Chapter Text
She corrected the framed license she hung on the wall adorned with chipped green paint, the license a testament of her new life about to begin. Huffing from a tinge of exhaustion from hauling a few additional pieces of furniture into her new office, she was finally able to admire her surroundings. It certainly wasn't much, but it was all hers. She eyed the door that displayed the words she'd long wanted to see
Luz Noceda: Private Eye
She was the only non-magical private eye in the entire city of Bonesborough, and while she didn't have much in the ways of competition, she still wasn't going to be the first on the list for most people. To build a reputation in such a big city was either going to take a significantly long time, or a stroke of luck.
She sat down at her brand new desk and took a peek at the ad she had taken out in the local paper which perfectly captured what she wanted to get across
Luz Noceda: Private Investigator
Missing persons, items, and
Pets, found in record time
The address and phone number provided underneath could've been bigger, but complaining about it now won't get the papers reprinted. As she set the paper down, she wondered how long it would take to get her first client.
Unfortunately, Luz was about to discover that it's not going to before her first day was officially over. After eight hours of waiting by the phone, she heaved a sigh and was about to get up and start her walk home, when the phone rang. She snapped to pick it up as fast as she could, this could be it!
"Luz Nocera, Private Eye!" She called out excitedly.
"Luz bebé!" It was her mother. While she was still excited to talk to her mom, she deflated a little at the fact that it wasn't a potential client.
"Hi mami," she responded, half-defeated. Why had she called her on her work phone instead of her cell?
"I saw your ad in the paper and I had to call to say how proud of you I am, mija. I know it's only your first day, so I wanted to make sure you weren't being too hard on yourself." Her mom was being a true support system in her life, and her initial defeat quickly faded at hearing her mothers encouraging words.
"Thank you, I'm trying to stay positive, but what if no one wants to hire me because I can't do magic?" She had pondered on that question for years, always worried about if it was a true fear or not.
"Oh Luz, most people don't hire PI's for their magic, they hire them for their skills. You just have to make a name for yourself and you'll be bu-" The sound of another call coming in cut her off momentarily.
"Uh, mami I'll have to call you back," she said as she clicked the phone over to the other caller calling in. "Luz Noceda, Private Eye."
"This is Detective Eda Clawthorne of the Bonesborough PD, we're in need of an investigator, and you being a human might be able to aid us in our case." She sounded serious, like a woman of age who had seen her fair share of atrocities. But Luz could only think of how great of a stroke of luck this was! Her first day and getting hired by the police! Her enthusiasm didn't waver when she responded.
"Of course! I'd be happy to help! What kind of case are we looking at?" Her enthusiasm was promptly met with a tinge of regret almost immediately.
"I like your moxy kid, but maybe save it for a lighter case. There's been a string of murders lately, all humans, likely the work of a serial killer based on the MO." Danger, this was what Luz signed up for! Well, not exactly, but it was still exciting all the same!
"That sounds serious, are you able to give me any details over the phone or should I come down to the station?" To this, Eda gave a slight chuckle. What could be funny about this?
"Well kid, we were hoping you'd be able to come down to a crime scene right now." She had a sense of urgency to her voice, letting Luz know this was going to need an answer now. She pondered for a moment, on one hand, this could be dangerous work, and could potentially make her a target for whoever is doing the killing. On the other hand, it was guaranteed pay and she could potentially be brought back in by the PD in the future.
"So, should I just stop by the station after I leave the scene to give my hourly and retainer information or should I just give it to you now?" Luz had made up her mind, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. A quiet fear began to creep into her mind, but she pushed it down, knowing she had to do this.
"I'll take you down to the station afterwards and we'll put you on the payroll. Address is 848 Bramble way, do you need us to send a car to get you?" Luz checked the address, and seeing that it was only 4 blocks from her office made her a little nervous.
"I can be there in 10 or less," Luz called back with determination. This earned another chuckle from the detective.
"Good, good, don't be late, kid," and with that, she hung up. Luz put down the phone and paused for a second before excitedly jumping up and down. How lucky could she be? She had to let her mom know on her way there. She grabbed her coat to protect her from the chilled autumn wind, and ran out the door, calling her mom as she walked and gave her the story.
Luz arrived after a brief, brisk walk to the address, to see several police cars outside, and several people casing the scene. She tentatively approached the residence, license indicating who she was in her hand and ready to go. As she approached the police tape sectioning off the residence, an officer stopped her.
"Ma'am this is a crime scene, you're gonna have to back up," he said holding up a hand to her.
"Oh uh," Luz stammered as she held up her license. "I'm Luz Noceda, PI, I was requested by Eda Clawthorne?" She was sure this the right place. He took her license and inspected it before giving her an acknowledging nod before handing it back to her. He lifted the tape for her, where she was escorted by another officer inside. Luz was wholly unprepared. Blood stained the floor, the ceiling, and in every wall of the immediate room. Alarms of regret immediately began ringing in her head, and she pondered on bolting out the door that instant when an older lady in uniform, albeit a bit disheveled, approached her.
"Ah, you must be Luz. Sorry for the short notice, but our last PI dipped, something about not being able to handle being involved in this kind of work. So let's hope you work out!" She gave Luz's shoulder a firm pat and began leading her through the room. "You aren't squeamish are you?" She asked nonchalantly. I mean how could it get worse than what she's already seen?
