Murder & Gin

I pulled out a picture of Rita and showed it to the bouncer. "You see this doe come through here a lot, yeah?"

"I see a lot of types come through here, hard to keep track of them all," He gave me a flat response as Rickson snarled.

"Yeah, and I see a lot of guys try to get cute, and then I need to drag them downtown, shove them in a cell for a few days to go through their history with a fine-tooth comb. You got time for that shit, big guy? Because I do." The larger wolf snapped his teeth together growling the following question, "She come here frequently or not? Yes or no."

The bouncer snorted through his nose before taking another look at the picture I held, then shifted his black eyes back to Rickson's. "Yeah, I've seen her around." The double doors slid open behind the Ox as he took a step to the side.

I was starting to see what kind of club this was when the doors opened and a tall lithe antelope stood before us. He wore an immaculate suit and his slender horns even seemed to shine in the neon lights as if polished. He was flanked by another bouncer, a very large and moody-looking ram that also strained his suit when moving.

Species exclusive clubs were not unheard of, and though legally speaking, didn't exist, it didn't keep the proprietors from making it clear who did and did not belong. An establishment didn't need to tell you they weren't serving you because you weren't up to their racial standards, they just had to make up any old excuse, even if it was the truth of the matter.

"Detectives, welcome to the Unicorn. I apologize for the hold-up at the door, I'm sure you understand we have our own security to worry about," He spoke the words in a suave accent, obviously quite accustomed to negotiation.

"Security against ones without horns on their heads or hooves in their shoes, yeah?" I fired back with a growl. This kind of shit always got my fur rubbed the wrong way, I'd never been one to be a bigot in any situation, so to see entire clubs practically reveling in it just left me furious.

"It's fine, Convel. Their business, their rules, I'm not here for any of that." Rickson held a paw up, then looked to the antelope in the suit. "We just need to ask some questions, can we come inside? I promise not to pee on anything to mark my territory," He quipped the words, showing his own personal annoyance at the concept of the place.

"But of course, we've nothing to hide. Let us go speak at the bar." The antelope hummed the words, not looking the slightest bit rattled by the accusations, in fact looking somewhat smug as he showed a slight grin while turning to lead us inside.

The neon haze of the club made my fur almost look purple or black at times as we walked. It was more a lounge than a club, mostly full of booths and tables with only a small token dance floor. Low bossa nova music played out of the sound system and only a handful of patrons seemed to be lingering about, which was a given since it was early in the afternoon. The few that were in the club looked aghast to see wolves trapesing through as if it were the most profane thing they'd ever laid their eyes upon.

The bar was as pretentious as anything else in the club, the whole countertop looking made of marble. The antelope directed us to some seats before casually moving around to the other side of the bar, the black light making his soft white and brown fur look as if it were glowing. "Contrary to my appearance, I also help out with the bar, can I make you fellows a drink before we talk?"

"You mind driving, Convel?" Rickson cocked a brow at me.

"Uh... sure, I can do that." I gave a nod of understanding.

"Southern whiskey on the rocks, splash of tonic in it," James spoke out the order and the Antelope nodded as he quickly made it and presented it to the wolf.

"I'll just take some water." I cut my gaze back at some deer staring at me, watching the couple quickly avert their gaze, as if they were worried they had been caught staring at the big scary predator.

"So you're the owner and also run the bar, eh Alphonse?" James spoke conversationally as he rolled the single ice cube around in the already half-finished cocktail.

"That's correct, though I don't recall giving you my name." The antelope took out a mug and filled it with hot water, putting a tea bag into it.

"We looked it up before arriving," I spoke and shrugged as I sipped my water, then followed up, "Tending the bar is a good move though, gives you more hands-on interaction with your other side of things, yeah?"

He looked between us and snapped his teeth together as he shifted to rest on his elbows, speaking softer between us. "Detectives, what is this about? It's obvious you know some things but you're not just shutting me down?"

Rickson sighed out as he finished the drink and thunked the glass down on the bar, the ice cube bouncing around in it a few times. "I don't give two flying fucks if you run an escort service, Alphonse, I'm a homicide detective."

