Capturing the Bomber (Day 3)

Belladonna brought you to a corner restaurant with a homely atmosphere. Since it's holiday season, there wasn't a lot of people here. Once you finished ordering your ackee and codfish, you ran to the round, white table and sat next to Detective W. He was observing the paintings on the wall.

The fragrant smell of fried fish and vegetable soup overtook your nose. "Wow, Ms. Belladonna, you know such a good place?! Wow!"

"Heh heh..." Belladonna said with a proud grin. Her almond-shaped eyes crinkled. "Of course I do. I know all the good restaurants in Owlsburgh like the back of my hand."

Detective W gorged on his curry chicken and fried fish. "Goodness, Jamaican food is a blessing," he said after letting out a quiet burp. "So, Belladonna, what's the big deal with this lunch? Trying to leech something from me?"

Belladonna chuckled, and shook her head and hand at the same time. "Glad you enjoyed it, W," she flashed a dazzling smile, showing off her titanium-white teeth. "But, hey, don't diss me like that. All I wanted was some teamwork."

"Teamwork? My foot. I thought you're all about solo work, Belladonna," Detective W remembered as he put down his fork.

"Who said?!" Belladonna pleaded. "Look, W, I really do need your help!"

"This better be something serious, Belladonna."

"I am!" she slammed her hands on the table. "W! I need some help! I don't know what to do next with this clue!"

"Shh! Keep it quiet!" Detective W puts his fingers on his lips and warned. "Don't reveal everything to the public." Indeed, several cooks and the cashier looked at them with shock and confusion.

"You're... right, W. My bad," Belladonna faltered. "Back to business, then."

What she said next almost made you drop your bite of ackee.

"The thing is... I found out Milad has a six-year-old daughter. She's currently residing in the Children's Hospital Of Owlsburgh up north. Unfortunately, only relatives can come see her right now," she stated. "Not even police personnel are allowed in."

"Huh," Detective W said while stroking his chin. "Oh, CHOO? Ah... I have a friend who works there. Let me give him a call real fast. What's Milad's daughter's name?"

"Donya. Donya Rahbar," Belladonna stated. "That's all I got from the approved background checks."

Detective W nodded, and called. "Yo! Bwanbale! How is it going?! Look here, man, I need some help!"

"It's Doctor Bwanbale, W! What do you want? My break time is almost over!" a croaky voice exclaimed. Even you could hear the voice.

"Oh, nothing, Doctor Bwanbale. I just need permission to visit Donya Rahbar. Don't tell anyone this, Doctor, but she might be the key to the entire bombing incidents."

"A six-year-old girl? Stop playing around, W! She's been here for at least a month now! There's no way she—" Bwanbale cried out, outraged.

"—No, no, no. And please this a secret from her as well. Her dad is the suspect," Detective W explained in a flat voice. "Can we please visit her? For the sake of Owlsburgh..."

Bwanbale sighed. "Fine, W. Do promise me that you're not going to scare the girl. Only police personnel, okay?"

"Got it, man. See you at the hospital, Bwanbale."

You asked, "Boss, who is this Mr. Bwanbale?"

Detective W replied, "The Chief Medical Officer in the Children's Hospital of Owlsburgh. He's a friend of mine since my college days. Oh, by the way, take Ha-Eun and Ha-joon for some personal investigations. Only police personnel are allowed in the room."

You shrugged. "Totally fine with me, boss. I will do some more investigations around the area and will contact Officer Victoria, too."

Detective W flashed you a thumbs-up. Belladonna paid the bill, and they walked out.

Ha-Eun crossed her arms. "Tch. That Belladonna woman... I don't like her at all," she spat.

Ha-joon teased, making a heart-shaped sign, "Oh, sis, you're jealous now? I know they're close, but—"

"—I. AM. NOT." her face turned tomato red as she denied.

"Guys, let's just leave," you interjected, trying to resolve the problem. "Plus, I've never seen Boss in a relationship before, so it's fine. Let's go!"

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It took 20 minutes to get to the Children's Hospital of Owlsburgh. The tall white granite building, coupled with the sweet smell of the beautiful flowers, made every visitor feel at ease.

Detective W and Belladonna walked into the spacious atrium, got the visitor's passes, and went straight to the 5th floor. They sped to the end of the hallway and went inside room 501.

