Case 36: Courter in Yellow

Coming Home Late(15)

Dipper POV

The next two weeks went as follows: In the morning I got up had coffee and was force feed breakfast by Mabel on my way out the door, I spent the first 6 hours of my day either in the office or bull pin, Gravity falls thankfully doesn't get up to trouble till later in the evenings. So after many cups of coffee and arguments over this case we broke for lunch which I spent in my office either still working or eating whatever Mabel, or Pacifica if Mabel is too busy in the shack, drops off for me. Evenings at work where spent more or less the same, we had a few call outs but with our primary focus being the Fourth Circle case we were not the go to team for new case loads. I thank the heavens for that, this case is enough of a headache on it's own.

"Hey bro, welcome home." Mabel called from the living room, like she has most nights when I come home no matter what time it is.

"Hey Mabel." I shout back, dropping my things at the door before deflating into the couch next to her. She's watching a rerun of an old detective cartoon we used to watch as kids.

"Crack the case yet?" she asked and though she asked me this a lot I know she doesn't expect me to actually answer yes. If that was the answer she would have heard about it already.

"Nope. Not even close, I can't wrap my head around a few things..." I recognize the episode playing but I don't remember exactly 'who done it' the answer is on the tip of my tongue, maybe if the character shows up it'll hit me.

"Wanna run it by me? I have always been smarter than you, I could give you a hint." She teased.

"After the Wash Street robberies they basically stopped doing anything till the DC Apartment murders. So why'd they stop, any other group would have been on a frenzy high, hyped up on the adrenaline of hitting 5 houses and getting away with it, and after all they had gotten away before that, you think this would be what tipped them over. It should have made them believe they were invincible and they should have done it again. Instead they waited 3 years to go after the DC apartments. So what happened, why after all the build up to Wash street and then nothing. Like I said it's hard to wrap my head around." I turn to her, One of the only times I can Mabel's undivided attention is talking about a case. I feel a little guilty when I notice it now, I think she only does it because of a blow out fight at the end of our senior year and I used it against her.

She thought about it for a moment, looking round our own apartment, "I remember that, it was horrible everyone in Gravity Falls felt it. I mean even people who don't listen to cop radio or watch the news knew and were scared, after a while a lot of people moved away when the cops still had no leads. I remember our Grunkles getting extra locks on the doors and almost everywhere started closing early to encourage people to go home and stay home when the sun went down. There was also a rift in the city, if you were out at night, no one was trustworthy, not even the gas attendant ringing you up. But slowly people forgot, well that's not the right word." her fingers moved in the air as she strung along her thoughts like she was pulling and looking for the memory files. "When nothing like that happened again people treated it like the people who had done it died and that they were safe again. People got over it." She paused again, searching my face.

When both of these crimes happened I had been back in California working on my own cases hunting murders and serial rapists and another pile of acronyms for batshit crazy evil people. All the while here Wendy and Valentino, and the rest of the city including my twin sister were dealing with an organized group of their own brand of psychopaths.

"Then the tragedy at the apartments happened, and it felt like deja vu but ten times worse. Because the quiet fear and empty plead that those who attacked those houses were still here in Gravity Falls plotting, and the harsh reality that we were right and had done nothing about it." She paused again looking at our door like the criminal would bust through it at any moment.