Chapter Text
Tonight was supposed to be a great night– a miracle night where you were given grace of getting off of work early, ditching the police station and hanging out with your friends for the night. Of course, a week and a half from the holidays, downtown Shiganshina would be busy. The night was cool, the air was crisp, and the city was bustling with people as busy as bees that were trying to collect gifts for the upcoming Christmas. Obviously there were a lot more people than you expected, so you had to cut the down-time a bit short since you didn’t like the huge crowd that was at the nightclub.
Your night was going fantastic– you left work at 4 in the afternoon rather than leaving at the ungodly hours of the night to go hang out with your co-workers and friends downtown. You finally solved a murder case that was puzzling everyone else at the station, which is great satisfaction when you’re a Junior Police detective. Your little cousin, Eren, finished his midterms and you (hopefully) get to spend the holidays with your family.
Then you got a call at exactly 11:13 p.m.
Sighing, you reached down in your pocket to pull out your vibrating phone and answered, it was the police station’s number that you have saved as ‘shit job.’
“Detective L/n here,” You start, your voice monotone and barely slurring your words. The voice on the other end of the line sounded frantic; from whatever else you were hearing in the background, there were other people around. You would’ve assumed they’re back at the police station if it weren’t for their tone and how his breath hitched with every exhale.
“ Detective, there’s been– there’s been a murder at Maria University! ” That certainly got your attention. Eren’s a college student there, the fact made you worry a little bit. “And I’m assuming you need me there.”
“ Yes please! Come quick, it’s bad– it’s really bad. ”
“Alright, I’ll be there in a bit,” You let out a sharp sigh after hanging up, putting your phone back in your pocket and glancing at your partner, Levi. “Yo, I’ve got another murder case. I gotta go, I’ll see you tomorrow.” You say as you take your coat from the back of the chair. The short man turned in his chair before scoffing, “Whatever. See you tomorrow.”
“See ya,” You huff as you finally turn around and leave the crowded bar. Truth be told, you were looking for an excuse to leave the nightclub for the past 30 minutes, but you would appreciate it more if it was something related to Eren in a more positive circumstance.
Leaving the nightclub proved to be nearly impossible since there were people flooding from the doors and prancing inside to have some fun for the night. Lucky them, they didn’t have to deal with surprise calls and crime scenes. Then again, you were glad you picked this job. It meant you got to use your intelligence in a more useful way instead of using it for negative outcomes.
The cold, wet air immediately stung your face as you finally managed to get past a group of people huddled by the doorway (proving just how packed the nightclub really was). You scrunched up your face at the gust of wind blowing directly at you, shivering as you took your coat and put it on. The street next to you would be considered empty if all the cars on each of the two busy lanes would hold four people in comparison to how many people in that nightclub were standing in the line that wrapped all the way around the corner of the building. Thank god you got there earlier, you would hate to be stuck in that unmoving line.
You consider yourself lucky that you parked further down the street. Getting caught in traffic while you’re supposed to be on your way to a crime scene is a huge pet peeve of yours– if only the people that started the traffic knew how urgent the cases were.
“Can’t have a single night of peace, can’t I?” You ask yourself as you unlock your car after finally reaching it from the 15 minute walk and climb into it, plopping down on the driver's seat. The car was just as cold as the weather outside– another pet peeve: cold cars on a cold night. There’s nothing you hate more than that, aside from maybe an aggravating investigation (despite that feature making your job more entertaining). After turning your car on, you immediately blasted the heat and put the car in reverse, twisting your body around to make sure you didn’t hit anything. When the coast was clear, you shifted the car into drive and sped off from your parking spot and took the fastest shortcut that you knew to Maria University.
Thank god for backroads, you would’ve lost your mind from the traffic that was going into downtown. Sure, it was the holiday season and everyone was scrambling for last minute presents of ingredients for dirty santa or a Christmas dinner, but there were other places that weren’t malls. Every present you’ve ever gotten for your family and your friends were ordered off of Amazon, simple as that. If everyone did that then it would lead society to its next step.
Unfortunately, the backroads led you straight to the crime scene which was on the opposite side of the campus’ entrance. As much as you loved Eren, you dreaded having to find him at that crime scene, where you hoped he wasn’t at.
Your hopes fell upon deaf ears as you pulled up to the parking lot, turning off the car and stepping out to find Eren and who you recognized as his other friends forming an amoeba on the lawn of the building. Apparently it was the library where the group was “studying” for the night. That all proved to be bullshit when Eren was explaining to the cops what was really going on.
“Detective L/n, you’re finally here,” A deep voice said as you started approaching the amoeba. You looked to the left and found the chief of police Erwin Smith in his work attire from today. The stern expression on his face told you that he was about to go home too when the whole station was called in for that crime scene which you’ve yet to see.
“You pulled me outta that nightclub, I couldn’t tell you how suffocating it was,” You admitted before shuttering at the thought of brushing against someone’s shoulder back at that building. Erwin hummed before leading you past the amoeba, which you quickly said hi to Eren, and into the building. It’s been a little while since you walked around the halls of Maria University, but the blue carpet was still there from when you were in college. There were different people from the station all over the place, taking pictures of random stuff that you now didn’t really think was necessary when Erwin was now leading you to the second floor. Another corner turn down the hall led you two to the bathroom upstairs. Inside the bathroom sat a man with red hair on the toilet, blood staining his white shirt and partially staining his pants as he sat there, his lifeless posture in a hunch.
“Jeez, what a mess,” You admitted as you stepped over the blood that had spewed onto the floor from whenever he was killed. You ducked lower to get a good look at his throat which was where all the blood was coming from. Clicking your tongue, you stood up straight and sighed, “Great, another premeditated murder.”
