The Berk PD Case files: Devil at your doorstep

"My gosh Hofferson! Keep eating like that and you'll get fat!" Detective Thuggary called out from his desk while Astrid was savoring a large vanilla glazed donut.

"Up yours, Thug! Does this look like I care what you think?!" Astrid shot back, rolled her eyes, and took another bite out of her fluffy donut goodness.

"Thor, he's a pig," She muttered to Hiccup who was knee-deep in paperwork.

"That he is but his closing rate is higher than even mine so he's in the brass's good books," Hiccup stated causing Astrid to scoff.

"You know you could help," Hiccup then said.

"Hey I'm not the one that fired their service weapon," Astrid shrugged. "And I've already finished my report."

"Well, that will be an interesting read for the Cap," Hiccup smirked. "I don't think anyone's ever used a rake to take down a perp before,"

"He shouldn't have run. Why do they always run," Astrid sighed.

"Haddock, Hofferson!" Mala called out. "Patrol just radioed in a possible 10-65. I want you on it asap,"

"Rodger boss!" Hiccup called out, springing to his feet and grabbing his coat. Astrid followed suit, looking at the half-eaten donut mournfully for a second. It seemed like her partner was more than eager to get out of the paperwork.

"10-65, missing person right?" Astrid asked as she walked next to Hiccup.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that this will be interesting,"

-0-

The crime scene was a gas station just off the Highway. When Astrid and Hiccup arrived the place was already cordoned off with police tape.

"Snotlout?" Hiccup asked upon seeing his cousin.

"Hey, thanks for coming cuz." Snotlout waved. "You're going to want to see this,"

"What happened here?" Astrid asked upon seeing a body lying halfway through the broken glass door.

"Basically, a van pulls up. Three people get out. One fills up gas while the other two enter the store. Everything is all hunky-dory until the two individuals pull out revolvers on the store clerk. They get the cash and some other stuff before hightailing it out of the store, or at least trying to." Snotlout explained. "The store clerk reached for the shotgun under the register the moment their backs were turned and put a buckshot into this one. The other two fled the scene. We already have a BOLO out on the van,"

"This seems like an open and shut case," Astrid observed. "CCTV?"

"Yeah it caught the whole thing," Snotlout said while pointing to two cameras in the store.

"Okay, but why was a 10-65 called?" Hiccup asked.

"You're going to want to see this," Now Snotlout took him to the back where his patrol partner was. The other handed them a VHS tape which they played.

"That's a kid," Astrid noted on the grainy video which showed two much older men and a teen exiting the van.

"Is that..... Samuel Cunningham?!" Hiccup squinted as he tried to get a closer look.

"Think so," Snotlout muttered. "We'll send the tape to CSU, see if they can clean up the image,"

"Who's Samuel Cunningham?" Astrid asked.

"About two years ago it was this huge missing persons case," Snotlout's partner explained. "The Cunninghams are a well-known family. A very well-known rich family though not as rich as the Founding Five."

"Runaway?" Astrid asked.

"It's believed so," Hiccup stated. "There was no evidence of foul play,"

"What the hell happened to this kid?" Astrid muttered as she looked again at the grainy video.

-0-

"We'll have to go notify the family," Astrid mentioned as they left the crime scene.

"Yeah, though I think Gobber should be the one to do that. It was originally his case," Hiccup muttered.

"Wait, then why didn't Cap ask Gobber to take this one?" Astrid frowned.

"Because... Thor.... How to explain this... Eh... Gobber and his partner Johann worked on this case two years ago." Hiccup said though he sounded somewhat reluctant. "Last year Johann got busted by IA for evidence tampering. Turns out he was in deep with the mob. Of course, Gobber got heat from it too from IA."

"Is that why Gobber's been doing desk duty all this time?" Astrid asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, IA hasn't cleared him yet for active field duty." Hiccup stated. "They're still digging into how deep Johann's mob connections go and how many cases might have been compromised. So far Gobber's hands are clean though he's still blaming himself for not seeing the signs Johann was a snitch."

"That's messed up," Astrid uttered.

"Don't I know it? Johann's been a family friend for years." Hiccup said. "He's been a good friend to my dad who's Chief of Police now and heck, he even attended my Academy graduation. No one even suspected he was selling information to the mob until he accidentally screwed up."

"Uhuh... wait...." Astrid paused as something sun in. "Your dad's the Police Chief?!" She uttered, now gaping at Hiccup.

