Don't Mess With Women + Aftermath

Richard Yates' room, Gatsby Hotel, 1:40 P.M

Daniel was looking around the room. The tape was no longer there but the room was still a mess. A outline of tape now replaced were Richard used to be.

"Dr. Smith." Stated a voice from the corner of the bedroom of the hotel. It was familiar. "It's been a few hours, why'd you come back? I thought you learnt all you could from this crime scene."

"Alfred, you're still around?" Daniel noted with an inquisitive tone.

"Someone had to stay, I volunteered. Someone believed you'd return."

"May I ask who?"

"You may, and you did. He only identified himself by his formal badge number and he used an electronic voice on the phone. Do you know badge 1765?"

"Know him? That's Mr. Rodgers of the EPD, he's the police commissioner in fact."

"Seems the guy knows you well enough that he predicted your return."

"Sounds about right." Daniel retorted.

"So why did you return?"

"I'm looking into these." Daniel stated as he opened the drawer containing the many ace of spades.

"Oh, ok. You're hoping there the key?"

"Why else would the victim be clutching one so tightly unless it was something really important to him. Something that contained a huge amount of significance."

"Ok, I get it. I'm not a child. I understood you at 'important to him.'"

"Sorry, I get carried away sometimes, I guess."

Daniel began to look around.

"What do you think you could find in here anyway?" Arnold asked.

U "The connection." Daniel stated.

"You mean the reason he got out that card?"

"Pretty much."

"What makes you think it's in here?"

"It has to be somewhere, and all of the other cards are in this room too."

Arnold nodded.

"Do you know much about the victim, Arnold?"

"The guy was always vague. You couldn't get a real straight answer from him."

"Anything else? Did he have other places he lived?"

"Well, yes. I believe he owned his own house in Vegas as well, it is filled with expensive stuff and it has that same photo with that same frame."

Daniel looked quickly back at the frame. "You don't say? Are you certain that the picture in that frame is replicated elsewhere with the same frame." He stated with surprise.

"According to my research, yes."

"Tell me, when you want to get a closer look at something but you don't want to move from your vantage point, what do you do?" Daniel inquired.

"Strange question, but ok. I'd use a magnifier of some sort."

"Right. Sometimes someone just needs to use something to help them focus on the little details. I believe that the victim wanted us to focus on this card because it itself is a focusing tool, like a magnifier."

"I don't get it." Arnold turned his head in confusion. "How does that help us focus on anything, the card itself can't replicate the 'pinhole effect.' So what's the deal?"

"If my theory is correct, then I can easily show you." Dan stated, and then he took the card that he was still holding onto and went to the picture. It wasn't super high of the ground, you could reach each corner even if you were half of Dan's height. Daniel lined the ace of spades up with the ace of spades on the frame, there was a tinkle of realisation in Arnold's eyes as he finally saw the true meaning behind the card as Daniel saw it.

Once Daniel lined up the card, he saw a familiar face in the hole.

"I know her. That's Casandra. I saw her at Fred Royale's bar." Daniel stated.

"Really? I didn't know that. Do you think it's significant?" Arnold inquired.

"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed. But before Arnold could find something else to say, Daniel started heading off. Daniel called a chaos bus on his cell phone and asked for a custom route back to Fred's bar. He payed the equivalent of $10 Australian dollars plus the standard fare of New York City busses.

#

Daniel arrived at the bar. He hid away his badge as he remembered it causing concern with a certain individual before, and he entered the building.

The bouncer immediately spotted him and headed over. "Hey man!" He said. "Your friend is doing the best he can, but I don't think he could hold out any longer."

"Tell David 'your salvation shall come very soon.' I just need a bit longer. I have a plan." Daniel stated.

"Ok."

"Hold on."

"Yes?"

"I need to speak with Casandra, it's important."

"Over that way!" The bouncer pointed toward the section Casandra was currently working in.

"Thank you." Daniel said with a bow and then he hurried over to her.

"Hey, Casandra." Daniel stated to her.

"What do you want? Are you here to annoy me to no end with a load of bullshit flirting? Sorry, but I'll pass."

