Private Foul Play in the Cafe

[Lim Caliber]

The hum of speeders above and below sounded everywhere, the chatter of various alien species accompanying it. Lights from signs in windows and billboards illuminated the city streets and walkways better than any light fixtures could. Such was Coruscant. Cal walked through all these sounds, ducked under yellow police tape that barred off entry into the building, and nodded toward a fellow CSF officer he hadn't seen in a few weeks. "Hey Ba'los! How's the new baby?" He asked, passing him.

"She's doing fine, Cal! As beautiful as her mother!" Officer Ba'los replied, beaming with a smile. He was busy keeping the area secured, so he stayed outside.

"You take care of her now!" Cal called as he left earshot, just able to hear Ba'los' replied shout in the affirmative. The building Cal entered was empty even though at this time of day it was meant to be full. The Salty Spittle. A cafe on the middle levels of Coruscant. There were some others from the CSF office there, examining the area and documenting everything about the scene. He walked to the back where the victim lay.

He was surprised to see his partner, Harvey Denson , already there. He expected him to be late from a hangover or something. "Good morning Harv. Who do we got?" He asked, looking at the vic. She was on her back, stabbed with what looked to be a kitchen knife. It still stuck out of her back, and it was at least four inches deep. She lay in a pool of her own blood, eyes still open.

 

[Harvey Denson]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Investigate
Tags: Lim Caliber
Soundtrack: Watching

"Morning, gorgeous," Harvey said coyly, handing Lim Caliber a steaming cup of stimcaf. He took a generous sip from his own, then nodded to the body in the back.

"Pretty girl," he remarked.

"Near-human, probably mid-twenties. CSU puts her time of death at 04:00, beaten and stabbed."

Harv eyed the victim, observing the wounds from the doorway. Gangsters, swoopers, and spice dealers he could handle. Young girls trying to make a living? Those were tough.

But not impossible.

The detective pulled a silver flask from his pocket and dashed a bit of dark liquor into his coffee. He didn't spare a glance at his partner; Harv knew better by now than to make a big deal about his habits. Instead, he took a mouthful of the spiked beverage and stepped closer to the body. It was too early to tell if there was any connection to the numerous open cases the CSF was wrangling in the sector.

"Still no ID?" Harv asked one of the crime scene investigators. The officer shook his head.

"Not yet, Detective. But we did find this," he said, passing a sealed plastic bag over the body. Harvey reached for it, mindful not to dip the toe of his shoe into the puddle of blood.

He eyed its contents carefully before passing it to Cal.

"Looks like a cigarette butt."

 

[Lim Caliber]

Cal took the cup of stimcaf and took a large gulp along with his partner. He heard Harv's comment. "Shame." Was his own. He noted that Harv put some liquor in his stimcaf, but Cal didn't look at him or say anything. Harvey had it rough, and alcohol was a mean mistress. Someday he'd get over it, hopefully. But for now Cal let him have his vice.

He looked over the body while his partner got handed something, then he passed it to him. "Cigarette butt, huh?" He looked it over before pulling out his hand-dandy DNA analyzer and, without touching the butt, dumped it into a small circular spot and closed a lid. With the press of a button it began figuring out what it could. There wouldn't be much left on the thing, but there might be lipstick, old saliva, oil or some other liquid from a person's fingers left on the butt end. This might give them a lead or help ID the vic. Being a currently open cafe, the employees would need to be interviewed, customers from the last day, any usual customers too if the rest came up dry. No one murdered a girl in the back of a cafe without some connection there. In the meantime, he looked her over with his eyes instead of tech.

"Young girl in her day clothes. If she was in here overnight wearing these, she's probably an employee. Or close to one." He gestured to the knife. "Not too close anymore. Where did you find this?" Cal asked the officer.

"Found it laying near the body." The officer supplied. And then the analyzer chimed. Cal looked at it and frowned. The display showed a picture of a man, mid-twenties as well. Worked at this cafe. He showed it to his partner.

"Who's Tim'ar Bulkpan?" He asked. "And who found the body in the first place? Could they not ID the body?"

 

[Harvey Denson]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Investigate
Tags: Lim Caliber
Soundtrack: Watching

"Tim'ar... Tim'ar..." Harvey mumbled as he thought, trying to put the name to more than a face on their holoscreen.

"Maybe he works here? Hey, who else is scheduled to work today?" he asked the same officer Cal was questioning, bombarding the poor guy.

The uniform held up a hand, gesturing for a moment to get to both of their inquiries.

"A customer found the body, but he didn't know her."

"And Tim'ar?" Harv said, his patience wearing thin.

"Scheduled to come in at..." he trailed off, glancing over his notes, "09:00."

Harvey flashed Cal an amused look, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth curved into a 'how about that' frown. He reached over the body to the counter on the other side, grabbing a takeout box and popping the lid open.

"Nice," he said, pulling out a danish and taking a large bite.

His eyes turned to Cal, and with a mouthful of the pastry, he retorted, "What? Dead girl's not gonna eat it!"