《Detective Karma》


 1 Chapter 1

    As Mr. Polesse was writing his report on the investigation, the Chief of Police, Karma, the detective, Rodney, and a policeman, Ahrest, burst into his office.Chief Karma was holding a warrant of arrest in his face.


    Polesse looked up from his desk and said, "Oh, Mr. Karma, Mr. Rodney, and Mr. Ahrest, what can I do for you?"


    "Mr. Brad Polesse, you''re under arrest." Chief Karma said.


    "What?!" Mr. Polesse said angrily as he stood up from his desk, "What is the meaning of this?! You can''t possibly suspect me as the murderer of Mr. O''Nair."


    "Oh, about that," Karma started, "We got evidence that points to you as the killer, Mr. Polesse."


    "And that is?''


    "Mr. Polesse, I hope you are aware of your situation." Detective Rodney said angrily, "You have killed Mr. O''Nair, and would have gotten away with it had you not left some evidence behind. The evidence we have here is," Detective Karma pulled out a report on the case and read it. "Your DNA left on Mr. O''Nair, along with some pieces of your hair and your fingerprints."


    "Is that all? Well, I have a good reason for that. He, uh, asked me to, uh, go to his house."


    Detective Rodney pulled out a bullet from his bag. "I almost forgot," he said, "We have also found out bullet used to kill Mr. O''Nair was fired from your gun."


    Mr. Polesse was sweating now. "O-Oh really? And how did you find that out?"


    "Simple," Mr. Ahrest said, "The ballistic markings on the bullet match your gun."


    "N-no! I made sure it was destroyed! I-I r-refuse to be arrested!"


    "Whether or not you refuse to be arrested will not change anything." Karma growled as Mr. Ahrest got the handcuffs. "Mr. Polesse, you are hereby under arrest in the name of the law. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. Mr. Ahrest, arrest, Mr. Polesse."


    The next day, Mr. Ahrest was given a trial in the courtroom. With all the evidence against him, he was pronounced guilty. He confessed all his plans and was given thirty years in prison.


    "Well, Karma, I guess I owe you one." Mr. De Rehr laughed. Chief Karma was at a restaurant with Mr. de Rehr and Mr. Krimzzon, talking about the case.


    "I still can''t believe O''Nair''s dead." Mr. Krimzzon said sadly, "He was more or less the head of operations, actually. He even managed to find us a scientist, James Steroid."


    "Well, I''m just glad that the killer''s arrested, that''s all." Karma said.


    "Oh, by the way, Karma, your son''s still studying to become a policeman just like you, right?" Mr. de Ruhr asked Karma.


    "Yeah, why do you ask?"


    "Well, since I owe you, I''ll give your son a scholarship until he graduates from college, then." He looked at Krimzzon and continued. "Well, Krimzzon, since it''ll be our company sponsoring Karma''s son, I hope you''ll also agree?"


    Krimzzon nodded. "Of course!"he said, "It''s a great idea! We need more cops just like Karma here patrolling the streets." He added.


    "Uh, okay then" Karma said, "Look. I need to get going to the prison to check things out, do you mind if I leave?"


    Mr. Krimzzon looked at his watch. "Speaking of leaving."He said, "Don''t we have to meet up with Mr. Richard Moneybags later, de Ruhr?"


    "Oh, right I almost forgot!" Mr. de Ruhr exclaimed, "I guess we also have to get going then, Karma." With one last wave, they parted ways and left.


    As Karma was about to leave, Mr. Ahrest and Detective Rodney met him at the door. As they saw him, Detective Rodney told him, "Sir, something happened at the prison."


    "Really? What happened?"


    "Apparently, the prisoners managed to break out." Mr. Ahrest said, "We''d better get going then, sir."


    "Agreed." Karma said, "We''d better hurry."


    As they arrived at the prison they met the warden and several guards outside.


    "What happened?" Karma asked the warden.


    "Sir, it''s horrible!" the warden exclaimed, "The prisoners are doing a riot! I think the leaders are Than Long, and some guy name Bad Police I think¡­"


    "Than Long, the one arrested for criminal activities and Brad Polesse, the one arrested for the murder of O''Nair?"


    "Uh, I think so, chief."


    "Okay then. Rodney, you''ll be coming with me. Ahrest, you and the warden go through the other side. The rest of you, encircle this area."


    After several attempts of rounding up all the criminals, the only ones left were Polesse and Than Long. As they were looking for them, they suddenly saw Mr. Ahrest fighting them.


    "Take that!" Mr. Ahrest shouted as he punched Polesse in his face, as he did, Than Long got a piece of broken glass and cut him in the face.


    "It''ll take more than that to finish me off." Ahrest said. While he was looking at Than Long, Mr. Polesse got a metal bar and hit him on the head with it. Mr. Ahrest fainted.


    "Ahrest, no!" Chief Karma said, "Mr. Polesse, you''ll pay for that!"


    Then Detective Rodney pulled out his gun and pointed it at Than Long while Chief Karma pointed his at Polesse.


    "Don''t make us shoot you." Karma told them.


    "Yeah," Detective Rodney said, "Why don''t you just give up now?"


    "Give up?" Polesse said, "I don''t think we will, will we, Than Long?"


    "Nope," Than Long said, "I''d like to see you both try."


    At that moment, Than Long grabbed a piece of brick on the floor and threw it at them.


    "Karma, sir, look out!" Rodney said as he jumped on Karma, knocking them both on the floor.


    Polesse used the metal bar he was holding and hit it on the window. "Come on, Than Long, hurry up." Polesse said to Than Long to tell to jump out of the window. "The bottom''s covered with grass, and it''s not really high up, so we''ll be fine. As for you two." Polesse looked at Karma and Rodney and said, "Next time you see us, we''ll be known as Team Luminescence, and revenge will finally be mine!"


    He jumped out of the window and Rodney and Karma ran to the window and looked down. "Do you think he meant what he said?" Rodney asked Karma.


    "Doubt it." Karma said to Rodney. "But, even if he does, we''ll be ready for him."


    "Chief Karma, sir." The warden ran up to them, out of breath. "We got all the prisoners back, but Than Long and Polesse, they''ve-"


    "Escaped." Karma finished his sentence for him. "Warden, call the police station and tell them that we need to find them."Karma told him, "They must be caught."


    Chief Karma couldn''t help wondering how long it will take to look for them." It could take years," he thought, "But one day, we will find them."


    And if they became Team Luminescence, they would be ready for them.

 2 Chapter 2

    It has been twelve years since Than Long and Polesse have broken out. They seemed to go missing without a trace, even other countries didn''t know what happened to them. No one could find them, so they were just presumed, dead. Chief Karma has already retired, letting his subordinate, Ahrest, become the new chief. As for Rodney, he managed to become the Head Detective of Moony City. Chief Karma''s son was going to graduate from the Moony Police Academy as one of the best, along with his best friend, Byron.


    "Hey, Karma!''


    Karma was walking out of the academy as he turned around when he heard someone call his name. "Hey, Byron!" Karma called to his friend, "Can you believe it? We did it!"


    "Yeah!" Byron said as he catched up to Karma, "This day could not be better than it is now, huh?"


    "I guess so." Karma laughed. He couldn''t believe that after all his hard work, he would finally be part of the Moony City Police.


    "I see both of you have finally managed to have all your hardwork reap some benefits." Someone said behind them. "I still remember the time I finally became part of the police."


    "Instructor Torre!" Karma said as he saw their police instructor walk up to them, "What are you doing here, sir?"


    "Well, I came to ask you something. Do you know what department you''ll both be in?" Instructor Torre asked them.


    "No, sir."


    Instructor Torre sighed. "I wonder why they can''t just tell us what departments you''ll be in." He told them, "It''ll be a lot easier than going there and asking them. Come on then, you two follow me."


    As they arrived at the police station, they saw a lot of police officers working. There seemed to be endless phone calls and the officers seemed to never stop working. They heard officers greeting Instructor Torre occasionally like "Hey, Torre." Or "Long time no see, officer Torre."


    "What department were you in, Instructor?" Byron asked Instructor Torre.


    "Well, I used to work in the Forensics Department before I decided to go become an instructor at the academy. Anyway, here we are."


    Instructor Torre stopped in front of a door labeled "Chief''s Office". He knocked on the door, and they heard someone say "come in."


    When they entered, they saw a man sitting on the chair and a person in a trench coat next to him. Karma assumed the one sitting on the chair must be the chief while the one next to him must be a detective.


    "Ah, Mr. Torre, long time no see, how are you doing?" the Chief asked him.


    "Just fine, Chief Ahrest, and I hope you''re also doing fine. I''ve come with to ask which department my two students will be in."


    "Ah, right, the new recruits." The Chief said, "Detective Rodney, why don''t you tell them?"


    Detective Rodney nodded as he got a file holder out of a drawer. "Let''s see here." He said while looking for their names on a long list. "Ah, here we are. Byron, you will be assigned to the Drugs and Organized Crime Prevention Department. As for Karma," he looked for his name, "He will be assigned to the Homicide Department."


    Chief Ahrest looked at them both. "I think you both must be wondering what you''ll do?"


    "Yes, sir." Byron and Karma said together.


    "Very well, then." Chief Ahrest said, "Mr. Torre, you may leave."


    When Mr. Torre left, Chief Ahrest started telling them. "Well," he said, "In the Drugs and OrganizedCrime Prevention Department, you''ll be the one helping the police catch those drug dealers and smugglers, stuff like that." The Chief told Byron, "As for you, Karma, the Homicide Department, as you can tell from the name, is in charge of catching people who killed someone else. Excuse me for a moment."


    At that moment, the phone rang and the Chief picked it up. "Hello," he said, "Moony Police Department, how can I help you? What? I see. Very well." The Chief put down the phone. "There has been a murder at some house at Grennings Street. Detective Rodney, please alert the Cybercrime Prevention Department, the Forensics Department. Tell them to have some men ready there."


    "Yes, sir." Detective Rodney said, although he was unsure why one crime needed so much members from different departments.


    "Oh, and also," The Chief said, "Please bring Officer Karma and Officer Byron with you."


    "What, really, sir?" Byron asked the chief, "Our first day on the job, and we get to go to a crime?"


    "Well, normally I would let some more experienced officers do it." Chief Ahrest said, "But they''re busy at the moment. And I have my full confidence in you too. Also, this is no ordinary murder. It was the murder of a certain criminal that we''ve been after for a long time."


    Karma and Byron looked at each other. It was their first day, and they get to solve a crime! Chief Ahrest saw their enthusiasm and told them. "I trust you will not disappoint me."


    "Yes, sir!" They both said.


    "Good. You may now go."


    Detective Rodney closed the door behind them when the three of them already left. "Well, your first investigation." Detective Rodney said, "Let me inform the other departments first. You two."He said to Karma and Byron, "You will wait at the exit for me. I''ll be back soon." Rodney told them as he ran off.


    When Detective Rodney came back, he was accompanied by a prosecutor. Detective Rodney seemed to be frowning as he talked to the prosecutor.


    "Are you sure that you can go, prosecutor?" Rodney inquired. "I don''t think this is normally allowed, you might need the chief''s approval first."


    "Oh, no need for that."the prosecutor replied. "I already got his permission." she pulled out a piece of paper and started to read of it. "I, Chief Ahrest, Chief of the Moony City Police Department, hereby give my permission to-"


    "Fine, then!" Detective Rodney said. "But just because the chief allowed you doesn''t mean I do!"


    The prosecutor and Detective Rodney walked up to Karma and Byron. "This is Prosecutor Sarah Parker. She''llbe joining us for some reason." Detective Rodney said, exasperated.


    "Well, since I''ll be prosecuting the case," Prosecutor Parker said, "I''d better at least know what evidence I''m using."


    "Fine, then." Detective Rodney said then looked at Karma and Byron. "You both ready?"


    They nodded. "Yes, sir."


    "Very well. Let''s go."

 3 Chapter 3

    When they entered the crime scene, they saw the police examining the crime scene and as they went closer, one of the policemen went towards them. "Ah, Detective Rodney." The policeman said, "You''re finally here, and who are these?"


    "Officer Mark," Detective Rodney said, "this is Officer Karma and Byron and this is-"


    "I am Prosecutor Parker, it is good to meet you." Prosecutor Parker interrupted Detective Rodney, who looked annoyed.


    Officer Mark nodded. "The same to all of you. I am Officer Mark, head of the Department of Cybercrime Prevention Department."


    "Anyway, Mark." Detective Rodney said, "Where''s Doctor Brown and Officer Grand?"


    "Well, Detective, they''re over there."Officer Mark said, "You won''t like what they have to say though."


    "Well, I''ll risk it." Detective Rodney said, "Come on, Byron, Karma, follow me."


    As they went toward Officer Grand and Doctor Brown, they were examining the victim. Doctor Brown saw Detective Rodney. "Ah, Detective, you''re here." Doctor Brown said. "And who are those with you?"


    "These are Officers Karma and Byron." Detective Rodney said, "The new recruits."


    Doctor Brown nodded. "I am Doctor Brown." He said, "And this is Officer Grand. We''re both members of the Forensics."


    "Good to meet you all." Officer Grand said, with an edge of irritation in his voice, "Now, then, can we get a move on?"


    "Don''t mind Officer Grand." Doctor Brown told them, "He''s always like that. Most of the time, anyway."He turned to Detective Rodney, "So, Detective, I''ll let you talk with Officer Grand. I''ve got some things I need to show to Prosecutor Parker."


    "What ''things'', specifically, Doctor?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Oh, you know, evidence." Doctor Brown said, "Oh, I also heard that you''ll have to testify tomorrow as a member of the police force. The trial''s tomorrow."


    "Tomorrow? Already? Does that mean they got a suspect already?" Detective Rodney inquired.


    "Oh, yes, they do." Doctor Brown told him, "I heard that the defendant''s lawyer is Mr. Jeff Pence. It''s going to be hard trying to beat him, that''s for sure. Prosecutor Parker is going to be the prosecutor. Well, I''ll leave you guys to investigate. "


    "Now that Doctor Brown''s gone, we''d better get started." Detective Rodney said, "You two better ask Officer Grand about what they found out. As for me, I''d better start investigating."


    As Detective Rodney went to investigate, Officer Karma and Officer Byron saw Officer Grand writing a report. They looked at each other. It would be hard to talk to Officer Grand, that''s for sure.


    "Oh, Officer Grand?" Karma went up to him and asked him cautiously, "Detective Rodney said that I should-"


    "I''m busy at the moment, if you don''t mind." Officer Grand said, not looking up from his report.


    Karma ignored him and continued. "He said that I should-"


    "All right, all right. I assume he asked you to ask me questions?" Officer Grand asked him irritably, still not looking up from his report.


    "Um, yes, he did, I hope you don''t mind."


    Officer Grand sighed, and put report in his pocket. "Fine, then." He said, looking annoyed. "What do you want to ask me?"


    "Hmm, where should we start, then?" Officer Karma asked Byron, who replied, "Well, didn''t the Chief say that the victim was a wanted criminal they were after for such a long time? Ask himabout that."


    "Uh, Officer Grand? Who is the victim? Chief Ahrest told us he was a wanted criminal" Karma asked Grand.


    Officer Grand nodded. "I see you know. Well, his name is Deyd Krimeenall. He is a smuggler and is both wanted in our country and the Kingdom of Krushnivania."


    "The Kingdom of Krushnivania? The monarchic nation?" Officer Byron asked.


    "Of course. He''s been moving between our two countries, selling counterfeitgoods, weapons, organs, drugs, you name it. Well, to be honest, I can''t say I''m sad about his death, but since a murder is a murder, I guess we can catch two criminals now."


    "I see." Karma said, "Do you mind telling us the cause of death, now?"


    "Poisoned. Apparently, he drank the poison from the glass of water on his table, over there. But the poison was on the glass itself, not in the water. Well, you see the outline on the chair and table? That is where he died, the glass cup was taken away already, but I still have the bottle where the poison was from. We found it in the trash can. It''s likely someone broke in here, put poison on the glass cup, then escaped."


    "What was the poison?" Karma asked.


    "CN-"Officer Grand told him.


    "No, I mean the name of the poison." Karma asked irritably.


    "Cyanide. We found it in it''s powdered form on Mr. Deyd''s glass. He died of cyanide poisoning. If you actually studied chemistry you would have known that CN- is the formulation of Cyanide."


    "Well," Karma said, "there''s a reason why you''re forensic while we''re police."


    "Forensics are also considered police-"


    "Fine, fine, enough of this." Officer Byron interrupted their argument. "Officer Grand, do you mind letting us see the autopsy report."


    "Oh, fine. I got it over here, just wait."


    He pulled out a brown envelope with the official seal of the Moony Police Department. He pulled the autopsy report out of it. It says here that the time of death was about 12 midnight. Cause of Death: Cyanide poisoning." Officer Grand read aloud.


    "May we see the bottle that contained it?" Karma asked.


    "Very well, here it is."


    He pulled out a small bottle. And as he showed it to them, he also pulled out an envelope. "Oh, I almost forgot about this. This is a letter we found on Mr. Deyd''s desk." Grand said, "He was writing it when he died, apparently."


    "Who was he writing to?"


    "Well, it says here-"


    Just then, Detective Rodney walked into the room. "I''ve finished investigating." He said, "What have you guys found out?"


    "Well, sir," Officer Karma said, "I think you should see this bottle and this letter that was found on Mr. Deyd''s table."


    "Very well, let me see."


    As he looked at the bottle and the letter, he stared in amazement at the two. Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney. "What''s wrong, sir?"


    Detective Rodney answered. ''Well, the cyanide was made by Paradox Industries. As for the letter¡­''


    "What about it, sir, who was it written for?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney answered, "Luminescence Corp."

 4 Chapter 4

    "Luminescence Corp., sir? Is there something wrong about it?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney, who was still standing there, holding the letter and bottle.


    "No, no, nothing''s wrong, it just reminded me about something for a second there." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway," he said, "Let me read this letter to all of you." Detective Rodney started reading the letter. "Okay, so let''s see here, this is what is written on this letter. ''To: Luminescence Corp. From: Deyd Krimeenall. Dear Mr. van Lusserson, I am talking to you today to inform you that I need some help. I think that the Paradox Group is after me. They might kill me soon, but, I know they are also your enemy. Also, if you don''t help me, I guess I''ll tell the police about your real identity. You''d better help me. Go after Mr. Paradox, the big boss. Anyway, I got what you need. The-'' "


    "Why did you stop, sir? Please tell us what''s next!" Officer Byron asked Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney frowned. "Well, that''s all that''s written here. I guess he died before he could finish it." He then said, "Well, I guess we ought to investigate them. Paradox and Luminescence, I mean. Once we get a search warrant, we could. Officer Grand, thanks for your help. Do you mind if we borrow these two evidences first to get a search warrant?"


    "Well, I see no problems, so I guess not." Officer Grand said, "I''m actually interested to see which of the two of them is the criminal. I''m needed back at the police station, so just put it in the evidence room, since it''s needed for tomorrow''s case.Anyway, do you mind giving me a ride back, if you''re leaving?"


    "Not at all, let''s get going, now." Detective Rodney said, "The faster we get the search warrant, the better."


    When they dropped off Officer Grand at the police station, they stopped for a while to go to the chief to get a search warrant.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest called when they knocked on the door.


    "We''re here, and we need a search warrant. Now." Rodney told Chief Ahrest.


    "Already? Well, who are you going to investigate?"


    "Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation. But to be more specific, Mr. Lusserson himself. We have evidences that they may be related to the killing of Mr. Deyd." Rodney told the Chief.


    Chief Ahrest froze. "Did you say Luminescence Corporation?" he asked Detective Rodney.


    "Yes, Luminescence Corporation. Reminds me of that case twelve years ago.Do you think it could be them?"


    "Well, there''s no telling about that, it could just be a coincidence. Anyway, may I see your evidences that link them to the murder?"


    "First, it is this bottle of cyanide, made by Paradox Industries, and this letter, saying that Luminescence and Paradox are both related to this case."


    "Hmm. Very well, I shall grant you a search warrant to investigate both places. But we also need the district judge and the mayor to sign it as well. Do you want me to call them?"


    "Thanks, that would help a lot." Rodney said.


    Chief Ahrest pulled out a piece of official ¨C looking paper and wrote on it.


    "Let''s see now." He muttered " Case #113324686, By order of the Moony City Police, this search warrant will hereby be used against Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation. The police in charge will have the power to interrogate the people present, and take or confiscate evidence that may be related to the case. Signed and Approved by: Yuville B. Ahrest, Chief of Police. Mayor, District Judge." Chief Ahrest picked up his phone. "All we need now is the mayor and judge''s approval, and you may use this warrant. I''ll call them now."


    While Chief Ahrest was talking on the phone, Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron went out and waited for the Chief to finish.


    "Well, I wonder why Detective Rodney and Chief Ahrest actedstrange all of a sudden." Byron whispered to Karma, "I mean, they seem to know something about Luminiscence Corporation that we don''t."


