Chapter 28: Murder in Another District
"Detective, there's a murder!" The officer shouted, causing all those near them to open their eyes widely. "The murder happened in Building 217, West side at Alf street."
Caspian then looked at Abby and the others, and with a nod, they all stood. "Let me borrow that radio."
The officer gave it to him, and Caspian immediately turned it on and said, "*Static* This is Detective Caspian Ashwood from the Wakefield district. I'll be there immediately. *Static*"
They then prepared to leave, but before they left, Caspian pulled out his wallet to pay, but the officer stopped him.
"Don't worry, detective, I'll pay for it. Just go with Sergeant Quinn and the others."
"Thanks," With a pat on the officer's shoulder, Caspian and the others immediately went out of the bar and drove toward the specified location.
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When they arrived, they saw that the building was actually an artist's studio. Police cars surrounded the outside of the building, and many curious people tried to approach, but they were stopped.
Caspian and the others approached, and as soon as they got near, one of the officers stopped them, "Can I please get your credentials? We can't allow unauthorized personnel here."
Caspian then remembered that they were from another department. He just nodded as he showed his badge and identification, and so did Abby and the others.
After seeing those, the officer nodded as he let them pass through. As they entered, they could feel that it was somewhat different this time. A strong stench of blood covered the area. This caused Caspian's face to twist as he covered his nose.
His eyes glowed somewhat as his vampiric nature slightly revealed itself. Noticing this, Natalie hurriedly approached Caspian and put something in his mouth.
"Swallow it."
Caspian nodded his head as he swallowed what Natalie put in his mouth. A feeling of warmth ran down Caspian's throat as his thirst for blood dissipated slowly. "What was that?"
"Vampire Calming Blood Pills."
After a deep breath, Caspian thanked Natalie. "Thanks, I needed that."
Natalie smiled kindly as she nodded. She then handed some more pills to Caspian as she said, "Here, have some of it. You'll probably need it since you still can't fully control your instincts."
Caspian gave Natalie an appreciative nod as he grabbed them. They then headed to the room where the body was located, and it was somewhat different from that person's previous murders.
At first, only the torso seemed to have exploded, but this time, even the lower jaw and the lower body had been turned to mush.
Just as Caspian observed the body, Natalie's brows furrowed as she whispered in a voice only Caspian and the others could hear, "It seems that murderer was planning on turning her into a vampire. Otherwise, the stench wouldn't be this strong."
The others nodded slightly as Caspian approached. The pathologist who was currently looking at the body noticed him and walked up to him.
"Hello, you must be the renowned Detective Caspian?" the pathologist asked.
Caspian simply nodded his head and replied, "Yes, I am. Are you the pathologist in charge?"
"Yes, I'm Raymond Carter, a pathologist from the Leuford division. Fortunately, the renowned detective from the Wakefield district just visited here. I'll be running you through everything I noticed," the pathologist named Raymond said as he thoroughly skimmed through his notes.
"At first, I suspected that the cause of death was an explosion of some sort, but there are no shrapnels, nor were there any traces of gunpowder."
"The victim's lower jaw is completely obliterated along with his torso and most of her lower body. And probably due to blood pressure, the brain expanded, and the bones seemed to have broken down and restructured itself…."
"I'm still not sure what's the cause of this unusual death, but we're sure that this was a murder. Based on the wetness of the blood, it's been only about two hours since this murder had happened."
Caspian gave it a long thought as he said with a frown, "It was certainly done by the same person that was on a killing spree at our division."
"Do you mean this had happened before?" Raymond asked curiously.
"Yes, but this is the worst one so far. On the last murders, only the torso exploded, but the fact that it's not an explosive is the same."
"Damn, this is some scary stuff. Not only do you have to investigate who did it, but you also have to solve the mystery of how this murder happened," Raymond said with a light chuckle.
Caspian simply smiled at him as he immediately went to observe the body. The stench was even stronger than he imagined as he pinched his nose.
"Yeah, it's stinky too," Raymond said as he wore a surgical mask.
Caspian nodded as he looked at the body once more. Abby and the others also intently looked at the body, ensuring they didn't miss anything.
Due to him becoming a supernatural, Caspian's observational abilities had gone through a qualitative change, enabling him to see details that ordinary people wouldn't be able to see unless they used tools that could help them.
