It was a regular day at the police station. Chief Karma was particularly busy, trying to find a partner for his best inspector, Brad Polesse, although he mentioned several times already that he’d rather not have another partner, in order to honor the memory of Lieutenant Greg Invess. Inspector Polesse also took a leave for three days following the inspector’s death, which was quite unusual for the Inspector. He never took a leave in his entire career. Despite this, Chief Karma still persisted in finding him an assistant as good as Lieutenant Invess.
Chief Karma was widely considered as one of the greatest chiefs in the history of the police force. Ever since he was chosen, he was always busy serving the people, being the first to start work and the last to leave. He had a no-nonsense attitude, either you worked efficiently or you got kicked out. He demanded hard work from all the officers, and was particularly fond of giving incentives to those he deemed had merit, whether they were his ally or his foe.
For others, however, he was considered one of the more dictatorial ones. Aside from a strict criteria and rules for the police force, his aspiration for the Moony City Police to be cleansed of all crime and to create a force that truly served the people (not that it wasn’t the best already, he wanted it better.) may have led others, especially those he thought incompetent, to believe he was just strengthening his own power. Not to mention, he worked tirelessly to severely punish those officers who became the ones that they promised to protect the people against, such as the corrupt, and those who abused the law and the good name of the police force to further their own gain. His crackdown on the corrupt officers, which started immediately after he began his tenure as Chief, has been criticized for having a lack of human rights, particularly a lack of transparency, since the chief dealt with them internally, and lack of investigation, since those accused of corruption get removed immediately.
He wasn’t worried, though, of what would happen to him after his retirement. Before he leaves, he would make sure to clean up the police, so that they would truly be serving the people and protecting them from crime. Back to the issue at hand, however – he needed to find another assistant for Inspector Polesse.
He was busy looking through his officers’ files, in order to find the best suitable candidate for the job. He didn’t need to worry about the chosen candidate not accepting; it was an honor to be the partner of the greatest inspector, and not to mention that it’s a promotion. The only problem, however, would be the Inspector’s outright refusal for whoever was chosen. There to be a couple of candidates that seemed good enough, if Inspector Polesse was willing.
“Performance: Outstanding.” Chief Karma read as he sifted through the profiles. “Shown great excellence and dedication…”
Chief Karma got another file. He read it, and after doing the same with a couple more files, he was deciding on whom to choose when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” The Chief said. When the door opened, it was Inspector Polesse who walked in, and based on his appearance, looked like he was in particularly bad shape.
“Oh, Inspector Polesse! What happened to you?” Chief Karma asked, surprised. “I heard you didn’t come in earlier so I assumed you’d be absent! This is the first time you’ve been late. Is something wrong?”
“Sorry I’m late, Chief,” Inspector Polesse replied, in a tired voice, coughing. “but I didn’t get enough sleep yesterday because of the storm.”
“You were out in the storm last night, weren’t you?” Chief Karma asked him, worried. Inspector Polesse nodded. “Is it about Invess?”
“I keep thinking about him, you know, chief.” Inspector Polesse replied. “I will not stop until I’ve discovered who was responsible for this.”
“Please, Inspector, You should really stop investigating it.” Chief Karma told Polesse. “The only person who can get us answers is the gunman himself. So just let us do our job, and don’t do anything rash.”
“I understand, Chief.” Inspector Polesse said angrily, banging the chief’s desk. “But it’s already been a week. We still haven’t caught whoever it was that killed Invess! If you actually made an effort-”
“Calm down, please!” Chief Karma told Inspector Polesse sternly. “I know you’re angry, but, we are all trying are best to catch the killer. Take a seat.”
Inspector Polesse sighed. He was still angry, but he decided there was no use, and took a seat.
“Now, do you mind telling me why you came here?” Chief Karma asked Inspector Polesse, “I’m sure you’re not just here to complain about the lack of effort.”
“Actually, Chief,” Inspector Polesse replied, coughing. “the reason I came here was to take a few more days of leave.”
“What?” the Chief asked, astonished. “Are you still going on about Lieutenant Invess? I’m telling you, Inspector, there’s no use of investigating his death, just leave it to us.”
