Cold Case

Lenore's Murder, Part One

MIDORIYA'S POV

"Lenore was such a special young woman. Talented, thoughtful, empathetic. She had her whole life ahead of her," her uncle said. "Her parents died when she was just a kid. She didn't have anyone else." He gulped his beer before setting it back down on the table.

"She married young, correct? Eighteen?" Bakugo asked while glancing down at the file in his hand.

"Yes. She divorced him two years later after he started abusing her. He assumed because they tied the knot, she couldn't leave. Boy, was he wrong," he scoffed.

I looked down at the file in confusion. The file that we had never said she was divorced. "So she wasn't married when she died?" I asked him.

"She was. She had gotten married two months prior. It was a courthouse wedding, nothing fancy. She said she didn't want to make a big fuss out of this one."

"What was her husband's name?" Bakugo asked.

"Ren Tsukami. That was her second husband. The one she was married to when she died."

"Her first husband was Suto Torvald?" I asked. The file said that's who she was still married to. Ren Tsukami isn't mentioned anywhere. What the hell were the cops doing? I know things don't always go as smoothly as they want since the department was always understaffed and underfunded, but this is ridiculous.

"Yes. I don't know what ever happened to him, though."

Bakugo continued flipping through the papers in his hands. "Sorry, some things aren't adding up in the original investigation. Would you be able to clear a few things up for us?"

"I'll try my best," he shrugged.

"Did she live on 76th Avenue?" he asked.

"Here in the city? Not when she died. She used to but moved to a different prefecture after they divorced." Why the hell wasn't that updated in the paperwork?

"Do you know where she moved to?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I have some letters from her saved with the return address, but I don't exactly recall. It was a long time ago," he mumbled.

"Do you know how we could contact Ren or Suto?" I asked.

"Ren still works at the auto shop over on Risper Boulevard. I have no idea how to get into contact with Suto."

"She died here in the city. If she didn't live here, was she visiting you?" I asked. The odds of her coming back here to visit and being murdered are telling me her ex-husband did it, but I'm not positive. I'll have to look at the evidence again once we figure out what we can.

"They came to visit and vacation. I never got to see her. She was only in the city for a day before her life was taken." He was trying not to cry. The tears pooled in his eyes, but he did everything he could to keep them from streaming down his face.

I nudged Bakugo, silently telling him it was time to stop. I've been trying to help him realize when to step back, but he's still struggling with it. He doesn't pay much attention to whoever we're talking to unless we're interrogating a potential suspect. Because of that, he doesn't know when to stop.

"We're going to talk to Ren," Bakugo said while reaching into his jacket pocket. "If you could find us an address and give us a call, we would greatly appreciate it."

"Promise me, if you find out who did this to Lenore, you'll bring them to justice," he choked out.

I nodded. "If we solve the case, I promise we'll bring them to justice." I never make promises I can't keep, but I know I can keep this one. "Thank you for your time. We'll be in contact again sometime soon."