The Case of the Naked Ghost

[Sabrewolf]

Officer Daniel Delgado was sound asleep until his full bladder woke him up at 1:30 AM. After using the bathroom, he headed back to bed but was stopped by a strange feeling - a presence in the room. He turned to see Amanda Logan, a friend who had drowned in her bathtub years ago, sitting in his recliner. She was completely naked and dripping wet, yet the chair remained dry.
Daniel was surprised but tried to remain calm. "Amanda? It's been so long. To what do I owe this visit?" he asked gently.
Amanda replied, "I don't know, Daniel. Something just led me here. And please forgive my... state. I don't understand why I'm like this."
Daniel explained, "I've read that ghosts often appear as they were at the moment of their death. Since you drowned in your bathtub, that would explain your appearance."
But Amanda was insistent. "Something isn't right, Daniel. I have a feeling that there's more to my death than what was reported."
Daniel trusted Amanda's instincts and decided to investigate further. "Your death was ruled an accidental drowning, but I believe you. Let's review the case file together. Maybe something will trigger your memory."
With that, the unlikely duo - a police officer and a naked ghost - headed out to examine the case file and uncover the truth behind Amanda's death.

[student]

I feel teased! Just enough to introduce the plot and the two main characters--economical! Superior to a simple one-sentence plot and a list of two characters.

[Sabrewolf]

Sorry if you feel slighted. But I plan to keep this work non-erotic. The focus will be on the investigation, with added moments of vulnerability. If you want to offer some ideas, feel free to let me know. I'm still working on it as it is, and I'm open to opinion on some fresh ideas.

[student]

One naked ghost would have been Marilyn Monroe. The newspapers of the time couldn't help themselves--they had a juicy story that Marilyn was found naked in her bed and the ruling was suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Marilyn_Monroe

Amanda died of accidental drowning in her bathtub. There was a series of bathtub murders in England: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith
A quick internet search revealed 359,000 hits on "bathtub murder trial."

Daniel and Amanda and knew each other prior to her murder. That gives Daniel incentive to look beyond the official version. Seeing ghosts is regarded as mental illness. Did Daniel murder Amanda? Why did Amanda appear in Daniel's recliner? As long as you know the layout of Daniel's home, you need not provide a floor plan, but did Daniel wander into his living room or is Daniel's apartment so small that he sleeps on his recliner? Did Amanda die in Daniel's current apartment? Someplace else? Where was the murder scene?

Will Daniel be investigating a cold case solo? Why did it take "years" for Amanda to appear to Daniel? How did Daniel avoid panic at the sight of a ghost--naked or otherwise? Good discipline allowed him to remain calm when seeing a ghost? What was Daniel's relation to Amanda? "Just friends?" A co-worker?

So many questions for so few sentences.

Besides, how does one have sex with ghosts? Other than appearing naked--and as wet as a drowned cat--what would the erotic appeal be?

[Sabrewolf]

I appreciate your efforts here, but nothing is hitting as far as your idea offers. See, I hope I'm not throwing too many monkey wrenches here, but:
1: Amanda is a close friend of Daniel. And in the original investigation, her death was ruled an accidental drowning. Her case was gone over with a fine-toothed comb. There was nothing to suggest any form of foul play.
2: this is to be a non-erotic story. Focusing on the investigation and uncovering the truth. I plan on moments of vulnerability, but no sexuality.

[student]

Sounds interesting.

If not an accident, someone would have murdered Amanda. The fact that the case was gone over with a "fine toothed comb" needs to be fleshed out. I would suspect the investigation team because the case was cleared as an accident. Bonus points if Daniel was part of the investigation--though police practice is to avoid having people who had a personal relationship be part of the investigation. Person of interest--Daniel would have been questioned. Everybody known to the police who had acquaintance with Amanda would have been looked at unless the accident was blatantly an accident.
https://ehlinelaw.com/blog/uncovering-t ... estigation.

Why would Daniel suspect anything other than an accident? Amanda is a ghost, and depending on how you tell your tail, Amanda is a figment of Daniel's imagination, or she is a lost soul doomed to wander Earth until she resolves the issue chaining her to this realm. Either would be a marvelous story. When did Daniel see Amanda naked before she died? Was she that close of a friend? Was Daniel a responding officer when Amanda didn't show up to work or school?

It's not what you know--it's what you can prove to a jury. If Amanda was murdered, how will she and Daniel bring the murderer to justice?

I'm getting ahead of the story. I think it would be interesting to find that the paperwork on the investigation has vanished. Confidential files have two different shelf lives--privacy regulations may keep the files restricted for the lifetime of those investigated, and paperwork reduction may result in destroying the paperwork to reduce clutter. Paperwork isn't forever. Or the files could just go missing.

Here is Daniel, woken up by his bladder at 1:30 AM and after getting rid of the pressure, he encounters a ghost. Is he going to be able to go back to sleep? Will he shower and get ready for work? Or is this a weekend? Daniel will start with reviewing the investigation file. Will it be there?

[Sabrewolf]

I'll tell you what. I don't know if you also run an account on chyoa.com, but I posted my beginning chapter there as an open post story, offering snowball collab. But you can place in your own version of the following story. Just put it at the chapter two branch.

[Sabrewolf]

https://chyoa.com/story/The-Case-of-the ... host.62845

[student]

Thanks, Sabrrewolf.

[Sabrewolf]

I look forward to seeing your input on the story. Just do as I did, and start your own chapter branch from the beginning chapter.