    "They mentioned something about a case twelve years ago. I wonder what it is, though." Karma said to Byron. "Maybe we could check it out one day in the Case Files."


    "What are you two talking about?" Detective Rodney went up to Byron and Karma. "Look, they''re here." He said, gesturing towards the mayor and the judge. "We ought to be in Chief Ahrest''s office now, come on, you two."

 5 Chapter 5

    "Mayor May Earl, and Judge George Myntall, thank you for coming." Chief Ahrest said, "I called you here today because we need you two to sign this Search Warrant."


    "Yes, that''s all very well and good, Chief Ahrest , but can you please explain what happened first? I want to make sure there are valid grounds for signing it." Judge Myntall said.


    "Yes." Mayor Earl agreed, "I would also like to know if there is a reasonable argument. Can''t have the police searching innocent people''s houses, can we?It would be bad for my political career."


    "Yes, yes, I see." Chief Ahrest said, "Detective Rodney, please explain."


    "Will do."


    "Okay."Detective Rodney said, "Please pay close attention, everyone. We found this letter at the crime scene." Detective Rodney pulled it out and showed it to everyone. "It says in this letter that "the Paradox Group is coming after me, but I know they are also your enemy." Detective Rodney read out loud, " Help me out, Mr. Lusserson. I also know your secret identity." Detective Rodney took a brief moment to put the letter back, then he pulled out the cyanide bottle. "We also have this bottle of cyanide." He said, "It was made by Paradox Industries, yet it is not available in stores and supermarkets. We think that it is directly linked to the Paradox Group."


    "Hmm. That looks good enough, I guess." Judge Myntall said, "Reminds me when I was still a new prosecutor." He reminiscent, "I was always trying to get enough evidence for a warrant. Can''t say that I always succeeded, though." He chuckled a bit, and then pulled out a pen. "George S. Myntall, District Judge. Hey, Mayor, why don''t you sign next?"


    "I''m not sure¡­.. I need to make sure that this is valid." Mayor Earl said, "Show me some more evidence, and I''ll sign it."


    "Oh, I see." Chief Ahrest said, frowning slightly. "Well, why don''t you and Judge Myntall stay here for a while? I''m sure they''ll get more evidence soon enough."


    "Well," Judge Myntall said, "I''m due for a trial, so I think I have to be going now. I''ve signed it now, only the Mayor''s left to worry about. I''ll be taking my leave now. Goodbye."


    Judge Myntall stopped in front of Officer Karma and Byron. "I see you two are the new recruits." He said, "Good job getting those, but it''ll take more to convince the Mayor. Good luck." Then he left.


    "Well, how about you, Mayor Earl?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "I guess I could stay here for a while." Mayor Earl said, "But not more than half an hour. I also have a very important meeting to go to."


    "Oh." Chief Ahrest said, "I see. Well Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron, please hurry, we need some more evidences. Oh, and Rodney," He whispered to Detective Rodney. "We only have one shot at this. If we fail to get more evidence, we won''t be able to get the warrant!"


    "Don''t worry, we got this." Detective Rodney said, although he looked uncertain. "Come on," he said to Byron and Karma, "Let''s go."


    When they arrived at the crime scene again, they saw Officer Grand talking with Prosecutor Parker. "Hey, Officer Grand!" Detective Rodney called, "You''re still here?"


    "Why, yes, of course I''m still here!" Officer Grand replied, looking annoyed. "The case isn''t over, is it? Anyway, we searched the entire place already. There shouldn''t be any more evidence."


    "And what are you doing here?" Prosecutor Parker asked Detective Rodney.


    "Well, we''re investigating. Why are you here?"


    "The case is tomorrow, so I''m here to get some more evidence."


    "Did you find anything?" Officer Karma asked hopefully.


    "Well, no. And even if I found evidence, I wouldn''t give it to you guys."


    "Good point." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway, Officer Grand, where''s Doctor Brown?"


    "He''s over there." Officer Grand said, pointing to the next room. "Why, do you need him? I could call him."


    "Did anyone call me?" Doctor Brown asked, walking towards them. "Oh, Rodney, you''re here again. And Karma and Byron."


    "Yes. Anyway, Doctor, did you find anything useful?" Detective Rodney asked.


    Doctor Brown shook his head. "No," He said, "There''s nothing anymore here to find. All of the evidence has already been taken."


    "Really? There''s nothing left? As in nothing?"


    "Yeah, nothing." Doctor Brown said. "All the evidence has already been taken. Why, do you need them?"


    "You could say that." Detective Rodney said, "I guess we''ll have to look elsewhere." he said to Karma and Byron when he turned around.


    "But before you leave, do you have the autopsy report I showed you?" Officer Grand asked Karma. "I can''t seem to find it."


    "There was an autopsy report?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Yeah!" said Prosecutor Parker " There was an autopsy report?"


    "Well, there was, but I guess you''ll have to get another one at the police station."


    Just then, that came Officer Byron an idea. "Hey, Karma, you do still have that autopsy report, right?"


    "I think so" Karma said as he looked through his pockets. "It''s here, why?"


    "Because," Byron explained. "It says that the victim was killed by the cyanide, which proved he was killed by it. We could show it to the Mayor."


    "Great idea, Byron!" Karma exclaimed. "I guess we all forgot about it then, huh. We better get going now, the Mayor will be leaving soon."


    "Hey, Detective Rodney, I know what we can do now!" Officer Byron called to Detective Rodney, who turned around to him.


    "Hm? What can we do?"


    "Hey, Detective Rodney, we can show the Mayor this autopsy report! It says here that the victim was killed by the cyanide, so the Mayor will have to sign it."


    "Great idea! Do you still have the autopsy report?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "Yes, sir. I still have it here." He held it up to show them.


    "Hey! That''s my autopsy report." Officer Grand exclaimed.


    "Sorry, Officer Grand, but we need to borrow this." Detective Rodney said. "Couldn''t you just get another one back at the police station?"


    "Well, I guess I could¡­"


    Detective Rodney looked at his watch. "We only have five minutes left! Come on, we better hurry before the Mayor leaves."


    When they arrived at the station, they saw Chief Ahrest standing outside. They went to talk to him.


    "Hey, Chief." Rodney said as they went towards him, "What''s wrong? Where''s the Mayor?"


    "Well, thank goodness you''re here!" Chief Ahrest said to Rodney. "Just a bit longer and the Mayor would''ve left! Do you have the evidence?"


    Detective Rodney held up the autopsy report. "There''s no more new evidence, but this might work. Since it proves that Paradox Industries was part of it, she can''t possibly say no."


    "Well, you''d better hurry." Chief Ahrest said, pointing toward a limousine. "The Mayor is about to leave. Hurry, quick!"


    "Hey, wait! Mayor Earl! We got what you asked for!" Detective Rodney shouted as they ran towards the Mayor.


    "Sorry, but you can''t be here." One of the Mayor''s bodyguards stopped them. "The Mayor has strictly ordered-"


    "No, that''s alright, Ted." Mayor Earl said as she stepped out of the limousine. "Well, what are you waiting for? What do you have?"


    Rodney showed her the autopsy report. "Paradox Industries is involved in this case." He said, "It says right here, in this autopsy report. So please, Mayor, sign the Search Warrant. We really need to search that place."


    The Mayor took the autopsy report and read it. "Well, yes, I suppose so." She said, "I guess, I''ll have to sign it. Ted, please get me a pen."


    The mayor signed the warrant and gave it back to them. "There, here you go." She said, "I do hope you manage to catch the villains. Now, I''ve wasted long enough. I best be off now."


    "Great, we got the warrant now." Chief Ahrest said, "We''d better search one of them, before they can destroy the evidence."


    "I agree." Detective Rodney said. "Let''s search Paradox Industries first. They won''t expect a thing at all."

 6 Chapter 6

    "Mr. Paradox, I think we got company." Secretary Eclaire burst into the office and said to Mr. Paradox, CEO of Paradox Industries.


    "Mr. Eclaire, please don''t disturb me." He said, as he flipped through pages of the book he was reading, "Pharmaceuticals: Medicines and Poisons: A List of Formulas by Dr. L. Wright". Without looking up, he continued, "Well then, who is our ''company'', as you put it?"


    "The police, sir."


    Mr. Paradox looked up in amazement. "The police?" he echoed, "Are you really sure, Mr. Eclaire? Why would they be here?"


    "Yes, sir. The police are coming, I just saw them."


    "Give me the remote, Mr. Eclaire. I want to see it for myself. Then I''ll believe it."


    Mr. Eclaire handed him the remote, which he pointed at a giant flatscreen TV. He pressed a button, which showed him the CCTV footages of the entire building. Then he really did see police cars driving to the building. "Mr. Eclaire, this is bad." He said, "I want you to make sure that they, the police, will not find anything worthwhile. Like these," he said as he opened his safe. "Cyanide bottles. Someone broke in here somehow and stole one of them. Dispose of them. Make sure the police don''t find them."


    "Yes, sir." Mr. Eclaire said as he left the room. "I''ll make sure they don''t."


    "Good." Mr. Paradox said, and when Mr. Eclaire closed the door behind him, he added to himself. "They better not find out my secret."


    Police cars were driving with sirens on towards the building, Paradox Industries: Pharmaceutical Corporation Main Building. Officer Karma, Byron, and Rodney were in the front. They were stopped by the security.


    Detective Rodney opened up the window and said "We''re police. Let us in. We got a warrant here." Detective Rodney showed the warrant to them.


    "Oh, I see." One of the guards said, after he finished reading the warrant, "Um, here you go, sirs. Enjoy your stay here."


    He opened the gate for them and they continued to the building. They stooped when they were there and they all got out.


    "Right." Chief Ahrest said to all the policemen, "We''re here to find out Paradox Industries involvement in the murder of the wanted criminal, so don''t take anything unless it''s for evidence, understand?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Alright, then!" he said, "Let''s get started!"


    Mr. Paradox was sitting in his office, drinking coffee while reading a book when he heard talking outside his office and the door being opened. He saw an annoyed looking Mr. Eclaire, and Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney.


    "I said," Mr. Eclaire said angrily to Ahrest and Rodney, "You can''t just barge in the boss''s office whenever you feel like it!"


    "Well, we have a search warrant, so there shouldn''t be any problem, should there?" Chief Ahrest said to Mr. Eclaire, "Unless you want to be detained for resistance?"


    "No, that''s fine, Mr. Eclaire." Mr. Paradox said to his secretary, "Let them do what they must. Let them see that we did nothing wrong."


    "But, sir-" Mr. Eclaire stammered.


    "I see there''s no problems, then, Mr. Paradox?" Detective Rodney asked Mr. Paradox. "If that''s the case, I hope you''ll let us search."


    "Of course." Mr. Paradox said, "You''ll find out that we, or I, for that matter," He looked at Mr. Eclaire, "have nothing to hide."


    "I see." Detective Rodney said, pointing to a safe behind Mr. Paradox''s desk. "Well then, do you mind showing us what''s in that safe?"


    "Oh, that safe?" Mr. Paradox said. "Okay then, you''ll see that there''s absolutely nothing in it."


    When he opened the safe, there really was nothing in it. "I see." Chief Ahrest said, "Come on, Detective, let''s go look elsewhere."


    "Good luck!" Mr. Paradox said as they left the room. He turned to Mr. Eclaire when Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney left. "So," he said to his secretary, "Did you dispose of the bottles like I asked you too?"


    "Yes, sir." Mr. Eclaire said, "I threw them into the garbage-"


    "The garbage?" Mr. Paradox interrupted, "The garbage?"


    "Yes, sir. The police won''t search-"


    "Why did you throw them into the garbage?!" Mr. Paradox yelled, "Don''t you know police always investigate trash cans?!"


    "Sir, I just thought-"


    "Get them out of there, and dispose of them like I asked you too! Don''t let the police find them," he said, "Or else."


    "Yes, sir."


    "You do still remember which trashcan it was, right?" Mr. Paradox asked Mr. Eclaire.


    "Of course, sir." Mr. Eclaire said. "It''s the trashcan on the third floor, next to the bathroom."


    "You''d better hurry, then." Mr. Paradox told him, "The police might investigate there, and eventually someone might want to use our bathroom. They also might rummage our trashcans, those filthy policemen."


    "Yes, sir. I''ll get on with it. But, what do I do once I get the bottles?"


    "Dispose of the contents in the toilet." Mr. Paradox said. "Oh, and bring me back the bottles."


    "Yes, sir. I''ll do it now."


    Mr. Eclaire left the room and headed for the third floor.


    "Hey, Byron." Officer Karma said. "Did you find anything?"


    "No. Nothing." Officer Byron told Karma, "These guys are really good at hiding their tracks. In fact, the only places we haven''t searched yet are these plastic plants in pots, and those trash cans."


    "Yeah. Well, come on, let''s search those plants." Karma told Byron " Who knows? We might find something."


    "Yeah, good idea." Byron agreed. They searched the plants, and then soon, Byron found something.


    "Hey, Karma, I found something!" Byron gasped as he held something up.


    "Really? What is it?" Karma asked.


    "Ten Mouhnes!" Byron said, holding up a small coin.


    "Ten. Mouhnes. Is. All. You. Found?" Karma said, "It isn''t even worth one Mon! What do you expect to buy with that?"


    "A donut. I love donuts. I''ll buy one at Donut Land" Byron said.


    "Well, the cheapest donut is 5 Mons, so I don''t see how you can buy a donut at Donut Land"


    "Well, my father owns Donut Land." Byron said. "He lets me buy donuts for just five Mouhnes. Pretty great deal, huh?"


    "Why doesn''t he just give you free donuts, then?"


    "He doesn''t want to make people think that I have benefits."


    "Right." Karma thought, "And getting cheap donuts isn''t a benefit."


    "I don''t think you should take that. Anyway, let''s continue searching for something more useful." Karma told Byron. "We might just find something more-"


    They heard someone opening a door. When they looked up, they saw the secretary coming out of the bathroom, with 3 bottles and they heard a flushing sound of the toilet. "Oh, hey, you! Who are you. We''re searching this place, so you shouldn''t be here."


    The secretary looked at them. "Oh, I''m Eclaire, the secretary of Mr. Paradox. I just used the toilet so I''ll just be leaving now-"


    "Hey, you''re the secretary? Can I keep this coin, then? I found it in one of those plastic plants."


    "Huh, ten Mouhnes? Oh, okay then, I''ll be leaving now."


    "Hey, wait." Karma said, pointing to the bottles he was holding. "What are those bottles for?"


    "Ah, well. Private business. I insist, I have to go."


    As he rushed off, he ran past Officer Grand, who was spotted by Officer Karma and Byron.


    "Hey, Officer Grand." Karma called to Officer Grand, "Did you find anything? Because we didn''t find anything at all."


    "Well, about that." Officer Grand said, "Did you notice anything strange about that Eclaire guy? He seemed in a hurry."


    "He is Mr. Paradox''s secretary." Byron told Officer Grand, "Maybe he''s just busy with stuff."


    "Did you take a good look at the bottles he was holding?" Officer Grand asked Karma, "Because I think it looked like the cyanide bottle we found at the crime scene."


    "No, sorry. I didn''t manage to take a good look at it. When I asked him about it, he just told me that it''s private business, and he left." Karma explained.


    "Where did he come from?"


    "Well," Byron said, "we saw him come out of the bathroom, and we heard a flushing sound."


    Officer Grand froze. "Did you say flushing sound?"


    "Yeah. Why?"


    "Oh, no! He must be trying to destroy the evidence!" Officer Grand Exclaimed as he ran into the bathroom.


    "What''s the matter with him, though?" Byron wondered. "I just said that Mr. Eclaire came out of the bathroom and we heard a flushing sound, and he started doing that.''


    "I don''t know." Karma said, "Why don''t you ask him later, when he come out?"


    When Officer Grand came out, he looked angry. "What''s wrong?" Byron asked Officer Grand. "Did you have to use the bathroom or something."


    "No." Officer Grand said angrily. "I think he flushed the contents of the bottle down the toilet."


    "So, what does that mean?" Karma asked.


    "It means that he flushed the contents down the toilet!" Officer Grand said angrily, "I think that the bottles he had were cyanide bottles, so he destroyed the evidence. As for the bottles, he''ll probably do something else. Give them to Mr. Paradox, maybe."


    "Are you always this untrusting of people?" Karma asked Officer Grand.


    "It comes with the job." Officer Grand said. "You''ll see. Anyway, this you search this trashcan yet?" Officer Grand asked, pointing at the trashcan next to the bathroom.


    "Well, not yet." Karma told him.


    "Hmm, let me see if I can find anything." Officer Grand said as he took out a pair of gloves and put them on. He started searching through the trashcan, when he found a bottle.


    "Bingo." He said, holding up the bottle. "We were lucky this time. He forgot one bottle. It''s full of cyanide, and is the same as the one we found at the crime scene."


    "How did you find that in the trash?" Byron asked, impressed.


    "Well, it also comes with the job, I guess." Officer Grand replied. "Come on, we better bring this back." Officer Grand said as he slipped the bottle into a plastic labeled "Evidence".


    "Sir." Mr. Eclaire said as he went back in Mr. Paradox''s room. "Here''s the bottles. I flushed the contents down the toilet, just like you asked."


    "Very good." Mr. Paradox counted the bottles. "One, two, three." Then he stopped. "Mr. Eclaire," he said. "How many bottles did you get, exactly?"


    "Uh, three, sir?"


    "It was four bottles!" Mr. Paradox said, "We''re missing one! Mr. Eclaire, if you forgot one, it means that the police will probably have it by now!


    "Sorry, sir. I think-"


    Mr. Paradox stood up from his chair and interrupted Mr. Eclaire. "Go back and make sure you get that bottle! If the police get a hold of it, somebody''s going to pay for it! Get it by any means necessary, understand?!"


    "Yes, sir. I understand."


    "Detective Rodney, Chief Ahrest!" Officer Karma called as he and Officer Grand and Officer Byron were running towards Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney. "We found something! The exact same bottle as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s room!"


    "Really?" Chief Ahrest asked. "Let me see that. Doctor Brown! Could you analyze this for us?"


    Doctor Brown came and analyzed the bottle. "Hmm." He said, "This is exactly the same as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s room. Even the composition is the same. This is no doubt the same as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s murder!"


    "Really? Great!" Chief Ahrest said. "With this, we start questioning Mr. Paradox, and his secretary, Mr. Eclaire."


    "Yes, sir. We did see Mr. Eclaire coming out of the bathroom with three bottles." Officer Grand explained " We also heard a flushing sound, so we think he tried to flush the evidence down."


    "I agree." Doctor Brown said, "He could be trying to flush down the contents of the cyanide."


    "Well, we got him this time." Chief Ahrest said. "Come on, let''s go bring in Mr. Paradox and his secretary, Mr. Eclaire, in the station for questioning."

 7 Chapter 7

    Mr. Eclaire was looking for the bottle he dropped somewhere.


    "Where could it be?" He thought to himself, "If I lose that, or worse, the police get it, I''m worse than dead."


    While he was thinking about it, he accidentally bumped into the police while searching for it.


    "Oh, uh, Detective, sorry about that." Mr. Eclaire said nervously to Detective Rodney, "I''ll just be going to look for someth-"


    "Would that something be this?" Detective Rodney interrupted him, holding up the cyanide bottle.


    "Where did you get that?" Mr. Eclaire exclaimed.


    "Foolish, really, for you to try and destroy evidence. Luckily, this one," he pointed to the bottle, "was dropped. You''ll be going with us, Mr. Eclaire, for questioning. Oh, and call Mr. Paradox.


    Mr. Paradox was pacing around in his office when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" He said, sitting on his office chair.


    "Mr. Paradox" Chief Ahrest said as they entered the room. "We will now bring you to the station for questioning."


    "What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Paradox said angrily, "Under what authority? You got a warrant of that?"


    "Oh, we don''t need a warrant for this." Detective Rodney said calmly, "Moonyvian Law states that you don''t need a warrant when you get caught in the act, like right now. We caught Mr. Eclaire destroying evidence."


    "And how did you figure that out?" Mr. Paradox challenged them.


    "Oh, we caught him flushing down the contents in the toilet. Oh, and we managed to get this bottle, fortunately." Mr. Paradox was surprised and angry to see the bottle full of cyanide. "You shall now be detained and interrogated for 32 hours." Detective Rodney said.


    "I demand to bring my lawyer." Mr. Paradox said angrily.


    "Very well, but we''ll need to bring you in the station."


    "Yes, of course, but do you mind leaving me with my dear assistant for a while?" Mr. Paradox said. "I also need to call my lawyer."


    "Fine, but don''t try escaping." Chief Ahrest warned. "We''ve got you surrounded from all sides, there is no escape."


    "Yes, of course, I''ll just need a minute." Mr. Paradox said. The police left Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire alone in the room. Mr. Eclaire looked nervously at Mr. Paradox.


    "W-w-well, sir," Mr. Eclaire stammered, "I can explain-"


    "I don''t need your explanations!" Mr. Paradox said angrily. "You know what I said about not getting arrested! Now look at what you''ve done!"


