Paulette & Chaffin: Cupid #2: Crimes of Passion

RANKED 3rd BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #46!

Mary rolled her eyes. "Greaaat. Did you love her too?"

"Yes, I did," he said with a sad smile, "but not like that."

"Then what was it like?" asked O'Shea.

Cupid furrowed his brow as he looked at the floor. "I... cared for her."

"Does she have a name besides 'The Sparrow?'" prodded Mary.

"May. May Coch." He searched the floor for a moment longer before looking towards the body on the table. "I'm a friend of the family- we go way back. After her mother's death, her father, Robin, became a falling down drunk, and abusive in every way possible. I took her in. She was understandably angry, and she needed an outlet. So I taught her archery. She practiced obsessively; became really good. She also became attached to me."

"And this was a problem for you?" Mary asked with disbelief.

Cupid looked at her without his characteristic smile, and said, "She was a friend, as was everyone in her family. I'm a god, a superhero, and a celebrity. Real friends don't come easy. So when she started to show interest, I discouraged it."

"You discouraged it," Paulette said doubtfully. "Female attention? From a woman that you had living with you?"

"Have I done something to you, detective?" Cupid asked with slight anger in his voice. Then taunting, he added, "Or not done something to you?"

Mary stepped forward, but Rick put a hand up in front of her to stop her. "You are a son of a bitch," O'Shea said.

"Hm," Cupid intoned derisively. "Don't let Venus hear you say that. Or Mars." Then with a shrug and a glance at the ceiling, he said, "Or Vulcan." Looking back to Paulette, he stared unflinchingly as he said, "As I said, I'm a god; immortal; human lives are a brief whisper to me. If I can bring pleasure to some of those lives, why should I not? Erotic love and pleasure are what I'm known for best. And I'm good at it," he said with a pointed nod. Mary glared. "Don't hate," he added, blowing her a kiss.

Mary shook with rage, and breathed hard and long through her nose. Finally shoving her partner's hand from in front of her, she took a step closer and said, "You didn't answer my question."

"Yes!" shouted the god, making both detectives flinch. "I discouraged it. What do you think I am? She's only a teenager! I even sent her to live with Diana who trained her further."

"Diana... Artemis?!" Paulette shot back. "The huntress? You sent a pissed off teenager to be trained by the goddess of the hunt?"

"I sent a friend to stay with family!" Cupid said angrily. Taking a deep breath, he took a step back and said, "But it did turn out to be a bad idea. She learned from Diana as well as she had learned from me. Then one night she stole off silently with her weapons, and..." he trailed off momentarily.

"And..." prodded Rick.

"And she killed her father," he said at a loss. The detectives were silent. "I've been looking for her ever since. I... I do feel responsible."

"How 'bout Diana?" asked Paulette. "She looking for her too?"

"No," Cupid said sternly. "I told her I would find May. Diana doesn't play."

"And you do?" taunted Mary.

"I am more restrained. I won't kill her," answered Cupid. "Not if I can avoid it, which is my goal."

"'Not if you can avoid it,'" repeated Rick. Looking back at the body on the table, he glanced at his partner and asked, "Why Cupid?" Turning to the god, he said, "She's hunting you."

The god said nothing.

"Oh, my... of course," said Mary, the anger gone from her voice. "Male authority figure in her life. She showed you love. You rejected her... sent her away... She hates you as much as her father."

Cupid closed his eyes and chewed on his lip as he turned his head away, holding back his pain.

"So this," Rick said pointing behind him. "She's just calling you out?"

The hero nodded. "Eros is family too. She's angry with everyone. Once she felt spurned by me, she wanted to know why God didn't intervene between her father and herself... and why the gods didn't intervene, since we knew them."

"Why didn't you?" asked Paulette.

"I did. I took her in. What should I have done? Struck her father down? The gods are forbidden from that kind of interference now. She had to make her own decision- anger, forgiveness, or just moving on."

"So door number one, huh," said Mary.

"Apparently," confirmed Cupid.

"Why 'The Sparrow' then?" asked Rick.

Cupid's shoulders sank a little as he answered, "It's what I used to call her when she stayed with me- 'my sparrow, with her little bow and arrow.'"

"You quoted Mother Goose to a teenager?" asked Mary.

Recovering his charming smile, Cupid put a hand to his chest as if covering a mock wound. "My dear, who do you think Mother Goose got it from?" he asked with a wink.

