Ask The Game

[Trys Aran]

She had been on the scene for less than an hour. She hadn’t gone inside yet, having been given the details. Unlike her normal gigs, this wasn’t in the underbelly and seedy districts of Coruscant. It was raining outside, and she was in the middle of a nicely manicured suburban neighborhood. It was half past 11 pm at night, caution tapes having been criss crossed over the front entrance.

Trys stood under the porch, puffing on a cigarra. She still had her coat on, her frosty breath admixing with the plume of smoke that escaped between her lips. She knew media would be all over this in no time - this was a quaint, richer neighborhood and nothing like this happened here.

She sighed and dropped the cigarra, stamping it out before finally entering the house. She ducked to go past the tape, walking past the dining room that had a candle that was still burning and all the lights on. The Holo was on in the living room, and she made her way upstairs towards the bedroom where she heard the voices of the hushed forensics team moving about.

Trys walked past them and entered the room, standing by the door. She didn’t flinch at the sight, though she found it oddly out of place here. Before her, on the floor was a young teen girl with eyes vacantly staring up at the ceiling. She was half clothed, bruises on her neck. Her skin was pale, her lips blue, and her blood vessels had been prominently streaking the whites of her eyes.

“How long?”

“We think just three hours,” One of the analysts said, “No sign of forced entry, her father is out of town, mother at work...no leads whatsoever.”

Trys said nothing in response, walking over to crouch down next to the body. The girl had been beautiful, and she had quite a bright future ahead of her. Trys put some gloves on and tilted the girl’s head to the side to look for other signs of trauma.

“Oh and…” The analyst said, causing Trys to look up, “This was found in her mouth,” He held up a small, purple flower.

It was similar to one she had found in the mouth of a victim a few weeks prior.

“Shit,” She whispered.

 

[Nick Shaw]

He had worked for the last twenty hours and had finally made it back to his small apartment. He had just barely made it to the bed before crashing. His head spun as he was jarred from sleep 10 minutes later as his comm went off. "You have got to be kriffing kidding me," he mumbled as he looked at the message.

Why was he getting called out to a murder? Why wasn't the local cops handling it? He plopped his head back down on the pillow for a moment, seriously considering the consequences of ignoring the call out. A moment later, through a mumbling slur of curses, he was throwing on fresh clothes and sliding his duty weapon back into its holster.

He had the sense to at least grab a caf before heading out the door. It was a terrible night, no one ever seemed to get killed on a nice night. The morbid train of thought stuck with him as he presented his badge to the crime scene droid as he entered.

Nick entered as the analyst was explaining the scene to the other ranger who had been called to the scene. His eyes lost focus for a second before downing the rest of the caf. "Trys." he said with a nod before looking over the body and putting on his own pair of gloves.

He took the flower from the analyst and held it between two fingers as he examined it. "I have heard of pushing up daisies..." he said pausing slightly "but never anything about coughing them up," he said as he knelt down on the other side of the body, careful not to disturb the crime scene. "Care to enlighten me why we are here? Seems like a case for the local police?" he said, still spinning the flower slowly between his thumb and index fingers.

 

[Trys Aran]

She was lost in her own thoughts, assuming that it was simply another forensic walking in. However, as he addressed her by name, she glanced up. Her look of curiosity was replaced with slight annoyance - why was another Ranger called in? She said nothing for a moment, glancing back at the body as he took the flower. She felt privately insulted that the Sector Rangers didn't even find her capable of handling this herself.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his cheesy comment, Trys withdrew her hands from the girl, “Evening, Shaw,” She said quietly, having no qualms with staying off first name basis, “I assume we were called in because this is far beyond the local authorities.”

Trys looked at his cup of caf, silently wishing she had thought to get one of her own. Looking at the scene and the facts, it was obviously going to be a long night. She looked back down at the body.

“You know that case down in 5th district? Jane Doe found in the alley with the flower in her mouth? And the one six months ago in the pink district and same deal?” Trys reached for the dead girl’s hand, noting that the palms were flat, “We were called in because they think there’s a connection.”

She glanced up, watching the analysts leave before she turned to look at Nick, “But here’s the thing - we released all the details to the public except for one thing,” Trys drew back her hand, “The girls always had a small, tiny photograph of themselves crumpled up in their palms. We never released that information to the public, and I read this girl’s file and nothing was found in her palm.”

