Cold Case

Lenore's Murder, Part Two

BAKUGO'S POV

"So, after the murder of your wife, you continued living in the city?" I asked while Aizawa was practically breathing down my neck. Midoriya and I agreed to separate for the first half of the day. Since our bosses wanted to tag along, it was the best option. Four is a crowd that nobody wants to talk to.

Ren sighed while reaching for a rag to wipe the grease off his hands. "I went back home, but it was incredibly hard. Our home felt empty, and I didn't want to stay there."

"So you flew back here? Did you rent a hotel for a couple of weeks while looking for a place to stay? Or did you have someone to stay with?" He glanced between me and Aizawa before rolling his eyes.

"I thought this was to find out what happened to Lenore. Why the hell are you wasting your time questioning me?" Aizawa studied me carefully, waiting to see how I responded.

"We're just trying to connect all of the pieces. It's kind of like a puzzle. We have the border done. Now we need the inside," I explained, even if that isn't the reason. I'm questioning him like this because I think he had something to do with Lenore's murder.

"I stayed with her uncle. You can verify that with him," he snapped. "I stayed with him for two weeks before finding a studio apartment on the west side." He tossed the rag onto his toolbox before reaching for a wrench. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to work."

"Alright," I smiled. "Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else, give me a call." He watched me set my business card on his toolbox before Aizawa, and I walked out the open garage door and to the car.

"Not bad, kid," he said while hopping into the driver's seat. "Where to now?"

"Hold on," I replied while digging my phone from my pocket. I need to see where Midoriya is at with his investigation. He found Suto living in a rundown apartment on the south side. While I was talking to Ren, he was talking to Suto. "Head back to the station. I'm going to call Midoriya."

He texted me a little over five minutes ago to tell me he was done and was heading back to Lenore's uncle for a few follow-up questions. Hopefully, he isn't there yet.

I hit the call button on my phone as Aizawa pulled onto the street. Midoriya must have already been on his phone because he answered immediately. "Hey, I don't have long to talk. How did it go with Ren?"

"We can talk when we meet back at the station. Can you ask a follow-up question for me?" If we don't have long, I want to get the important stuff out of the way.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Ren said he stayed with her uncle for two weeks after he decided to move here. Can you run try to confirm that?"

"Yeah. Their financial reports came back. Shinso dropped them off in our office. I was going to look at them when I got back, but you're more than welcome to look at them now if you're heading back. We just pulled into his driveway, so I have to go." He paused while his boss said something to him. When his boss stopped talking, he returned his attention to me. "Text me what you two want for lunch. We'll swing by and pick something up when we're done here. We shouldn't take too long."

"Alright, sounds good. See you in a bit," I said. He quickly said goodbye before ending the phone call.

"What are you thinking?" Aizawa asked.

"That Ren was irrationally angry when I was talking to him. His right leg twitched when I mentioned certain things, and he was definitely in a hurry to get us out of there. I think he had something to do with it or knows something about it. I'm just not sure what it is yet."