SILAS
He was furious, humiliated, and betrayed. The mood was manifested and had brewed over several days of no contact with his best friend. He knew he needed to calm down before he let her back in as he felt his feelings towards her have grown into something much more over the years. As a boy, he could never sort through emotions well, even something he struggled with dealing with his own family. He loved her with all his being. He knew he loved her when he saw her in their minor years. Despite her emotional needs, she has become quiet, distant, and unhinged since her parents disappeared. The feelings boiling for her would never be reciprocated, despite him trying repeatedly to make her see him for who he truly is.
Now, there is confirmation that her parents are dead, along with the whole town. He needed to do something soon, and he knew that. Her finding out this information now would make her emotionally unstable again, and he would need to ensure that he keeps that contained for everyone's sake and do much-needed damage control. He pulled out the prototype from his desk, smirked at the device as he powered it on, and put in the passcode. He planned to eliminate Lieutenant Cooper, a significant problem for him; he found his name on the list with a few taps on the device. He typed in the necessary information with another smirk, tapping the "confirm" button. He would be gone soon; he had hoped this would make her happy and give her more time to clear her name before things got much worse. After he was done, he walked to the window, pulling back the curtains and peering into the night as the digital clock read 7:05 p.m. He could smell the rain from the window, and with a sigh, he pulled out his phone, tapping in his best friend's number, hoping she would pick it up.
LIEUTENANT COOPER
The Styrofoam cups filled with hot black coffee and two creamers were scattered in massive amounts amongst the stacks of papers for different cases and post-it notes of things that needed to be done. As he downed another cup, he opened Juniper's file, flipping through the papers. He searched for previous statements she had made after her mom and dad disappeared. The quiet ambiance of the precinct helped him relax enough to focus on what he was doing for the good of everyone involved. Sighing, leaning back in his chair, he pulled his desk drawer open, pulling out a bottle of scotch and a small glass, twisting off the top, pouring to the rim, and downing the glass in one gulp. Wincing momentarily, he poured another and downed a second, hoping he would be at least buzzed before he dived back into the mess. Juniper had never been his favorite person in the world. The chaos of her life had bled into his life the moment he met her, from the sad and confused woman to the deceitful and spiteful she became after he started digging into her past. He never believed her story, not once. Although he did check with the school, as she had mentioned being there that day, and it checked out, every movement she made after that remained questionable.
Finishing his drink, he placed the bottle near the phone, running his hand down his face in frustration. He knew this would be difficult that she would be difficult, but he had to treat her like every other citizen he had come in contact with and protect her from the scum of the earth. He held the file open, flipping the papers up to look at the autopsy photos, scanning her recalls for that particular day. With another sigh, he picked up the bottle and poured himself a third glass as he read over her statement. He felt he needed to make a copy in his head to have her repeat it to see if anything had changed over the year. Looking over the photos of the deceased, he felt his heart clench in anger and frustration amongst the anticipation of finding out how exactly they had died. There was no blood, no body, no nothing in that house aside from a small trail of blood by the back door and glass scattered about. "Fucking hell…" he claimed as the phone rang out in the quiet.
Picking up, he spoke directly. "Cooper."
"Hi, Lieutenant. This is Jules down in autopsy," he smirked into the phone in relief. "I just finished going through everything, and even though the bones are in perfect condition, I was able to get a few things up that I wanted to go over with you despite how they were found."
Reaching behind his chair, he picked up his coat. "I'll be right there."
She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Wait before you do. I do want to mention that we need to look more into her daughter. It seems the DNA surrounding the victims does not match what we have on file for Juniper. Which either means she was adopted or she was not there when this occurred. Either way, we need to pull her birth certificate. See what we can find."
Cooper stopped in his tracks, the words piercing through him as he downed another glass of his Jack. "Interesting. Alright, we'll get her records pulled in the morning." He set the glass down, putting the phone back on the receiver as his feet led him towards the elevator. He stopped in front of it, looking at his reflection. He had gained many pounds for late nights and drinks he didn't need. As the door opened, he ran a hand through his hair, looking up at a figure in front of him, dressed in black and holding a pistol in his direction. He had no reaction time; he held up his hands before his scream rang out the building. The last thing he heard was a loud bang before his body hit the floor, and everything went black.