Like the other murders, the victim's veins also turned purple with dozens of scratches and wounds. But this time, there were no bruises on the wrists and ankles.
As he observed further, there were no bruises or signs of resistance. This caused Caspian to frown. He then looked at Abby as he said, "No traces of resistance whatsoever."
Abby and the others nodded, including the pathologist. "I also noticed that. We even suspected that the murderer was one of the victim's loved ones, and she was just killed suddenly."
Caspian nodded his head. There was no other viable explanation. "Does the victim have family members?"
"We asked around, and unfortunately, she doesn't. They also told us that she was an orphan whose adoptive parents had recently passed away. She also has no step-siblings, so basically, she has no family member left."
Caspian frowned at that, as that was a somewhat depressing life. After observing, Caspian stood up and told Raymond, "Cover the body up."
Raymond nodded as he did as he was told. Caspian then started looking around the room and saw flesh and blood sticking to it. As he looked around the ground, there was a bloody mess, but not a single footprint was found.
After a while, Caspian then said, "We should wrap things up here. Sir Carter, we should bring the body to your department."
Raymond nodded as everyone started moving. It took little time, and everyone finished what they were doing.
Caspian looked at Abby and the others and unto Raymond and told him, "We're coming with you."
With a nod, Raymond and all the other forensic officers carried the body into the car outside and drove. Caspian and his team went in their car and followed.
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The body was immediately brought to the lab as soon as they arrived while Caspian and the others headed for the captain's office.
"Hello captain, I'm Detective Caspian Ashwood, and I would like to inquire you about something," Caspian stated.
After a while, a voice inside told him to come in. He just looked at Abby and the others and told them just to stay as he went inside.
"If it isn't Detective Ashwood, please take a seat," the captain of the Leuford department said.
Caspian simply obliged as he sat down, but he wasted no time for pleasantries as he immediately spoke, "Captain, can I request the new murder case be transferred to our department?"
"Why so?" The captain couldn't help but ask.
"We speculated that the new murder had been done by someone we're chasing. We've been on their trail, and we want to capture him ASAP," Caspian reasoned.
The captain gave it a thought as he said with a sigh, "Alright, there's no problem, detective. Our detectives here got severely injured because of a car accident after they went on a short vacation, so we lack that manpower. I'll have to trouble you with this case then, detective."
"It's no problem, captain. In fact, I want to thank you. Your help is much appreciated."
Caspian and the captain shook hands as Caspian left the room with a piece of paper signifying a case transfer on his hand.
He then nodded at Abby and the others as he headed to the lab. With a knock, Raymond said loudly, "Come in!"
Caspian then opened the door and went inside. He then approached Raymond and said, "Sir Carter, I'm sorry to say this, but I took the case out of your department's hands."
He then showed Raymond the document in his hand. Raymond looked at the note and nodded his head. He then smiled as he said, "It's no problem, detective. I had the feeling that you wanted the case."
"It's related to the cases I'm handling, so…." Caspian said with a wry smile.
Raymond chuckled as he said, "I understand, detective. I'll help you bring this body to your department."
After that agreement, the body was soon put in a car with some forensic officers and headed toward Caspian's department while Caspian and the others led the way.
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As Scarlet was being carried toward her apartment, her phone rang. The female officer, who was Scarlet's friend, picked it up for her and saw that it was Caspian.
She then answered the call as Caspian's voice resonated, [Hello, Scarlet, we have a new body, same killer. It would be better if you could get here as soon as possible.]
"Ah! Hello, detective. I'm Scarlet's friend. She's currently knocked out right now due to drinking too much. I'll wake her up as soon as possible."
[Oh, alright, thank you, let her rest first. We can't have her work while drunk or her having a hangover. Wait… I have yet to catch your name.]
"It's Lisa, detective," the officer said.
[I see, thank you for the favor, Lisa.]
The call soon ended as Lisa carried her friend with a bitter expression. "Scarlet, Scarlet, wake up!"
"Wh—*yawn*—at?" Scarlet yawned as she pressed on her head due to a headache.
"There's a new body at your lab!" Lisa struggled to carry Scarlet.
Scarlet stood up properly as if awakened, but her head still felt like shit. She then spoke groggily, "Let's go."