Another crime scene?

There's a couple of civilians gathering in the location that Lara has given me.

Lara Scott is my partner ever since I've become the detective of Northern Bound. Well, we are friends since childhood.

I still remember when we used to mess around with our neighbors, ringing the doorbell then runs as fast as we can.

Ah... Good ol'times

But our friendship becomes more distant when I become the detective, we never had the chance to relax since my office is always full of paper works and cases that needs to be solved, including this one.

I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be my day off, but of course if you are a detective there's no day off.

Lara reported to me that three dead bodies where found in an alleyway near the outskirts of Northern Bound.

The alleyway was narrow, with shadows clinging to the walls like a blanket of dread.

The kind of place you'd expect to find trouble, but not this kind of trouble. The civilians gathered a few feet away, murmuring amongst themselves, their faces pale with the kind of unease that only death could bring.

I pushed through the small crowd, nodding briefly to the officers on scene. Lara stood by the yellow tape, arms crossed, her face set in a grim expression. She'd been doing this long enough to keep a cool exterior, but I could tell the scene had shaken her a little.

"Three bodies, huh?" I said, stepping up beside her. "Any IDs?"

She nodded, her gaze never leaving the alleyway. "Two of them. Locals, small-time crooks from what we could gather. The third... no ID. Looks like an outsider."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Great. And no witnesses, I assume?"

"Not a single one. Whoever did this, they were quick and clean. No sign of struggle either, just... dead."

I pulled out my notepad, jotting down the details as Lara spoke. "Anything to link them together? I mean, aside from being dumped like trash."

She shook her head. "Not yet. We'll have to wait for forensics to give us something solid. But this feels... deliberate. Not random."

I glanced over at the bodies, covered by tarps. A strange sense of familiarity gnawed at me, but I couldn't place it.

Something about this scene felt... wrong. Too clean, too quiet.

Lara finally turned to look at me. "You okay? You've got that look."

I forced a smirk. "What look?"

"The 'I'm about to dive headfirst into another rabbit hole' look."

I chuckled softly, tucking my notepad away. "You know me too well."

She didn't smile back. "Let's just make sure we don't get buried in this one."

I stepped forward, crouching near the edge of the alleyway, trying to get a closer look at the scene. Something was off, and I could feel it in my gut.

No signs of a struggle, no blood splatter, nothing to indicate a violent confrontation, just three lifeless bodies.

Whoever did this, they were professionals.

And they weren't done.

"La-ra, you need to smile a little."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Lara raised an eyebrow, her usual no-nonsense expression still locked in place. "Really? You're cracking jokes at a scene like this?"

I stood up, brushing off the dirt from my knee. "What? Can't let every murder weigh you down. If I did, I'd have a permanent frown like yours."

She rolled her eyes, but there was the faintest twitch at the corner of her lips. "You're impossible."

I glanced back at the bodies, my mind already racing through the possibilities. Something was telling me this wasn't just a one-off. There was a pattern here, but I couldn't quite see it yet.

"Alright, detective," Lara said, crossing her arms again. "What's your gut telling you?"

I took a deep breath, the smell of damp brick and rot filling my lungs. "It's too clean. No struggle, no obvious motive. If these were small-time crooks, they wouldn't go down without a fight."

Lara nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. But what about the third one? The outsider?"

I narrowed my eyes, trying to piece it together. "That's the part that doesn't sit right. Whoever did this wasn't just sending a message. They're mixing targets. Crooks and an outsider? It's too deliberate. This isn't just some gang turf thing."

Lara glanced at the tarp again. "You think it's connected to the other cases we've been working?"

I shrugged, but my gut was screaming that it was. "I don't know yet. But we've got bodies piling up and no solid leads. Whoever this is, they're careful, calculated. And they're only getting started."

We stood in silence for a moment, both of us lost in thought. The hum of the city around us faded, and for a second, it was just the two of us, standing on the edge of something dark.

Finally, Lara broke the silence. "I'll get the forensics team to fast-track this. We need something to work with, and fast."

"Working already? You should relax a little, come hang out with me in my office."

Lara glanced at me, a half-smirk forming on her face. "Your office? You mean that cluttered cave you call a workspace? Yeah, no thanks."

I chuckled. "C'mon, it's not that bad. Besides, it's better than hanging around dead bodies all day."

She shook her head, but the tension between us eased slightly. "You always know how to lighten the mood, don't you?"

"It's a talent," I said with a wink.

Lara pulled out her phone, already dialing for forensics as she walked away to coordinate. I watched her go for a moment before turning back to the scene. There was still something gnawing at me about the third victim. Outsider, no ID, and mixed in with two known crooks.

It felt like a puzzle, one with pieces that didn't quite fit.

I moved toward the nearest officer, who stood watching over the scene. "Hey, any idea when forensics will be done with the bodies?"

He shook his head. "They're doing a sweep of the area now, but with how clean this all looks, it might take a while before they find anything substantial."

I nodded, my mind drifting. I couldn't shake the feeling that whoever did this wasn't just cleaning up a mess—they were sending a message.

And it wasn't to the crooks.

"Alright, let me know if anything comes up," I said to the officer, stepping back from the scene. My phone buzzed in my pocket, snapping me out of my thoughts.

It was a text from Lara: "Forensics is on it. Meet me at the station. I'll grab a coffee."

I smiled and slipped the phone back into my jacket. Heading to the station wasn't exactly what I had in mind for a relaxing day, but maybe I'd squeeze a lead out of this mess.

As I turned to leave the alleyway, I couldn't help but glance back one more time at the bodies. Whoever was behind this—they weren't just cleaning house.

They were setting the stage for something bigger.

...

As I left the alley, the weight of the scene lingered. Three bodies, no struggle, no obvious motive—yet everything pointed to something much larger.

The city streets blurred past as I headed back to the station, my mind running through all the possibilities. Northern Bound wasn't exactly known for professional hits like this. Turf wars, sure. Petty theft, all the time. But not executions.

Lara was waiting at her desk when I walked in, two cups of coffee already sitting on top of the mess of papers she liked to call "organized chaos." She glanced up as I dropped into the chair across from her, handing me one of the cups.

"So," She began, leaning back, "What's your theory? You've been quiet since the scene."

I took a long sip, feeling the bitter liquid wake me up a little more. "My theory? Whoever did this wasn't just cleaning up a few loose ends. This was planned. But they didn't care about hiding it either."

Lara nodded. "It's a statement."

"Exactly," I said, setting the cup down. "And the outsider? That's the wild card. Maybe he saw something he shouldn't have, or maybe he was the real target, and the other two were just collateral."

"Could be," Lara mused, her eyes scanning the paperwork in front of her. "We've seen gangs clean up messes before, but this doesn't feel like them. Too precise."

"Whoever they are, they're good. And careful. But that means they'll slip up eventually," I said, tapping my fingers on the desk.

Lara raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

I leaned forward, lowering my voice. "Because nobody's perfect. They'll make a mistake, and when they do, we'll be ready."

She smirked. "And you're banking on that?"

"Always," I said with a grin.

Forensics would take time, but I had a feeling that once we got those results, we'd be one step closer to whoever orchestrated this. Until then, I had to stay sharp and keep digging. The bodies weren't going to stay cold forever, and neither would the trail.

Something told me this wasn't just another case. This was the start of something much darker in Northern Bound.