"Did I not.... Mention that before?" Hiccup nervously chuckled.

"You only said you came from a long line of cops!" Astrid exclaimed.

"I mean... I thought my last name would give it away!" Hiccup retorted.

"I don't know. Frick... Why didn't I put two and two together!" Astrid said to herself while facepalming. "Haddock... damn it!"

Astrid then stared at Hiccup for a moment as he drove. "You know... you look nothing like your father," she mentioned as she had seen the Chief of Police's picture on the department website.

"According to everyone I take after my mom more," He just shrugged.

"Attention all units in the vicinity of Cedar park," Came over the radio from dispatch. "High-speed pursuit currently in progress along Thatcher Blvd. Brown Van license plate Lincoln-1-9-Mary-Victor-7."

"Isn't that our van?! That's five minutes from here," Astrid asked just as Hiccup slammed the portable police siren on the top of his car.

"Call it in," Hiccup told her as he stepped on the gas with the siren blaring.

"10-4 Dispatch. Unit 541 responding. 10-77 five minutes." Astrid said over the radio. "Be advised, suspects are armed and dangerous,"

"10-4 unit 541, be advised our eye in the sky has spotted suspects heading EB on Nadder road," Hiccup turned the car sharply as Astrid hung on for dear life. "Hang on! I know a shortcut," Hiccup said to his partner.

"BY THOR AND LOKI'S UNDERPANTS!" Astrid shrieked as Hiccup made some tight corners down narrow alleyways.

They did however end up right near the police chase and immediately joined the pursuit. Only two other police cars were in front of them as the brown van was swerving in and out of lanes.

Astrid spotted both the police helicopter as well as a news helicopter above them. This was quickly getting out of hand, especially since the van had already caused a white sedan to skid off the road. Luckily dispatch had already deployed the fire department.

The chase continued for at least ten more minutes, with the van swerving somewhat erratically, before colliding with a Jeep, sending both vehicles spinning across the asphalt. Hiccup slammed on the brakes just like the other two police cruisers and skidded to a stop near the car wrecks.

All officers drew their weapons as there was at least one known armed suspect in the wreck. When no response came Hiccup and Astrid inched closer while the other officers went to secure the other vehicle.

"BPD! Hiccup announced as he crouched down to the passenger side to see that the airbags had deployed but both the passenger, who was a teen, and the driver, an adult male that seemed in his forties, seemed to be unconscious of the impact.

"Astrid go secure the driver. I'll get the kid," Hiccup told her he managed to pry open the passenger-side door with some difficulty. Gasoline was leaking from the van and just a single spark could cause the whole thing to burst into flames. Luckily the other officers had managed to secure the innocent civilians in the other wreck.

"ETA on BFD?" Hiccup asked as he checked the teen for a pulse. When he got one he tried to unbuckle the seatbelt.

"They're three minutes out." Just as Astrid said that the van caught fire from the spark of the broken tail light wires.

"FUCK!" Astrid swore as the flames were quickly rising. Astrid had managed to unbuckle the man before she realized that his legs were pinned. Meanwhile, Hiccup was successful in getting the teen out of the vehicle, dragging him towards a safe distance.

"Astrid get out of there!" Hiccup shouted as he saw the flames attack the gasoline tank of the van. He quickly managed to drag Astrid away just as the vehicle went up in flames. The sirens of the fire department could be heard approaching but even Hiccup knew that the other passenger would be beyond saving now as the flames grew in height.

-0-

"It's been three days," Astrid grumbled she rubbed her forehead with her fingers. "You'd think the Cunninghams would be elated that we'd found their son. Who the hell stays on their Aspen vacation when they get a call that their 2-year-missing son has finally been found?! And what's more, I've only been able to get through to their Personal Assistant!"

"Those people are a piece of work aye," Gobber uttered as he rolled his desk chair over to Hiccup and Astrid.

"You interviewed them back in the day. What can you tell us Gobber?" Hiccup asked with a frown.

"Well, at first they looked like the picture-perfect family," Gobber said. "But the more Johann and I dug the uglier it became."

"How so?" Astrid now asked while clicking her ballpoint in frustration.

"First we have Margot Cunningham. She was the maid until Randy knocked her up. His father, Richard, forced the two to marry. It was all hush-hush from what I heard. Margot went from rags to riches just like that." Gobber snapped his fingers.