Trys stood up to her full height, narrowing her eyes, “It doesn’t fit the usual M.O - this isn’t at one of the public districts, and there was nothing in her hand. Why is this one different?”

 

[Nick Shaw]

Seeing her here, it made more sense why he had been called in. There were those that didn't trust her. Rumors of her life before becoming a Sector Ranger ranged from drug addict to murderer. Most just assumed she was going to be a dirty cop. Nick hadn't worked with the woman much, but she seemed on the up and up to him. If there was anything Nick hated more, it was agency politics, that didn't mean he wasn't at least a bit suspicious of her.

His expression was thoughtful as she caught him up. He had heard about the crimes, but he stuck more to drug and other vice crimes. "Maybe a copy cat killer?" he asked as she stood. He remained squatted down but looked up at the other Ranger. "Were the others killed where they were found or dumped there? Maybe this time the killer was interrupted before completing the ritual?" he thought out loud.

He thought for a moment, his tired mind putting away its fatigue and beginning to churn. "What was the cause of death for the others?" he asked.

They would need more information if they hoped to fully link the two crimes. Whether if it was the same killer or someone imitating the other murders, they had a mess on their hands.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys paused for a moment, thinking about his words, “Copy cat...or the killer could be closer to home than we think,” She shrugged, “Though the motive isn’t abundantly clear,” She explained. There were too many unknown variables for her to form a solid opinion one way or another.

“The others were sexually assaulted and strangled...and they were dumped away from where originally killed judging by fibers found on them,” Trys mentioned quietly, thinking back to the other victims, “And the photographs in their hands suggested that the murders were all premeditated and planned,” The killer on the loose was very different than the usual thugs she dealt with.

“This one looks like a similar case, but so far there’s no sign of sexual trauma at first glance,” Trys explained, “Though they’re still running the tests. I’ve also asked for test results from underneath the fingernails in case that could give us any clues. This girl lived here, so several things don’t line up here. The killer normally doesn’t eat where he shits.”

Trys rubbed her chin in thought, glancing over at Nick. She wasn’t excited about working with him, and she wasn’t even sure how this arrangement would work. She cleared her throat, “So, are you my partner for this case now or what?” Trys hated saying that out loud. It had been a long time since someone had worked with her, most people passing up the opportunity. However, she guessed the Rangers didn’t have a choice with this one as she had been on the case of the flower killer for a bit.

“We should interview the parents,” Trys said, “Let’s have them brought to the station while forensics finish up here. The mother is in town at least.”

 

[Nick Shaw]

His eyes were distant as he looked over the body of the young woman in front of him. He listened as Trys laid out thoughts and what she had figured out so far. He nodded slightly before pushing himself back up. These things were never easy, but he had a bad feeling about this one. The best-case scenario is they had one killer who would likely kill again, worst case they had multiple killers which would make the investigation a lot more sloppy.

He scowled slightly as she questioned his being here though he guessed he didn't blame her. It was hard not to get paranoid when the higher-ups watched your every move. "Look," he said as he began to pull off his gloves. "I have heard the stories, know "partners" aren't really your thing but I am here to stop this from happening again," he said pointing to the body before stepping away. "I got your six," he said. He wasn't here to jack someone's investigation, but two heads were always better than one, at least most of the time.

He nodded in agreement with her next course of action. He hated talking to parents but it seemed like the best first step.

It took several hours for local CSF to track down the mother and have her brought down to the station. During that time, Nick spent looking over the files of the other murders.

After the victim's mother was placed in an interview room, Nick made his way to the other side of the one-way window that looked inside. "Victoria Quinn," he said looking down at a file before drinking form another cup of caf, it was the fourth in what would likely be many more before he got the chance to sleep again. He glanced over at Trys before looking back towards the mother. "She doesn't look that broken up about the death of her daughter," he said. He checked to confirm she had actually been notified of her daughter's death, which she had. The woman had the presence of extreme wealth and authority. It was obvious she at least thought she was someone important.