    Mr. Paradox grabbed Mr. Eclaire by the collar of his suit, chocking him. "You know what I''ve told you." Mr. Paradox said to Mr. Eclair, while pushing him against them wall and pulling his face towards his."


    "Well, sir, I-" Mr. Eclaire said weakly, while trying to loosen Mr. Paradox''s hold on his neck. His face was turning blue from lack of oxygen.


    "Mr. Paradox, you alright in there?" Detective Rodney shouted from the other side of the door. "Time''s up for you two! Come out now."


    "Okay, we''ll be there!" Mr. Paradox said. "Glad the police saved you in time, eh?" Mr. Paradox muttered angrily to Mr. Eclaire, as he let him go. Mr. Eclaire almost fell on the floor as he breathed heavily.


    "Come on, we''d better go then." Mr. Paradox said, fixing his necktie. "Tell them I''ll be there in a while, I''ll need to call my lawyer. Mr. Eclaire left the room, leaving Mr. Paradox.


    Mr. Paradox picked up his phone, punched a few numbers, and waited for an answer.


    "Hello? Defender''s Law Firm here, how may I help you?" the voice on the other side answered.


    "Hey, Jeff, I need you here, this instant." Mr. Paradox said. "The police are going to question me, and I need your help."


    "Well, I''m assuming this is about the dead criminal''s case? Very well." Attorney Jeff Pence said, "I have a trial tomorrow for another suspect of the same case, but I''m sure I can let Barry Bush take over for me. You sure you didn''t kill anybody?"


    "Of course. I''m a pharmacist, not a killer."


    "Very well, meet you at the police station then."


    "Well, time for me to go, then." Mr. Paradox said to himself as he put down the phone and left.

 8 Chapter 8

    As Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire where bought to the station for questioning, they spotted Attorney Pence while disembarking from the car.


    "Oh, Mr. Paradox!" Attorney Pence shouted while waving at them


    "Are you Mr. Paradox''s attorney?" Detective Rodney asked Attorney Pence as they got out of the car.


    "Yes, I am. I am Attorney Jeff Pence from Defender''s Law Firm, and I will be representing Mr. Paradox for the duration of this case." Attorney Pence told him.


    "I thought you were defending the defendant in tomorrow''s trial?" Detective Rodney asked him.


    "I asked my partner, Barry Bush, to fill in my place for me." Attorney Pence said, "Anyway, it is good to meet you, and you are?"


    "Detective Rodney, I''m in charge of this case." Detective Rodney answered, shaking his hand.


    "Detective Rodney, weren''t you in charge of the case twelve years ago, also? The case of Mr. Polesse, if I recall correctly."


    "Yes, that''s right. I was still assisting the Chief at that time." Detective Rodney said.


    "Well, I was also assisting Mr. Polesse''s attorney at that time. Anyway, enough talking. Don''t we have business to discuss?"


    "Why, of course." Detective Rodney replied, "This way, please. Officers, please bring Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire to the interrogation room."


    As Mr. Eclaire and Mr. Paradox were bought to the detention room, Detective Rodney, Chief Ahrest, Attorney Pence, Byron, and Karma went with them.


    "Right." Chief Ahrest said now that they were safely in the detention room. "Mr. Paradox, kindly explain what your assistant was doing."


    "He went to the bathroom, right? Obviously, he was using the toilet." Mr. Paradox said.


    "Yes, but our officers here heard a flushing sound, which means that he was trying to destroy the evidences."


    "Well, that''s-" Mr. Paradox started, but Attorney Pence stopped him.


    "Since he was in the bathroom, we can safely assume that he was answering the call of nature." Attorney Pence said calmly.


    "Well, that would be if he was answering the call of nature." Chief Ahrest said, "Do you have any proof that he was?"


    "Unfortunately, no, since it''s a crime to put CCTV''s in the bathrooms." Attorney Pence conceded. "But, since he was in the bathroom when he flushed we, can assume that he was. Unless, of course, you have proof that he wasn''t?"


    "Well, like I said, we''ve got this bottle of cyanide from the trash!" Chief Ahrest exclaimed.


    "But, as you know, the bathroom is not the same place as the trash can." Attorney Pence said coolly, "So, if you don''t have any evidence that he wasn''t answering the call of nature, my assertion is much more valid."


    "He does have a good point." Officer Byron whispered to Karma. "Like, I guess I would listen to him if I wasn''t a police."


    "He was holding three bottles of which were very similar to that we found in the trash!" Chief Ahrest said to Attorney Pence.


    "Then that could mean that somebody else could''ve stolen the bottle and disposed of it." Attorney Pence said, his voice getting a bit irritated. "My client could''ve just been looking for it."


    "Which brings us to the question of why he would be looking for it!" Chief Ahrest said. "Why would he be looking for it if he didn''t need it?"


    "He was probably looking for it under Mr. Paradox''s orders." Attorney Pence said. "Did you know that on the previous day before the murder, a bottle of cyanide went missing? Mr. Paradox must have told Mr. Eclaire to look for it."


    "Why would he have decided to search for it on the next day then?" Chief Ahrest asked. "If he really lost it the day before, he should have looked for it on that day."


    "Because it was in the middle of the night, and he hides it in his safe." Attorney Pence answered, "He only realized it went missing today, when he checked the safe."


    "He must''ve checked the safe only when we arrived!" Chief Ahrest said, banging the table. "He wanted to get rid of the evidence!"


    "It is perfectly natural for medical companies to have cyanide, as the use it to research." Attorney Pence answered."


    After a bit more of arguing, Detective Rodney got tired of it.


    "What was he doing, then?" Chief Ahrest said exasperatedly, "He must''ve had a reason, then."


    "But destroying evidence is not one of them." Attorney Pence shot back in an irritated voice. "Seriously, why have we just returned back to our original argument?"


    "This is getting us nowhere!" Detective Rodney said to Officer Karma. "We would spend our time better investigating Luminescence Corporation."


    "Yes, sir, it would be better." Officer Karma admitted. "Especially since we''re just going back and forth now." he added to himself.


    "Well, since we aren''t progressing, we should just go investigate." Detective Rodney said, standing up. "Come on, let''s go."


    "Hey, where do you think you''re going?" Chief Ahrest asked Detective Rodney irritably . "Are you leaving me here?"


    "No, we''re just going to investigate Luminescence Corporation." Detective Rodney answered.


    "Oh, okay then." Chief Ahrest said, although he still didn''t seem happy about it.


    Officer Byron also stood up, but Detective Rodney stopped him. "Sorry, Byron, but you''ll have to stay here and help the Chief."


    Officer Byron sat back down, and as Detective Rodney and Office Karma were about to leave, he told them, "And good luck investigating!"

 9 Chapter 9

    As Detective Rodney and Officer Karma walked out of the interrogation room, a couple of officers spotted them and saluted at Detective Rodney. Detective Rodney saluted back and went towards them.


    "Do you have anything to do?" Detective Rodney asked them.


    "No, sir, we''re currently on break." One of the officers answered. "Why, is there a problem?"


    "Well, we need your help." Detective Rodney told them. "We''re going to go investigate the Luminescence Corporation. Get a few more men and meet us outside."


    "Yes, sir." the officers said to Detective Rodney before leaving. Officer Karma was surprised at how much authority Detective Rodney had.


    "Well, we should be going now." Detective Rodney told Karma. They both walked towards the exit.


    As they left the police station and entered the parking lot, Detective Rodney pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the car, and tossed them at Karma.


    "Here, you''ll be driving." Detective Rodney told Karma as Karma caught the keys. Karma got into the driver''s seat and turned on the car. Detective Rodney got into the passenger''s seat and was about to put on the seatbelt when an officer came.


    "Sir, we''re ready now." the officer told Detective Rodney. "Let''s go investigate now."


    "Right." Detective Rodney said to the officer. When the officer left, Detective Rodney turned to Karma and said, "Ready to go?"


    "Whenever you''re ready." Officer Karma told Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney closed the door and put on his seatbelt. "Okay, I''m ready, let''s go."


    Officer Karma turned on the sirens and drove off, being followed by some police cars.


    CEO Lucy van Lusserson was busy writing up a report in his office when his business partner, Thlong, barged in.


    "Yes, what do you want?" Lucy asked Thlong, somewhat annoyed, although not taking his face off the report.


    "Eclaire has just been arrested." Thlong told Lucy, "They caught him destroying evidence of the cyanide that was used to kill Deyd."


    "What?!" Lucy said angrily, banging the desk and standing up. "Darn that Eclaire, getting caught like that! I supposed the police will be coming for us now?"


    "Yes, they obviously are." Thlong said, "Want me to-?"


    "No, I''ll do it myself, I''ve got to do something anyway. Be back in 30 minutes." Lucy said, as he looked at a box with the words "Fragile" and took it.


    "Hey, where are you going? And what''s with that box?" Thlong tried to ask Lusy, but he already left the room.


    "Let us in!" Detective Rodney said to Thlong as he tried to prevent them from entering the CEO''s office.


    "I''ve told you, you can''t get in!" Thlong said, "Lucy isn''t back yet!"


    "Well, we''ve got a warrant, so move out of the way!" Detective Rodney said, slamming into the door. He fell into the room and fell down.


    "Sir, are you alright?" Officer Karma said, reaching down and pulling Detective Rodney up.


    "Yes, I am." Detective Rodney said, getting up. "But Lucy van Lusserson isn''t here at all." he said, surveying the room.


    "Well, I told you." said an agitated Thlong, "So you should just-"


    "Well, well, well, looks like I have some guests." A cool voice said behind them.


    Detective Rodney and Karma looked behind them and saw middle aged man wearing a fabulous purple suit that went well with his fancy purple hair.


    "So, I see that the police are here." Lucy said, revealing his shiny teeth and wiggling his fingers, showing all the fancy and expensive rings on his fingers and his golden watch.


    "Yes, that''s right. And you are Lucy van Lusserson?" Detective Rodney asked him.


    "Yes, I am!" Lucy exclaimed, gesturing his arms dramatically. "And who might you two be?"


    "I''m Detective Rodney, and this is Officer Karma. We''re here-" Detective Rodney said to Lucy van Lusserson.


    "Wait a second." Mr. Lusserson said, raising his hand to silence them. "Do I know you? You look familiar..."


    "What? I don''t think we''ve ever met." Detective Rodney told Mr. Lusserson. "Anyway, as I was saying, we''re here to investigate the murder of Deyd Krimeenall."


    "Must be my imagination, then." Lucy said as he went back to his desk, sat down, and put his feet on the table. "So, you have a warrant or what?" he asked them, checking his nails.


    Detective Rodney pulled out the warrant and showed it to Lucy van Lusserson. Mr. Lusserson read it and gave it back.


    "Okay, so now I know what''s the matter." Lucy van Lusserson said, raising his arms and shaking it around.


    "Yes, and now that you know, we''ll be expecting you to cooperate." Detective Rodney said to Mr. Lusserson.


    "Obviously, I will." Lucy said.


    "Well, then we will have one question for you." Detective Rodney said, " Do you know Mr. Deyd Krimeenall?"


    Lucy van Lusserson answered, "No, of course not. In fact, who in the world is that person?


    "Come on, you know that person" Detective Rodney said. He pulled out a piece of paper. "This is the letter that Deyd Krimeenall was going to send you before he died."


    "Well, I''m not supposed to know everyone that sends me letters, am I?" Lucy van Lusserson said, "Just because he''s going to send me a letter doesn''t mean I''m supposed to know who he is."


    "Oh, really? On the contrary, I think you should know precisely who he is." Detective Rodney said, "He seems to know a lot about you. There''s something in this letter about your ''real identity'', can you please explain this?"


    "I have no idea." said Mr. Lusserson in an unconcerned voice, "Perhaps you should''ve asked him about it. I have no secret identity."


    "Well, he''s dead. The next best person to ask was you, naturally." said Detective Rodney, "It also gives you a moti-"


    "Well, look at the time, I better get back to work." said Lucy van Lusserson hurriedly. He shoved them all, including Thlong, out of his office. "Thlong, keep an eye on them. Good luck investigating!"


    Detective Rodney sighed. "Well, atleast we still get to investigate." He said, "Let''s go."

 10 Chapter 10

    "Sir, where should we start?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney, "This place is so big, I can''t seem to think about where to start"


    Detective Rodney nodded. "Well, this place is so big, I''m not sure either. But since they''re already investigating the upper floors, we should start here."


    "Hey, you can''t investigate without me." Thlong said, "I''m supposed to keep an eye on you, just like Lucy said."


    "Fine, do whatever you want." Detective Rodney said, "Come on Karma, we should start investigating. I''ll check that side," He said, pointing at one direction, "and you''ll check that side." He pointed at the opposite direction.


    "Yes, sir." Karma said.


    "Now hold it," Thlong said, "how am I supposed to keep an eye on you two if you''re both in opposite directions?"


    "Yeah, well, that''s your choice then." Detective Rodney said to Thlong, "We''re police, so we have to do this."


    Detective Rodney started to investigate, while an agitated Thlong was standing with Karma.


    "You gonna investigate or what?" Thlong asked Karma irritably, "I can''t stand here all day, you know."


    "Fine." Karma said, starting to investigate, "Let''s just get this over with if it makes you stop ranting."


    Karma started investigating the other side with Thlong following him when they came to a flight of stairs. As they started going down the stairs, Karma noticed some dirt stains on the ground. As Karma bent over to take a closer look, he put some on his hand and analyzed it.


    "Hmm," he said, "Mr. Thlong, so do you really leave you''re building dirty like this?"


    "No, of course not." Thlong said, "It must be recent then, if the janitor didn''t clean it up yet."


    "Okay then." Karma said. He pulled out his walkie talkie and turned it on and called Rodney.


    "Detective Rodney, sir." Karma said, "We''ve found something important here, some dirt tracks leading downstairs. Could you please come here to check?


    "Okay, where are you?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "At the second door on the opposite side you went pass Mr. Lusserson''s office," Karma said, "the door with the words "FIRE EXIT" on top."


    "Alright, I''m on my way." Detective Rodney said, "Don''t do anything until I arrive."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said as he hung up.


    "Well?" Thlong said, "What does the detective want us to do? Stand around?"


    "Yes, that''s what he wants us to do." Officer Karma said, "We probably should listen to him."


    Thlong sighed. "Yes, I guess we should." He looked at his watch and muttered, "This is taking up my precious time. I can''t believe that Lucy kicked me out to keep a watch on these cops."


    Karma didn''t have time to listen to Thlong''s mutterings, so he decided to return his attention to the trail. He noticed a shiny object on the ground, and he put on some gloves to examine it. As he was looking at it in his hands, Detective Rodney showed up.


    "I came here as fast as I could." Rodney said, panting. "What did you find? Any evidence or what?"


    "Well," Officer Karma told Detective Rodney, "I did find this shiny object, sir. Do you know what it could be?"


    "Hmm." Detective Rodney said, picking it up and examining it. "Seems to be some kind of jewelry. I wouldn''t be surprised if it belonged to Lucy van Lusserson." Detective Rodney turned around and faced Thlong. "So, does this belong to Lucy."


    "Well, it probably does." Thlong said, "With all that jewelry on that guy, I wouldn''t be surprised if it was his."


    "I''ll question him myself later, then." Detective Rodney said as he put it in a plastic bag and put it in his pocket."


    "Alright, let me examine this. Please move." Detective Rodney told Karma as he stooped down to analyze the footprints. "Hmm, size 10 and a half," Detective Rodney said as he scraped a bit of the dirt and smelled it, "Smells recent enough. Around 10 minutes ago, I''d say."


    "You can tell all that by just looking at it?" Karma asked Rodney, impressed.


    "It''s really nothing special." Detective Rodney said. "The shoe size is the same as mine." he said, lifting up his foot for them to see. "And as for the dirt, it must have been here recently, since we''ve just came here a while ago and we didn''t see it."


    "Oh, okay then." Detective Karma said, "So, what does that mean, sir?"


    "Well, it means that whoever left these footprints here came from the outside." Detective Rodney said, "And we''d better find why they went outside. We''d better follow the trail they made for us." Detective Rodney pointed to the trail of muddy shoeprints that came from the bottom of the staircase.


    "Let''s go." Detective Rodney said, following the trail with Officer Karma and Thlong tagging along. They turned the corner of the staircase, showing a long hallway.


    Detective Rodney started running to the end of the hallway, and when he turned the corner, there was yet another hallway.


    "How many hallways are here?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong, panting.


    "I don''t know!" Thlong said, also panting, "Lucy was the one who designed the building, ask him, not me!"


    "Whatever then, let''s just keep going." Detective Rodney said. As they turned the corner, the trail turned once again on another corner, but it also turned at a door.


    "What''s this place?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong about the huge door.


    "Well, it''s the stock room." Thlong said, "This is where all the supplies are. Well, the large ones, at least, or the ones that are almost running out, so it''s easier to keep track of them."


    "I see, you mind opening this door for us?" Detective Rodney asked. "There might be vital evidence in there."


    "Do I even have a choice?" Thlong said irritably, "Fine. Here, let me open it." Thlong grabbed a pair of keys and unlocked the door for them. "Done, here."


    Detective Rodney and Karma entered the room, which was really dark, and tried to turn on the lights, but the light switch didn''t work.


    "Thlong, why isn''t this working?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "Well, you see, since this room isn''t used much, we''ve decided not to repair the lights." Thlong said, "They died out a long time ago. Anyway, I''ve got a flashlight, here."


    "No problem, I''ve got my own." Detective Rodney took out his own flashlight and started investigating the room.


    Karma also investigated the room, but got interested in a pile of leaves that was lying on a pile on one of the shelves.


    "Sir, what are these?" Officer Karma called Detective Rodney over. Detective Rodney examined the leaves. "I''m not really sure." he said, "They must be nothing, maybe they were from outside when the person came in?"


    "I doubt it." Thlong said, "It was in a pile, I don''t think it could just be a coincidence. Perhaps it''s one of the extra stock of medicinal herbs that we get."


    "Maybe," Rodney said, "but how are we supposed to know what kind they are?"


    "I''ll ask Lucy later, he''s the expert." Thlong said. Detective Rodney turned to the empty box that was in the spot that the trail led. He and officer Karma opened the box, but it was empty.


    "What''s supposed to be in here?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "Oh, that box?" Thlong went forward, but then froze, "Wait, that box¡­"


    "What about that box?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "It was right in Lucy''s office. I asked him a couple of times what''s in the box, but he wouldn''t say."


    As they were busy talking about the box, the door was suddenly locked behind them from the outside.

 11 Chapter 11

    "Now what?" Detective Rodney said as he tried to pull the door open.


    "It''s locked from the outside!" Thlong said exasperately, "This door can lock both ways. If you lock it from the inside, you can still open it from the outside with a key, but if the outside is locked, you can''t unlock it from the inside!"


    "How is that even possible?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong, "Shouldn''t it be using a keyhole?"


    "Well, a doorknob only has a keyhole on one side." Thlong said, "Since it was like that, Lucy decided to install a lock, so we could also lock it from the outside."


    "Is everything here designed by Lucy?" Detective Rodney asked. "And what''s the purpose of locking from the outside?"


    "Yes, everything here is designed by Lucy." Thlong said, "As for the purpose, I''m not even sure why he would install something like this in the first place!"


    "That Lucy''s one shady fellow." Detective Rodney muttered to himself. "We''d better confront him later."


    Detective Rodney examined the door. He hit it with his fist. "So, what''s this door supposed to be made of?"


    "Well, it''s made of high quality aluminum." Thlong said, "It''d be hard to break."


    "Of course," Detective Rodney said, "The good news is, the hinges are on this side, so we can break it open. The bad news is, we don''t have anything to use to open it."


    "Whoever''s locked us in will get in deep trouble!" Thlong said, "Ugh, the stress is killing me, I''d better call Lucy to get us out." He took out his phone, only to realized that it was dead.


    "Darn it!" Thlong said angrily, tossing the phone unto the ground, causing it to break. "I forgot to charge it. Now what?"Detective Rodney took out his walkie talkie and talked into it, "Anyone there? This is Detective Rodney, anyone there?" When no one answered, Rodney did it again, "I repeat, this is Detective Rodney, anyone there?"


    "I hear you, sir. What do you need?" An officer finally replied. Detective Rodney continued, "Officer, we need your help. We are stuck in the stockroom on the 1st floor, and we are locked from the outside, please Help get us out."


    "Okay then, sir, I got." the officer replied, "I''ll try my best. How can you even lock a door from the outside?"


    "I have no idea." Detective Rodney said, "Just bring a lockpick, would you?"


    "Yes, sir, I''ll be there." The officer said, and then hung up.


    "Well, then." Detective Rodney said to Thlong and Karma, "They''re coming to us. In the meantime, we should investigate this room." Rodney said as he took his flashlight again, "Hopefully, we''ll find something useful here,"


    "Possibly" Thlong said, going to one side and rummaging crates.


