Moonlight Fan Fiction
The Whole Truth and Nothing But
Rated PG
By Ella713
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Mick tries to help a woman who's a compulsive liar, but when it turns out she's telling the truth Mick has to do what he can to save her.
Louise Marsh felt all of her 40 years. When she stood and heard the pop in her knee joints she was convinced it was something in her diet. Most likely the fast food. Everyone knew that junk would kill you where you stood. She sat at the small table at Starbucks, looking at the young hip crowd order things she'd never heard of. When did people stop drinking coffee? She looked at her watch. For the past 4 days the man came by at the same time to stop at the newspaper stand and shoot the breeze with Harlan and buy a paper, but today he was late. She had finished her coffee and stood up to call it a day. Who was she fooling? A man that looked like that would not be interested in a spinster like her. She threw her cup in the trash and was turning to leave when she saw him pull up. She would notice that old Mercedes anywhere!
Mick stepped out of his car and walked over to grab a paper and speak to Harland, who was the eyes and ears of this strip.
"Hey Harland. How's it going?" Mick asked with a smile.
"Same old, same old Mick" He said taking a puff of his cigar. "Carl said you needed information on the Corsey Brothers?" He said quietly.
"You seen em' lately?" Mick said opening up his paper and glancing at the headlines.
"Yeah. They had a really young girl with them. She couldn't have been any more than 15 if she was day. They were headed to that bar on Elm Court called the Corner Pocket. Ask for Freddie. He's the night bartender. A friend of mine, will tell you everything you need to know. Even some stuff you don't need to know" Harland laughed.
"Thanks man" Mick said sliding the money is hand discreetly.
Louise quickly ran a hand through her short hair and walked towards the news stand smiling brightly.
"Good morning Harland!" She said cheerfully.
"Good morning mam" Harland replied. Louise didn't like his response to her. He actually called her mam! That was a turn used for old ladies! And He himself was pushing 60!
"Harland, I told you my name last year!" She tried to laugh it off. Looking at Mick she smiled again.
"Hello. I'm Louise Marsh" She said holding out her hand.
"Hi. Mick St. John" Mick replied shaking her hand.
"Well, now it's official" Louise said contemplating buying a paper. Spying an article on the New York Times she decided to make her move. "All of these terrorist attacks are simply terrible." She said as she held up the paper pretending to be interested. "This story makes me think of the guy who lives across the hall from me" She said in a whisper. Mick was starting to walk away when he heard what she said.
"What where you saying about the guy who lives across the hall?" Mick asked becoming curious.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud. But......he moved in about 6 months ago. The landlord told me he paid a year in advance all in cash. He sounds like he's from another country, but I'm horrible with accents. Anyway, he constantly gets packages from all over and one that came in two days ago had a stamp that read hazardous materials" She said in a rush.
"Did you report this to the police?" Mick asked.
"I wouldn't know what to say. What if it was something innocent?" She said sounding afraid.
"Look, Louise. I'm going to give you my business card okay? If you notice anything else, give me a call and I'll check it out. Will you do that for me?" Mick said placing the card in her hand.
"Ok. Mr. St. John. If you really think you can do something?" She said as she walked away.
Harland shook his head slowly. Mick noticed the expression on his face.
"What's up Harland?"
"Watch your step with that one Mick. She's one of those lonely heart types" He said.
"Lonely heart? What is that?"
"Desperate for love. She puts a lot of ads in the personals and meets them all here."
"So. What's that got to do with a possible terrorist living across from her?" Mick asked.
"Nothing.....I think she's loony toons" Harland said putting out his cigar.
Louise walked back to her apartment and checked her mail. She got off the elevator and ran into the man she had told Mr. St. John about.
"Good afternoon!" She said brightly. The man looked at her for a quick second, got on the elevator and pushed the button. He kept his head down until the doors closed. "Now that was suspicious" he uttered to herself.
"Mick! I was wondering when you were going to stop in" Carl said with a smile and heavy bags under his eyes.
"You look like crap Carl" Mick said with a smile.
"Jackson is quite the handful. I honestly don't know how Angela does it" Carl said rubbing his eyes as he yawned.
"You know Josef would send someone over to help you all out" Mick said reminding Carl that he was apart of the family. The vampire family. And they took care of their own.
"I know, but Angela wants to do this on her own. She said its important" Carl explained.
The Whole Truth and Nothing But
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
The Whole Truth and Nothing But
Last edited by Ella713 on Mon Sep 12, 2016 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
Re: The Whole Truth and Nothing But
Louise had been paying more attention to her neighbors. Maybe there was something sinister going on. She stopped at the mail box to pick up her mail and then got into the elevator. When the doors opened she saw the man who lived across the hall from her.
"Hello neighbor!" she said in a bright voice. The man looked at her for a second then got into the elevator and held his head down until the doors shut. "Well that was suspicious" She uttered to herself.
"Mick St. John" Mick said answering the call.
"Mr. St John! This is Louise Marsh, we met last week at the news stand. You told me to contact you if anything strange was going on." She said in a rushed tone.
"What's going on?" Mick said sitting down at his desk and pulling out a notepad to jot down what she said.
"There has been a lot of traffic in and out of the apartment across from me. And I heard people arguing but they were speaking a language I didn't understand so I wrote one of the words down and Googled it. It's Arabic" She said taking a deep breath.
