Part VII: 2014

Part VII: 2014

Samson

So, here I am, sitting in jail for what happened a few months ago. Maybe if I hadn’t ran, I might not be here, but Greg died from his injuries, and since I caused the accident which caused Kat’s death, I’ve been charged with involuntary manslaughter on two counts. I blew a .30, I was f*****g hammered, Greg’s was only .09. Of all the cell mates I possibly could have gotten, I’m stuck with the crazy kid I picked on in school, Sydd Xero. I haven’t talked to him much the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never liked him, and he’ll be leaving soon anyway.
“So, you get out soon, don'tcha Sydd?” I ask.
“Yeah, I get out at the end of next month.” Sydd answers.
“Lucky you, I’ve got four more months.”
“What are you in for? Last time I asked, you said you were gonna hit me, but, you’d just be extending your sentence or dying, so it’s better you tell me.”
“Know what, I thought about it, and the reason I’m in here was because I became something I’m not.”
“Thought about what?”
“I know how it feels.” I looked at Sydd in the eyes with tears in them. I couldn’t help it, all I could think of was Kat, and how she’s dead because of my stupidity. I hate showing weakness, but I couldn’t help myself. It was fucked up, I hope he didn’t notice, I wiped my eyes right away.
“So what happened?”
“Well, me and my buddy were drinking one night, and I got really, really hammered. I just remember we left the bar, got in the car and drove for a bit, ended up on the highway, and something was said, I can’t really remember, all I remember is waking up in the drunk tank. They told me I had smashed my friends' face off the steering wheel and we crashed into a guardrail. The cop on duty patrolling the highway came over to check on us to make sure we were ok, and my friend was unconscious in the driver’s seat and I apparently jumped out of the passengers’ seat when I saw the cop and immediately started wailing on him. He called for backup and it took three cops to subdue me, they could tell I was drunk, they tasered me and threw me in. I got charged with three counts of assault on a police officer and reckless endangerment. I have to serve six months in county jail and serve another six on probation, and I have to attend alcoholics’ meetings.” I didn’t tell him about the deaths, and the other charges because I couldn’t stand showing weakness again, because just thinking about it makes me upset. Besides, he didn’t have to know everything, it’s not his business.
“Wow, that’s just-“
“Ironic? Yeah, I know.”
“You-“
“I know how it feels now, Sydd, to become something you’re not and cause harm you don’t want to, I don’t see why anybody would want that.”
“It’s alright.”
“I also now know what it feels like to have an addiction. That was the heaviest night of drinking I’ve ever had, but I’ve been in an alcoholic haze for quite awhile now.”
“Wow Samson.”
“I see now that what you did back then was to wake me up, to realize not to mess with people, but I didn’t listen. Instead, I became the one thing I was terrified of dealing with.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I didn’t know the extent of your craziness until you got back at me. Until then, I thought you were exaggerating. After that, I decided that I wasn’t going to make fun of people with problems anymore.”
“I forgive you, Samson.”
“I forgive you too.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“You remember Leo?”
“Yeah, he picked on Rob a lot.”
“Yeah, he uh, turned out to be a psychopath.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, people say we should put murderers in the military since they wanna kill so badly, but they need to be medicated and regulated because otherwise, they’ll kill anyone.”
“Isn’t that the point?”
“Not when they kill your own people.”
“Leo killed your own guys?”
“Yup, one of our comrades and one of our commanding officers. I was the one who put him down.”
“Woah, wait, you killed your own best friend?”
“I had to, he would have killed us all if I didn’t.”
“Jesus, I know what you mean though.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, my best friend is a psychopath too.”
“Now you’re just making s**t up, I know he’s crazy, but I don’t think he’s like Leo.”
“He’s killed at least 4 people, including his own parents.”
“Bullshit.”
“I was there when he started to kill his parents, I left to get my stuff, I wasn’t gonna be around for that.”
“Holy s**t.”
“Yeah, I know, I didn’t think he’d go through with it.”