"Homicide?!" That got the antelope's ears to lift rather high, his brown eyes looking shocked. "W-wait a second here, we don't have any kind of-"

"Take it easy, you work with us, and business as usual will be a reality. Give us the runaround and we'll have this place shut down faster than your horned-head can spin," I spoke the words in my best gritty cop voice as I pushed the two pictures of Rita and Reynold forward.

Alphonse put a handpaw to his muzzle in a gasp. "Oh, gods... don't tell me Rita and Reynold are-"

"You know her husband? Also, they're alive and well, it's their buck that's dead," James spat the words out bitterly.

He looked relieved, then shaken at the news that it was the fawn. "Stewy? Gods..."

"So you knew the whole family eh? This is the part where you spill it and we try to put the pieces together, champ." Rickson folded his arms, staring intently at the antelope.

Alphonse took a deep breath and leaned in closer. "Rita was, is one of the girls I work with. We're like a middleman as it were. We help the girls and the client find one another, we take a flat fee. We don't make them work, it's all voluntary and-"

"We don't need the work policies, we told you, we're not here for that. How do you know all of them?" I huffed out the words in almost a bark, my temper getting hotter now that we were starting to get somewhere.

"Rita and Reynold met while she was working. He was one of her regulars and one thing led to another. That was about eight years ago, she got out of the business shortly after but we stayed in contact as friends. They had Stewert a few years later, then about a year ago, things started getting tight on money. She wanted to get back to it and I had clients that were eager for her uh... dynamic."

"You mean a milf," James spoke out dryly.

"To put it in a more crass way, yes." Alphonse huffed out and poked his snout up.

Rickson gave a bark of a laugh. "Crass is my constant state of being, so what else?"

The antelope tapped under his muzzle. "Hmm... that was about a year ago. Reynold was furious, they argued and split a few months after she started working again. She kept the job going and has since then."

Alphonse gave a resigned sigh and shook his head. "They were such a happy family, I had several play dates with Stewart and my own daughter. I even tried to offer to help her out on my own, but she wouldn't hear it. That doe always had too much pride for her own good."

"Apparently too much pride for her fawn's own good as well." I sighed as I took another sip of water.

James gave him a hard look and withdrew the documents with information on the three suspects we had gathered. "Look Alphonse, I know in your line of work, it's about privacy, but we really-"

"No, this is more than business now. It's personal, I'll offer any help I can, for little Stewy and his parents." His tone had shifted to a more bitter one as he resolved himself. I could see the look in his eyes that said he was being fully transparent with us now.

"Neat." James slapped the file down with the information on the three in question and Alphonse looked it over.

"Huh... yeah, these are almost her exclusive clients. One of them is a bit of an oddity because I know him outside of the club, a predator to boot." Alphonse gave a nod as he skimmed the details over. "Goodness... with gifts like these, I should increase my fee."

"I'll be real with you, I'm surprised you have a connection with a predator, given this place." My words came out without even attempting to hide my annoyance.

"Detective, make no mistake we cater to a particular clientele, but that doesn't make me a bigot. I don't look at you or any other predator as lesser-"

"Who cares? We all eat fucking artificial lab-grown bullshit anyway now. Let's just stay on track shall we?" Rickson barked the words and thrust a finger to the three names, he then proceeded to give the static questions of who they were, the estimated times of the murder, etc.

"Well... given the time frame. I can assure you my spotted dog buddy is off this list. He was visiting family out of the country and is still away until next week. He was already on a plane a week before this happened I'd imagine."

"We'll follow up on that, what of the other two?" I tilted my head curiously and watched his frown deepen on his muzzle.

"Jackson works at a local investment firm and he's a nightly patron here, an elk about the same size as her ex-husband. I can't say for certain, but I've seen him every night non-stop for the last month. If he did this, he had to schedule some time for it. I'll write down the name of his firm or you can come back around seven and he'll be here."

"Sounds good, and what of this, Charlie Keller?" Rickson prodded and I saw that frown return before the antelope sighed and rubbed at the side of his head.

"Alphonse, what's going on?" I growled as I quirked a brow, seeing his teeth clenching.

