At first, I was a detective inspector and a cleaning lady.
Then, in the 80s, I found myself at the wrong place, wrong time. In the deep night, as I was cleaning the hotel lobby, I overheard a conversation between multiple people. One of them was a high-ranking official from West Germany. Apparently, I wasn't supposed to hear their conversation.
From that day on, I was a detective inspector and a member of State Security.
With quick steps, I rushed to Lunge's office. As always, I knocked twice, then opened the door. There was no need for closing it, though, since no one was here anymore, anyway. And I didn't need to speak, because the inspector started talking on his own.
"Adolf Junkers is still in a coma."
"Hopefully, he'll wake up again. He is essential for solving the couple murder case, after all", I answered, sitting down opposite to him. He was going through documents, not looking at me.
"Yes. I made sure he is being watched closely. Though I already have a suspicion who might be behind it." He finally looked up to me.
"How did your interrogation go?"
I sighed. "He's a tough one. I'm certain I'll be able to get something out of him, though. The culprit killed his sister, apparently out of envy. But I have the feeling that there's more to it. Let's see how it goes the next days." Lunge was just looking at me, literally just blinking from time to time - that's all he did. "... Alright. You are quite good at dealing with such difficult cases, so I trust you know how to proceed. Tell me when you find out something new. Perhaps his case is linked to the others we've been investigating." "I will. Let's talk again tomorrow."
Inspector Lunge was a loner, just like me. I guess that's why we got along so well - we didn't get on each others' nerves and were focused and professional about our work. That led to fodder for conversation among the colleagues, however - just like today. When I walked past the entrance room of the police station, making my way across the long hallway, I overheard two female apprentices, who spotted me.
"Isn't that H? So she was talking to Lunge. He's so strange..."
"Right? I wonder why they get along. Well, she's as weird as him, honestly. I haven't seen her smile once. It creeps me out."
"Lisa, you can't be happy when you're working all the time, you know."
Lisa chuckled.
"Two workaholics walk into a bar."
I stopped, turning around to face them. They went pale in an instant, shaking. "H-Have a good evening, Detective H!" For a moment, I gave them a faint smile. "Good night. And don't work too long." With these words, I left the station.
Once I was outside, I took a deep breath.
It's no use... just let it go.
It never bothered me what others thought about me. But those remarks behind my back were increasing, and I wondered why. I was doing my job - definitely better than most policemen - and even gained Inspector Lunge's respect. Admittedly, he was difficult to deal with on a personal level, but he was a genius who was able to solve all of his cases. And that was all that mattered. Perhaps the others were just envious - who knows?
'Her voice is almost as deep as Lunge's...'
'We don't even know her name! She must be deeply paranoid.'
'If she wouldn't be so cold, she'd surely have a family by now...'
I hated gossip more than anything else. So many rumors, and no one knew what of it was true or not. It was annoying to deal with, could destroy reputations without concrete evidence - to put it short, it was dangerous. It reminded me of the old days, before the Wall fell. Back then, I didn't work in Düsseldorf, but in East Berlin. To the public, I was a rookie detective, but behind closed doors, I was a spy in my own country, part of what was basically a 'Big Brother' organization, assigned with the task to keep an eye on the people around me and report anyone who said something against the government. I hated them, and they hated me, but they had fun toying with me - me, who was from an oppositional household, caught in their hands to use me however they pleased.
But that was different now, and I was relieved it was over. I started a new life in West Germany - that was five years ago. My past was erased, no one knew of my second identity, and I had no intention of telling anyone. I was ready to spend the rest of my life in this city.
But everything came differently, and I was caught in a mess before I knew it.