“How? He was obviously crazy.”
“I thought his consciousness would kick in.”
“I guess he didn’t have one.”
“No, apparently not. He spends a lot of time in isolation here because he’s just way too violent.”
“F**k, man. What about you? Didn’t you kill your girlfriend or something? I heard a rumor that you did.”
“That was, that was an accident.”
“How so?”
“It was during a blackout.”
“Oh, so it’s not like you did it on purpose, it was just cause you’re crazy.”
“Yeah...”
“Got it.”
“Oh, stop, it’s not like you’ve never killed anyone.”
“It was war, that was different.”
“Maybe.”
“No, not maybe. If you really wanna know the truth, I was scared shitless my first time, but I reminded myself it was either me or him. It was different.”
“Ok, fine, you’ve made your point.”
“Look, we’ve all done s****y things in our life, and some of mine were directed at you. I was an a*****e for so long, and while I was reluctant to join in the first place, serving in the military was my way of giving back. And even then, I got too cocky and got my unit killed. Seems like nobody knew it was my fault we were even attacked, but they still treated me as if I was a hero. I didn’t feel like one, so to repair that mistake, I decided to help a homeless vet.”
“Wow, that’s totally unexpected of you, you should feel good about that!”
“And I would have, had he not gotten a hold of my old service revolver and blown his brains out.”
“Holy f**k.”
“Yeah, I woke up to screaming and a bang. He was living with me until he got back on his feet. So, it’s my fault he’s dead.”
“Jeez, your luck sounds almost as bad as mine.”
“Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?”
“Well, I for one hope to get my life together once I’m out.”
“Good luck with that.” I say sarcastically.
“Gee, thanks.” he says, equally sarcastically.
“What, you really think you’ll be more than a crazy junkie?”
“Yes, I’ve actually been clean for a while now.”
“Then why are you in here?”
“Because I blacked out and beat up this dude who was beating on his girlfriend.”
“Oh, I thought you were on drugs.”
“I don’t have to be for that to happen, remember high school?”
“I thought you were on drugs then too.”
“I...I was... never mind.”
“Hah!”
“Hey, don’t laugh, drunkie.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
“Just saying.”
“F**k you.”
“Well, we ARE in prison...” I look at him like I’m checking him out, just to f**k with him.
“Hell no! Get the f**k away from me!”
“Calm down, I’m just f****n’ with ya, I ain’t gay, and I ain’t desperate enough to rape someone in jail.”
“I don’t know man, you looked pretty convincing.”
“That was the point, I was just f*****g with you.”
“Good to see you haven’t changed.”
“Of course I have, but I still enjoy picking on you.”
“Why? Why me? Why always me?”
“I don’t know, really. For some reason, every time I saw you, I heard a voice inside of me saying ‘kick his a*s!’”
“But I never did anything to you!”
“I know, crazy isn’t it? I don’t know, with my dad being famous and everything, I’ve just always looked down on poor people, and you were the poorest looking dude at school.”
“So you were raised to hate poor people?”
“No actually, I just felt like, since I was born rich, that I’m entitled to look down on anyone who was poor.”
“Wow dude, that’s fucked.”
“Yeah, well, considering my family isn’t rich anymore, I’ve learned that it really doesn’t matter. If I had known that when I was younger, I might not have been such an a*****e to everyone.”
“Wait, your family isn’t rich anymore? What happened?”
“Dad’s royalties dried up, he’s only got a few hundred thousand left.”
“You make it sound like pennies.”
“In the affluent world, it is pennies. My stepmother even left him for a richer, younger rock star.”
“Jeez, shallow much?”
“Yeah. My mom is still doing well, but I haven’t talked to her in years, I’m too embarrassed to pop back into her life now, she’d think it was just for the money.”
“And it would be, wouldn’t it?”
“Most likely, yeah. She’d think I was just using her, and she’d be right.”
“So, what do you plan to do when you get out?”
“I have no f*****g clue. Probably find a job, but it’s so hard, nobody wants to hire a gimp, and I’m still waiting to qualify for disability.”
