Bloody Roses

Baron's bar. Warm atmosphere, drunks singing, flashing neon lights decorating the gleaming glass windows, the clinking of drinks, the slurred deep voices of drunken men and Vera Lynn's angelic voice being played throughout the building on an old brightly lit jukebox. Jack Tyler and William Banes entered the building, thankful of escaping the humid midsummer LA heat. Tyler strolled towards the bar, laying an arm down on the brass surface as he grunted, catching the attention of the bar tender who was focusing on cleaning a pint glass with an old yellow stained rag. The bartender looked up, approaching Tyler as he wiped his hands on the rag before slapping it down on the bar. He also resting a huge muscular arm on the highly polished bar, raising an eyebrow at Tyler.
"What can I get ya?" He asked, his eyes looking over to Banes who slid onto a bar stool next to Tyler.

The bar tender looked to be in his 30s, with shortly cropped black hair and half lidded lazy brown eyes that awaited for Tyler's answer. Tyler looked the bartender up and down, taking in his attitude, appearance and facial expression. Was this man a happy person or an angry person? How would he react to the questions asked? Did he look like the type to go giving false answers? How could Tyler persuade him into telling the truth if necessary? Tyler took in his face shape, he was slightly chubby around the face area yet also quite muscular around the arms. He was leaning against the bar, one arm placed on the burnished surface while the other rested on his hip, his thumb hooking into one of his trouser belt loops. He looked tired but mainly bored, still waiting for Tyler's answer as he slowly began to loose his patience.

Tyler brought out his badge, holding it up at the bartender's eye level.
"Tyler and Banes, LAPD," Tyler introduce before slipping his badge back into the pocket of his jacket. "We're solving a murder case and we were wondering if we could ask you some questions sir?"
The bar tender nodded, running a hand through his short black her, wakening up a bit, "Yeah, I'm Chris Warford, is this about the Sally Gardener case?"
Tyler raised his thick dark eyebrows, "Yes it is," He confirmed.
"Yeah, I heard about it on the radio," Chris replied, a glum tone to his voice, "Ask me anything you want...it's just such a shame about Sally...she was so full of life."
Tyler nodded, bringing out his case note book and recently sharpened pencil. He wrote down Chris's name under the current witnesses list, underlining it and looking back up at Chris.
"Can you tell me when was the last time you saw Miss Gardener?" Tyler asked, staring at Chris's eyes as he answered.
"Yeah, she was here last night," Chris answered, then paused. "She was heavily drunk too," He added.
Tyler raised an eyebrow, "When she arrived or when she left?" He asked.
Chris shrugged, "I dunno, she didn't come out often but I'm guessing she had already drank a bit, yeah. But she defiantly left in a state, I had to call a taxi for her around 12:00 pm and that was the last time I saw her that night."
"She didn't leave with anyone else?"
Chris shrugged, "Nope, she didn't come here with anyone either." He paused, "In fact, she only actually spoke to me the whole night. And all she talked about was her relationship problems. She'd been ranting about them all night," Chris leaned closer to Tyler from across the bar, glancing around before he spoke. "Yeah, I heard that apparently her and that boyfriend of her's aren't doing to well. She was moaning about how the only contact they ever have with each other was through letters and the occasional an 'get together' every few months," Chris shrugged, straightening up again, "Gee, I dunno. She could do a lot better if you ask me, her family don't like him in particular. She told me this during her rage last night."
"So what time did Miss Gardener actually leave last night?" Tyler asked.
"Must have been around 12:16 pm, she wasn't too happy about it but I insisted...she was going to get hurt otherwise," Chris muttered.
"Do you have an address to her parent's house?" Tyler asked and Chris nodded.
"Just one minuted," He replied, walking round the back of the bar.

Tyler drummed his fingers on the brass metal surface, looking over to his partner who was sitting down on one of the bar stools, hunched over and looking bored.
"Do you want to go and check to see if any of the regulars know anything about last night?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Banes with irritation.
Banes waved a hand at Tyler, "Yeah sure, but I'm still going with the boyfriend story. Seems most likely to me," He muttered.
Tyler sighed, "You really still think he would slice his girlfriend up? Seems a bit extreme doesn't it?"
Banes shrugged, "Who else do we have?" He asked.
Tyler shook his head, "It's not like that, don't let this investigation be lead by your assumptions. We will get to interviewing the boyfriend about all of this later, I have a feeling this boyfriend of her's is going to have a lot to say."
Banes snorted, "Yup, he sure is because it defiantly isn't looking good for him so far."

