Read the first chapter here“I’m not sure what to call it… intuition might be close, or maybe
it’s more of a wild guess. I suppose, if a wild guess, and I mean totally wild,
based on nothing but first impressions is consistently correct, I guess it
becomes a sort of skill… or talent. Something like that.”
Eric Williams raised his eyebrow at his companion’s dubious claims. Raising the
straw to his lips, he took a long sip from his frozen latte with his right hand
while raising up his other hand to signal that he had something to say.
Half-closed, jade-green eyes stared back at him. A sly smile formed on her lips
in amusement.
“Ahh… that was good,” placing his 20% finished latte quickly onto the glass
table between them, he continued, “but anyway, Sheena, you mean to tell me
that’s all there is to it? No fancy techniques? 101 rules for profiling a
suspect or anything like that?”
Sheena Baker bit her lips stifling a smile.
“No, of course the basics are important. There are plenty of
rules for profiling someone – and not just a suspect, mind you. I mean, in this
line of work, you should be able to tell a number of things about just about
anyone at a glance and you have to base that off of technical knowledge about a
number of different things from technology to science to engineering and don’t
even get me started on body language… but you know, I don’t think anyone can
actively think about these things all the time.”
“Well , that’s a bit disappointing I mean, that time when you arrived at the
scene after my father’s murder… you really saved me.”
Sheena’s eyes lit up.
“Oh yeah… that was really horrible. And I don’t mean just for you, I mean for
me as well… umm… what, why are you looking at me like that?”
She adjusted her dark-rimmed glasses a bit before continuing.
“Yeah, yeah I get it. You want me to tell you how I managed to identify the culprit,
right… which reminds me, it would have gotten ugly pretty quickly if I hadn’t
exposed him at that moment.”
Eric nodded in approval.
“Well, it’s a bit hard to explain, but it’s like what I said earlier. I
basically make a guess based on first impressions and then I proceed to find
evidence that would support that guess – and my guesses often turn out to be
correct. Here, let me demonstrate. See that lady coming out of that store over
there?”
Sheena pointed to a Forever 21 store across the street.
“Yeah, that girl who is obviously a fashionista?”
“Lawyer. She looks young but she’s Asian, so about 36 years
old. I’d say she’s been in practice for about 6 years or so…”
“And this is based on?”
“She’s wearing a $1000 Prada bag. It’s pretty much a status symbol for female
lawyers nowadays.”
“Wait, that’s just blind speculation. You mean to tell me that your entire
technique is based around confirmation bias?”
Sheena clutched her chest and grimaced hard as if she were having a heart
attack.
“Ugh… that really hurts, rookie… just for that… how about a wager?”
Sheena winked coyly at Eric.
“If I’m right, you pay the bill.”
Eric raised his hands to his side
“Well, I figure you’ve got about a 30% chance of getting it, right. So I’m up
for it.”
Sheena grinned with the look of a cat that just ate the bird
and got away with it.
“Can I borrow your smartphone for a sec? My 3310 can’t
display pictures.”
“Sigh… I have no idea why you insist on using that ancient thing. But…
shouldn’t one of us go up and talk to her? You know, just ask if she’s really a
lawyer like you said. She’s getting into her car now… oh, nevermind. I guess
the bet is off. She got away.”
“KA-CHING! Aaand, I win. Here she is. Here’s her name on the roll of attorneys.
Government website, no photohsop, no filter, no editing. And if you need
further info, she’s pretty active on social media. Even has a Google+ account. I
thought nobody ever uses that?”
Sheena showed him the woman’s social media profile. Indeed, the face matched
that of the woman who had just sped away on a Pearl White Hyundai Genesis.
Atty. Linda Parker, joined the roll of attorneys back in 2012.
“T-that’s simply amazing. You knew all that from just a Prada bag? That’s some
intuition.”
“Haha! Hahahaha! You’re so gullible, Rookie.”
“Huh?”
Eric stared dumbfounded at the woman before him who was guffawing so hard that
the other patrons of the outdoor café were starting to glare at their general
direction.
“Pfft! Sorry about that… and I mean sorry about that
EVERYONE!”