    "Hmm, what''s this?" Karma said, stooping down and holding up a leaf.


    "I don''t know." Detective Rodney said, "It''s too dark for me to see."


    "It''s probably just a leaf from a chastetree. We have a lot of those."


    "Yes, but why is it on the floor?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "You probably bumped into it." Thlong answered.


    Karma was searching the shelves while Detective Rodney was investigating the other things. Karma suddenly spotted something and showed it to Rodney.


    "Sir, do you think this can help?" Officer Karma asked Rodney, while holding up a fire extinguisher.


    Detective Rodney took the fire extinguisher. "Hmm, maybe we can use this to break the hinges." He said.


    He went to the door and kept banging the fire extinguisher on the hinges. He did this for several times, and when it didn''t break, he stood up and went several paces back.


    "Stand back." Detective Rodney told Thlong and Karma, "This is going to hurt a lot."


    Detective Rodney ran at the door with the fire extinguisher, and while he did, the door was opened by two officers on the other side. The other officer who was standing right in the doorframe didn''t have time to move, and Detective Rodney crashed into him.


    "Oof¡­ Sorry, officer, you okay?"Detective Rodney said, getting up and apologizing to the officer while helping him up.


    "Uhh, I think so, sir." The officer said, getting up, "What were you doing with a fire extinguisher anyway?"


    "I was trying to break open the door." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway, it''s good you came."


    "Of course, sir." The other officer said, "We couldn''t just leave you alone."


    "What''s going on here?" Somebody behind them asked. When they turned around, they saw a lady in a uniform coming towards them. "Did something bad happen here?"


    "Ah, Jeyn." Thlong said, rushing up to her and introducing her to everyone. "This is Jeyn Aetresse, an immigrant fromthe Kingdom of Krushnivania. We have been giving her work, and she works here as a janitor."


    "It''s good to meet you all." Jeyn said, bowing.


    "Ah, it''s good to meet you, Jeyn." Detective Rodney said, bowing back. "I''m Detective Rodney, and this is Officer Karma. What made you immigrate to Moony?"


    "Well, we''re having a really hard time in Krushnivania right now." Jeyn said sadly. "Especially my family. King Eishkov Krush Smernakov VI of Krushnivania just died recently and our new king Smernakov VII is having a hard time right now, fighting rebels on the southern side of the country, and our economy has recently collapsed following the death of our beloved king, placing us in a depression. Even things in the capital Vostav isn''t much better, in fact, it''s worse, since the king lives there, and he declared martial law. I was forced to find work, and seeing the success of Moony, I decided to come here. Of course, it''s hard to find work without a degree, but in the meantime while I''m working here, I''m studying at Eastern Moony City National University."


    "Oh, that''s great!" Detective Rodney said, "But, how can you fund your education while working as a janitor?"


    "I got a scholarship" Jeyn said, "and the pay here''s not so bad, at least compared to Krushnivania. 10 000 Moonyvian Mohns, and I get to send some to my family.


    "Really? How do you manage to survive?" Detective Rodney asked, amazed. "How much is the current exchange rate for Mohn to Kasch?"


    "1 Moonyvian Mohn equals 100 Krushnivanian Kasch." Jeyn said, "And with that amount, you could buy 10 pounds of rice."


    "I''m sorry about the current state of your country." Detective Rodney said, "I hope you''ll enjoy your stay in the Republic of Moony, and I hope your country will stabilize again."


    Detective Rodney then said, "Okay, enough talk, we need to investigate. Jeyn, did you see the set of footprints when you came here?"


    "Yes, I did." Jeyn said, horrorstruck, "I cleaned them up. Why, are they important?"


    "They could''ve been." Detective Rodney said, sighing"Do you remember where they lead? Maybe we could still get something out of this."


    "Well, I do remember that they turned the corner, and went all the way to the garbage dump at the back alley."


    "Okay, that''s a relief." Detective Rodney said, "Thanks. Come, Karma, let''s go."


    They turned the corner and reached the door leading to the alleyway. As soon as Detective Rodney opened the door, he winced back, pinching his nose.


    "Oh my, it smells horrible here." Detective Rodney said disgustedly. "Whatkind of garbage do you even throw here?"


    "Oh, you know, expired medical stuff like leaves, fruits, things like that." Thlong said. "Anyway, do you mind continuing the investigation? Even I can''t stand this place."


    "Fine," Detective Rodney said, "let''s get this over with."


    Detective Rodney, Karma, and Thlong walked into the alleyway. "Karma, stay with me." Detective Rodney said.


    "But, sir, wouldn''t it be better if we both investigated separately?" Karma asked.


    "Well, that would be the case, but I''m not sure I can handle it myself." Detective Rodney said. "Especially since I think I might faint from this smell."


    "Okay then, sir." Karma said.


    As Thlong was waiting for them to finish while covering his nose, Detective Rodney and Karma looked through the piles and piles of garbage.


    "Great." Detective Rodney said, "We''ll need more help if we want to finish looing through all this garbage. Let me look for those two officers, while you continue the investigation, Karma."


    "Okay sir." Karma said as Rodney left. Karma turned to Thlong. "Aren''t you going to help?"


    "What? Of course not." Thlong said, "I will watch you, but don''t expect me to go digging around in that garbage."


    "Fine, whatever you say." Karma said as he continued looking around.


    By the time Detective Rodney came back, he still didn''t find anything.


    "Did you find anything?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "No. Not a single thing." Karma replied, "All I found was more garbage."


    "Well, we better keep looking." Detective Rodney replied. "I got us some help here."


    "Of course, sir." The officer replied, "We will be glad to help."


    "Well, I''d better leave, then." Thlong replied. "I can''t take this smell anymore."


    As Thlong was about to leave, he stepped on a muddy part and slipped, covering himself in mud.


    "Argh." Thlong said angrily as he tried to stand up. "Now I''m all covered in mud!"


    The officer tried to stifle a laugh as he helped Thlong get up.


    Detective Karma suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, what about the tracks?" he asked Karma. "Did you find the tracks?"


    "No, sir, not at all." Karma replied, thinking how foolish he was for forgetting about it.


    "Hmm, that''s strange." Detective Rodney said, mostly to himself. "If the tracks supposedly led here, then how did they disappear? Jeyn may have cleaned the floor up in the building, but it''s impossible to clean up mud here. Unless¡­" Detective Rodney suddenly got an idea, "Maybe, it could be that the tracks don''t lead here at all. Maybe, it could be that they were simply washed away. Or maybe , Jeyn could have been trying to mislead us all along."


    "Jeyn?" Thlong asked, amazed. "Why would Jeyn be trying to mislead us?"


    "Well, there are lots of possible reason." Detective Rodney said, "She could be the killer, or maybe an accomplice, but we won''t know until we fully investigate this case."


    "I think it''s highly unlikely that Jeyn''s the killer." Thlong said, "For one thing, she doesn''t even know the victim. There''s no motive to kill."


    "Well, we''ll never know until we investigate this matter fully." Rodney said, "For now, we won''t confront her, since we aren''t sure yet."


    "You too, stay here and investigate." Detective Rodney told the officers, then turned to Thlong. "Thlong, are there any other places that are accessible that are muddy?"


    "Not that I know of." Thlong said, "This is the only place that I know that gets muddy."


    "Which means that maybe we''re on the right track." Detective Rodney said, "Sorry for the pun. But we must find those muddy tracks."


    "Karma, come with me, we''re going back to the station." Detective Rodney said, "We need to have a look about Jeyn''s immigration files."


    "Hey, soyou don''t trust what I say?" Thlong asked Detective Rodney.


    "Of course not. Since when did we ever trust people under investigation?" Detective Rodney said, "We''ve got to take a look at it anyway, maybe we can find something."


    Detective Rodney and Karma went to the parking lot and got in the car when Karma asked Detective Rodney a question before he started.


    "Sir," Karma asked Rodney while driving, "who do you think is the actual killer in this case?"


    "Well," Detective Rodney said, "I don''t know. We haven''t investigated this case fully, and between Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation, I''d say that they''re both pretty shady."


    "Do you think we''ll actually get to arrest the killer?"


    "That''s what I don''t know, Karma." Detective Rodney sighed, "Hopefully, we''ll get to the bottom of this as long as we investigate the case fully. I don''t know if we will manage to arrest the killer, but we will try and try, until we find the killer, and put them behind bars. Now, keep your eyes on the road, or we''ll crash."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said, and as he was driving, he couldn''t help but wonder if there was a bigger mystery to this case than meets the eye.

 12 Chapter 12

    Back at Luminiscence Corporation, Thlong rushed to Lucy''s office, and slammed the door open. Lucy was busy reading a book and he looked up at Thlong.


    "Oh, Thlong, it''s you." Lucy said, "Why are you muddy?"


    "That''s a long story." Thlong said, agitated.


    "Well? What did you discover?" Lucy asked Thlong.


    Thlong slammed on the table. "I should be asking you, how did you manage to get hemlock?"


    "How did you find out?" Lucy asked.


    "We were locked in that storage room." Thlong said to Lucy.


    "What?" Lucy said, standing up, "What do you mean by, ''locked?''"


    "I mean that we were locked inside from the outside." Thlong said, "Honestly, why did you decide to install a lock on the outside?"


    "It was for times when I need to conceal something, like the hemlock. The lock which only I have the key to." Lucy said.


    Thlong took the lock out of his pocket. "Here''s the lock." Thlong said, dropping it on the table. "It was on the outside."


    "Wait a moment, let me see that." Lucy said, examining the lock. "Wait, I don''t use these kind of locks ¡­"


    "Well, then, enough about that." Thlong said angrily, "Why didn''t you tell me you decided to get hemlock illegally?!"


    "Well, I knew you wouldn''t like it anyway." Lucy said indifferently, "It''s not like the police would find out, about it, or so I thought."


    "Well, they almost found it." Thlong said, "You got lucky this time. Officer Karma saw it, but luckily, they didn''t know anything about plants." Thlong then asked, "By the way, how did you get it?"


    "You know how hard it is to get hemlock." Lucy said, "And, well, when a certain group offered to sell me hemlock, I decided to accept their offer."


    "Surely not Deyd Krimeenall?" Thlong asked, "If you bought it from him, we will be in bigger trouble."


    Lucy scoffed, "As if he would sell me hemlock. No, I got it from some other group. I''m not telling you the name, though."


    "Anyway," Thlong asked Lucy," What''s your shoe size?"


    "Is this relevant?" Lucy asked.


    "Yes, it is." Thlong insisted.


    "Fine." Lucy rolled his eyes. "Size twelve and a half."


    "So you''re not the one that put the set of muddy footprints?"


    "What? Of course not!" Lucy said, "You know how I love cleanliness."


    "Then someone from the outside must''ve been coming in here." Thlong said, "There were muddy footprints that came from outside, to the dumpsters, and they also planted jewelry." Thlong then added, "It''s not yours, is it?"


    "Well, it''s not. What shoe size was it?"


    "I heard that it was ten and a half." Thlong said. "Who do you think has been sabotaging us to look like the killer?" Thlong asked Lucy anxiously.


    "Whoever it is." Lucy said slowly, "We have to catch them soon."


    Detective Rodney and Officer Karma went immediately to Chief Ahrest''s office once they reached the station. Detective Rodney knocked first before entering.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest said, in a way that Detective Rodney could tell that he was angry.


    "Something wrong, Chief?" Detective Rodney asked cautiously.


    "Hmm? Wrong, well, obviously, something is wrong." Chief Ahrest exclaimed, fuming. "All that time it took to interrogate Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire and still nothing! And the worst part is, we can only keep them up to tomorrow night!"


    Chief Ahrest took out a pill and swallowed it. "It seems I need to be taking these anti stress pills more recently now. Being a Chief is so stressful." He muttered to himself, but loud enough for Detective Rodney and Karma to hear.


    "I apologize for my ranting." ChiefAhrest said, as he returned to his normal self again. "So, you''re back. What did you discover?"


    "Well," Detective Rodney started saying, "We did find some sort of link with Luminescence Corporation and Mr. Deyd Krimeenall, although at the moment, we''re not sure. We did find a set of footprints, but apparently there was nothing at all at the end."


    "Anything else?" Chief Ahrest inquired.


    "Well, we were locked into a room." Detective Rodney said, "We''re no sure who did it, though."


    "What?!" Chief Ahrest stood up from his chair and exclaimed, "You were locked in a room. I will demand an investigation into that immediately." Chief Ahrest then walked towards Rodney and said, "And I''m sure you need something. How can I help you?"


    "How did you know?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest, astonished.


    "Well, first of all, you didn''t just come in here to tell me about the investigation. All the times you came here, you never did. So, come on, what do you need already?"


    "We need to see the immigration documents for Ms. Jeyn Aetress, currently employed under Luminescence Corporation."


    "Oh? What for?" Chief Ahrest asked, "Is it relevant?"


    "Well, we do think if there would be something wrong with it, it could be important." Detective Rodney said, "We''re not rounding her out as a suspect yet, and hope we might be able to find something from her file. She might be an illegal or something."


    "Very well." Chief Ahrest said, picking up his phone and dialing. "I''ll call up the Immigration Authority and ask them to bring us a file on her right away."


    Chief Ahrest dialed a couple of numbers and was talking on the phone.


    "Yes. Yes, I see. Thank you, I''ll be waiting. Please send it as soon as possible." Chief Ahrest said as he put down the phone. "Well," He said as he turned back to Detective Rodney and Officer Karma, "they said it''ll take up to a week for us to get the report, so we''ll best hope that it can be sooner."


    "Does it really take that long?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Yes, I also hoped it would be sooner, but there''s nothing we can do about it." Chief Ahrest said. "Hmm, looks like shift is over." Chief Ahrest said, glancing at his watch which said 8:30 PM. "You should all be going now."


    "What about you?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Well, I still have some important matters to attend to. You go on ahead" Chief Ahrest said as he organized important documents.


    "Oh, and one more thing." Detective Rodney said, taking the plastic bag that had the jewelry out of his pocket and tossing it at Chief Ahrest. "Maybe you''ll find something important on this. Send it to forensics."


    Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron set out when a black limousine suddenly stopped in front of them, and a man and a woman both came out.


    "BYROOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    "What the-?!" Detective Rodney exclaimed as they came rushing towards Byron.


    The woman hugged Byron. "Oh, Byron, it''s great to see you!" she said as she kissed Byron.


    "Mom, please stop." Byron said, trying to get away.


    "He''s right, honey, don''t embarrass him in front of his friends." Byron''s father said, walking up to them.


    "Why, I believe we haven''t met yet." Byron''s father said to Karma and Rodney.


    "I am Officer Karma." Karma started, but was interrupted by Byron''s mother.


    "Oh! So you''re that Karma our son keeps talking about!" she said, going up to Karma and kissing him, "Thank you for helping our son through the police academy, he''s not-


    "Mom!"


    "Come on, now, Jane." Byron''s dad said, "Stop embarrassing our son." He looked at Detective Rodney, "And who might you be?" he asked.


    "Detective Rodney." Detective Rodney replied, "Head of the Homicide Department-"


    "Ah, so you''re a Detective?" Byron''s mother asked Rodney.


    "Well, most obviously, didn''t I just state it?" Detective Rodney said, but she didn''t appear to hear him.


    "Ah, so you''re Byron''s superior!" Byron''s mom said to Detective Rodney. "Please excuse my son, he''s a bit."


    "W-well, not exactly his superior." Detective Rodney said quickly, "I''m Karma''s superior. Byron''s superior is someone else."


    "Enough of the talking." Byron said suddenly. "Mom, Dad, what are you both doing here?"


    "Coming to get you." Byron'' dad said, "Son, you know how dangerous the streets are at night. We want you to be safe."


    "You know I''m a cop, right?"


    "Even cops can be attacked." Byron''s mom said, "Hey, does your friend want to join us?"


    "Err... no."


    But Byron''s mother turned to Karma. "You want to join us, dear?"


    "My house is on the other side." Karma said quickly, and added, "Besides, I''ve got my own car."


    "Ah, okay fine, then." Byron''s mom said, though she looked disappointed.


    "Bye, Karma, see you tomorrow." Byron said, a bit relieved, as they left.


    "Why didn''t you join them?" Detective Rodney asked, "Your house is just a bit farther off than theirs."


    "I didn''t want to embarrass him any further, sir." Detective Karma said.


    "I see. What a bunch of stereotypical, generic people." Detective Rodney said.


    "What do you mean, sir?" Karma asked him.


    "We have the donut loving cop, and his overprotective parents." Detective Rodney said, "Bet you the next thing is that they''ll be fighting."


    Karma was about to go, when Detective Karma called him back. "By the way, Karma, since I''ll be at court tomorrow, you should go to Chief Ahrest''s office, he''ll tell you what to do. Tell him I sent you."


    "Okay, sir."


    After that, Karma left and went home. When he arrived, he went in, and saw luggage packed. His father was nowhere to be seen.


    "He must be out again." Karma thought to himself, "I feel as if he''s leaving. I''ll ask him about it when I see him."


    The next day, Karma woke up late. When he saw the time, he panicked.


    "Oh, no, I''m late." Karma said, quickly doing everything. "He didn''t even have time for breakfast as he rushed to work.


    When he finally arrived at the police station, he was wondering why there seemed to be so few people,and he immediately went to Chief Ahrest''s office.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest said as he knocked.


    Karma went in. "Sir, I''m not late, am I?" he asked anxiously.


    Chief Ahrest looked at his wall clock. "Um, no, it''s just that I''m early." Chief Ahrest said, "Karma, why do you look like you''ve rushed everything? You''re thirty minutes early."


    "Really?" Karma said, feeling relived. "Sorry, sir, it''s just that my clock said that I was thirty minutes late, it must''ve been broken."


    "Well, get it fixed next time." Chief Ahrest said,putting on his coat. "Anyway, Detective Rodney told me you''d be coming here. Since you''re here, we should get going. Since we have to release Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire today, it would be best if we investigated Paradox Industries today. Hopefully, we might find something that will keep them detained for even a bit longer."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma then left the office and went to the parking lot. There, they got into the car and drove off towards Paradox Industries.


    While driving, Chief Ahrest suddenly asked Karma. "So, Karma, how is your father doing?"


    "Oh, uh, he''s fine, sir." Karma replied.


    "That''s good to hear." Chief Ahrest responded, "By the way, does he still do police work?"


    "Sometimes, sir." Officer Karma said.


    "Well, Karma, he was a great chief, except that he managed to let two criminals named Brad Polesse and Than Long escape."


    "Really, sir?" Karma said, surprised, "I always knew something was wrong when he suddenly quit his work, he always said that it was about time he retired, but I knew he would never do that, so what happened at that time?"


    "Well," Chief Ahrest started, "you see, Brad Polesse was arrested for the murder of the billionaire Mill O. Nair., and after a while in jail, a riot happened. Your father,me, Detective Rodney, along with the warden and a couple of officers quickly put it down, but Brad Polesse and Than Long managed to escape."


    "Why are you telling me this, sir?" Officer Karma asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Well, I just thought that you should know." Chief Ahrest responded, "Oh, and the last words of Brad Polesse was that he would come back, and make an organization called Team Luminescence."


    "Is that why you think there''s some importance in Luminescence Corporation, sir?" Karma asked.


    "Yes, but it''s possible that they are totally different from each other." Chief Ahrest said, "This could be a different company, and the letter that said that Mr. Lusserson had a different identity? It could just mean he''s a drug dealer or an undercover spy. But whatever it is, I can''t be certain until we search them thoroughly.."


    After that, Chief Ahrest asked Karma, "Anyway, how close are we to Paradox Industries?"


    "We''re almost there, sir, it''s just past the next block."


    "Hm, that was fast." Chief Ahrest commented. "Well, I hope we''ll find something, anything at all."


    When they arrived, the guards let them in, and they were met by a Mr. Alfard.


    "Excuse me," Chief Ahrest said, "Who are you supposed to be?"


    "I''m Alfard." Mr. Alfard introduced himself, "Henry Joseph Alfard. I''m the Manager of Paradox Industries, and Mr. Paradox put me in charge until he gets released."


    "I''m Chief Ahrest, and this is Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest said, pointing to himself and Karma, "And, well, we need to investigate again."


    "Very well," Mr. Alfard said, "I will tell the employees not to bother you. If you need any help in your investigation, you can find me in my office; it''s the one opposite of Mr. Paradox''s office."


    "Thank you, and one more thing," Chief Ahrest said to Mr. Alfard, "Why weren''t you here yesterday when we were busy investigating?"


    "Ah, yesterday, I was off to close a deal on behalf of Mr. Paradox." Mr. Alfard said, "When you arrested him, he called me up and told me to be temporarily in charge until he gets released."


    "I see. Thank you." Chief Ahrest said. He and Karma proceeded to go directly to Mr. Paradox''s office. "We didn''t check this place thoroughly enough before," he said, "there might still be evidence."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma were searching through Mr. Paradox''s things in order to try and find something that they could use to increase his detention time. Chief Ahrest was sifting through the books, while Officer Karma was looking through his desk.


