The Murderer and the Monorail (On Hold till after HSC)

Chapter 1: Strange Mornings

The woman made her way onto the monorail. There was a push and a shove as she crammed herself into the carriage. The bells tolled and watched as the monorail drew away from the station. The carriage had no room to move as she saw a woman sitting on the cushioned chair with a book near her face. Eventually the carriage emptied out and the woman sat next to other one.

“Hey, I’m Jenny,” she said. The woman didn’t stir. And so Jenny sat there with her hands in her lap. The monorail lurched suddenly as the woman next to Jenny fell on the floor.

“Gosh, are you alright?” she asked her. The woman didn’t move. Jenny sighed and stood up lowering her arms to the floor to pick the woman up. She was ice cold. Jenny turned her around and saw that her book had been hiding her face, her face was blue and she wasn’t breathing. At this Jenny screamed and ran out of the monorail. The guard walked over and took a look to see the woman on the floor whose face was bright blue. He swore under his breath and radioed the driver to stay there as he called the police.

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She was early, she could tell by the lack of people in the office space. Her eyes scanned the desks and saw one that was empty. That must be mine. She thought as she walked over and placed her cardboard box onto the table. She opened the cardboard box and placed her things upon the desk. The crowd of people came shifting in slowly. Eventually the room was packed. A woman leaned on the adjacent desk staring at her.

“Fresh blood, aye,” she said smiling.

“Hello, I’m Detective Sergeant Charlotte Summers, but my friends call me Charlie.” The woman said extending her hand towards the woman leaning on the desk.

“Well I’m Detective Sergeant Suzie Carson.” She replied as they shook hands. Charlie stood there, an awkward silence hung in the air.

“So, who’s the boss around here?” Charlie asked. Suzie’s face was grave.

“The highest ranking officer we have here is Detective Inspector Thomas King, so I guess he’s the boss.”

“That’s rather a plain name, don’t you think?” Charlie asked, trying to inject humour into the situation. Suzie’s face became grave again.

“Don’t let me hear you getting on the bosses bad side. Christ, he’ll give you hell.” She said as she stood up and went for a coffee. Charlie watched her bemused, as Suzie busied herself at the small kitchenette in the office. When she came back Suzie elaborated further.

“My advice is just do everything he says, unless you want to end up like Luke Fitzwilliam or Eleanor Carlisle.”

“I’m sorry, who?” Charlie asked.

“Luke Fitzwilliam, he was new here thought he knew everything when he started. Wouldn’t follow orders, suddenly rumours about his sexuality started to circulate, dropped out of the force. Mind you this was ten years ago when Tom was just starting, but many say he’s the one that started those rumours. He can easily make or break a person that man.”

“Has he tried any rumours on you?”

“Nah, cause I’m not stupid enough to get on his bad side or go against his orders.”

“I see and what happened to Carlisle.”

“Pretty much the same thing, boss asked her on a date and she turned him down…” Charlie looked at her shocked.

“…I know, seemed like she didn’t deserve it. But to be fair she wasn’t one for following the boss either.”

“Still, that gave him no right to start a rumour about her. Are you guys all scared of him or something?” Charlie was one for asking the bold questions.

“Yeah, but it’s not fear, more respect. I mean he’s certainly good at his job, but if you cross him I wouldn’t be surprised if he found a way to get you out of the force.”

“So you were there when both people left?”

“Nah, they were before my time…” she trailed off as she stared at the door. A man had entered and then veered left.

“That him?” asked Charlie.

“That’s him.” Suzie replied.