Bloody Roses

"You look nervous," Banes commented as the gleaming black car crept up to the curb. "I would have thought you were used to this by now Jack," Banes muttered, suddenly leaning forward and stuffing his hands inside of one jacket pocket before moving them to another hastily.
He smiled in relief when he finally found his packet of cigarettes, flicking the top open with his thumb and also retrieving a lighter from the same pocket. He popped one cigarette between his chapped thin lips before offering the packet to Tyler. Tyler took one gratefully, nodding a thanks at Banes as he placed it between his own lips. Banes flicked on his lighter, a flickering pretty yellow flame smothering the end of his cigarette, the tip growing into an angry red. Banes leant over and lit Tyler's before sitting back and watching as the lazy slither of smoke wafted from the smouldering cigarette.

Tyler sighed as he rolled down the window, gazing out across the street. His observing eyes took in every little detail, every happy child chasing a metal hoop down the street or riding on a wooden horse. He watched a woman walk past them. She beamed down at the children as she strode by, giving a little wave of a leather gloved hand before continuing her stroll, her red heels clacking on the pavement with each step.
"How many does it take before you just stop feeling it all together?" Tyler asked as he hung his arm out of the window, tapping the cigarette against the metal body of the car and watching as the small flakes of ash slowly drifted to the dry dusty pavement.
Banes rose an eyebrow at Tyler, taking a puff from his cigarette, deeply inhaling from the cigarette before breathing out a coiling swirl of smoke from his dry cracked lips.
"You were a part in the war weren't you?" Banes asked, tapping the end of his cigarette out of the window. "I heard about what you did out there, pretty impressive if you ask me."
Tyler sighed, rolling his tongue over his straight white teeth as he curiously stared at is cigarette, watching as the angry red slowly ate away at the stick. He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror, getting a glimpse of deep dark brown eyes and a sweep of neatly combed back brown hair. Tyler placed his hat back on his head, tilting it to recover his eyes from the harsh sunlight. He had soft features but a strong jaw line, neat set of dark eyebrows and nearly black eyes sheltered with a fan of dark eyelashes.
"It doesn't get any easier for me," Tyler muttered, then looked at Banes and raised his eyebrows. "That's why I'm asking you."
Banes grunted, finally flicking the the now stunted stump of his former cigarette to the pavement before opening the door and climbing out of the car. He looked across the street, laying his withered old hands on his large hips before turning round and leaning through the window.
"Just ask the questions and don't think about it," He told Tyler. "Trust me. It sounds harsh, but it's easier for us if we don't think about what they're going through right now. You have to be more focused on this," He tapped his hat, motioning towards his brain.
Tyler nodded without saying a word, climbing out of the car and stomping out his cigarette butt with a cleanly polished shoe.

Tyler slowly made his way up the garden path, taking in the scenery and the carefully treated front garden. Much unlike their daughter's own abandoned front lawn. The fresh green grass was neatly trimmed and the flowers looked well watered, equally enjoying being in the spotlight of the sun, their pretty colourful petals fluttering in the gentle breeze.
Tyler hopped up the stone patio steps, rapping the brass door knocker with two fingers, tilting his head to the side a little as he waited for the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Tyler stiffened slightly when he head the door unlocking, straightening himself up an looking upwards as the it opened to reveal a woman to be in her early 40s. Banes came forward to stand next to Tyler, looking the woman up and down before nodding at her.

"Mrs Gardener? I'm detective Jack Tyler and this is my partner, William Banes, we're currently investigating your daughters murder. We know that this must be a difficult time for you, but were wondering if you would answer a few questions involving the death of your daughter to help us with this investigation?" Tyler slipped his LAPD badge back into his tweed jacket pocket as he stared at the woman currently standing in the doorway.
The family already knew about the death of their daughter, they had been told that someone had already informed them. But the tricky part was actually questioning the parents on the murder, this meant forcing them to open up more to the death of their own daughter. Tyler would try his best not to get into too much detail about their daughter's abhorrent death. They didn't need to know how their daughter's life was so abominably cut short.