"You want to take point on this, or me?" he asked Trys.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys stood next to Nick as she observed the mother. She had a caf in her hand now, having learned a lesson from not having it before. Trys tracked with his observation - the mother didn’t seem as hysterical as one would expect. She looked visibly shaken and riled up, but it appeared slightly misplaced. Trys looked down at the file again, “Is this mother or...step mother?”

She grinned at Nick, “We can tag team this,” It was out of character, but she hadn’t forgotten his words about working as partners. If he showed her respect, she would do the same. With a deep breath, she finally stepped into the room. Almost at once, Victoria glared at the Rangers.

“This is absolutely absurd,” She hissed, “I’m being made to feel like a murderer! And for the death of my daughter! You’re putting me in this chair and wasting time while the real killer is out there!” Her voice got higher and higher, Trys calmly sitting down across her and shuffling through her files.

It wasn’t till the woman stopped her tirade that Trys finally looked up, “M’am, I’m very sorry for what you’re going through. I imagine it’s very dif-”

“Do you have kids?”

Trys didn’t react - she knew exactly where this line of thought was going to go, and she wouldn’t entertain it, “M’am, it’s best if we stay focused. The quicker this goes, the quicker we can get back on the case,” She kept talking before Victoria could interrupt, “Where were you between 7 pm and 11:30 pm tonight?”

“I was out with my girlfriends.”

“And your daughter was home alone?”

“She’s sixteen, I don’t keep track of all her activities!”

“Where were you with your girlfriends?”

“I was having dinner,” She looked over at Nick, “You look sensible, can you tell me why I’m having to do this? This is absurd and I don’t appreciate being made to feel like the bad guy here!”

 

[Nick Shaw]

He would have been perfectly fine if she would have just handled it. Parents were always difficult in some way and the slight twitch in his left eye warned him that this woman was going to be an extra difficult one, or maybe it was just too much caffeine. "After you," he said opening the door and letting her enter.

He listened as the woman tore into the pair. He hated it when his intuition was right. He had seen people respond to pain like this before, but it was still suspicious. He looked on, looking for anything that he could learn from the woman.

This was going to be an even longer night if she insisted on being this belligerent. Finally tired of dealing with Trys, the woman turned his attention towards Nick. He gave her an even look. "No one thinks you are a "bad guy", Ms. Quinn," he said leaning forward. "But we have to be thorough, you understand that, don't you?" he said in an empathic tone. He slid a pad of paper and a pen over across the table. "We just need the name and number of someone who can confirm the story and then we can tell our boss that it was looked into."

"I'm not telling you a blasted thing," she said leaning forward as well, it was then that Nick caught the faint smell of alcohol. "I was wrong. about you, you're even more of an idiot." she sat back in her chair "What do I even pay taxes for?!" she yelled "For the privilege of talking to you two clowns?!" she spat venomously.

"Miss Quinn.." he started again. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I know the commissioner! When I am done with the two of you, you won't be able to mall security guards!?" she yelled even louder. "Now let me GO!" she finished as she threw the glass of water that had been given to her. Whether she intended to, or through drunk luck, the glass stuck Nick in the face.

Shattering, he felt a cut form along the side of his cheek. Covered in water, he pushed himself up as CSF Officers ran in to subdue the drunk woman. "Kriffing..." he muttered as he lifted a hand to his face, feeling the blood that was already running down his face.

 

[Trys Aran]

Things got abruptly out of control, and Trys jumped back and cursed as the woman threw the glass. She almost moved to tackle the woman herself, but the officers burst in through the door and subdued her. Trys shook her head and walked towards the exit right as the woman began to scream about how she wouldn’t talk without a lawyer.

“We’re not gonna get a word out of her,” Trys said after she shut the door behind them. She shook her head as she reached into her jacket pockets and pulled out a small bacta patch. One of the benefits of raising a boy meant she always carried first aid on her. Trys extended it out to Nick, spotting his injury, “Damn, she really clocked you there.”

Trys was tired, sleepy and they had made no headway whatsoever on the case. She rubbed her chin in thought, “Maybe the father will be more cooperative? He’s coming back tomorrow,” Trys said, still hearing the woman inside shrieking at the top of her lungs.

“I was looking at the files on the way here,” Trys said, “And it appears the father remarried. Victoria is actually her step-mother,” She rolled her eyes, “Seems too obvious. The bruises on her neck suggested that large, male hands choked her.”