A bald, dark-skinned man with glasses was busy playing Rock-Paper-Scissors with the female patient. Detective W knocked on the door. The bald man gave the girl a sticker and got up. "Welcome, W. And the lady behind W. You're here to talk with Donya?"

The wavy, silky-haired girl with a sharp nose, despite being bed-ridden, gave a hearty wave of the arms, and squealed, "Good morning, Mister! And Missus! Are you here to play?!"

Detective W nodded. "Yep, I'm here to play!" He then turned to the bald man with glasses. "Bwanbale, thanks for letting us in. I appreciate it."

"Treat me to some expensive lunch next time, okay?" Dr. Bwanbale whispered. "Good luck with the kid." Dr. Bwanbale then left the room.

Donya couldn't hold her breath in, and rushed her words. "Come on, Mister! What do you want to play? I'm good at Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

Detective W grinned. "Certainly, certainly." While he was playing a round of rock-paper-scissors, he took note of the surroundings. A faint trace of antiseptic can be smelled all over the room. A glass vase with roses inside sat on the windowsill. A small teddy bear sat right next to Donya on the green bed, and on her hand was a small green ring. The almost spotlessly clean floor had a few strands of coarse curly hair. He quickly collected them and put them in a tiny plastic vial.

"Mister! Why do you always win?!" Donya complained. "It's not fair!" Tears began welling up in her eyes.

Detective W, who had been mindlessly putting out rock, paper, and scissors at random intervals, put both of his hands up. "My bad, my bad, Donya," he apologized. "Do you still want to play rock-paper-scissors?"

"Sure! Let's go again! How 'bout this time, whoever wins has to ask the loser a question, and the loser answer honestly!" Donya proclaimed and laughed.

Detective W blinked. 'This is it! I can get some more information from the girl! It's now or never!' he thought.

He intentionally lost the first five rounds just to make Donya happy. He flinched as Donya shouted, "So, W is your actual name, Mister? Your parents are crazy! And wait, that woman behind you is Bella-Bella-Belladon-Belladonya?"

Detective W nodded.

"And she's not your wife?" Donya asked, her eyes wide, looking sweet and naïve.

"Nope. Not at all," Detective W shook his head, replying calmly. Belladonna was struggling to hold in her laughter.

The next few rounds were Detective W's victory. He decided to take a video of the game interview.

"Papa's name? Eh... Papa is papa," Donya responded while scratching her head, unsure. "Oh, his real name? Papa's name is... Mi... Milad."

"Why am I in the hospital? Oh... something is wrong about my heart, Mr. W. That's all I know."

"The ring on my hand? Oh, Papa gave it to me this morning," Donya whispered in Detective W's ear. "He said that this is a secret..." She quickly unscrewed the emerald ring. "Don't tell him that I showed you the ring."

She then put the ring on Detective W's hand. The ring felt smooth to the touch. Beneath the emerald was a small red button. "Papa told me to never touch it until I need help."

Detective W asked, "So, Donya, what do you think about the ring?"

"It's... boring, Mister W. You can have it if you want. I just want Papa and Darius to come visit me again." Donya replied, her eyes downcast.

Detective W stored the ring in his pocket. "Donya, thank you very much for the gift. Wanna play some more?"

Donya's large, brown eyes immediately brightened up. "Sure! Mr. W! Ms. Belladonya, you play too!"

"Belladonna, girl, Belladonna," Belladonna corrected her.

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You, Ha-Eun, and Ha-joon walked to the police station. After an hour of searching for more clues at the bombing location, you three came up with nothing. On the way to the police station, you saw a lot of soldiers wearing faded green camo and military-issued helmets. You could hear the walkie-talkie blare, "Surround the area! Any suspicious aircraft within a mile radius will be shot down!"

Dispirited and exhausted, you plopped yourself onto a chair in the waiting lobby. Victoria, who was also next to the water fountain, asked, "Where's W? How's your day been?"

"Boss? Visiting Milad's daughter in the hospital. As for us, we can't find any more clues..." you groaned while looking at the ceiling.

Victoria grabbed a cup of water, and sat right next to you. She opened her laptop. "Please share this with W. This is the evidence all the police had gathered on Milad. It's still being updated as we speak."

Ha-joon and Ha-Eun stood behind you, also itching to look at the evidence. Out of all the evidence she gave, only three struck out.

