Chapter Text
September 18, 2012
A man by the name of Alex Dean was found dead at a popular picnic spot in London with no signs of struggle, physical injury, or poison. By the time the Police were notified, his body had already stiffened and blood had rushed to the bottom, making his back a dark blueish purple colour, but the body didn't smell, meaning the man was most likely alive the day before and was killed last night. The body, however, was in perfect condition with no injury, as if the man had just suddenly died without a cause.
September 20, 2012
Another body was found, this time a woman, by the name of Elly Joe. Found dead in an art gallery with a stab wound to her side, and the knife lying beside the victim's feet. The forensics team tests for fingerprints, only to realize that they only contained the victim's fingerprints and no one else's. The body also seemed to have been killed the night before, and the woman was most likely alive before then, but this would also mean that Elly would have somehow gotten into the Art Gallery and stayed after closing time to then stab herself, and why did she do it?
September 22, 2012
This is the third report within a week. A young man named Ryan Samgie was found dead at an outdoor skatepark near a community centre. The cause of death is suspected to be an overdose of heroin; however, further investigation shows signs of struggle. Rayan's right arm had slight red marks that could mean that he was being forced to take the drug. However, that is not enough to make the theory valid, making it the third mysterious incident.
.
.
.
September 25, 2012
Grace Avery sighed, 3 deaths, in 3 different locations, died in 3 different ways... all within a week. She has never seen something like this. The police have told the public that it's most likely suicide, but Grace knew that it was just a desperate attempt to get news networks off their backs. That and the fact that little to no clues were left at the crime scenes, so suicide was the best explanation they could give. But Grace knows this can't be suicide, or at least not random, the chances of 3 suicides all happening within a week and every 2 days were unlikely. There's a pattern to it, but how and why is still a question unsolved.
With a burst of determination, Grace sat up straight and got to work, looking through the files, the victim's backgrounds, and even the location, in hopes of finding even the tiniest of clues or leads. But just as she was focused, a voice pierced through her ears.... well, not a voice, 2, maybe 3 voices.
"Miss Grace, may I get you some water?"
"Shall I help you with something~?"
You look beautiful as always, Miss Grace~"
"Ugh," Grace mumbled under her breath. Grace was a gorgeous women, having long black Hair down to her waist that swayed with each step, her face was stunning and mature, her figure was amazing with good curves and her personality was elegant, but such a blessing came with a curse, men in the agency didn't respect her for skills and only gazed at her appearance, sexualizing her was almost the norm, women in the agency envied her and made her life and work unnecessarily difficult.
"I appreciate that you all worry; however, I am doing fine," Grace said with a smile, a fake one, one that she used many times with her co-workers.
"Grace, my dear~ let the men do the dirty work. We don't want such a wonderful lady to hurt herself," Detective Carwell said.
Grace nearly gagged hearing this, "Was this his attempt at flirting?" she thought, "How rude!"
That night, Grace met up with an old friend named Ashley Kennedy to go drinking. Ashley was one of Grace's closest friends in high school. Now a lawyer, she watches with a smile as she listens to Grace vent.
"How can they say such a thing in front of me!" Grace said with her face red from alcohol, "Don't they know that such behaviour is unacceptable?!"
Ashley watched in awe. She had never seen Grace drink this much before, chugging 2 large cups of beer like water. "You're really drinking a lot, huh?" she said. But that's besides the point, think on the bright side! Most girls would kill to have a face and body like yours," Ashley stated.
"If that's the case, then they can have it!" Grace yelled, "I don't need beauty for detective work, Ashley!"
Ashley listened to her drunk friend. On one hand, she really wanted to laugh at her drunk face, which looked like a pouting hamster throwing a tantrum; on the other hand, she understood Grace's frustrations. "If the men and women at your agency are the problem, why not find a partner who isn't interested?"
Grace's eyes lit up at that idea, "your right! I could do that,t" Grace said in excitement, "but where can I find someone like that?" she said as she drank another glass.
Ashley gave Grace a grin, "I know just the person."
"Who? Tell me!"
"You remember Basil?" Ashley asked.
Hearing that name, Grace nearly choked on her drink, "Basil?" she said slowly, "The same Basil from high school?" Grace said slowly as she gave Ashley a sceptical look.
"Yup, heard he's a detective now."
Grace nearly laughed, "Him!? A detective?! Please, he couldn't even pass grade 10 math, heck, he failed grade 11 twice!"
"Oh, come on, give him a chance. maybe you'll be surprised"
"I'll pass, he was annoying as hell back in high school, I'd rather get fired than work with him," Grace said.