She sipped from her coffee as an analyst came over to hand them some files, “Results from the tests we ran on her. Negative for any sexual assault. However, we were able to identify a size 10 shoe from indentations in the carpet. Also we found some fibers from what we believe to be black fleece, so possibly a hoodie of some sort."

Trys took the files and looked confused as the woman left, “So either this is still tracking with the killer not having had enough time, or this was set up to look like it was the flower killer,” She sighed, looking at Nick, “What do we do now? We haven't interviewed any potential witnesses yet."

 

[Nick Shaw]

He was bleeding, covered in water, and about ready to boil over with anger. When the now screaming woman was finally dragged from the room, he forced himself to take a break.

He took the first aid kit and nodded in thanks. "Yeah she is a kriffing gem," he said holding out the bacta spray and examining the cut on his face. "I have faced off against some real monsters and I am almost taken out by a cracked out housewife." he spat before spraying the wound. It stung as the skin was pulled back together but the bleeding stopped.

He was now nursing what promised to be a killer headache but he pulled himself together and turned his mind back to the case. "I can't imagine he could be any worse.." he said almost instantly regretting his words. Maybe cops were just overly superstitious, but you never challenged the Galaxy, that was just asking for trouble. "Forget I said that.." he said looking back down at his files, still partially wet from the thrown water.

"I wouldn't be surprised if her alibi checks out, my gut says it isn't her" he said before adding "even if she is a nutbag," he said with a bit of a snicker.

He listened to the report come back in. It confirmed that things were definitely different than the other killings. These things always seemed insurmountable at the beginning. You just had to take a piece at a time.

"We start out by getting some sleep. We aren't good to anyone dead. Tomorrow we can pay the Father a visit and maybe stepmom will be in a different mindset after she sobers up a bit." he said closing the file. He wrapped things up and then went and got a few glorious hours of sleep, even if it hadn't been enough.

He felt pretty much whole as he showered and put on a new suit. He met Trys at the Father's apartment. The cut on his face had closed up, but he still had a pretty good looking bruise. "Morning." he said to the fellow Ranger. "Its your day to take the hits from crazed parents," he said as the made their way up to the apartment. Once outside the door, Nick gave the door several sturdy knocks. Several seconds went by and he knocked again.

"He knew we were coming, right?"

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was happy to call it a night, and she was thrilled to even be allowed some time with her son in the morning. The boy complained about her being gone so much, but he was promised a trip to the ice cream shop later that evening. Trys ended to keep that promise as she made her way to the father’s place.

As Nick spoke, she had to chuckle, “I might not be able to keep from hitting back,” She muttered, thinking back to the crazy step mother. Trys nodded at his question, “Oh yeah, I didn’t want to take any chances. He knows.”

The door opened a moment later and a man in his late 40s stood on the other end. His hair looked disheveled, and he was in a suit with the tie messily undone. He looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep, and his eyes were red and puffy.

“You’re the Rangers,”He said as a statement instead of a question as he stepped aside, “Please come in.”

He led them to the living room area, motioning for the two to sit. Already it was clear he was more cordial and polite than his wife. Trys took a seat and glanced around the home for a moment. It looked rather plain, and nothing like the house they had found the body in. He must have caught her gaze because he spoke then, “It’s where I crash when I travel for projects. It’s closer to the work site here. With...the house...I thought it best for me to be here."

Trys simply nodded, “First of all, we’re very sorry for your loss. We know this is tough, but we do need to ask a few questions.”

“Sure, anything you need,” He nodded.

“Howard Quinn,” Trys began, “Where were you during 7:30 pm and 11 pm last night?”

“I was actually in Corellia for work,” He explained, “I was supposed to be there the whole week, but I arrived back here as soon as I heard.”

“And we can see travel records and talk to your work to corroborate this?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you have anyone that would have any reason to harm you or your family?”

“Honestly, probably a fair amount because we are well off,” He said with a sigh. He held a necklace between his fingers, “I don’t know why they’d go after my little girl...but you know the lower districts...who knows what those people think,” His voice cracked, “My girl...I can’t believe she’s gone...I can’t...who would do this…” His eyes began to fill up with tears.

