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1:44 am

1:44 am, September 10th, present year.

 

                       Hunter had been debriefing me for about 20 minutes now, and we still had a lot to go over.

            "Alright, so after you ate the granola bar that you felt was poisoned, what did you do?" Hunter asked.

            I continued my account, and Hunter typed up notes and facts as I talked.

            I had a feeling we'd be here for a while.

*          *          *

            The figure had eyes everywhere. He could see Chase clearly. It was amazing what modern technology let you do on a laptop these days. The figure was watching Chase answer questions about his adventure.

            Little did he know it had just begun. The fun hadn't even started yet.

            The figure grinned to himself. In a way, the figure thought, he was doing the world a favor by killing Chase. The sad thing was that nobody would realize it when Chase was murdered. Murder always caused law enforcement and courtrooms to overlook the subtle messages. Pity. Nobody would see how Chase was actually the villain and HE was the HERO! Instead, it would be reversed! Chase being the innocent victim of a horrendous crime and he being the ruthless and heartless killer. The court system could be pretty messed up at times.

            But it wouldn't stop the figure. He wasn't in it for himself. It was for the good of society, saving some kid from a horrible future. Plus, revenge on the figure’s father.

            It would be so easy for the figure to kill Chase now. A single bullet, strategically shot to the vitals in the chest. But the game wasn't over. Playtime was still in full swing.

            The figure reflected momentarily on what had led him to this point. As a child, he was abused, forgotten, and hurt, both emotionally and physically. His father was cruel and hurtful. Ironically, that’s how the figure would be seen also after he killed Chase. The man whom the figure hated the most now manifested himself in the figure. However, the figure was doing a good deed. His father had ruined the figure’s childhood, and the scars were still visible. The figure’s mom had left him. Some say that her death had been accidental, but the figure, the mother’s son, had seen what had really happened. The figure’s dad loved his wife, but sometimes love and compassion can be replaced with rage and disgust. The figure’s dad would one moment love his wife with an undying commitment, and the next transform into a completely different personality and contempt would fill his heart. Doctors would later discover that the figures father had DID, dissociative identity disorder. Whenever the father would switch into his alter ego, the emotions towards his wife would reverse. This happened one night, and everything forever changed. The figure would never forget it.

*          *          *

            “Can we take a break?” It had been about 45 straight minutes of asking questions and my mind was not enjoying it.

            “One minute.” Hunter shut the laptop lid and took a sip of the drink next to him.

            “How old are you?” I asked.

            He gave me a puzzled look. “Twenty-five. Why?”

            “Wow. How did you get to be a detective at such a young age?” That was impressive.

            “Hard work. Plus, I busted a high profile criminal on my first case.”

            “That’s one way to do it I suppose.”

            “Yeah, I guess. Alright, we should get back to…”

            “Do you have any siblings?” I wasn’t ready to continue yet.

            “I have two younger half-brothers.”

            “How old are they?”

            He seemed fidgety. “I don’t remember anymore. It’s been a while since I last saw them. Now back to the debriefing…” He opened his laptop again.

            I started to say something else, but the sound of the door opening behind us stopped me.

            “How is it going?” It was Myrene.

            Hunter shrugged. “We’re moving along, but still have a lot to go over.”

            She nodded. “Well, unfortunately I have some terrible news. We’ve found Detective Daniels.”

            Everybody brightened up. “Well that’s good news!” I said.

            She cleared her throat. “Correction. We have found Detective Daniels body.”

            The air was still. Heavy. Oppressing.

            Hunter stood up defiantly. “What do you mean, body? He’s dead?”

            Myrene slowly nodded again.

            “What happened?” Dad cut in.

            She turned to him. “We’re not sure. All I can say is that a professional killed him. We found his body with no murder weapon around, and nobody heard any cry or scream.”

            “Where did you find him? His body?” Hunter again.

            “It was…he was found in the basement of his house.”

            “How did the murderer get in? Any broken windows or picked locks?”

            She shook her head. ”No point of entry has been found yet.”

            “Any suspects?”
            “Right now we have to assume it’s the same stalker who is after Chase. Daniels was the only one working on the case. It was his only assignment.”

            Hunter looked distraught. “Chief, can someone finish debriefing Chase? I need to follow up on this.” He seemed not to plead, but insist.

            Myrene considered it.“I can get someone else to finish. But once Chase is done, you will be needed back here. Now that Daniels is dead, we’re going to need you to complete it.”

            “Thank you, chief.” Hunter left the room in the hurry.

            Myrene now turned to us. “As you may expect, this is going to slow down the process for your family. We now have murder on the rap sheet for our mystery criminal. Especially the murder of a police officer is even worse. So I’ll get another officer to finish your debriefing, most likely Cain or Paulson. In the meantime, just sit tight.” She left.

            I started straight ahead. This day kept on getting crazier and crazier. Daniels, dead? Really? The only person who had a head start on my case was gone.

           

*          *          *

            The figure was busy. But he had just seen the police chief deliver the disturbing news. Chase looked shaken, as did his family. Hunter had left. The figure started humming to himself. He was glad.