"Alright listen Louise, what's your address? I'm on my way over. Don't open the door to anyone until I get there. Understand?" Mick said as he hung up and grabbed his keys. Louise smiled as she ran to the bathroom to shower before Mick St. John came to her rescue!
Traffic was awful so it took Mick a half hour to make the short trip. He got out of his car and slowly approached the building. He took a quick look around and walked to the back of the property noticing and counting how many exits there were.
"Who the hell are you?!" A loud voice called out to him. Mick turned and found a tiny redhead sitting down her laundry basket staring at him with her hands on her hips.
"Do you live here?" Mick asked.
"No. I break in to do my laundry!" She said sarcastically. "What are you doing snooping around"? She asked pulling out her mobile phone ready to call the police.
"I'm here to see a friend. Something has her spooked. I was just checking out the building." Mick explained.
"Who is it?" She asked not convinced.
"Louise Marsh. She lives......" Mick started to say but he saw the woman roll her eyes and chuckle.
"May God have mercy on you if you're believing anything that liar says."
"How do you know she's a liar?"
"Because we never had any problems in this building until she moved here. When she first moved here, she said that she came from a wealthy old family from Cape Cod but she was always wanting to borrow things. I mean what rich person keeps sponging off every one else? Then there was the cancer scare. She shaved her head and told everyone in the building that she lost her hair from chemo. So everyone got together and raised over $12,000. dollars!! Not to mention all the gifts. Then we find out that none of it was true" The woman said picking up her laundry and walking away.
Mick thought about what she said. Could Louise just be looking for attention? Was this all some kind of sick game? He was determined to find out.
Mick made way to the 9th floor and knocked on the door. Louise answered looking very different than she had last week.
"Mick! Thank you for coming. I'm probably being silly, but you can never be sure these days" She said motioning to the sofa. Mick sat down and pulled out his note pad.
"Okay Louise, tell me what you think you saw" He said in a no nonsense voice. Louise looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Well, Like I said. There were quite a few people coming and going over the week. All male. And there were some raised voices." She said.
"You said something about an Arabic word? Can you tell me what that word was?" Mick asked. Louise wasn't prepared for that question.
Oh heavens......I must have mistakenly thrown in away while I was cleaning after I rang you" She said.
"Let me tell you what I've learned. It's been said that you tell lies a lot. Now I don't know how much of what I heard is truth, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and that these things you've told me are truth. So I'm going to look into these allegations, but if I find out you've been lying to me I'll never bother with you again. Do you understand?" Mick said. Mick saw Louise's face begin to crumble.
"I don't know who told you a pack of lies, but I do not lie EVER!" She screamed and put her hands over her face and cried. Mick sat there trying to make up his mind about her.
"Alright Louise. Stop crying. I'm going to go check out what you saw" Mick said as he stood up and walked towards the door. "Lock this door! Do you hear me Louise?" Mick said. Louise nodded her head.
"Hello neighbor!" she said in a bright voice. The man looked at her for a second then got into the elevator and held his head down until the doors shut. "Well that was suspicious" She uttered to herself.
"Mick St. John" Mick said answering the call.
"Mr. St John! This is Louise Marsh, we met last week at the news stand. You told me to contact you if anything strange was going on." She said in a rushed tone.
"What's going on?" Mick said sitting down at his desk and pulling out a notepad to jot down what she said.
"There has been a lot of traffic in and out of the apartment across from me. And I heard people arguing but they were speaking a language I didn't understand so I wrote one of the words down and Googled it. It's Arabic" She said taking a deep breath.
"Alright listen Louise, what's your address? I'm on my way over. Don't open the door to anyone until I get there. Understand?" Mick said as he hung up and grabbed his keys. Louise smiled as she ran to the bathroom to shower before Mick St. John came to her rescue!
Traffic was awful so it took Mick a half hour to make the short trip. He got out of his car and slowly approached the building. He took a quick look around and walked to the back of the property noticing and counting how many exits there were.
"Who the hell are you?!" A loud voice called out to him. Mick turned and found a tiny redhead sitting down her laundry basket staring at him with her hands on her hips.
"Do you live here?" Mick asked.
"No. I break in to do my laundry!" She said sarcastically. "What are you doing snooping around"? She asked pulling out her mobile phone ready to call the police.
"I'm here to see a friend. Something has her spooked. I was just checking out the building." Mick explained.
"Who is it?" She asked not convinced.
"Louise Marsh. She lives......" Mick started to say but he saw the woman roll her eyes and chuckle.
"May God have mercy on you if you're believing anything that liar says."
"How do you know she's a liar?"
"Because we never had any problems in this building until she moved here. When she first moved here, she said that she came from a wealthy old family from Cape Cod but she was always wanting to borrow things. I mean what rich person keeps sponging off every one else? Then there was the cancer scare. She shaved her head and told everyone in the building that she lost her hair from chemo. So everyone got together and raised over $12,000. dollars!! Not to mention all the gifts. Then we find out that none of it was true" The woman said picking up her laundry and walking away.
Mick thought about what she said. Could Louise just be looking for attention? Was this all some kind of sick game? He was determined to find out.
Mick made way to the 9th floor and knocked on the door. Louise answered looking very different than she had last week.
"Mick! Thank you for coming. I'm probably being silly, but you can never be sure these days" She said motioning to the sofa. Mick sat down and pulled out his note pad.