This caused the prying eyes to look away… whether it was
disgust or embarrassment that they felt at that moment, Sheena did not seem to
care.
“Anyway, there’s no magic trick to it. Linda is an acquaintance of mine. That’s
the real secret, rookie. You don’t show your trump card until you’re sure you
can win…oh, and in the same vein, you don’t take a case unless you know you can
resolve it. It may be difficult, it may take some effort, but you should at
least be certain that you can actually resolve it before you accept it. As
private investigators, we have a responsibility to our clients to resolve the
case and not just try our best. The
people who try their best are those who have given up from the very start and
are only hoping to win by mere chance.”
The young woman before Eric stopped smiling. She readjusted
her glasses and looked straight into his eyes. Her pools of jade reflecting the
look of amazement plastered on his face.
“Listen up, Rookie. Fate is a bitch, so you never leave anything to her whims.
If something isn’t certain, then that just means you need to find more clues
that will lead you to the definite conclusion – that is how we resolve the
unresolved.”
_________________________________________________
“When she said that… she was really amazing. You know how in
those movies when a dramatic scene comes up and epic music starts playing? It
felt just like that.”
“I see, she was really something, huh? This Sheena Baker?”
Eric turned to the young woman seated in a relaxed yet elegant manner on the barstool
next to him. She had long straight, black hair even-cut bangs barely touching
her eyebrows and two long fringes at each side of her face that just about
reached her collarbone. Sharp, hazelnut eyes spoke of Asian descent, although
it was pretty hard to tell beneath the heavy foundation she was wearing.
It had been two weeks since Sheena Baker’s death and Eric was very glad for any
opportunity to talk about the meager but very vivid memories that he had of his
former mentor – even with a complete stranger that he had met just a few
moments before. If he had been more sober, he might have found the woman, who
had introduced herself as Mai Sakata to be quite a beauty. Of course, drunken
with depression and about five shots of cheap whiskey, he wasn’t exactly in the
best mental state to even notice the femme fatale in front of him. What
mattered is that she was a living, breathing person who was willing to listen
and she was right in front of him at that moment – he needed that.
Sheena had been
cremated unceremoniously – as specified in her holographic will, which was
found neatly folded inside her purse, handwritten, dated and signed by her.
Sheena had no living relatives and very few people in the police force wanted
to be associated with someone in her line of work, so not even the ones she
knew came for her funeral wake.
Eric understood this clearly. After all, his father had been
a police asset and when the current administration took over nearly a decade
ago and began a massive bloodbath based on the premise of ridding the city of
drugs entirely. The police officer who had been using his father as an asset to
infiltrate a particular criminal group turned out to be the same person who
would eventually take his life in an effort to clear his own name. His father
died alone in the streets – shot in cold blood. He was an unsung hero who
exposed more than six different criminal groups as an insider – and yet, the
authorities would never acknowledge his accomplishments. In fact, not a single
police officer turned up for the funeral.
“So, tell me more about this Sheena woman. Was she… more
than a friend to you perhaps?”
Eric downed his sixth shot of whiskey and signaled for the bartender to bring
him another.
“She was… amazing. But, we weren’t like that. I looked up to her. She was the
one who solved my father’s case back when she was just a rookie officer. The
irony is that the perpetrator was her partner all along. The investigation took
place at our house and she just casually named him as the perp and then
proceeded to assault him with a boat load of facts that all pointed to him
being the killer. Of course, everything she said was merely circumstantial, but
she delivered it so convincingly that the guy just broke down completely in
front of her. He didn’t even put up a fight. He just put his hands out and
instructed her to cuff him and take him in. “
There was a glint in Eric’s eye even as he continued to reminisce his past from
his drunken state.
“ I didn’t even know her name back then… but what I could never forget were her
cat-like green eyes. I… joined the police force hoping to follow in her
footsteps, but I’d heard she already left the force when I finally earned my
badge. I didn’t stop though, I kept searching and searching and then… and then…
I finally found her.”
“And now she’s gone, is she?”
Mai asked this question in a deliberate manner. No signs of sarcasm or even
pity in her voice.
“But… she seemed like such an amazing woman. It’s hard to believe that someone
like that could be killed so… unceremoniously.”
