Flash Fiction: Back to work

D.I Lucy and D.S Fenworthy arrived at the crime scene. This was Lucy’s first case after a much needed holiday and from the little information she had gotten from her boss, it was not going to be an easy one.

Her brows furrowed and her footsteps became brisk; with Fenworthy, jogging a bit to catch up with her.
“You know boss”, he uttered amidst breaths, “I should be the one grouchy considering you got a holiday and I didn’t”.
He was right and she knew it.

She apologised, “Its just, this is one of the hardest type of cases. The water would have tampered with most of the evidences”.

“Leaving us with little to make a solid case”, Fenworthy concluded.

“Exactly“.

They walked the remainder of the pathway in silence, each absorbed in their own thought. A scene which would normally have been picturesque would now be remembered for the grisly murder carried out there. Lucy sighed, wondering how much longer she could do this, before something had to give.

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word count: 170. This is story is in response to Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writers photo prompt challenge. Thank you very much for this week’s picture @J S Brand.

Flash Fiction: Undercover Op

D.S Fenworthy was almost unrecognisable in his new attire. He stood across the street, dressed in an all-white monk robe, capped with a realistic looking balding cap. He wasn’t thrilled with his new look, but pokerfaced his way through it. To passersby, he was just another worshipper.

His partner, D.I Lucy, on the other hand was having a field day. She was laughing her head off as she watched him from a safe distance, in a white van. Their week had been a tough one, spent proofing a plan to infiltrate a buddhist cult run by a sociopath who had no regard for religion.

“Everyone is in place“, confirmed a voice into D.I Lucy’s head piece, drawing her attention back to the task at hand. Her facial expression contorted into a grim one. It was showtime.

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Word count:137. The above story is in response to Flash Fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge. Thank you for this week’s photo @dorothy

Flash Fiction: Round the clock

D.I Lucy gripped the steering wheel of her car with more force than was necessary. Only a few hours ago, she had rounded off the case of a woman who killed her husband in cold blood with such detail in its planning and execution, that it took D.I Lucy and gang several weeks to come up with admissible evidence for court proceedings.

It felt like she had gotten only a few minutes of sleep, when another call came. And now, here she was, driving across the city and beating the sunrise, in a race to see another display of human’s lack of empathy.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.
“What!”, she screamed into its speaker after pressing the answer key.

“Boss, is everything okay?”, the voice asked.

“Its all good Fen. Sorry, I’m just pissed that murderers have no regard for sleep time”.

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word count: 143. This story is in response to Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers  photo prompt challenge, hosted by priceless Joy. Thank you for this week’s picture @Pamela S. Canepa

Flash Fiction: Missing

D.I Lucy strode into the cordoned off section of the beach, lifting the yellow tape to get across. The urgent call had come right as she was about to brew her morning coffee. She didn’t get to make it and was positively irritated, made all the more worse by the huge smile spread across her partner D.S Fenworthy’s face. Who smiles at a crime scene?

Fenworthy had arrived the beach ahead of Lucy and waved her to the site, where two boats rested. He handed her a plastic cup with black coffee. She was grateful, but irked by his morning joy, decided not to show it.

“So, what do we have?” She asked, surveying the scene and making sure not to trample on anything.

“Two boats“, he began, “all geared up for journey but with no sign of travel. The renters have been missing, no one saw anything”.

D.I Lucy looked bored, “and they dumped the case on our homicide unit, why?”

“The boss specifically requested us”. He paused, “One of them is his daughter”.

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word count: 175 words. This post in response to a Flash Fiction for Aspiring writers photo prompt challenge, where each week we are provided with a picture to write a 75-175 word story surrounding it. Thank you very much for this week’s picture @tj Paris.

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Flash Fiction: Night-watch

“Boss“, began D.S Fenworthy before he was shushed to silence by his partner D.I Lucy. She sat with her head, half-out the car window, gazing towards the sky, as had been her position for the past 20 minutes.

