In the back of a dimly light bar, a group of about fifteen people watched as a goofy looking group of dudes played some groovy reggae jams on stage. They played with soul, branching off into blues, funk, even hip hop and punk rock. The lead singer played his drums with fury, as he sang to the thunderous drum beat of one of their more up beat songs.

His long hair waved around as he frantically smashed the drums. The drummer then raised his drum sticks, and threw them to the crowd. The guitarist looked on at his long haired, bearded buddy and smiled.The guitarist then touched his bald head, and shouted out "Thank you for listening! GOOD NIGHT!".

After getting minor applause, the trio collected their things and packed everything into the back of the drummers van.

"Dude, Karl... What was that **** about throwing the sticks in the middle of the climax of the song!? I was right about to go into the guitar solo!" shouted the Frank, guitarist, rocking a goatee. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his torn black jeans pocket, and lit one of them up. After inhaling a big drag, he slumped down on the van and started to pout.

"Listen Frank, I got a lot of stuff going on at work. It's been slow in the area, but I'm back logged looking at old files." Karl apologized, grazing his beard and bumming a smoke off of Frank. Karl is a detective for the Lake Valley Police Department.He has been working there for 10 years. Karl is now in his thirties. Making it big with his band is something hes always dreamed about,so he continues to play shows. Frank was his partner for the a few years, but retired this past year. He is in his forties, so Karl calls him the "wise one," but really Frank doesn't know ****.

"Ah whatever, you better be more focused next week. It's gonna be a big show.It is Thanksgiving night after all.We'll probably get thirty, maybe 40 people... At least.." Frank got back up, heading towards the passenger side of the car.

"Uh guys, I'm gonna go. Gotta meet up with the girl" John, the bassist went for a high five, but Frank slapped him in the face instead. His pale face was now bright red.

"Dude, what the hell?! You guys are always making fun of me, and beating me up! You're lucky I put up with it." John started walking away, giving them the middle finger. John was still in college, and pretty much was just a filler. He didn't really any input on writing the songs, and he was more or less the bands punching bag.

"Ah, why he is such a pussy?" Frank and Karl laughed, then they both got into the bright orange van, and drove off towards Frank's house.

After driving for a little while, they pulled up to Frank's house. After helping him load his guitar and amp back in his house, Karl waved him off and drove off towards his place. Once he got home he waltzed his way into his bed. Immediately landing face first on a pillow, crashing out fast. It was 3:03 am.

What seemed like minutes later, Karl's alarm clock went off, signaling the day had begun. He headed into the bathroom, and answered nature's call. After showering up and trimming up the beard, Karl headed downstairs for a morning smoke and coffee. He checked his phone and noticed 20 missed calls and 10 voice mails.

"Oh ****, it's 12 o clock already? Damn, I'm like 3 hours late. The Lieutenant is going to kill me. Must be something big if they called me that many times." Karl grabbed some Strawberry Frosted pop tarts, and headed out the front door. As he walked outside, he noticed it was raining pretty bad.

"Of course...****ing rain..." Karl said under his breath, he headed back inside and grabbed his coat. He then headed back out and headed towards his van. Karl reached for his cell phone, and called in about the crime scene.

"Hello, this is Detective Karl Kish, what's going on? I received a bunch of phone calls. Sorry, I slept in late." Karl explained himself, while driving through the busy, rainy streets.

"Karl! Where the hell have you been? Lt. Kyle is screaming for you. We got an ugly crime scene off of Lakewood Terrace, 134 Crimson Street. You better get there quick, forensics is already on the scene of the crime. " said Karl's long time secretary Rose.

"Thank you Rose, you have a nice day, you hear?" Karl exclaimed, laughing at the talk radio he was listening to.

Rose had already hung up, so Karl headed to the crime scene. When he got there he noticed caution tape and several people taking photos outside. Karl parked and got out of his van. He walked over to the front of the apartments.

"Karl! Good morning! Crime scene is on the second floor, room 3. Man it is ugly! How'd the show go bro?" said a tall skinny photographer. His name was Leroy, he was always at every crime scene, but he isn't significant. He's kind of a dick actually.