"It went to her head didn't it?" Hiccup now asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Oh, the stories the previous staff told us about Margot. It certainly didn't paint a pretty picture." Gobber uttered. "Apparently she wanted a girl but then she gave birth to Samuel. The nanny told us that she wouldn't even pick up the baby for at least a year. Always glaring at him and clicking her tongue. About a year and a half later she got pregnant again. This time it was a baby girl."

"That's messed up," Hiccup said aloud.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Gobber said. "And they still tried to play the grieving perfect family when we interviewed them. Honestly, if the daughter hadn't opened her mouth we'd have never known about the ransom note."

"What ransom note?" Astrid asked. "I thought the case was classified as a runaway."

"Aye, it was. According to the daughter, she saw her parents burn a note in the fireplace. Though she didn't get a good look at it she had heard them talking about the audacity of having to pay. With the note gone up in ashes the word of a 13-year-old wasn't valued much back in the day." Gobber uttered. "Sad to say I didn't take that girl seriously either. She came off as a bit stuck up and it just rubbed me and Johann the wrong way."

"But..." Gobber continued. "What if she had been right? It's been eating at me for the last two years. If I had just taken her seriously and followed up on that angle......"

"It's spilled wine at this point," Hiccup uttered. "We can finally interview Samuel today per doctor's orders. If there was indeed foul play we'll get to the bottom of it,"

-0-

The two detectives arrived at the hospital and were directed to one of the private rooms that had two police guards outside.

"Samuel?" Astrid asked as she knocked while opening the door. The young man's leg was covered in a cast while his head was wrapped in bandages. An IV was attached to his arm and several monitors were hooked to him, yet he was conscious. "I'm detective Hofferson and this is Detective Haddock. We're here to ask you a few questions."

"What if I don't want to answer?" The young man uttered. "And it's Sammy. I hate being called Samuel,"

"Alright then Sammy. If you don't answer then you'll be charged with Robbery. Seeing as you're almost 18 I doubt the courts will charge you as a juvenile. So that's a 10 to 30-year prison sentence right there," Hiccup uttered as they approached the bed.

"You know, I don't actually care." The young man muttered. "Where are Peter and Bob?"

"If you're referring to Peter and William Thompson then they're currently at the city morgue," Astrid stated. "Were they the ones that kidnapped you?"

"They're dead... damn," Sammy said while looking a little sad. "They certainly were nicer than my parents," Astrid gave Hiccup a look as if to say 'What the hell'.

"Can you tell us where you've been kept for the last two years? Do you know anything more about the men that kidnapped you?" Hiccup asked though before Sammy could answer an old lanky man in a bespoke suit barged into the room.

"Mr. Cunningham I suggest you say no more." The man uttered as he presented a card to Astrid and Hiccup. "Mildew Richardson. Attorney at law. I'm the Cunninghams family attorney and you should not be questioning my client without his guardian present."

"We called his parents. They refused to cut their vacation short," Astrid replied. "And this is an ongoing robbery investigation."

"And that's why they contacted me. I'll be representing young Samuel at their behest." Mildew stated. "Any and all questions should be directed through my office. Now my client needs his rest."

"If you think of anything else call us," Hiccup said as he handed Sammy his card.

"Detectives if you please. I need to confer with my client," Mildew indicated to the door and the pair had to comply.

"The nerve!" Astrid uttered once they were outside the hospital. "He's deliberately trying to stonewall us." She then turned to Hiccup "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we should dig a bit deeper into the family." Hiccup uttered.

-0-

Two days later both Hiccup and Astrid found themselves knocking on the Cunninghams' door. "You know, the more I dug into their past the more I hate these people," Astrid grumbled.

They were let into the house shortly after by the maid and were directed towards the first-floor living room where the family was waiting.

"Good afternoon Mr. And Mrs. Cunningham, Miss Cunningham," Hiccup greeted as they took a seat. "I see Mr. Richardson is joining us today,"

"Lovely house you have here," Astrid said in a rather flat tone.

"Thank you, it was my father's," Randy Cunningham stated, oblivious to the forced small talk.

"Mildew has been the family attorney since father was alive." Margot mentioned. "He's like family and we value his input,"

"Very well then. Let's get on with the questions." Astrid said as she opened up her notebook. "Do you remember where you all were during the time of Samual's disappearance?"

"That was two years ago. How could we remember where we were exactly?" Randy questioned.