"Okay Louise, tell me what you think you saw" He said in a no nonsense voice. Louise looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Well, Like I said. There were quite a few people coming and going over the week. All male. And there were some raised voices." She said.
"You said something about an Arabic word? Can you tell me what that word was?" Mick asked. Louise wasn't prepared for that question.
Oh heavens......I must have mistakenly thrown in away while I was cleaning after I rang you" She said.
"Let me tell you what I've learned. It's been said that you tell lies a lot. Now I don't know how much of what I heard is truth, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and that these things you've told me are truth. So I'm going to look into these allegations, but if I find out you've been lying to me I'll never bother with you again. Do you understand?" Mick said. Mick saw Louise's face begin to crumble.
"I don't know who told you a pack of lies, but I do not lie EVER!" She screamed and put her hands over her face and cried. Mick sat there trying to make up his mind about her.
"Alright Louise. Stop crying. I'm going to go check out what you saw" Mick said as he stood up and walked towards the door. "Lock this door! Do you hear me Louise?" Mick said. Louise nodded her head.
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
Re: The Whole Truth and Nothing But
The first stop Mick made after leaving Louise's apartment was Logan's.
"Hey Mick! How's it going?" Logan asked
"I'm not sure yet. If I gave you the address of an apartment building, can you get me the names of all the people who rent there?" Mick asked.
"Seriously? Do you think you're talking to an amateur?" Logan said with a laugh. "Give me the address" Logan said as he started typing away. Within a few moments Logan had a complete list of tenants. "How's that?" Logan said proudly.
"That's great! Now I need whatever you can find on the tenant in unit 10" Mick said looking over Logan's shoulder at the names on screen.
"How fast do you need it?"
"Yesterday fast" Mick said pulling out an extra $100 bill and placing it in his hands.
"Give me an hour" Logan said getting to work. As Mick was heading for the door he turned back around.
"Logan, get me all you can on unit 9 as well" Mick said as he left and headed to see Carl.
"Hey Carl you got a minute" Mick asked as he walked by Carl's office.
"Sure Mick. What's up?"
"I have a case that is basically the ramblings of a crazy woman but she thinks is concerns terrorist in her apartment building" Mick said as he saw Carl's eyes widen.
"Spill it Mick!" Carl said. Mick relayed the story including the allegations from the woman who lives in Louise's building.
"Well, we have to look into all allegations concerning terrorist activities, real or imagined. Do you have the name of the woman's neighbor?"
"Logan's working on it, he should be done in about 30 minutes." Mick said looking at his watch.
"Get it to me as soon as you can. We have to be very thorough here" Carl said.
"Okay Mick, this is everything I could find on the both of them. First the neighbor. His name is Tate Brickman. Grew up in Orang County. Middle class background and all of that. Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science. Has had an extensive job history. he seems to bounce around a lot. The longest he stayed at any job was two years. He worked as a research assistant for the Mayors Office. No criminal record, but he did have an ex-girlfriend who had a restraining order against him 4 years ago for attempted assault, but she dropped the order and no charges were ever filed. Then we have Louise Marsh. Her story about coming from money checks out. Her family's part of the DuPont Corporation. on her father's side. She went to the exclusive Phillips Academy in Andover Mass. She went to the famous Sorbonne in Paris where she studied art but she was kicked out in her junior year for lying about the sexual abuse she said she suffered at the hands of a professor. Turns out he didn't touch her due to her not being his preference, if you know what I mean, so she was kicked out. She bounced around a lot from one family member to the other, before they washed their hands of her. Turns out she had taken out credit cards in her aunt's name and maxed them out all over New York City. They chose not to press charges and her family paid off the debt. She moved to Los Angeles about 5 years ago, she worked for a company that hires people with great reading voices to do audiobooks. She makes a pretty decent salary for it. $55k a year which is nothing to sneeze at. And the only thing that's recent is she accused the handyman in her building of installing spying equipment in her apartment to get photos of her naked. The police could find no camera equipment anywhere in her apartment so the charges were dropped. All in all, the woman's a drama queen" Logan finished.
"Can you print that out for me?" Mick asked.
Tate quietly opened the door to his apartment. He was getting kind of tired of his neighbor spying on him all the time. Why was she so all of a sudden spying on him. He shrugged her off, because he knew that she was a liar. Everyone had told him about the stuff she'd done in the past, so he basically ignored her. He shut and locked his door without making a sounds. He took off his coat, sat down and stared at what he'd done.
Louise was looking out her small peep hole and she saw her strange neighbor creep in. She just knew that man was up something sinister, but how could she prove it?
Louise fell asleep in her recliner near the door. Every time she heard the elevator ding she'd jump up and take a quick peek. He eyes popped wide open. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was 3am. She kept hearing a faint dragging noise. She very quietly walked towards the door careful not to make any noise. Her neighbor was dragging a large duffle bag, like the ones they carried in the army. What could he be doing? Maybe he's moving out she thought hopefully, but that's when she saw it! A small white hand sticking out of the top of the bag! A body. She chocked back a gasp and her neighbor stopped suddenly looking around. He looked at Louise's apartment door for a moment, then continued dragging the body down the towards the stairwell. Louise clamped her hand tight voer her mouth and called Mick St. John's telephone number.
"Mr. St. John! You have to come quick!!" She whispered urgently.