"Yeah dude, uh, I gotta get in there. Later." Karl walked away with his dead down, ignoring Leroy's attempts at a high five.

"Oh okay man! I'll talk to you later man! We should totally jam!.. " Leroy's exclaimed, his annoying ass voice could be heard even 25 feet away, yet Karl just kept on walking away from him.

As Karl headed into the room where it all happened, he saw his partner Candace. She was a pretty brunette in her 30's, but was happily married. She was texting or something on her phone when Karl walked up to her. She always wore suit and ties, which weirded people out, except for Karl.

"Good morning lovely. What's going on here? What went down?" Karl questioned, the two of them standing outside of the apartment.

"Good morning sunshine. Listen, you better get in there. It's pretty brutal. I gotta go file my report, I'll see you at the station later?" Candace smiled, and walked out of the hallway.

"Yeah, I got you. See ya later" Karl headed into the apartment, it was littered with hundreds of posters on the walls. There were movie posters, band posters, and some graffiti looking ones. There was also a Ibanez guitar hanged on the wall, it was mahogony neck with blue a blue finish and Jazz Pickups. Karl walked over to it first.

"Damn, this is sexy guitar! Holy ****!" Karl picked it up and started playing "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix.

"Karl don't touch that ****! It's evidence. Ah, why are you always such a goof ball..." exclaimed a short black man. He had dreadlocks, and a Rastafarian accent. This man, Damien, was head of Forensics at Lakewood Valley Police Department. Unfortunately for Karl, he was also a racist.

"Damien! Buddy! Come on man, don't you want to just take this "evidence" and get out of here? Call it a day?" Karl jokingly said, as he continued to play.

"Seriously man, I'm sick of you. Look at the crime scene, and get out. You smell like pot." Damien headed into the back of the apartment, and proceeded to collect evidence.

"Man, what a dick.." Karl put down the guitar, and proceeded to follow Damien. He saw a body on the ground, with what looked like line marks around his neck.

"What the heck? Was he strangled or something?" Karl questioned the officers examining the scene.

"Detective Kish, nice to see you awake. Well it looks like this musician guy was murdered here in his own home. Somebody crept up behind him and choked him out with guitar strings. He didn't steal anything, or at least that's what we think. Nothing looked out of the ordinary other than that." The faceless officers explained to Karl.

"Hmm, killed by guitar strings..Kind of ironic eh? This guy was definitely a musician, otherwise he wouldn't have that wicked guitar in the back. Whoever did kill him, must of known him well. Why else would they only break in and take his life?" Karl said as he examined the room.

"Beats me, I'm just here because I have to be." Said another officer.

Karl continued to look around for clues. After searching for awhile. he headed back out of the apartment, he needed to write up a report about the crime scene. As he headed back outside, the rain finally let finished pouring down from the gray sky. The sun could be seen pouring out of a dark corner. Karl headed back into his car, and drove off towards the station.

As he parked into his spot, Karl noticed a shaggy looking kid walking into the station with his partner, Candace. He hacked a cigarette before heading in. As he finished the rain started pouring back in. Soaking wet, he quickly walked inside the station.

The smell of smoke followed him as he walked into the elevator. Right before it closed Damien crept in.

"Oh great, it's you." Damien gave Karl the cold shoulder.

"So nice to see you too. Did you guys find anything DNA wise from the scene?" Karl questioned, ignoring Damien's prickish ways.

"Well, we found some fingerprints on the guitar strings. Apparently the killer left the kill weapon at the scene of the crime. They were from his friend. Hes in a band, like you.He's here actually. Swears he had nothing to do with it." Damien snarled, his eyes burning red.

"Long elevator, huh? Well, yeah I think I saw him walking in before. I'll be questioning him soon I'm assuming. I'm getting the feeling he did it, I mean it's the only logical explanation." Karl said, while spacing out staring at the ceiling.

"You are such an idiot. Oh look, the elevator is over. Fantastic." Damien walked out of the elevator and towards his lab.

"Man, I don't get it. That dude seriously hates me." Karl said as he walked out and headed towards his desk. He headed toward the interrogation room and saw the shaggy looking kid again. Candace walked out of the room looking stressed out.