“I would have thought you would have gotten that after getting out of the Army.”
“Marines, but no. Since I still technically have both of my legs, they figure I’m good to go.”
“That sucks, man.”
“Yeah, you’d think with all the physical therapy I had to do, and having to use a walking stick, that I’d qualify. The truth is, once we put in our time, everyone stops giving a s**t.”
“I heard you screaming last night, what was up with that?”
“Oh, I occasionally have war nightmares, it’s been awhile, but last night it hit again.”
“What happened? In your dream, I mean?”
“It was a bunch of little kids strapped with explosives running towards me, and I had to make the decision to kill them, and they were blowing up my comrades one by one, and I was getting yelled at to kill them, and I was frozen because I didn’t want to kill any kids, but I was being ordered to, and finally, one reached me and I woke up.”
“Jesus, did you have to kill any kids while you were there?”
“No, but I should have.”
“What?”
“I lost a comrade to a kid strapped with explosives.”
“What???”
“Yeah, kid jumped up on his neck, and blew up. Turns out, there was a guy with a detonator who set it off, sick f**k.”
“Holy s**t, dude.”
“Yeah, war ain’t pretty.”
“I never thought it was, but holy s**t, dude.”
“Yeah, pretty fucked up.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Yeah, well, I did it for the country, and I’m still alive, so that’s what matters I guess.”
“Yeah, I guess, but holy s**t, no wonder you have nightmares.”
“And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I’d talk more about it, but just thinking about it now, I’m definitely going to have a nightmare tonight.”
“Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s alright, it’s inevitable.”
“Well, sorry anyway, that you had to go through that.”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s what I signed up for, right?”
“Yeah, but nobody should have to go through all that.”
“Somebody has to.”
“Why though? It’s-”
“Because that’s the world we live in, Sydd. Always has been, and until humanity comes together and realizes that this isn’t the way we should resolve our conflicts, it always will be.”
“Hah, you kinda sound like a hippie.”
“Well, it’s true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and you’re right, nobody should have to go through that, but that’s the world, I suppose.”
“I guess I take being an American for granted, huh?”
“You don’t know how right you are, I did too until I realized what literal Hell looked like.”
“Well, thanks for sharing your insights with me, maybe once I get out, I’ll do some good and make up for the bad things I did too.”
“Maybe visit the veterans at the hospital and thank them for their service.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll start with my first. Thanks for your service, Samson.”
“You’re welcome, Sydd.”

Luxor

Oswald Middleton has been a great asset, we truly are what the captain calls a ‘dream team’. Things have been slow lately, so I decided to catch up on some cold cases from within the last decade, and I came across a case from 2003, one from 2007 and one from 2008. The case from 2008 was involving a middle aged couple who were both shot in the head and dumped in acid, but did not actually go in, instead only going waist deep and already skeletons by the time they were found. The prime suspect was their only surviving son, but there was not enough evidence to convict him. However, when he was arrested, he was found with a gun, but it was unregistered, and the suspect claimed it belonged to Zakk Philips, who had died the same day he was arrested and so the detective concluded that Zakk framed him by giving him the gun and then killing himself before he had the chance to be arrested, so he couldn’t be pinned to the crime. I however, think differently…
I ask the captain if I can take the case and is given the okay to go ahead. I rode with Oswald over to the state prison and I asked for the prisoner. “Who the f**k are you?” the prisoner, Robert Serfass, asked me when I arrived.
“Hi, I am Detective Luxor Alpha; I recently started to investigate a cold case involving your parents, Rob.”
“Look, I already told the pigs, I didn’t do it, they disappeared.”
“Ah, yes, but a gun was in your possession when you were arrested for the crime that you are in jail for now.”
“So? It was a gift…”
“That you used to kill your parents?”
“Sydd and Carmella were there too, I-s**t.”
“Now, what was that?” I looked straight at him.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, ok then. Back into the Box then.”