One was Milad's medical report. The major details were that Milad had lost an eye two years ago and he is currently diagnosed with atherosclerosis on the left leg. He had a prosthetic brown eye on his right eye.

The other evidence was a record of a text message conversation. The conversation was mostly about the execution of the bombing. Apparently, the mysterious O.N. had also prepared for the federal military intervention. O.N. had suggested going underground through the sewer systems.

The final evidence was a IRS tax form. From what you can tell, Milad is about 2,500,000 dollars in debt. You took a deep breath and realized why Milad was so desperate for money now.

Victoria said, "W should also have this information. I sent him an email just now."

You jolted at the loud vibration besides you. Victoria snatched the phone and yelled, "What happened?! Did we catch Milad?!"

"No, Chief! We did catch someone really suspicious at the Goldwater Hotel! He claims to be a plumber!" Detective Mwangi hollered on the other side.

"All right! Hold your station there! Tell every police personnel who's near the hotel to gather there immediately!"

"Yes, Chief!"

You also called Detective W. "Boss! We need to get to the Goldwater Hotel as soon as possible! Our suspect might be there!"

"Thanks, my friend. I'm currently driving at 6th and Aspen Street! I will be there in about five minutes!" Detective W shouted.

"Got it!" As you hung up, Victoria offered, "Wanna ride in my car? It will be faster."

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Goldwater Hotel, 3:00 PM...

You guys arrived at the scene. In front of you was a pale-pinked skinned plumber wearing blue overalls. You whispered to Detective W, "Boss. The plumber's skin doesn't even match Milad's at all."

"May be..." Detective W grumbled. "But, Detective Mwangi's instinct is always on point. Besides, the plumber being afraid to show his bag contents is enough reason for suspicion."

The tall, lanky Detective Mwangi was having a hard time catching the elusive plumber. Even though the plumber was limping, he still dodged every lunges and grabs while running around.

"Why are you doing this to me?" the plumber pleaded. "I'm just a plumber! I need to get inside the 5th floor of the Goldwater Hotel!"

"Not until you show me what's inside your bag!" Detective Mwangi roared, and tried to tackle him again. Several police rushed at the plumber at the same time, and again the plumber slipped through the group tackle.

Detective W tried his luck. He ultimately failed, but he had a clear feel of the plumber's forehead. 'The head... is dry? After all that running in the sun?' he observed. 'And the head... felt like plastic!' A faint smell of rotten eggs reached his nose.

"Why is the police all around here?!" the plumber squealed. "What did I do wrong?"

"You're under suspicion for domestic terrorism!" Detective Mwangi roared. "Just show me what's inside your bag!"

"No!"

The police circled up around him. "Ah! Police brutality!" the plumber screamed. "I'm gonna die!"

Detective W slipped into the circle and interrupted, "No, no, you're not going to die, Milad. However, you will have to serve jail time. Your daughter's livelihood is at stake here."

The plumber froze for a second. "Who's Milad? Whose daughter?" he stammered. "You got the wrong person."

Detective W flashed a cold smile. "Oh, I do have ways to make you talk... in fact, with a simple test and my explanation, you will be forced to reveal your identity."

"What test, boss?" you also slipped into the circle, curious about Detective W's plans.

"Just in time," Detective W said. He quickly whispered to you what he had found, and shouted at the plumber, "Milad! My friend will decide your fate! How about that?"

"What do you mean?" Milad's hands dropped from his face, yet his hand was still gripping on the bag.

"All right, my friend. Pick one of the three tests for him to do: Have him walk sideways, have him walk straight, or have him hop on one leg for a minute straight? There is really only one obvious choice here... "

"That's some bullshit!" Detective Mwangi shouted. "W! I thought you were all about catching the criminal most efficiently! What the heck is this proposal?!"

"It's the way to prove his identity with the least amount of bloodshed. Trust me on this. I also have a backup proof."

"Backup proof?!"

Detective W got up, and quickly showed and explained the emerald ring and the vial of coarse hair to you and Detective Mwangi. Detective Mwangi nodded, and left the decision to you.

"There's only one obvious choice here?" you muttered to yourself. "An obvious choice?"

Detective W nodded. "Whisper your choice to me once you've finished thinking. I will blindfold him before the test, of course."

You groaned, wishing that you didn't have such a weird detective as your boss.

Which choice is correct?

-----------------------Day 3, About to be done!-----------------