"Louise, what happened?" Mick asked. When Louise told him what she saw Mick told her he'd be there right away.
"Hey Mick! How's it going?" Logan asked
"I'm not sure yet. If I gave you the address of an apartment building, can you get me the names of all the people who rent there?" Mick asked.
"Seriously? Do you think you're talking to an amateur?" Logan said with a laugh. "Give me the address" Logan said as he started typing away. Within a few moments Logan had a complete list of tenants. "How's that?" Logan said proudly.
"That's great! Now I need whatever you can find on the tenant in unit 10" Mick said looking over Logan's shoulder at the names on screen.
"How fast do you need it?"
"Yesterday fast" Mick said pulling out an extra $100 bill and placing it in his hands.
"Give me an hour" Logan said getting to work. As Mick was heading for the door he turned back around.
"Logan, get me all you can on unit 9 as well" Mick said as he left and headed to see Carl.
"Hey Carl you got a minute" Mick asked as he walked by Carl's office.
"Sure Mick. What's up?"
"I have a case that is basically the ramblings of a crazy woman but she thinks is concerns terrorist in her apartment building" Mick said as he saw Carl's eyes widen.
"Spill it Mick!" Carl said. Mick relayed the story including the allegations from the woman who lives in Louise's building.
"Well, we have to look into all allegations concerning terrorist activities, real or imagined. Do you have the name of the woman's neighbor?"
"Logan's working on it, he should be done in about 30 minutes." Mick said looking at his watch.
"Get it to me as soon as you can. We have to be very thorough here" Carl said.
"Okay Mick, this is everything I could find on the both of them. First the neighbor. His name is Tate Brickman. Grew up in Orang County. Middle class background and all of that. Graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science. Has had an extensive job history. he seems to bounce around a lot. The longest he stayed at any job was two years. He worked as a research assistant for the Mayors Office. No criminal record, but he did have an ex-girlfriend who had a restraining order against him 4 years ago for attempted assault, but she dropped the order and no charges were ever filed. Then we have Louise Marsh. Her story about coming from money checks out. Her family's part of the DuPont Corporation. on her father's side. She went to the exclusive Phillips Academy in Andover Mass. She went to the famous Sorbonne in Paris where she studied art but she was kicked out in her junior year for lying about the sexual abuse she said she suffered at the hands of a professor. Turns out he didn't touch her due to her not being his preference, if you know what I mean, so she was kicked out. She bounced around a lot from one family member to the other, before they washed their hands of her. Turns out she had taken out credit cards in her aunt's name and maxed them out all over New York City. They chose not to press charges and her family paid off the debt. She moved to Los Angeles about 5 years ago, she worked for a company that hires people with great reading voices to do audiobooks. She makes a pretty decent salary for it. $55k a year which is nothing to sneeze at. And the only thing that's recent is she accused the handyman in her building of installing spying equipment in her apartment to get photos of her naked. The police could find no camera equipment anywhere in her apartment so the charges were dropped. All in all, the woman's a drama queen" Logan finished.
"Can you print that out for me?" Mick asked.
Tate quietly opened the door to his apartment. He was getting kind of tired of his neighbor spying on him all the time. Why was she so all of a sudden spying on him. He shrugged her off, because he knew that she was a liar. Everyone had told him about the stuff she'd done in the past, so he basically ignored her. He shut and locked his door without making a sounds. He took off his coat, sat down and stared at what he'd done.
Louise was looking out her small peep hole and she saw her strange neighbor creep in. She just knew that man was up something sinister, but how could she prove it?
Louise fell asleep in her recliner near the door. Every time she heard the elevator ding she'd jump up and take a quick peek. He eyes popped wide open. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was 3am. She kept hearing a faint dragging noise. She very quietly walked towards the door careful not to make any noise. Her neighbor was dragging a large duffle bag, like the ones they carried in the army. What could he be doing? Maybe he's moving out she thought hopefully, but that's when she saw it! A small white hand sticking out of the top of the bag! A body. She chocked back a gasp and her neighbor stopped suddenly looking around. He looked at Louise's apartment door for a moment, then continued dragging the body down the towards the stairwell. Louise clamped her hand tight voer her mouth and called Mick St. John's telephone number.
"Mr. St. John! You have to come quick!!" She whispered urgently.
"Louise, what happened?" Mick asked. When Louise told him what she saw Mick told her he'd be there right away.
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
Re: The Whole Truth and Nothing But
Mick pulled up to Louise's apartment building and ran quickly to her door. He saw it was slightly ajar, so he called Carl then went inside calling her name. Three other tenants came out of their apartments to see what was going on.
Mick went in the apartment and began to look around. He found Louise dead from a blow to her head in the kitchen. Mick looked down at the woman and cursed himself for not taking her seriously. And now she was dead.
Carl and his men came shortly after called.
"Mick, you found her just like this?" Carl asked looking down at the body.
"Yeah." Mick replied. Felix came in with his crew and said the body was no longer than half and hour dead. The glass shards on floor came from a vase that was missing from her kitchen table.
"Carl, look at this! I think our killer came in form this window" Mick said.
"I need you guys to dust for prints on the window and the fire escape" Carl said. "It appears someone knew she was talking to the authorities" Carl said.
