Time of report: 22h35 EST

Presiding detective: Brandon J. Peters

Perpetrator: (unknown)

Cause of death: (unknown)

Autopsy report: [Attached: 1 PDF]

Detective notes: [See below]

This case reeks of mafia attachments.

Objectively.

Clarke has been in this station three times that I can recall, and each was worse then the last. Possession of illegal substances. Armed robbery. First degree murder. Not convicted for a single one. Represented by the same lawyer, now in jail for mob affiliations.

The autopsy report shows a punctured lung. The most likely cause of death, if not for the complete lack of blood congelation around the wound. If the cut wasn't inflicted after death then the weapon would have been coated with Thorax venom- nigh impossible to get even on the black market after the XX34 Interspecies Peace act.

The three suspects are Mr. Clarke's friend Joseph (owner of a downtown bar- I'm sure anyone reading this is familiar), Timothe Richards (recently arrested member of a rival gang), and Bennet's ex (Julia Simons, frequenter of a less-then-legal nightclub).

The body was found at Walton crossing, near the bar all three and Clarke were at earlier. It had the afformentioned stab wound, three broken ribs, and heavy blood alcohol content.

I was put on this case for no other reason other that we're atrociously short-staffed. I knew Bennet. We knew each other in high school, not really close anymore, but sentiment remains. The Chief wouldn't like it. He's strict about bias. I won't say anything untrue, though. I have a sense of honor.

Joseph was at the the bar because he runs it, and he was serving- would be an alibi, except he took his smoke break 10 minutes before Clarke dissapeared. I don't think it's him. His hands are about as clean as it gets, besides a few speeding tickets. He turns is any suspects we've put out for. He cuts drunks off. He donates to the local AA.

Richards is much more likely. He's a big Araneae, a bruiser who sold moonshine mixed with his web. Prone to poisoning, what we got him for the same night Clarke died. The higher ups believe he got his orders at the bar, but there would have been plenty of time to kill Clarke on the way to his next job, if he was so inclined. I haven't brought him in for questioning. I haven't been able to higher a bodyguard.

Richards had a motive, too. Clarke's girlfriend was his wife.

That wife also made Simons suspect. She doesn't seem the jealous type, but. She was preforming at the bar as a singer. When arrested, she was in possession of pepper spray and a pocket knife. No one can confirm where she was. Her gig ended an hour before the murder.

Her interview was interesting. I have an audio file, I'll attach it. She says she didn't know anything about what happened. She got a drink and a cab home. She does say she knew about his new date- she and Clarke are still friends, they keep in touch. That must be nice.

The security footage isn't much help either. Two black figures. An alleyway. The one positions himself between the camera and Bennet, and the victim slumps to the ground. Pretty clean cut. Unfortunate for the police.

The rival gang Richards was apart of was somewhat active in the area (I already said they killed someone that night), and no one in their group had a real high view of Thoraxes. The specism in this city is a huge problem. Even people of the same species- I said Ben and I went to school together, right? The only one who spoke my first language was Ben, and he wouldn't talk to me. We weren't friends, even after I learned English.

It was nice to clear the air the last time I saw him. It was at Joseph's bar (I know this seems bad, Chief, but I swear I didn't see nothing or I would put it in) and we sat for a little and chatted. We were in different cliques. He was a football player, real smart. Crazy how bad his life must've gotten to be where he was when he died. I fell in with a worse crew. A couple of nasty guys. It was hard to get out with them. Real clingy lot. They were up and on me for a while. They only just left me alone, and I had to pull something crazy-

Everyone expected both of us to turn to crime. I guess we did, in different ways.

But we put that behind us. And now Bennet Clarke is dead with his own species venom.

Mafia indeed.