“Boss, this is getting ridiculous.” Groaned Fenworthy.

D.I Lucy sighed before turning her gaze to face him in the driver’s seat.
“A few minutes of silence was all I wanted,” she muttered.

“Well, We’ve been sitting in this car for the past four hours“, Fenworthy moaned.
“4 hrs, 37 minutes“, she corrected.

“Yes that. Can’t we leave already.”

D.I Lucy smiled in wonder at how Fenworthy could be surrounded with such beauty- The soothing presence of the golden yellow ombré against a blue background in the sky, the soft whooshing sounds of tree leaves, the cool autumn breeze blowing; yet still find something to moan about.

“Soon Fen.” She answered, knowing he couldn’t decipher her facial expressions in the darkness. And thinking to herself, “some people need a date with nature.”

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Word count: 166. The above story is in response. You Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writer’s photo prompt challenge, where each week we are provided with a picture and are to write a 75-175 word story on it. Thank you @footy and foodie for this week’s photo.

Flash Fiction: Behind four walls

“Just look at this place.” D.S Fenworthy gawked at the magnificence of the ancient building in front of them.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those” replied D.I Lucy, mildly amused at his reaction.

“One of who?” He asked pausing in his tracks.

“Never mind”. D.I Lucy shrugged. Marching into the building, knowing fully well she had touched a nerve with him. Fenworthy was too curious for his own good which was a great thing in his line of work, but a thorn in other aspects of his life.

“One of who boss?“, Fenworthy pressured on. Increasing the pace of his footsteps to catch up with her.

They arrived in front of a ginormous metal gate, with no means of opening. It brought them back to the grim reality of why they were there in the first place. D.I Lucy placed her badge in front of a camera which was embedded on one side of the wall and thought to herself, oh the evils that lurk behind closed doors.

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word count: 169. The above story is in response to Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writer’s photo prompt challenge hosted by Priceless Joy, where each week we are provided with a photo and are to write a 75-175 story surrounding it. Thank you very much @majesticgoldenrose for this week’s photo. 

Flash Fiction: Gone

D.S Fenworthy looked at the images rolling on the screen and sure enough, the little girl wearing a pink hoodie was Sarah. Her hair was much darker now but that was definitely her- a girl who had gone missing two months ago at a supermarket whilst her mother was shopping. One minute she was there and the next, gone.

“boss! Boss!“, Fenworthy yelled across the office.
D.I Lucy hurried to his cubicle, unhappy to have her lunch break uninterrupted.
“This better be worth it..”, she began when Fenworthy interjected by pointing at a screenshot of Sarah.
“Isn’t that?”

Fenworthy nodded and D.I Lucy dumped her half eaten sandwich into the trash. He played the tape in slow motion which showed Sarah standing on the platform as the train approached, but the moment it passed, she was gone, again.

“We can’t lose her again” Lucy declared, “Gather everyone together, fast. A little girl is missing and this is our first real clue. Time is ticking. We need to get Sarah back home.”

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Word count: 171 words. this story is in response to Flash Fiction For Aspiring writers Photo prompt challenge. Each week we are provided with a picture and are to write a 75-175 word story on it. Thank you @Yinglan for providing us with this week’s picture.

Flash Fiction: In the moment

D.I Lucy was led through a snow-covered narrow pathway which led to the penthouse’s door. Both sides were bordered by a variety of flowers consisting of chrysanthemums, oleanders; those were the only two she could identify under the blanket of ice which formed thorny cushions on the plants.

One in particular caught her gaze. Slowing her pace, she tried to place the flower in her mind. What was it called again?

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
D.I Lucy’s thoughts were interrupted by her guide who wasn’t much of a talker, which suited Lucy just fine.
“I noticed you staring at that flower a little longer“.