It got worse
Much. Worse.
Eda led her into a kitchen area of the house and Luz saw, for the first time in her life, a real dead body. The corpse had been eviscerated, with what looked like little regard for the state of the house. Anything on the inside of the body had been pulled out, and from the looks of it, while they were still alive. Luz smiled sheepishly to Eda before sprinting past her and out a back door, promptly emptying the contents of her stomach over an old banister into a bush. Luz was, to say the least, unprepared.
She stepped back in shortly after collecting herself, and leaned against the kitchen counter to keep herself from fainting. Eda simply raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm good, peachy, never been better," Luz lied terribly. Eda just rolled her eyes and walked over to stand next to her.
"Kid I'm not gonna lie, this killer has been thorough. No prints, no marks, hell not even a partial boot print, we have nothing to go on aside from their MO. They wholly and completely gut everyone of their victims, like they're exacting revenge on them specifically. But so far every suspect has seemed to be clean and give no reason for this kind of act. We suspect it's a witch since every victim was human, we're thinking a hate crime. Luz examined the body the best her stomach would allow her, and noticed something curious. There was no sign of magic on them at all.
"I don't think it was. If it was a witch, they'd have trace remnants of magic from the culprit, but this person is clean, like the person who did it was another human. Humans have certain magical potential, but I'm not feeling anything on this person, almost like.."
"Like it was stolen from them?" Eda asked. Luz nodded and Eda put a finger to her chin, seeming to ponder on the thought. "Kid that's a good point, but how were you able to tell that? I didn't think humans could sense magic." She was inquisitive, and rightfully so. Luz was always told she had a gift, being able to sense magic as a human was a rare case indeed, and it was part of the reason she wanted to become an investigator. A talent that most other humans don't have makes it an invaluable skill, even more so in a situation like this.
"I was born with it, I had always hoped to one day learn magic, but I haven't found a way yet. So for now I'm doing this, and apparently rather well!" Luz chirped, though she was standing in a grim situation, being able to help in anyway she could was the one benefit to all of this. Eda just gave a small smile at Luz's enthusiasm, seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Luz could feel herself wavering at the strong iron smell in the air and clutched her mouth before running back outside to vomit once more. This brought Eda out of her thoughts and she followed her out of the house.
"You're not gonna give up, are you kid?" Eda leaned on the banister next to Luz, who was stilling her dry heaving and trying to pull herself together. She just looked up at Eda, tears cresting the corners of her eyes, and simply shook her head before continuing to heave over the banister. Eda just smiled and shook her head, seeming impressed at Luz's determination. Luz was not what she had imagined. She was smaller, maybe five feet, six inches in height, and was thinner, though she seemed to be primarily lean muscle. Tanned skin with few blemishes with shorter brown hair, cut just below what a pixie cut might be, and with eyes just as dark. To someone of Eda's age, she was just a child, though she'd never outwardly admit it.
"Detective, how do you deal with it? All of that I mean?" Luz asked quietly, catching her breath from her episode. Eda laughed, much louder than before, like Luz had told her the joke of the century.
"I did the same thing you did a long time ago, I've just seen enough bodies at this point that it doesn't phase me as much. I won't say you'll get used to it, because no one ever does. Hell, Jerbo who you met at the front cried his first time, poor sap. But you gotta stay strong, and from looking at you, I don't think that's gonna be hard. You got guts kid, I think you're just what we need to blow this case open." Luz got the impression that she was the mom of the precinct. Making sure people didn't get discouraged and packing and extra lunch in case someone forgot theirs. Luz smiled at the thought, momma Eda, this made Luz laugh a bit before turning back to look inside the house.
"So how many victims have there been so far?" She was gonna do this. She was determined to crack this case. For the families of those who were taken, and to prove her salt in this cutthroat city.
"Eight that we've discovered so far, and that's just been this month alone. This killer works quick, far quicker than anyone we've dealt with in the past. They're also not trying to hide the bodies like they want them discovered." Eda seemed to trail off at the end as she looked back inside at the team currently collecting samples.
"They're sending a message. This is a game to them." Luz was stern, she had a feeling, a hunch that she needed to go off of. Everything inside her was screaming that she shouldn't get involved, but she had to do what's right. "Can you take me to the precinct and show me the other cases?" She inquired, to which Eda just smirked at her.
"Tired of being around the body already?" She laughed as she lightly slapped Luz's back, which made Luz jerk forward and return Eda's laugh with an awkward grin. "I'm just messing with you kid, let's get out of here before you ruin the bushes anymore."
She led Luz back through the house and stopped to talk to the man at the front of the house by the police tape, who Luz could now put a name to a face. Jerbo, he didn't look much older than her, which was good to see that she wasn't the only one that was going into this situation as a squeamish mess. Eda motioned for her to follow her through the tape and over to a squad car, lights still flashing. Luz took the offer of climbing into the passengers side and Eda situated herself behind the wheel, and Luz determined this was Eda's vehicle and not just one of the general precinct cars based on her not needing to readjust the seat or mirrors. Eda flicked off the lights and took off down the road, and Luz couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension growing in her stomach.
A feeling that she may be in way over her head.