Tyler blinked, looking his partner up and down. Banes was an old man in his 60s, just a few months away from retirement. From what Tyler had heard, Banes had served the L.A Police Department well, solving most of the cases given to him and not stopping unless every piece of evidence was useless and it was impossible to work because there was nothing to actually work with. Tyler had been told that Banes was once a cunning and smart man, thinking his way out of every impossible situation and cracking case like they were a children's jigsaw puzzle.

But looking at the man now, Tyler began to have his doubts. It may seem like Banes once had his glory days, but they were over now. Banes didn't seem like he cared much about the investigation anymore and Tyler couldn't blame him either. It must be hard having to solve the same style cases over and over again. Someone was murdered, someone committed suicide or someone had suffered from an overdose. It was always the same things and Banes looked thankful that his retirement was nearing. He deserved it too.

Tyler observed Banes, taking in the rough leathery skin to his worn face. His skin was tanned, mapped with wrinkles and creases. His Strong sharp jawline dotted with a fresh dull grey layer of stubble. His mouth had withered into two pursed lines representing lips. His aged dirty green eyes framed with dark drooping bags and a fan of uneven grey eyelashes. Banes' dark grey hair was scraped back under his dark green hat, the area at the front thinned out but not completely bald. His face used to belong to a young and handsome man, someone who would attract all the ladies and catch the attention of most girls in a bar. A grin that used to be gleaming white and used as a cheesy weapon for flirting, was now lined with small crooked teeth, some were missing while others were cracked. He still owned his trademark sly grin but it was just a little crooked now and also lazily lop sided. His grey thin eyebrows were high and arch shaped, adding a slightly friendly look to his withered face and also covering up a birth mark hidden just under the wiry grey hairs above his right eye.

Tyler shook his head, turning away and Banes slid off the bar stool, strolling over to a couple sitting by the window. The bartender came back from behind the bar, holding a small card between two fingers and he handed it over to Tyler.
"Here, I hope you catch this guy...Sally was a nice girl," The bartender said sadly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Tyler nodded, "Don't worry, we will."

Tyler left the bar to see Banes hovering over a man sitting at one of the tables by the window. He was in his late twenties with slicked coal black hair and a cigarette between his chapped lips. The man may have only been around his mid-late twenties, but the face he owned was much more. A pale bony face, rough and leathery skin, just clingy to his protruding sharp cheek bones. His eyes were dull and grey, probably once filled with life but only to have it sapped away. Now they were empty and lifeless shells, huge glassy bulbous orbs, staring up at Tyler. This man would have probably once been handsome; movie star handsome. But aged pain had stolen away all the life he once had and had replaced it with the current tortured soul who sat in front of Tyler.

Tyler continued to examine the man, with observing dark brown eyes. The man sat in an awkward posture, both legs huddled together and his large calloused hands clasped and place on top of his lap. He didn't seem to be comfortable on the sofa, just about perching on the edge of it and it was almost as if he expected spikes to spring out from the cushions if he sat too far back.

Tyler nodded at the man, bringing out his case notebook again and also retrieving his pencil from the breast pocket of his coat.
"You have information on the whereabouts of Miss Sally Gardener last night?" Tyler asked, tapping the end of his pencil against the side of his strong jawline.
The man nodded, "Yeah, that I do," He replied glumly, straightening up a bit.
"Mind telling me your name sir?" Tyler asked, his pencil hovering over the daunting blank page of his notebook.
The man nodded, "Yeah, It's Daniel Withers."
Tyler nodded, scribbling down Daniel's name at the top of his page, before his deep brown eyes focused back on the miserable man before him.
"Can you tell me when and how you exactly saw Sally Gardener last night?" Tyler asked him, tapping his pencil on the spine of his leather bound notebook, the repetitive sound making Tyler seem more intimidating an impatient.
Daniel nodded, giving a grunt as he shifted about in his seat so he was facing the detective, seeming a bit more comfortable as he rested on arm on the wooden table in front of him.
"Yes actually, it was last night, around 10:30pm to the time she left when I saw her," Daniel muttered, "It was actually quite hard to miss her. I'm surprised you haven't managed to get anything off the other customers."
Tyler raised a questioning dark eyebrow at Daniel, his lip twitching a little, "And why is that Mr Withers?" Daniel asked.
Daniel shrugged, "Ask Chris, the girl was heavily drunk, had been shouting and ranting all night. Honestly, you would have thought her life was ending by the amount she ranted all night," Daniel replied bluntly, then paused, "Sorry, maybe those weren't the right words to use in this current situation," Daniel grunted, blinking.

