Two Questionings and a Massive Clue

Mularain Delivery Corp, 88 Hibiscus Rd, Mularain, Cascoss, 10:54 AM

Damien parked Daniel's car and they headed in.

"John Valeheart." Announced a fat man of 155cm. He had pizza grease on his dark sweater and his white shirt. He smelt of cheap cologne, he had barely any hair and the hair that he did have was a blinding white. How old was this man even? He could have been anywhere between 30 and 60. Neither of them could tell. "I run the joint. Hang on." He took out his handkerchief and spat on it. "Great, blood, my pneumonia has returned, again."

"Will you be fine?" Daniel stated with concern.

"I'll be fine. I had a tapeworm once, want to see the scar I got when they removed it?" John asked jokingly.

"If you can find it." Damien added and laughed.

"This guy gets it." John stated and patted Damien on the back. "Hey kid, if you ever get bored of solving cases and the car chases and what else, you can come work for my crew. You'd be an easy fit."

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you." Damien added.

"Your loss. Now let me show you around." John stated and led them around. "This is the garage, where vehicles are fuelled and loaded, those five are my crew, 2 F, 3 M. The forth male is waiting for you in the police conversation room." He walked over to the break room. "This is our break room and kitchenette. Food brought from home is stored in the fridge as well as milk for coffee, there is also a assortment of ingredients kept within the cupboards which change on a weekly bases. That window there is for Yugo's kitchen. He is the free food option, he was a chef at the Golden Chariot, but he got pissed off not getting to work with meat or seafood, so he quit and is now part of our company." John then showed a room with thick opaque blue windows. You couldn't see through them. "This is where you'll be working." John laughed.

"So, August is in there?" Dan inquired.

"Maybe asked June or July." John joked.

Daniel chuckled. "Good one. But the man we want to see is really in there."

"Yes." John stated. "Now get in there so we can get our good employee back. He still has runs to do you know. He had to give his run to Rhianna. She's from Tryismo, good driver but always feels like she has something to prove."

"But I thought August was a nervous kind of guy." Damien added.

"Oh, he is, that's what makes him a good employee. He doesn't stop for small chat with customers so he's the fastest deliverer."

Daniel and Damien nodded simultaneously and then they bade John farewell and entered the police conversation room.

August was in there fidgeting with his class ring. He then saw Dan and Damien and breathed a sigh of relief.

August was shorter than as he appeared in the photo earlier. He was 147cm tall. His hair was blonde and his eyes were a deep shade of blue. His hair was slightly battered, and he had different sauces on his yellow and blue uniform.

"You know." August stated in his light and nervous voice. "When John said some detectives were coming down to speak with me, I was expecting David Lancer, William storm or Edwin Orange, but I'm glad it's you, the harmless ones."

"Harmless?" Damien questioned. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"I think in this case it's a compliment due to his nervous behaviour." Dan guessed. "He feels like it it'll be more comfortable talking to us than speaking with one of the three people he just mentioned."

"Looks like you do indeed live up to the reputation you have earned." August stated with his eyes wide in amazement.

"August," Dan stated. "Did you know that you were supposed to take cameras to the town hall, but instead they received food?"

"I'm aware. I was the one who delivered the food." August stated, turning his class ring in his finger.

"Then you can explain why you swapped the food?" Damien inquired.

"It was at the request of the mayor's office that I get food from the Golden Chariot on the way. When I returned from getting the food from the counter, the package containing the camera had been stolen. When I reported it, they said that the package had been marked as 'unhappy with product packaging,' so someone had clearly asked for it to be returned." August explained.

"Someone?" Daniel noted. "You mean to say that a person other than the intended recipient could have the package sent back?"

"Each package has a QR code atop them as well as a location chip within them. The QR code allows the nice people who accidentally get packages misdelivered to them to return the package." August explained.

"So the location chip would show you the package's current location. This way you can send out an authorised person to get it back." Daniel added.

"Nothing gets by you." August added with a small chuckle.

"So, how is it that you don't know who took the package?" Damien interjected.

"Because by the time I got back to my vehicle to find it missing, someone had already scanned the QR code for a return, which by proxy turned the chip off. So we only know that it's last reported location prior to it returning to the holding room here was in the back alley of the Golden Chariot, near the kitchen's back door." August explained.

"So you just dropped off the food and returned, over and over without questioning it once?" Daniel asked.

