Bella Noir (Finished)

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Bella Noir (Finished)

Post by Strawberry »

Hello there, thank you for clicking on this story!

Bella Noir is a story set in 1940s Pleasantview following John Burb's investigation into the disappearance of Bella Goth.

I'm not sure if anyone's done anything like this before, the setup for the story certainly sparks a lot of imagination and I'd like to think I'm not stepping on anyone's toes. Anyway, Let's get on with the teaser.
Spoiler:
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Name's John Burb, former detective out of SimCity's finest. Not... retired necessarily, but in need of
a break from city life. My wife, Jennifer, has family in one of the city's suburbs, Pleasantview. Her
brother, Daniel, suggested we move to their hometown.

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Jennifer was delighted to see one of the biggest houses in town was renovated and converted into an
apartment complex. It was much too expensive for any one person to buy, she said. Except the Goth's
of course, but they already had their own place. She always wanted to live there, though.

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What a good idea, I thought. A nice quiet place for our girl, Lucy, to grow up. A place where Jennifer
and I could live out the rest of our days happily. But that's not what I was in for.
Season One:
Episode 1 The Beautiful Dame
Episode 2 A Pleasant Evening
Episode 3 Hot Stuff
Episode 4 The Fly Boy
Episode 5 Mrs. Oldie
Episode 6 My Touchstone
Episode 7 The Wonderful Lucy
Episode 8 Dinner at the Goths
Episode 9 The Downstairs Neighbors
Episode 10 The Attributes of my Beloved Wife
Episode 11 Doctor and Nurse
Episode 12 Detective Tactis Number Five: Eavesdropping
Episode 13 All Things Domestic
Episode 14 Cassandra Goths Dirty Little Secret
Episode 15 Bella Goths Last Night
Episode 16 The Illustrious Mr Lothario
Episode 17 Paying Respects
Episode 18 The Artist
Episode 19 An Unexpected Friendship
Episode 20 Dina's Baby
Episode 21 Mortimer Goth
Episode 22 Garden Chat
Episode 23 The Pond
Episode 24 The Matriarch
Episode 25 Darleen
Episode 26 Dina Exposed
Episode 27 "I Killed Him"
Episode 28 The End
Last edited by Strawberry on August 23rd, 2020, 1:54 am, edited 19 times in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by Hollywood3015 »

I'm already pulled in . Can't wait for more.

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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 1 The Beautiful Dame
Spoiler:
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Word gets around fast in a small town like Pleasantview. The day we moved in I was visited by a
beautiful young woman. She knew who I was, that I used to be a cop, and she wanted my help. She
introduced herself as Cassandra Goth.

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She tried to spill everything it all right there in the hallway; not frantic, but I wouldn't have said
she was collected either. So I invited her into the apartment, offered her some coffee. Jennifer was
out registering Lucy for her new school, so the place was quiet enough.

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She explained that her mother had gone missing and that everyone was acting suspiciously. Her
father, Mortimer Goth, refused to acknowledged the situation in the slightest, that the police
weren't answering any of her questions.

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She was supposed to be getting married soon, Ms. Goth said. She was adamant that her mother
wouldn't vanish before the wedding of her own free will. The Goth name meant something in
this town and no one knew that better than Bella Goth, Cassandra was certain.

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I tried to tell her I wasn't in the police force anymore. I tried to tell her I couldn't do anything even
if I was a cop. That I wasn't even here when her mother went missing. But Ms. Goth said that's
exactly why I was the only person she trusted. I had no inherent bias.

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She then laid down a manila envelope full of cash. Five-kay just for listening to her story, she said.
More to come if I'd look into her mother's disappearance. I leaned back and ran my hands through
my hair. I didn't want to get back into this business. Best case scenario her mother did abandon her.
Worst case she was lying in a gutter somewhere. No good outcome either way.

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But that money could go a long way into securing that sleepy little haven for my family. Jennifer
and I didn't have much in the way of funds before the move to begin with. And we'd both been
looking for work since we got here. Yeah, alright. I'd take the job.
Last edited by Strawberry on June 9th, 2021, 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by Hollywood3015 »

Ooh I love this

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Re: Bella Noir

Post by Strawberry »

Thank you! I'm glad you like it. :D
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by peachy123uk »

ok can we have some more please. Loving the concept and the black and white photos :)
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep.2 A Pleasant Evening
Spoiler:
Image
That evening Daniel's wife Mary-Sue invited us over for dinner since we were still in the process of
unpacking. To my knowledge Daniel had never left Pleasantview, so it was logical to assume they had
been here during Bella Goth's disappearance. As good a place to start as any.

