The Berk PD Case Files: Zugzwang

It was late at night when a pickup parked near a lake. No one immediately got out of the car and the windows started to fog up slightly.

"Come on babe, it'll be fun," A guy said while smirking. The headlights of the truck were cast towards the lake as he helped a woman climb out.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked while leaning in and kissing the man on the cheek.

"Didn't you always say you wanted to go skinny dipping?" The man now chuckled.

"I still can't believe I showed you my bucket list," The woman giggled as she took off her blouse and placed it on the hood of the car.

"It will be fine," The guy said as he pulled her close for a snuggle.

After the couple took off their clothes they ran into the water. "Oh my God, it's freezing!" The lady exclaimed.

"I can help you warm up," The man uttered which earned him a slap on the shoulder.

"You can be such a lech you know," The woman joked as the guy embraced her as they floated in the water. Just as the man was leaning in for a kiss they bumped into something floating underwater.

"What was that?" The lady asked. "I think I just bumped into something," In response, the guy dove underwater to check but suddenly released the breath he had been holding due to shock.

"We need to go now!" The guy uttered as he grabbed to woman's arm to head back to the shore.

"What... Hey! Jeremy! What the Hell!" The woman shouted at his sudden forcefulness.

-0-

The lakefront was cordoned off by yellow police tape by the time Hiccup and Astrid arrived. It was early in the morning, the sun was only now showing itself, and neither detective had had their fill of coffee yet.

"What do we have officer?" Hiccup asked the cop that let them through the tape. Reporters were already showing up at the scene as news traveled fast.

"Cathleen and Jeremy Thompson, married for two years. Went skinny dipping on their anniversary. They called in the body around 2:20 AM." The officer indicated to a wet couple that had been given blankets and was waiting near the ambulance as the scene unfolded.

"Then why are there two bodies?" Astrid asked as she spotted two body bags on the shore.

"The couple found the first body, and CSU divers recovered a second corpse when sweeping the lake." The officer explained. "Both John Does so far."

"WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!" The shout caused the detectives and officers to look towards the lake where a man on the police boat was waving. A diver reemerged from the lake not so far from the boat indicating that there was indeed another body down there.

"You know what they say about threes," Hiccup muttered while frowning.

"It's a crowd?" Astrid responded.

"It's a serial killer," He corrected.

-0-

When Hiccup and Astrid got back to the precinct they were immediately shown to the conference room where Mala was about to give a briefing. They sat down next to each other and Gobber, bless his heart, offered both of them a coffee from Starbucks.

"Attention everyone," The Captain said as she entered the room. "Many of you have already seen the news so you'll know what this is about." She continued. "As of 5:30 AM this morning six bodies were recovered from Lake Draeke. The first body was reported at 2:23 AM. CSU divers found five more bodies weighed down with rocks in the lake. So far only one of these bodies has been identified." Mala then pressed a button and a photo and driver's license popped up on the screen behind her. "Meet Jacob Summers. According to the ME's preliminary, he seems to have been the latest victim. What we know so far is that he's been reported missing four days ago by his wife. Mr. Summers lived and worked in Wyoming."

"Oh Thor," Hiccup groaned which caused Astrid to raise a brow.

"Yes Haddock, I'm sorry but we will need to bring them in," Mala said as she noted Hiccup's groan.

"Bring who in?" Astrid asked.

"The FBI, since this is a murder across state lines," Hiccup grumbled.

"I've worked with them before, they aren't that bad," Astrid muttered.

"Just wait till you meet our FBI liaison." Hiccup told her. "Piece of work that guy. Snotlout once told me the guy acts like he has a radish shoved up his-"

"HADDOCK!" Mala reprimanded.

"Right... Right...," Hiccup backed off.

"As I was saying, we will have to cooperate with the FBI. Our objective currently is to identify all victims and coordinate with PD across states to interview family members and acquaintances. All we know right now is that we just stumbled onto a serial killer's dumping ground. So it's all hands on deck!"

-0-

"I'm assuming you don't want to talk about it," Astrid sat down at her desk opposite Hiccup after the briefing.

"You assume right," Hiccup grumbled as he started up his PC. "Let's just focus on the case,"

"Right, so what do we know about Jacob Summers?" Astrid queried as she leaned back into her chair and frowned.

"The question you should be asking is, what killer would drive across state lines to dump a body," Hiccup muttered.

"Someone who wants to hide evidence," Astrid answered. "PDs jurisdiction ends at state lines. It's difficult to coordinate search and rescue with other agencies..... Or..."

"Or?" Hiccup questioned.

"Or the lake has a special meaning to the killer," Astrid guessed.