“Sydd Xero and Carmella Chavez, talk to them, I’m done talking.”
“Hmm… there may be more to this than we thought…”
“What do you think?” Oswald asks me.”
“I think he did it, but I have to prove it. Let us go to the crime scene.” We get back into the car, and head to the crime scene. I canvassed the area, but could find nothing of use. I checked the drainage chamber, but it was so full, there was no way any evidence remained, not with years of weather, garbage, and other muck. “Let us go back to the station, I want to talk to his accomplices.” We head back to the station, and I request that Sydd Xero be brought in for questioning. Within a half an hour, he arrives and enters the interrogation room where I am waiting. Sydd walks in and I close the door, and we begin the conversation. “This is regarding your involvement with the murder of Rob-“ I start.
“-Rob’s parents?” Sydd Xero says.
“Yes, don’t interrupt.” I say, annoyed. Slipped a contraction out of me, damn it, I hate when that happens.
“Sorry.”
“Anyway, it was found that he may have killed his parents with a shot to the head and sloppily tried to dispose of the bodies, and he claims that you and one other person may have been involved as accomplices.”
“Alright, so, here’s what I know: We were living with Zakk and Brian at the time and were told we had to move out, so he told me we were moving back into his parents’ house.”
“Who are Zakk and Brian?”
“Zakk and Brian were a couple of big time drug dealers, Brian dropped out of the game after some sort of disagreement with Zakk, and focused on raising a family with my brother’s ex and apparently my ex’s second boyfriend, anyway, he’s dead. He’s the guy who overdosed and got a face full of glass. Zakk killed himself in the middle of getting arrested, that’s two lowlifes down.”
“Ok, so, you were getting kicked out, and decided to move in with Rob at his parents’ house… how did this lead to them getting killed?”
“He told me he was about to come into some money, a car, and a house practically overnight and tells me that Zakk gave him a going away present.”
“The gun that was found in his possession when he was arrested in the drug bust/murder of your ex/overdose media field day.”
“I bet you guys looked like f*****g heroes that day.”
“Do not get smart with me, get back to the story, you guys go straight to the house while he has the gun?”
“Yeah, we went from Zakk’s to his parents’ house and he goes into the garage and takes an aluminum baseball bat and heads into the living room, walks upstairs into his parents’ bedroom and bashes his dad’s head in with it, making sure he wouldn’t wake back up, but not killing him. He takes the bat and washes it off and I told him he was insane. He swore me to secrecy and threatened to kill me if I told anybody.”
“So why are you telling us?”
“Because if it means conviction, I hope he fries.”
“Why?”
“Well, he killed his parents solely for greed. Rather than try to make himself some sort of life, he resorted to kill his parents to earn a shitload of money, a car, and a house. He blew all the money in less than a year on drugs and abortions for Carmella, rather than fixing the house like he said he would, not giving a s**t about anybody. It’s not the first instance of his psychopathic serial killer tendencies either, ask him about the redhead in the dumpster or the bloody knife you may or may not have found when you searched his house.”
“Wow. What happened next?” This is getting intriguing.
“I told him I was out; I wasn’t going to be a part of it. He told me to start packing my things to keep me occupied while he did his deed. That’s also when he threatened me and told me he was going to get Carmella to help him instead. We went downstairs, he dragged his father down the stairs, leaned him against the couch and started to walk toward his mother and swing the baseball bat. I assume he repeated the process. At that point I had already left the house.”
“What happened when you returned?”
“We just never talked about it after that.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
“Thank you for the information, you will receive a subpoena when trial begins and you are required to take the stand.”
“Yeah, sure.” He checks his watch. “Can I go back to work now?”
“Sure.” We gave him a ride back to the restaurant and we went back to the station. “So, it seems that Xero was not an accomplice after all, just a witness.”
“Do you think Serfass is connected to the other two cases?”
“I am not sure, it may be possible.” We head back to the jail, and head to the women’s section as request Carmella Chavez.
We are sitting in the interrogation room waiting, when she comes in and the guard closes the door, and we begin the conversation.
