In A Most Unconventional Way

PHILADELPHIA, 2042

Several uniformed policemen studied the terrace.... Nothing seemed array.....

I pointed to a glass that was half full...

"Bag that and tag that.."I said...

"Yes detective.." said the policeman...

I looked around... In all of the murder and suicide sites I had visited...I had never seen one so clean so normal looking...

I'm Detective Nate Nellis, Homicide.....Me and my wife, Detective Monica Nellis investigate Homicides in the city of Philadelphia.

Speaking of my sexy partner....She was on the street with my sister in law...Her identical twin...Dr.
Monique Cotton, the coroner and forensic investigator...looking at the body of a young woman , who had jumped or was pushed 21 stories to her death...

"She has several fractures, naturally, due to this fall...but upon first sight...I can't find anything else siss...She definitely died from the fall.." said Monique...

Monica looked at fellow detective Kylie White who walked up just then...

''Anything Kylie..?" she asked.

"I've got three witnesses who say they saw her jump..... Alone!.....They didn't see anyone with her.." said Kylie..

"When Nate and his team come down we'll see what he says..." said Monica.

"Here we are....We found nothing out...The room looks normal....but there is evidence that someone else was there ...a guest perhaps.....We have a half drank glass of some type of alcohol and a bottle of wine, half drank..." I said.

"Hmmm, right now..this looks like a suicide....You didn't find a letter or anything?" asked Monica..

"No, Nothing...The apartment is so neat and clean it's not funny...Not a dish in the sink...Bed all made up...No clothes thrown anywhere..Nothing...Trash cans empty.. Who was she?"I asked.

 "Her name was Inger...Inger Stevens Nelson.....She was a buyer for a clothing boutique...She was 28 years old...Single...Local girl...." said Kylie..

''Well, just as a routine precaution..we'll check her laptop, her tablet and her phone...See if she left a text or a tweet or a Facebook status that might give us a clue as to what was going on in her life...Any fingerprints?"asked Monica.

"Plenty of fingerprints...I suspect that most of them are hers....I'll notify next of kin and stop by her place of employment....see if they can give us a clue as to what was going on with her.."I said..

"And I'll put a team on these street cams, traffic cams and cameras inside of the complex...She had at least one guest....and they were having drinks...Maybe they can give us a clue as to what we are looking at here..."said Kylie..

"It looks like a suicide to me.."I said..."But you never know.."I added.

''Siss, Nate, Can I take the body now?" asked Monique..

"Yeah, Go ahead..." said Monica...

The body was put in a plastic bag and carted away......

 "Part of me hopes this is a suicide...I'm exhausted..."said Monica..

We had closed three very major homicide cases recently....We had no idea that this was about to be our most bizzarre cases to date..

II-

Lt. Cotton was waiting for us when we returned to the precinct...

"You two caught another murder?   I feel for you...I was going to give you both some time off after those three cases you closed recently.." said Lt. Cotton..

"This one might be a suicide..... I found no evidence of foul play in the woman's room..."I said.

"And all of the eyewitnesses said she jumped...No one reported seeing anyone else on that terrace..but of course we are going to do a thorough investigation before we write it off."said Monica...

III-

"Mo- Mo....there's a call on the horn for you..." said Kylie...

"My sister?" asked Monica..

"No...."said Kylie..

Monica picked up the phone...She heard a woman's voice..

"Hello, Detective Monica Nellis...Homicide.." she said..

"Monica...You don't remember me...but I remember you.....And you're the only one I could come to with this.."came the voice..

"Who is this?" asked Monica...

"You'll find that out in due time...Inger Nelson's death was no suicide....She was murdered in a most unconventional way.." said the voice..

"Really? And you know this how?" asked Monica..

"Because I know who did it...Another mutant....Like you and I..." came the voice.

Monica was shocked.... She was a mutant...A Telepath who could read minds and feel people's emotions...

but only Monique and I and just recently Lt. Cotton knew that....It was a well guarded secret....

A lot of Mutants were out of the so called closet....Monica felt it would be better if she kept that part of her life a secret...

The voice on the other end of the phone continued to talk...

"Don't worry....Your secret is safe with me....but I need your help..." said the voice..

"You need my help?  Need My Help for what?" asked Monica.

"Need your help to help me stop him...." said the voice..

"Stop who?" asked Monica..

"Inger Nelson's murderer...You'll never be able to prove this...He is a powerful mutant who can bend people's will to make them do as he wishes...He has to be stopped.." came the voice..

''Are you for real?" asked Monica.

"Is it true you can hear people's thoughts and feel people's emotions?  Yes it's true and yes..I know all about you...I know you're a homicide detective...  I've followed your career since you left the school.."came the voice..

Now Monica knew the voice was serious....Few people knew that Monica had graduated with honors,scholastic honors from Dr. Xavier's School for Gifted Children  (Mutants) a school which also taught mutants how to fit in society and how to keep their special powers intact...

"What do you want?" asked Monica..

"Meet me tomorrow at the cantina at Aquaport...I'll tell you all you need to know....Does your husband know about...about you....your powers..??" asked the voice..

"Yes he knows...He's always known." said Monica..

"Then bring him along, but only him...Ask your Lieutenant for some time off.."came the voice..

''What?"asked Monica..

"Write this one off as a suicide or suspicious...You'll never prove this is a homicide anyway...Ask for time off and meet me...It's very important Monica." came the voice..

"Okay.." said Monica.

"I'll see you then...Remember, you must keep this meeting a secret..."came the voice..

"Okay.." said Monica.

"You alright Mo-Mo?" I asked....She sat down...She looked like she'd seen a ghost...

"Y-Yeah....Yeah..I'm good...Uh Lieutenant Cotton...Could uh Nate and I have some time off? That time you said we had coming?" asked Monica..

He  looked surprised...

"Yeah, uh sure...Uh Kylie...this looks like a random suicide...You can handle this can't you?" he asked..

''Sure Lou.."said Kylie..

Lieutenant Cotton pulled Monica to the side..

"I know you....You're on to something aren't you?  Something big right?" he asked..

Monica just looked at him...She couldn't say anything...

He understood..

"It's okay....but remember...you're on vacation officially...you're not on duty....So be careful...You and your husband..." he said..

Monica smiled and nodded...She took me by the hand..

"Come on Partner..."she said..

Like I always did...I followed..

I didn't know it then, Neither did Monica, but we were about to face a most menacing foe and one of our most bizzarre murder cases ever..

(TO BE CONTINUED)