"Lake Draeke is a popular make-out spot for Highschoolers. It's been so for decades," Hiccup stated. "Far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city yet close enough to the suburbs to make it a popular picnic spot. I used to patrol near that area when I was a rookie. Let me tell you the number of teens you bust doing illicit things there was astounding."

"Don't tell me you never went there in your teens," Astrid questioned.

"I wasn't exactly in with the 'It' crowd you know," Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I was scrawny, most people could snap me like a twig,"

Astrid looked her partner up and down and then commented "Huh, I don't see it."

"What were you in Highschool?" Hiccup questioned. "A cheerleader?"

"Sort of," Astrid muttered as she rolled her eyes. "It's actually pretty stupid now that I think of it."

"Oh?" Hiccup raised a brow.

"Sophmore year I ended up trying out for the cheer squad. To me, it looked like they had their shit together and I desperately wanted to be part of that crowd. I didn't get into the squad but they made me the towel girl," Astrid confessed. "I don't know what made me possess to stick with that job but they treated me like crap. I ended up quitting after I punched one of the girls when they accused me of trying to get with the guy they were trying to flirt with."

"You like to punch people don't you," Hiccup commented to which Astrid shot him a glare.

"You want to know the real kicker?" Astrid asked. When Hiccup just nodded she continued. "The guy I was accused of trying to seduce ended up asking that girl's older brother to the Senior Prom the next year."

"Karma's a bish I tell ya," A voice uttered causing the two to whip their heads to the speaker.

"Tuffnut! Don't do that!" Astrid exclaimed as she held a hand over her heart. She had not even heard the guy approach.

"For Thor's sake Tuff!" Hiccup said at nearly the same time. "You're going to end up giving me grey hairs."

"I actually come bearing good news!" Tuffnut said as he held up a thumb drive for Hiccup to take. "Ruff and I found out who the other vics are. It's a doozy I tell ya. The files were too large to send so here I am!"

"Let's see," Hiccup said as he took the USB. Astrid stood up and walked to see the files on Hiccup's monitor.

"By the way, you coming to O'Malley's tonight?" Tuff asked. "You too Astrid. You haven't been to O'Malley's yet have you?"

"No," Astrid answered. "Cop bar?" She then asked.

"Kind of," Tuffnut shrugged. "The BFD wants a rematch,"

Astrid noted Hiccup trying to hide his smirk. "Alright, I'll be there."

"I guess I could drop-in," Astrid then said.

"Great! I'll see you both in the ring then!" Tuffnut happily said before scuttling off.

"Ring? What ring? Tuff!" Astrid then turned to Hiccup "What did he mean by ring?"

"You'll see tonight. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," He just answered which caused Astrid to pout.

-0-

After Hiccup and Astrid's shift ended, which had been spent requisitioning the records of the victims as well as coordinating with local PDs in various states to break the news to the families. It had been a nightmare, to say the least, and now both of them just wanted some time to cool off. Hiccup was showing Astrid the way to O'Malley's, which surprisingly was just a few blocks from the precinct. So both detectives were walking.

The building they stopped in front of looked like a regular pub. Astrid recognized several cars belonging to off-duty cops from their precinct parked nearby as well. Hiccup opened the door for her and a jingle could be heard. Though that was definitely not what Astrid was focussing on as she stepped inside. As she took in the interior and atmosphere her brows shot up in shock.

It was certainly a very jolly bunch that Astrid observed. The pub looked small from the outside but the interior space was used to the fullest. There were tables and booths lined along the walls while the bar itself was situated in the middle. "Is that an axe-throwing area?" Astrid asked as she saw a small crowd near the back.

"Yeah, it's a great way to vent your frustrations too," Hiccup chuckled as he greeted the bartender. "Hi, Throk!"

"Evening Hiccup, your usual?" Throk asked to which Hiccup nodded. "And you miss?"

"Uhm... I'll just have a beer for now," Astrid ordered.

"HADDOCK! THERE YOU ARE!" Someone shouted.

"Celena!" Hiccup greeted with a wave just as Throk put a tumbler of whiskey and a large pint of beer on the counter for them.

"What did I tell you about calling me by my full name?" The woman joked.

"Not to do so unless I wanted to end up in a meat grinder?" Hiccup retorted which only caused the woman to huff. She then spotted Astrid and asked, "This the new partner I've been hearing about?"

"Astrid Hofferson," She introduced herself and held her hand out for a handshake, which the other woman took.

"Celena Fury, but you can just call me Lena," She added before shooting Hiccup another glare. "He only calls me by my full name because he knows he can get away with it." She joked.

"Oh really?" Astrid queried, looking very curious.

"Right, this idiot over here was actually the one that got me and Terence together in the first place," Lena uttered as she slung an arm over Astrid's shoulder.