"Yeah" Mick said running a hand through his hair. "What about the neighbor? Any chance you can talk to him?" Mick asked. Carl nodded and they went to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" A female voice asked.
"LAPD. We need to ask you some questions" Carl said. A very pretty young woman wearing a very large Batman t-shirt opened the door.
"Shhh" She said putting her fingers to her lips. "My boyfriend's sleeping" She said stepping out of the apartment. "What can I help you with?" She said.
"The neighbor across the hall was murdered tonight, I was wondering if you heard anything?" Mick asked. The woman's eyes popped open wide.
"Are you serious?" She asked. "Oh my gosh! That's awful!" She said putting her hands to her mouth.
"Did you hear anything?" Carl asked.
"I heard someone moving around a few moments ago, but it was most likely you" She said.
"Were you and your boyfriend home all night?" Carl asked.
"No.....I don't live here...I stay the night most nights. But Tate picked me up to hang out at the Flamingo for Open Mike...I sing sometimes." She said with a shy smile.
"What time did you get there?"
"Wait a minute! You don't think we had anything to do with her being killed?" The woman accused.
"We're asking everyone's whereabouts" Carl said sternly.
"Tate came to pick me up around 8:30pm. Then we stayed until 1pm, came back here and went to sleep. I heard someone moving around out here so I was already up when you knocked." She said. She heard something behind her and saw that Tate had woken up and walked over towards her.
"What's going on?" He asked looking at his girlfriend.
"The lady across the hall was murdered" She said quietly. The young man's face stared in disbelief.
"Louise?" He asked in surprise.
"How well did you know her?" Carl asked.
"I didn't know her at all. Of course people in the building discussed her all the time and warned new people moving in to stay away from her." He explained"
"Anyone in the building have any kind of hatred for her?"
"Not the murdering kind of hatred! Look, everyone talked about her over active imagination and her lying, but no one wanted to kill her!" He replied in surprise.
"I'll need both of you to come down to the station and make a formal statement" Carl said.
"You're sure she said it was the neighbor across from her?"
"Yeah. Positive." Mick said.
"You think you could do some covert investigating?" Carl asked.
"Believe me. I'm on it" Mick said walking away.
Carl got a complete tenants list from building management and started to go over it with a fine tooth comb.
Mick didn't trust Tate or his girlfriend. He just got the nagging feeling that they were covering for one another. First of all, if the girlfriend heard something going on outside of her apartment, why didn't she call the police? But she didn't. She just sat there waiting for someone to alert her to what went on? Women didn't behave that way. Hell, his wife was a vampire and she would have been shaking him awake if she heard something. In any case, he would keep his eyes on them. He knew they were hiding something!
Carl was looking over the list that Logan had just provided. Who the hell was running this building? He had one sex offender, one man who did time for aggravated robbery, and one man who shot his girlfriend? He looked up the owner of the building. He couldn't believe it! He ran to his office to phone Mick.
"Mick it's Carl, you have to get here quick. There's something you have to see" Carl said.
"On my way" Mick replied.
"What you got Carl?" Mick asked.
"Okay, so I'm looking at this list of tenants that I had Logan run for me. It reads like a mug shot book. I'm talking assault, battery and sexual offenses! I mean who would let people like that into a building like this? Then I start looking into who owns the building and look what I found" Carl said sliding the sheet of paper in front of him.
"Louise's family owns the building she lived in?" Mick said in disbelief.
"So I decided to call the Property Manager and ask him who screens the tenants and he said the owners screen everyone and then tell him who to rent to!"
"Sounds like the old DuPont family wanted Louise out of the way" Mick said.
Mick went in the apartment and began to look around. He found Louise dead from a blow to her head in the kitchen. Mick looked down at the woman and cursed himself for not taking her seriously. And now she was dead.
Carl and his men came shortly after called.
"Mick, you found her just like this?" Carl asked looking down at the body.
"Yeah." Mick replied. Felix came in with his crew and said the body was no longer than half and hour dead. The glass shards on floor came from a vase that was missing from her kitchen table.
"Carl, look at this! I think our killer came in form this window" Mick said.
"I need you guys to dust for prints on the window and the fire escape" Carl said. "It appears someone knew she was talking to the authorities" Carl said.
"Yeah" Mick said running a hand through his hair. "What about the neighbor? Any chance you can talk to him?" Mick asked. Carl nodded and they went to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" A female voice asked.
"LAPD. We need to ask you some questions" Carl said. A very pretty young woman wearing a very large Batman t-shirt opened the door.
"Shhh" She said putting her fingers to her lips. "My boyfriend's sleeping" She said stepping out of the apartment. "What can I help you with?" She said.
"The neighbor across the hall was murdered tonight, I was wondering if you heard anything?" Mick asked. The woman's eyes popped open wide.
"Are you serious?" She asked. "Oh my gosh! That's awful!" She said putting her hands to her mouth.
"Did you hear anything?" Carl asked.
"I heard someone moving around a few moments ago, but it was most likely you" She said.
"Were you and your boyfriend home all night?" Carl asked.
"No.....I don't live here...I stay the night most nights. But Tate picked me up to hang out at the Flamingo for Open Mike...I sing sometimes." She said with a shy smile.
"What time did you get there?"
"Wait a minute! You don't think we had anything to do with her being killed?" The woman accused.
"We're asking everyone's whereabouts" Carl said sternly.