Trys glanced over at Nick, giving him a cue to ask a few things. All in all, he appeared a lot more willing to cooperate, and he appeared genuinely distraught.

 

[Nick Shaw]

He walked inside, the door closing behind him. While the place wasn't overly large, it easily was triple the price of his meager apartment, and this was only his "backup" residence. No one got into this line of work to get rich.

He unbuttoned his jacket and sat next to Trys. He jotted down notes as Trys asked several questions. He noted the answers and demeanor of the father as he spoke. He at least showed signs that grief. He gave the man a moment to collect himself.

"I understand this is hard for you, Mr. Quinn," he said pausing for several seconds before continuing with questions. "Had your daughter mentioned any new Friends? Relationships? People she was having any issues with?" he asked, looking up to meet the man's eyes. "Well." the father said clearly trying to think hard. "I...I don't know. It was so hard to keep up with her. You know how teenagers are, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to me about anything in her life." he said, regret obvious in her voice.

"She did have this one girl she seemed to spend alot of time with. She is a Twi'lek, her name was...." he trailed off trying to think of her name. "...Lena...something like that." he said. Nick wrote down the name and underlined it. "Do you have any idea where we can find her?" he replied.

"Not exactly, but I did drop my daughter off in the District 2485 one day as I was leaving for business. She mentioned meeting up with her." he said, wiping a tear from his face.

 

[Trys Aran]

As Nick began to ask his questions, Trys politely excused herself to use the restroom. In Ranger speak this was mostly code for snooping around. She walked through the apartment, pretending to be slightly lost as she peeked into the other rooms briefly. Nothing was out of the ordinary at first, but she did notice some women’s clothing strewn about in one of the rooms.

Upon finally arriving in the bathroom, she opened a few cabinets and spotted even more feminine products here and there. Trys made a note of all this and then made her way back towards the main room. The man was still in tears, but he appeared to be cooperating.

Trys took an opportunity to speak briefly while there was a break, “This is a nice apartment, Mr. Quinn,” She remarked, “Does Mrs. Quinn come here often as well?”

“Not a chance. This place isn't up to her standards,” He shook his head, “No one else does. It’s just me here when I come for business trips.”

“And your daughter or her friends have never come here either? Any cleaning ladies or anything?”

“Nope,” He shook his head, “I just use it as a crash pad..." He looked suspicious for just a moment and as if he were about to ask why, but he held back.

Trys filed the discrepancy away in her mind, though her face didn’t reveal anything. She looked over at Nick and then back at the father, “Well, thank you for your cooperation. We will follow up with this Lena and keep in touch.”

After exchanging some pleasantries, she and Nick would be shown out the door. After walking a few paces away from the house, she turned to him, “Something doesn’t add up,”Trys said as she reached into her pocket and took out a small baggie. It contained a single strand of long, blond hair, “Both Mrs. Quinn and the daughter are brunettes. He said no one else ever came to this apartment.”

 

[Nick Shaw]

"Yeah, just down the hall and around the corner." the man said when Trys asked if she could use the man's restroom. It was an old trick in the playbook but there had been few crimes solved by someone being stupid enough to leave things lying around.

The man eyed Trys as she walked away, eyes lingering as she disappeared from view. It was obvious to Nick what the apartment was for. While Mr. Quinn was obviously a bit a sleazeball, Nick didn't think he was a murderer. Nick sat forward, bringing the other man's attention back to him. "Look, Mr. Quinn. I'm not here to jam you up with anything that isn't related to your daughter." he continued, keeping eye contact with the man. "I just need the names of anyone who may have been here over the last couple of days and somewhere I can find them," he said, keeping his tone casual.

Mr. Quinn squirmed, obviously quite uncomfortable. "I don't kno...No one has been..." the man sputtered before Nick cut him off. "I will find out, it really is just a matter of time. Without your help, I am afraid it will be a lot less....quiet," he said. It was a bit of an idle threat, but the man squirmed for a moment longer before deflating. "Fine," he said, somewhat defeated. "Those girls won't know anything though," he said starting to write down the information.

Nick took the paper from the man and folded it into a jacket pocket. "I'll make sure to be discrete," he said with a nod. Trys came back out a moment later and they left the apartment.

