The Seven Deadly Sins: Demon of Pride

Entering the massive stone structure, Evangeline glanced around at the Gothic-esk architecture. In the center, behind the alter at the front of the cathedral, stood a statue of the virgin Mary, cradling what looked like a dead Jesus Christ. The morbidity of the Statue made the female detective shiver.

“I can’t people actually attend services here,” she stated, looking around in a small fit of terror, “This place gives me the creeps,”
“Yea, well, it is historical,” Andy pointed out after reading a plaque on the wall near the entrance.
“That’s wonderful,” Eva replied, “but it is still creepy,”

Just as the two begin to wander through the pews, the pastor of the congregation, Pastor John Harrison, steps out from the acolyte wing and makes his way towards them. Eva looked up and took notice.

“Hey, Andy, I think that might be who we need to speak with,” Eva said, gesturing towards the man coming directly at them.
“Good afternoon, detective,” he spoke sweetly, “What bring you here today?”
“Good afternoon, Pastor Harrison,” Eva said, bowing out of courtesy, “We actually have some questions for you about a Blake Robertson,”
The pastor froze, staring at them questioningly.
“What kind of questions,” he asked.
“His son might be involved in the murder of Tyler Durrant,”
“Monroe? Little Allen Monroe?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Andy replied, “He was found arguing with Durrant a few hours before his death. If you have any information that could help us, it would be greatly appreciated.”
“Well,” the pastor spoke softly, and motioned towards the front of the grotesquely large church.
“Blake and I grew up together, in Los Angeles County,” he started, “When he died, his son wanted a closed casket service, but wouldn't tell us why.”

He took Brookes and Biersack up behind the Virgin Mary statue, and took out a book.

“Allen told me this was the receipt for the funeral and reception, so I didn't think anything of it until just this morning.” He paused, and handed Eva a piece of paper, with a cryptic notice of some sort written on the back of what seemed to be a receipt. “I held it up to the light; it is fake. My heart sank, thinking that my dear friend has gotten himself into more trouble than it is worth. His church was bulldozed to the ground because it wasn't to code. He wouldn't listen to the contractor, who I assume was Durrant, and called him a demon of pride. Then, before I knew it, the paper said he was dead from an unknown cause.”
“Thank you so much for the information,” Andy said, and shook the pastor’s hand.
“Yes, thank you, Pastor Harrison,” Eva shook his hand as well, “We will be in touch.”

“Do you think he was telling the truth,” Andy asked her softly as they left.
“I do, but to an extent.”
“Hmm, for some reason I have more questions,” He said, frowning.
“Well, let us go to the diner and see if we can’t answer those, shall we?”
Brookes and Biersack made their way down the busy Los Angeles street, being more than observant of their surroundings.

“The diner should be just down this –“

Eva was cut off by a loud scream, followed by a gun shot.

“Detective Brookes to LAPD, there has been gun fire off the 4000 block of South LA; I repeat, there has been gun fire off the 4000 block of South LA,”
“Looks like our day, got a lot more interesting,” Andy said, point to the man with the gun.

He wore a black ski mask on his face, which wasn’t significant to the case.

What was, was the grey hoodie, black cargo pants, and boots he wore as he disappeared through the crowd of people.


Back at the office, Jinxx had just finished the full autopsy on Tyler. Sighing, he put his tools down, and looked at his chart.

Yep, he said to himself, he is an organ donor.

Packing his liver, kidneys, eyes, brain, heart, and lungs into a cooler, all wrapped separately in medical grade plastic, he put them into the deep freeze in the morgue.

“Well, Mr. Durrant,” he spoke to the lifeless corpse, “Your organs are sure to go to thankful and deserving people.”

Leaving the table to find his cadaver sewing kit, he got a feeling he should go through his personal effects one last time.
“It wouldn’t hurt, would it?” he asked himself.

Turning towards the evidence box he just gathered together, he felt a round, ridged object in the pants pocket of the victim.
“Well, well, what do we have here,” he said, pulling out a charm off of a bracelet.
“Where were you going, Mr. Durrant,” Jinxx paused, and looked at the back of the charm.
To Tyler, With love. From, Forever Yours – CWR
“C.W.R?” he whispered out loud, “I need to get Ash and Jake down here,”

“Okay, Fergie, why are we down here with your dead people, again?” Ash said, leaning against the counter, arms folded across his chest.