"Well, yeah it's my job, and I'm too nervous and awkward to do things like question these odd things. Some days I can barely hold myself together, but I do my job with a smile." August added, giggling nervously.

"Well, I'm glad you overcame your nerves to speak with us today. We have other things to look into, have a nice day." Daniel stated, and he got off his chair.

"Thank you, you don't know how tough this really was on me." August announced as Damien stood up too.

Daniel and Damien entered Daniel's car.

"Well that was a bust." Damien stated once the doors of the vehicle were securely shut. "We've been all over, and yet we are no closer to unravelling all the threads that bind this case."

"I couldn't have said it better myself. But I do believe that August is still hiding something." Daniel added.

"We don't even know what that is, we don't have the right to coax it out of him either."

Daniel nodded.

"So what do we do, Daniel?" Damien inquired.

"We still haven't gotten any info from the horse's mouth, so to speak." Daniel stated.

"You speak of Katrina Denmark." Damien noted.

"Let's not forget that she was the one who got arrested in the first place, and from what I have read on the comments on her video, she doesn't seem to be the most liked person in the world. Some have even caught wind of her being held at the MRPD, and are commenting that she probably did whatever it was she did to earn that time out." Daniel explained.

"You need to put that watch away, it might start corrupting your mind." Damien added.

"My point is, nobody is surprised that she is there, and she might have something vital to say. I know it's unconventional, but perhaps we just need to speak with her."

Damien nodded in agreement. "You have yet to steer any investigation in a wrong direction. So I'll trust you on this."

Interrogation Room A, Mularain Police Department, 42 Xarias Rd, Mularain, Cascoss, 11:32 AM

Daniel and Damien were getting comfortable as Katrina Denmark and her lawyer Paul Armadan entered the room.

"Mrs Denmark, Mr Armadan." Daniel announced.

"Doctor, detective Thrifter," Paul said in his dark voice. "it's nice to see you two, an remember: don't be foolish." He gave a point to Damien.

Damien smiled. "Ah, he said the thing he says in court."

Daniel shook his head. "This is not a good time to be star struck Damien."

Damien hushed up. "Sorry."

"Katrina, how are you fairing?" Dan inquired.

"I'm fine." Katrina stated with a medium tone. "But I don't like being held in a dainty cell for something I didn't do."

"Before I ask you to tell us your side, there is something I wanted you to confirm for us, if you don't mind." Daniel stated.

"What is it?"

"Damien and I concluded that the reason you were unconscious at the scene of the crime was due to you having a severe case of hemophobia, is that true?"

Katrina nodded. "I've never admitted to anybody before, but yes, I have a severe case of the fear of blood. If I see a drop of blood I'm down and out, worst case, I could lose an entire day. Sometimes looking at ketchup or other dark red substances could make me feel very uneasy."

"That is why I asked that nothing containing red or blood be given to her as a meal for her stay here." Paul stated.

"That was very nice of you, Paul." Damien noted.

"I was just doing my job." Paul relayed.

"How is it that you ended up in Vegan Town?" Damien added. "Surely your internet presence would have kept you busy."

"I was invited to the town hall, I don't know by who, but I still have the letter if you wanted to see it." Katrina stated and looked at Paul.

Paul left the room and returned with the letter in question a couple of minutes later. "They took it in as evidence, don't make a mess of it." He announced.

"Don't worry, Paul, Dan is very gentle." Damien explained.

Daniel opened the letter carefully and read the invitation.

Dear Katrina Denmark/ the Vegan Professor

You don't know me, and I don't know you, but I was wondering if you have heard of a ridiculous law called 'the Private Quarter's Rights bill?' In said bill, people are allowed to eat meat, drink milk and wear cashmere, it is horrendous what the mayor has let occur. This is not the first time in our town's history that this has happened, not every mayor is understanding of how pure our small city is supposed to be. If you mind, would you come down and pay a visit sometime this week to convince the mayor to change his mind?

Yours sincerely, a friend.

27.11.06

"I've seen this handwriting before." Daniel noted.

"Me too. Wasn't it on those boxes Lucy threw away?" Damien stated.

"Call her and tell her to get a photo of that writing. We'll compare it to this letter as well as the handwriting database." Daniel stated.

"I'll get right on it!" Damien announced, and then left the room.

"So, was I helpful?" Katrina inquired.

"Yes, it would appear that someone was trying to set you up." Daniel announced.

