The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 11: Switchblades and Trust Issues

"Holy shit, Bentley, come and look at this!" Bentley turned his head and followed the voice outside. One of the other officers from his precinct was bent down by the doorway, in front of a rather large hole. He raised his gloved hands and waved something in front of Bentley's eyes. It took a moment for him to focus on the object but, when he did, he realised the guy was holding a switchblade caked in dry blood.

"Jackpot!" Bentley couldn't help it as he yelled, face lighting up like the sun. The entire investigation seemed to be reaching a million dead ends but further evidence was enough to fuel it for a bit longer. All Bentley wanted was to get to the bottom of it and find out what happened to Henry Griffin, a single man who had a kid that was probably still grieving his loss, and the Garrison students. "We need to get it dusted for fingerprints and find out for sure whose blood it is. I'm pretty sure we already know but just in case."

The other officer nodded before gently placing the evidence into a clear bag. Bentley couldn't wipe the grin from his face their entire journey back to the precinct, excitement bubbling all the way through him. There was a chance the knife would have the killer's fingerprints on it and, if so, it was enough for a prosecution. The small knife could be the reason Bentley got a promotion and could finally afford to look after his girlfriend and their baby. He needed it to go his way.

The results were sent to him inside a white envelope. Bentley didn't need to open it to know the results but he was obligated to check, even though the forensics' report only confirmed his thoughts. The only problem was that it wasn't enough to arrest Kogane as his fingerprints didn't appear to be part of the equation. He must have been smart about it. He must have worn gloves.

Bentley was dealing with a murder investigation so he knew Kogane was as dangerous as he had originally thought. After finding the knife, all Bentley needed to do was find Kogane and question him. He was sure he could get a confession. He was going to arrest Kogane, no matter what it took, for his girlfriend and baby, for Griffin's son, for the children who were still missing but, most importantly, for his own sanity.

-

A knock on the door broke the silence that had washed over the McClain house. Each of the family members were sat around the dinner table, eating but not saying a word. Lance had hardly touched his food as he, instead, decided to push what had once been his favourite meal around his plate until it turned into an unappealing goop. It loosely reminded him of the space goo he had eaten on the Castle of Lions but that thought alone made him feel anxious. Lance's dad was the one to stand and walk towards the door, pulling it open whilst the rest of his family observed.

The policeman that the McClain family had become all too familiar with was standing at the door, a frown filling his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt your meal but it is very important that we speak to Lance as soon as possible." The frown on his face suggested that there can't have been any good reasons that they needed to talk. Lance nodded before fleeing the table and finding a seat in the living room opposite the policeman. The policeman didn't waste any time before rummaging through his bag until he was able to pull out a transparent bag with what appeared to be a switchblade inside it. "Do you recognise this knife?"

As Lance leaned closer to inspect the weapon, he came to the realisation that the blade was covered in dried blood. The sight itself made his stomach drop as he murmured out, "I don't... I don't think so?" His words sounded more like a question because there was anxiety embedded inside his head. There was one person that he knew loved knives more than they loved anything else and that person was Keith... but there was no way that one of Lance's best friends had used a knife to hurt anyone with malicious intent. Keith wasn't like that.

The officer's next few words were enough to drain Lance's face of all colour. "We found this buried outside of Keith Kogane's shack. It still has blood on the blade, as you can see. Do you have any idea whose blood it may be?"