"Just try to answer it to the best of your abilities," Hiccup responded though that was the first red flag he spotted. Normally such an event is very traumatic for a family so they'd remember it with a lot of clarity.

"I was in an after-school club," The daughter spoke up. "I think it was mathletes..."

"That's right, Lilian didn't come home until after six," Margot uttered. "Now I remember. I did Yoga that morning and went to the country club afterwards."

"I was at work at the investment firm," Randy muttered. "Excuse me but why does asking us this help? The police interviewed us two years ago."

"It's just to cover our bases," Astrid told them. "In case an important detail might have been missed."

"The last time anyone ever saw your son was when he left school that afternoon," Hiccup stated. "Why did it take you four days to report him missing?"

"Well... that's," Margot stammered a moment. "Detectives you have to understand. Samuel was a teen. He'd been prone to sleeping over at his friends' houses on a whim. Usually for days at a time. We thought nothing of it at first,"

"Gee... I wonder why Sammy decided to stay away," Their daughter commented sarcastically. "Yes... I really wonder,"

"Lilian!" Her father rebuked.

"So it was normal for him to be gone for days at a time?" Astrid asked once more.

"As my clients have stated, yes," Mildew responded. "Young Samuel had a tendency to stay with friends without informing his parents."

"We got into a huge row over it actually," Randy mentioned. "And he'd just sneak out when we'd ground him," At this, the daughter made a 'tisk' noise. Hiccup merely raised his brow at the behaviour.

"Can you tell us about the ransom note you burned two years ago?" Hiccup asked bluntly as he dropped the ball. Immediately the parents turned as white as sheets. His partner gave him a look that conveyed her approval at catching them off-guard.

"Now see here! I will not stand for this slander!" Mildew spoke up. "What proof do you have that my clients even received a ransom note to begin with."

"Will a witness do?" Astrid asked in an innocent voice as she looked Mildew up and down.

"Then produce your witne-," Mildew was cut off by Randy who admitted it. This threw the lawyer for a loop and left him gaping at his client.

"This is something my wife and I regret to this day detectives," Randy admitted. "Yes, we did get a ransom note but we didn't take it seriously,"

"Why?" Astrid now asked as her eyes narrowed.

"The note appeared the second morning. It was shoved under our front door." Margot began. "But we thought Samuel was at a friends and he's done this before,"

"Done what before?" Hiccup now asked.

"Sent a ransom note!" Margot uttered. "The first time he did it sent us in a panic." She then admitted.

"You mean to say that your son kidnapped himself?" Astrid was confused now.

"Officers, you have to understand. Samuel was... is... a troubled kid." Randy stated. "He has done so many things to push us to the limit. When we found out that he orchestrated the entire ransom note fiasco just so that he'd get money to go to an out-of-state thing, you can imagine we were livid."

"Extremely livid!" Margot uttered as her fist made contact with the plush chair. "Going out of state on a school night! The nerve!"

"I need some fresh air," Lilian uttered, shot her parents an indescribable look, before walking out of the room."

The interview continued on without her but soon Astrid got up and excused herself, asking if she could use the bathroom.

"Instincts don't fail me now," Astrid muttered as she snooped around the house once away from the living room.

"You know you're terrible at sneaking, right," Lilian said as she came from behind Astrid causing the detective to freeze. "Relax. I'm not going to tell my parents you're looking around." She added as she walked past Astrid while holding a cigarette.

"You're way too young to be smoking!" Astrid exclaimed.

"Big whoop," Lilian shrugged. "It takes the edge off." She then walked to a window and disposed of her cigarette bud. Gods I can't wait till I turn 18," She muttered.

"Huh?" Astrid was now confused. This girl didn't seem like the prim and proper young lady she'd seen in the living room. Though the smartass comments still sounded the same.

"You won't find anything in this house ya know," She stated. "What you really should be looking at is their financials,"

"Why are you telling me all this?" Astrid then asked. This girl was way more forthcoming than she had to be. And ratting out her own family.... Astrid looked back towards the living room before handing the girl her card. "Call me if you want to talk," She said before rejoining Hiccup who now seemed to be in a heated discussion with the Cunninghams.

"Mr. Cunningham, as I've stated before. This is an ongoing investigation. We will need to properly interview your son." Hiccup stated.

"That boy is in no state to answer our questions!" The father insisted. "Who knows what his kidnappers did to him!"