“This is about the murder of your boyfriend’s parents about six years ago.” I tell her.
“Oh, I knew this would come back to haunt me.” She says.
“Would you like to tell me about it?”
“No.”
“No? Why not?”
“Because I love Robbie and I would never ever rat him out.”
“Guess what? Sydd already told us everything, your boyfriend’s goose is cooked, so tell me your side of the story, and you will not be charged with accessory to murder.”
“But he won’t love me anymore.”
“He is never getting out, and by the time you do, you will be old, and he will still be in jail, what are you holding on to?”
“Fine. I’ll tell you. I’m going to hate myself for the rest of my life, but I’ll tell you, since it doesn’t matter now, Sydd betrayed all of us. If Robbie ever gets out, I hope he kills Sydd.”
“One more outburst like that and you will go back to your cell until you cooperate.”
“Alright, alright, fine; I was at home locked in my room after fighting with my mother when Robbie sends me a text to come to his house, so naturally, I snuck out the window as usual, unlocking my door first so I could go back in when I got back and told me he found a way we could finally live together. I was so excited, I rushed over, and when I got there, I kind of wish I hadn’t.”
“Tell me what happened when you arrived at the house.”
“I got there, and I saw his dad slouched on the couch and his mom naked, lying on the floor, bleeding. I asked him if he killed them and he said that they weren’t dead yet, just unconscious, then he rolled his mother in a sheet and loaded her in the trunk. Then he dragged his dad off the couch, and I had to help heave him in the trunk. I still feel dirty to this day from it. He closed the trunk, and then went back into the house and cleaned up the mess the best he could, grabbed the keys and started the car. That’s when he told me we were going for a ride.”
“And where exactly did you go?”
“We went to the industrial part of the city where the toxic waste dump is, where all the neighborhoods got shut down, and went to where the river and the dump meet and parked the car. He was excited it was late outside, and not many lights are over there, he looked like a kid in a candy store. He pulls the bodies out of the trunk, puts them in a kneeling position and shoots them directly in the back of the head where he marked the ‘x’ on their heads, where the holes were. Their faces hit the water and slowly start to burn, I was so grossed out.”
“What happened to the bullets?”
“Oh, that’s right, he pulled the bullets out of their skulls with a pair of pliers then threw them in the sewer grate… so how did you guys know they were shot?”
“There were still fragments in the holes in their skulls, and ballistics matched.”
“Oh, so he woulda been busted no matter what?”
“Yes, now continue.”
“Oh, right. So he kicked both of their bodies into the water and watches them sink a little before getting in the car and taking us home.”
“What happened when you got home? Did you talk at all about what just occurred?”
“A little bit. I told him I couldn’t believe I just watched him kill his parents, and he said if I ever said anything, I’d join them. I was horrified that the man I love so much told me he would kill me to protect himself. I asked if he was serious and he told me that he was going to tell me the same thing he told Sydd: that we were in it until the end.”
“Well, this is the end. Thank you, you will receive your subpoena prior to your appearance in court, and then we will discuss your criminal case pending sometime between now, the middle, or after your boyfriend’s case, whenever we have the time-“
“Criminal case?”
“Oh, yes. You are an accessory, though with the information you provided, there is a chance they may feel generous and let you off easy, but do not hold your breath. Anyway, have a nice day.”
“But-“
“Goodbye.” And she’s led back to her cell. “Get HAZMAT to check the sewer where we were, Oswald. Have them try to find those bullets. If they have not washed away, we will have more than just fragments.”
“Alright, I’ll make the call. Where can I meet you? Here, or...?” Oswald says.
“Meet me on the men’s side, I will pay Robert another visit.”
“Sounds good, partner.” He leaves, and I decide to pay Robert a visit. I stop by his cell, and I can see the evil in his eyes, and the annoyance that he is once again brought before me.
“What the f**k do you want?” Robert says.
“I took your advice, and talked to your friend and girlfriend.”