Ashley signed and handed her a piece of paper, "If you change your mind, that's his address."
Grace looked at the piece of paper, then back at Ashley with a "I know everything you just said about him was BS" look before putting the note in her pocket.
.
.
.
September 26
Grace woke up the next morning with a killer headache, regretting that she had drunk so much the night before. She looked at her phone to see an email notification stating that there had been yet another report of a body, the 4th one so far. Grace sighed as she slowly stood up to brush her teeth, take a shower, and eat breakfast. Mornings were usually her only time of peace, but it was a double-edged sword, because it was peaceful, yes, but she was tired, PLUS she had a headache.
As she was getting dressed, she felt a piece of paper in her pocket. As she took it out, she remembered what Ashley told her yesterday, about Basil. She groaned, not wanting to remember that guy, and slowly walked over to the trash to throw it out. But then she remembered all the things she had to experience, the unfair treatment, the flirty jokes, the envious looks.
"Ugh, whatever."
Leaving her home and hopping into a taxi, she arrived at Basil's address, hoping that one, he had matured at least a bit, and 2, Ashley wasn't messing with her. But when she arrived, she was shocked. In front of her wasn't an apartment or house like she thought it was. Instead, she stood in front of a bakery... "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered. She walked in, the smell of fresh pastries instantly filled her nose, it was quite cozy, the colours inside were bright and had a vintage feel... it felt quite nice.
Ashley looked around, confused, and walked towards the front counter. She spotted an old lady in the back. "Excuse me," she said softly.
The old lady turned back and greeted Grace with a warm smile, "Hello, dear, what can I do for you?"
"Is a man named Basil here?" Grace asked
Ohh yes! follow me"
Grace followed the old lady outside, walking to the side of the building into the small alley. The old lady opened a brown door, welcoming Grace inside. As Grace walked inside, she saw a set of stairs leading up and beside her, a door that led back into the Bakery.
"he lives up there, sweetheart. Room 221," the old lady said kindly with a smile
"Thank you so much," Grace said as the Old lady turned to leave.
Grace took a deep breath as she walked up those steps. She couldn't believe it. After years of no connect, she was about to meet Basil again, and worst of all, she was reaching out to him! When she got to the top, she saw a door in front of her, not a hallway of many rooms, just one door as soon as you climb up those stairs. Grace looked at the Room number on the Door.
"221.."
Then at the name plate beside the door, "Basil M. House... yup, this is him," she said with a dead voice.
She stood there for a good 30 seconds, mentally preparing herself. She imagined the person who was on the other side of this door to be either a chubby non-life or a man who was basically homeless. Then, she knocked.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
Grace stood and waited, each second growing more intense than the last. Her breath quickened as the door slowly started to open and...
"Yes?"
Grace saw a tall man standing in front of her. Wearing grey sweatpants and a stained shirt, he greeted her barefoot. Despite the man looking a bit taller and his hair longer, Grace could recognize the face of her old classmate.
"Hi Basil, it's me."
Uhhh, who?" Basil said his hair was slightly covering his eyes, but his eyes were narrowed.
It's me... Grace"
They stared at each other in awkward silences. Basil stood there like a dead plant while Grace stood there motionless, "Grace Avery....?" Grace added.
Basil shrugged, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."
Grace rolled her eyes. The girl you called a minor inconvenience? Back in high school..."
"Oh... OHHHHH that Grace." Basil exclaimed, "What's up?" he said, smiling from ear to ear as he opened the door slightly more and leaned on the door frame.
"I need some help with a case, and I heard that you were a detective."
"private detective"
"Yes.... uhm, I was hoping you could help me..." Grace said
Basil grinned widely, "Tell me, Grace, I remember in high school that you hated me... now you're asking me for help. What's with the sudden change?" Basil said in a mischievous tone
Grace rolled her eyes and sighed, "This is only a one-time thing," she said, Are you in or not?"
"Give me 5 minutes."
Before Grace could say anything else, Basil slammed the door in her face, making her wait outside.
"Well, he hasn't changed one bit..."
Grace stood in front of the Bakery waiting for Basil. Staring at her watch, she started to grow impatient because she needed to get to the crime scene in 1o minutes; if Basil doesn't hurry up, they'll be late.
"boo," Basil said, suddenly appearing beside Grace.
Graces looked at him with an unamused face. Shenoticed that he was in black pants, wore black shoe,, and wore a beige trench coat over a dress shirt and tie.
"So childish," Grace said as she stepped into the taxi.
"and you're boring!!!!"
.
.
.