"Tate came to pick me up around 8:30pm. Then we stayed until 1pm, came back here and went to sleep. I heard someone moving around out here so I was already up when you knocked." She said. She heard something behind her and saw that Tate had woken up and walked over towards her.
"What's going on?" He asked looking at his girlfriend.
"The lady across the hall was murdered" She said quietly. The young man's face stared in disbelief.
"Louise?" He asked in surprise.
"How well did you know her?" Carl asked.
"I didn't know her at all. Of course people in the building discussed her all the time and warned new people moving in to stay away from her." He explained"
"Anyone in the building have any kind of hatred for her?"
"Not the murdering kind of hatred! Look, everyone talked about her over active imagination and her lying, but no one wanted to kill her!" He replied in surprise.
"I'll need both of you to come down to the station and make a formal statement" Carl said.
"You're sure she said it was the neighbor across from her?"
"Yeah. Positive." Mick said.
"You think you could do some covert investigating?" Carl asked.
"Believe me. I'm on it" Mick said walking away.
Carl got a complete tenants list from building management and started to go over it with a fine tooth comb.
Mick didn't trust Tate or his girlfriend. He just got the nagging feeling that they were covering for one another. First of all, if the girlfriend heard something going on outside of her apartment, why didn't she call the police? But she didn't. She just sat there waiting for someone to alert her to what went on? Women didn't behave that way. Hell, his wife was a vampire and she would have been shaking him awake if she heard something. In any case, he would keep his eyes on them. He knew they were hiding something!
Carl was looking over the list that Logan had just provided. Who the hell was running this building? He had one sex offender, one man who did time for aggravated robbery, and one man who shot his girlfriend? He looked up the owner of the building. He couldn't believe it! He ran to his office to phone Mick.
"Mick it's Carl, you have to get here quick. There's something you have to see" Carl said.
"On my way" Mick replied.
"What you got Carl?" Mick asked.
"Okay, so I'm looking at this list of tenants that I had Logan run for me. It reads like a mug shot book. I'm talking assault, battery and sexual offenses! I mean who would let people like that into a building like this? Then I start looking into who owns the building and look what I found" Carl said sliding the sheet of paper in front of him.
"Louise's family owns the building she lived in?" Mick said in disbelief.
"So I decided to call the Property Manager and ask him who screens the tenants and he said the owners screen everyone and then tell him who to rent to!"
"Sounds like the old DuPont family wanted Louise out of the way" Mick said.
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
Re: The Whole Truth and Nothing But
"Looks like I'm taking a trip to the East Coast" Mick said. Carl nodded with a slight grin.
Mick drove up the winding driveway to the DuPont estate and he had to admit, it was impressive. The house was majestic in size but it didn't club you over head with ornate finery. It projected old money.
The maid that received Mick at the door was an older woman with very disapproving facial features.
"What can I do for you?" She said bitterly.
"My name is Mick St. John and I'm from Los Angeles California. I have some news about Louise Marsh" Mick said. The maid allowed Mick entry and went to find the lady of the house. An older woman came to speak with Mick.
"Mr. St. John, I'm sorry you cam all the way from Los Angeles, but whatever Louise has done, we are not responsible for. She will have to deal with these matters on her own". She said sternly.
"She was murdered 2 nights ago" Mick said watching the woman's facial expressions.
"You came all the way to New York to tell me that? A simple telephone call would have sufficed, unless roaming charges have hit an all time high" She said with a smirk.
"There is another matter. The apartment building you own is where Louise was murdered".
Mick said.
"I do not own property in Los Angeles" She said dismissively.
"According to this property title I'm afraid you do" Mick said holding the document out so she could see it. She pulled out her reading glasses and looked at the document.
"Oh, that would be my brother Robert and he's out for the moment, but if you would like to leave a card or something, I will tell him that you stopped round to see him". Mick handed her his card.
"May I offer my condolences" Mick said walking back to his car. The woman looked furious and Mick knew he was on the right track. Maybe he would stick around and see what crawled from under the rock.
Mick walked back to his car but didn't drive away. He carefully listened to see what these people would do. It turned out his efforts weren't in vain.
"Robert! You pick up this phone immediately! We have problem" He heard her say into the phone. And within moments he heard the shrill ring of a telephone. "Robert, whatever or whoever you're doing you need to get back to the house as soon as possible. Some Private Detective stopped by to tell me that Louise was murdered and he was also asking questions about your apartment building in Los Angeles. Listen you imbecile! I told him nothing because you never told me what you we're going to do!" Mick heard her scream. "Now I trust you will be here within the hour." She said in an lalngered voice slamming the phone down.
"What did they do to you Louise?" Mick uttered to himself.
Mick drove to their main office in Rochester, New York. He was going to find out some answers if it was the last thing he did. He walked up to the Concierge Desk. The pretty blonde smiled brightly at him.
"Welcome to DuPont! How may I help you?" She said, giving Mick a very long look. Mick closed his eyes briefly then opened them again. "Oh Mr. St. John I forgot to give you your badge" She said handing over the plastic I.D. badge for him to clip to his pocket. "And Mr. Hartwell's office in on the 21st floor" She said.
"Thank you" Mick said with a smile as he walked away. He took the elevator and listed to what the other people around his were saying. They continued to talk until someone nudged the man doing most of the talking. The man rolled his eyes.
"Are you going to squeal on us?" The man asked.