"That won't be an issue." Daniel noted, revealing his wedding band to Casandra. "There's also this." Daniel showed his badge.

"Sorry officer. What do you want."

"You may want to take your break now." Daniel stated.

"Ok."

Daniel and Casandra headed into the staff area. She clocked out, and they both sat over at a table.

"What is this all about anyway? This is your second visit today." She noted.

"I know I don't need to really ask, because if anyone knows its significance, it will definitely be you." Daniel stated with a sad tone to his voice, he then showed the ace of spades with the hole in it to Casandra. Of course, the moment she noticed there was a hole in it, she knew what happened. She sobbed heavily for a few moments.

"So," she said between tears. "Richard has been murdered. How did it happen."

"I can't tell you that. Not yet."

"When can you tell me?"

"There has to be an arrest and then a trial. After the trial ends, everything becomes public record, then and only then can I or someone else tell you just how he was murdered." Daniel elaborated.

"So I guess you want to know why this led you to me."

"So you know the meaning behind the card?"

"Yes. He told me because we loved each other. I'm the only one he ever felt comfortable being open with. That's why seeing that card saddens me so much."

"It's okay. You'll find a way to move on, that's probably what he would have wanted."

Casandra nodded in agreement.

"So," Dan patted her arm gently to assist in comforting her. "Why did the card lead me to you?"

"Because, he told me that if anyone showed me the card that he would most likely be dead and the reason of his death would be because he was murdered. He told me that the motive would be me, he knew that other men, including a certain someone…" She stated and gestured toward a wall somewhere behind her. Daniel didn't know the layout to well, but he was able to guess from his experiences earlier that she was gesturing to Fred's usual seat which was behind the wall she was gesturing at. "Would want me all to themselves."

"Well. David and I still have an issue." Daniel stated, he was now more serious, but he was still consoling her with his hand on her arm.

"What is that?"

"We don't have enough evidence to arrest that certain someone."

"You don't?" Casandra inquired, she was definitely surprised. "I'm sure that a man like him made a mistake."

"He definitely did." Daniel elaborated.

"What mistake did he make?"

"The killer got stabbed in the hand by a golden letter opener. That's why I know you couldn't have done it, you're hand looks perfect, both of them do. But unfortunately since we don't know what happened to it, it could take forever for us to track it down and he won't get arrested for a while unless we find it."

"It was bold of you to tell me that, you can't be sure that I helped your killer."

"Those tears earlier were genuine. That's why I trust you enough to tell you what we're dealing with. Anyway, Fred is a wild card."

"I understand what you mean. His unpredictable."

"But that's where you come in." Daniel stated.

"Me? Why me?"

"I saw how that awful man treated you. He lusts for you. I know that is something you never wanted to hear, but it is the honest truth."

"Yeah, he treats me like garbage, but all he wants is to grab my breasts and shake them up like a martini, the very thought of it makes me feel like I want to barf."

"You're his weakness. As I see things, there is only two ways to bring a stop to him. The first of which is to find that letter opener." Daniel clarified.

"But you said that not even you know what happened to it."

"That's right. Which is where option to rears its ugly head."

"Oh no! You don't mean."

"Yes. We need him to confess to the crime, or at least speak a certain phrase that would immediately tells us he is definitely the killer."

A waitress brings a mojito to the table and Casandra takes a sip. "So your suggesting that I wear a wire and spend the night with the pig."

"I would never have suggested such a thing if things were different. But he's our only suspect, he's the only one we've seen so far that has a hand injury in the same place we know for certain the killer was stabbed. I know I can never ever repay you for this request, but please, do what you can."

Casandra finished off her mojito and stood up and extended out her hand. Daniel stood and shook it. "So we have a deal?"

"I want that asshole to suffer. He's treated us women like we're nothing more then his playthings. It's time he sees that we are more than he ever thought we were."

"That's good." Daniel stated and took out a spare tie that he'd prepared earlier. "There's a microphone in this. I'll have someone visit your room to give you an earpiece, and good luck."

Casandra nodded. It was all up to her now.