Grace and Basil arrived at the crime scene, seeing blinking blue and red lights and teams of detectives running around like rats. Theyy walked over the police tape, into the house where the victim was killed. The place was quite clean, no sign of struggle, no mess. The forensics team was scouting for potential evidence while most of the investigators were in the victim's bedroom, which was also where the body was. As Basil was about to enter the bedroom, Carwell blocked the way.
"Who's this?" Carwell's voice shot through the chaos, "Are you a new pet of Grace?"
Most of the detectives turned to the direction of Grace, looking at Grace and her new guest, "No, he's a detective, and like you, he is here to investigate the crime." Grace replied with a firm voice, "Show some respect."
Basil looks at both of them and just wanders into the bedroom, completely ignoring the other detective's presence. He looked at the body with widened eyes like a kid receiving a present for Christmas, then he wandered off to other parts of the house.
"Oh dear, you have an interesting taste, I would say that," Detective Carwell says as he side-eyes Basil, who looked like he was having fun exploring the house rather than investigating.
Grace's face turns dark for a moment as she hears that, "first, I'm not your 'dear', second, as said, it would help if you showed some respect."
Carwell only shrugged as he stated a few details about the case, "Victim's name is Emily Fate, died from a gunshot to the head. However, the gun is in her hands, so it's most likely suicide. We all agreed. Investigation is pretty much over, the answer is clear as day."
"That is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.e"
Basil's voice cut through like a knife, loud and clear. Calling everyone in the room an idiot without hiding it. Grace's face nearly dropped, Carwell's face looked pissed, and the rest looked angry. "All of you should pick another profess, if THAT was concluded, you all collectively agreed on," he added.
"What did you say? You're a nobody, who are you to say what rights and what's wrong?" Carwell and a few other detectives said. Grace, looking at this, was shocked, knowing Basil's personality, this wouldn't end well; a fight is bound to happen.
"The gun wound is on the woman's right side, and the gun was in her right hand; suicide is the only explanation of all the facts at hand!" said a detective.
But Basil wasn't backing down, "Wrong, it is one of many explanations of some of the facts."Then, he turned to Carwell with a grin, "You've got an answer you like, so you choose to ignore anything else that contradicts it, all to impress your little crush". Carwell's face is practically red from the frustration, demanding to know what he proposes.
"I looked at he notes you all have written down in this sloppy file and honestly, I'm surprised at how much stupidity I saw. The victim most likely just moved in? Is it a suicide? The victim shot herself? Come on, all you have to do is look around and you'll see it." Basil says. Grace is about to die out of embarrassment. She brings in a new detective to investigate the scene, and THIS is the first impression he makes?
"What do you say then, hm?" Carwell says, confident that Basil is just big talk.
Basil scoffs, "Well to start, judging by the laundry, she's lived here for a good 2 years now but was away for a few weeks due to whatever reason, could be a vacation, a trip, whatever" he said as he pointed at the laundry basket tucked neatly in the bathroom, "then it's the bed, for a person who shot themself and collapse on the bed, the bed is suspiciously tidy, no blood stains, not even the sheets are roughed up. What? Did the victim come back to life to tidy up the bed before going back to being dead?" Then, Basil walked towards the body, "her clothes are damp, yet the umbrella in her coat is dry, this means she was out in the rain but didn't use her umbrella. She wears a wedding ring, meaning she's married, but that wedding ring is a lot dirtier than the rest of her jewellery. This is plus the fact that the inner side of the ring is clean, meaning she takes it off often, meaning she's unhappy in her marriage." Then he walked back up to Carwell and said his final deduction, "Finally, the theory of her suicide, gun wound on her head, and the gun is in her hands; however, there's a slight issue."
"And what's that?" Carwell asked
"A bullet hole is on the right side of her head."
"So?"
"Emily is ambidextrous, but she leans more towards her left hand."
Carwell gave him a confused look, and even Grace was shocked. All the other stuff was basic observations, but ambidextrous? How could he have possibly figured that out?
Basil looked at both of them with an amazed look. Oh my, I never thought you were this dumb. Coffeee mug in the living room with the handle pointed to the left and yet there's another cup on her bedroom with the handle pointed to the right, there's pen and paper on her desk with the pen on the left side, this means she writes with her left hand and yet the TV remote on the crouch is on the right side meaning she's also comfortable with using her right hand, on the kitchen counter there's bread butter with the butter on the right side of the blade meaning that she spread it with her left hand and yet she set it on the right side of the plate. All of this proves one thing, she see's comfortable using both of her hands meaning she's ambidextrous but Emily seems to prefer using their left hand because there are more things on the left side the the right. Conclusion: someone murdered her and moved her to her home."
"Only explanation of all the facts," Basil concluded.