"You don't say," Now Astrid was more than intrigued.

"I'll tell you all about it too. I'm sure Hiccup will have his hands full. Terence wanted a rematch against BPD. He's been itching to throw some axes again."

"Hey now! Don't kidnap my partner!" Hiccup uttered.

"Oh hush you and go keep my husband busy," Lena laughed. She then bent down a bit and whispered "So this story involves monopoly night and a rather suggestive cake,"

"Alright, I'm very curious," Astrid murmured. "By the way, you're a firefighter too?" She then asked.

"Nah, That's all Terence. If you ask me I have the cooler job though," Lena smirked as she winked at her husband who was now handing Hiccup and axe. The man, a bit taller than Hiccup, blushed and looked away.

-0-

"Ugh, my head!" Astrid grumbled the following day at her desk as she was nursing a massive hangover.

"It's your own fault for agreeing to the Newcomer special," Hiccup rolled his eyes. Astrid only glared at her partner. For a guy who drank his fair share of shots last night, he looked very put together. Not at all like the raging hangover she was nursing.

"You could have warned me that the 'Newcomer special' even made Ruffnut faint!" Astrid grumbled.

"Yo Asti!" Snotlout called out as he approached their desk. "Great time last night!"

"Oh my Thor, Snotlout! Can you not yell!" Astrid grumbled. "Wait, why did you call me Asti?"

"Don't you remember? You asked me to call you that when I showed up at O'Malley's." Snotlout questioned. Then he turned to Hiccup "The newcomer special?" He asked and Hiccup just nodded.

"Damn, should have known. Throk is famous for it. It's a wonder she was even dancing," Snotlout muttered.

"I was dancing?!" Astrid near shrieked.

"Don't worry about it," Snotlout laughed. "My cuz here ended up giving Thuggory a lapdance when he first drank it. So not the weirdest thing I've seen,"

"SNOTLOUT!" Hiccup shouted. "I thought we were never going to bring that up again!"

"Well well, if this isn't a merry bunch," A haughty voice commented. Both Astrid and Snotlout looked in the direction of said voice but Hiccup just groaned.

"Why hello to you too Grimmel," Hiccup muttered. "I didn't realize you could walk in the sun."

"Hardy har har Haddock, and it's Agent Spade to you," A blond man in a dark blue suit uttered. He stifly greeted Snotlout and Astrid before saying "You know why I'm here. My team will be taking over the investigation so we'll need all the materials you lot have collected so far."

"Now see here!" Hiccup began "My partner and I are running point on this investigation. Don't think you can just shut us out,"

"Oh, do you perhaps want to have a little wager?" Grimmel smirked finally. "I'm always up for a good tête-à-tête,"

"The loser has to taste the Captain's newest coffee mixture!" Hiccup uttered which caused Grimmel to make a face.

"Very well, deal!" Grimmel huffed and walked away after Hiccup handed him the thumb drive Tuffnut had given them yesterday.

"Well he wasn't very nice," Astrid muttered.

"I said it before and I'll say it again. Radish!" Snotlout huffed. "I'll be starting my patrol call me if you need extra manpower to knock him off his high-horse,"

"Come on, let's go." Hiccup said as he stood up.

"Where too?" Astrid questioned but got up.

"The morgue. Cami's got to have something for us by now. Grimmel wouldn't be here if he hadn't already gone there first."

"How do you know for sure?" Astrid asked as she followed after her partner.

"Because that's just how he works," Hiccup's cynical side was showing again.

"You guys have history don't you," Astrid questioned.

"Undoubtedly," Hiccup grumbled.

-0-

"You know I was thinking you weren't going to show up," Camicazi said as she saw Hiccup and Astrid walk into her place of work. "You just missed Griselda by the way,"

"Who's Griselda?" Astrid asked.

"Grimmel's partner," Hiccup elaborated. "She's all business most of the time. I'm not counting the time she and Snotlout had to go undercover though,"

"Well don't expect too much. I've been pulling an all-nighter on this case and the water has degraded any DNA evidence I was hoping to find." Cami stated as she started pulling out slabs of bodies from the cold storage. "What I can tell you is these were not quick deaths. Someone wanted these people to suffer."

"Jacob Summers, Age 46. Died by strangulation." Camicazi stated. "Likely with a tin metal cord used as a garrote. Broken fingernails indicated that he struggled but the water washed away any evidence."

"Ariel Winter, Age 45, Died of drowning. I've sent the water in her lungs to the twins so they would be able to tell you more," she announced. "Then we have one Micheal Leroy here. Also 46. Stabbed a total of 57 times in the torso. The rate of decay suggests that he's been in the water the longest."