Eric took another quick gulp downing his seventh shot of
whiskey. The truth is that he wasn’t really much of a drinker. The first time
he’d encountered alcohol was back in high school. It was just after his father
had died and his friends convinced him to drink some kind of gin mixed with
lime juice and a whole lot of ice. It took no more than half a glass of this
before he started feeling light headed and just slightly dizzy. He threw up all
night after that incident and woke up with a splitting headache that lasted all
day.
Eric had sworn off alcohol since that first encounter, but being a man down on
his luck, of very few interests and an even weaker will, he needed something to
help ease the pain of Sheena’s death and currently, he found the whiskey very
comforting.
He took a quick glance around the room. There were very few patrons inside.
He’d deduced that most of them were office workers looking to unwind a bit
after a hard day’s work. There were a group of kids by the window: two girls
and three guys. They were clearly underage; of course, it was none of his
business so he left well enough alone. He felt sure that she would see it that
way as well.
“So, Mr. Williams…”
“Eric is fine.”
“Did you ever check the corpse yourself, Eric? I mean, as an investigator, you
confirmed her death yourself, right?”
The young man took another swig at his shot glass, but was
rather disgruntled to discover that he’d already emptied it a few moments
earlier. He motioned the bartender for
another one, to which the man behind the counter firmly shook his head. The
bartender, 58 year-old John Morris had been in the business for far too long.
He’d seen this pattern countless times before and he understood fully-well that
the customer is always right – unless that customer happens to be dead drunk
and wants another one.
Eric raised one finger from the back of his balled fist at
the gentleman and flipped him the universal sign of strong disapproval. Of
course, he knew himself better than anyone else and he was a former private
investigator with a criminology degree for heaven’s sake. He understood the
levels of intoxication better than some bottle juggling old man.
“The medical officer on the job confirmed it for me when I arrived. It was more
than an hour since she’d been shot. Her body was already on the ambulance
stretcher – still wearing the same clothes from when we last saw each other.
They asked me to confirm her identity. Apparently,
she had no living relatives or close friends – or anyone who wanted to be
associated with her for that matter.”
“Ah, so that means you never checked her body yourself?”
Mai Sakata smiled sweetly as she said this.
Eric shook his head.
“No no no, that’s not how it works, miss. The medical officer is a professional
– they don’t make mistakes. I saw the gunshot wound on her forehead myself. It
was unmistakable.”
“I see… that is quite a shame. So Miss Sheena Baker is really dead…ah, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up any bad memories. It just seemed like you
really wanted to talk about it.”
Eric remained silent. She was correct. Until now, he had
been a mixed cocktail of dangerously volatile emotions keeping things all
bottled up inside. While the whiskey
helped to dull his emotional pain, it acted just like an anesthetic. The pain
was still there, it just didn’t hurt as much. In contrast, talking things over
with someone like Mai offered him some sense of actual relief.
Sheena had warned him before. In this line of work, you have
to operate from the shadows. You need to kill your presence and your identity
entirely. You must not exist. You must become no one.
This led him to question more than a few times whether the
name “Sheena Baker” was itself nothing more than an alias.
Still, these things were far from his mind right at that
moment. When he discovered that Sheena had left the Baker agency in his name,
he had been overwhelmed with a flood of emotions – emotions that overloaded his
senses so much that in the end, he just felt hollow and empty inside. At that
moment, Eric knew that his career as a private investigator was over. As for
the Baker Agency, he had planned on selling it off to someone else eventually
without ever revealing the real secret beneath it – about the ace detective who
clandestinely resolved the most unresolved of cases beyond the watchful eyes of
the law.
Eric fiddled with his empty shot glass. Time seemed to slow
down as his eyes focused only on the transparent container held between his
thumb and forefinger. He noticed that there were actually many tiny scratches
on it – indicating that it must have been used countless times before. The
glass was thick, which usually spoke of low quality production methods. It bore
no particular manufacturer’s trademark or indicia He surmised that the owner must
have bought it at some backyard auction or as a set at some thrift shop.
“So… was I wrong? Am I being a bother after all?”
Mai’s voice snapped him back into reality.
