Tom Darthur
Detective
PLANET: CORUSCANT
LEVEL: SUB-LEVEL 34
PRECINCT: 56
"This isn't the crime of the century, Tom; how'd you get dragged into this?" Dave asked him as he stepped into the cordoned-off area of the apartment building.
"I owe John a favor from a while back; he's out with his wife on their honeymoon. I'm covering for him until next week," Tom replied as he glanced around. It was a rundown apartment building, and they were on a large landing on the 27th floor. The police tape cordoned off a hallway which led to several apartments. People were milling outside the tape, wondering what had happened and when they could go back home.
"Well, show me what you got," Tom said, taking a sip of caf from his lidded cup and rubbing his eyes with his left hand.
"Walk with me," Dave said, walking down the cordoned-off hallway toward an apartment at the back. "Apartment 27F is where we got the call for service from."
Dave stepped through the threshold of the door into a small apartment. Tom glanced at the door as he entered; no forced entry, he thought as he followed Dave.
The apartment was in good shape, albeit old. Directly through the front door and to the right was a small kitchen; past the kitchen was a small living and dining area with a small window that looked down into the sub-level's street. To the left of the kitchen was a door that led into what appeared to be a bedroom by the glance Tom got of the interior.
After giving the areas of the apartment he could see a once-over, he looked into the living room, where a body lay on the ground, covered with a thin white sheet.
Tom set his cup on the kitchen counter and looked at the sheet, covering the body of a being who was just like not to long ago. Now? They were just meat and bones.
Dave walked next to the body and looked down before speaking, "A neighbor found her like this about 2 hours ago. From what we can gather, she lived here alone—kept to herself by all accounts. Her name was Jane, ironically."
"Last of Doe?" Tom chuckled
"Were it so easy. Last of Yul."
"Why'd they check on her?" Tom asked.
Dave walked over and set his datapad on the kitchen counter next to Tom's cup. "The neighbor's name is Dorothy," Dave said and turned his datapad around, showing the details of the next-door neighbor. Tom picked it up and glanced over the notes before transferring what files Dave had so far to his datapad as Dave continued to speak.
"Apparently, she heard some banging or loud noises but didn't think much of it initially. Dorothy was going out for her anniversary meet up at some top level sushi place when she noticed the door was cracked open. Nosy neighbor knocks on the door and pushes it open, and voila, dead body."
Tom walked over and knelt next to Jane, removing the blanket and examining her corpse.
"Any obvious cause?" he asked as he saw nothing overt.
"No. Honestly, this is an easy one, Tom; she probably OD'd. Sorry they called you out for this one, but at least it'll be easy."
"Hmm," was all Tom said in reply.
Tom checked the woman's pockets for any personal items, finding nothing.
"Purse is on her bed," Dave supplied as Tom stood up, staring down at her.
"What do we know of her?"
"Not much. Pretty young, 28, no run-ins with Security or Police. She works as an accountant for some weapon manufacturing plant a few levels up. Seems to be pretty squared away honestly. No family or friends either; we couldn't find anyone to notify."
"Did you find any death sticks or other substances?"
"No. But you know how it is. These young kids go out and party, come back, and OD at home."
"Or she was drugged."
"Tom, don't make this into something it's not. You're on OT. Knock out the body sheet and go back home, man."
"You got body removal en route?" Tom asked.
"No, sorry. Wasn't sure what you dicks wanted to do when you got here," Dave said, smirking.
Tom chuckled, "Don't lie, Dave; you're just a lazy piece of chit."
"Guilty as charged," Dave said, holding up his hands. "You need me to hang around for anything?"
Tom glanced around, thinking, "No. You can pull the tape down too. Let the residents go back to their homes. I'll update you if I need anything."
"Sounds good. See you around, man," Dave said, leaving the apartment.
"You too."
Tom looked down at Jane Yul, "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said softly and walked back to the kitchen counter, grabbing his datapad.
Tom looked around the now-still apartment, breathing softly. It was sparsely furnished, but there was a hint of pride in how Jane had decorated it. The more he looked, the more he realized it wasn't just a hint of pride, but a testament to her self-worth. Degrees from prestigious schools most people on this sub-level had never heard of, and certifications from skilled labor schools. Jane wasn't just an accountant but an extremely qualified researcher based on her history of these degrees, and at her age that was something you didn't see everyday. What was she doing way down here on Sublevel 34? She could be top-level by now, on a high rise, with a view.
Tom's gut instinct began to gnaw at him then. "Don't make it into something it's not, old man," he said to himself. He couldn't help himself, though. Why would someone so prominent live on Sublevel 34, and why would she take the risk of OD'ing on drugs? It didn't make sense. But then again, sometimes things didn't.
He entered Jane's bedroom and dumped her purse onto the bed, looking for a wallet. Tom pushed the items around until he found a small brown leather wallet. Not just any leather, either, but Bantha leather. Tom recognized the stamp of the company that made the wallet, two twisting horns spiraling away from each other. They had no stores near Sublevel 34. Interesting.
Jane had several cards and other non-essentials, which Tom took and bagged into evidence along with her ID chip and whatever personal belongings he could find that looked valuable.
Tom comm'd his dispatch, waiting as the tone kept beeping.
"Coruscant Police, how can I direct your call?" the voice on the other end said, and Tom recognized it.
"Patty, it's Tom. Start body removal for my call, please."
"You got it, ya need anything else?"
"No, I'm good. Thank you, Patty."
Tom walked back into the living room and started filling out the body removal form so Jane could be processed. He filled out her name, address, belongings, injuries, and other information until he came to the medication portion. He listed "none" and moved on to the final section.
He had two options. Suspicious Death. Natural Death.
Suspicious would lead to further testing of Jane's blood and give him the ability to pursue the case as he saw fit. Natural would get her thrown into an incinerator with no further thought. His finger hovered between both options. He had no probable reason to believe this was suspicious. Nothing. He didn't have the time and Coruscant Police didn't have the resources to thoroughly investigate every single death that may be suspicious. But still, his gut had told him something, and he wouldn't stop listening to it now.
SUSPICIOUS DEATH
SUBMIT
Tom dropped the datapad on the counter harshly and took a breath. Here we go, he thought.
Little murder mystery. If you want to join in and think your character can fit into the story then by all means go ahead. I may not directly respond to your RP every post, but I'll do my best to weave my story around your PC's.
Always feel free to send me a DM on here or discord if you have any ideas or want to brainstorm and join in.
Always feel free to send me a DM on here or discord if you have any ideas or want to brainstorm and join in.