"It takes a lot of rage to stab someone 57 times..." Astrid muttered.

"Agreed. Also if you notice, a lot of the stabs are quite shallow." Camicazi commented. "It took a while before one punctured their organs and they bled out."

"Daren Brandson, Age 48. His wrists show signs of being tied. The cause of death is blood-force trauma to the side of the skull. The damage is extensive. I might not be able to get a weapon match from the mold I made." Cami made a face at that part but moved on to the last two bodies.

"Reana Whise, Age 46. Cause of death; blood loss due to the tongue being cut off. The last one is Thomas Derby. All his fingers were broken anti-mortem. The official cause of death so far seems to be an OD. I'll know more once the tox screen comes back."

"Hiccup are we sure that this is just one killer?" Astrid asked. "Serial killers usually stick to one type of MO. This is...." Astrid indicated with her hands at the bodies. "It seems way too disorganized to be just one person, right?"

"I'm not ruling anything out," Hiccup stated. "One killer or a band of killers, they need to be stopped. You saw the same information as I did yesterday right?"

Astrid frowned and crossed her arms as her partner continued. "Micheal Leroy was reported missing seven months ago in Virginia. Reana Whise, missing six months from Colorado, Thomas Derby, five months Florida, Ariel Winter, two months Arizona, Daren Brandson, three weeks ago Texas, Jacob Summers four days ago. If we go by this timeline then all indication points to the killer or killers accelerating their kills."

"It also means we're running out of time before they select their next victim," Astrid uttered.

"I can't help you there. The twins might though," Cami stated. "They seemed more interested in the knots tying the bodies down than the bodies themselves.

-0-

"BROTHER!" Was the first thing Astrid and Hiccup heard when they walked into the CSU lab. That was followed by Hiccup being picked up in a bearhug by a muscled redhead.

"Dagur..gah... need to breathe!" Hiccup managed to utter.

The man... Dagur finally let Hiccup go before turning to Astrid. "You must be his partner. Dagur Deranged, FBI."

"Astrid Hofferson," Astrid introduced. She already liked this guy better than Grimmel.

"What are you doing here Dagur? Last I heard you were in Seatle." Hiccup coughed as he asked that.

"I just transferred to the Berk field office!" Dagur excitingly announced. "Isn't that great Hiccup!"

"Oh goody," Hiccup uttered.

Astrid merely raised her brows and then told the duo that Ruffnut seemed to be waiting. In fact, the blond seemed to be bouncing on her heels like a kid waiting to open presents on Snoggletog.

"Here, make a knot," Ruffnut said as she handed all three of them pieces of rope.

"Uhm, sure?" Dagur said as they tied the rope. Once done Ruffnut looked even giddier.

"Now all of you made the same standard knot," She pointed out.

"Yeah so?" Dagur asked with a raised brow. Ruffnut then grabbed an evidence bag from the table and showed it to the others, asking "Does this look like a typical knot to you?"

"This is an Anchor bend knot," Ruffnut continued while smacking the evidence bag to put emphasis on it. "Now normally people would never think of using this knot, or they might not have even heard of this knot."

"So it's specific to a profession or industry then?" Astrid questioned.

"You bet your go-go boots it is!" Ruffnut laughed. "This knot is typically used on boats to secure an anchor."

"So our suspect is someone that clearly has boating experience," Hiccup mumbled. "We should check if any of our victims knew anyone with that expertise."

"But that's not all I got for you," Ruffnut eagerly said. "Tuffnut matched the water in Ariel Winter's lungs to that of the lake. At first, we thought that it might be pool water but there was no chlorine present. After that Tuffnut matched the microbes to the ones found in the lake samples we took. "Your vic was definitely transported alive to the dumpsite."

-0-

Back at their desks, the duo was stumped by the information. Dagur had gone back to his own team a while ago. "What do an Elementary teacher, bartender, lawyer, nursing assistant, shop clerk, and a real estate agent have in common?" Astrid muttered aloud.

"That sounds like some weird 'walk into a bar joke'," Hiccup replied. "Aside from their age range, we're still waiting on the reports from PD in their home states. Background checks just came in though." He added as he grabbed one of the files from his desk. "Brandson, our lawyer, never got so much as a speeding ticket. Whise had multiple DUIs and her license was suspended. Derby was arrested a month before his disappearance on possession of a controlled substance. He was never charged though."

"What substance?" Astrid asked as she looked over her monitor at Hiccup.

"Oxy," Hiccup answered as he flipped through the files some more. "This is interesting."

"What is?"

"Derby was never charged. Normally possession of Oxycontin is a year of prison time." He mumbled.