“What I mean,” Inspector Polesse responded, raising his voice and coughing again, “is that I would like a few days of sick leave. I’m not feeling that good since I’ve been out yesterday.”
“Oh, right.” Chief Karma said, not realizing earlier what he meant. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. Of course, I’ll give it to you.” Chief Karma told Inspector Polesse, taking out the Inspector’s records. “How many days do you need? Two days?”
“Yes, two would be enough.” Inspector Polesse told the Chief, who wrote it on his record. The Chief was very surprised.
“Well, this is the most I’ve ever seen you take a break.” Chief Karma informed Polesse, “You have taken almost an entire week off. Please, don’t let the lieutenant’s death affect you this much. It’s something that he wouldn’t have wanted.”
“With all due respect, I’m sure that I know more about what Invess would have wanted for me than you would, sir.” Inspector Polesse replied, getting up and turning to leave. “Thank you for your concern, and the leave. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait, Inspector.” Chief Karma called him back as he was about to leave, “Please, I hope you will check these out while you’re recovering.” Chief Karma told him, handing him the officer profiles.
“What’s this?” Inspector Polesse asked, taking them from the Chief and reading one. “Officer… “ he read, stoppong and looking suspiciously at the chief. “You’re trying to get me a new partner, aren’t you?” he declared.
He angrily slammed the documents on the table. “I am not going to get another partner to replace Invess.” Inspector Polesse said, coughing on the chief’s face.
Now it was Chief Karma’s turn to be angry. He got up from his chair. “Forgive me, but it’s about time that you got a partner.” He angrily told the Inspector. “It’s been long enough. One week is far too long.”
“It’s been long enough for me without one,” Inspector Polesse retorted. “which proves my point that I don’t need a partner. Now, if you’ll just kindly take these back,“ he said as he pushed the documents towards the chief. “I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. “Come in!” Chief Karma said, and the door opened. A detective walked in, holding some documents.
“Ah, Detective Rodney, you’re here.” Chief Karma greeted. Inspector Polesse greeted him as well, coughing, and then turned around.
“Well, chief, it was nice talking to you.” Inspector Polesse said, glad for an excuse to leave. “I guess you have some important things to do with Detective Rodney, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait,” Chief Karma called after Inspector Polesse as he was about to open the door. “Make sure to bring me a doctor’s note.”
“Is it required by law?” Inspector Polesse turned and asked the Chief.
“No,” Chief Karma admitted, knowing full well that Inspector Polesse wouldn’t get a check-up if he didn’t do this. “but it will make you go to the doctor. You’d better, just look at how sick you are.”
“Alright.” Inspector Polesse replied. “See you around then, Chief, Detective.” he said to Chief Karma and Detective Rodney, who both nodded, before he left.
After Inspector Polesse left, Chief Karma turned to Detective Rodney. “Report.” He ordered the detective. Detective Rodney was the lead investigator of MZR Incident.
“Sir,” he said, saluting the Chief and showing him the documents. “Here’s what we’ve learned about the case.”
“Please tell me that you found something out after a week’s worth of investigation.” Chief Karma said.
“Chief, you’ll be happy to know that we have found something important.” Detective Rodney said, “However, what you’re about to hear will surprise you.”
Detective Rodney placed one of the files on the table, and gave it to the Chief. “Sir, we have found evidence that Mr. O’Nair could be involved in the incident last week.”
“Oh? That’s interesting.” Chief Karma said, surprised, and he took the file and opened it. While he was reading, Detective Rodney was explaining what they found out.
“During the meeting, Mr. O’Nair reportedly left to go to the bathroom.” Detective Rodney said while Chief Karma was reading the report. “He wasn’t there during the shooting. Several witnesses reported that the gunman answered a call first, before proceeding to pull out a gun from his suitcase and shooting Mr. Krimzzon. We managed to get the telecommunications company to give us the records.”
“But you discovered a call made in the building from two burner phones.” Chief Karma said, reading off the report. “What did you find out from them?”