Tyler pursed his lips together, giving a sniff before shaking his head, "And what was Miss Gardener ranting about exactly?" He asked, deciding to ignore Daniel's comment and carry on with the questioning.
Daniel shrugged, "I dunno, crappy women things. Mainly about her boyfriend and relationship problems. Nothing much else really. Apparently her and that long distant boyfriend of her's aren't getting a long too well." Daniel paused, "No, in fact, they aren't getting a long at all. And now everyone who was in the pub last night knows it too. She was practically shouting about her life story, there wasn't much she didn't rant about."
Tyler nodded, "So her boyfriend lives quite far away then?" He asked.
Daniel nodded, "Yeah, well, she said so anyway. Apparently their only way of communicating is through these soppy love letters and she only gets to see the lad every few months. To be honest, I don't know why she bothered. Pretty girl like that, she could have gotten any man from around here."
Tyler raised his eyebrows, "Did she get a lot of admirers then?"
Daniel nodded, "Oh yes, of course she did. Girl like that couldn't walk down the street without catching the glances of a few lads. But as she said in her raving last night: Apparently she's the faithful one in the relationship, while he's probably been sleeping with other girls. To be honest, I'm not sure if this is true or not, she was drunk after all. She could have come up with anything. She was raging that apparently this man of her's was "Useless", "Good for nothing" and "Broke promises"," Daniel groaned, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "Gee, I dunno, I zoned off after a while; I have to listen to enough this crap at home from the wife, I didn't need to be hearing it here too."
Tyler nodded, straightening up, "Okay, thank you Mr Withers, you've been a big help."
Daniel nodded, holding his glass up to Tyler before taking a sip from it, "And you. Oh, and catch this son of a bitch will ya? Sally was a nice girl."
Tyler nodded, tilting his hat at Daniel, "Don't worry sir, we will."

Tyler walked away from the table and left the cheery atmospheric pub. The two both climbed into the gleaming black Chevrolet parked outside Baron's bar.
"So we go to her parent's house next?" Banes asked as he slid into the passenger seat, settling into the fresh cream coloured leather seats.
Tyler nodded, starting the engine, "Yeah, we'll have to break the news to them unfortunately. And I want to find out more about this boyfriend of her's"
Banes nodded, resting his head in the cushioned top of the chair, "Ah, so we're going with the boyfriend are we?" He asked, giving a mischievous grin, "I knew you'd come round to it, there's clearly no other evidence pointing at any other suspects. It has to be the boyfriend," Banes pointed out.
Tyler shook his head, gripping the wheel as he pulled away from the curb and began slowly driving towards Sally Gardener's parent's house. "I don't know Banes, it just doesn't seem right," He muttered, "I was hoping that maybe the parents can shed a little light on this. And will you please stop pointing a finger at people without enough proof? How do we know that it's her boyfriend? All we have is a few breakup letters and that's it."
Banes shrugged, "It's the only the evidence we have so far, unless you want to go hunting down every flower shop and garden growing red roses, we're slightly short of suspects here. We have the customers of Baron's bar last night, but that's hardly anything to work with. I'm going with the boyfriend story because it sounds more promising and this sounds like the sort of son of a bitch that could loose control like this," Banes muttered.
Tyler raised a Skeptical eyebrow at Banes, "We hardly know anything about this guy Banes, maybe her family will know more about him and the sort of guy this man is. So far all we have are a few angry letters and the words from a man who happened to be there a few hours before her death. This boyfriend doesn't live in L.A so not many people are going to know him around here. Our best bet is to go and question the parents, they'll defiantly know more about their daughter's boyfriend. Maybe they can tell us if this really is the sort of man to murder his girlfriend like this."