“Whoa, Sydd’s not my friend anymore, he’s a backstabber.”
“Clearly. Rob, they took me through that fateful day, step by step. Let me hear your version.”
“F**k. What if I don’t say anything?”
“We have enough evidence to convict, if you do not want a chance to tell your side of the story, why you did it, maybe there is justifiable cause, I do not know. So, are you going to talk, or should we begin court proceedings?”
“Fine.” We go into an interrogation room and begin the conversation.
“You are in quite a heap of trouble, here, Rob.”
“Eh, oh well, I’m already in prison, it’s not like I’m scared to go to jail.”
“This is a lot more serious than you think. You have been linked to the gun used, detailed accounts on how you did it, and the physical evidence to prove it.”
“How? There were no bullets!”
“The fragments left in the skulls told us everything we needed to know.”
“Damn, I knew I forgot something, I couldn’t remember what it was, but I figured it wasn’t that important. S**t. I’m already in jail for twenty five to life, how much worse can it get?”
“Anything’s possible in this state, now, why did you kill your parents?” I said annoyed. These people get a rise out of me that I cannot explain, now I think I truly understand the phrase, ‘scum of the earth.’
“They were neglectful, inebriated pieces of s**t. I was broke, needed money, a car, and a place to live, but I hated my parents. That’s when Zakk gave me the bright idea on how to kill my parents and get away with it, meanwhile getting an entire lump sum of assets all at once. I could live with my girlfriend and buy all the drugs I wanted! Ah, it was so great while it lasted!” He sighs and looks to the ceiling, reminiscing.
“Hey!” I snapped my fingers, and Rob jolts back to reality. “Were you just daydreaming?” I inquired, puzzled. Why would someone reminisce about something so heinous? It is baffling to me.
“Yeah, man, some good times.”
“You are a sicko, you know that?” I say, disgusted.
“Yeah, it’s one of the things I’m good at… I almost got away with murder, not many people can say that.”
“Have you ever killed anyone else?”
“Now, what would make you ask a question like that?”
“Well, it is because one of your sources told me to ask you about the dumpster and the bloody knife.”
“Well, honestly, with the knife, I don’t know what I stabbed, and the girl in the dumpster, I only remember the aftermath.”
“Do you have a history of mental illness?”
“Yes, I have a mess of different disorders, being in jail was the first time I was put back on my medication since I was a kid.”
“I see, so when you become the other Rob, you are, what, violent?”
“No, it usually depends on how my day is going. The day the redhead died in the dumpster, I remember I was pissed off and hunting Sydd down because he had stolen two bags of heroin from me. As I’m walking down the street, I see this really hot redhead walking by, and the next thing I know, my pants are halfway down, and she’s in pieces in the dumpster, naked. I booked it home as fast as I could and went back to the party. See, my other side works on two extremes: if I’m having a good, normal, day, I end up stealing Carmella a bunch of flowers or candy or something by the end of the day. If I’m having a bad day, that’s when the monster occurs.”
“So how did it cross over to the other side?”
“What do you mean?”
“Killing consciously.”
“I don’t know, just kinda happened.”
“How did it make you feel?”
“Powerful.”
“I think we are done here. We will set a trial date and get the ball rolling.”
“Yay, more shitstorm.” Rob says sarcastically.
“One more question, when did these other murders occur?”
“I don’t remember, I was a teenager for one, and the chick was a year or so before my parents I think, I was still living at Zakk’s, and I was on so many drugs.”
“Thank you, goodbye.” Rob goes back to his cell. “It seems as though we have just closed three cases in one, Oswald.”
“Yeah, what a psycho.” Oswald says.
“Intriguing, this is the first case I have come across. Many people who die in this city are either suicide, accidental, or moment of passion. This is the first psychopath I have encountered.”
“Me too. HAZMAT said they’ll call when they finish the search.”
“Excellent. Even if they do not find the bullets, we still have enough to convict him for his parents’ murder, even if we cannot get him on the other two.”