    "Karma, have you found anything yet?" Chief Ahrest said while inspecting a book.


    "No, sir, not yet." Officer Karma said as while inspecting things on the desk.


    "Well, better keep looking, then." Chief Ahrest said, searching. "We need to find something, anything, even for a small thing in order for us to keep him detained longer."


    "Okay, sir, I''m searching." Officer Karma said. He tried to open a drawer on the left side, but it was locked.


    "Sir, this drawer''s locked." Officer Karma said to Chief Ahrest, "Maybe we should unlock it?"


    "We''re running out of things to check, so I guess we don''t have a choice." Chief Ahrest said, "So let''s do it. Let''s get Mr. Alfard."


    Officer Karma and Chief Ahrest went up to Mr. Alfard''s office door and knocked on it.


    "Come in."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma went inside Mr. Alfard''s office, and Mr. Alfard greeted them.


    "So, what do you need help with?" He asked.


    "Well," Chief Ahrest began, "you see, there''s this locked drawer in Mr. Paradox''s office, and we n3ed to open it."


    "In that case," Mr. Alfard said, taking a set of keys, "Here''s the keys. Most of the drawers use the same keys so you might be able to use my key for it."


    "Thank you." Chief Ahrest said, taking the set of keys from him. "We''ll be going now."


    They went back to Mr. Paradox''s office, and, after several attempts of trying different keys, they managed to open the drawer.


    "Finally." Chief Ahrest commented, opening the drawer, "Now, let''s see what''s in here."


    When Chief Ahrest looked in the drawer, there was only an envelope in it.


    "That''s strange," Chief Ahrest said, opening the envelope and pulling out two pieces of paper. "There''s nothing in this envelope, other than these two pieces of paper."


    "Is there nothing written on it, sir?" Karma asked.


    "Nothing at all." Chief Ahrest said, looking at the other side of the paper, "Well, perhaps this may have been written with some sort of invisible ink, so I''ll send it right away to the Forgery Department. It might just be the evidence we need."


    Chief Ahrest put the papers back in the envelope. "Well, I hope this has something incriminating, since we found nothing else whatsoever. We just have to put our faith on it."


    "Of course, sir." Officer Karma said.


    "We should get going now. The sooner we get this over to them, the better. We have to release them today if we don''t find anything."


    "Oh, leaving so soon?" Mr. Alfard said when he saw them leaving.


    "Yes, we''ve got what we needed." Chief Ahrest responded.


    Upon their arrival to the police station, they immediately went to the forgery department.


    "Oh, Chief." An officer said upon seeing Karma and Chief Ahrest, "To what do I owe the pleasure now?"


    "Hopefully, you''ll be able to find something on these papers, Officer Marge." Chief Ahrest answered, putting the envelope on the table, "Whether or not we get to lengthen Mr. Paradox''s detention depends on what we can find here."


    "Oh, very well then." Officer Marge responded, and looked at Karma, "Oh, and who''s the new recruit?"


    "This is Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest answered, "Karma, this is Officer Marge."


    "Pleased to meet you." She answered, holding out her hand, which Karma promptly shook.


    Chief Ahrest''s phone rang suddenly, causing Chief Ahrest to answer it, ":Hello?"


    "Chief, where have you been?" The voice on the other side asked.


    "Oh, Detective Rodney." Chief Ahrest answered, "Well, me and Officer Karma were investigating Paradox Industries."


    "Are you still there?"


    "No, we''re already done." Chief Ahrest replied, "Detective, why do you sound tense?"


    "You see, Chief," Detective Rodney replied, tense, "There''s just been a robbery at the `` Newfund Bank."

 13 Chapter 13

    "WHAT?!"


    Chief Ahrest roared so loudly that all the officer in the vicinity turned to see what was happening.


    "What are you all looking at?" Chief Ahrest said to everyone in the vicinity, that all the officer turned away and resumed what they were doing.


    "Detective Rodney. Please explain in more detail."


    "Well, you see," Detective Rodney started, "while you were gone investigating , we received a call that there was a robbery at the Newfund Bank. But things escalated, apparently, so now the perpetrators have three hostages with them."


    "What? And where are you?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We''re on our way, but there''s heavy traffic out here." Detective Rodney said, "We think we won''t make it in time. You might be able to, though." He added.


    "Very well, we''re on our way." Chief Ahrest said, before ending the call.


    He turned to Karma, "Well, Officer Karma, looks like we got a robbery and hostage taking on our hands. Let''s go."


    "I''ll have things ready when you get back." Officer Marge said to Chief Ahrest.


    Chief Ahrest took out his walkie talkie and talked into it. "There''s been a robbery that became a hostage taking at Newfund back. Get the SWAT Division on the case immediately."


    "Come on, Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest said as they headed for the patrol car.


    "Chief, I heard what happened." An officer ran up to them when they were about to get in.


    "Come with us, officer." Chief Ahrest said. The officer got in the driver''s seat and they headed towards the bank with sirens on.


    "Chief, you there?" A voice came out of Chief Ahrest''s walkie talkie.


    "Yes, I''m here, what is it?"


    "Chief, the SWAT team''sbeen dispatched. They''re on their way."


    "Good, we''re also on our way. Tell them to meet up with us outside, since we''re nearly there."


    "Yes, sir."


    When they finally reached the scene, they stopped and got out, guns in hand.There was another


    patrol car nearby and there was one officer pointing a gun at the entrance, while another officer was lying next to the car, with another officer assisting him.


    "Ah, Chief Ahrest!" the officer holding the gun said.


    "Officer, what happened here?" Chief Ahrest inquired.


    "Well, we were on patrol nearby, so when we heard there was an emergency, we came here as soon as we could." The officer said, "We ended up engaging in a firefight with the perpetrators and Officer Thompson here was hit. They''ve retreated further inside with three hostages."


    "Have you called an ambulance yet?" Chief Ahrest asked, concerned.


    "Yes, sir." The officer said.


    "Do you have any idea who the hostages are?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We do have a good idea on who they are." The officer said, "We think it was the owner of the bank Mr. Holt Starvald, along with his secretary and the bank manager."


    "Wait, Mr. Starvald?" Chief Ahrest asked, surprised.


    "Yes, sir, turns out he was on his monthly visit to the banks when the robbery happened, so, now, there he is."


    "So, how many perpetrators are there?"


    "I think three fired on us, but there could possibly be more inside." The officer replied, "They were armed with assault rifles, and there was one with a pistol."


    "Any civilians trapped inside?"


    "We think there is, sir?" the officer replied, "But we can''t get them out unless we have backup."


    At that moment, the SWAT team finally arrived. They screeched to a halt and the police hurried out.


    "Sir!" The captain of the SWAT team saluted Chief Ahrest. "What do you need us to do."


    "Seems as if Detective Rodney isn''t here yet." Chief Ahrest told Karma, "I want you to stay here and block the entrance, and inform Detective Rodney when he arrives."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said.


    "Let''s go." Chief Ahrest told the SWAT team captain.


    "Understood, sir." The SWAT captain said to the team members. "You heard the chief, let''s go!"


    Chief Ahrest and the SWAT lined up on both sides of the door. On the SWAT captain''s command, they broke down the door and rushed in.


    "Looks like there''s nobody here." One of the SWAT said.


    "Stay sharp." The captain said, "They may be hiding."


    Back outside, Officer Karma heard the sound of a siren. A police car arrived, whereas three SWAT officer and Detective Rodney came out.


    "Karma, where''s the Chief?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Sir, he''s gone in the building along with the SWAT team.


    Detective Rodney signaled to the SWAT team to go into the building. He then turned to Karma.


    "Come on, Karma, let''s go."


    As Chief Ahrest and the SWAT slowly progressed through the third floor, they came across a locked door.


    An officer took out his shotgun and shot the door, causing it to break, and they attempted to go in. They were fired upon by two robbers, who were hiding behind an overturned door.


    "Get down!" the captain commanded. They quickly got on the ground as bullets razed overhead.


    "Flashbomb!"


    A deafening sound went off and the robbers were dazed. They quickly went in and arrested them. They saw a couple of people crouched around the room.


    "Well, we can''t be too sure about this." The captain said, "For now, just secure everyone."


    Once they cleared the third floor and left a couple of SWAT in the room with the robbers, they proceeded to the fourth and uppermost floor, where the robbers were holding out.


    They went onto either side of the door. "Okay, prepare to engage." The captain said.


    As they all aimed the gun at the door, the captain kicked down the door and threw in a smoke grenade.


    The robbers, who were now coughing and disoriented from the smoke, fired blindly upon the SWAT.


    "Augh, I''ve been hit!" one of the officer said as a bullet hit their arm.


    "It''s just a flesh wound, you''ll live!" The SWAT captain said, "Fire!"


    After the firefight, they rounded up the surviving suspects and opened a door on the side that was locked. In it was the three hostages.


    "Sir, I hope you''ve been alright in there." Chief Ahrest told Mr. Starvald.


    "Oh, I had a jolly good time indeed." Mr. Starvald said sarcastically. "It was a good thimng you policemen showed up when you did. A gentlemanly banker like me couldn''t possibly survive those ruffians!"


    "If you don''t mind, we need to bring you to the precinct for questioning." Chief Ahrest said.


    "Of course, anything to help the police." Mr. Starvald said. "I hope you''ll bring my secretary and manager to the hospital?"


    "After questioning." Chief Ahrest said, "Let''s go."


    Detective Rodney showed up accompanied by the three SWAT officers and officer Karma.


    "Ah, Detective Rodney, you''re late." Chief Ahrest said.


    "Well, looks like you''ve done it well yourselves." Detective Rodney said.


    "Yes, it''s a good thing too that we came." Chief Ahrest said. "Anyway, enough of the chatter, let''s get going."


    When they arrived at the station, Chief Ahrest got Detective Rodney to ask Mr. Starvald for his testimony, while he and Officer Karma proceeded to go to the Forgery Department.


    "Ah, Chief, right on time." Officer Marge said, "I''ve got it done for you."


    "So, what have you discovered?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "Turns out that they were using the most high tech invisible ink." Officer Marge said, "Even UV lights didn''t work. That was when my assistant accidentally spilled water on it."


    "What?" Chief Ahrest asked, "So, what happened?"


    "I''ll let my assistant answer that." Officer Marge responded.


    "W-well, you see, Chief." The assistant began, "Turns out that it was written in an invisible ink that is waterproof. So when the water spilled on the paper, only the part that was written in invisible ink remained dry."


    "So, did you find out what it read or not?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We did, sir. We wrote what it said on another piece of paper." The assistant said, handing him that piece of paper, "And, it was for a purchase of one million mohns worth of hemlock, which he purchased from Deyd Krimeenall!"


    "What? One million mohns worth of hemlock, from Deyd Krimeenall?" Chief Ahrest exclaimed. "Well, in that case, I guess it is now time to confront him about it. And just in time, too. Any sooner and we would have had to release them."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma went into the room that Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire were detained. The guard moved aside for them. Attorney Pence was also there, talking to Mr. Paradox. He stopped when he noticed the officers.


    "Ah, Chief Ahrest, what is it this time?" Attorney Pence asked the chief.


    Chief Ahrest dropped the paper on the table. "This is evidence we found that shows that Mr. Paradox was involved in the illegal hemlock trade."


    "Oh?" Attorney Pence said, "And do you have any more evidence other than this piece of paper that could have forged just to get my client detained longer?"


    "Well, the actual paper was written on by invisible ink." Chief Ahrest said, "And this is what it said. It confirms that Mr. Paradox was in contact with Deyd Krimenall, which makes him our number one suspect."


    "Whatever you say, then." Mr. Paradox said.


    "What?!" Attorney Pence exclaimed, staring at Mr. Paradox, "Are you okay with this? They''re accusing you of the murder."


    "It''s not like we can stop them anyway." He said angrily, "And they will learn that I am not the killer eventually."


    "Are you still maintaining you''re not involved in Deyd Krimeenall''smurder?"


    "Of course I am!" Mr. Paradox said angrily, "You know who''s suspicious? Mr. Lusserson of Luminescence Corporation."


    "That has crossed our minds." Chief Ahrest said, "We''ll be investigating them eventually."


    "Ah, good-"


    "But until we can find his guilt in the murder, I''m afraid you''ll have to be stuck in here." Chief Ahrest said.


    "What about Eclaire?" Mr. Paradox asked.


    "Well, uh, he''s allowed to post bail since he''s not directly implicated, but he''s still involved." Chief Ahrest said, "You aren''t, though, Mr. Paradox. This note claims you have one million mohns worth of hemlock, and that is a very grave accusation."


    "Attorney Pence." Mr. Paradox said to Jeff Pence, "Go post bail the first thing tomorrow morning for Eclaire."


    "Of course." Attorney Pence said.


    "We''ll be investigating this case of your possession of hemlock." Chief Ahrest said, "Well, I hope you''ll be comfortable here in the meantime."


    "Still, unless you find more direct proof of my client''s involvement other than that so called hidden ink message," Attorney Pence said, "You won''t be able to keep him detained for very long."


    "Oh, well, in the meantime." Chief Ahrest said, "Atleast it''ll keep him out of the way of the investigation, for now."

 14 Chapter 14

    "I see," Attorney Pence said, "now I understand. So you extended my clients detention so he would be out of the way of your investigation?"


    "I guess you could say that." Chief Ahrest stated, then whipped around, "Come, Karma, let''s get back to work."


    As they went out. Chief Ahrest closed the door behind them and turned to Karma.


    "So, Karma." He said, "I''ll head back to my office to think about what to do next. Detective Rodney is probably already at court for the trial. Why don''t you go and check up on Mr. Starvald, if he''s still there? After that, you can go take your lunch break."


    With that, Chief Ahrest left Karma and proceeded to go to his own room.


    Karma walked down the hallway as he walked into the room with Mr. Starvald.


    "Er, Mr. Starvald?" Officer Karma called to Mr. Starvald. Mr. Starvald turned around.


    "Yes, what do you want, chap?" He asked Karma politely.


    "Chief Ahrest told me to check up on you."


    "Ah," said Mr. Starvald, "That''s considerate of him. He was always a true gentleman, much like myself. Well," Said Mr. Starvald, standing up and fixing his tie. "I need to go now, Officer."


    "Oh, of course." Karma said as Mr. Starvald left the room. Now alone, as Detective Karma was walking to his own department, He ran into Officer Byron, who was eating a donut.


    "Ah, Karma." Byron greeted Karma, "Fancy seeing you here. I heard that you got involved in a hostage taking at Newfund Bank. What happened there?"


    "Oh, nothing we couldn''t handle." Karma told Byron, "Hey, Byron, are you also on break?"


    "Hm, oh, yeah." Said Byron to Karma, grinning, "I was just about to see you to see if we could go have lunch together."


    "That sounds like a good idea." said Karma as he and Byron headed off towards the parking lot and they got in Byron''s car.


    Byron got into the driver''s seat and Karma got into the passenger seat. When they put on their seatbelts, Byron started the car and they drove off.


    "So, where are we going?" Karma asked Byron.


    "Well, my dad opened a new branch just a bit further down the road," Byron replied, "We''ll be eating there."


    "Well, Donut Land serves other thing than just donuts, right?" Karma asked.


    "Of course they do." He replied, and added, "So, Karma, why don''t you tell me about what happened?" Byron asked Karma while he drove.


    "Well, this morning, we went and investigated Paradox Industries. We tried to find something that would keep them detained longer, and we did."


    "Oh?" Byron said, intrigued, "And what did you find?"


    "Well," Karma explained, "We found a piece of paper that links Mr. Paradox with the illegal hemlock trade. As you know, Deyd Krimeenall sells hemlock, so there''s gotta be some connection there, right?"


    "I believe that''s highly likely, like a ninety nine percent chance." Byron agreed, "I think the Chief will investigate Paradox Industries again."


    They came to a halt as the stoplight in front of them turned red. Byron turned to Karma to continue their conversation.


    "I hope we find something to implicate Mr. Eclaire also." Karma told Byron, "We haven''t found anything about him, so he''s free to go after he posts bail."


    "Tough luck." Byron replied, "Well, I''m sure you''ll find something."


    "Byron, the light''s green." Karma told Byron, pointing at the stoplight.


    "Oh, sorry about that." Byron said as he continued to drive, "Let''s go."


    He and Karma talked for a while before they arrived at Donut Land. They decided to get drive thru since it would be more practical if they needed to go to the police station quickly.


    "Hello, welcome to Donut Land," the speaker said, "may I take your order please?"


    "Karma, what you want?" Byron asked Karma.


    Karma looked over the menu and looked for something other than donuts. Then he saw that meal number nine was, a burger, while number seven was fries and a coke.


    "Well," Karma said, handing Byron ten mohns to pay for his order, "I''ll have a number seven with extra ketchup, and two number nines, one with cheese."


    "Okay," Byron replied, taking the ten mohns. "We''ll have two number nines, one with cheese, a jumbo number nine, a number six, a number seven with extra dip,a number twelve, and a large donut."


    "Okay sir, we got your order." The person talking through the speaker said, "Please proceed to the next area to claim your meal."


    "Did you just order everything donuts?" Karma asked Byron.


    "What do you take me for? One of those fat, unhealthy, donut loving cops?" Byron replied, "Only number twelve and the last order were donuts, number six was a tuna sandwich."


    "Wait, why does donut land sell so much more non donut meals than donut meals?" Karma asked.


    "Well," Byron said, "Dad knew that the he would''ve gotten more customers if he didn''t just sell donuts, so he diversified a bit."


    "I think he diversified a little bit too much." Karma replied. Byron continued driving until they reached the next area.


    "Here you go, sir." Said the lady behind the desk, handing over a bag. Byron took the bag.


    "How much?" He asked, pulling out his wallet.


    "It''ll be one hundred mohns, sir."


    "That''s not that expensive." Byron said to himself, looking through his wallet. He saw he was twenty mohns short. "Er, Karma." Byron asked Karma, "Could you lend me 20 mohns? I''ll pay you back later."


    "Fine," Karma sighed, taking out twenty mohns from his wallet and handing it over to Byron.


    "Thanks." Byron said, handing the money to the cashier. "Here you go."


    "Have a nice day, sir." The cashier said as they drove off to the parking of the restaurant.


    "Okay, now give me my food." Karma told Byron as Byron handed him his order.


    "There we go." Byron said, "Now, let''s eat!"


    They ate their meal in silence, but Karma broke it by asking Byron, "So, what about you? Any cases recently?"


    Byron took the time to swallow his food, "Well, there was this one case we had to solve that involved a 1 million mohns counterfeit bill."


    "Wait, does that even exist?" Karma asked.


    "No, which is precisely why it''s counterfeit." Byron replied, "Some foreigner complained about not knowing it was a counterfeit bill and made a scene at the airport when he was going to convert it to his country''s currency of Nistrian Nacurs. We had to go to the airport and fix the issue."


    "Well, did you?" Karma asked Byron.


    "We had sufficient evidence to think that he actually knew it was a fake. In fact, we think he was the one that forged it."


    "He didn''t bother checking our bills to see if something like that existed." Karma said, laughing.


    "Yeah, it''s weird." Byron agreed, "I guess he didn''t know a one million mohn bill didn''t exist. Why, if it did, we could by a house with that."


    They continued discussing what they did while eating. When they finished, Karma looked at his watch.


    "Look at the time." Karma told Byron, "Our break''s almost over. We have to get back."


    "Agreed." Byron said, and he turned the car on and drove.


    "I wonder what the Chief''s next course of action will be, though." Karma said, "We don''t have that many clues to work on, at the moment. We might investigate Luminescence Corporation again."


    "We didn''t really find anything else other than note at Deyd Krimeenall''s house, right?" Byron said, "Other than that bottle of cyanide. That''s not really much evidence to work on."


    "We''ll find a way." Karma said, "We can''t fail our first job."


    They arrived at the station and got out. They went in and parted ways.


    "See you later, Karma." Byron waved to Karma as he headed to his own department.


    "You too, Byron." Karma said, going back to his department.


    As Karma walked towards his department, he bumped into Officer Grand. Officer Grand dropped what he was holding, and Karma picked it up and gave it back.


    "Sorry about that, officer." Karma apologized, "Where were you going anyway?"


    "Well, I was going to go see the Chief." Officer Grand replied, taking the envelope from Karma. "I''ll be seeing you."


    "Okay," Karma replied, "See you."


    Karma walked away while Officer Grand walked towards the Chief''s office. He knocked on the door.


    "Come in."


    Officer Grand opened the door and went in. He slowly closed it behind him.


    "Ah, Officer Grand." Chief Ahrest greeted him, "You have the autopsy report ready?"


    "Yes, sir." Officer Grand said, placing the envelope on the table. Chief Ahrest opened it and read the report.


    "So," Chief Ahrest said, looking up after he finished reading the report, "the cyanide was not used to kill Deyd Krimeenall?"