"This kid doesn't know anything. He was in a band with the victim, they were best friends. I don't think he had anything to do with the murder." Candace explained as she paced back and forth.

"Well, maybe he knows somebody who would want to harm the victim. There has to be some reason why he was murdered. Let me ask him a few questions." Karl said as he scratched at his head.

"Go for it, I'm going to go get some coffee. Good luck." Candace walked away and Karl headed into the room. There was a pale blue cover on the wall and the ceiling was all white. A gray table sat in the middle, where the shaggy kid sat.

The shaggy looking kid was only 19, just graduated from high school. Got held back in second grade, only class he ever got an A in was Band and Music Theory. He was wearing a Bad Brains shirt and eyes were as red as the Kool Aid guy.

"Hey man, what's you name?" Karl asked, as he walked around the room.

"Chuck...Chuck Watkins..." explained the Shaggy kid now known as Chuck.

"Okay Chuck, what can you tell me about your friend? I need to know if there was any reason why he would be murdered. Did he have any enemies? Ever get any dangerous threats? Crazy ex girlfriends?" Karl questioned, in a serious tone.

"Well we were in a ska band...Since elementary school...Aw man...That *******...Whoever did this! You should be looking for him! Not talking to me! I didn't do anything!" Chuck screamed, pounding his fists on the table.

"Listen up Chuck, you need to calm down. I understand he was your friend. I'm in a band, I know how devastated I would be if one of them passed away. Well maybe not John, but that's beside the point. Listen, you can help me find this ******* who killed him. You just need to tell me everything, anything you may know that could help." Karl stomped his fist on the table, yelling at first but then quieting down.

"No, he didn't have any of those. No threats, crazy ex girlfriends, or anybody who would want to kill him. I'm sorry I have no idea who would want to kill him!" Chuck cried out, as he looked on the ground.

"It's okay man, I don't need to ask anymore questions. You can go home now." Karl said, then he walked out of the room and back towards his desk.

Karl sat at his desk for awhile trying to connect the dots on this mysterious murder. He couldn't find any conclusive evidence to pin the murder on anybody. It was as if the person who killed him was invisible, they left no trace of their presence. After a long day of no progress, Karl headed back home at around 7 pm.

He immediately walked over to the couch and turned on the television. He watched a little bit of Arrested Development and did a few bong tokes. Eventually he just crashed out right there. Several hours passed.

"RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING"

"Who's calling me now?" Karl said, as he stumbled off the couch with a half eaten bag of Cheetos stuck to his lap. It was 3:03 am.

"Hello? Detective Karl Kish? We need you on scene, there's been another homicide. I think we may have a case." Rose, Karls secretary explained sounding cheerful as always.

"Ahhh, damn it.. Okay, I'll get ready. Where's the location?" Karl finally was standing up straight, as he put on his jacket and grabbed his jeans.

"I'll text you the address. Goodbye Karl." Rose said, then hung up.

"Okay, thanks Rose! Rose?" Karl shrugged, then hung up. He checked the text and left his house, heading to the new crime scene. It was in the heart of Lakewood Projects. As soon as Karl pulled in, you could see all sorts of graffiti and people living on the streets. Karl used to hang out here a lot when he was a kid. As Karl pulled up the house where the homicide occured, the scene was buzzing,and over eight police units and several detectives were on the scene already.

Karl parked, and headed up to the to the front door. As soon as he walked in, Leroy showed up.

"Karl! What's up dude! Gooood Morning!" Leroy, the tall prickish photographer was at it again.

Karl walked right past him, and headed back towards the heart of the crime scene. He saw Damien and Candace chatting. Karl headed over towards them. He then saw the victim. It was a skinny white kid, young probably in his early twenties. He had drum sticks stabbed through his eyes and heart. It was a brutal scene, and Karl felt a little sick after seeing it.

"Damn! This is disgusting. " Karl said as he held his stomach, trying not to vomit.

"Yeah, this is really disturbing..." Damien laughed, he loved the site of blood so this was kind of comfortable to him. Damien is a freak.