Image
I was able to tell Jennifer a little of what happened earlier that day, but as Lucy was with us, I didn't
want to get into too much detail. Lucy is our only child, after all and we both saw the sense in waiting
until after she'd gone to bed to discuss anything further.

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It was good to see her with her cousins, Angela and Lillith. She wasn't that far behind them in age, and
having friends this early in the moving process would help her assimilate to country life.

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Daniel claimed he didn't know the woman or anything about her disappearance. But his wife,
Mary-Sue, she worked at City Hall. She said she had to deal with the Goth girl, Cassandra, after her
mother went missing.
“You didn't see her when she came into the office,” she said, gulping down a martini like it was
going out of style.

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“She was livid. Outraged that no one seemed to be taking this seriously. I told her -I had to tell her-
her mothers marriage to Mortimer Goth wasn't a happy one- Psh, whose is?” Mary-Sue gave a
hateful glance at her husband.

Image
“Everyone in the police department just assumed she had finally abandoned her marriage and her
family. But Cassandra could not- would not- accept this. I was sorry I had to be the one to tell her.
But I didn't tell her that Bella was seen at Cassandra's fiance's house the night she disappeared.”
“How did you come by this?” I asked.
“There were witnesses, the Caliente sisters. They just moved into the place next door to Don
Lothario.”
“Why didn't you report this to the Goth family?”

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“I mean- That's rough, right?” Mary-Sue shook her head, “Bella had a lot more going for her than
Cassandra and Don's a young, virile man who found her attractive. Why hurt the girl more than I
have to?”
I nodded. Aside from Mary-Sues parents it didn't seem like anyone had a happy marriage in this
town. It made me appreciate my Jennifer. I was starting to understand why she moved to the city.
Last edited by Strawberry on June 9th, 2021, 7:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by simsterlyrock »

I'm loving this!!
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by peachy123uk »

Still want more. Love it. Wish I had the imagination for this kind of story.
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 3 Hot Stuff
Spoiler:
Image
I got the feeling from Mary-Sue that the Caliente Sister were disreputable women, but her daughters
were all too eager to tell me that one was a lounge singer and the other was a ballroom dancer.
Whatever kind of women they might be, they were witnesses and I'd need to confirm their statements.

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I will say, these young women knew how to accentuate their assets.
“We just got to town, we didn't know anything about this place,” Dina Caliente started.
“We'd met Don a couple times though. He's a total knock-out. We'd seen him with Cassandra, too,”
Nina said, “but we didn't know the other lady was her mother. She certainly didn't look it.”

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“She takes amazing care of herself. I couldn't believe she was that girl's mother.” said Dina.
“Right, not Don's mother, Cassandra's mother,” Nina interrupted, “that would be disgusting.”
I gave her a questioning look.
“He tried to make out with her,” Dina explained.

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“Did he?” I said. Dina nodded like it was the big gossip topic of the week. Heck, for all I knew it could
have been.
“But now that she's gone her husband is totally up for grabs right?” Dina said. Nina and I both frowned
at her question.
“Hey, if he's single it's fair game. It's not like I'm making a move on him while he's still married,” Dina
said innocently.
“Aren't you though? Bella Goth is still just missing.” Nina quipped.

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“You think she's coming back?” Dina asked.
“That depends. How did she react to Mr. Lothario's advance?” I asked.
“Poorly, she turned him away,” Dina laughed. Nina glowered at her sister.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. Just because you like him so much." Dina gently swatted Nina's shoulder.

Image
This information would certainly color Cassandra's views of her fiance. Now I understood why the police
were reluctant to reveal this information to the family. And I found myself reluctant to tell Cassandra,
too. But the fact of the matter was I still didn't know what happened to Bella Goth. It was about time I
saw what was so special about Don Lothario.
Thank you guys for all your praise! It really means a lot. I can be pretty bashful sometimes and I'm afraid it might come off as aloof, which isn't my intention. I'm very grateful to you viewers. :)
Last edited by Strawberry on June 9th, 2021, 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by peachy123uk »

Still loving the story. Can't wait for me. It is nice to get praise. You are doing a great job, I am very intrigued to what is going to happen
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 4 The Fly Boy
Spoiler:
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“You the cops?!”
“No, not anymore,”
“Then I ain't got to tell you nuthen'.”
Needless to say Mr. Lothario wasn't very forthcoming when it came to the situation regarding his
fiance's mother.