"You think he cut a deal? Astrid asked. "Gave up his supplier for a walk?"

"That would certainly make him some enemies," Hiccup nodded.

"I'll get on the phone with Florida PD for that case file," Astrid said as she started dialing. "Hi, this is Detective Hofferson of the BPD. I'd like to know if..."

Meanwhile, Hiccup had stood up and was scrutinizing the timeline they had established on the board.

"Good news, Hiccup. They'll email us the files." Astrid said as she got off the phone. "What are you looking at?"

"I think we got something wrong," Hiccup stated. "Our initial conclusion was that the killer is escalating, which might be true but this time frame here is what's bugging me." He added as he pointed to the time period between the Derby and Winter disappearances."

"Hmmmmm..." Astrid was deep in thought. "Everything after Winter's disappearance is an escalation."

"Yeah, but the killer or killers didn't get sloppy. Usually, when there is an escalation there is more evidence," He surmised. "Also, the three-month interval between Derby and Winter is suspicious. Up to then, each victim disappeared within a month of each other."

"Ariel Winter was reported missing the day after when she didn't show up for work at the school. So there's no way anyone would wait to report her missing three months after the fact." Astrid looked confused. "Do you think we're missing two or three victims?" The thought was unpleasant.

"CSU swept the lake from top to bottom. I think it's more than likely that our killer had something happen that made them incapable of leaving the state." He stated.

"You're thinking that the escalation is just the killer's way of catching up on those missed months?" Astrid now queried and Hiccup nodded.

"If they aren't sloppy then that would mean that these murders were planned well in advance."

"It means the killer had a hit list and we still have no idea what these people have in common." Hiccup uttered gravely.

-0-

"Oye Hiccup, there ya are," Gobber said as he poked his head into the room Hiccup and Astrid had occupied to review the files.

"Gobber, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"I just got off the phone with the Arizona PD. It seems they can't find the fiance." Gobber announced.

"Who's fiance? Winter's?" Astrid sat up straighter.

"Yeah, they tried tracking him down for questioning but It's like he disappeared off the face of the Earth," Gobber stated. "They're officially calling Adrian Howes a missing person as of today."

"That's two in Arizona," Astrid stated. "The killer hasn't struck in the same state twice."

"That is if it's the killer's doing," Hiccup countered. "The guy might have just fled town. What do we know about him?"

"Seems he and Winter were Highschool sweethearts, according to the neighbours," Gobber supplied.

"High school sweethearts?" Hiccup asked looking interested. "Wait.... What High school did the other vics attend?"

"Ravenwood High.... Ravenwood High... Ravenwood... Oh my Thor!" Astrid said as she reached for more folders. "How could we have missed this!"

"What's more, Ravenwood is one of the Highschools close to our crime scene." Hiccup said as he stood up and grabbed his coat. "Let's go,"

-0-

The drive to the high school took about 45 minutes but when they got there the FBI team was just exiting the building.

"You're late Haddock," Grimmel announced with a smirk.

"And you're going bald. What's your point?" Hiccup shot back. The comment made Dagur giggle though he tried to stifle it when Grimmel shot him a glare.

"Haddock, nice to see you," Griselda greeted and then he looked at Astrid. "You must be his new partner."

"I am," Astrid said as she shook Griselda's hand. "These two, right,"

"I agree," Griselda uttered. "Them and their stupid bets,"

"Hey now!" Both Grimmel and Hiccup retorted and then huffed.

"Let's go Hiccup," Astrid announced as they made their way through the front doors and past the FBI team.

"Seriously, what is your beef with him?!" Astrid asked when they were out of earshot.

"He's a judgemental ass, that's what he is," Hiccup grumbled. "He doesn't like legacy cops, don't know why, and honestly don't really care. The first time we had to work together you know what he said to me? 'Nepotism won't get you far with me boy'. That arse! I worked my butt off to be made detective! So what if I come from a family of cops! Nooooooo, I must have gotten the job because of daddy's influence." He ranted.

"So he judged you before even knowing you," Astrid muttered. "That guy deserves to drink a tankard of Mala's coffee." She said in a deadly voice. "Come on! We're going to solve this case before them!" Astrid announced as they were nearing the office.

-0-

"I'm sorry I don't know how else I can help you," The Principal said as he concluded their meeting. "As I said to the FBI, I can have my secretary get you copies of the past school records if we still have them. Other than that I'm not sure how I can help you. The victims were students here before my time of employment. Maybe Mrs. Hardgrove might be able to help. She's been here longer than I have."

"Thank you so much for your time. May we also take a look at some of the yearbooks?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course. All the old yearbooks are kept in the library. Feel free to take a look."