"He's one I've always been concerned with. A deer like her, he's infatuated with Rita and has been for almost a year. He would bellyache to me at the bar when she wasn't around, or growl about how the other clients couldn't appreciate her. 'A doe like her needs a strong buck to take care of her, not some moose or elk', he'd say. I could only imagine how he'd lose it had he known about her also seeing a predator."

I shared a knowing look with Rickson as the wolf growled before giving a nod. "A species purest and obsessed? Fits the MO to me. When's the last time you saw him?"

Alphonse shuddered as if a realization struck him and huffed out in a drained tone. "About five days ago, he's usually in here every other day or so too. I never thought..."

"That lines up, Rita reached out to me about five days ago." I gave Rickson a grim nod.

"I need all the info you can give me on this guy, Alphonse. Convel, take down his full statement, I'm going to contact the station and put out an APB."

"No-called his job, friends and family haven't seen him or been able to contact him. Seems that buck just tucked tail and vanished," I sighed as I looked out the passenger's side window.

"Do you blame him? Part of this job is getting in the head of the guys you're hunting. You bet your tail if I just cut down a kit, I'm getting as far away as I can too!" James gave a nod as he tried to explain the situation, though I obviously already knew such things. It felt more like he was telling it to himself.

"Does it eat at you? The ones that got away?" I cocked a brow as I looked over at him.

"It's not something you get used to, Isaac, but just like a pro athlete, you have to accept you can't win every game, no matter how good you are." Rickson set his jaw and shifted his dull-green eyes at me at a stop sign. "I keep a small book of the ones I never find."

"Really? Just as a reminder?"

"That and every few years, I'll go over some of the cases, see if I can sniff anything out on slow days."

"That's admirable." I tilted my head curiously at the topic. "Planning to do that with this guy now that he's obviously flown?"

The detective barked out a laugh, "Fuck no! This mother fucker killed a kit, I'm going to keep him on my radar for years." He gave me a knowing look and shook his head before pulling from the stop. "Isaac, I'll let you know if I get any leads, but this is the hard part. We have to wait and let some of the other guys do their jobs, try to just get back to business as usual until I call you."

"Easier said than done," I growled to myself as I still could see the fawn's body every time I closed my eyes.

"I get that, it'll get easier as the days wane, not better, but easier." He pulled into the darkened lot of cars near the precinct, the old worn-out parking lights just barely beating back the inky wet pitch of the rainy night. He pulled alongside my own sedan that had a bright neon ticket on the window.

I gave a frown at the citation and he chuckled. "I'll get the boys to throw that one out, you were on police business after all."

"Thanks." I climbed out of the car, the rain still coming down even if it was just a drizzle now.

"Try to get some rest, Convel. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something and, thanks for the help today, it was good working with you." James showed me a grin as I shut the door and threw my paw up as he pulled away.

I sunk my paws into my duster and stood there for a long moment, staring at the little orange sticker on my window, the rain pattering down on my head before I rolled my eyes and moved to the back of my car into my tool bag.

Using a razorblade, I had nearly scraped clear the rest of the citation when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. A crack of thunder filled the air which was rare in this part of the country and as if on cue, the rain picked up in tempo.

I left the partial remains of the sticker and slid into the car to get out of the downpour, withdrawing the phone and seeing an unlisted number. It had been a long day and I didn't have the energy to deal with anything else, but I answered it all the same, putting the phone to my wet ear. "Convel."

"Mr. Convel, it's Alphonse from the Unicorn."

My jaw set and I cocked a brow. "Alphonse, I believe Rickson gave you his card if anything came up, how did you even get my number?"

"You're in phonebook or search engine as it were, 'Detective'."

"Alright, I'll bite. What do you want?" He could hear the edge in my voice, but it wasn't like me having a private investigation business was a secret.

"I'd like to speak with you in person, at the Unicorn."

"This doesn't sound like police business to me, Alphonse, you asking me to leave Rickson out of it?"

"It is and isn't, but yes. Please come alone and don't speak of this to anyone."