With no humor, Mary shook her head and said, "You really are impossible."

"You're both impossible," Rick said as he walked over to a telephone near the door. "Who Killed Cock Robin wasn't a Mother Goose rhyme." He then pushed the speaker button, and hit a speed dial option.

It rang once before they heard, "Security."

"Nat, it's Rick. How long has security had the building locked down?"

"Ever since the body was found. Bunny really freaked out."

"'Bunny?'" asked Mary. "The eggs! The Easter Bunny found Cupid?"

"Esther Bunny, actually," said Nat, "but yeah, she found him. She bolted straight back to her hole in the Easter department and called us. Security has been with her ever since. Poor thing's been shaking like a leaf."

"How long was that after the murder?" asked Rick.

"We're not sure," admitted Nat. "Cupid had been working on last minute Valentine's requests for tomorrow. He was swamped and didn't want to be disturbed. Esther was taking him some eggs- wanted to make sure he ate. That's when she found him. We locked down as soon as she called. Security has swept the building a few times, but we didn't find anything that you haven't already seen. We don't know how she got in or out."

"You wouldn't," said Cupid. "She learned my sister's lessons well."

"Yeah, she's a great student," Mary said sarcastically. "You should really be proud."

"Look," said Nat over the speaker, "Dot mentioned that our shooter was a woman as she was leaving. So I've had the boys going over the security footage, looking for any unknown female visitors that have entered the building today. They've found about twenty. I'm forwarding screenshots to your phone now, Rick."

O'Shea's phone dinged just then, and glancing at it, he said, "Okay, got 'em, Nat. Thanks."

"No problem," said Watchman. "Let me know if you need anything else.

"Will do," said Rick before disconnecting. Tapping his phone to unlock the pictures, Mary and Cupid stepped up to either side to look at the pictures with him. Rick pointed at a TV on the wall and said, "Turn that on, will ya?"

"Wh-- Ah, wi-fi capable. Good call," said Paulette, hitting the power button.

Rick sent the pictures to the TV, and scrolled them using his phone like a remote. They scrolled through several without saying a word. A few were obviously too overweight or too old, but Rick stopped on one. Cupid shook his head, and Rick moved on. He went by a few pictures and stopped again, but Cupid shook his head again. He went by two more, and then stopped.

Cupid spoke up, "That's her." She was dressed as a delivery woman, carrying a package on a hand truck. Undoubtedly her weapons in disguise.

Mary looked shocked. "Wow. She's gorgeous. She'd pass for twenty-five, easy."

Rick looked equally as shocked. "Yeah... are you sure she's just a teenager?" he asked Cupid.

"I've known May her whole life," answered the god.

"Rick?" asked Mary. "You're looking a little green, partner. You okay?"

Rick shook his head slowly. "No... I think I'm gonna have to take myself out back and kick my own ass. That's... that's the dirty blonde."

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

Thanks for stopping in! :^D

The Origins Behind the Origins (or how some of these characters got their names):

The Cupid that I wanted was one that's not at cherub height, and more human in appearance (meaning: without wings). He's got boy band good looks, is adored by most of the public, and he's that Hawkeye/Green Arrow-level archer, because he's been at it for thousands of years.

Because the superheroes and supervillains in my world are celebrities in the same vein as movie, rock, and sports stars, I have a hard time not picturing my Cupid as Rob Liefeld's "Shaft" - another archer on a team dependent on good public reception.

To try to keep off the Shaft image, I described him as having dark hair. I wanted to go with blonde hair, but dark seemed more logical, since he's a Greek god. Something to remember about the gods though is that a lot of them are shape changers. So, he might be blonde yet.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading. -cb :^D

@cbishop: Oh wow, really cool, always love your stuff. Interesting about the Sparrow's history, hopefully we'll see more of this title very soon.

Also sorry about the late response

@impurestcheese: Thanks, Imp'! No worries on "the late response." When I repost stories from the CCC (and now the SBS), I don't look for many comments as people have already seen it.

As for this series, it will have to wait a bit. I was glad to get to it though, because Cupid (the superhero) and The Sparrow are both characters I've been wanting to get to. :)

@cbishop: Have you read Thursday Next or the Nursery Crime books?

@wildvine: I had never heard of them until now. Looked 'em up and read a brief snippet of info. Sounds like fun reads. :)

Thinking about another story bump.