𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗡𝗘
The fall of a white lilac
APRIL 30TH 2207 – 5:29PM
The flashing hues of blue and red, sirens coming from all directions, the rain hitting the ground. Yellow police tape tied around street lights hiding the crime. The smell of decay, rotten flesh and fresh rain filling the air. Policemen trying their best not to throw up at the mangled sight of the body. Squad cars on site. Sun shrouded in clouds, muffling the light.
The sound of a car pulling up, people shuffling around, the shutter and flashes of their cameras going off. The doors of the blacked-out car opened, two people stepped out. An Asian man that had shaggy black hair, sapphire blue eyes and a cheek scar — Kade Greenwood, and a curvy girl with dark skin, curly brown hair and hazel eyes — Primrose Louviere.
Both of them had their hoods up and walked over to the scene of the crime. They showed their badges to the officers on-site, swiftly lifting the tape line, they both headed in. The body coming into sight, the smell of rotten flesh getting stronger. A tall man with a strong figure stood by, waiting for them, wearing a badge labelled Leódon police captain, Aryton Rowe.
A boy’s body laid on the ground. Split open from his chest to stomach, having jagged edges. Flowers placed delicately, filling the wound. A mixture of black dahlias, iris, black roses, cypress, and marigold.
“Detective Greenwood, Louviere you're here,” Aryton said.
“Sorry it took so long sir, Kade had to stop for fuel,” the girl said. Looking at the captain, shifting her gaze over to the young boy’s body, trying her best to look at his corpse without throwing up. Pulling her hood down, she attempted to shield her eyes from the rain.
“Any witnesses’ sir?” Kade spoke as he walked to the body, leather boots scraping on the concrete, heels lifting as he kneeled. Crack. His knees went on him, falling forwards with a hand catching his fall.
“Non yet” a sigh followed Aryton’s words.
Primrose walked over, covering her nose and mouth, eyes tearing slightly. The powerful stench the body gave off made her feel sick to her stomach. The sight was not helping.
“Who would do this to a child, he was-” her voice filled with pain as she spoke- “Just a young boy.”
Kade gave Aryton a nod and began looking at the body, the rugged skin tears on the lining of the wound, ligature marks on the neck, wrists and feet. The boy had no shoes or shirt, torn pants. The skin around the neck and fingernails had turned a greenish-blue colour. The soles of his feet were roughed and torn. Kade stared wide-eyed at the boy’s face. It was frozen in fear. He reminded him of himself, from the black hair to the navy eyes. His fist tightening, nose scrunching up slightly when he noticed something off with the body.
“Prim, take a look at this,” Kade gestured to the soles of the boy’s feet. “Do you see this, cuts and scratches,” his gaze drifted up to meet her eye.
“Do you think he was running barefoot before he died?” She questioned.
“Yes, however, I don’t think he died here. Look, there are no blood pools or stains. Meaning he ran from the killer, they killed him, placed him here, then stuffed him with these flowers.”
Kade placed his finger on his lip and started to bite around the nail as he looked around the body for any indication of the cause of death. ⠀
“I think his death was from this wound,” he gestured to the chest to abdomen wound. “But we might have to wait for the autopsy to get a cause of death” ⠀
Primrose could hardly look at the body, left speechless at the sight. “Could there be a chance he was alive when they sliced him open?” Her voice grew louder and with hints of anger within it. Her fits balling up as she knelt. Red and blue lights off in the distance piercing her eyesight, remembering why she became a police dog.
“There is a chance that happened, but I can’t say for sure.” Kade's expression changed, it became cold, his eyes became dead-like, his nose relaxing. Meeting his gaze with hers, Primrose covered her mouth as she inspected the body, she took out her phone and took note of the wounds the body had sustained, the bouquet of flowers sprouting from the wound; a wire indent in his neck, and blunt force trauma to the legs and arms.
Rain droplets falling onto her phone, she pulled her arm into her sleeve, wiping the screen dry. Standing up, she closed and shoved her phone back into her pocket, tugging forward on her hood. Getting to his feet, hands pushing on his thighs, straightening out - stretching out. Eyes shut, head tilted up, breathing in, feeling the cold rain on his face. Deep breath out. Staring into a dark grey sky, a soft mumbling was heard over the droplets hitting the ground.
"Kade," said Primrose softly. Glancing over to her, he snapped back into reality.
"What?"
"You ready to go?"
Looking at the body then to her as he replied "yes," he sighed "let's go"
"Kade... Are you okay-"
"I'll be fine," he barked before Primrose could finish her sentence.
Primrose sighed as Kade walked away, hands tightly held in his pockets, she followed along. "I'll tell JJ and Chrissy to pull files with similar motifs and scenes, maybe we can find who did it this way" tapping her temple bringing up her Orphic eye HUD. Send a message to JJ and Chrissy. 'Find any files related to bodies being cut open and these flowers being in or around the body: black dahlias, marigolds, baby’s breath, black roses, and lilies'.
Silence filled the misty air as they made their way to Kade's car. Passing through crime tape, he unlocked their car when Primrose stopped and turned to an officer - approaching him, she read his name badge. Kyrell Avet. "Officer Avet if anyone finds any more info on the boy or crime inform us immediately" handing him a slip of paper it read,
"Yes ma'am, I'll be sure to let you know!" he exclaimed.