Tyler looked at the woman before him, licking his lips nervously as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his tweed jacket.
The woman before him looked lost and withered with distraught. She looked to be around her early 40s but grief and mourning had aged her another ten years. She was wearing a pair of old looking grey slacks and a white blouse. The skin around her bony peaked face was stretched and hanging of it's sharp frame. Dark drooping bags hung off devastatingly distraught looking watery grey eyes, another result of her pain stricken loss. Her black hair was tied into a loose and messy pony tail, it was wiry and streaked with lone silver hairs, standing out in her dark frizzy bird's nest. The woman was pale and her hands trembling slightly as she gripped the door frame tightly, tight enough for her knuckles to turn a chalk white.

Upon seeing the woman's state of misfortune, Tyler immediately reconsidered their decision to question the grieving family so early in the investigation. They could have gone elsewhere. Anywhere. They had been given details about where Sally worked and Banes had picked up on the grocery store she usually visited, by catching logo on some shopping bags he had found in her tiny kitchen. Tyler felt guilty, like he was suddenly intruding on something personal. Well, he was really.

"But of course," Tyler suddenly said, his voice slightly higher than he had wanted it to come out, shifting nervously on his feet. "Only if you are up to it." He added, his voice soft and filled with concern.
The woman frowned slightly, pursing her thin pale lips together as she thought it through. Tyler was about to turn around and leave, he wanted nothing more than to bolt up the garden path and back into the safety of the gleaming black Chevrolet parked at the front of the house. He could just about handle the sight of a dead body, he could easily take on the interrogation of a murderer or stomach the autopsy. What he couldn't bare was having to then talk to the families about how their beloved one was brutally murdered. Because they were the ones who were really suffering, they were the ones who had to live with the pain for the rest of their lives.

The murderer suffered, but only as a price for the life they stole. It wasn't the gas chambers or a lifetime commitment in jail that was the punishment for some unfortunate murderers. For the sane ones, for the accidental ones, it was having to spend the rest of their lives knowing what they had done. Knowing that the blood was, and forever will be, staining their dangerous hands. And of course, on top of that, they had hell to look forward to. Tyler remembered going to see a play with his wife just under a year ago, Dirty Hands by Jean-Paul Sartre. He could clearly remember one favourite quote from that play, one that he had remembered and kept with him after he got assigned to the homicide desk.

"I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after that you do not understand anything that happens" - Jean-Paul Sartre.

But he couldn't imagine what Sally Gardener's parents were going through right now. You bring life into the world for the opportunity to raise them, care for them and then hopefully raise them successfully enough for them also to enjoy the wonders of bringing life into the big wide world. But when these little bundles of life are taken away so early, Tyler couldn't even imagine what that felt like. It must feel like everything they had lived up to, prepared for, and hoped for, had all been taken away by someone with a cold heart and a weapon. And what was worse was that the murderer would never understand what they had gone through to bring that child up. They could never understand all the time the parents had spent preparing their children for the world, all the heart and soul they had poured into this little being. It must have felt like a part of them had been suddenly swiped away and crushed.

Tyler and his wife, Diana, had discussed raising a family and having kids of their own. But after dealing with cases like this, he wasn't too sure whether he was up to it yet or not. Because he knew that if anything happened to them bundles of joy... It would crush him, just like it had clearly crushed Mrs Gardener. Mrs Gardener, whom he was still waiting for an answer from.

Tyler looked up at Mrs Gardener and nodding opening his mouth, the words, I understand, we will come back in a few days, Already appearing in his head but then she suddenly opened her own mouth, taking Tyler by surprise.
"Of course," She replied, her voice was hoarse but she cleared her raspy throat as she stepped aside.
It was the kind of hoarseness you got when you had been crying for days on end, it twanged Tyler's heart and made him feel even more guilty for intruding on the family at a time like this. But he swallowed the lump in his throat anyway, this had to be done whether he liked it or not: this was a vital part of the investigation, they had to know what the family knew to even get a chance of being close to Sally's Gardener's case. So far, they had the words of a neighbour who had knew Sally for only a short period of time and a bartender who had only talked to Sally while she was possibly intoxicated. Each of these people said she was a nice girl, everyone they had talked to so far had said she was a nice girl. But it wasn't good enough. Because even the most nicest of kittens had claws. And only the family who had knew Sally her entire life, would know if she had claws or not.