“Uh… no, you’re right. It feels… comforting to have someone to talk things over
with.”
The young woman smiled sweetly. She lightly tapped the space between her eyes.
“By the way, did you ever catch the killer?
“No… it was a drive-by shooting via motorcycle. You know how it is in this
city. It happens every day. I just never expected someone like her… someone so
smart, so amazing to die just like that.”
“It really does seem quite unlikely, my friend. This Sheena person was really
special based on what you have told me… but rather than that, isn’t it a bit
strange?”
“Eh? Strange in what way?” Eric asked genuinely perplexed.
Mai scratched her chin for a bit before answering.
“Well, if you think about it, the victims of almost all the drive-by shootings
have all been homeless people or people living below the poverty line – mostly
small-time drug pushers working for the big fish. I don’t think there have been
any incidents at all of any drive-by shootings happening inside of gated
villages or targeting white collar workers, or just about anyone who didn’t
look poor. I do not think your mentor would look like a possible target by mere
appearance, would she?”
Eric buried his face in his hands. His reply came in a faint, almost
unintelligible mumble.
“No… I mean, sure she did dress a bit like a slob but like a nerdy slob.
Nothing that would make her a target. I mean, her fashion sense could have used
a bit of work, but it’s not like the clothes themselves were cheap. She
certainly couldn’t have passed for some hobo.”
“Do you not think it’s worth investigating? You were a private eye until just a
few weeks ago, were you not? What’s the use of all your skills if you can’t
even help the person that you cared for the most? As a man, you should at least
avenge her death.”
“Hey, hey! That’s overstepping the line lady. You make it sound like she was my
lover or something. Didn’t I make it clear that we’re not like that?”
Mai giggled mischievously.
“My friend, I didn’t say anything like that at all. You said it yourself… but
don’t try to change the subject here. I’m no detective, but even I think there
are a lot of contradictions with the circumstances surrounding her death.”
At that moment, Eric would have turned red with
embarrassment, but fortunately for him, his face was already as red as it could
get from all the alcohol he had ingested.
Mai did not let up.
“With that aside, even if you have no plans of investigating her death, I
think… that there will always be people who will need someone like you. Someone
willing to resolve the cases that no one will ever bother to resolve.“
Her words did not sink in immediately, but gradually, beyond the tunnel vision,
beyond the dizziness he felt from having had one drink too many, beyond the
intoxicating smell of the whiskey coming from his own body, a realization was
starting to form within the muddled, dormant brain cells of Eric Williams…
until finally, the idea came to fruition.
Eric turned to face her. He stared long and hard at her
visage. There was a quiet strength emanating from Mai Sakata.
“Say… if I were to continue being a private investigator, would you be
interested in a desk job at my office? I mean, things are probably all in
shambles in there right now, but you seem like someone who would be a perfect
fit for this line of work. I could really use a new partner.”
Mai smiled her sweetest smile yet.
“I would be honored, Mr. Williams.”
“Then,” Eric dismounted from his bar
stool, “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Sakata. I think there are a few people who
need my help in here right now.”
Mai raised an eyebrow and then gave a nod of approval. Of course, at this time,
Eric had already left her side.
It wasn’t exactly easy. He was clearly far more intoxicated than he had
bargained for. So he had to steer himself carefully so as not to fall over on
his way to his intended targets. The corner table by the windows seemed so very
far away – especially for someone who could barely keep his balance.
They say that walking is merely a series controlled falling, if the person who
made up that definition could only see Eric at that moment, they would have
been quite proud.
After spending around five minutes and nearly planting
himself face first into the wrong table quite a few times, the former detective
finally arrived at his destination – the table with the group that he suspected
to be underage.
One of the youngsters, a brash teenager, who was much bigger and definitely
taller than him, stood up to face the older man.
“What do you want, pops? I think you’re in the wrong table.”
The two girls who were seated in the same booth together giggled in unison while
the teenager’s two other male companions glared at Eric from their seats with a
dead eye gangster’s stare.
“No, I think I’m exactly where I want to be.”
“HEY! Don’t you cause trouble in my establishment, you drunk idiot! I’m warning
you, I’m calling the police.”