“How do you know it was premeditated?” Erwin asked as he was looking out the window that apparently was left open from what he told you on the way up to the bathroom. You looked up at him before back down at the victim. “First off, his throat shows no signs of struggling, meaning no strangling was involved or anything like that. Second, there’s no weapon in his hand, so suicide is off the list,” You state as you look at the rest of the scene. Everything else looked untouched as if it really was suicide.
“Just what we need for the holidays,” Erwin sighed before ducking his head back in and examined the body. “What a great Christmas gift, Santa.”
“Yeah, and the blood patterns show no interruptions, so we’re definitely working with a smartie pants here.” You comment, pointing your finger at the blood trail on the victim’s shirt and on the floor.
Erwin knit his eyebrows closer together before a lightbulb went off over his head. “You stay here and look for any further evidence, I’ll have the team search outside for any weapons that may have been thrown out the window.”
“Keep the CSI close to you, you may need to look for fingerprints if you do find something,” You crouch down as Erwin eventually steps over the blood pattern and out of the bathroom, leaving you alone with the victim.
You clicked your tongue and hummed a tune as you carefully looked around the room, examining the scene. There’s nothing visible around that looked like it could be used as a murder weapon, and you really didn’t feel like looking around in the cabinets just for some weapon when you could go home and do it tomorrow when you’ve gotten a good night’s rest.
After ultimately deciding that you’ll do it tomorrow, you stood back up and stepped over the blood and stepped out of the room. A few minutes had passed since Erwin left, so you doubt it’s been long since he and the rest of the team searched for any weapons lying around on the ground.
There were still a few officers around the building looking for any clues as you were walking down the flight of stairs. The grandfather clock that was right next to the entrance of the library had struck midnight by the time you finally got down the stairs. The chime of the bell coming from the clock rang throughout the building as if to call for the victim’s attention.
“Erwin, I’m gonna keep looking tomorrow, it’s late and I gotta be in by 6 later on,” You announced as you stepped out from the building and walked around to find Erwin and the team searching around the corner of the library. The blond whipped his head around to face you before he stood back up from crouching. “Alright, goodnight, detective.”
“G’night,” You reply as you step away, walking back towards the amoeba from earlier. Officers were still questioning them by the time you’d gotten over there.
“Hey Eren, are you ok?” You ask as you approach him, looking at his surprisingly indifferent expression (probably because he’s tired). He glanced over at you and sighed. “Yeah, I’m ok. I’m glad they called you over here.”
“Mhm, I’m not too thrilled about it though.” You admitted as you took a look around at the rest of his friends. You recognized only three of them; a blond boy, Armin, and a girl with black hair, Mikasa. The rest you didn’t recognize at all, but you figured he met them at some point in time earlier this year.
“I just don’t get it. Who the hell would do something like that?” Eren questioned as he looked back at the building. The lights were still on from when the amoeba was goofing around in there, and the door was still open from when you walked out. There were multiple CSI agents in there still taking pictures of what they thought might be useful, like messy rugs and chipped wall paint. You shrugged then looked back at the building a moment later.
“What’re you studying again? Forensics?”
“Yeah, I’m taking chemistry this year then I’m taking biology next year.”
“Right, and who’s your professor?”
“Professor Zoe.”
You nodded your head briefly then sighed, “Alright. I’ll have to come in tomorrow and pull everyone out from their classes to question them individually.” You stated, reaching for your phone in your pocket and unlocking it, going straight to your notes. Eren started chewing on the bottom of his lip before a cop approached you and him.
“Detective L/n, are you taking up this case?” An officer asked. You nodded as you turned off your phone and shoved it back into your pocket. “Yup.”
“Alright, I’ll let the chief know,” The officer replied before he stepped away from the two of you. Eren sighed as he put his hands behind his head.
“Eren, were you taking chemistry with the victim?”
“No, Floch was taking marine biology.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Forster.”
“Ok, I’ll put in the report for mister Forster’s murder.” You replied as you started walking back to your car, leaving Eren behind with his friends. The brunet frowned a bit then glanced at Mikasa and Armin.
“Are you sure your cousin’s got this?” Armin asked as he and Mikasa got closer to Eren. The brunet sighed and nodded, “Yeah, she’s been a detective for 5 years now. She’ll be able to solve this.”
“That’s true…are you taking chemistry because you wanna be part of the police force like her?” Armin suggested, to which Eren frowned a bit. His cheeks flushed a bit as he started chewing on his bottom lip again.
Armin looked at Mikasa with a knowing grin, then looked back at Eren. “It’s ok to admit that. Having a job like that sounds pretty cool, actually.”
“Shut up, I don’t feel like talking about it.” Eren grumbled before turning his head back around to find you climbing into your car.
With a sigh, you turned it on, immediately putting it in reverse and backing out from the parking lot. Your car cooled back down from when you got here, which made you curse a bit at the temperature before blasting the heat once again. The night which was going fairly well with going to the nightclub (and only enjoying it for about an hour) until you got the call. A murder case, seriously? Right before Christmas? The luck was at a 50/50, since it somehow involved Eren, but that also meant you’d be spending a bit more time with your little cousin than you normally do. (which is usually thrice a month)
Whoever killed that guy back there sure has some brains, they made it look like a suicide yet showed proof of a premeditated murder. Never in your 5 years of solving cases have you been to a scene like that. You could already tell this was going to take a while. It was right after Eren finished his midterms, too. You felt bad for him, but only a little bit, since you were still tired.