    "That''s right, Chief." Officer Grand said, "That is what we initially thought since the cyanide bottle was found next to the dead body, but now that we performed the autopsy, we found traces of conium maculatum, in other words, hemlock, and its poisonous chemicals in the victim''s body. The killer must''ve left the bottle to mislead us."


    "Hmm, I see." Chief Ahrest said, "And the cup? What does Doctor Brown say about it?"


    "In the cup, we also found traces of hemlock." Officer Grand continued, "Doctor Brown thought it was strange at first, but now that we found this out, the killer must have put the cyanide after Deyd Krimeenall died."


    "Okay." Chief Ahrest nodded, "I might have to send another team to investigate. You can go now, officer."


    "Yes, sir."


    When Officer Grand left, Chief Ahrest was left alone, thinking about what this meant for the case. If Krimeenall was not killed by the cyanide, but rather hemlock, then that broadens the wide range of possibilities for the case. As of the moment, it seemed that Mr. Paradox was more of a prime suspect than Mr. Lusserson was. But he''d also have to look into that. Maybe he would need to send a team to investigate Luminescence Corporation and Paradox Industries.


    He would have to ask Detective Rodney to investigate Luminescence Corporation if he came back. As for Paradox Industries, they would need to find hemlock in order to arrest Mr. Paradox for possession of drugs, if not murder. He picked up his phone that was on the desk and dialed for the Drugs and Organized Crime Department.


    "Sergeant McKild? It''s the Chief." Chief Ahrest said, "I need you to come down to my office."


    A while later, there was knocking at the door, and Sergeant McKild came in. He closed the door behind him quietly.


    "So, uh, Chief." McKild said, "What do you need me for?"


    "We may have found enough evidence to assume that Paradox Industries is in possession of hemlock." Chief Ahrest told him, "I want you to go there and investigate."


    "Yes, sir." Sergeant McKild responded, "I''ll go inform my men." He said before he left.


    Chief Ahrest sighed at the unexpected turns this case was taking. He thought about how the former Chief Karma had handled situations like this. He had and uncanny ability of finding evidence and tracing criminals. This would just be a simple case had he still been the chief.But no matter how complex, he was sure they would be able to find the killer.

 1 Detective Karma Chapter 1

    As Mr. Polesse was writing his report on the investigation, the Chief of Police, Karma, the detective, Rodney, and a policeman, Ahrest, burst into his office. Chief Karma was holding a warrant of arrest in his face.


    Polesse looked up from his desk and said, "Oh, Mr. Karma, Mr. Rodney, and Mr. Ahrest, what can I do for you?"


    "Mr. Brad Polesse, you''re under arrest." Chief Karma said.


    "What?!" Mr. Polesse said angrily as he stood up from his desk, "What is the meaning of this?! You can''t possibly suspect me as the murderer of Mr. O''Nair."


    "Oh, about that," Karma started, "We got evidence that points to you as the killer, Mr. Polesse."


    "And that is?''


    "Mr. Polesse, I hope you are aware of your situation." Detective Rodney said angrily, "You have killed Mr. O''Nair, and would have gotten away with it had you not left some evidence behind. The evidence we have here is," Detective Karma pulled out a report on the case and read it. "Your DNA left on Mr. O''Nair, along with some pieces of your hair and your fingerprints."


    "Is that all? Well, I have a good reason for that. He, uh, asked me to, uh, go to his house."


    Detective Rodney pulled out a bullet from his bag. "I almost forgot," he said, "We have also found out bullet used to kill Mr. O''Nair was fired from your gun."


    Mr. Polesse was sweating now. "O-Oh really? And how did you find that out?"


    "Simple," Mr. Ahrest said, "The ballistic markings on the bullet match your gun."


    "N-no! I made sure it was destroyed! I-I r-refuse to be arrested!"


    "Whether or not you refuse to be arrested will not change anything." Karma growled as Mr. Ahrest got the handcuffs. "Mr. Polesse, you are hereby under arrest in the name of the law. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. Mr. Ahrest, arrest, Mr. Polesse."


    The next day, Mr. Ahrest was given a trial in the courtroom. With all the evidence against him, he was pronounced guilty. He confessed all his plans and was given thirty years in prison.


    "Well, Karma, I guess I owe you one." Mr. De Rehr laughed. Chief Karma was at a restaurant with Mr. de Rehr and Mr. Krimzzon, talking about the case.


    "I still can''t believe O''Nair''s dead." Mr. Krimzzon said sadly, "He was more or less the head of operations, actually. He even managed to find us a scientist, James Steroid."


    "Well, I''m just glad that the killer''s arrested, that''s all." Karma said.


    "Oh, by the way, Karma, your son''s still studying to become a policeman just like you, right?" Mr. de Ruhr asked Karma.


    "Yeah, why do you ask?"


    "Well, since I owe you, I''ll give your son a scholarship until he graduates from college, then." He looked at Krimzzon and continued. "Well, Krimzzon, since it''ll be our company sponsoring Karma''s son, I hope you''ll also agree?"


    Krimzzon nodded. "Of course!" he said, "It''s a great idea! We need more cops just like Karma here patrolling the streets." He added.


    "Uh, okay then" Karma said, "Look. I need to get going to the prison to check things out, do you mind if I leave?"


    Mr. Krimzzon looked at his watch. "Speaking of leaving." He said, "Don''t we have to meet up with Mr. Richard Moneybags later, de Ruhr?"


    "Oh, right I almost forgot!" Mr. de Ruhr exclaimed, "I guess we also have to get going then, Karma." With one last wave, they parted ways and left.


    As Karma was about to leave, Mr. Ahrest and Detective Rodney met him at the door. As they saw him, Detective Rodney told him, "Sir, something happened at the prison."


    "Really? What happened?"


    "Apparently, the prisoners managed to break out." Mr. Ahrest said, "We''d better get going then, sir."


    "Agreed." Karma said, "We''d better hurry."


    As they arrived at the prison they met the warden and several guards outside.


    "What happened?" Karma asked the warden.


    "Sir, it''s horrible!" the warden exclaimed, "The prisoners are doing a riot! I think the leaders are Than Long, and some guy name Bad Police I think¡­"


    "Than Long, the one arrested for criminal activities and Brad Polesse, the one arrested for the murder of O''Nair?"


    "Uh, I think so, chief."


    "Okay then. Rodney, you''ll be coming with me. Ahrest, you and the warden go through the other side. The rest of you, encircle this area."


    After several attempts of rounding up all the criminals, the only ones left were Polesse and Than Long. As they were looking for them, they suddenly saw Mr. Ahrest fighting them.


    "Take that!" Mr. Ahrest shouted as he punched Polesse in his face, as he did, Than Long got a piece of broken glass and cut him in the face.


    "It''ll take more than that to finish me off." Ahrest said. While he was looking at Than Long, Mr. Polesse got a metal bar and hit him on the head with it. Mr. Ahrest fainted.


    "Ahrest, no!" Chief Karma said, "Mr. Polesse, you''ll pay for that!"


    Then Detective Rodney pulled out his gun and pointed it at Than Long while Chief Karma pointed his at Polesse.


    "Don''t make us shoot you." Karma told them.


    "Yeah," Detective Rodney said, "Why don''t you just give up now?"


    "Give up?" Polesse said, "I don''t think we will, will we, Than Long?"


    "Nope," Than Long said, "I''d like to see you both try."


    At that moment, Than Long grabbed a piece of brick on the floor and threw it at them.


    "Karma, sir, look out!" Rodney said as he jumped on Karma, knocking them both on the floor.


    Polesse used the metal bar he was holding and hit it on the window. "Come on, Than Long, hurry up." Polesse said to Than Long to tell to jump out of the window. "The bottom''s covered with grass, and it''s not really high up, so we''ll be fine. As for you two." Polesse looked at Karma and Rodney and said, "Next time you see us, we''ll be known as Team Luminescence, and revenge will finally be mine!"


    He jumped out of the window and Rodney and Karma ran to the window and looked down. "Do you think he meant what he said?" Rodney asked Karma.


    "Doubt it." Karma said to Rodney. "But, even if he does, we''ll be ready for him."


    "Chief Karma, sir." The warden ran up to them, out of breath. "We got all the prisoners back, but Than Long and Polesse, they''ve-"


    "Escaped." Karma finished his sentence for him. "Warden, call the police station and tell them that we need to find them." Karma told him, "They must be caught."


    Chief Karma couldn''t help wondering how long it will take to look for them." It could take years," he thought, "But one day, we will find them."


    And if they became Team Luminescence, they would be ready for them.

 2 Detective Karma Chapter 2

    It has been twelve years since Than Long and Polesse have broken out. They seemed to go missing without a trace, even other countries didn''t know what happened to them. No one could find them, so they were just presumed, dead. Chief Karma has already retired, letting his subordinate, Ahrest, become the new chief. As for Rodney, he managed to become the Head Detective of Moony City. Chief Karma''s son was going to graduate from the Moony Police Academy as one of the best, along with his best friend, Byron.


    "Hey, Karma!''


    Karma was walking out of the academy as he turned around when he heard someone call his name. "Hey, Byron!" Karma called to his friend, "Can you believe it? We did it!"


    "Yeah!" Byron said as he catched up to Karma, "This day could not be better than it is now, huh?"


    "I guess so." Karma laughed. He couldn''t believe that after all his hard work, he would finally be part of the Moony City Police.


    "I see both of you have finally managed to have all your hardwork reap some benefits." Someone said behind them. "I still remember the time I finally became part of the police."


    "Instructor Torre!" Karma said as he saw their police instructor walk up to them, "What are you doing here, sir?"


    "Well, I came to ask you something. Do you know what department you''ll both be in?" Instructor Torre asked them.


    "No, sir."


    Instructor Torre sighed. "I wonder why they can''t just tell us what departments you''ll be in." He told them, "It''ll be a lot easier than going there and asking them. Come on then, you two follow me."


    As they arrived at the police station, they saw a lot of police officers working. There seemed to be endless phone calls and the officers seemed to never stop working. They heard officers greeting Instructor Torre occasionally like "Hey, Torre." Or "Long time no see, officer Torre."


    "What department were you in, Instructor?" Byron asked Instructor Torre.


    "Well, I used to work in the Forensics Department before I decided to go become an instructor at the academy. Anyway, here we are."


    Instructor Torre stopped in front of a door labeled "Chief''s Office". He knocked on the door, and they heard someone say "come in."


    When they entered, they saw a man sitting on the chair and a person in a trench coat next to him. Karma assumed the one sitting on the chair must be the chief while the one next to him must be a detective.


    "Ah, Mr. Torre, long time no see, how are you doing?" the Chief asked him.


    "Just fine, Chief Ahrest, and I hope you''re also doing fine. I''ve come with to ask which department my two students will be in."


    "Ah, right, the new recruits." The Chief said, "Detective Rodney, why don''t you tell them?"


    Detective Rodney nodded as he got a file holder out of a drawer. "Let''s see here." He said while looking for their names on a long list. "Ah, here we are. Byron, you will be assigned to the Drugs and Organized Crime Prevention Department. As for Karma," he looked for his name, "He will be assigned to the Homicide Department."


    Chief Ahrest looked at them both. "I think you both must be wondering what you''ll do?"


    "Yes, sir." Byron and Karma said together.


    "Very well, then." Chief Ahrest said, "Mr. Torre, you may leave."


    When Mr. Torre left, Chief Ahrest started telling them. "Well," he said, "In the Drugs and Organized Crime Prevention Department, you''ll be the one helping the police catch those drug dealers and smugglers, stuff like that." The Chief told Byron, "As for you, Karma, the Homicide Department, as you can tell from the name, is in charge of catching people who killed someone else. Excuse me for a moment."


    At that moment, the phone rang and the Chief picked it up. "Hello," he said, "Moony Police Department, how can I help you? What? I see. Very well." The Chief put down the phone. "There has been a murder at some house at Grennings Street. Detective Rodney, please alert the Cybercrime Prevention Department, the Forensics Department. Tell them to have some men ready there."


    "Yes, sir." Detective Rodney said, although he was unsure why one crime needed so much members from different departments.


    "Oh, and also," The Chief said, "Please bring Officer Karma and Officer Byron with you."


    "What, really, sir?" Byron asked the chief, "Our first day on the job, and we get to go to a crime?"


    "Well, normally I would let some more experienced officers do it." Chief Ahrest said, "But they''re busy at the moment. And I have my full confidence in you too. Also, this is no ordinary murder. It was the murder of a certain criminal that we''ve been after for a long time."


    Karma and Byron looked at each other. It was their first day, and they get to solve a crime! Chief Ahrest saw their enthusiasm and told them. "I trust you will not disappoint me."


    "Yes, sir!" They both said.


    "Good. You may now go."


    Detective Rodney closed the door behind them when the three of them already left. "Well, your first investigation." Detective Rodney said, "Let me inform the other departments first. You two." He said to Karma and Byron, "You will wait at the exit for me. I''ll be back soon." Rodney told them as he ran off.


    When Detective Rodney came back, he was accompanied by a prosecutor. Detective Rodney seemed to be frowning as he talked to the prosecutor.


    "Are you sure that you can go, prosecutor?" Rodney inquired. "I don''t think this is normally allowed, you might need the chief''s approval first."


    "Oh, no need for that." the prosecutor replied. "I already got his permission." she pulled out a piece of paper and started to read of it. "I, Chief Ahrest, Chief of the Moony City Police Department, hereby give my permission to-"


    "Fine, then!" Detective Rodney said. "But just because the chief allowed you doesn''t mean I do!"


    The prosecutor and Detective Rodney walked up to Karma and Byron. "This is Prosecutor Sarah Parker. She''ll be joining us for some reason." Detective Rodney said, exasperated.


    "Well, since I''ll be prosecuting the case," Prosecutor Parker said, "I''d better at least know what evidence I''m using."


    "Fine, then." Detective Rodney said then looked at Karma and Byron. "You both ready?"


    They nodded. "Yes, sir."


    "Very well. Let''s go."

 3 Detective Karma Chapter 3

    When they entered the crime scene, they saw the police examining the crime scene and as they went closer, one of the policemen went towards them. "Ah, Detective Rodney." The policeman said, "You''re finally here, and who are these?"


    "Officer Mark," Detective Rodney said, "this is Officer Karma and Byron and this is-"


    "I am Prosecutor Parker, it is good to meet you." Prosecutor Parker interrupted Detective Rodney, who looked annoyed.


    Officer Mark nodded. "The same to all of you. I am Officer Mark, head of the Department of Cybercrime Prevention Department."


    "Anyway, Mark." Detective Rodney said, "Where''s Doctor Brown and Officer Grand?"


    "Well, Detective, they''re over there." Officer Mark said, "You won''t like what they have to say though."


    "Well, I''ll risk it." Detective Rodney said, "Come on, Byron, Karma, follow me."


    As they went toward Officer Grand and Doctor Brown, they were examining the victim. Doctor Brown saw Detective Rodney. "Ah, Detective, you''re here." Doctor Brown said. "And who are those with you?"


    "These are Officers Karma and Byron." Detective Rodney said, "The new recruits."


    Doctor Brown nodded. "I am Doctor Brown." He said, "And this is Officer Grand. We''re both members of the Forensics."


    "Good to meet you all." Officer Grand said, with an edge of irritation in his voice, "Now, then, can we get a move on?"


    "Don''t mind Officer Grand." Doctor Brown told them, "He''s always like that. Most of the time, anyway." He turned to Detective Rodney, "So, Detective, I''ll let you talk with Officer Grand. I''ve got some things I need to show to Prosecutor Parker."


    "What ''things'', specifically, Doctor?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Oh, you know, evidence." Doctor Brown said, "Oh, I also heard that you''ll have to testify tomorrow as a member of the police force. The trial''s tomorrow."


    "Tomorrow? Already? Does that mean they got a suspect already?" Detective Rodney inquired.


    "Oh, yes, they do." Doctor Brown told him, "I heard that the defendant''s lawyer is Mr. Jeff Pence. It''s going to be hard trying to beat him, that''s for sure. Prosecutor Parker is going to be the prosecutor. Well, I''ll leave you guys to investigate. "


    "Now that Doctor Brown''s gone, we''d better get started." Detective Rodney said, "You two better ask Officer Grand about what they found out. As for me, I''d better start investigating."


    As Detective Rodney went to investigate, Officer Karma and Officer Byron saw Officer Grand writing a report. They looked at each other. It would be hard to talk to Officer Grand, that''s for sure.


    "Oh, Officer Grand?" Karma went up to him and asked him cautiously, "Detective Rodney said that I should-"


    "I''m busy at the moment, if you don''t mind." Officer Grand said, not looking up from his report.


    Karma ignored him and continued. "He said that I should-"


    "All right, all right. I assume he asked you to ask me questions?" Officer Grand asked him irritably, still not looking up from his report.


    "Um, yes, he did, I hope you don''t mind."


    Officer Grand sighed, and put report in his pocket. "Fine, then." He said, looking annoyed. "What do you want to ask me?"


    "Hmm, where should we start, then?" Officer Karma asked Byron, who replied, "Well, didn''t the Chief say that the victim was a wanted criminal they were after for such a long time? Ask him about that."


    "Uh, Officer Grand? Who is the victim? Chief Ahrest told us he was a wanted criminal" Karma asked Grand.


    Officer Grand nodded. "I see you know. Well, his name is Deyd Krimeenall. He is a smuggler and is both wanted in our country and the Kingdom of Krushnivania."


    "The Kingdom of Krushnivania? The monarchic nation?" Officer Byron asked.


    "Of course. He''s been moving between our two countries, selling counterfeit goods, weapons, organs, drugs, you name it. Well, to be honest, I can''t say I''m sad about his death, but since a murder is a murder, I guess we can catch two criminals now."


    "I see." Karma said, "Do you mind telling us the cause of death, now?"


    "Poisoned. Apparently, he drank the poison from the glass of water on his table, over there. But the poison was on the glass itself, not in the water. Well, you see the outline on the chair and table? That is where he died, the glass cup was taken away already, but I still have the bottle where the poison was from. We found it in the trash can. It''s likely someone broke in here, put poison on the glass cup, then escaped."


    "What was the poison?" Karma asked.


    "CN-"Officer Grand told him.


    "No, I mean the name of the poison." Karma asked irritably.


    "Cyanide. We found it in it''s powdered form on Mr. Deyd''s glass. He died of cyanide poisoning. If you actually studied chemistry you would have known that CN- is the formulation of Cyanide."


    "Well," Karma said, "there''s a reason why you''re forensic while we''re police."


    "Forensics are also considered police-"


    "Fine, fine, enough of this." Officer Byron interrupted their argument. "Officer Grand, do you mind letting us see the autopsy report."


    "Oh, fine. I got it over here, just wait."


    He pulled out a brown envelope with the official seal of the Moony Police Department. He pulled the autopsy report out of it. It says here that the time of death was about 12 midnight. Cause of Death: Cyanide poisoning." Officer Grand read aloud.


    "May we see the bottle that contained it?" Karma asked.


    "Very well, here it is."


    He pulled out a small bottle. And as he showed it to them, he also pulled out an envelope. "Oh, I almost forgot about this. This is a letter we found on Mr. Deyd''s desk." Grand said, "He was writing it when he died, apparently."


    "Who was he writing to?"


    "Well, it says here-"


    Just then, Detective Rodney walked into the room. "I''ve finished investigating." He said, "What have you guys found out?"


    "Well, sir," Officer Karma said, "I think you should see this bottle and this letter that was found on Mr. Deyd''s table."


    "Very well, let me see."


    As he looked at the bottle and the letter, he stared in amazement at the two. Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney. "What''s wrong, sir?"


    Detective Rodney answered. ''Well, the cyanide was made by Paradox Industries. As for the letter¡­''


    "What about it, sir, who was it written for?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney answered, "Luminescence Corp."

 4 Detective Karma Chapter 4

    "Luminescence Corp., sir? Is there something wrong about it?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney, who was still standing there, holding the letter and bottle.


    "No, no, nothing''s wrong, it just reminded me about something for a second there." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway," he said, "Let me read this letter to all of you." Detective Rodney started reading the letter. "Okay, so let''s see here, this is what is written on this letter. ''To: Luminescence Corp. From: Deyd Krimeenall. Dear Mr. van Lusserson, I am talking to you today to inform you that I need some help. I think that the Paradox Group is after me. They might kill me soon, but, I know they are also your enemy. Also, if you don''t help me, I guess I''ll tell the police about your real identity. You''d better help me. Go after Mr. Paradox, the big boss. Anyway, I got what you need. The-'' "


    "Why did you stop, sir? Please tell us what''s next!" Officer Byron asked Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney frowned. "Well, that''s all that''s written here. I guess he died before he could finish it." He then said, "Well, I guess we ought to investigate them. Paradox and Luminescence, I mean. Once we get a search warrant, we could. Officer Grand, thanks for your help. Do you mind if we borrow these two evidences first to get a search warrant?"