“What are you going to recommend to the lawyer?”
“Death, if it can be achieved.”
“Wow, that’s pretty dark for you.”
“I saw the evil in his eyes, Oswald. He is a dangerous man to be kept alive. He has been violent towards the other inmates, which is why he is in isolation.
“Good luck getting that conviction, that one hardly ever gets approved.”
“And hopefully, I will get it approved.” The next day, the captain calls me into his office. “Yes sir?”
“Good job with that case yesterday. Three in one, very nice. Which is why I wanted to give you the most difficult case we ever had.” He tells me.
“Oh?”
“This one is from the 90’s. It’s not an official Homicide case, which is why it wasn’t with the others. Instead, we have-” and he tosses a folder filled with photos on the desk. “-a bunch of missing people that we assume are dead.”
“Intriguing, what makes you believe they were murdered?”
“We’re not sure, that’s why it’s not officially a Homicide case. See, all of these people went on a trip on a boat and never returned. Dive teams haven’t found anything, which means it's probably still out there somewhere. The man in charge, Mark Wilford, is also missing. Wilford is a pastor who took these people on a Heavenly Cruise.”
“So, perhaps they sunk somewhere in International Waters?”
“That’s what we thought. We got the FBI involved, they sent divers, we checked in the air, but no luck.”
“What makes you think I will be able to find them?”
“You’re smart, maybe you’ll be able to find something we couldn’t, or something we overlooked. With my dream team on the case, I feel like we might have a better chance of finding something.”
“But it has been twenty years.”
“Which means they’re somewhere else, or they’re dead. This case has been passed around the department so many times over the years, but with no luck. If you don’t solve it, don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world.”
“Is there anything else besides the pictures?”
“Yeah, here’s a video of the advertisement that all these people watched for the Heavenly Cruise. It was recorded off of one of those religious channels.”
“Thank you, we will solve this to the best of our ability.”
“Good luck.”
“Thank you.” I gather the materials, and head out of the office. Oswald approaches me.
“What was that all about?” he asks.
“Cold case.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of this one, it’s a doozy.”
“Do you have any theories?”
“Same as everyone else, it’s either sunk, or in another country somewhere.”
“Has anyone contacted any other countries in an effort to see if it is indeed there?”
“Of course, but most countries were less than cooperative.”
“This will indeed be a difficult case.”
“With our combined IQ, I think we may be able to solve this one.”
“Let us hope so.”
“Call Stanley.”
“Jones?”
“Yes, he may have worked on the case, maybe he can provide some insight.”
“That is a good idea.” I call Jones using the phone number he gave me upon his retirement, and he answered. “Hello, Jones it is Alpha, how are you?”
“I’m good, kid, thanks for calling, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if you ever worked Case Number 84345-H.”
“You’re gonna hafta refresh my memory kid, I don’t memorize case numbers.”
“Oh, my apologies. It involved a shipload of missing people led by a pastor called-”
“-The Heavenly Cruise?”
“Correct.”
“So, Cap’s got you working that one now, huh? Yeah, that was a b***h of a case. I only got as far as mapping out where they would have refueled, and they’re all out of our jurisdiction.”
“I still would like to see your results, do you still live in town?”
“Nah, I’m on vacation right now, get back to me in five days.”
“Affirmative, I will see you then, Jones.”
“It’s good to hear from you kid, can’t wait to see you. If you want, I’ll invite Emily.”
“I would rather not, considering it is not a social call.”
“Right, right, police business, I gotcha. I know how formal you can be.”
“Perhaps we can schedule a social call after I get finished with my shift.”
“Alright kid, sounds good.” I hang up.
“We have quite a project on our hands, Oswald.”
“Let’s beat this thing.”
“I concur.” I must admit, even this case may be beyond my abilities. However, with Oswald working it with me, I am confident we may be able to make some progress, even if we do not solve it. I will only be able to work on this case when I am not working active cases, so it may take me quite a while to solve it, but I do not plan to give up that easily. This will be my most difficult challenge yet...