When they exited into the hallway, the two rangers spoke quietly. He raised an eyebrow at her thoughts about the man. "I think it adds up perfectly," he said with a chuckle as he pulled out the piece of paper. "Here is a list of the women who have all visited him the last several days," he said passing the paper to his partner. There were four names on the list. Two of them have contact numbers but the other two only had locations where they might be found.

"Any idea where you want to start?" he asked as they exited the apartment building.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys had to laugh as Shaw took an entirely different approach. She hadn’t expected the man to crack and fess up, but she did remember that he had a big name and wouldn’t want publicity. She looked over the list and glanced up at him, “You’ve already ruled him out, haven’t you?” She asked flatly.


She sighed as she looked back at the closed door, “I don’t want to rule him out just yet. He seems like a scumbag, sure, but it goes beyond that. People like him - men with that much status and power...they don’t like risking their discreet activities coming to light. They’ll do almost anything to keep things quiet.”


Trys handed the list back to Shaw, “You follow up with one of the women and I’ll talk to Lena,” She reached into her pocket and pulled out some bacta bandages, shoving them into his hand, “You know, in case one of them beats you up,” She grinned before turning to walk the opposite direction. If he looked, he would notice they had cartoon and action heros on them, the patches clearly made for children.

---​

It didn’t take her long before she reached where the twi’lek girl was located. That was when her comlink began to buzz, and she quickly answered it when she noticed it came from forensics. After a moment, she put the comlink down and grimaced. Trys didn’t hesitate before she punched a quick message over to Shaw.


‘Autopsy report had a curious finding - the girl was pregnant. They’re trying to run DNA.’


The case just got stranger and stranger. Trys shook her head, placing herself back in the current situation and knocking on the door. After a moment, a young twi’lek answered, and she looked immediately nervous upon Trys displaying a badge.


“Do I...do I have to talk to you?”


“Be a lot less suspicious if you did,” Trys said flatly. Lena paused for a moment before finally stepping back to allow her in.

 

[Nick Shaw]

No one was ever ruled out completely but Nick didn't think the man was a killer or at least the one who had killed his daughter. "Regardless, no one is winning any parent of the year awards," he said as the continued to leave.

He took the list back from her and folded it back into his pocket. She then handed him a box of band-aids clearly made for small children. "Watch yourself Aran, I may not be there to heroically jump in front of those deadly glasses," he said as they stepped outside. He was actually starting to enjoy working with the Sector Ranger. He knew some of the rumors that floated around about her, but he had been paired up with way worse partners.

The two parted ways and he set his sights on the first name on the list. There was no contact number but there was a club name listed. "Blast" he read the name out loud. He had heard of the place, it was a pretty upscale place known for less the questionable morals. Seemed like it would be right up Mr. Quinn's ally. He climbed into his speeder and made his way to the nearby entertainment district.

It was mid-morning by the time he reached the club. There would be no patrons but there were workers there cleaning up from the previous night and preparing for the next. He stepped inside and scanned the room before walking up to the girl behind the bar. "Hi there. Nick Shaw, Sector Ranger," he said showing his badge before putting it away. "I am looking for a Reyna. I heard she hangs out here?" he asked hoping she worked at the place. Tracking her down otherwise would be difficult.

His comm buzzed, but he only glanced down at the message. His brow wrinkled a bit at the news but quickly turned his attention back towards the woman behind the bar.

---

Lena looked on the verge of bolting. She was a rough-looking character who definitely didn't fit the picture of what one might think would be the friend of the affluent girl who had been killed.

"Fine." she finally said before stepping outside. The door closing, only briefly showing the incredibly messy and run-down apartment within.

"What do you want?" she asked with a bit of venom as she crossed her arms over her chest. The girl was guarded, but it looked more like a defense mechanism than anything else.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys raised an eyebrow, noting the girl didn’t bother letting her come in. She looked around to see if anyone was watching, and she knew it would be useless to try and get inside when she was so stand offish. Trys shrugged and turned back to the girl.

“You were friends with Elyna Quinn right?" She began, looking for any changes in Lena’s demeanor, “How would you describe her? Were you good friends?” Trys knew this would be an uphill battle, and she wanted to ease into the real probing questions.

