The Marvin Squad

Everleason Police Department, Everleason, Cascoss, May 23rd, 10:00 A.M

Daniel was parking his red car in his parking spot, as he parked his vehicle, he saw Damien Thrifter.

"Oh, hey Dan, clocking in?" Damien stated.

"Funny joke. You and I both now that our badges are linked to the payment system they use. As soon as the camera in my tie captures the sight of this building then it automatically clocks me in." Daniel replied.

"Well, at least you remember that much. I like your clothes."

"Thanks, my sister-in-law said I'd look dapper in this."

"Anyhow, your presence has been requested by the leader of the Marvin squad."

"Aleister Marvin? Wait, isn't he on the trail of a serial killer." Daniel remarked.

"Yes. Many greats have worked with him over the past 3 years just trying to catch this one guy." Damien stated. "I'm afraid you alone were invited."

"Well, that sucks." Daniel stated.

"Really?"

"What, did you really think you could force pity on someone more than twice your age? I really do apologise, but if I bring you, don't you think they'd be angry?"

Damien pouted, but he saw that Daniel wasn't going to give in.

"So, where is he?" Daniel asked.

"The Calamas' mansion."

"No way! I actually know how to get there."

"You've been before."

"I've been invited for a few brunches over the years." Daniel admitted modestly.

Damien was a bit shocked at this revelation, but then again, it did make some sense, since he was married to the Everstone family.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask, have you run into your father in law yet?"

"I don't see how that's relevant, but the answer is no. He did discover my presence at the Everstone manner, since then, he has been avoiding me. He has other places to go, so it's no surprise." Daniel admitted.

"Well, good luck Dan." Damien stated, waving Daniel off. Daniel then left the parking lot and proceeded along the shortest route to his destination.

Calamas' Mansion, Goldberg, 10:26 A.M.

When Dan arrived, there were only two cop cars. Daniel thought that this little detail was odd. Why only two? Shouldn't the murder of a local millionaire warrant a little more attention?

Daniel opened the front door like he had done many times in the past, he felt like he didn't need to knock. The family that lives here were always welcoming to Dr. Smith whenever he visited.

"Hey, you're Daniel right?" Stated an officer who was jotting things down on a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard.

"That's correct." Dan replied.

"Snazzy outfit you have there, why didn't you knock, you surprised me." The officer stated, passing the notes off to another officer.

"Well, the residents here don't mind my presence, so I thought I could get away with it. But you're right, this is serious business we're dealing with, I should have knocked."

"Ah, it's okay. It's all in the past. I'm Aliester Marvin by the way. The other three officers in this house are part of my team, and you have been invited to join us as the latest in a line of brainiac detectives." Aliester explained.

"I feel humbled that you believe in my genius." Daniel stated. "I don't have too much experience, so what is this case like?"

"We already know who did it, there's no doubt. We're dealing with a specific serial killer for which my squad was created to stop."

"But if you know who did it, then why am I here?"

"Here's the thing, the killer still has alluded us, even though we know plenty about them, even there name. But we still haven't stopped him. We know exactly when he attacks, not where, it all feels quite random. Last time we tried to stop him with someone in the house at exactly midnight, nothing happened. He was aware that we were trying something."

"I see. So you would like my assistance?" Daniel asked.

"All the other geniuses tried to explain his movements but Simon is always breaking his own pattern, leading us back to square one."

"Simon?"

"Simon George. That's our killer's name."

"Simon George? Where have I heard that name before?"

"I believe that someone using that alias kidnapped an alien visitor at Mikey's mansion."

"Oh yes. That was a few weeks back. I was the one who solved that case and I am still astonished at the amount of puzzles that kept blocking my progress. So this is the same guy? Why would he be a serial killer and a kidnapper?"

"Because the one that you went up against was nothing but a fake, this one is the real deal. Simon is famous enough that he has fans that like to use his name for their own crimes."

"So the one who kidnapped the alien was just using the name as an alias, which you said. But how can you be sure that the person responsible is the real Simon George?"

"Simon George always kills with different methods for each of his victims so that we can't get a good M.O on him, and he leaves 2 knights after each of his killings. He always strikes in households with multiple residents and kills every last one."

"Two knights? As in the chess pieces?" Daniel inquired.

"That's right."

"Why two?"

"Well, the papers and anyone who knows this case believe that this is a serial killer we are dealing with."

"But you believe otherwise."

"Yes. But we haven't told anyone about our suspicions."

"Due to his fans. So the reality is, if I'm right, Simon George isn't an actual serial killer, he is actually a hired killer, killing families for a good amount of money, is that correct."

"The commissioner was right, you are indeed very sharp. Thankfully none of that information had leaked, who knows how Simon's copycats would react."

"I see. If they knew he was being paid, then they too would get in the crime for cash business too."

"Right."

"So you said there may have been a pattern?"

"Pretty much. You are a common guest of this household right?"