Mrs Gardener walked the two detectives through her house, a house that was also very different to their late daughter's. Tyler remembered that Sally's had been rather plain, the light blue walls had held only a few paintings and family photographs. The small living room and walk through kitchen and an ill amount of furniture and the decoration hadn't been exactly thought through carefully. But Tyler could hardly say anything because he hadn't thought too much about the supplement of the room, he had been more focused on the grisly remains of Sally Gardener.
This house was different though, the walls had been painted a cream colour, decorated with beautiful oil paintings of detailed sunny landscapes and photographs of smiling relatives. The sweet smell of flowers hung in the warm air, the whole place was clean and tidy with not a single thing looking out of place.

But although the temperature was hot inside the house and the LA heat was most humid, Tyler couldn't help but shiver. Because, although it wasn't technically chilly, it was still cold. Because the presence of death hung in the atmosphere like a dead odour. It wrapped around you as you stepped foot inside the house, making Tyler's skin crawl and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. But Tyler shook off the morbid feeling, proceeding on.

They came into the living room, mainly just housing a new looking couch, large red velvet armchair and a coffee table in the middle. Mrs Gardener sat down on the sofa, motioning that Tyler sit down in the red armchair opposite her. Tyler did so, keeping his posture straight and professional looking and also trying to appear calm and casual. Appearance was always important in these situations. When dealing with a suspect, Tyler would want to seem impatient and not someone to be kept waiting for answers. But when dealing with someone like this, Tyler had to make sure he looked trustworthy and also understanding. The more the person seemed to understand, the more you would want to tell them. Because in emotional times like these, you really need someone who understands.

"Where is your husband miss?" Tyler asked as he retrieved his case notebook, his other hand reaching for the pencil in the breast pocket of his jacket.
Mrs Gardener sighed, clasping her trembling hands together as she examined one ring on a frail skinny finger. "Jonathan is currently at work," She explained "He usually doesn't get back until 5pm."
Tyler raised his dark eyebrows slightly, "He's back at work already?"
Mrs Gardener nodded, "He needed something to distract him from... The grief I suppose."
Tyler nodded, "That's perfectly understandable." He flipped to a spare page in his case notes, his eyes laying on the blank paper before him. "Do you mind telling me your full name Ma'am?" Tyler asked, twirling his pencil in his hand.
Mrs Gardener nodded, clearing her throat slightly. "Catherine," She informed him, eyeing over the note book carefully. "Catherine with a C," She added.
Tyler nodded as he jotted down her name. He swallowed the lump in his throat, finally looking up and staring at Mrs Gardener in the eyes. It was time now, he had to push away whatever nerves had been clawing at his heart and had to get into the professional mood. Tyler remember what Banes had told him in the car, Just ask questions and don't think about it.

"Okay, Mrs Gardener," Tyler began, clearing his throat. He decided to go with the most important question first, to get that out of the way. "Do you know anyone who would ever want to hurt your daughter?" He asked, his eyes dropping when he noticed Mrs Gardener's trembling hands.
"I-I- of course not," She stammered, tripping over her words as her shaky voice failed to keep a grip on them. "Sally...she was such a lovely girl, I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her." She paused, "It couldn't have been anyone who knew her, she was so nice to everyone she met."
Tyler nodded, "The front door was locked and there were no signs of any breaking and entering, which meant that the killer either climbed in through an open window or your daughter let him in. Are you sure that it couldn't have been anyone she knew? Do you know of any arguments she might have had with someone or grudges with friends. Anything along those lines?"
"Any boyfriends?" Banes spoke up and Tyler shot a warning look at Banes, Mrs Gardener didn't seem to notice though because she was too busy contemplating the question. However, Banes did see it and just replied with a grunt.
"She did have a boyfriend, yes. And he's actually the only person I can think of who she was arguing with at the time," Mrs Gardener explained, her voice growing a little cold around the word "Boyfriend".

Tyler raised his eyebrows. "So I've heard. And how intense were these arguments?" He asked.
Mrs Gardener shook her head, sniffing slightly. "Of course they weren't that strong, how intense can an argument be when it can only be done through letters? Anyway, the boy was useless, spineless I might also add. He couldn't stand up for himself, that was his problem." Mrs Gardener sighed, "And he most definitely wouldn't do something... Like this." She choked a little, "It's just... Oh god, why would someone want to hurt my baby?" Mrs Gardener cried, her voice cracking as she blinked away the tears.
"It happens to the best of us ma'am," Banes spoke up, his voice not showing any signs of pity but was soft and calming, "But don't you worry, we'll make sure we catch this guy before he does anymore harm."
Mrs Gardener sniffed, retrieving a handkerchief from a pocket in her slacks and dabbing her eyes with it.

