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Isabelle wakes up to the sound of a loud ringing. Lifting her face off of the Grimm book in front of her before pulling out her phone — finding Nick's name and picture lighting up her screen. Putting it to her ear she answers the call after a few rings.
"Hello." Isabelle yawns, laying her head on the palm of her hand as she props her elbow up on the table.
"You sound sleepy." Nick comments.
"Nope. On the contrary. I'm awake as can be." Isabelle shakes her head. "Let me guess — we have a body."
"No. Two, actually." Nick corrects. "You want me to pick you up? We can grab some coffees on the way."
"I'm actually not at my apartment. I'm at the trailer." Isabelle admits.
"The trailer? What are you doing there?" Nick asks.
"Just needed some peace and quiet." Isabelle tells him.
"Izzy.." Nick starts.
"Spare me the worry — I'm fine. Just text me the address and I'll meet you there." Isabelle says before hanging up on him. Putting down her phone on the table she picks up a picture frame of her and her mother sitting on a picnic blanket from when she was in kindergarten. "I miss you more than I ever imagined I could. I love you, Mom."
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"Morning, lady and fellas." Sergeant Franco greets as Isabelle, Nick, and Hank arrive at the crime scene. "This is, uh.. Ed and Lois Weller. Married twenty six years. Ed here is a lumber exec, recently took early retirement. Probably not what he planned, huh?"
"I don't being brutally murdered is anyone's ideal retirement plan." Isabelle retorts. "It's definitely not mine."
"We got lots of prints. Tech's even found one partial in blood." Sergeant Franco continues.
"Somebody was feeling ambitious." Hank comments.
"Sounds like a standard M.O. for every killer in the world." Isabelle says, but Hank just rolls his eyes.
"That's not like a knife wound." Nick states looking over the man's body. "It's more like he was ripped open."
"Too savage for a B and E. Something else was going on here." Hank shakes his head.
"What? Like a chess game gone awry?" Isabelle questions sarcastically.
"People aren't always what they seem." Hank remarks.
"Don't we know it." Isabelle mutters sharing a look with Nick.
"Maybe it was drugs." Hank suggests as they walk towards a bloodied steak by the fireplace.
"It's a possibility." Isabelle pauses. "But I don't think that's it. Something's telling me whatever happened is far more complicated than just the average break in, and-or, murder."
"When was the last time we had anything average?" Hank inquires.
"That's.." Isabelle trails off as she thinks about it. "Very true, actually."
"Well, the steak's raw. It looks like someone was gnawing on it." Nick muses, kneeling down so he could get a closer look at it.
"Animal could have gotten here after. Door was open." Hank points out.
"Why would it leave the steak was behind?" Nick asks.
"Something probably scared it." Isabelle responds.
"What kind of something?" Nick questions.
"It's the woods, Nick." Isabelle informs him. "And as we all know lots of scary things occur in the woods."
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"A lot of horse tracks." Nick comments as they trek through the woods surrounded by the cabin.
"It's not that unusual out here. Lots of people have horses." Hank tells him.
"Well, unless they have a secret underground barn then I don't think that they belong to the owners." Isabelle interjects.
"Let's see where they go." Nick presses.
"Wow. That's a lot of hooves." Isabelle breathes as they reach a circle of dozens of hoof prints.
"Hey, look at the path of these tracks." Nick blurts pointing to a set of tracks at the edge of the circle.
"Well, they came in one way and doubled back." Hank points out.
"Why would they do that?" Isabelle asks.
"I'm not sure." Nick murmurs. "Look — there's a lot of hoof prints here, and these drag marks next to them."
"Dragging what? A rake?" Hank inquires.
"Or something clawing at the ground." Nick responds.
"Or someone." Isabelle mutters and kneels down as she notices something shiny poking out of the ground. "Well this is interesting."
"Could be something off a saddle." Nick muses as Isabelle a piece of metal out of the dirt.
"Don't look at me." Hank remarks raising his hands in the air in defense. "I'm not a horse guy."
"Trust me, I know." Isabelle reassures him as she pulls out an evidence baggie and drops it inside.
"No barns, no horses." Hank says looking around.
"What were these horses doing on private property?" Nick questions.
"Who knows." Isabelle shrugs. "But I have a feeling we're gonna find out one way or another."
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Isabelle stared at her computer screen as she researched the imagery engraved on the piece of metal that they had found outside the Wellar's cabin. But Isabelle couldn't seem to find anything related to what could be happening now — just a vague history of horses during the medieval period.
"We got a hit on one of the bloody prints from the cabin." Hank announces as he and Nick walk over to her before both men sit at their desks.
"Please tell me before my eyeballs fall out of my head." Isabelle pleads spinning around in her chair.
"Dimitri Skontos." Nick introduces handing her a file and Isabelle opens it, skimming through the papers.
"He has three priors for misdemeanor possession. Served one year off a cocaine trip." Hank informs her. "Released on probation lost month."
"So he celebrates his freedom by killing an old retired couple?" Isabelle inquires raising an eyebrow in suspicion, not quite believing the story. "Is he known for being violent?"
"Drugs are a slippery slope, in case you didn't know that." Hank retorts.
"So I've heard." Isabelle grimaces.
"Well, I've got registration on Dimitri's car. Put out an APB." Nick interjects.
"Okay. You guys got anything else?" Isabelle asks.
"His parole officer — Leo Taymor." Hank nods with a grin.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Isabelle questions grabbing her keys. "Let's go catch this druggie slash possible killer!"
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"Hi, Mr Taymor. I'm Detective Kessler and this is Detective Griffin." Isabelle introduces as they enter Leo's office. "We're here about Dimitri Skontos."
