Veil of Crimson

A Ghostly Murder

“Ooh! Spooky!” LeBlanc remarks at sight of the crime scene. I breathe in sharply and resist the urge to roll my eyes. Just pretend that he’s not there, El. You can do it. You’re as cool as a cucumber.

I ignore his comment and walk straight towards the body to examine it. The forensic scientist is already there, and he looks up at me the moment he spots me, smiling in a sad way. He always uses that smile at a crime scene.

“El, hi. Another day, another body, huh?” he greets me. I nod, putting a small smile on my face, but it doesn’t quite reach my eyes. Someone just died, I don’t feel like smiling at all.

“Hey there, Duncan. Yeah … I’d actually prefer if it wasn’t like that. But then I wouldn’t have a job, would I?” I tell him in response, letting out a long sigh. As I lower myself next to him, he discreetly motions with his head towards LeBlanc.

“Who’s the new guy?” he wonders, sounding genuinely curious. I really wish he didn’t ask. I have no idea how I’m supposed to be introducing the man to everyone. As my partner? As a civilian consultant?

I breathe out sharply, making Duncan look at me in a knowing way. We’ve been working together since I came to the station, so he knows me quite well.

“Uh-oh. I’m sorry I asked,” he apologizes, but I shake my head and wave my hand in a dismissive way at the same time.

“No, don’t worry. I’m supposed to be introducing him to his new coworkers after all,” I speak up, clearly perking LeBlanc’s attention as well, because he walks over to us with a bright smile, straightening his suit.

“New coworkers? What on Earth are you-”

“This is Adrian LeBlanc, a well-connected businessman, a new civilian consultant for the NOPD and … my partner,” I interrupt Duncan before he manages to say something that might not go down that well. I utter those last two words with a hint of dismay in my voice. I just can’t help myself.

Duncan looks like someone just punched him in the stomach. He jumps on his feet and pulls the rubber glove off his right hand, offering it to LeBlanc. “Oh, I didn’t realize … Hi. I’m Duncan, I’m with the forensics team. It’s really nice to meet you,” he greets him politely.

LeBlanc blinds him with his charming smile, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. “Hello, Duncan. It’s really nice to meet you, too.” I stay on the ground, turning my eyes away from the scene behind me.

I have a job to do. “Do we have any intel on the woman, Duncan?” I ask right when the two of them start chatting away. The last thing I need is for LeBlanc to charm his way into the whole department. Am I truly the only one who sees how incredibly irritating he is?

There’s a female body lying on the wooden floor, her limbs spread in unnatural angles. On the first look, I can tell she fell from the railing at least two floors higher than this one. I glance up, noticing that there are a few forensics swiping the railing right at this moment.

“We don’t have a name yet, but the victim is female, mid-forties, Hispanic, cause of death is probably blunt force trauma, aka, falling from up there,” he tells me, pointing right to the spot I was looking at.

I get up, glancing at Duncan before turning back to the victim. “Probably? Can you elaborate on that?” I wonder, glancing back at the body. Duncan sighs, puts his glove back on, then lowers himself next to the victim.

He removes the hair from her neck, revealing dark marks around her neck. She was strangled. “We still have to check whether she was killed by strangulation or if it was just a method to get her to pass out, before-”

“SMACK!” LeBlanc finishes his sentence, making a little too vivid image pop up in my mind. I flinch at his enthusiastic tone, glaring at him.

“LeBlanc, we’re at a crime scene!” I hiss at him, unable to believe that he’s acting like a child right now. He looks at me and spreads his arms, waving them around like he’s flying through the air, then stops in a quick motion like he just landed on a flat surface.

I can see Duncan holding back a smile with the side of my eye, which drives me even more mad. I walk to the nearest suitcase, grabbing two pairs of gloves, then head back to the duo, probably looking like I’m stomping. No, wait, I am stomping.

I force myself to start moving normally, no matter how difficult it is. I shove one pair of gloves to LeBlanc, then put the other pair on my hands. “Put these on. Show some respect. And make yourself useful,” I demand.

He smiles at me in amusement, but he still carefully slides the gloves on his hands. “Useful how? I’m not a forensic scientist,” he remarks, making my eye twitch.

I turn towards him again, this time on the edge of exploding. “You’re a consultant, consult! Tell me something I can’t make out from this crime scene and that you’re able to fish out. Isn’t that why the Lieutenant hired you in the first place?” I wonder in a cynical tone.

The truth is, I have a feeling that the Lieutenant hired him because he needed free publicity. Someone to put us in good grace with the citizens. What better way to achieve that than to let someone like LeBlanc work with us? Someone, who has New Orleans in the palm of his hand.

I’m not stupid. I know why LeBlanc is here. He has connections everywhere, connections that the NOPD doesn’t have and that we sometimes desperately need. Connections that can mean life or death.

“Well, I think it’s obvious what we’re dealing with here,” he remarks, then gestures around the grand foyer we’re standing in. “It’s a ghost murder!” he then adds, making my face fall.

Two seconds later, I’m already pulling him out of the building. I literally see red. To have to deal with him at the station is one thing, but having him joking around my crime scene? Na-ah. Not happening. No matter what the Lieutenant says.

“Detective, where are you taking me?” he protests, but still lets me pull him outside like he’s a toddler, who’s in for a lecture.

“Somewhere far, far away from me. Preferably somewhere cool, with bars instead of doors,” I tell him, my voice coming out as a mixture of yelling and laughter. I’m really going crazy next to this guy.

“But I wasn’t joking, don’t you know what building this is?” he keeps trying to persuade me. I stop right in front of the door, turning towards him angrily.

“Yes, I do. I grew up here. I used to try to sneak in with other kids from my class, when I was in middle school, alright? I know the history of LaLaurie Mansion, but it’s not haunted. They’re just scary stories for attracting tourists. Now stop making fun of me, or I swear I’m going to cuff you and take you straight back to the station!” I snap at him.

He smirks in response. “You do realize handcuffs won’t hold me back, right?” he wonders, making my face fall. How could I forget, huh? I still have no idea how he managed to free himself from them. Unless he stole my key.

I stare at him angrily, suddenly finding myself a little lost. I have no idea what to do with him now. He clearly takes this position as a joke, but if I go to the Lieutenant literally the same day that he hired LeBlanc, I’ll be the one packing my things.

“Oh, come on, Detective, I promise I’ll be good. But you have to take me a little more seriously,” he tells me, making me narrow my eyes at him. However, this time, he’s staring at me in a more serious way. No smirk, no eyebrow wiggling, no winking.

I point my finger at his chest. “No more ghost talk. Now get back there and do what partners do,” I demand, making him stare at me in confusion.

As I start moving, he catches up, walking beside me with a puzzled expression on his face. “And what exactly is it that partners do?” he wonders, making me roll my eyes so far up I can almost see the inside of my head.

“Keep quiet and only speak up when they have useful facts to help the investigation,” I still mutter under my breath. I can see him smiling with the side of my eye, but I choose to ignore him and head straight back to the victim’s body.