---​

“Sure, Reyna’s putting stuff away in the back,” The woman said, looking clearly perturbed at seeing a Ranger. She disappeared for a moment through a doorway behind a bar. Nick would vaguely hear a woman’s voice yelling at ‘Reyna’ on what kind of trouble she had brought and how cops were bad for business.

Moments later, both women came out, the bartender with a fake smile plastered on her face. Reyna was appeared to be in her early 20s and looked slightly shaken up as she stepped out from behind the bar to approach Nick. She looked terrified, “H-Hi, I’m Reyna,” She looked around nervously, “What’s this about?”

 

[Nick Shaw]

Lena knew what was coming but still tensed when the Sector Ranger mentioned her dead friend's name. Her mouth trembled ever so slightly before she regained control, forcing everything behind a cold expression.

"No," she said after a long pause before opening her mouth again. "I mean.." she stammered "I guess we were...before…" she trailed off "Nevermind. It doesn't matter. She's dead." She said, shoulders deflating slightly.

The Twi'lek's eyes darted from side to side as she scanned the area in search of anyone who may overhear them.

***

It wasn't a good look for a club to have a cop snooping around, but it was the morning, and appeasing him now might mean we wouldn't come back later when there were customers to witness him snooping around.

Everyone kept their distance from Nick as he waited at the bar. As the bartender returned with another woman, it was clear the second woman was troubled about something.

"Hello there, Miss. My name is Nick Shaw. I am with the Sector Rangers and would like to ask you a few questions. It should only take a moment." He said, wavering here over to side away from the other woman. He led them to the other side of the bar and turned back towards her. "I wanted to ask you a few questions about an interaction you may have had with a Howard Quinn a few nights back. Does that name sound familiar?" He asked

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys could see that Lena looked around nervously to see if anyone were listening. She sighed, “Look, it’ll be much more comfortable if we go inside,” She hoped the girl would finally take a hint and let her in. Regardless of whether she did or not, Trys wouldn’t back off the questioning.

“I know this is rough,” She explained, “But there might be concerns that what happened to her could….happen to others. And if you could stop that from happening, you would, wouldn’t you?”

Trys pulled out her datapad to capture whatever Lena said, “Did she ever hang out in any social circles that you found...odd? Did she talk about anyone that bothered her or show any concerns about being in trouble somehow?”

Based on the evidence, Trys wasn’t sure this was the Flower Killer. This meant that the killer was likely someone she knew, and she would start there.

---​

Reyna was happy to be away from her boss, and she visibly relaxed. When Nick asked his questions, however, she stiffened again. She looked around nervously, chewing on her lip.

“He...He was so nice,” She shifted uncomfortably, “I was his server when he came here. He left me a big tip, and came back again. We started talking and then…. You know…” Reyna shrugged and looked down, “I didn’t know he was married,” She looked guilty and terrified at the thought.

“Am I in trouble?” She asked abruptly, looking up at Nick with wide eyes.

 

[Nick Shaw]

The girl's eyes darted around again, seeing if anyone was watching. "Yeah...maybe you are right," she said still not convinced but turned and opened the door before going back inside. Inside the apartment was a cluttered mess of computers and computer parts. There was a mixture of both legal and illegal slicer equipment.

She listened to the questions and thought hard before answering. "I'll tell you what I know, but you have to promise to protect me. If I help you, I am likely to end up dead." she said, obviously very worried.

She took another breath, shuttering slightly as she suppressed breaking down into a sob. "A couple months ago, she started hanging out with some guy. She wouldn't tell me who he was, but it was obvious he had money. He took her on trips and to parties." she said before pausing, her stare growing distant. "She changed. I dont know what happened but she started taking some pretty serious drugs. She..." the girl continued to look for the words. "...changed." she said finally breaking down into tears. "I should have done something." she said through periods of sobbing.

--
Nick let the woman talk, somethimes people couldn't help themselves but spill their guts when given the chance. She finally asked if she was in trouble and and Nick shook his head.

"No mam, not at all." he said, giving her a re-assuring look. "Howard Quinn's daughter was murdered last night." he said giving her a moment to react.

"I just would like to know if you notced anything off about Mr. Quinn during your time together. Anything out of the ordinary?" he asked.