“With the phones, we tried to trace them, but there was nothing.” Detective Rodney explained, “As a burner phone, that’s not surprising. But, what we did discover was that the gunman spoke with someone else, and upon tracing the number of the other one person, we discovered that he received a call before that, as well.”
Detective Rodney cleared his throat, “Currently we’re trying to determine who the callers were, by examining the voices. Unfortunately,” Detective Rodney said. “they installed voice-changing software, so we couldn’t determine it. However, we did manage to determine that one of the callers was Mr. O’Nair, based on the conversation and where it traced from, as well as similarities in their style of speech.”
“Do you have the transcripts?”
“Yes, sir.” Detective Rodney said. “It’s on the next page.” he told the chief, who changed the page. “Right here.” he pointed. “I also brought the recording one just in case.”
Chief Karma took the USB, and inserted it into his computer. “Let’s hear it, then.”
Clicking on the recording, they sat back and listened.
“Is the gunman in position?” the voice of Mr.O’Nair asked.
“Yes, sir. Just give the word.” the other caller replied.
“Good, but remember. Shoot but don’t hurt him. Mr. Krimzzon isn’t the target. You’re supposed to take down the Lieutenant.”
“Lieutenant?” Chief Karma muttered. “What does this have to do with Invess?”
“Yes, sir.” The recording continued. “We’ll shoot Mr. Krimzzon, but it’ll miss, and when we try to escape the police will be hot on our heels. We have an escape vehicle ready. We’ll find a way to separate Invess from Polesse; then we’ll kill the Lieutenant. The escape vehicle will pick him up and escape.”
“Good, but does he know of the plan? Have you given him the floor plans?”
“Yes, sir, you won’t have to worry about a thing. He has the floor plans that you gave me.”
“If you succeed all according to plan, I’ll top up your compensation with another twenty percent.” O’Nair said. “Do not disappoint me.”
The call ended abruptly and Chief Karma looked up at Detective Rodney.
“That was an interesting development.” Chief Karma said, “In any case, I think you should head on Mr. O’Nair’s. I’ll try to get a hold of Inspector Polesse and inform him what we’ve learned.”
“Yes, sir, I’m on it.” Detective Rodney said. “I’ll inform you if I learn anything.”
Detective Rodney headed for Numis Subdivisions, along with an officer, Sergeant Derek Tohr. Upon arriving at the gates, they were stopped by the guards.
“Excuse me, sir, what do you need?” one of the guards asked them.
“We’re from the MCPD.” Detective Rodney said, showing him their badges. “I’m Detective Rodney and this is Sergeant Tohr. We’re here to ask Mr. O’Nair a couple of questions.”
“Well, you’re in luck.” the guard said, pulling out a telephone book. “He hasn’t left for work. Perhaps he decided to skip it. Wait, I’ll call him.”
The guard searched up his number, and called Mr. O’Nair. He didn’t answer, and after a few tries, he put the telephone down.
“Strange, he’s not answering.” the guard said to the Detective. “I’ll try one last time.”
Just as he was about to try again to call Mr. O’Nair, the phone rang. He picked it up. “Hello? Mr. O’Nair? Ah, Mrs. Burg, sorry. What? Mr. O’Nair?” the guard had a look of concern, then he continued. “That’s strange. Yes, ma’am, I’ll be going there. Goodbye.”
The guard placed the phone down, and turned to the officers. “You may enter, but may I come along? It’s urgent.”
“What happened to Mr. O’Nair?” Detective Rodney asked him. “Something important?”
“His neighbor recently came back from a business trip, and she says that she tried visiting Mr. O’Nair to greet him, and when she looked through the window, he was lying on the floor.”
“Get in, then.” Detective Rodney told the guard, and when he entered, he told Sergeant Tohr to start driving.
“12 Grennings Street, President Richards Avenue, Sergeant.” Detective Rodney said to him, “We need to hurry.”
“Where’s the neighbor? Is she still there?” Detective Rodney asked the guard.
“Yes. She’s standing outside his house.” the Guard said. “She’s waiting for us to arrive.”
They arrived at Mr. O’Nair’s house, and there was an old lady, pacing back and forth. When she heard them, she looked and approached them.