D.I Lucy managed a weak smile in return as they arrived the house door, making a mental note to check out the guide later on- she was observant. D.I Lucy made three sharp knocks on the door, bracing herself for the worst part of her job- breaking bad news.

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Word count: 154 words. This story is in response to Flash Fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge where each week we are given a picture and are to write a 75-175 word story surrounding it. Thank you very much @loniangraphics for this week’s photo.

Flash Fiction: Death’s Edge

Death’s edge was as gruesome as its name. The air smelled like a mixture of burnt wood and rotten meat, the atmosphere had a constant haze around it and the trees had several twisted branches which mimicked wrinkled hands pulling at a person especially with the forest’s limited lighting.

This was the reason D.S Fenworthy was sceptical about being sent to pick up his boss and partner D.I Lucy who happened to be at death’s edge. Lucky enough, he found D.I Lucy standing at the side of the road, casually dressed in baggy pants and a hoodie, her black scarf on her head and a bag slung over her shoulder. D.S Fenworthy was only too grateful to have no reason to enter death’s edge.

He looked at his boss, swallowed hard, then said, “can I ask you a question, boss?”
Seeing D.I Lucy’s nod, he continued, “you okay?”
D.I Lucy fixed her gaze towards the road, twirling her empty ring finger with her right hand and letting the silence answer.

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word count: 170. This story is in response to flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge hosted by priceless Joy where each week a picture is provided and we are to write a 75-175 word story on it. Thank You very much @yarnspinner for this week’s picture. 

Flash Fiction: Coincidence

“My son is missing”

Within minutes, Parkland Forest was thronged by Law enforcement officials- tents were set up and search parties, dispatched. D.I Lucy and her partner D.S Fenworthy were seated in one of the tents, across a woman with dishevelled brown hair and tear stained cheeks. She was fidgeting in her chair, looking from one detective to the other.

“Can you please take us through everything that’s happened, Miss Jerome?” It wasn’t a request on D.I Lucy’s part.
“You can call me Susan,” she answered in a low voice and began to talk the detectives, somewhat calmly, through every detail of the trip, up until the moment she couldn’t find her 8 year old son.

At D.I Lucy’s request, Susan got up to get the detectives a picture of Jake, the missing boy, giving the detectives time to converse.

“She obviously looks distressed“, said D.I Lucy, “and notice how she chokes whenever she mentions Jake by name.”

“Yes, but boss”, added D.S Fenworthy, “I haven’t been in this department long, but I have never met the mother of a missing kid who didn’t lash out during interview, wondering what on earth we were doing seated instead of out there looking for their kids”.

“Nice observation”, remarked D.I Lucy.

Susan came into the tent after a few mintes and with her was the picture of a young boy- raven black hair, brown skin with a smiling face. She handed over the picture to D.I Lucy, and for someone who was a pro at her job, she couldn’t mask the shock on her face. D.I Lucy looked from the picture, to the woman standing in front of her. The recognition of the face in the picture registering in her mind and the words Fenworthy had just said, playing in her head. Susan didn’t lash out earlier because this wasn’t her first time being in the situation; she’s been through it before and knows how the investigation goes.

“Miss Jerome?” Blurted out D.I Lucy
At that moment, tears descended across Susan’s face as she nodded in affirmation.
“Yes,” her voice was breaking, “Jake’s twin brother got missing three years ago and was never found.”

D.S Fenworthy looked to his partner in shock and then asked the mother, “what was the date?”
24th of March.
D.S Fenworthy immediately looked to his phone although he already knew the answer. Today’s date was also 24th of march.
That’s one heck of a coincidence.

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I wrote a flash fiction about two weeks ago with the characters D.I Lucy and D.S Fenworthy, and I loved the idea of writing a story surrounding detectives ad partners so I thought I’d write another one again. And I’m sorry, but that is where the story ends, it’s  not a series and there’s won’t be a continuation. Though I might occasionally write on the two characters.

The above image is courtesy of Scary Mommy.com