"Yeah Karl, this guy was killed just a few hours ago. It looks like he was tortured first though. There were scratches and bruises all over his arms and legs. Whoever did this, enjoyed it. " Candace explained, while too holding her stomach.

"So this is kind of similar to this afternoons homicide. Both musicians, both brutally murdered in their own home." Karl said, he was on to something.

"Well Well Well.. Sounds like some body ate their Wheaties this morning." Damien laughed.

"Ah, F you Damien. I don't know why you hate me so much, but you can go to hell!" Karl said, now looking in the other direction.

"Jeez, calm down bro.I was just kidding, and I like your theory. I think your onto something." Damien said, while tapping Karl on the shoulder.

"Oh wow, sincerity from Damien? Is that really you in there?" Karl poked at Damien's head.

"Okay you two, quite screwing around. Let's check the scene for clues." Candace yelled, acting like the mom of the group.

The three of them and several officers scoped out the whole apartment. Aside from Star Wars collectibles, and various drums bongos and other percussion instruments, they didn't find anything useful. Karl was about to leave until he noticed a flyer on the wall.

"ATTENTION! ALL BANDS IN
THE LAKEWOOD AREA!
CALLING OUT ALL BANDS!
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
DECEMBER 25th!
1pm-11pm
MANY WILL ENTER
ONE WILL WIN BITCH!"

"Hey Candace, did you see this flyer?" Karl handed the flyer over to Candace.

"No, whats the significance? You and your band gonna sign up?" Candace laughed, and handed it back to Karl.

"No no no, maybe this kid was in a band too. Perhaps he was gonna enter this battle of the bands, and that's why he was murdered. Maybe theres a connection? I don't know, it's the only thing to go off of now. Do we have any of his friends names or numbers? Let me know, I'm on this." Karl said, as he continued to search for clues. He then headed back to his desk at the station.

Karl searched through file after file and was trying to find a connection to the new victim and the battle of the bands. He was able to contact the new victims friend. The friend confirmed that the new victim was in a band also. Their band was indeed entering the Battle of the bands mentioned on the flyer.

"Candace! Candace! I figured it out!" Karl was running around the whole station. It was now 5 pm, Karl had been awake since 3 am.

"Whoa, slow down. Figured out what?" Candace was sitting at her desk, getting ready to head home.

"The new victim, you know the kid who got impaled by drum sticks? He was in a band, and they were going to enter the Battle of The Bands. I think his murder had something to do with that. Maybe somebody didn't want them to win. " Karl explained, waiting for Candace to answer.

"Well okay, but that still leaves us without a witness, or a possible suspect." Candace said, while grabbing her purse and things from her desk.

"I'm heading out, See you tomorrow." Candace walked away, out the station and back home.

Karl tried to reach Chuck, the friend of the first victim.It was his only source on any of the murders the last two days. Searching and searching for clues, it lead him to try and contact Chuck. He wasn't able to reach him for several hours, but finally did reach him around 7 pm.

"Chuck? Do you remember me? I interviewed you about your friends murder." Karl asked.

"Yes...I remember you. What do you need?" Chuck said, quietly.

"Well we have another musician murdered. I need to know if you and your band were going to enter the Lakewood Battle of the Bands." Karl questioned, anticipating the answer.

"Well, we were already entered but now we cannot even play. We don't have our singer songwriter and guitarist..." Chuck said, then he started to cry.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry man, but you guys were entered into the competition? Interesting...So was the recent victim. How big is this battle of the bands anyway?" Karl thanked him and hung up.

"Well it's the regional, the whole entire area. Over 50 bands tried out, only 10 made it. We were primed and ready to go too. Ah, it sucks." Chuck sighed.

"Well it seems like somebody is trying to cut off some of the bands. Maybe it is one of the bands in the competition? I don't know what's going on. I will try to figure it out Chuck,whoever they are, they must be stopped."

"Thank you, and good night." Chuck sighed a breath of relief and then hung up.

"Holy ****, I found a connection between these two murders...But why would somebody kill off two members from different bands...I need to figure this thing out before it gets ugly.."

Karl continued to research and try to find more connections for the case. Before he knew it, it was 12 pm. He left the station and headed home after the busy day...