"What was their relationship like Mrs Gardener?" Tyler asked, twirling his pencil around in his long fingers.
Mrs Gardener shook her head, clearing her throat, "It wasn't a good one. Jonathan and I never did approve of the boy. And the relationship was never stable either. How could it be? He lives in another town, the only way they could keep in touch was through letters and a few occasional calls. My daughter wanted to end it but he just wouldn't let her go, was always begging her to stay with him. Me and Jonathan never did like the lad, he wasn't good for our daughter. The boy doesn't even have a proper job! He works in a grocery store but what good will that do when you have to raise a family? He was a bad influence on her, a drunk too. Likes to go out drinking quite often."
Tyler looked up at that, tapping his pen on the side of his notebook.
"He was a drunk?" Banes spoke up and Tyler stopped tapping his pen, an irritated expression clouding his eyes as he looked over at Banes.
Banes sent Tyler a look that said, I told you so, his eyes glinting as he lent against the wall with his arms crossed.
Mrs Gardener nodded, "From what I've heard, he doesn't drink regularly but when he does, it's a lot."
"And you don't think this guy could have ever harmed Sally?" Banes asked, looking down at Mrs Gardener with them grey intelligent eyes.
Mrs Gardener shook her head, "Definitely not, the boy could barely handle her in an argument or hold a grudge through them darn letters. He would always bring something up but then immediately ask for her forgiveness." Mrs Gardener sighed, "Sally wanted to break the relationship off. Of course, me and her father couldn't have agreed more. The relationship wasn't much anyway, it was never meant to work out. They hardly ever even saw each other, a couple times a month and if not that, it was just once a month. They sent each other letters and made a few phone calls but Sally always used to tell me that they weren't even worth it either. I just don't understand why Howard couldn't just see that."

Tyler nodded, there was a short pause in the conversation as Mrs Gardener waited for him to finish jotting down notes. Tyler looked up from his note book and licked his lips.
"Mrs Gardener, what was your daughter like out in public? We understand that she might have been a little different while alone or with friends, but when we checked into the local bar, the bartender told us that your daughter was intoxicated when she arrived and left the bar. Did Sally ever seem unhappy in the last week or two weeks?" Tyler asked, the continuous tapping of his pen returning to the spine of the notepad.
Mrs Gardener looked down at her trembling bony hands, clasping them together. She gulped, not looking up as she spoke.
"Yes," She replied, her voice shaking. "She-She came over crying at one point."
Tyler nodded, giving her a soft gaze, "And do you know what she was crying about?"
Mrs Gardener closed her eyes, giving a nod, "Y-yes, I-it was about this letter she had received."
Tyler nodded, he had a good idea what letter Mrs Gardener was talking about. But she carried on speaking, looking up at Tyler with tears swimming in her eyes.
"Sh-she came home and found this letter on her doorstep. A-and she had thought it was from Howard at first. Oh god, it had said some horrible things. It was thi-this poem. A very cruel poem and said she would be... She would be dead if she didn't answer his letters or phone calls," Mrs Gardener spoke, her voice cracking. "I-it can't have been from Howard though... It just couldn't have been." She buried her face in her hands, "Oh god, I should have immediately reported that to the police shouldn't I? But no, I just waved it away and told her it was probably a joke. What kind of a mother am I?" She wept, the tears trickling down her cheeks now.
Tyler shook his head, "No, we would have said the exact same thing Mrs Gardener. Anyone would have." He paused. "And you don't think it could have been from anyone she knew?" He asked.
Mrs Gardener shook her head, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the handkerchief, "Not anyone I'm aware of."

Tyler nodded, "Thank you Mrs Gardener for your time and we will be out of your way in just a few moments. One last question though, while at Baron's bar, one of the regulars told us that Sally had been telling everyone that Howard was apparently unfaithful and slept with other girls." Tyler paused. "Do you know whether that was true or not Mrs Gardener?"
Mrs Gardener wiped her eyes with the handkerchief, dotted with damp tears. "She thought so. I don't know how she could have known though. Like I said, the relationship was hardly anything at all."
Tyler nodded, closing his case notes and standing up. He slipped the notebook back under his arm and tucked his pencil into the breast pocket of his jacket.
"Thank you for your time Mrs Gardener, we'll show ourselves out," Banes thanked her, leaving the room and Tyler followed shortly behind.