Once Hiccup and Astrid left the office they headed straight for the library. "BPD," Hiccup said as he flashed his badge for the librarian on duty. "Could we see the yearbooks from..... 1987 until 1995?"

They were left alone at a table with a stack of books. Astrid and Hiccup each took one and started flipping through it. "Our victims aren't in '95," Astrid announced once she'd checked the student names.

Time ticked by as the duo perused the yearbooks until suddenly Astrid exclaimed "Hiccup I think I got most of our vics here." She announced before handing him the yearbook of '93. The black and white pictures stood out boldly against the white border background. "Ravenwood's Varsity soccer and cheerleading team...." Hiccup read the caption and true enough most of the victims appeared in this photograph.

"Ariel Winter isn't in this picture." he commented.

"But Adrian Howes is. Seems he was the Goalie," Astrid said.

Hiccup turned a few pages to see the other clubs and sure enough, he found Winter. "She was President of the Chess club during the same year."

"Ariel Winter, President, and Casey Jones, Vice President of Ravenwood's Chess club accept 1st place prize at Berk's Regional Chess competition." Astrid read the caption.

"Hiccup are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Astrid asked.

"It's not time to take over the world Astrid," Hiccup deadpanned.

"Oh my Thor seriously," She just rolled her eyes. "This Casey Jones. He might be our killer's next target."

"Or he might be the killer. Or he might be someone completely unrelated." Hiccup added. "Though it doesn't hurt to question him. I'll ask Gobber to run his name for a current address. If he's still in Berk we can question him immediately."

Hiccup and Astrid took the relevant yearbooks with them and then made their way toward the Teachers' lounge. They waited there as the secretary paged Mrs. Hardgrove. In came an elderly lady who had a stern complexion.

"Thank you for meeting with us. We have some questions about some people that might have been students here during your time at Ravenwood. We were hoping if you'd remember them."

"What are their names?" Mrs. Hardgrove asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Micheal Leroy, Reana Whise, Thomas Derby," Hiccup read them from his notebook but stopped when the older woman finished the list for him.

"So you do remember these people," He stated.

"Remember them? Why I drank two bottles of Chardonnay when they graduated!" The teacher stated. "Hellions the lot of them!"

"They were rotten apples I tell you. Rotten to the core!" Mrs. Hardgrove announced. "Why what they did to that poor boy Casey. I tore the Principal a new one for not punishing them!"

"Casey? Casey Jones?" Astrid asked just to be sure.

"Aye, that boy. He wouldn't hurt a fly but they used him as a punching bag. Mostly because he came from a single-parent household. I guess they thought he was easy to pick on because he kept his head low."

"Can you tell us more about this incident?" Hiccup asked.

"It was their Senior year," Mrs. Hardgrove stated. "At that time I was assigned as their homeroom teacher."

"So you had all of them in your class?" Astrid asked as she took notes.

"Not all of them. Daren Brandson was in other classes. He'd been held back twice in Middle school. Leroy recruited him into their little gang Junior year. Mostly as muscle." She scoffed.

"The incident I'm referring to happened in their Senior year. Casey confided in me at the time yet I couldn't do much to protect that boy." The old lady sounded genuinely saddened by this. "Casey had a best friend named Ariel. They'd been best friends since freshman year and I personally thought that he had a thing for her, though he never told her."

"Ariel Winter," Astrid asked to confirm.

"Yeah, that backstabber." Mrs. Hardgrove muttered angrily. "I thought she was as sweet as her sister Patti but no."

"The cheerleading squad had this bet according to Casey. They'd pick a girl, not in their social circle, and give them a makeover. Reana picked Ariel. Boy did she turn that girl into a bombshell," Mrs. Hardgrove uttered. "Even I was flabbergasted when she walked into class."

"I'm assuming that's when Adrian Howes comes into the picture." Astrid surmised.

"He pounced like a cheetah on a gazelle." The teacher muttered. "And Ariel was captivated. She'd never had much of any boy looking her way before,"

"That's also when the trouble started." The teacher then announced. "Adrian was a jealous man. According to Casey, Adrian couldn't stand that Ariel was friends with him so he had the guys snatch him up after school, shove him into the trunk of one of their cars and drive to the lake." Mrs. Hardgrove looked at both detectives gravely. "They stripped that boy naked and held his head underwater until he nearly drowned! They left him there without any clothes and he was picked up by police for streaking that evening."

"He didn't show his face at school after that. Didn't even attend his own graduation," The woman muttered. "The only thing those kids got was a 'stern' talking to from the Principal at the time. Only because they were taking the school to the Regional Finals. Honestly the nerf of that man!"

-0-

Once back in the car the duo sat in silence for a moment. "It's increasingly plausible that Casey Jones is our killer."