Jinx threw the charm at Ashley, who nearly missed.
“A charm from a bracelet; where was this?” Ashley asked, puzzled.
“I got this feeling I should recheck his personal items, and that was in his pants pocket.” He turned it in Ash’s hands, “ Looks at the engraved message on the back.”
Ashley read the message, and hands it to Jake.
“ It sounds like this C.W.R person might have something to do with Ty’s murder,” Jake said, looking at the corpse on the mortician’s table, “Mind if I swab his… umm,”
Jinxx busted out laughing, nodding his head and pointing to the cotton swabs in the corner. Ashley just shook his head, smiling.
“Ok, so I called you down here for a reason. Jake is doing what I was going to ask of him, so that’s done.” He paused, and point to the charm in Ashley’s hand. “I need you to look up the initials in the database to see if we can pin point who this mysterious C.W.R is. It could help up find the murderer, along with the murder weapon."

“So, the murder weapon hasn’t been found yet?” Jake asked, swabbing away at this dead man’s privates.
“Yep,” Jinxx said, trying hard not to laugh at how serious he looked.
“Stop grinning, you ass,” Jake shout at him, not even looking up from his work.
“Well, Jakey,” Ash began, “At least you are a dedicated mother fucker,”

Finishing up with the swab, he put it in his analysis contained, and walked back over.

“Thanks Ash,” he patted him on the shoulder, “But I only fuck your mother, remember,”

Jinxx made the “oh shit face,” knowing Jake knew Ashley’s mom and dad passed away when he was a kid. Ashley was about to ball a fist as the thought patting his should just now entered his mind.

“What the actual fuck, dude,” he yelled, taking off the flannel shirt he was wearing, “First you insult my dead mom, and then you touch me with the hand you touched a dead man’s dick with. Like fuck you man,”

Jake snickered, and left the room to analyze the sample he had just taken.

“Dude, you deserved it,” Jinxx said quietly, “You have been an ass to him lately,”
“Look, I know I called Ella and told her that he was drunk at the bar with me last night, and just happened to be flirting with some hot chick which may have caused her to call off the engagement, but still –“

He looked at Jinxx, whose arms were crossed and eyes narrowed directly at him.

“Okay fine, I may have deserved it…”
“Atta boy,” Jinxx slapped his back, “The first step is admitting you fucked up; I couldn’t be more proud.”
“Yea… well… don’t tell anyone.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”


Back at the scene of the shooting, The man who was shot was still alive, but barely.
“Does anyone know this man?” Andy shouted, looking around for friends or relatives.
He was an older gentleman; probably his late 60s, hair slightly balding and all white in color. He was lucky to be alive.
“Yes, that’s my dad,” a young woman spoke up, tears in her eyes, “What happened to him?”
“Where were you when the crime took place, ma’am,” Eva asked in a soothing voice.
“I was inside my cousin’s diner getting a slice of pie for my dad and I to share, and then I look out and see this hooded man shoot him.” She started to cry a little harder, so Eva told her to go sit inside and compose herself.
“We are going to need her later."

The ambulance picked the man up, and carted him off to the hospital. His daughter sat inside, waiting for Brookes and Biersack to fishing directing people away from the crime scene. Once the last person was thwarted, Andy took the caution tape and circled around that part of side walk.

“I’m going to go inside and talk to her again; she looks like she has calmed down a bit,” Eva said.
“Please be careful, “ Andy cautioned her, looking up into her eyes, “I don’t want anything to happen to you,”
“Thank… thank you, Andy,” she replied, feeling the rush of blood flow to her cheeks.

Shaking of the red hue again, she approached the young woman again.
“Now, you said you were getting a piece of pie from your cousin here,” Eva said, sitting down at the booth across from her, “Might I ask who your cousin is?”
“Monroe, Monroe Robertson is my cousin,” she sniffed, wiping her nose with a napkin.
I flinched.
“ And you are, ma’am?”
“My name is Celeste; Celeste Wren Robertson,”

Eva took her name down, and thanked her for her time. Returning out to Andy smoking a cigarette and guppy guarding the crime scene like his life depended on it. She texted the name of the woman to Ashley so he could look her up on the database for her.

“So, the woman is Monroe’s cousin, Celeste Wren Robertson.”
“Huh,” he paused, “I don’t see the connection.”
Eva’s phone vibrated; a text from Ash.
“Fuck,” she cursed under her breath.
“What, E?”
“I do now; she was having an affair with Tyler Durrant. And her brother found out,”
“Who is her brother?”

Eva swallowed, and looked at Andy with a “are you sure you want to know” glance, resulting in a nod.

“Her brother is Brody Robertson; he is being held in Pelician Bay State Prison for capital murder.”
“Why is that a big thing?” he asked.
“He was incarcerated yesterday morning for murdering his wife and her lover.”
“Well, this just got more complicated, huh, Brookes.”
“Yes, sir, I think so.”

Notes

*Note* the cathedral looks a lot different from how I am explaining it. It is different for the story, and I like it that way :)