"That's right."

"Are you aware of any secret areas in this place?"

"With a place this big and with people so wealthy, there's bound to be a few."

"That doesn't matter, but we found Simon's planning room for this house, it's in the attic."

"But if you know, then he knows, he's unlikely to show up there again."

"We know. Every time we find his hideout he doesn't go there again."

"Obviously. He's avoiding capture."

"Well, that is the thing that didn't make sense to the detectives that have tried to help us in the past."

"What ever do you mean?" Daniel inquired.

"Of course you are unaware. The knights he leave behind are strange colours. Each colour represents something. This is how we discovered he was a hired hitman, I already told you he leaves 2 knights after every killing. The first knight and its colour represent why the person who hired him wanted the victim dead and the second one represents his feelings. The second knight is always the same colour. A blueish white, representing regret for his crimes."

"So he wants to be captured but also doesn't want capture?"

"That's what the others have determined."

"So you have already looked longingly at the crime scene, you don't need me for that, so what is my purpose here?"

"If it wasn't clear already, you are the member of our team that is to assist us in figuring out what Simon's pattern is."

"But you already stated that the last time you tried to stop him at exactly midnight but he didn't show up."

"There was only one victim left. We were trying to protect him, but he was murdered at midnight the next night. We're not even sure how he got passed the inside man."

"He got passed the officer and still got rid of his victim?"

"We believe that he snuck in during the day, when we knew he wouldn't try anything. He took advantage of the fact that we believed he only moved at night."

"So how do I figure out the pattern?"

"The same way the others did. We will take the maps of the previous houses and show you where we found the victim, the murder weapon and the two knights."

"All four were in different locations?"

"Yes."

"Ok."

"Follow me."

Daniel followed Aliester up to the attic. Daniel had no idea what it looked like, he never went up there during his visits. It looked like you'd expect an attic to look like. Expensive knickknacks were in boxes in the corners and there was a dart board hanging on a far wall. The area in the middle had a table that looked like no table Daniel had never seen before. It was rectangular and had legs shaped like pencils.

"That's new." Daniel stated.

"How can you tell? Have you been up here."

Daniel shook his head. "Those boxes have more dust than grains of sand in a desert, yet this table is as clean as a whistle. It must be new."

"You're right. It's Simon George's table."

"I'm surprised he was able to get it up here without being noticed. Did he teleport it in?" Daniel asked.

"No. He created it on the spot."

"But clearly he would have made enough noise to be noticed if he made it here."

"I see you are still denying the existence of abilities on this planet."

"Oh. Simon has an ability to create things out of thin air."

"That's right. He has the creation ability. You can guess how it works."

"He can make any non-sentient object, right."

"Yes. Creation can create anything in your wildest dreams, as long as it's not alive."

Daniel nodded and looked atop the table and noticed a few maps on top. "So who put all of these here. This is just one house, so for this house Simon only needed one map."

"It was Nathanial."

"Nathanial Opal?"

"You know him?"

"If you are unaware, I have been learning forensics to make my mystery solving easier. He was there too as an assistant to the one teaching me."

"Yep. Nathanial Opal is a forensic analyst. How did you know he was part of the team?"

"I caught a glimpse of him in the kitchen. That's where she was murdered, right? Abigail Calamas."

"Yes. He was there, good eye. How did you know the victim was Abigail?"

"The victim looked like her. She wasn't Veronica. I saw her in the library, and the other three residents of this abode are males. So the victim could only have been Abigail."

Aliester nodded.

Daniel looked at the maps. He saw there were squares on the map, the coordinates for some reason matched a chess board.

"What's with the chessboard coordinates."

"We have been going against this guy for about 3 years now. The first brainiac detective on our team, Liam Impulse, noticed that using chessboard coordinates was probably what Simon was doing. After all he was placing knights."

"I see. So these numbers here are where the victim was discovered followed by where the weapon was found, followed by where each knight was found."

"That's right."

Daniel examined the squares that had the numbers on them, he was looking for the pattern, but nothing was jumping out at him. He was confounded.

"Any ideas Smith?"

"I'm afraid not."

"It's okay. The other detectives took a moment to figure it out too."

Daniel rubbed his temples.

"What else can you tell me?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm just trying to think, how would figuring out the pattern help us anyway?"

"I was thinking we could trap him."

"But you already told me a story where trying to stop him failed."

"Well, I believe with your help, we'd actually stop him."

Daniel nodded. "Can I see the crime scene?"

"Is that really what you want?" Aliester asked with a curious tone. "We already know who committed the crime. It's catching him where we have an issue."

Daniel nodded again. "Okay. Can I take this to my office?" Daniel stated, holding up the maps. "It's too dusty in here to give these a proper look."

"My apologies. Good luck Dan."

Daniel neatly folded the maps and went to his office. Daniel was not sure if he wanted to take on this case. But the Calamas family were good friends of him, he had to do what he could to save the rest of them.