"He'd have motive," Astrid stated. "And the rage,"

"Gobber sent me the address while we were having the interview. He also said the address hasn't changed in the last 40 years." Hiccup added.

"What are we waiting for?" Astrid quirked a brow. "Let's get our killer." With that Hiccup started the car and the pair was on their way out of the school parking lot.

They arrived not much later at a house in one of the suburban areas. "This place looks like it's seen better days," Astrid muttered as she noted the tall grass growing in the yard and the wilted flowers in the flowerbeds.

Astrid took the lead while Hiccup stood behind her with his palm on his weapon. They were confronting a potential serial killer. Who knew what could await them. "Mr. Jones, BPD. We'd like to ask you some questions."

There was some shuffling inside the house before the door opened up a bit. "Can I see some ID?" The man, who looked somewhat unkempt asked. Both Astrid and Hiccup showed him their badges.

"Mr. Jones, may we come in to talk?" Hiccup asked.

"No," The man uttered. "What you have to say to me you can say from there,"

"Very well," Hiccup said and then asked "it has come to our attention that students from your own Highschool have been ending up murdered. You are currently a person of interest in the investigation."

"I know, the people who tormented me are dead," The man stated without much emotion.

"You know? How do you know this sir? Their names haven't been made public yet." Astrid asked.

"I know because every month or so I'd get a call." The man stated. "They say one of the names and then say it's been dealt with,"

Hiccup was somewhat skeptical about the whole thing so he asked "The person that calls you. Is it a man or a woman?"

"Their voice is always distorted and honestly I don't really care about any of these people." Mr. Jones uttered. "They can rot in hell forever."

"Mr. Jones, would you be able to give us an alibi for the time of their disappearances at least?" Astrid now asked.

"I was home, minding my own damn business." The man uttered. "I haven't left this house for almost 30 years. So whoever is killing them off, they have my thanks! Now goodbye!" With that, the door was slammed shut.

"We should interview the neighbours, and see if they can tell us more about Mr. Jones." Hiccup said just as sirens and screeching tires approached their location.

"What in the Nine realms?!" Astrid exclaimed as black SUVs came to a screeching halt along with a SWAT team.

"Move aside please," One of the SWAT members announced as they carried past a battering ram.

"Is that Lena?!" Astrid looked between Hiccup and the SWAT team. She hadn't thought she'd recognize anyone from the bar.

"We meet again," Grimmel said as he strode right past the detectives. "Looks like I'll win this one,"

"Casey Jones! FBI! Open up! We have a warrant for your arrest!" Grimmel announced as he gave the signal for SWAT to break down the door.

"The hell just happened?!" Astrid uttered perplexed.

It didn't take long for the SWAT members to bring Mr. Jones out in handcuffs. He was kicking and screaming.

"CASEY! OH MY THOR! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING?!" A woman with red hair came running out of one of the houses on the other side of the street.

"Ma'am, ma'am, please calm down," Hiccup tried to de-escalate as the woman was glaring daggers at the agents' putting Mr. Jones in the back of a police car.

"He hasn't done anything!" The woman shouted again.

"How do you know that ma'am?" Astrid now asked with a frown.

"Casey has agoraphobia," The woman stated. "That man hasn't left the house since before I moved to this neighbourhood."

"You know Mr. Jones well?"

"I sometimes bring him some dinner I made, and magazines." She confessed.

"And your name is?" Hiccup asked as he jotted stuff down.

"Patricia Macdowel," she answered.

-0-

"Look at him," Astrid grumbled when they were back at the precinct. "Boasting like he's the cat that got the cream."

"Yo Brother," Dagur greeted but Hiccup was in somewhat of a foul mood.

"Look, no hard feelings," Dagur said. "Grimmel kind of jumped the gun. The warrant took us by surprise as well."

"You don't think he did it?" Hiccup asked while glaring daggers at the interrogation room.

"I don't think there was enough probable cause," Dagur admitted "But that's up to the judge to decide."

"What was the evidence you guys had for probable cause?" Astrid asked now.

"We got access to Casey Jones's medical history," Dagur explained. "Did you know that he checked himself into a psychiatric facility for three months?"

"Let me guess, those three months coincided with the killer laying low." Hiccup surmised.

"Yeah. Grimmel's convinced he's our guy."

"Even with the agoraphobia?" Astrid now questioned.

"Depends on how severe a case he has," Dagur shrugged. "Some agoraphobes do still go outside so it's not a solid defense,"

"Say Dagur, can we see those files you have?" Hiccup asked with the most sickly sweet smile he could muster.