"We went to visit Samuel," Margot interjected. "He was horrified to see us. Kicked up such a fuss that he ended up reopening his stitches." She then added "Thor knows what those people did. He's clearly traumatized."

"This seems like a clear case of Stockholm syndrome," Mildew interjected. "Now I have to ask you to leave on behalf of my clients. They clearly are in no state to answer your questions any longer."

Once outside Hiccup didn't look all that pleased to have the interview cut short like that. "Let's subpoena their phone records," He muttered as he felt that something didn't sit right.

"Their financials too," Astrid added. "The daughter seemed more than willing to screw her parents over."

"You think it's something more than teenage rebellion?" Hiccup questioned.

"We'll see," Astrid said.

-0-

It was well into the afternoon and both Hiccup and Astrid were sifting through mountains of paperwork for the Cunningham case when Hiccup's phone rang.

"Detective Haddock," Hiccup picked up his desk phone automatically, not stopping in his perusing of the financial records. He held the receiver against his ear with the help of his shoulder. Astrid had briefly looked up but then went back to her own pile of papers. "Wait say that again Sammy!"

The name caught Astrid's attention as she looked at Hiccup with a raised brow. "Wait what?" She heard Hiccup utter. "Could you repeat that?"

"I can see what I can do but I can't promise anything," Astrid heard her partner say as he was getting up and grabbing his coat hanging from his chair.

"Right, yeah. Uhuh.... Okay," Hiccup then said before he hung up.

"Was that our suspect calling you?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah! We might just have a major break in the case!" Hiccup shouted. "Can you hold down the fort here?"

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Astrid asked as Hiccup started walking away.

"Just going to consult an acquaintance," Hiccup announced before he washout of the door.

"Huh?" Astrid was very confused at this point.

-0-

"Good afternoon Minden!" Hiccup greeted her as he walked into the law firm. He saw her standing at one of the cubicles with a stack of papers and called out.

"Haddock what are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to step into the Devil's maw," She retorted.

"Desperate times..." Hiccup mumbled. "Can we talk privately?"

"My office is that way," She said casually though deep down curiosity was eating at her.

When the duo arrived in the corner office, Minden shut and locked the door before facing Hiccup. "Okay, what is this about?"

"You still take pro bono work don't you?" Hiccup asked which caused Minden to groan.

"What do you want Haddock?" Minden now asked as she crossed her arms.

"You know the Samuel Cunningham case from two years ago?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course. And I do read the paper. You guys found the young man and he's currently recovering," She uttered.

"What you don't know is that he helped his kidnappers rob a gas station hours prior to being found." Hiccup sighed as Minden's brows flew up. "What you also don't know is that his family and their lawyer is stonewalling us from investigating."

"And this pertains to me how?" Minden then asked.

"Samuel Cunningham contacted me himself, stating that he is willing to give us everything he knows so long as we can get him another lawyer," Hiccup stated.

It was quiet for a moment as Minden processed everything. "Hiccup, I can't do anything if he's a minor and his guardians provided the lawyer."

"What if I were to tell you that his parents are persons of interest in the case," Hiccup said, crossing his leg over the other and waiting for Minden.

"I'll need to talk with the young man himself to get a better picture of his situation," Minden said with a frown. "But you owe me Haddock! You owe me!" She then warned.

-0-

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Was yelled through the precinct not two days later. Astrid who was drinking her latte nearly spilled it on herself as Margot Cunningham marched into the bullpen followed by her husband. "HOW DARE YOU!" She shrieked at Hiccup.

"Wait, what happened?" Astrid asked as she put her cup down.

"Your partner brainwashed our son into changing his lawyer!" Margot yelled as Randy tried to keep her from lunging at Hiccup.

"I did nothing of the sort," Hiccup stated.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Margot shrieked as her husband started dragging her out of the bullpen. "ASHAMED YOU HEAR ME! I CAN SUE YOU!"

"Haddock! What in Loki's underpants was that?!" Captain Mala asked as she had come out of the office at the commotion.

"Samuel Cunningham expressed a desire to change attorneys in exchange for cooperation," Hiccup stated. "The parents seem to be of the idea that I'm the one who put him up to it Cap."

"I see," Mala stated non-emotionally before going back to her room.

"She seems frosty today," Astrid commented.

