The Black Raven's Heart

#10- Carrion Crow

Detective Hyde Collins sat across from Aries, his gaze fixed intently on the man before him. Aries, a journalist working for one of the prestigious magazine companies in the city, appeared composed. Still, there was a flicker of nervousness in his eyes as he awaited Hyde's questions.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Hyde commented as he settled on the seat opposite Aries Coulter. He never thought that the nosy person he met at the crime scene was one of the suspects in Natalie's case. As per the analysis of the victim's phone, Aries' contact number was first on the list of recent calls on Natalie's phone. The record implied that the journalist had contacted the victim twenty minutes before the estimated time of the crime.

Aries heaved out a deep breath as he leaned comfortably on the backrest.  "It's alright, detective as long as I can contribute to this investigation. Besides, I don't have anything to worry about. My conscience is clean." 

Hyde raised both of his brows and shrugged. "We'll see." He said and sat straight on the chair, preparing to begin the interrogation.

"What's your connection with the victim?" Hyde looked right into his eyes as he began the interrogation.

"It's not like we're close. I know her because of work." As per Hyde's observation, Aries showed no trace of reluctance. However, he can't judge by just looking based on one's gestures. Some people are clever enough to play one's mind.

"She asked me to tail on someone. Work confidentiality, I can't just disclose everything." He added. The young detective didn't comment and scanned the document he brought containing the essential queries for interrogation and also the investigation reports.

The detective then proceeded with the other essential queries needed in the investigation. The interrogation lasted for just 30 minutes and then the young detective dismissed the journalist since they didn't have concrete evidence that Aries had a direct connection to the investigation. After the interrogation with Aries, Hyde went for a quick break and returned to his table to review the documents he left. He scanned the photos taken at the crime scene and examined the reports taken by the forensics.

Aside from the victim's stabbed wound, there were no other fingerprints found in the weapon aside from the victim's. No signs of burglary and the door was locked inside,  even a trace of exit was none. Hyde felt his head throbbing thinking about the possible trick done by the killer. His mind was so occupied that he didn't notice it was time for him to return to the interrogation room to question the person who found the victim's body, Danica Greene.

The detective went back to the interrogation room with the reports. He sat across a lady he presumed to be in her late twenties. Her appearance today was quite different from the day he saw her at the crime scene. Her long semi-wavy hair was trimmed until it was shoulder-level, and the complexion of blue at the tip was gone too giving him a different vibe than before. Hyde grabbed his focus back to the interrogation when he realized he had his mind wandering over nonsense things.

Hyde began the conversation by formally introducing himself as the detective in charge of the case. He was just simply making her relaxed since the tension was evident in her expression, perhaps because she was in the interrogation room. A place where suspects usually stayed for questioning. Before beating around the bush, Hyde first asked for some confirmation about the relationship between the lady he was questioning and the victim. After confirming the statements written on the report and Danica's response were aligned, the detective started asking her about the case.

The detective leaned forward, his gaze focused intently on Danica.

"Can you tell me if you noticed anything unusual about Natalie in the weeks or days leading up to her death? Any changes in her behavior or anything out of the ordinary?"

Danica hesitated, her brow furrowed in thought. "Well, now that you mention it, Natalie did seem a bit... on edge, I guess you could say. She was more quiet than usual, and she seemed distracted like she had something on her mind. Oh, and additionally, I could say that her sudden mood swings worsened."

Hyde's interest was piqued by Danica's words. "Did she mention anyone or anything that was causing her distress?"

Danica shook her head, her expression troubled. "No, she didn't say much. Just that she was feeling stressed out about work, I think. But she didn't go into detail."

Hyde nodded, taking note of Danica's words. "And did you notice anyone acting strangely around Natalie? Anyone who might have been following her or causing her trouble?"

Danica shook her head again, her eyes wide with concern. "No, nothing like that. But now that you mention it, there was one thing..."

Hyde leaned forward, his interest piqued. "What was it?"

Danica hesitated, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. "Well, Natalie did mention that she had been receiving some strange phone calls lately, and it seemed like someone's following her. She didn't say much about them, just that they were bothering her."

Hyde's brow furrowed at this new piece of information. "Did she say who was calling her? Or what they wanted?"

Danica shook her head, her eyes downcast. "No, she didn't say. But she seemed really shaken up about it."

"Oh, and one more thing. As far as I could remember, those strange calls started when she received the black package." The detective's brows furrowed even more.

"What package?" He asked.

"Hmm, I don't know where it came from or who sent it to her since it was left in front of her door with her name written as the receiver. But I could clearly remember what's inside the box, and it really creeps me out every time I remember it." Hyde noticed the subtle shift in Danica Greene's demeanor as she recalled the unsettling memory. Her hands trembled slightly, and her eyes darted nervously around the room as if searching for an escape from the disturbing thoughts that plagued her mind.

"What was it?"

"Some kind of black bird... similar to a crow... or was it a crow?" It was some kind of a vague description but it put the detective into deep thought. He hated to think that what he thought about the object described by Danica might be the one he was thinking.

 "However, although it was just a bird figure, it surely creeps--"

"Did Natalie keep it?" The lady was surprised and confused when he suddenly cut her off.

"Y-Yes? I think she placed it on her vanity area." He felt like he was being poured with a glass of cold water when his speculation was confirmed. Hyde remembered it when he went to the victim's vanity table. He remembered what it looked like. A bird darker than a crow, and usually eats flesh from dead animals.

A bird that means DEATH...

A CARRION CROW.