-0-

"Hiccup what exactly are we looking for?" Astrid asked as they worked late into the night. Dagur had managed to slip them a copy of the file not so long ago.

"I just remember seeing something in one of the yearbooks," Hiccup said as he had several of them open on his desk.

"According to this report, Casey Jones was admitted by his friend Mrs. Macdowel." Astrid read.

"The neighbour?" Hiccup looked up from his search as Astrid nodded.

"Seems he was diagnosed with severe anxiety," Astrid read further. "He stayed at the facility for three months after which he checked himself out."

"You know what? I think you might be onto something here." Astrid said. "I'll request the sign-in logs of the facility from around that time."

"Found it!" Hiccup suddenly exclaimed before handing the yearbook to Astrid.

"What am I looki-... oh... OH!" She uttered as her brows shot up. "Well, this is certainly interesting."

-0-

The following morning Astrid came towards Hiccup's desk carrying two files. "Take a look. Seems your hunch was right," She placed them on Hiccup's desk and pointed to the highlighted areas.

Both detectives ended up with Mr. Jones in the interrogation room after that. The man looked more reluctant than ever to talk though.

"Look, let me start by saying that I think you didn't do it." Hiccup began.

"Well, whoop-de-do. At least you aren't an idiot like the last person to question me." Casey uttered.

"You might not have participated in the murders," Hiccup continued. "But I think you have a pretty good idea about who did commit them,"

"I ain't telling you anything," The man stated with a huff.

"I heard you play chess, Mr. Jones," Astrid now began. "Tell me, do you know what Zugzwang means? Because you're in that situation right now."

"We did some digging," Astrid continued. "Your phone records show you were indeed contacted by a number belonging to a burner phone."

"The person was smart. A burner phone is untraceable." Hiccup added. Then he proceeded to slide over a copy of the sign-in logs from the psychiatric facility. "Ms. Macdowel visited you quite often didn't she. Every day in fact,"

"Seems a little odd with you two just being neighbours," Astrid added. "It also seems that Ms. Macdowel makes frequent trips out of state."

"She does photography as a hobby. I don't know where she goes," Casey muttered.

"So if we track her toll pass we won't find she'd visited the states where our victims went missing?" Hiccup then questioned. Casey was silent for that part and just mumbled and shrugged "Beats me. Patricia has no connection to any of this,"

"Funny you should say that," Astrid uttered as she opened up the bookmarked yearbook and pointed to a picture. The picture showed two teens posing on the bow of a boat. "That's Ariel and Patti. Posing in front of the boat belonging to their grandfather. The knots used to tie the victims down were made by someone with experience with boats. You don't have that."

"Also Patti changing her name and moving back to Berk was quite ingenious. It took us some time to track down the records in another state's court." Hiccup added. "Do you want to stick with the statement that you didn't know it was her?"

"If you knew and had reasonable suspicion she was a killer then you'll be indicted by the DA as an accessory to murder," Astrid stated. "Why don't you help yourself here for once and tell us what you know. We have officers bringing her in as we speak."

"You know how it goes. The first one to talk gets the deal," Astrid crossed her arms.

"Alright, alright," Casey angrily uttered. "I knew she was Patti when I saw the wedding invitation in her purse. It fell to the floor when she was getting her wallet. She confessed that she'd always liked me, even before High school as I went over to Ariel's house to play chess a lot."

"And the murders?" Hiccup asked.

"I wasn't completely sure she was the one doing that alright!" Casey confessed. "I started having suspicions when she picked me up from the facility. She said she'd deal with the problem."

"That's the week Ariel went missing," Astrid confirmed.

"Oh gods....." Casey just hung his head in despair after that.

-0-

Later that night Hiccup stepped into O'Malley's. Throk greeted him and handed him his usual before he made his way to the back of the pub.

"So, why did you call me here?" Hiccup said as he took a seat in the booth.

Opposite him, Dagur took a swig of his own tumbler before he said anything. "First off, thanks for sending me that video of Grimmel chugging the Captain's latest coffee experiment. I did not know the man could run that fast to the toilet."

"Yeah, the case is closed now. Patti confessed to it all after a warrant search revealed Howes's body stuffed into her portable freezer in the garage. I'm guessing she had nowhere to dump the body since the lake was cordoned off. But you really didn't call me here to discuss the case now did you,"

"Nah, now we get down to business," Dagur said as he laid down a folder on the table. Hiccup opened it and froze at the picture on top.

"Where did you get this?" He asked.

"From Heather. She said you might be interested."

"Heather's intel is usually spot-on," Hiccup sighed. "So the Red Death is back in town."

"You going to fill Stoick in?" Dagur then asked.

"I'll have to. Berk isn't ready for another bloodbath,"

The End?