The Hit and Run Mystery (Day 1-Investigation)

November 9th, 2018...

The highway going northbound to Owlsburgh was surprisingly clear. It was normally rush hour during this time of evening. The setting sun was halfway below the horizon. Only a few cars sped past the exit.

A muscular, bald man was standing in front of the guardrail. Without warning, the man just dropped down, sliding down on the slope. The white car screeched, but it was too late. The bald man instantly rocketed forward about 500 feet. The corpse ragdolled a couple more feet.

The driver, horrified, just parked his car on the shoulder and stared in shock. He kept muttering, "What have I just done?"

Suddenly, a loud nasal voice rang out. "Oh my god! Someone just murdered my friend! My friend! Ahmad!!"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

November 10th, 2018...

Detective W, who had no cases, just punched his makiwara. "A day not conditioning is a day wasted," he quietly told himself. Meanwhile, you were eating a peeled apple, watching him practice.

"You do martial arts?" you asked.

"Yeah. I do. Shotokan Karate, in fact."

"Karate? One of the less practical martial arts?" you joked.

"Tell that to Machida and Thompson. And old school karate is legitimate." Detective W said seriously. You took it all in, and asked, "So, so, what belt are you?"

"2nd dan black. There's still much I need to learn."

You watch the stack of wood quiver with each punch. For the last set, Detective W deliberately threw fast, heavy punches. The makiwara shook heavily. Detective W looked at it, and shrugged. "I guess I need to reinforce it more."

Suddenly, Detective W's phone rang. He quickly picked it up, and declared, "This is Detective W here. How can I help you today?"

"Hey, W?" Victoria, a female police officer, asked. "You know about that hit and run case yesterday? The culprit keeps on denying that he hit the victim, Ahmad Rahal. He also kept on asking for you, W. He said you will help him clear his innocence. Honestly, he has gotten quite annoying, so please get here fast."

Detective W sighed, and closed his eyes, preparing for the interrogation. "I see, Ms. Esposito. I will be there in around 5 minutes. Thanks."

"Hey, as always, call me Victoria. We've been work partners for 3 years now. We're past that."

"Yes, yes, Victoria. See you there."

"Now, that sounds much better." Her voice instantly cheered up.

Detective W put on his jacket, and told you, "Hey, it's time. We have a new case. First stop is the police station."

You guys quickly walked to the police station. As always, you were astounded by Detective W's insane walking speed. You were left panting quietly at the police station, following Detective W to the interrogation room.

The pungent smell instantly hit you. "What the heck is this?" you gagged as you covered your nose. The room smelled like... strong spices, especially coriander and turmeric. A bit orangey and lemony. You quickly scanned the white-tiled room, and found a haggard, tan man wearing a heavy, brown trench coat.

"Sandeep, I never thought I would see you here..." Detective W observed. "What brings you here?"

Sandeep lamented, "W! My Chinese friend! You got to help me here! I'm innocent!"

Detective W's eyes narrowed. "That, unfortunately, will have to depend on this interview."

"But, I am! I totally am!"

Detective W drew out a long, exasperated sigh. "Fine, Sandeep. Let's see what you have to say."

As usual, you brought out your trusty notepad, ready to write everything down. Detective W grabbed a wooden chair. "Tell me, Sandeep, what happened yesterday?"

"It was around 6 pm... 6pm, I believe. I was heading home from work. I was really excited to go home, so I drove a bit faster than usual."

Detective W closed his eyes, tapped his fingers on the chair for a bit, and asked, "Where do you work again? How fast did you drive?"

"I work at a small software company called MacroHard. As for my driving speed... erm... around... around 15 miles over the speed limit... so about 85 miles per hour."

"Continue."

"It was at Exit 9-the exit to Crownville-when I saw the body flying down. I instantly hit the brakes, but by then, it was too late. The body instantly flew once it hit my hood. Suddenly, I heard someone scream, 'My friend! My friend! Someone murdered him!' I was panicking so much that I just froze on the highway shoulder."

"Are you sure you are not the killer?" Detective W asked, frowning. He stroked his goatee, contemplating.

"Hey, I'm not the killer, okay! Please!" Sandeep shrieked.

You put your index finger to your mouth, shushing Sandeep. Detective W 'ehm'ed and 'ahh'ed for a bit, and asked tentatively, "So, Sandeep, why did the body fall down, instead of standing right in front of the highway?"

"How should I know?!" Sandeep exclaimed indignantly. "Do I look like I kill people?"

Detective W dusted off his shirt. "All right, my friend. It's time to pay the crime scene a good visit," he said to you. "And, Sandeep. I will get to the bottom of this."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It turned out the route to Exit 9 was a lot farther than you imagined. The journey took around an hour with mild traffic. Thankfully, the police department had cut off that section of the highway. Once you two got off, Detective W had you taking photos of the crime scene. Detective W looked at the surroundings, stroking his goatee as he analyzed the crime scene.

"Finally here, W? That didn't take too long." Victoria mused.

"Obviously. The one who reported the crime-is that person here?" Detective W went straight to business, as usual.

"No, but he did have an alibi. A rather airtight one, if I say so myself." Victoria shrugged. Her gray eyes looked toward the sky as she thought of what to say. "Oh yeah, how can I forget about that? Here's a copy of the reporter's alibi."

Detective W gratefully accepted it, and went to the forensics team. The corpse was covered with a white body bag. "Excuse me, my friends," he interrupted. "What did you find on the corpse?"

The team of four's eyes all lit as they saw Detective W. They were all close friends. "My brother from another mother!" one of the pathologists joked.

"Shamir brother," Detective W asked, "Got anything on the corpse?"

Shamir nodded, and handed him several photos. "Have fun with them!"

You and Detective W inspected the photos. There were five photos total. The first one showed the corpse's back. Beneath the red sweater was several vivid stab wounds. The wounds were all over the place. The next photo showed the victim's neck. A deep long slash was easily visible. A note was written, "The sweater covered this wound up!"

The third photo showed the victim's arms. There were several blue-purplish, even black dots on the arm. The fourth photo showed the victim's sweater. The front was all stained brown with soil. Several rips and tears could be seen. The fifth photo showed the state of the highway after the hit. There were several drawn red circles on the photo. Above these circles were these two words: "Bloodstain found."

Detective W returned them, and asked the pathologists, "What did you find inside the body?"

"Traces of sleeping drugs. In fact, way too heavy dosage for someone his size."

Detective W looked the body bag. About... 6 feet 2, Detective W realized.

Detective W finally asked, "When did Ahmad die?"

Shamir replied, "Around 6 pm... that's all I can tell you, brother."

Detective W thanked them for their time, and looked the copy of the alibi Victoria had given him. You took a good look at it too.

"I was fixing my car around 6 pm yesterday. I was busy fixing my thermostat. Not gonna lie, I didn't notice Ahmad falling off the guardrail. I mean, he can go outside... but why would he fall down? Was it because he was still taking drugs? Can't be, right? Man, I really cared about him, too. And to think that someone murdered him right after I finished fixing the thermostat..."

A photo was also attached. It showed the crime reporter, Harry Bolls, lying beneath the car, with his toolbox right outside of the car. His feet were outside the car.

Detective W gritted his teeth. "If he's gonna lie, he will have to lie a lot better. If he's gonna lie on this one simple thing, what else will he lie on? This case still needs to be investigated."

Day 1... OVER

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What things did the first person on the crime scene, Harry Bolls, lie about?