Giving him a nod, a car honked, scaring her a little, Kade had grown impatient.
"Okay!" she shouted, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the car. Opening the car door and placing herself inside and on the seat. Tapping the steering wheel, Kade spoke, "you ready to go?" his gaze shifted over to his left. Taking her hood off, poofing out her hair and fixing her badge.
"Yea, I have all the notes and that down, and I asked that officer to call up if they find anything else."
"Right then" placing his key card in the car, starting the engine, Kade set off. With the rain beating on the window, he turned the wipers on. The city lights turned on as night set in, headlights flashing on, and he put the car in flight mode and headed upwards, driving past the Skyrail. They headed into the sky city, rows and rows of sky towers. Thousands of other cars all in the air, he stopped at a traffic light, rolling down his window a little.
Resting her elbow on the window, chin in her palm smiling “Ah,” she let out, “I love the smile of rain, it reminds me of my mother. We would sit together and talk about how our day was,”
Kade’s grip grew tighter around the steering wheel. A green light flashed, he put his foot down. Looking over at him, she sighed, her hand reached down to the stereo and put music on. Bopping her head along and tapping her foot, she went back to looking out the window.
“One minute you're here and the next you're eclipsing,” she started to sing, “when I’m with you, all I have is redolent thoughts.” She looked over to Kade. “Oh come on, it’s your favourite band, Oren and the Firebirds”
“I know who they are, Prim,” he said with a smile.
“It's their new song, Sunfire, and it’s amazing!” She had the widest smile plastered on her face. He chuckled and shook his head at her. He pulled into the car park outside the police station, putting the handbrake on he switched the engine off and took his key card out. Buh-doop. Pulling out his phone, he had a message from forensics.
“Prim, forensics said that they were able to get what they needed and are headed to the lab.” Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he closed the window and got out of the car, Primrose did the same. Locking the car, they went inside. A sign welcomed them, welcome to Leódon police precinct 7. As they walked in, the halls were sleek and grey, Primrose took her hood off and Kade shook his head when they reached the detective’s office.
“Hey, you two, what's the case then?” A girl with black and green hair, sharp eyes and pale skin popped up from her computer, “anything to pop?” She asked. Kade carried on walking through to the locker room. “Rosey?” Primrose shook her head.
“Well, I guess it's interesting, but nothing to pop at Chrissy.”
“You know I hate that slang! Just say interesting, is it that hard!” A pink-haired girl shouted from across the room.
“Sorry Brina,” they said as they giggled to each other, “here’s the rundown; a young boy killed, organs removed, his body relocated to a public road, his body stuffed with flowers”
“So that’s why you asked me about those cases?” She asked.
“Yes,” she sighed, “were you able to find anything?”
“JJ started looking when we got your message, and she found these”
A person dressed in dark clothes, raven hair, and green eyes walked over and sat on the desk next to them, pulling out her tablet. JJ opened it to A4 size and opened multiple files, all with the theme of bodies stuffed with black dahlias.
“There are 10 cases with the same MO in the last five years, from what I've seen there’s probably more from the same killer as all these killings matched with missing persons,” JJ said.
“So there could be more than 10 victims?” Primrose inquired, shifting her hips, changing the foot she rested on.
“That is very possible.” They kept scrolling through the files, “oh and this-” she turned the tablet around- “they're one word that appears a few times, Wendigo”
“Wendigo?” She inquired. “As in the mythological creature?”
“I presume so, but I doubt it means the literal creature, I'll do more research into it” JJ tucked the tablet under their arm walking back to their desk.
Primrose sighed, keeping her smile she looked at her teammates and headed to the locker rooms, noticing the clock 7:45 pm. Opening the door to the women’s locker room as she went to her locker, boots scraping across the floor, hand harshly hitting the locker door, her eyes tearing up, heavy breaths escaping her lips hitting the door, again and again, cries came from her tears falling down her cheeks. She fell against the wall, cradling her head in her hands, “this is what I hate” she thought as more cries left her lips. Closing her fist all she could muster up was the words “why-” she sniffled- “he was a child,” breathy cries followed. Bringing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees, she cried into her thighs. Knock knock.
“Primrose?” They spoke in a soft tone, “I’m coming in” she sniffled and tried to wipe away her tears, with a blurry sight she looked up to see JJ sitting next to her. Wrapping their arm around Primrose, JJ cradled her, shushing and gently rocking her. “Primrose, you know it's okay to be upset… what happened was tragic. No child should die like that”
She let out breathier cries before wiping her tears away. “I just-” she took a deep breath- “don’t understand JJ, what kind of person would harm a child like that, even death itself weeps when a child returns to them. So what kind of person is worse than death?”
JJ sighed as they released Primrose and looked her in the eyes, “a man that does not care for moral binds is a man worthy of death,” smiling as they spoke, “meaning someone capable of doing something like this, is already dead in their heart.”
JJ got to their feet and extended their hand to Primrose and gestured towards the door, Primrose got to her feet and took JJ’s hand and went back into the office: there her teammates Chrissy and Kade were already sitting at their desks typing away waiting for her to come back. Smiling at Primrose, JJ sat at their desk. Primrose followed and sat at her desk next to Kades. With the clock striking 8 she started writing her report.