Image
Having been turned away at the door I took a moment to survey the neighborhood. At the end of the
street a man feigned like he was grooming his yard. Maybe just a rubberneck, maybe something more.
I walked over, introduced myself as his new neighbor, shook the mans hand. He introduced himself as
Mr. Dreamer. I jutted my thumb at Mr. Lothario's place, “Not very friendly, huh?”

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“Not to those of the male persuasion,” Mr. Dreamer shook his head.
“Bit of a slut?” I blurted. Mr. Dreamer blinked at me.
“Sorry,” I said, “City talk, I'm sure I'll grow out of it.” Mr. Dreamer nodded his understanding. Bit of
a prude, I thought.

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"He does entertain more than a few lady friends and he seems unusually close to the girl who comes
in to clean his place," Mr. Dreamer explained, "I'm surprised Ms. Goth would have anything to do
with him." I caught the glint of anguish in his eyes. It appeared Mr. Dreamer had a soft spot for the
young lady.

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“Used to be a cop, right?” Mr. Dreamer said, mechanically raking the same spot of grass for the last
three minutes.
“Yessir, looking into the disappearance of the Goth woman. Not on the city payroll yet, but gotta
keep those skills finely honed, you know what I mean?” I grinned. Mr. Dreamer frowned at me. He
stopped raking, turned away and went into his house, leaving me rather confused.
Last edited by Strawberry on June 9th, 2021, 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 5 Mrs. Oldie
Spoiler:
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“He lost his wife not too long ago. The cops didn't take a good look into it. They didn't take a good
look into the Broke murder either,” Coral Oldie said, looking out the window at her roses. It was a
gray morning. Rain sounded a soft rustle in the streets. Mrs. Oldie was Mary-Sues adoptive mother, as
gray as the morning with tired eyes and a warm smile.

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“Cops don't seem to look into much around here,” I muttered. Mrs. Oldie nodded.
“Anyways, a new cop in town, looking into the disappearance of Bella Goth instead of the murders of
his wife and Mr. Broke,” she weighed, “he's thinking that because the Goths are silly rich they're
getting preferential treatment.” Now I understood Mr. Dreamers behavior.

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“I didn't know he'd lost his wife,” I said, “Ms. Goth came to me the day I moved in. I don't know
anything about this town.”
“Then you made yourself look like more of an ass,” Mrs. Oldie sighed. I suppose I did at that.
“But Ms. Goth is paying me to look into her mothers disappearance. I'm not even a cop here. If I was
maybe I could look into his wife's murder,” I said. I didn't like being accused of preferential treatment.

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I also wasn't a cop anymore. Young Ms. Goth was a paying client. Mr. Dreamer wasn't. And even if he
was Ms. Goth came to me first. If I was going to take on his case I'd have to make this clear. Damn,
when did I become a private dick?

Image
“They both have children, too, you know. Mr. Dreamer and Mrs. Broke,” Mrs. Oldie calmly sipped her
tea, gazing at her rose bush, “only those kids know their parents aren't coming home.” I took a moment
to assess Mrs. Oldie. She was poignant. Somehow I admired that about her.
Last edited by Strawberry on September 15th, 2020, 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 6 My Touchstone
Spoiler:
Image
After visiting the Oldies, Jennifer and I took in a quick flick and fooled around in one of the photo
booths, harking back to our dating scenes in the earlier years. One flaw I readily admit to is public
displays of affection. Afterwards we caught a late lunch on Main Street.

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When I was a detective in the city I didn't talk about my cases with her. Our marriage was still new, I
didn't want her getting that close to that part of me. Like I said, those were some pretty dark days
and, after a while, it just became routine not to talk about it.


However here, I felt I should talk with her. It was her hometown after all and she had an insight into
these people that I didn't. She vaguely remembered Cassandra Goth as a weird little kid, but she
knew the Goths were big fish in the community. She was sad to hear that Darlene Dreamer had passed
recently, and that Brandi's husband Skip passed away, too. She remembered being close with Darlene
and Brandi in school.

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“And Mary-Sue was always ambitious. It's one of the qualities Daniel loved about her,” she said.
“He doesn't appreciate it anymore?” I asked. Jennifer shrugged helplessly.
“She's a strong woman. I guess he didn't realize how he'd feel about himself in comparison.”

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“Heavy... you said the Goth girl was weird. What do you mean?”
“She was a dreamer. I mean she lived in her head. She had a rich fantasy life. Sometimes those
fantasies seeped out into the real world. She was an only child for a long time, and her parents
didn't have much time for her, so it makes sense.” Jennifer trailed off.

