Tears in Rain, A Summer Rain mystery - Chapter 7

7 - Torch

 Stark took a sip of his coffee. Then he revealed a case file from his coat.
“You have a strong stomach if I recall?” he said
“Mmm hm” I nodded at him, while I stuffed my face. In an adorable way, I thought. 
“Alright, it is your lunch” he pushed the file to my side of the table.
Crime scene photos, a body, blood and death. I breathed in deeper. So much blood.

I Wiped my hands and looked through the file. “What am I looking at?” I said
“You knew him right?” Stark said
I knew him, sure. Anyone would. I was looking at the Torch, one of the greatest heroes in Millenium City. Ok he wasn’t Captain Tomorrow but still he was well known and well liked. And now he was dead it seemed. Died bad too. Hell, who doesn’t.
.
I knew The Torch in the war, he was a guardian angel to us. Saved my life once.
I saw him take an RPG to the chest in the sand box without getting a scratch. But no one survives war without a scratch, without scars no matter how powerful or special you are. Even if they say time heals all wounds. I’ve found that time is not the best of nurses. You’ll always keep your scars, as a silent reminder, invisible just under your skin.
The Torch must’ve had them too. It seems time didn’t heal his wounds, it just caught up to him. The Torch had been in one fight too many. Now he lay dead in gutter.
A shame but that is where most heroes journeys usually ends. Forgotten in a back alley whoever you were washed away only the mask rememaining. 
“Damn” I drawled

I realised that I had been rubbing the back of my right shoulder for a while. Massaging old scar tissue left from when I got my tattoo removed. A reminder of my service that I’d rather forget. Disguising it as scratching my arm. I quickly took my hand away. Embarrassed. Stark was looking at me. Concerned.

“Yeah I knew him. Doesn’t everybody? I’m not sure what you from me here.” I said
“Maybe you stayed in touch” He asked
“You know I didn’t” I said
“Well you are a detective and your history makes you an expert on powers, metas. Whether you like it or not” he knew I didn’t like it.
“Well I’m not the cop here, you are, but I mean you don’t really need an expert to solve this.” I made giant air quotes at the word expert.
“It is just meta on meta violence right? It is not some sort of big mystery is it. Some meta criminal or powered punk got the better of him. What am I not getting here?” I asked. 
“It was murder.” Stark said. His voice somber, serious, honest. I listened. “No sign of a struggle, no big fight. No villain. No one knows he’s dead yet”  He said.
I pointed at the crime scene photo, all that blood.. “No struggle, huh?” I said, mostly to myself.
Must have hit an artery, didn’t even know he could be cut like that . He fell from the sky, apparently. A lot of high rise apartment buildings in that neighborhood. He was right not much crime there. Why were he there? Who or what could get the drop on him like that?     
“Check the rooftops around the crime scene, I think he fell from there. You might find something there”. I said.
“We did. Rain the amount of blood reads like anger or revenge to me. Crime of passion or affect at least.” He said.
I nodded, he continued.
“But the method indicates planning, premeditated. Murder. It must have been someone he knew. I don’t think a meta did it, Rain. I don’t know who, why or even how. I don’t his powers are and what could do that to him” He pointed at all the blood. “Need your help Rain, if  I knew who he really was my life would be so much easier”
“Alright you got me, I’ll help. Too curious not to at this  point” I said
Dammit Rain remember what killed the cat. Remember your rules.