"No. That's not why I'm here" Mick said simply. The elevator stopped on the cafeteria floor and they were all getting off, so Mick followed them.
"Alright. I'll bite. Why are you here then?" The man asked.
"I'm here about the lawsuit" Mick said staring right at the man whose eye's grew wide.
"I told you not to get involved with that stuff" The woman standing next to him said.
"It wasn't even a clever plan. Finding you was easy. Now what going to happen to you depends on what you tell me" Mick said in menacing voice taking ahold of the man's arm and leading him out of the cafeteria. "Spill it now before you're named as an accessory"
"Look. Robert told me that Louise was moving to Los Angeles and the family was responsible for paying for her upkeep. They kept hoping that Louise would get herself in a pickle and someone would kill her. But five years passed and nothing was happening. That's when Robert told me to find some non desirable types. I was to pay their fair to California and pay for their rent." The man said.
"So that was the plan?" Mick asked.
"Yes. I told them they could do whatever they wanted to, but they had to keep an eye on Louise. You know, maybe freak her out a bit". He finished.
"Freak her out a bit? The woman's dead. Someone murdered her" Mick said.
"No one was supposed to die. The family was just tired of Louise and all the stories she made up. I thought they were just trying to get her committed or something like that."
"I'm going to have to tell this to the attorneys handling this wrongful death lawsuit" Mick said.
"DuPont has some of the best attorney's in the United States. I don't even know why I'm talking to you" he said defiantly.
"My attorney's work for Josef Kostan" Mick said and he watched the man slide into fear.
"Oh God" He said to himself.
"Yeah. You better pray because a lot of people are going to prison" Mick said.
Mick phone Carl and told him to get the indictments ready.
"How did you know to go to DuPont?" Carl asked.
"It was all a guess Carl. I had no idea if I would find anything there and certainly that I would be on an elevator with the man who was in on everything, chatting up to people like he was talking about a summer vacation" Mick said.
Mick drove up the winding driveway to the DuPont estate and he had to admit, it was impressive. The house was majestic in size but it didn't club you over head with ornate finery. It projected old money.
The maid that received Mick at the door was an older woman with very disapproving facial features.
"What can I do for you?" She said bitterly.
"My name is Mick St. John and I'm from Los Angeles California. I have some news about Louise Marsh" Mick said. The maid allowed Mick entry and went to find the lady of the house. An older woman came to speak with Mick.
"Mr. St. John, I'm sorry you cam all the way from Los Angeles, but whatever Louise has done, we are not responsible for. She will have to deal with these matters on her own". She said sternly.
"She was murdered 2 nights ago" Mick said watching the woman's facial expressions.
"You came all the way to New York to tell me that? A simple telephone call would have sufficed, unless roaming charges have hit an all time high" She said with a smirk.
"There is another matter. The apartment building you own is where Louise was murdered".
Mick said.
"I do not own property in Los Angeles" She said dismissively.
"According to this property title I'm afraid you do" Mick said holding the document out so she could see it. She pulled out her reading glasses and looked at the document.
"Oh, that would be my brother Robert and he's out for the moment, but if you would like to leave a card or something, I will tell him that you stopped round to see him". Mick handed her his card.
"May I offer my condolences" Mick said walking back to his car. The woman looked furious and Mick knew he was on the right track. Maybe he would stick around and see what crawled from under the rock.
Mick walked back to his car but didn't drive away. He carefully listened to see what these people would do. It turned out his efforts weren't in vain.
"Robert! You pick up this phone immediately! We have problem" He heard her say into the phone. And within moments he heard the shrill ring of a telephone. "Robert, whatever or whoever you're doing you need to get back to the house as soon as possible. Some Private Detective stopped by to tell me that Louise was murdered and he was also asking questions about your apartment building in Los Angeles. Listen you imbecile! I told him nothing because you never told me what you we're going to do!" Mick heard her scream. "Now I trust you will be here within the hour." She said in an lalngered voice slamming the phone down.
"What did they do to you Louise?" Mick uttered to himself.
Mick drove to their main office in Rochester, New York. He was going to find out some answers if it was the last thing he did. He walked up to the Concierge Desk. The pretty blonde smiled brightly at him.
"Welcome to DuPont! How may I help you?" She said, giving Mick a very long look. Mick closed his eyes briefly then opened them again. "Oh Mr. St. John I forgot to give you your badge" She said handing over the plastic I.D. badge for him to clip to his pocket. "And Mr. Hartwell's office in on the 21st floor" She said.
"Thank you" Mick said with a smile as he walked away. He took the elevator and listed to what the other people around his were saying. They continued to talk until someone nudged the man doing most of the talking. The man rolled his eyes.
"Are you going to squeal on us?" The man asked.
"No. That's not why I'm here" Mick said simply. The elevator stopped on the cafeteria floor and they were all getting off, so Mick followed them.
"Alright. I'll bite. Why are you here then?" The man asked.
"I'm here about the lawsuit" Mick said staring right at the man whose eye's grew wide.
"I told you not to get involved with that stuff" The woman standing next to him said.
"It wasn't even a clever plan. Finding you was easy. Now what going to happen to you depends on what you tell me" Mick said in menacing voice taking ahold of the man's arm and leading him out of the cafeteria. "Spill it now before you're named as an accessory"
"Look. Robert told me that Louise was moving to Los Angeles and the family was responsible for paying for her upkeep. They kept hoping that Louise would get herself in a pickle and someone would kill her. But five years passed and nothing was happening. That's when Robert told me to find some non desirable types. I was to pay their fair to California and pay for their rent." The man said.