"Don't trust what they say in the tabloids. I am not the monster I present myself as on the internet. If I was a terrorist or a radical, don't you think they would have removed my content?" Katrina retorted.

"You are correct, but, none of that matters, someone clearly saw you as a tool. But enough of speaking how the killer used you, I want to speak on how we, the police, could use you."

"Whatever do you mean, doctor?"

"Did you see anything happen when you got to the town hall? Any little detail could help tremendously."

"Well, shortly after I was asked to take a seat and sat down, I saw the light at the very end of the hallway switch off, and only that light, I believed I saw some shadows exit from the last door on the right and they entered the office. I went to the office at 7:29, so I could enter the office at the exact time my meeting began. The scanner's light was green, so I knew the door was unlocked. Then, I blacked out."

"No doubt that it was the sight of the victim's blood all over the desk and paperwork that caused that to happen." Daniel noted.

"Well, what other explanation could there be?"

"One more thing, what was the approximate time you saw the shadows?"

"7:23 AM, I looked at the clock on the pillar in front of and to the left of the receptionist's desk when I saw the shadows."

Damien entered the room. "Daniel, you were right, the writing on those boxes and the writing in the letter are a match." He announced.

"You can tell me more about it in the car, we are heading back to the town hall." Daniel announced.

"Again? But we were there earlier." Damien complained.

"Apparently, there is yet more we don't understand at that place than we initially thought." Daniel added as he got up and left the room.

Damien shrugged at Paul and Katrina and left the room.

Damien and Daniel entered Daniel's car, Dan was in the driver's seat and he drove back to the town hall.

"Well," Damien stated as they began to move on. "The handwriting in the letter matched the handwriting of Franklin Briken."

Daniel nodded. He didn't seem surprised to hear that name again as he knew that the person in question was still hiding something.

66 Yuledale Rd, 12:12 PM

Lucy exited the building in surprise to see Daniel and Damien again.

"What are you two doing back here?" She asked.

Daniel brought up the town hall's schematics on his watch and pointed at the room that Katrina saw the shadows exit from. "What is this room?" Daniel inquired.

"Why, that's the archive room, you know, I was surprised earlier when you called me to get a picture of that rotting trash. I might be traumatised for weeks." Lucy added.

"We sincerely apologise." Damien added. "But it was a necessary evil."

"Oh it was just a joke, honey." Lucy laughed.

Damien's eyes darted. "I knew that."

"Lucy," Dan interjected. "Is there any other way to get into that room?"

"Well it's an archive room, it was designed for people from FORMAL's main office to remove the documents, there's a door right by the meter box." Lucy announced.

"Would there also be a way to leave the mayor's office without you noticing?" Daniel added.

"Well yes, there's an emergency exit located in the floor of each room so we could get below a fire, because everybody knows that fire travels upwards unless coaxed downwards by a flammable liquid." Lucy relayed.

"How many people knew about it?" Daniel added.

"Anyone who has run for office and has worked in it knows where the trapdoors are located." Lucy stated.

Damien's face scrunched up into a look of realisation. "Franklin Briken ran for office against Kevin." He announced.

"That's a bit of trivia that would have been useful earlier." Daniel stated.

"Well, it didn't come to mind until just now." Damien stated.

Daniel nodded. "Well, let's just check out that door Lucy mentioned.

Damien nodded in agreement, and the duo headed off.

They soon arrived at their destination. The grass was quite yellow and overgrown. Daniel spotted something black and small underneath the sun-bleached meter box. Dan took a closer look. It was a cufflink to a suit. Dan put on a glove from his belt and examined it.

Damien saw it too. "That's from the Golden Chariot." He announced.

"I figured as much." Daniel stated as he saw the image of a golden chariot on the underside of the cufflink. The bit in the middle sticking out created a hole in the image. Dan placed it down exactly where he had found it. "Damien, this watch doesn't have the capacity to take pictures, would you mind?"

Damien took a photo and sent a copy to Dan's watch. "What is this for?" Damien asked.

"Insurance. There is yet more about this case that we still don't understand, but now we know that Franklin's involvement in this is more than surface level." Daniel added.

"Very well. Now what?" Damien inquired.

"Now we rest. We've had a long enough day as is. We'll finish this tomorrow." Daniel stated.

"Agreed, detective work really takes you out of it." Damien admitted.

So Daniel and Damien went to the office, finished off their duties for the day and headed to their separate domiciles to rest for the night. Little did they know that the killer had a plan to try to get the two detectives off their trail.