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I got the impression something happened once. And whatever it was Jennifer wasn't really
comfortable with Ms. Goth afterward. Rich fantasy life, huh? That might warrant checking out
young Ms. Cassandra Goth. I looked at my watch. “Almost time to pick up Lucy from school.”
Apologies for the delay in updates. I waited much too long for the Dreamers to enter the Autumn season. Only now realizing I could have cheated myself into the season. I hope the Three Episodes all at once makes up for the hold-up.
Last edited by Strawberry on August 26th, 2020, 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by peachy123uk »

Great read yep three updates makes up for it lol
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 7 The Wonderful Lucy
Spoiler:
Image
Jennifer picked up our daughter, Lucy, at the bus stop later that afternoon. Still rather new to the
neighborhood, neither Jennifer or I were able to secure jobs those first couple days. However, Lucy
was making waves her first day at school.

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She was all too eager to tell us how during recess a bunch of kids had surrounded a sad looking boy. By
her reports they they were hurling cruel words about his mother, how she was no good, that she was a
floozy and that she didn't love him and that's why she left him.

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Lucy charged up to the kids and starting defending the kid. Morally outraged at their viciousness, she
said how disgusting they were all being, she'd never seen such ugly children in all her life, and that
they should all be ashamed of themselves.

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But when she turned around to receive gratitude, the boy had run off.
“I don't care,” she declared proudly to the both of us, “You can't be blamed for what your parents do.”

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Jennifer and I were so proud. Jennifer went in the next day to see if Lucy's brazenness had earned her
a bad reputation and was surprised to learn that the teach was Ms Cassandra Goth and the boy that
Lucy had bravely defended was young Alexander Goth. Damn small town, I thought to myself.
Last edited by Strawberry on August 26th, 2020, 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bella Noir

Post by ciyrose »

Ok I just started reading so I'm only at chapter 3 right now, but this is great! I love it! Love the pictures, the style, the story. So intriguing!
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Ok, all caught up and totally ready for more when SimNaNo is done! Great job!!!
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Re: Bella Noir

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thank you :D
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Re: Bella Noir

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Bella Noir
Season 1, Ep. 8, Dinner at the Goths
Spoiler:
Image
I decided it was time to meet the infamous Goth family. It was the neighborly thing to do after all. It
was clear they were the wealthiest family in town. The big fish. Cassandra's father clearly had sway
over the local police. That could make things tricky. I'd have to be very careful. Make sure my
charming smile was perfectly in place. Deep breath. Knock on the door.

Image
Cassandra came to the door, a look of shock and concern on her face.
"What are you doing here?!" she hissed, with that same panicked expression she had the first day I
met her.
"You asked me to investigate your mother's disappearance. Why wouldn't I come to the place she
lived before that happened?" I replied.
"You can't! My father's here! He'll suspect!"
"I'll be discreet," I assured her. After a moment she let me in and introduced me to her father.

Image
Knowing that Mortimer Goth was the richest man in Pleasantview and that he had just lost his wife
I was certainly very professional in my greeting to him, which he seemed to appreciate. I told him we
were new to town, he wasn't surprised and I could assume he'd heard about us through the same
channels as Cassandra, whatever those were. He invited me to dinner and I accepted.

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I tried to explain to him about what happened between his son and my daughter before sitting down,
but before I knew it there he was, young Alexander. Nothing about him suggested he was worried
about school. In fact he seemed to be in good spirits. I suspected it was for his family's benefit, but I
engaged with him anyway, hoping the topics of conversation would naturally arrive on the subject of
his mother.

Image
He was certainly a bright young man and it was plain to see that his father was proud of him. But
soon enough we were talking about Bella. From his stories she was a beautiful, kind, courageous
woman. She would do anything for her friends. I asked her what that meant, trying to be as natural
as possible, mind you.

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But as he was about to answer he gave a worried glance to his father. Mortimer gave him a
disapproving frown and that was enough for Alexander to think better of answering me. Cassandra
gave me a look as if to say 'I tried to warn you,' while I tried to play the whole conversation off as
completely innocent.

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But it seemed as though that was enough to wear out my welcome. Mortimer sent Alexander out of
the room, Cassandra excusing herself as well, probably trying escape suspicious herself. Mortimer
turned to me, his facade of civility crumbling around him, trying to explain that he and his family
had been through enough, and yeah, he knew I was a cop and he didn't know what I was up to, nor did
he care. I was no longer to pursue the matter of Bella Goth.

Gosh, it's been so long since I've updated this story. I'm sorry ^ ^;
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