"How ominous... Fair enough, give me half an hour." I disconnected the call with a sigh while pushing a wet paw to my forehead, slicking back the fur and hair. It was already after ten, but it's not like I had anyone at home waiting, better this than more nightmares.

It was nearly eleven when I arrived at the club, it was Friday night to boot, so a decent line of various patrons had formed even in the rain. I say various, but not a predator one to be had in them, which was unsurprising given what I knew the place was.

Ignoring the line I moved right up to the door bouncer which happened to be the same ox from earlier. The chatter of the waiting patrons dulled and I could hear various offpaw remarks from them about a wolf coming up to the front of the line.

Seeing me, the ox spoke something into his mic and the doors opened right up, the grumpy looking ram from earlier giving me a nod as he motioned for me to follow. I heard the jeers and shocked appall from the various onlookers as I walked right in.

"Nice to see bigotry is alive and well," I growled aloud, but I questioned if he could hear me, the soft lounge music had been replaced by the heavy thumping of more typical club music, the small dance floor crowded with patrons.

The low light and neon did well enough to keep my profile down, not to mention the ram being as big as me didn't hurt. Still, I caught several shocked looks as I did earlier when I and Rickson had come through.

This time I was led to a small office behind the bar, the ram giving me a nod as he held the door for me. Stepping in the room was just big enough for a filing cabinet, desk, and a few chairs. The door clicked into place behind me as I stood before the antelope from earlier, his padded-fingers pressed together as he sat there. "Convel, take a seat."

It was at this point I realized I was in the thick of it. I hadn't really processed things until I was walking through the club, but I wasn't the predator here. Most of the denizens in this club would sooner spit on me than offer help if I got myself into any kind of trouble.

Mentally shoring up my reserves, I took a seat on the small chair and rested an elbow on the desk, leaning back as best I could as I met the antelope's dark eyes. "So, what do you have for me, Alphonse?"

He drummed his padded-fingers on the surface of the desk, as if questioning his own motivation before jerking his gaze back to mine, the look harder, angrier, like it was when we had talked this afternoon. "Rita and Reynold, I consider them both dear friends. Stewy was like-"

"Look, I get that, and you're not even a suspect if you're worried about it. Real talk, I'm sorry for your loss, man. I'm going to have that fawn's image haunt my dreams for years to come, I get it."

"It's not a matter of being a suspect, Convel. Though I do appreciate that sentiment, some of your kind, they wouldn't bat an eye at a dead fawn like that."

"Most of the ones I know would, but I'm not here to argue that point in a club of patrons that hate my tail on principle alone." I gave a nod and met his eyes once more. "What did you need, Alphonse?"

"To hedge my bets," He sneered and pushed a small slip of paper to me with just a phone number on it. I took the paper and quirked a brow, saying nothing as I waited for him to continue.

"That's one of my old contacts. We had a bit of a falling out, but they may just talk to you, tell them you got the information from me, tell them it's for 'old times sakes', they'll at least hear you out that way."

"If you had a falling out, why would they give a damn?" I tucked the slip of paper into the inside breast pocket of my duster.

"Because they still owe me one, and they take their business practice seriously. They'll probably be happy to get the debt cleared anyway."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "C'mon Alphonse, we've got every cop in the tristate area looking for this guy. Do you really think your informant can do better than-"

"Yes." The antelope met my eyes with a hard look and the conviction in his eyes said he believed it.

Tilting my muzzle up I gave a nod. "Alright, I'll see what they have to say. Information costs money though, you willing to cough it up? This is already tantamount to charity work for me."

Alphonse scowled at the words and shook his head. "They wouldn't take my money even if I offered it, you'll have to work those details out with them. My debt will be expended just getting you to the table."

I set my jaw and snarled at that, but being in the business, I knew there were always paws to grease. "Got it." Rising from my seat I moved to the door.

"Isaac, if you find the son of a bitch, break his fucking knee for me." Alphonse hissed the words to my back as I lifted my muzzle.

"If I don't end up ripping him to shreds, I'll think about it." I pushed out of the office with a growl, stalking back through the club towards the exit, eager to be away from the place. The patrons must have picked up on my mood because none of them even made straight eye contact with me.