"Eh... that might be because Dagur did something now that he's in town." Hiccup just shrugged. "You know how married couples get at times,"

"Right... Eh... wait..... The Cap's MARRIED?!" Astrid hissed. Though the tone of her voice noted that she was quite shocked.

"Haven't you noticed that they have the same last names?" Hiccup questioned.

"Yes.... wait... No... yes?" Astrid said. "I just never really put two and two together. They seem so different from each other."

"What can I say. Opposites attract." Hiccup laughed. "Dagur was the only person that could stomach the Captain's coffee. You can see where the relationship went from there,"

"Astrid we'll be having quite an interesting day today," Hiccup smirked as he saw Minden and Sammy, who was still wheelchair-bound, come into the bullpen. Astrid saw this too and looked between the three. 'Interesting indeed,' She thought.

-0-

Hiccup sat across from Randy Cunningham with his arms folded on his lap. Neither one said anything which caused the awkwardness in the room. All Hiccup did was stare at the man as the minutes ticked by.

"Look, what do you want from me?!" Randy was the first to break in the quiet of the room.

"I did nothing wrong!" He then uttered.

"Not according to your son. We had quite an interesting chat," Hiccup stated. "According to Sammy, you were especially hard on him. Controlling even,"

"I just wanted my son to be the best that he could be!" Randy stated.

"Is that why you burned his art supplies?" Hiccup questioned. "What about when you forbade him from applying to the Berkian Institute of Design?"

"That kid had his head in the clouds!" Randy shouted while banging his fist on the table. "I told him being a starving artist isn't going to get him ahead in life but he wouldn't listen!"

"And then what?" Hiccup asked. "You had him kidnapped to teach him a lesson? We're combing through your family's financials with a fine-tooth comb. We will find out if you paid off the Thompson brothers,"

"I DIDN'T HAVE MY SON KIDNAPPED!" Randy yelled as he stood up in rage. "For fucks sake we were broke!"

"Excuse me what?" Hiccup thought he heard wrong.

"My old man screwed us over in the will," Randy sank down in the chair. "We're broke. His entire estate went to his grandchildren. Lilian has her trust fund when she turns 18, the house in Berk, and the Manor in the Hamptons. Samuel got the rest of the estate including the company stock."

"But you have a job, how can you be broke?" Hiccup asked though this was new information.

"Have you seen the way we live?" Randy huffed. "Between my wife's spending, the luxury vacations, and my salary as well as the monthly stipend we're basically living income to income."

"The monthly stipend?" Hiccup raised a brow.

"Stipulation in my father's will. Until Lilian is 18 we get a monthly stipend of 20k from the inheritance to look after the estate." He confessed.

"You know what, sit tight." Hiccup stated as he got up and left the 1st interrogation room.

-0-

Hiccup went from one interrogation room to the other. As soon as he walked in Margot Cunningham clicked her tongue at him. "Oh it's you," she muttered.

"Yup," Hiccup said as he pulled out the metal chair opposite Margot and sat down. "Are you sure you don't want your lawyer here?"

"I already told you! We're innocent!" Margot haughtily exclaimed.

"So you had nothing to do with your son's kidnapping?" He then asked as he raised a brow.

"What?! No of course not!" Margot uttered.

"Not even to get your hands on your father-in-law's estate?" He then added.

"NO!" Margot was firm in her answer though she was getting angrier by the minute. "Where the hell did you get that from?!"

"Your son gave us a very interesting story," Hiccup mentioned. "In exchange for having the robbery charge dropped in favour of counseling and community service he told us everything."

"And what is this everything?" Margot hissed.

"For two years he was held captive by the Thompson brothers. We managed to track down the townhouse and CSU is going over it with a fine-tooth comb as we speak." Hiccup stated. "What interests me though is that the brothers were, on more than one occasion, trying to get him to sign a piece of paper."

"Yeah so?" Margot raised a brow.

"The paper was a Disclaimer. If he signed it, all assets from the inheritance would be refused." Hiccup leaned forward. "So Mrs. Cunningham. You can see why you and your husband would be persons of interest."

"Listen here! Yeah, Samuel was a little shit for dangling that inheritance over our heads!" She uttered. "The brat proclaimed that he wouldn't even take care of us in our old age. But we.... As in, my husband and I never raised a hand to him. We never planned any kidnapping for Thor's sake!" Margot angrily stated. "We still had Lilian. She's a better kid than Samuel anyways. Always listens to what her parents tell her. So what if that brat managed to convince his grandfather to give them the inheritance. We'd still get a piece of the pie because our daughter is loyal!"