John Morris, the old bartender shouted from behind the
counter.
Eric raised his hand.
“It’s fine, Bartender. I just want to show these kids a little magic trick…
unless, you know, you really want to call the police. In that case, I’m not the
one serving liquor to minors am I? Just saying…”
With a grumble, the bartender replied, “Hmph! I… uh… I
didn’t see a thing. Carry on, sir.”
“Right, so where were we…?”
“Pops... I’m warning you. If you try anything stupid, I’m going to knock some
teeth out.”
“Yes, yes, of course you will, umm… I’m Eric, by the way. Eric Williams. You
might say I’m a traveling magician. I do magic tricks. Reveal the unrevealed.
That sort of stuff.”
“We’re not interested in your magic tricks, old man.”
“Well… well… just give me a moment, will you? I promise...
entertainment.”
He tapped the brash teenager standing in front of him on the chest as he said
this. This earned him a good shove, but almost miraculously Eric managed to
retain his balance.
“Hey, hey. Don’t be so mean, Chris. Let him show us what he
can do first.” Said the girl seated by the window. She had brown eyes with
matching straight brown hair tied up into twin ponytails.
“Yeah… hmph! You can beat him up after he entertains us for a bit.” One of the
male companions chided -- a delinquent with a red bandana on his forehead. Eric
could not help but muse inwardly that this guy was dressed for the wrong
decade.”
“Th-that’s a bit mean.” The other girl added. She was a
brunette with nondescript features and a rather shy demeanor.
Eric shakily regained his footing.
“So… with that out of the way, let us begin.”
Eric grabbed the five glasses of alcohol that the kids had been drinking from.
He eyed each one carefully, especially the girls’ glasses. He breathed a sigh
of relief when he saw that the glasses were almost full.
“Hey – that’s!”
Eric raised his hand right at Chris’ face.
“Shhh! I promise I won’t ruin your drinks. I just need them for a little bit…
so… observe the glasses carefully, do you notice anything?”
“Umm… the drinks are different? The guys all ordered some kind of clear liquid,
while we girls have this funky colored drink.”
“Bingo! Good job, shy girl… um what’s your name again?”
“It’s Emily, Mr. Williams.”
“Excellent… but if you please, would you try one of the guy’s drinks, Emily?
Here’ I’ll wipe the lid if you’re worried about an indirect kiss or something
to that effect.”
Eric took a piece of tissue paper from the table and carefully and meticulously
wiped the lid of the glass of alcohol and offered it to Emily.
Taking the glass, the girl took a tiny sip. She licked her lips and furrowed
her eyebrows.
“It’s the same. It tastes the same as ours. It’s the same drink, isn’t it?”
“Bingo! You got it right again. Good job, Emily.”
“Wait, if it’s the same as ours, then why does it look so different?”
“Ah, excellent question, miss twin-tails.”
“Mary. The name’s Mary.”
“Well, Mary… as to your question, that brings us to my little magic trick.
Observe…”
Eric quickly dropped two small capsules into the two remaining drinks on the
table that didn’t belong to the girls. Immediately, the capsules dissolved into
bubbles and emitted a dark blue-inkish powder that spread all over the liquid.
When the capsules had completely dissolved, the drinks were indistinguishable
from that of the girls.
“Ta-dah! You see, I just added a little substance called
Rohypnol into these two glasses. If that name didn’t shock you, then perhaps
you’re familiar with a little something called ‘the date rape drug?’ Oh and if
you’re wondering where I got that from. I stole it from your good friend Chris
there when I gave him that little love tap on his chest pocket.”
“WHAT THE FUCK, MAN! MAGIC TRICK MY ASS! YOU RATTED US OUT!”
Chris, clearly infuriated, suddenly threw a massive left hook at Eric. Clearly,
this youngster was not without training, Eric thought. Boxing, perhaps?
Chris’ punch was strong yet cleanly executed. If Eric had
been a fraction of a second later in moving his head slightly downwards and to
the right, he would have been floored in an instant.
“Hey, kid. Have you ever watched this
old Jackie Chan movie called Drunken Master? Nah, I guess not. Anyway, the more
drunk the protagonist became, the stronger his kung fu got.”