"Of course. Take a seat." Leo replies before sitting in his chair. "So, what did he do?"
"We've placed him at a murder." Nick states as they sit in the three chairs across from him.
"Oh, hell. I didn't expect that." Leo breathes. "Can you share any details?"
"Couple out in Forest Grove. He broke into the house and murdered them." Hank informs him.
"Wait a minute — you sure you got the right guy?" Leo questions.
"It's rare for DNA to lie." Isabelle retorts before raising an eyebrow at him inquisitively. "Why?"
"It's just.. based on my experiences with him, it doesn't sound like Dimitri." Leo says.
"Well, we've got his bloody fingerprints at the scene of the crime." Nick remarks.
"Oh, damn." Leo sighs. "Look, from what I know about the guy, he didn't go into prison bad. And I know this will come as a shock to you — time behind bars doesn't always change a man for the better. He was having a hard time on the outside."
"So how'd he get paroled?" Nick asks.
"That's not my job." Leo laughs raising his hands up in defense.
"Well, what can you tell us about his parol? How often does he check in?" Isabelle inquires.
"Oh, um.. you know, actually, he was.. a no show this week — and I didn't violate him. I figured I'd cut him some slack." Leo answers, putting on his glasses as he opens Dimitri's file. "Maybe that was a mistake."
"I'd say so." Isabelle grimaces.
"So does Dimitri have a job?" Nick questions.
"Um, yeah. He, uh.. he works for his uncle over at the boxing gym on Eighth." Leo tells them.
"I know it." Hank nods standing up.
"You know, it's too bad. Dimitri was hoping to be the next Sugar Ray." Leo blurts as the three of them stand up and head for the door.
"Well, unless Sugar Ray had a stint in the clink — that's not gonna happen." Isabelle retorts. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr Taymor."
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"Ew, it stinks in here." Isabelle frowns, scrunching her nose in disgust as they enter the building.
"What do you expect? It's gym filled with a bunch of sweaty guys." Hank remarks.
"Stick and move. Come on — stay on the balls of your feet." Gus instructs as the three detectives near the boxing ring. "Alright, stay at it."
"Gus Pappas?" Nick inquires.
"Yeah." Gus nods walking over to them.
"We understand your nephew, Dimitri Skontos, works here." Nick points out.
"Yeah, that's my sister's kid." Gus confirms.
"We'd like to speak with him." Isabelle says.
"Why?" Gus questions warily.
"A married couple was murdered last night." Hank informs him.
"There's no way Dimitri could have anything to do with that." Gus shakes his head in disbelief.
"Unfortunately, sir, we have evidence that puts him at the scene." Isabelle tells him. "Is he here?"
"No. I haven't seen or heard from him in a couple of weeks." Gus admits.
"And that doesn't worry you?" Nick asks looking at him suspiciously.
"Yeah, it worries me. But he's a grown man. He can take care of himself." Gus responds.
"What about his mother?" Hank inquires.
"She died about four years ago. Now I'm the only family Dimitri has." Gus states. "Look, he's a good kid. He did drugs a while back, but he's straightened out. He couldn't kill anybody."
"Was Dimitri close with anyone here?" Isabelle questions.
"Well, most of the guys here. But, uh.. Bryan over there probably knows him best." Gus replies pointing to a young man across the gym,
"Would you happen to have any recent photos of Dimitri?" Hank asks.
"Oh, yeah. Up in my office." Gus answers before walking off with Hank.
"Alright, let's go talk to young muscles." Isabelle remarks before walking with Nick over to where Bryan was lifting weights — his face woged into a rhino creature. "Damn. Nice horns."
"What the hell?" Bryan exclaims as his face returns back to normal, looking between the two cousins with both surprise and defense.
"Yeah. We have that effect on some people." Nick smiles.
"Really?" Bryan inquires setting down his weights.
"Relax, we're not here to fight you." Isabelle assures him. "While it's true, yes, we are who you think we are — but we're also not who you think we are. We don't do the same things are ancestors did. We're just a couple of detectives trying to solve a murder case."
"Exactly. So you can either answer some questions or we can, you know, let you cool off in jail for a couple of days." Nick grins.
"Sorry. Okay? I just got a little worked up when I saw you and her, that's all." Bryan apologizes.
"It's okay. It happens." Isabelle reassures him. "So, question — where is Dimitri Skontos?"
"I don't know. Last time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago. He came in, we worked out, then he went for a run." Bryan says.
"This photo was taken last month." Hank interjects joining them as he shows them a picture of Dimitri and Gus.
"Yeah. Yeah, we threw a party for Dimitri getting paroled." Bryan confirms.
"Where do you guys run?" Nick questions.
"Forest Park. All the guys here run there." Bryan informs them.
"Where in Forest Park do you run exactly?" Isabelle asks.
"I'll show you. I'm getting ready for a run now. You three can follow me." Bryan volunteers. "That is, if you can keep up."
"Oh, don't you worry. I was in the tops tiers of my track team all four years of high school." Isabelle smirks.
"Yeah — and how long ago was that?" Hank inquires teasingly.
"Don't start, Griffin." Isabelle warns. "Everyone here knows you're a lot older than the both of us."
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A/N : Alright, it's been a while, but I have been dealing with A LOT of apartment stuff. So that's been taking up most of my time. But I'm hoping when I'm moved out and into my new place, in about 2.5 weeks, I'll be able to update quicker and more regularly. Will keep you all posted by posting announcements to my profile. So make sure you're all following me. As always, thanks for all of the love and support. Xoxo, Ashley 💖