-0-

Hiccup left the second interrogation room with a sour taste in his mouth. The interviews didn't cause the parents to crack or turn against each other so they were no closer to finding out the truth.

"How did it go?" Astrid said as she walked towards Hiccup while holding a laptop. He made a sound that said it all.

"Please tell me you got something," He sighed. "Neither one of them cracked."

"CSU finished processing the townhouse. No other prints other than the Thompson brothers and Sammy." Astrid told him. "Our forensic accountant is still following the money trails. He did send me something interesting. The house wasn't registered to the Thompsons but was under the name of a shell corporation. So far we've been able to trace the funds the brothers received to an account in the Caymans."

"So that's a dead-end," Hiccup grumbled.

"Not necessarily," Astrid stated. "We managed to track the shell corporation through the corporate business register. Look who's the owner." She turned the laptop screen towards Hiccup. Her partner's brows shot up as he saw the name.

-0-

In the end, Hiccup had to cut the parents loose as they revealed no new information about the case. Neither Margot nor Randy were cordial anymore. Instead, they were at each other's throats as they walked out of the bullpen towards the lobby of the precinct.

"I can't believe you!" Margot could be heard telling her husband. "You actually told them we were broke!"

"Will you shut up Margot! It's your spending that got us to this point!" Randy hissed back.

"If that brat hadn't changed your father's mind about the inheritance then none of us would be in this mess!" She growled and Lilian who was waiting for them in the lobby stood up and snapped.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The teen yelled at her parents which caused several eyes to turn in their direction, including Hiccup and Astrid's. Both Margot and Randy froze at their daughter's outburst.

"Sammy didn't change grandpa's mind about the inheritance! I DID!" She yelled. "I went to grandpa's after school and convinced him you guys didn't deserve a dime of his hard-earned fortune!"

"Why would you do that?!" Margot exclaimed. "You're our little princess!"

"Why? Why?! It's because you're shit parents that's why!" Lilian growled. "Don't think I don't know! Dad's been paying for escorts and you mom, are a gold digger!" She pointed a finger at both parents as she said this. "Don't think for a second I'm giving you a penny of the inheritance! Once I'm 18 both of you will be out of the house!"

"Lilian!" her father rebuked. "That's no way to talk to your parents."

"Oh, will you shut up," Lilian muttered. "The only reason the inheritance is still intact is because Mr. Richardson is keeping it in escrow."

"Hiccup are you thinking what I am?" Astrid whispered as they observed the drama unfolding.

"We'll need to take a closer look at that will," Hiccup nodded.

-0-

"Why am I here?" Mildew asked as both Hiccup and Astrid joined him in the interrogation room. "If this is about my client you could have just emailed me instead of asking me to come down."

"Sit down, Mr. Richardson." Astrid gestured to one of the chairs. "This isn't about your clients. It's about you,"

"Me?!" Mildew uttered, looking bewildered.

"We just need you to clear up a few things for us," Hiccup stated as he opened the thick brown folder he had. "What is your relationship with Richard Cunningham? We heard you were the family attorney since he started his business."

"Richard.... Boy... He was a real go-getter." Mildew smirked. "We grew up in the same area as kids and when we met again, I was just a recent law graduate at the time, and he asked me to help him out with a legal matter."

"So after that matter, he hired you full time?" Astrid asked.

"Yes, he was impressed by how I handled it." Mildew preened. "Then over the last few years, I helped Richard with his business. We were like brothers. I was the best man at his wedding, godfather to his son,"

"But that all changed when he made a will didn't it?" Astrid then asked.

"I was surprised, I tell you," Mildew uttered. "Richard was a shark in the business world but he still believed that his family would honor his wishes after he passed and divide the estate up evenly amongst themselves. So yeah, the sudden will was startling."

"I bet you were surprised when you saw where the company stock was going," Hiccup said which caused Mildew to look at him with an indescribable look. "A young teen like Samuel, inheriting the majority of the stock of his grandfather's company. A kid you couldn't control."

"Detectives what the hell are you getting at?!" Mildew suddenly asked angrily.

"You said it yourself, you are Randy's godfather," Astrid stated while tapping on her notepad.

"Randy who treats you like family." She added. "If you'd have asked him for the stock he might have just handed it to you. But Samuel, you weren't all that in touch with the newer generation were you?"