They got out of the vehicle, and Detective Rodney walked to the old lady.
“Excuse me, are you police?” the woman asked him, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Yes, we are.” Detective Rodney replied. “We’re here to ask Mr. O’Nair a couple of questions, but considering what happened to him, we need to get him out safely. May I know who you are?”
“I’m Adeline Ouise Burg, president of this subdivision. May I know your names?”
“Detective Rodney.” Detective Rodney said. “And that is Sergeant Derek Tohr.”
Sergeant Tohr tried to open the door, but it was locked. “Sir, the door’s locked.” he told Detective Rodney. “Should we break it down?”
Detective Rodney turned to Mrs. Burg. “Around how much would this door cost?”
Mrs. Burg thought for a moment before answering. “Knowing him, he’d have removed the original five thousand mohn door that comes with every house, and sold it for a cheaper one.” She said. “In any case, it won’t be more than a hundred mohns.”
“Really?” Detective Rodney said, wondering why such a rich person would discount his personal safety and security. “Well, all right, then.” the detective said to Sergeant Tohr. “Break it!”
Sergeant Tohr managed to kick down the door. He walked into the building.
“Alright, please stay here.” Detective Rodney said to the guard and Mrs. Burg, and proceeded into the building. Sergeant Tohr was crouched beside Mr. O’Nair, when he got up and turned to Detective Rodney, with a worried expression.
“Sir.” Sergeant Tohr told him. “He’s dead.”
“What?” Detective Rodney exclaimed, rushing to Mr. O’Nair’s corpse. “How did this happen? Sergeant, check the building, someone might be here.”
“On it.” Sergeant Tohr said, drawing his gun and running off to check the entire house.
Detective Rodney got up slowly, drawing his own gun just in case, and walked outside.
“Why aren’t you helping him?” Mrs. Burg asked the Detective, and she was nervous because of his drawn gun. The guard was eyeing Detective Rodney cautiously, and his hand was on his holster, just in case Detective Rodney pulled something on them.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. O’Nair is dead.” Detective Rodney told them grimly. “We might not be the only ones here.”
“What?” Mrs. Burg said, shocked. “B-but who would want to murder him?”
Detective Rodney turned to the guard. “Did anyone suspicious happen to enter, or did Mr. O’Nair have visitors?”
“Nobody came to visit Mr. O’Nair today.” the guard replied. “And up until yesterday night, he was alive. Atleast, I’m pretty sure he was.”
“I see.” Detective Rodney said, turning around and seeing Sergeant Tohr. He finished investigating and went to them outside.
“Sir, there’s no trace of anyone.” Sergeant Tohr said. “It doesn’t seem that the house was broken into at all. Everything is in order, or at least most things are.”
“That’s strange.” Detective Rodney said, putting back his gun to his holster. “Are you sure he was alive yesterday?”
“Absolutely sure.” the guard told him, relaxing now that he wasn’t holding a gun. “He came home at around eight last night, just before that storm yesterday, which lasted until a bit past midnight. No one came to visit him at that time as well, and he didn’t call for help.”
“What about you?” Detective Rodney turned to Mrs. Burg. “As his neighbor, you should’ve seen something.”
“I was away on vacation for three days.” Mrs. Burg responded. “I’m sure I mentioned that earlier, on the call with the guard. Didn’t he tell you?”
“Right, then.” Detective Rodney said. “So now we don’t know when he died. We just know he was alive until atleast eight o’clock at night, yesterday.” He took out his phone, and dialed up the Chief. “I’ll have to tell the Chief about this. In the meantime,“ he said to Sergeant Tohr, “you should investigate, and request dispatch for some officers, right away. Preferably ask for those nearby.”
“I’m on it.” Sergeant Tohr said, taking out his radio and walking back into the house.
“As for you two.” Detective Rodney said to Mrs. Burg and the guard. “Please don’t go anywhere. I need to interrogate you, right after this call.”
Detective Rodney paced around for a few second, then stopped when the chief answered the phone.
“Hey, Chief.” Detective Rodney said. “There’s some bad news you need to know.”
