Chapter 3.5 – Certainly Impressed

Tags

Date, Detective, Legacy Challenge, Love, Magnolia Promenade, Oasis Springs, The Sims 4

After closing my last case, I was promoted to Senior Detective. I was so proud of myself because I was one of two people in the history of the force to move up the ranks in such a short period of time. The other person was Clay and since we’d both chosen to forget our unfortunate encounter that night long ago, he and I have become good colleagues and I think his mentor-ship helped make my success possible.

With the promotion I was now allowed to work more serious cases such as the double homicide at the Rattlesnake Bar. I hadn’t been there since Jaxon and I broke up because it was his favourite place to go and it held so many of our memories. Being there when it was a crime scene felt strange but appropriate since that relationship was long dead.

The suspect killed a young man and woman who, according to witnesses, came to the bar together and were kissing when the first shot was fired hitting the jukebox behind them. The man and the woman pulled apart and began running in opposite directions but the killer fired two shots hitting the man in his chest and the other hitting the woman in her back. The woman was killed instantly while the man died on route to the hospital. Witnesses said the killer was an elderly woman.

After collecting the evidence at the crime scene I took to my case board with all of the witness testimonies and other information I uncovered about the victims. They were Valerie and Thomas Colburn who recently got married. Through my research I learned that Thomas was estranged from his mother Kasey Colburn. She was a retired concert pianist who was known to share an odd closeness to her son. To say she was a helicopter parent was an understatement from what we learned and Valerie’s friends all claimed that Thomas’ mother was extremely against her son getting married to the ‘floozy’. When we tried to contact Kasey to inform her of the news, she was not at home and hadn’t returned in days. We believed she absconded after her neighbours said that on the night of the murder they saw her frantically running out of her home with an indescribable object in her hands. Sheila, the forensics specialist, ran a ballistics report on the bullets found in the victims and learned that they belonged to a .45 calibre pistol which also happened to be the same type of gun registered to Kasey Colburn.

The case was more or less solved but we still needed to locate her and get her confession. After putting out an APB we found Colburn at the park in Willow Creek. She was casually walking around like she had no cares in the world. She murdered her only son and his wife in cold blood and there she was out for a midday stroll in the park like nothing happened.

“Kasey Colburn,” I said as I walked up to her, “You’re under arrest for the murder of Thomas Colburn and Valerie Colburn.” As I continued to read her Miranda rights she stood there with a dopey smile on her face like I was telling her a joke.  This woman was seriously deranged!

I took her back to the station and carried her into the interrogation room. “You wanna tell me why you murdered your own son and daughter-in-law, Colburn?”

“He and that whore of his wanted to steal my money. I wasn’t going to let them.”

“What made you think that?”

“My son was weak to the wiles of women, especially trashy women like her. I told him not to leave me and marry her but he didn’t want to listen so I had to teach them both a lesson.” She said coldly.

I got her confession, case closed. Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to have kids as far as I’m concerned. She killed her own son because of her paranoid delusions. According to her finances, Kasey Colburn was broke. She had not a single penny, not even a life insurance policy in her name. She had absolutely nothing that her son and his wife would want to steal from her. She was just crazy and the court-ordered psychotherapist agreed with me. Thankfully I was done with her now that she was finally behind bars and soon to be transferred to a psychiatric facility once the judge ruled on the sentence.

After such a stressful day I was glad to be able wind down with Stephan on a date. We’d been talking to each other on the phone for a while since I was so busy with work and would be too tired on an evening to go out so I was really looking forward to our second date.  We went to the park downtown and decided to have a picnic by grilling some hamburgers but the meat spoiled because there was no proper refrigerator at work for me to store them. I can’t believe I was so dumb to not know they would spoil. Luckily Stephan brought some potatoes with him so we put them on the grill.

Stephan was completely clueless when it came to cooking and even though I never cooked a single dish before I’d seen my Dad and Ethan do it many times. The only Sloane woman who could cook was Grandma Ariana. Not even Mum or Aunt Adrienne knew how to scramble eggs far less for grilling something. Somehow I managed to not burn them and once I topped it with some cheese and sour cream they came together and the smell was delicious.

“These are probably the best grilled potatoes I’ve ever had!” Stephan exclaimed once he swallowed his first big bite. I thought he was just trying to be nice but it was actually good.

“Would you believe I never cooked a thing before tonight?”

“Really? You’re a natural at it.” He said.

“Don’t get used to it. I only did it tonight to impress you.” I said with a wink.

“Well I’m certainly impressed Miss Sloane.”

“I like hanging out with you Stephan. I feel like I can truly be myself around you.”

He smiled at me and it gave me butterflies in my stomach. I think I might be falling in love with him!

“Will you read that poem to me now?” he asked.

At first I didn’t know what he was talking about until I remembered telling him that I started writing a book of poems as a teenager and had completed it over the weekend.

“You really want to hear one of my poems?”

“Of course, that’s why I asked. Read me your favourite one.”

I hesitated for a moment as I’ve never read aloud one of my poems before but I pulled out my notebook, took a deep breath and began to read. “This is the last one I wrote…”

I know I felt like this before
Now I’m feeling it even more
Because it came from you
Then I open up and see
The person falling here is me
A different way to be

And now I tell you openly
You have my heart, so don’t hurt me
You’re what I couldn’t find
A totally amazing mind
So understanding and so kind
You’re everything to me 

“Did you write that one about me?” he asked and I nodded shyly. Then he moved in until his face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my nose. My anticipation grew when he paused, closed his eyes and then kissed me. His lips were so warm and inviting that I had to deepen it more.

When it was over I was a little disappointed as I wanted the kiss last the whole night long. “Wow.” I gushed. “That was…amazing.”

“It was.”

“Do you kiss all the girls that way?” I asked jokingly.

He grinned, “No just you Dani.”

“Well… I’m certainly impressed Mr Lin.”

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Danielle’s poem is an excerpt from the song Dreams by The Cranberries, written by Dolores O’Riordan and Noel Hogan. I’m not poetic enough to write an original poem. 😀