"This is absurd!" Mildew uttered. "I won't stand for this,"

"Good thing you're sitting down," Hiccup quipped. "Look, let's get down to the reason why we called you here,"

"We kept wondering, why Samuel?" Hiccup said.

"Why only Samuel, to be more precise," Astrid added. "Both Samuel and Lilian received a sizable inheritance but it was Samuel that had the company stock."

"Mr. Richardson, your firm has a shell corporation in the Cayman Islands doesn't it?" Astrid then asked.

"Why are you asking me that? It's not illegal for a firm to open a shell company," Mildew retorted. "It makes doing business in foreign countries easier."

"It can also be used for laundering money and assets," Hiccup mentioned off-hand. "Wasn't that what you were planning to do Mr. Richardson?"

"Excuse me?!?!" Mildew yelled.

"The house Sammy was kept in was part of your shell company property," Hiccup stated.

"I hardly know all the property that company owns!" Mildew stated. "There is various real estate under that name. You can't expect me to keep track of it all! Also, a lot of senior staff at the firm had access to that company,"

"Yes, but they had nothing to gain from it," Astrid responded. "It was a closed will reading and as per Richard Cunningham's orders, the contents of the will wasn't supposed to be made public until Samuel reached adulthood."

"So you had a limited amount of time to get what you felt you were owed," Hiccup added. "Sammy was quite clear with us when he told us about being kept in that house. Those brothers never beat him or mistreated him but as his 18th birthday was approaching they became tenser according to Sammy."

"Then suddenly one day, they're telling Sammy that they're taking him out of state," Hiccup continued. "Only, they had no funds of their own."

"Any they did have came from the shell company," Astrid remarked. "You'd have been able to track the payments easily,"

"Which would defeat the purpose of running away." Hiccup finished. "What happened Mildew? You got tired of waiting and ordered the Thompson brothers to be rougher? Did you order them to beat the kid?"

"NO!" Mildew shouted.

"Did you order them to kill Sammy if he kept being stubborn? If Sammy died his part of the inheritance would go to Lillian," Astrid then asked. "Only, that's where the brothers drew the line."

"Then Sammy is found and now you have a bigger problem," Astrid stated. "He's well on his way to adulthood and your chances are slipping,"

"So what do you do?" Hiccup continued. "You convince his parents that they should declare him mentally incapable of making his own decisions and commit him to a psychiatric facility."

"That boy needs psychiatric help!" Mildew uttered.

"And he'll be getting that thanks to his deal with the ADA," Astrid stated. "What, you didn't think Sammy had the balls to change attorneys?"

"Tell me Mildew, did he see right through you?" Hiccup asked.

"What? Were you afraid that the kidnappers you hired were going to let something slip? Did you think Sammy might have known it was you behind the plot?" Astrid stood up, slamming her palm on the metal table. "You'd have him committed so that no one will believe his ramblings?"

"THE COMPANY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO ME!" Mildew shouted, incensed, as he stood up too. His chair scraped back as he faced off against an angry Astrid. "I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into that company and this is how Richard decides to screw me over?! I helped build that place from the ground up but he hands it to some snot-nosed brat on a silver platter?! Heck no!"

"So you resort to kidnapping to get what you want?" Astrid hissed "Disgusting,"

"58 years. 58 YEARS have I poured into that company! I sacrificed my social life for Richard!" Mildew uttered angrily. "That bastard got to have kids and grandkids while I worked behind the scenes to make that company what it is today! And this is the thanks I get?!"

"Mildew Richardson, you are under arrest for kidnapping...." Hiccup stood up and began to read Mildew his rights as he had heard enough. All the while Mildew was still shouting that he was the one who should have gotten it all.

-0-

Later that night, unbeknownst to many, a private jet touched down on a runway. A town car was already waiting for the passengers near the hangar as the plane taxied in.

Once the doors opened a man with a scarred face held his hand out. An elegant hand with scarlet red manicured nails took the offered hand and the scarred man helped the woman down the plane stairs. She wore a black dress with black Louis Vuitton stilettos and the cold night air from the open hangar door blew some of her red tresses into her face.

"Thank you Furious, always the gentleman," She stated and walked outside as her valet was loading up her bags in the town car. Looking at the Berkian skyline in the distance she commented "It's good to be back. Berk, have you missed me?"

The End?