"So that was the plan?" Mick asked.
"Yes. I told them they could do whatever they wanted to, but they had to keep an eye on Louise. You know, maybe freak her out a bit". He finished.
"Freak her out a bit? The woman's dead. Someone murdered her" Mick said.
"No one was supposed to die. The family was just tired of Louise and all the stories she made up. I thought they were just trying to get her committed or something like that."
"I'm going to have to tell this to the attorneys handling this wrongful death lawsuit" Mick said.
"DuPont has some of the best attorney's in the United States. I don't even know why I'm talking to you" he said defiantly.
"My attorney's work for Josef Kostan" Mick said and he watched the man slide into fear.
"Oh God" He said to himself.
"Yeah. You better pray because a lot of people are going to prison" Mick said.
Mick phone Carl and told him to get the indictments ready.
"How did you know to go to DuPont?" Carl asked.
"It was all a guess Carl. I had no idea if I would find anything there and certainly that I would be on an elevator with the man who was in on everything, chatting up to people like he was talking about a summer vacation" Mick said.
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Ella713
- Courtesan
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:34 pm
- Location: Des Moines, WA
Re: The Whole Truth and Nothing But
When everything was said and done, Mick was disappointed with himself. Would it have killed him just to visit the woman and make small talk? Would it have killed anyone for that matter? Couldn't her own family see she needed help?
"Come on Dad! You've been in this funk for a couple of weeks now" Gabriel said looking at his father.
"Yeah. I know" Mick said not sure what to say. Zoe leaned over the front seat.
"That's why I've got something great planned for you Dad!" Zoe squealed with excitement.
When they pulled up to the beautiful old house Mick heard the faint sounds of music.
"Who lives here?" He said running his hand through his thick mane.
"It's a retirement home Dad." Gabriel explained.
"Look you two, I know what you're trying to do...." Mick was saying, but he stopped to listen to the music. "Do you know who that sounds like?" Mick asked changing the subject.
"Jon Hendricks" Zoe said with a smile. Mick's eyes opened wide.
"Yeah it does! I used to play this song when I was with my band!" Mick said becoming curious and walking towards the stairs. "How did you know about Jon Hendricks? I didn't know you were a jazz fan Zoe." Mick said.
"I'm not. But this a retirement home for jazz musicians and that one I remembered you playing"
Mick froze in his steps.
"A retirement home for jazz musicians? No way?"
"Yes way! Famous jazz musicians started this place, so people could always come by and hear stories and hear impromptu sessions. But in any case Jon Hendricks is one of the residents here" Zoe said.
"Someone named Toots Thielemans is here and he heard you play in 1956. We told him, we knew Mick St. Johns son and he was excited to meet you!" Gabriel said.
"You guys! This is amazing! I don't know what to say" Mick said.
"We know how upset you were by happened to Louise so Zoe thought spending some time here talking to these men about what they love would make you feel better. I know it will make them feel a lot better!" Gabriel said. Mick walked over to them and put his arms around them.
"Thank you both so much" Mick said.
Mick spent two days a week helping out at the retirement home and every Wednesday he would play a session with some of the greatest musicians in the world. This is what Louise should have had. Something like this to make her feel useful. Maybe she'd still be alive.
The End
"Come on Dad! You've been in this funk for a couple of weeks now" Gabriel said looking at his father.
"Yeah. I know" Mick said not sure what to say. Zoe leaned over the front seat.
"That's why I've got something great planned for you Dad!" Zoe squealed with excitement.
When they pulled up to the beautiful old house Mick heard the faint sounds of music.
"Who lives here?" He said running his hand through his thick mane.
"It's a retirement home Dad." Gabriel explained.
"Look you two, I know what you're trying to do...." Mick was saying, but he stopped to listen to the music. "Do you know who that sounds like?" Mick asked changing the subject.
"Jon Hendricks" Zoe said with a smile. Mick's eyes opened wide.
"Yeah it does! I used to play this song when I was with my band!" Mick said becoming curious and walking towards the stairs. "How did you know about Jon Hendricks? I didn't know you were a jazz fan Zoe." Mick said.
"I'm not. But this a retirement home for jazz musicians and that one I remembered you playing"
Mick froze in his steps.
"A retirement home for jazz musicians? No way?"
"Yes way! Famous jazz musicians started this place, so people could always come by and hear stories and hear impromptu sessions. But in any case Jon Hendricks is one of the residents here" Zoe said.
"Someone named Toots Thielemans is here and he heard you play in 1956. We told him, we knew Mick St. Johns son and he was excited to meet you!" Gabriel said.
"You guys! This is amazing! I don't know what to say" Mick said.
"We know how upset you were by happened to Louise so Zoe thought spending some time here talking to these men about what they love would make you feel better. I know it will make them feel a lot better!" Gabriel said. Mick walked over to them and put his arms around them.
"Thank you both so much" Mick said.
Mick spent two days a week helping out at the retirement home and every Wednesday he would play a session with some of the greatest musicians in the world. This is what Louise should have had. Something like this to make her feel useful. Maybe she'd still be alive.
The End