Heer And The Murder at the Opera (Completed)

Detective Heer Siddiqui's tenth case

Detective Heer Siddiqui stood outside the grand opera house, the flashing lights of police cars illuminating the night sky. She adjusted her fedora and stepped inside, the sound of her heels echoing through the empty lobby.

As she made her way to the stage, she could hear the faint strains of music coming from the orchestra pit. She found the body of a man lying in a pool of blood, his tuxedo torn, and his face contorted in pain.

"Detective Siddiqui, thank goodness you're here," said the opera house manager, rushing over to her. "We have a murder on our hands."

Heer nodded, her sharp eyes scanning the scene. "What do we know so far?"

"The victim is the lead tenor, Roberto De Luca," the manager explained. "He was supposed to perform tonight, but he never showed up for his call time. When we went to check on him, we found him like this."

Heer crouched down next to the body, examining the wounds. "Looks like he was stabbed multiple times with a sharp object. Any witnesses?"

The manager shook his head. "No one saw anything. The backstage area was empty when we found him."

Heer stood up and turned to the manager. "I need a list of everyone who had access to the backstage area tonight. And I want to speak to the rest of the cast and crew as soon as possible."

As she began her investigation, Heer questioned the opera house staff, the orchestra members, and the other performers. She listened carefully to their alibis and scrutinized their reactions, searching for any inconsistencies.

After hours of questioning, Heer finally had a breakthrough. One of the stagehands had seen a figure lurking in the shadows near the backstage entrance around the time of the murder. He described the person as tall and wearing a dark coat.

Heer immediately knew who the killer was. She rushed back to the stage, where she found the suspect trying to make a hasty escape.

"Stop right there!" Heer shouted, her gun drawn. "You're under arrest for the murder of Derek De Gomez."

The suspect turned around, a look of shock on their face. It was the understudy, Alexander, who had been jealous of Derek's success and had been waiting for his chance to take the spotlight because he thought he was the best choice than Derek.

"I didn't mean to kill him," Alexander cried, tears streaming down his face. "I just wanted to scare him, to show him that I was the better singer, and I loved him."

Heer handcuffed Alexander and led her away, the case closed. As she walked out of the opera house, the lights of the police cars flashing once again, Heer couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Another mystery solved, another killer brought to justice.

And so, Detective Heer Siddiqui's reputation as the best detective in town only grew stronger, her name whispered in awe by those who knew of her brilliant mind and unwavering determination

She saw a card on the floor and picked it up, then dusted it off. She saw the familiar logo she saw in the newspaper photo.

She read saw the name Jack Archer on the card. She recognized the logo that read the Bureau.

She remembered that the ISI hated the Bureau and that Pakistan was only the country that didn't have a treaty agreement with the Bureau.

She dusted the back of the card, and that said, "You are the cream of the crop. We would like you to work with us."

She put the business card in her pocket and walked out of the opera house while the police took Alexander in their car.

She decided to do some research on the Bureau because the ISI didn't tell her much about them, only that they hated them.

She saw that there were two people who were relatively in the same field as her Jack Archer who was an elite agent and Heer was kind of fixated on his eyes then it hit her that he was the stranger she saw. She also looked at the other person, who was a detective, Carmen Martinez.

She saw that there were other people such as Ingrid Bjourn, Armand Dupont, Lars Douglas, Angela Douglas, Elliot Clayton, and Chief Elizabeth Ripley.

She discovered that they were all members of the Bureau. She was conteplating the offer that was given to her.

Her phone beeped, and then she looked at the screen, and it said the ISI had been invited to the treaty agreement gala.

She knew the ISI would never go due to the hatred with the Bureau, but she managed to convince the director to go.

She thought maybe the treaty agreement gala would take her mind off of her decision on whether or not to accept the Bureau's offer.

Little did she know that the gala would be full of surprises, mysteries, suspense, intrigue, maybe romance, and drama.

She put the business card in her purse and changed into her traditional clothes.

She fixed her hair, and she took the business card out of her purse and then started to fiddle with it.

She put it back in her purse and checked in the mirror one last time before going outside to the limo.

She climbed into the limo and it drove her to the Gala. And so begins Heer's final mystery as a solo detective.

To be continued