Casandra headed to her room and saw a lady, the lady handed her an earpiece and then she vanished. Casandra got ready and headed to Fred Royale. She saw David Lancer, he looked very uncomfortable, and there was not a single cigarette in sight. Poor detective Lancer. There were two women beside Fred, but they weren't the same two that were there earlier.

Casandra plucked up her courage and headed toward Fred.

"Ah Casandra. Where have you been? I was getting sick of getting my refills from a bloke."

"Hey boss. I think I'm ready to go to the next level." She winked at him. He knew exactly what she meant and he stood up faster then you could say beer. David got up to, but very slowly, like his legs were weak. He balanced himself by holding onto Casandra's shoulder and whispered "thank you" into her ear. David then went off to the bathroom, presumably to throw up.

"You are done for the day in that case, clock out and I'll met you in my room." He winked and straightened out his shirt that was covered with various dipping sauces.

Casandra was still a bit uneasy, but she saw that she was the only one that could do this.

Later she arrived at Fred's room. He opened the door before she could even knock. He was obviously watching her by using the viewing hole in his door. He was wearing a bathrobe.

She went to the bedroom and laid on her side and she asked him. "Before we do anything, do you have anything to say about Richard Yates?"

"You chose a weird time to bring him up." Fred said, turning her over to face upwards and he got on top of her.

"I know. I miss him, but I have you now." She said, trying her best to hide her insincerity. He didn't even notice.

"Well, I believe he got what he deserved."

"What did he deserve?" She inquired, she reached downward to start removing her pants.

"He deserved what he got, getting his life chocked away from him was exactly what he deserved." He stated with a lot of venom in his tone.

"Ok. Get out of there," Daniel's voice echoed in Casandra's ear. "We have what we need."

"I'm sorry." Casandra stated, pushing him off of her. "I'm withdrawing my consent." She then got off the bed and started heading for the door.

"Oh come on! Don't you want any of this?" Fred stated, gesturing to all him.

She gave him a disgusted look and slammed the door behind her. He sighed and just put his clothes back on. "Whatever, there are other women I can ask to enjoy my company."

#

Fred's bar, 4:55 P.M

Daniel and David were waiting for Fred by his usual seat.

Fred sat down and said: "oh, you guys are here."

"Yes we are." Daniel stated.

"Believe it or not, but your female visitor was wearing a microphone this evening, and it recorded something interesting." David announced.

"Oh really?" Fred stated.

"You said 'Richard deserved to get his life chocked away from him,' is that accurate?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, I said that. But good luck getting that to stick in court. I'm certain it's probably illegal to record conversations." Fred admitted.

"You just made a huge mistake!" Daniel announced. "You just admitted that fact to two Rhombodian officers, both of whom are wearing their own microphones and anything recorded by us is generally accepted in the court of law regardless of consent laws in New York City." Daniel then threw down a newspaper.

"What is this?"

"Today's paper." David stated. "News travels fast in the big city."

"Tell me, where on this paper is the cause of death mentioned?" Daniel asked.

"I don't read the papers."

"That's a shame. Because we told nobody how he was killed. That information is known only to the police. So tell me, how on earth did you know that the victim had his life chocked away from him?"

"What do you mean? It's just a figure of speech, it proved nothing."

"Just a figure of speech?" David scoffed. "That's a rather specific thing to say, considering that Richard Yates was strangled to death."

"What?" Fred stated, trying his best to act surprised but his sweat was giving him away.

"We already have a warrant for your arrest, and this audio recording was enough to have your doctor reveal the true nature of the wound on your hand. You may as well confess. Unless you want deeper trouble." Daniel stated.

"Well. I guess either way I'm screwed, huh?" Fred admitted. "I'll get my lawyer on the line and speak to him first."

AFTERMATH

Fred Royale confessed everything and revealed the location of where he disposed the letter opener. The blade of it matched his hand wound, so there was no doubt he was the killer. His motive was of course the fact that Casandra was interested only in Richard and he figured if he was no longer in the picture then he could have her all to himself.

He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Eleanor and John eventually got married and had three children and had the best years of their life.