    "Well, I see no problems, so I guess not." Officer Grand said, "I''m actually interested to see which of the two of them is the criminal. I''m needed back at the police station, so just put it in the evidence room, since it''s needed for tomorrow''s case. Anyway, do you mind giving me a ride back, if you''re leaving?"


    "Not at all, let''s get going, now." Detective Rodney said, "The faster we get the search warrant, the better."


    When they dropped off Officer Grand at the police station, they stopped for a while to go to the chief to get a search warrant.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest called when they knocked on the door.


    "We''re here, and we need a search warrant. Now." Rodney told Chief Ahrest.


    "Already? Well, who are you going to investigate?"


    "Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation. But to be more specific, Mr. Lusserson himself. We have evidences that they may be related to the killing of Mr. Deyd." Rodney told the Chief.


    Chief Ahrest froze. "Did you say Luminescence Corporation?" he asked Detective Rodney.


    "Yes, Luminescence Corporation. Reminds me of that case twelve years ago. Do you think it could be them?"


    "Well, there''s no telling about that, it could just be a coincidence. Anyway, may I see your evidences that link them to the murder?"


    "First, it is this bottle of cyanide, made by Paradox Industries, and this letter, saying that Luminescence and Paradox are both related to this case."


    "Hmm. Very well, I shall grant you a search warrant to investigate both places. But we also need the district judge and the mayor to sign it as well. Do you want me to call them?"


    "Thanks, that would help a lot." Rodney said.


    Chief Ahrest pulled out a piece of official ¨C looking paper and wrote on it.


    "Let''s see now." He muttered " Case #113324686, By order of the Moony City Police, this search warrant will hereby be used against Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation. The police in charge will have the power to interrogate the people present, and take or confiscate evidence that may be related to the case. Signed and Approved by: Yuville B. Ahrest, Chief of Police. Mayor, District Judge." Chief Ahrest picked up his phone. "All we need now is the mayor and judge''s approval, and you may use this warrant. I''ll call them now."


    While Chief Ahrest was talking on the phone, Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron went out and waited for the Chief to finish.


    "Well, I wonder why Detective Rodney and Chief Ahrest acted strange all of a sudden." Byron whispered to Karma, "I mean, they seem to know something about Luminiscence Corporation that we don''t."


    "They mentioned something about a case twelve years ago. I wonder what it is, though." Karma said to Byron. "Maybe we could check it out one day in the Case Files."


    "What are you two talking about?" Detective Rodney went up to Byron and Karma. "Look, they''re here." He said, gesturing towards the mayor and the judge. "We ought to be in Chief Ahrest''s office now, come on, you two."

 5 Detective Karma Chapter 5

    "Mayor May Earl, and Judge George Myntall, thank you for coming." Chief Ahrest said, "I called you here today because we need you two to sign this Search Warrant."


    "Yes, that''s all very well and good, Chief Ahrest , but can you please explain what happened first? I want to make sure there are valid grounds for signing it." Judge Myntall said.


    "Yes." Mayor Earl agreed, "I would also like to know if there is a reasonable argument. Can''t have the police searching innocent people''s houses, can we? It would be bad for my political career."


    "Yes, yes, I see." Chief Ahrest said, "Detective Rodney, please explain."


    "Will do."


    "Okay." Detective Rodney said, "Please pay close attention, everyone. We found this letter at the crime scene." Detective Rodney pulled it out and showed it to everyone. "It says in this letter that "the Paradox Group is coming after me, but I know they are also your enemy." Detective Rodney read out loud, " Help me out, Mr. Lusserson. I also know your secret identity." Detective Rodney took a brief moment to put the letter back, then he pulled out the cyanide bottle. "We also have this bottle of cyanide." He said, "It was made by Paradox Industries, yet it is not available in stores and supermarkets. We think that it is directly linked to the Paradox Group."


    "Hmm. That looks good enough, I guess." Judge Myntall said, "Reminds me when I was still a new prosecutor." He reminiscent, "I was always trying to get enough evidence for a warrant. Can''t say that I always succeeded, though." He chuckled a bit, and then pulled out a pen. "George S. Myntall, District Judge. Hey, Mayor, why don''t you sign next?"


    "I''m not sure¡­.. I need to make sure that this is valid." Mayor Earl said, "Show me some more evidence, and I''ll sign it."


    "Oh, I see." Chief Ahrest said, frowning slightly. "Well, why don''t you and Judge Myntall stay here for a while? I''m sure they''ll get more evidence soon enough."


    "Well," Judge Myntall said, "I''m due for a trial, so I think I have to be going now. I''ve signed it now, only the Mayor''s left to worry about. I''ll be taking my leave now. Goodbye."


    Judge Myntall stopped in front of Officer Karma and Byron. "I see you two are the new recruits." He said, "Good job getting those, but it''ll take more to convince the Mayor. Good luck." Then he left.


    "Well, how about you, Mayor Earl?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "I guess I could stay here for a while." Mayor Earl said, "But not more than half an hour. I also have a very important meeting to go to."


    "Oh." Chief Ahrest said, "I see. Well Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron, please hurry, we need some more evidences. Oh, and Rodney," He whispered to Detective Rodney. "We only have one shot at this. If we fail to get more evidence, we won''t be able to get the warrant!"


    "Don''t worry, we got this." Detective Rodney said, although he looked uncertain. "Come on," he said to Byron and Karma, "Let''s go."


    When they arrived at the crime scene again, they saw Officer Grand talking with Prosecutor Parker. "Hey, Officer Grand!" Detective Rodney called, "You''re still here?"


    "Why, yes, of course I''m still here!" Officer Grand replied, looking annoyed. "The case isn''t over, is it? Anyway, we searched the entire place already. There shouldn''t be any more evidence."


    "And what are you doing here?" Prosecutor Parker asked Detective Rodney.


    "Well, we''re investigating. Why are you here?"


    "The case is tomorrow, so I''m here to get some more evidence."


    "Did you find anything?" Officer Karma asked hopefully.


    "Well, no. And even if I found evidence, I wouldn''t give it to you guys."


    "Good point." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway, Officer Grand, where''s Doctor Brown?"


    "He''s over there." Officer Grand said, pointing to the next room. "Why, do you need him? I could call him."


    "Did anyone call me?" Doctor Brown asked, walking towards them. "Oh, Rodney, you''re here again. And Karma and Byron."


    "Yes. Anyway, Doctor, did you find anything useful?" Detective Rodney asked.


    Doctor Brown shook his head. "No," He said, "There''s nothing anymore here to find. All of the evidence has already been taken."


    "Really? There''s nothing left? As in nothing?"


    "Yeah, nothing." Doctor Brown said. "All the evidence has already been taken. Why, do you need them?"


    "You could say that." Detective Rodney said, "I guess we''ll have to look elsewhere." he said to Karma and Byron when he turned around.


    "But before you leave, do you have the autopsy report I showed you?" Officer Grand asked Karma. "I can''t seem to find it."


    "There was an autopsy report?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Yeah!" said Prosecutor Parker " There was an autopsy report?"


    "Well, there was, but I guess you''ll have to get another one at the police station."


    Just then, that came Officer Byron an idea. "Hey, Karma, you do still have that autopsy report, right?"


    "I think so" Karma said as he looked through his pockets. "It''s here, why?"


    "Because," Byron explained. "It says that the victim was killed by the cyanide, which proved he was killed by it. We could show it to the Mayor."


    "Great idea, Byron!" Karma exclaimed. "I guess we all forgot about it then, huh. We better get going now, the Mayor will be leaving soon."


    "Hey, Detective Rodney, I know what we can do now!" Officer Byron called to Detective Rodney, who turned around to him.


    "Hm? What can we do?"


    "Hey, Detective Rodney, we can show the Mayor this autopsy report! It says here that the victim was killed by the cyanide, so the Mayor will have to sign it."


    "Great idea! Do you still have the autopsy report?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "Yes, sir. I still have it here." He held it up to show them.


    "Hey! That''s my autopsy report." Officer Grand exclaimed.


    "Sorry, Officer Grand, but we need to borrow this." Detective Rodney said. "Couldn''t you just get another one back at the police station?"


    "Well, I guess I could¡­"


    Detective Rodney looked at his watch. "We only have five minutes left! Come on, we better hurry before the Mayor leaves."


    When they arrived at the station, they saw Chief Ahrest standing outside. They went to talk to him.


    "Hey, Chief." Rodney said as they went towards him, "What''s wrong? Where''s the Mayor?"


    "Well, thank goodness you''re here!" Chief Ahrest said to Rodney. "Just a bit longer and the Mayor would''ve left! Do you have the evidence?"


    Detective Rodney held up the autopsy report. "There''s no more new evidence, but this might work. Since it proves that Paradox Industries was part of it, she can''t possibly say no."


    "Well, you''d better hurry." Chief Ahrest said, pointing toward a limousine. "The Mayor is about to leave. Hurry, quick!"


    "Hey, wait! Mayor Earl! We got what you asked for!" Detective Rodney shouted as they ran towards the Mayor.


    "Sorry, but you can''t be here." One of the Mayor''s bodyguards stopped them. "The Mayor has strictly ordered-"


    "No, that''s alright, Ted." Mayor Earl said as she stepped out of the limousine. "Well, what are you waiting for? What do you have?"


    Rodney showed her the autopsy report. "Paradox Industries is involved in this case." He said, "It says right here, in this autopsy report. So please, Mayor, sign the Search Warrant. We really need to search that place."


    The Mayor took the autopsy report and read it. "Well, yes, I suppose so." She said, "I guess, I''ll have to sign it. Ted, please get me a pen."


    The mayor signed the warrant and gave it back to them. "There, here you go." She said, "I do hope you manage to catch the villains. Now, I''ve wasted long enough. I best be off now."


    "Great, we got the warrant now." Chief Ahrest said, "We''d better search one of them, before they can destroy the evidence."


    "I agree." Detective Rodney said. "Let''s search Paradox Industries first. They won''t expect a thing at all."

 6 Detective Karma Chapter 6

    "Mr. Paradox, I think we got company." Secretary Eclaire burst into the office and said to Mr. Paradox, CEO of Paradox Industries.


    "Mr. Eclaire, please don''t disturb me." He said, as he flipped through pages of the book he was reading, "Pharmaceuticals: Medicines and Poisons: A List of Formulas by Dr. L. Wright". Without looking up, he continued, "Well then, who is our ''company'', as you put it?"


    "The police, sir."


    Mr. Paradox looked up in amazement. "The police?" he echoed, "Are you really sure, Mr. Eclaire? Why would they be here?"


    "Yes, sir. The police are coming, I just saw them."


    "Give me the remote, Mr. Eclaire. I want to see it for myself. Then I''ll believe it."


    Mr. Eclaire handed him the remote, which he pointed at a giant flatscreen TV. He pressed a button, which showed him the CCTV footages of the entire building. Then he really did see police cars driving to the building. "Mr. Eclaire, this is bad." He said, "I want you to make sure that they, the police, will not find anything worthwhile. Like these," he said as he opened his safe. "Cyanide bottles. Someone broke in here somehow and stole one of them. Dispose of them. Make sure the police don''t find them."


    "Yes, sir." Mr. Eclaire said as he left the room. "I''ll make sure they don''t."


    "Good." Mr. Paradox said, and when Mr. Eclaire closed the door behind him, he added to himself. "They better not find out my secret."


    Police cars were driving with sirens on towards the building, Paradox Industries: Pharmaceutical Corporation Main Building. Officer Karma, Byron, and Rodney were in the front. They were stopped by the security.


    Detective Rodney opened up the window and said "We''re police. Let us in. We got a warrant here." Detective Rodney showed the warrant to them.


    "Oh, I see." One of the guards said, after he finished reading the warrant, "Um, here you go, sirs. Enjoy your stay here."


    He opened the gate for them and they continued to the building. They stooped when they were there and they all got out.


    "Right." Chief Ahrest said to all the policemen, "We''re here to find out Paradox Industries involvement in the murder of the wanted criminal, so don''t take anything unless it''s for evidence, understand?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Alright, then!" he said, "Let''s get started!"


    Mr. Paradox was sitting in his office, drinking coffee while reading a book when he heard talking outside his office and the door being opened. He saw an annoyed looking Mr. Eclaire, and Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney.


    "I said," Mr. Eclaire said angrily to Ahrest and Rodney, "You can''t just barge in the boss''s office whenever you feel like it!"


    "Well, we have a search warrant, so there shouldn''t be any problem, should there?" Chief Ahrest said to Mr. Eclaire, "Unless you want to be detained for resistance?"


    "No, that''s fine, Mr. Eclaire." Mr. Paradox said to his secretary, "Let them do what they must. Let them see that we did nothing wrong."


    "But, sir-" Mr. Eclaire stammered.


    "I see there''s no problems, then, Mr. Paradox?" Detective Rodney asked Mr. Paradox. "If that''s the case, I hope you''ll let us search."


    "Of course." Mr. Paradox said, "You''ll find out that we, or I, for that matter," He looked at Mr. Eclaire, "have nothing to hide."


    "I see." Detective Rodney said, pointing to a safe behind Mr. Paradox''s desk. "Well then, do you mind showing us what''s in that safe?"


    "Oh, that safe?" Mr. Paradox said. "Okay then, you''ll see that there''s absolutely nothing in it."


    When he opened the safe, there really was nothing in it. "I see." Chief Ahrest said, "Come on, Detective, let''s go look elsewhere."


    "Good luck!" Mr. Paradox said as they left the room. He turned to Mr. Eclaire when Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney left. "So," he said to his secretary, "Did you dispose of the bottles like I asked you too?"


    "Yes, sir." Mr. Eclaire said, "I threw them into the garbage-"


    "The garbage?" Mr. Paradox interrupted, "The garbage?"


    "Yes, sir. The police won''t search-"


    "Why did you throw them into the garbage?!" Mr. Paradox yelled, "Don''t you know police always investigate trash cans?!"


    "Sir, I just thought-"


    "Get them out of there, and dispose of them like I asked you too! Don''t let the police find them," he said, "Or else."


    "Yes, sir."


    "You do still remember which trashcan it was, right?" Mr. Paradox asked Mr. Eclaire.


    "Of course, sir." Mr. Eclaire said. "It''s the trashcan on the third floor, next to the bathroom."


    "You''d better hurry, then." Mr. Paradox told him, "The police might investigate there, and eventually someone might want to use our bathroom. They also might rummage our trashcans, those filthy policemen."


    "Yes, sir. I''ll get on with it. But, what do I do once I get the bottles?"


    "Dispose of the contents in the toilet." Mr. Paradox said. "Oh, and bring me back the bottles."


    "Yes, sir. I''ll do it now."


    Mr. Eclaire left the room and headed for the third floor.


    "Hey, Byron." Officer Karma said. "Did you find anything?"


    "No. Nothing." Officer Byron told Karma, "These guys are really good at hiding their tracks. In fact, the only places we haven''t searched yet are these plastic plants in pots, and those trash cans."


    "Yeah. Well, come on, let''s search those plants." Karma told Byron " Who knows? We might find something."


    "Yeah, good idea." Byron agreed. They searched the plants, and then soon, Byron found something.


    "Hey, Karma, I found something!" Byron gasped as he held something up.


    "Really? What is it?" Karma asked.


    "Ten Mouhnes!" Byron said, holding up a small coin.


    "Ten. Mouhnes. Is. All. You. Found?" Karma said, "It isn''t even worth one Mon! What do you expect to buy with that?"


    "A donut. I love donuts. I''ll buy one at Donut Land" Byron said.


    "Well, the cheapest donut is 5 Mons, so I don''t see how you can buy a donut at Donut Land"


    "Well, my father owns Donut Land." Byron said. "He lets me buy donuts for just five Mouhnes. Pretty great deal, huh?"


    "Why doesn''t he just give you free donuts, then?"


    "He doesn''t want to make people think that I have benefits."


    "Right." Karma thought, "And getting cheap donuts isn''t a benefit."


    "I don''t think you should take that. Anyway, let''s continue searching for something more useful." Karma told Byron. "We might just find something more-"


    They heard someone opening a door. When they looked up, they saw the secretary coming out of the bathroom, with 3 bottles and they heard a flushing sound of the toilet. "Oh, hey, you! Who are you. We''re searching this place, so you shouldn''t be here."


    The secretary looked at them. "Oh, I''m Eclaire, the secretary of Mr. Paradox. I just used the toilet so I''ll just be leaving now-"


    "Hey, you''re the secretary? Can I keep this coin, then? I found it in one of those plastic plants."


    "Huh, ten Mouhnes? Oh, okay then, I''ll be leaving now."


    "Hey, wait." Karma said, pointing to the bottles he was holding. "What are those bottles for?"


    "Ah, well. Private business. I insist, I have to go."


    As he rushed off, he ran past Officer Grand, who was spotted by Officer Karma and Byron.


    "Hey, Officer Grand." Karma called to Officer Grand, "Did you find anything? Because we didn''t find anything at all."


    "Well, about that." Officer Grand said, "Did you notice anything strange about that Eclaire guy? He seemed in a hurry."


    "He is Mr. Paradox''s secretary." Byron told Officer Grand, "Maybe he''s just busy with stuff."


    "Did you take a good look at the bottles he was holding?" Officer Grand asked Karma, "Because I think it looked like the cyanide bottle we found at the crime scene."


    "No, sorry. I didn''t manage to take a good look at it. When I asked him about it, he just told me that it''s private business, and he left." Karma explained.


    "Where did he come from?"


    "Well," Byron said, "we saw him come out of the bathroom, and we heard a flushing sound."


    Officer Grand froze. "Did you say flushing sound?"


    "Yeah. Why?"


    "Oh, no! He must be trying to destroy the evidence!" Officer Grand Exclaimed as he ran into the bathroom.


    "What''s the matter with him, though?" Byron wondered. "I just said that Mr. Eclaire came out of the bathroom and we heard a flushing sound, and he started doing that.''


    "I don''t know." Karma said, "Why don''t you ask him later, when he come out?"


    When Officer Grand came out, he looked angry. "What''s wrong?" Byron asked Officer Grand. "Did you have to use the bathroom or something."


    "No." Officer Grand said angrily. "I think he flushed the contents of the bottle down the toilet."


    "So, what does that mean?" Karma asked.


    "It means that he flushed the contents down the toilet!" Officer Grand said angrily, "I think that the bottles he had were cyanide bottles, so he destroyed the evidence. As for the bottles, he''ll probably do something else. Give them to Mr. Paradox, maybe."


    "Are you always this untrusting of people?" Karma asked Officer Grand.


    "It comes with the job." Officer Grand said. "You''ll see. Anyway, this you search this trashcan yet?" Officer Grand asked, pointing at the trashcan next to the bathroom.


    "Well, not yet." Karma told him.


    "Hmm, let me see if I can find anything." Officer Grand said as he took out a pair of gloves and put them on. He started searching through the trashcan, when he found a bottle.


    "Bingo." He said, holding up the bottle. "We were lucky this time. He forgot one bottle. It''s full of cyanide, and is the same as the one we found at the crime scene."


    "How did you find that in the trash?" Byron asked, impressed.


    "Well, it also comes with the job, I guess." Officer Grand replied. "Come on, we better bring this back." Officer Grand said as he slipped the bottle into a plastic labeled "Evidence".


    "Sir." Mr. Eclaire said as he went back in Mr. Paradox''s room. "Here''s the bottles. I flushed the contents down the toilet, just like you asked."


    "Very good." Mr. Paradox counted the bottles. "One, two, three." Then he stopped. "Mr. Eclaire," he said. "How many bottles did you get, exactly?"


    "Uh, three, sir?"


    "It was four bottles!" Mr. Paradox said, "We''re missing one! Mr. Eclaire, if you forgot one, it means that the police will probably have it by now!


    "Sorry, sir. I think-"


    Mr. Paradox stood up from his chair and interrupted Mr. Eclaire. "Go back and make sure you get that bottle! If the police get a hold of it, somebody''s going to pay for it! Get it by any means necessary, understand?!"


    "Yes, sir. I understand."


    "Detective Rodney, Chief Ahrest!" Officer Karma called as he and Officer Grand and Officer Byron were running towards Chief Ahrest and Detective Rodney. "We found something! The exact same bottle as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s room!"


    "Really?" Chief Ahrest asked. "Let me see that. Doctor Brown! Could you analyze this for us?"


    Doctor Brown came and analyzed the bottle. "Hmm." He said, "This is exactly the same as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s room. Even the composition is the same. This is no doubt the same as the one in Mr. Krimeenall''s murder!"


    "Really? Great!" Chief Ahrest said. "With this, we start questioning Mr. Paradox, and his secretary, Mr. Eclaire."


    "Yes, sir. We did see Mr. Eclaire coming out of the bathroom with three bottles." Officer Grand explained " We also heard a flushing sound, so we think he tried to flush the evidence down."


    "I agree." Doctor Brown said, "He could be trying to flush down the contents of the cyanide."


    "Well, we got him this time." Chief Ahrest said. "Come on, let''s go bring in Mr. Paradox and his secretary, Mr. Eclaire, in the station for questioning."