“Shut up, pops! I’m going to fucking murder y--- AAGH!”
Chris screamed in pain. Eric delivered a vicious inside leg kick into his
thighs before he could complete his sentence. The exclamation point came
quickly via an overhand right from Eric delivered into the sweet spot just
below his chin. Chris doesn’t expect drunken busybodies smaller than him to do
that. Chris is a bully. Chris fell back to his chair on top of both of his
buddies unconscious.
“Will I be expecting any more trouble from you boys?”
Eric beckoned them to come hither in the best Bruce Lee pose he could muster.
“N-no sir!” They answered almost simultaneously.
“Well, I guess that’s that. I trust you ladies will be more
careful in the future?”
“Th-thanks a lot, Mr. Williams. What should we do about these guys?” Mary
asked.
“I leave that up to you, Emily.”
“It’s Mary. Emily is the shy one, remember?”
“Right, I leave that up to you, Mary.”
“Ok… just one more question: who are you really?”
“Me? Well… I’m just a private detective passing by, I suppose.”
Eric smiled and then turned gracefully on one foot, but he crossed his legs
over while doing so and fell flat on the floor face-first. It’s not a wise idea to attempt a pirouette
while drunk after all.
“I’m ok… I’m ok!”
___________________________
Three days after that incident, footsteps once again rang
out through the narrow passageway that led to the Baker and Company Security
and Consultancy firm. It had been quite a while since this had happened. Eric
Williams, the new owner of the agency, adjusted his necktie. He had decided to
start anew after all and if he was going to play private eye – he had decided
that he might as well look the part.
The front door creakily swung open.
“Welcome, I’ve been expecting you.”
She sat down on the small sofa in front of him. He immediately understood that
she wanted him to ask the questions now.
“Why did you do it?”
“Someone was watching us ever since we entered the crime scene. They would have
gone after both of us, so I had to prove that we weren’t a threat. The rest can
be explained with B-grade movie prosthetics and pulling a few strings with the
local TV station.”
Eric turned on Sheena’s old mmx PC. In hindsight, he regretted waiting until
now to do it. Now he’d have to wait at least 15 minutes on minimum before it
finished booting up
“Who did it?
“It’s a crime syndicate. What I know so far is that it’s a weapons dealer with
massive connections to China and quite a few friends in government.”
“That’s not much to go on, is it?”
She smiled sinisterly.
“Nah, we also have this.”
She tossed a small vial at him. He caught it crisply with one hand.
“Careful with that. One drop is enough to kill an elephant if ingested. It
attacks the nervous system directly. Once inside the body, it just turns the
off switch. It’s also highly corrosive
on skin.”
Eric opened a drawer from behind his desk and carefully placed the dangerous
vial inside.
“Bill Taylor and Cindy Garcia’s deaths are definitely
connected. It seems the boyfriend stumbled upon a hornet’s nest. Had some lab
rats examine that vial. It’s poison. It’s not some kind of party drug. It’s a
new type of chemical weapon that they’re manufacturing. This version is not yet
perfected, but once it’s fully-developed, it’s apparently going to be more
lethal than Sarin.”
“I see… well then, I suppose it’s a mere formality at this
point, but welcome to the team… Mai Sakata.”
“Glad to be on board, boss. So, what’s our next step?”
“We need more evidence, Mai. Three people have died so far in a case that was
never formally accepted by this agency. It began with the death of Bill Taylor,
that led his fiancé Cindy Garcia to seek help from this office, but Cindy was
killed shortly after and then they went after Sheena Baker as well. The deaths
of these three people are strongly connected. We need to gather all the pieces
of the puzzle and expose the people behind these murders – or else, this city-
maybe even the entire world will be drowned in rivers of blood.”
At that moment, the windows 98 startup tune chimed in. The
old mmx clone PC had booted up.
Rivers of Blood Introduction: END
Thank you for reading the pilot chapters of Rivers of Blood. This is as far as the story goes for now until I can get more chapters ready. I'm currently writing the 4th chapter of this piece. Do let me know your thoughts on this -- the story I mean, and not your unwarranted "constructive critique," thanks~
