eyes.
"Name of the shop?"
"The shop is called Coffee Calm- a boost 'til midnight. Know it, Nick?" Jane says. I've been there once so I nod.
Melissa served me a few days ago when I stopped to check out the new shop. She had been happy- delighted even- when I had come in. She even offered me a membership card and didn't mind I paid with small change. I knew something had happened to her that was making her so excited and I could help but ask. She had admitted that she was accepted into some fancy collage. I had smiled, congratulated her then took my coffee and left, without any knowledge that she would be murdered in cold blood three days later.
"I'll go check the place out, can we manage to keep the investigation quiet?" I ask.
She nods, "Sure, I think the chief wants to see you before you start."
"Get those samples checked out and tell me if you find anything." I turn away with a blank look on my face. Murders are my least favorite types of investigations.
"Nick!" The chief, Bill Yowers, calls me over with a gesture of his hand.
I turn to see the short, bald man standing beside my car, his brown eyes and grey mustache reminding me of old mystery movies, too cliché.
"Yes Sir?" I take a deep breath and stroll towards him.
"Got any idea who did it?" Bill asks.
"I just got the information then. I saw her once, a few days ago while she was working and she was as happy as the day is long. I have to find some suspects." I explain, trying to hide my irritation. He always assumes I have to have the answers immediately.
"Well hurry up and get started, the press already knows because of some new kid on the force blurting out what happened. I've got to go fire him." Bill's eyes slice to a scrawny policeman chatting to an attractive blonde woman with a microphone, notepad and camera man.
What a dumbass.
I roll my eyes and pull myself in my black four-wheel-drive and click in my seat-belt before pulling out of the hospital parking lot.
She was killed outside of a hospital, of all places. I shake my head at the thought.
I reach the coffee shop and walk in with the small tinkle of a bell. It's eerily quiet today...
I look at everyone closely, a teenage couple cuddling, an elderly woman alone with her tea and a picture of an old man- presumably her dead husband- and a young man with sandy blonde hair and one tattoo on his wrist, leading to the back of his hand. The symbol is somehow odd so I quickly sketch it down in my notebook.
A young woman with dyed pink hair and blowing bubble gum is at the counter with a name-tag saying 'Lily'. She smells strongly of smoke that I almost cough as I come closer. I note her tattoos down her arm of symbols vaguely resembling Chinese writing; I decide the letters must be Hindi. Reading them closely I realize the markings say, "Stop looking at my tattoos."
Smart.
"Nice tattoos, I like what they say." I start the conversation casually.
She frowns a little, "You can read Hindi?"
I nod, "sure. Hey, did you know that girl, Melissa Barns? Bummer what happened-"
Her face pales and she cuts me off quickly, "You're a detective, aren't you? Look, I don't know who killed her but I did not do it. I can tell you everything I know about her."
Smooth, I need to work on my casual sleuthing.
Lily is nervous, shifty and too willing to prove that she is innocent. That's somewhere between my suspicion and her innocence.
"When was the last time you saw her?" I question.
"Yesterday at three in the afternoon, when I finished my shift."
"When did she finish her shift?"
"Nine pm, she loved working the extra hours for some reason."
She was murdered at 9:17. Was she ambushed on her way home?
"How did she travel?"
"Walking or getting a ride from a friend or family member." Lily stammers.
I write down everything she has said in my note book, "What connections did you have with Melissa?"
"She was my work mate and we hung out here and there for a smoke."
Gross, she smoked like Lily. The thought of what is in cigarettes is disturbing and just utterly gross. I write it down anyway.
"What enemies did she have?" I ponder.
"Several, she was a bit of a bitch and picked a lot of fights. She and I got along though, because we barely said anything to each other. If she wasn't smart, she probably would have been killed years ago." Lily admits.
I immediately jump on that last comment, "Explain."
Lily spits her chewy into a small bin, "Well, she was an A+ student so she had a bit of competition and plenty of friends sucking up to her, the enemies were basically held back by a wall of swarming fans."
I nod slowly, "Can you name any obvious threats to Melissa?"
"Jeremy Parker, Amelia Leonard, Walter Minlaton and Ellie Tenor. But I never told you anything, right?" She shifts on her feet.
"Sure, any source of information is classified." I dismiss her concern.
"If you want to know anything else, I'll be here." She writes digits on a scrap piece of paper and hands it to me with a pink glow on her cheeks.
She likes me. Unfortunately for her, I don't go for the smokers.
I take the paper anyway, knowing it's my job to take anything that will help, "Thank you for your input."
"Anytime." She nods then coughs a little hoarsely; I know it's from smoking. She won't live a very long life with that behavior.
"Oh and one word of advice," I lean in closely to make her blush, "I'd like you better if you didn't smoke."
Her eyebrows rise in surprise but I turn and leave before she can respond. I don't like her anyway but maybe she'll live longer if she quits. It's my job to help people however I can, even if it is tricking them into quitting for me.
Anyway, off that random topic. I decide to turn to Melissa's family instead of her enemies. They can wait for now.
As I get in my car I feel a wave of nausea hit me and I grip the door tightly, unsure of where this feeling came from. Maybe it was the smell of cigarettes that gave me the pain.
I rub my eyes and pull out of my park then drive down the street towards the address Lily had written down as well.
Now I have to prepare myself for a crying mother and depressed father.