 7 Detective Karma Chapter 7

    Mr. Eclaire was looking for the bottle he dropped somewhere.


    "Where could it be?" He thought to himself, "If I lose that, or worse, the police get it, I''m worse than dead."


    While he was thinking about it, he accidentally bumped into the police while searching for it.


    "Oh, uh, Detective, sorry about that." Mr. Eclaire said nervously to Detective Rodney, "I''ll just be going to look for someth-"


    "Would that something be this?" Detective Rodney interrupted him, holding up the cyanide bottle.


    "Where did you get that?" Mr. Eclaire exclaimed.


    "Foolish, really, for you to try and destroy evidence. Luckily, this one," he pointed to the bottle, "was dropped. You''ll be going with us, Mr. Eclaire, for questioning. Oh, and call Mr. Paradox.


    Mr. Paradox was pacing around in his office when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" He said, sitting on his office chair.


    "Mr. Paradox" Chief Ahrest said as they entered the room. "We will now bring you to the station for questioning."


    "What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Paradox said angrily, "Under what authority? You got a warrant of that?"


    "Oh, we don''t need a warrant for this." Detective Rodney said calmly, "Moonyvian Law states that you don''t need a warrant when you get caught in the act, like right now. We caught Mr. Eclaire destroying evidence."


    "And how did you figure that out?" Mr. Paradox challenged them.


    "Oh, we caught him flushing down the contents in the toilet. Oh, and we managed to get this bottle, fortunately." Mr. Paradox was surprised and angry to see the bottle full of cyanide. "You shall now be detained and interrogated for 32 hours." Detective Rodney said.


    "I demand to bring my lawyer." Mr. Paradox said angrily.


    "Very well, but we''ll need to bring you in the station."


    "Yes, of course, but do you mind leaving me with my dear assistant for a while?" Mr. Paradox said. "I also need to call my lawyer."


    "Fine, but don''t try escaping." Chief Ahrest warned. "We''ve got you surrounded from all sides, there is no escape."


    "Yes, of course, I''ll just need a minute." Mr. Paradox said. The police left Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire alone in the room. Mr. Eclaire looked nervously at Mr. Paradox.


    "W-w-well, sir," Mr. Eclaire stammered, "I can explain-"


    "I don''t need your explanations!" Mr. Paradox said angrily. "You know what I said about not getting arrested! Now look at what you''ve done!"


    Mr. Paradox grabbed Mr. Eclaire by the collar of his suit, chocking him. "You know what I''ve told you." Mr. Paradox said to Mr. Eclair, while pushing him against them wall and pulling his face towards his."


    "Well, sir, I-" Mr. Eclaire said weakly, while trying to loosen Mr. Paradox''s hold on his neck. His face was turning blue from lack of oxygen.


    "Mr. Paradox, you alright in there?" Detective Rodney shouted from the other side of the door. "Time''s up for you two! Come out now."


    "Okay, we''ll be there!" Mr. Paradox said. "Glad the police saved you in time, eh?" Mr. Paradox muttered angrily to Mr. Eclaire, as he let him go. Mr. Eclaire almost fell on the floor as he breathed heavily.


    "Come on, we''d better go then." Mr. Paradox said, fixing his necktie. "Tell them I''ll be there in a while, I''ll need to call my lawyer. Mr. Eclaire left the room, leaving Mr. Paradox.


    Mr. Paradox picked up his phone, punched a few numbers, and waited for an answer.


    "Hello? Defender''s Law Firm here, how may I help you?" the voice on the other side answered.


    "Hey, Jeff, I need you here, this instant." Mr. Paradox said. "The police are going to question me, and I need your help."


    "Well, I''m assuming this is about the dead criminal''s case? Very well." Attorney Jeff Pence said, "I have a trial tomorrow for another suspect of the same case, but I''m sure I can let Barry Bush take over for me. You sure you didn''t kill anybody?"


    "Of course. I''m a pharmacist, not a killer."


    "Very well, meet you at the police station then."


    "Well, time for me to go, then." Mr. Paradox said to himself as he put down the phone and left.

 8 Detective Karma Chapter 8

    As Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire where bought to the station for questioning, they spotted Attorney Pence while disembarking from the car.


    "Oh, Mr. Paradox!" Attorney Pence shouted while waving at them


    "Are you Mr. Paradox''s attorney?" Detective Rodney asked Attorney Pence as they got out of the car.


    "Yes, I am. I am Attorney Jeff Pence from Defender''s Law Firm, and I will be representing Mr. Paradox for the duration of this case." Attorney Pence told him.


    "I thought you were defending the defendant in tomorrow''s trial?" Detective Rodney asked him.


    "I asked my partner, Barry Bush, to fill in my place for me." Attorney Pence said, "Anyway, it is good to meet you, and you are?"


    "Detective Rodney, I''m in charge of this case." Detective Rodney answered, shaking his hand.


    "Detective Rodney, weren''t you in charge of the case twelve years ago, also? The case of Mr. Polesse, if I recall correctly."


    "Yes, that''s right. I was still assisting the Chief at that time." Detective Rodney said.


    "Well, I was also assisting Mr. Polesse''s attorney at that time. Anyway, enough talking. Don''t we have business to discuss?"


    "Why, of course." Detective Rodney replied, "This way, please. Officers, please bring Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire to the interrogation room."


    As Mr. Eclaire and Mr. Paradox were bought to the detention room, Detective Rodney, Chief Ahrest, Attorney Pence, Byron, and Karma went with them.


    "Right." Chief Ahrest said now that they were safely in the detention room. "Mr. Paradox, kindly explain what your assistant was doing."


    "He went to the bathroom, right? Obviously, he was using the toilet." Mr. Paradox said.


    "Yes, but our officers here heard a flushing sound, which means that he was trying to destroy the evidences."


    "Well, that''s-" Mr. Paradox started, but Attorney Pence stopped him.


    "Since he was in the bathroom, we can safely assume that he was answering the call of nature." Attorney Pence said calmly.


    "Well, that would be if he was answering the call of nature." Chief Ahrest said, "Do you have any proof that he was?"


    "Unfortunately, no, since it''s a crime to put CCTV''s in the bathrooms." Attorney Pence conceded. "But, since he was in the bathroom when he flushed we, can assume that he was. Unless, of course, you have proof that he wasn''t?"


    "Well, like I said, we''ve got this bottle of cyanide from the trash!" Chief Ahrest exclaimed.


    "But, as you know, the bathroom is not the same place as the trash can." Attorney Pence said coolly, "So, if you don''t have any evidence that he wasn''t answering the call of nature, my assertion is much more valid."


    "He does have a good point." Officer Byron whispered to Karma. "Like, I guess I would listen to him if I wasn''t a police."


    "He was holding three bottles of which were very similar to that we found in the trash!" Chief Ahrest said to Attorney Pence.


    "Then that could mean that somebody else could''ve stolen the bottle and disposed of it." Attorney Pence said, his voice getting a bit irritated. "My client could''ve just been looking for it."


    "Which brings us to the question of why he would be looking for it!" Chief Ahrest said. "Why would he be looking for it if he didn''t need it?"


    "He was probably looking for it under Mr. Paradox''s orders." Attorney Pence said. "Did you know that on the previous day before the murder, a bottle of cyanide went missing? Mr. Paradox must have told Mr. Eclaire to look for it."


    "Why would he have decided to search for it on the next day then?" Chief Ahrest asked. "If he really lost it the day before, he should have looked for it on that day."


    "Because it was in the middle of the night, and he hides it in his safe." Attorney Pence answered, "He only realized it went missing today, when he checked the safe."


    "He must''ve checked the safe only when we arrived!" Chief Ahrest said, banging the table. "He wanted to get rid of the evidence!"


    "It is perfectly natural for medical companies to have cyanide, as the use it to research." Attorney Pence answered."


    After a bit more of arguing, Detective Rodney got tired of it.


    "What was he doing, then?" Chief Ahrest said exasperatedly, "He must''ve had a reason, then."


    "But destroying evidence is not one of them." Attorney Pence shot back in an irritated voice. "Seriously, why have we just returned back to our original argument?"


    "This is getting us nowhere!" Detective Rodney said to Officer Karma. "We would spend our time better investigating Luminescence Corporation."


    "Yes, sir, it would be better." Officer Karma admitted. "Especially since we''re just going back and forth now." he added to himself.


    "Well, since we aren''t progressing, we should just go investigate." Detective Rodney said, standing up. "Come on, let''s go."


    "Hey, where do you think you''re going?" Chief Ahrest asked Detective Rodney irritably . "Are you leaving me here?"


    "No, we''re just going to investigate Luminescence Corporation." Detective Rodney answered.


    "Oh, okay then." Chief Ahrest said, although he still didn''t seem happy about it.


    Officer Byron also stood up, but Detective Rodney stopped him. "Sorry, Byron, but you''ll have to stay here and help the Chief."


    Officer Byron sat back down, and as Detective Rodney and Office Karma were about to leave, he told them, "And good luck investigating!"

 9 Detective Karma Chapter 9

    As Detective Rodney and Officer Karma walked out of the interrogation room, a couple of officers spotted them and saluted at Detective Rodney. Detective Rodney saluted back and went towards them.


    "Do you have anything to do?" Detective Rodney asked them.


    "No, sir, we''re currently on break." One of the officers answered. "Why, is there a problem?"


    "Well, we need your help." Detective Rodney told them. "We''re going to go investigate the Luminescence Corporation. Get a few more men and meet us outside."


    "Yes, sir." the officers said to Detective Rodney before leaving. Officer Karma was surprised at how much authority Detective Rodney had.


    "Well, we should be going now." Detective Rodney told Karma. They both walked towards the exit.


    As they left the police station and entered the parking lot, Detective Rodney pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the car, and tossed them at Karma.


    "Here, you''ll be driving." Detective Rodney told Karma as Karma caught the keys. Karma got into the driver''s seat and turned on the car. Detective Rodney got into the passenger''s seat and was about to put on the seatbelt when an officer came.


    "Sir, we''re ready now." the officer told Detective Rodney. "Let''s go investigate now."


    "Right." Detective Rodney said to the officer. When the officer left, Detective Rodney turned to Karma and said, "Ready to go?"


    "Whenever you''re ready." Officer Karma told Detective Rodney.


    Detective Rodney closed the door and put on his seatbelt. "Okay, I''m ready, let''s go."


    Officer Karma turned on the sirens and drove off, being followed by some police cars.


    CEO Lucy van Lusserson was busy writing up a report in his office when his business partner, Thlong, barged in.


    "Yes, what do you want?" Lucy asked Thlong, somewhat annoyed, although not taking his face off the report.


    "Eclaire has just been arrested." Thlong told Lucy, "They caught him destroying evidence of the cyanide that was used to kill Deyd."


    "What?!" Lucy said angrily, banging the desk and standing up. "Darn that Eclaire, getting caught like that! I supposed the police will be coming for us now?"


    "Yes, they obviously are." Thlong said, "Want me to-?"


    "No, I''ll do it myself, I''ve got to do something anyway. Be back in 30 minutes." Lucy said, as he looked at a box with the words "Fragile" and took it.


    "Hey, where are you going? And what''s with that box?" Thlong tried to ask Lusy, but he already left the room.


    "Let us in!" Detective Rodney said to Thlong as he tried to prevent them from entering the CEO''s office.


    "I''ve told you, you can''t get in!" Thlong said, "Lucy isn''t back yet!"


    "Well, we''ve got a warrant, so move out of the way!" Detective Rodney said, slamming into the door. He fell into the room and fell down.


    "Sir, are you alright?" Officer Karma said, reaching down and pulling Detective Rodney up.


    "Yes, I am." Detective Rodney said, getting up. "But Lucy van Lusserson isn''t here at all." he said, surveying the room.


    "Well, I told you." said an agitated Thlong, "So you should just-"


    "Well, well, well, looks like I have some guests." A cool voice said behind them.


    Detective Rodney and Karma looked behind them and saw middle aged man wearing a fabulous purple suit that went well with his fancy purple hair.


    "So, I see that the police are here." Lucy said, revealing his shiny teeth and wiggling his fingers, showing all the fancy and expensive rings on his fingers and his golden watch.


    "Yes, that''s right. And you are Lucy van Lusserson?" Detective Rodney asked him.


    "Yes, I am!" Lucy exclaimed, gesturing his arms dramatically. "And who might you two be?"


    "I''m Detective Rodney, and this is Officer Karma. We''re here-" Detective Rodney said to Lucy van Lusserson.


    "Wait a second." Mr. Lusserson said, raising his hand to silence them. "Do I know you? You look familiar..."


    "What? I don''t think we''ve ever met." Detective Rodney told Mr. Lusserson. "Anyway, as I was saying, we''re here to investigate the murder of Deyd Krimeenall."


    "Must be my imagination, then." Lucy said as he went back to his desk, sat down, and put his feet on the table. "So, you have a warrant or what?" he asked them, checking his nails.


    Detective Rodney pulled out the warrant and showed it to Lucy van Lusserson. Mr. Lusserson read it and gave it back.


    "Okay, so now I know what''s the matter." Lucy van Lusserson said, raising his arms and shaking it around.


    "Yes, and now that you know, we''ll be expecting you to cooperate." Detective Rodney said to Mr. Lusserson.


    "Obviously, I will." Lucy said.


    "Well, then we will have one question for you." Detective Rodney said, " Do you know Mr. Deyd Krimeenall?"


    Lucy van Lusserson answered, "No, of course not. In fact, who in the world is that person?


    "Come on, you know that person" Detective Rodney said. He pulled out a piece of paper. "This is the letter that Deyd Krimeenall was going to send you before he died."


    "Well, I''m not supposed to know everyone that sends me letters, am I?" Lucy van Lusserson said, "Just because he''s going to send me a letter doesn''t mean I''m supposed to know who he is."


    "Oh, really? On the contrary, I think you should know precisely who he is." Detective Rodney said, "He seems to know a lot about you. There''s something in this letter about your ''real identity'', can you please explain this?"


    "I have no idea." said Mr. Lusserson in an unconcerned voice, "Perhaps you should''ve asked him about it. I have no secret identity."


    "Well, he''s dead. The next best person to ask was you, naturally." said Detective Rodney, "It also gives you a moti-"


    "Well, look at the time, I better get back to work." said Lucy van Lusserson hurriedly. He shoved them all, including Thlong, out of his office. "Thlong, keep an eye on them. Good luck investigating!"


    Detective Rodney sighed. "Well, atleast we still get to investigate." He said, "Let''s go."

 10 Detective Karma Chapter 10

    "Sir, where should we start?" Officer Karma asked Detective Rodney, "This place is so big, I can''t seem to think about where to start"


    Detective Rodney nodded. "Well, this place is so big, I''m not sure either. But since they''re already investigating the upper floors, we should start here."


    "Hey, you can''t investigate without me." Thlong said, "I''m supposed to keep an eye on you, just like Lucy said."


    "Fine, do whatever you want." Detective Rodney said, "Come on Karma, we should start investigating. I''ll check that side," He said, pointing at one direction, "and you''ll check that side." He pointed at the opposite direction.


    "Yes, sir." Karma said.


    "Now hold it," Thlong said, "how am I supposed to keep an eye on you two if you''re both in opposite directions?"


    "Yeah, well, that''s your choice then." Detective Rodney said to Thlong, "We''re police, so we have to do this."


    Detective Rodney started to investigate, while an agitated Thlong was standing with Karma.


    "You gonna investigate or what?" Thlong asked Karma irritably, "I can''t stand here all day, you know."


    "Fine." Karma said, starting to investigate, "Let''s just get this over with if it makes you stop ranting."


    Karma started investigating the other side with Thlong following him when they came to a flight of stairs. As they started going down the stairs, Karma noticed some dirt stains on the ground. As Karma bent over to take a closer look, he put some on his hand and analyzed it.


    "Hmm," he said, "Mr. Thlong, so do you really leave you''re building dirty like this?"


    "No, of course not." Thlong said, "It must be recent then, if the janitor didn''t clean it up yet."


    "Okay then." Karma said. He pulled out his walkie talkie and turned it on and called Rodney.


    "Detective Rodney, sir." Karma said, "We''ve found something important here, some dirt tracks leading downstairs. Could you please come here to check?


    "Okay, where are you?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "At the second door on the opposite side you went pass Mr. Lusserson''s office," Karma said, "the door with the words "FIRE EXIT" on top."


    "Alright, I''m on my way." Detective Rodney said, "Don''t do anything until I arrive."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said as he hung up.


    "Well?" Thlong said, "What does the detective want us to do? Stand around?"


    "Yes, that''s what he wants us to do." Officer Karma said, "We probably should listen to him."


    Thlong sighed. "Yes, I guess we should." He looked at his watch and muttered, "This is taking up my precious time. I can''t believe that Lucy kicked me out to keep a watch on these cops."


    Karma didn''t have time to listen to Thlong''s mutterings, so he decided to return his attention to the trail. He noticed a shiny object on the ground, and he put on some gloves to examine it. As he was looking at it in his hands, Detective Rodney showed up.


    "I came here as fast as I could." Rodney said, panting. "What did you find? Any evidence or what?"


    "Well," Officer Karma told Detective Rodney, "I did find this shiny object, sir. Do you know what it could be?"


    "Hmm." Detective Rodney said, picking it up and examining it. "Seems to be some kind of jewelry. I wouldn''t be surprised if it belonged to Lucy van Lusserson." Detective Rodney turned around and faced Thlong. "So, does this belong to Lucy."


    "Well, it probably does." Thlong said, "With all that jewelry on that guy, I wouldn''t be surprised if it was his."


    "I''ll question him myself later, then." Detective Rodney said as he put it in a plastic bag and put it in his pocket."


    "Alright, let me examine this. Please move." Detective Rodney told Karma as he stooped down to analyze the footprints. "Hmm, size 10 and a half," Detective Rodney said as he scraped a bit of the dirt and smelled it, "Smells recent enough. Around 10 minutes ago, I''d say."


    "You can tell all that by just looking at it?" Karma asked Rodney, impressed.


    "It''s really nothing special." Detective Rodney said. "The shoe size is the same as mine." he said, lifting up his foot for them to see. "And as for the dirt, it must have been here recently, since we''ve just came here a while ago and we didn''t see it."


    "Oh, okay then." Detective Karma said, "So, what does that mean, sir?"


    "Well, it means that whoever left these footprints here came from the outside." Detective Rodney said, "And we''d better find why they went outside. We''d better follow the trail they made for us." Detective Rodney pointed to the trail of muddy shoeprints that came from the bottom of the staircase.


    "Let''s go." Detective Rodney said, following the trail with Officer Karma and Thlong tagging along. They turned the corner of the staircase, showing a long hallway.


    Detective Rodney started running to the end of the hallway, and when he turned the corner, there was yet another hallway.


    "How many hallways are here?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong, panting.


    "I don''t know!" Thlong said, also panting, "Lucy was the one who designed the building, ask him, not me!"


    "Whatever then, let''s just keep going." Detective Rodney said. As they turned the corner, the trail turned once again on another corner, but it also turned at a door.


    "What''s this place?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong about the huge door.


    "Well, it''s the stock room." Thlong said, "This is where all the supplies are. Well, the large ones, at least, or the ones that are almost running out, so it''s easier to keep track of them."


    "I see, you mind opening this door for us?" Detective Rodney asked. "There might be vital evidence in there."


    "Do I even have a choice?" Thlong said irritably, "Fine. Here, let me open it." Thlong grabbed a pair of keys and unlocked the door for them. "Done, here."


    Detective Rodney and Karma entered the room, which was really dark, and tried to turn on the lights, but the light switch didn''t work.


    "Thlong, why isn''t this working?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "Well, you see, since this room isn''t used much, we''ve decided not to repair the lights." Thlong said, "They died out a long time ago. Anyway, I''ve got a flashlight, here."


    "No problem, I''ve got my own." Detective Rodney took out his own flashlight and started investigating the room.


    Karma also investigated the room, but got interested in a pile of leaves that was lying on a pile on one of the shelves.


    "Sir, what are these?" Officer Karma called Detective Rodney over. Detective Rodney examined the leaves. "I''m not really sure." he said, "They must be nothing, maybe they were from outside when the person came in?"


    "I doubt it." Thlong said, "It was in a pile, I don''t think it could just be a coincidence. Perhaps it''s one of the extra stock of medicinal herbs that we get."


    "Maybe," Rodney said, "but how are we supposed to know what kind they are?"


    "I''ll ask Lucy later, he''s the expert." Thlong said. Detective Rodney turned to the empty box that was in the spot that the trail led. He and officer Karma opened the box, but it was empty.


    "What''s supposed to be in here?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "Oh, that box?" Thlong went forward, but then froze, "Wait, that box¡­"


    "What about that box?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong.


    "It was right in Lucy''s office. I asked him a couple of times what''s in the box, but he wouldn''t say."


    As they were busy talking about the box, the door was suddenly locked behind them from the outside.

 11 Detective Karma Chapter 11

    "Now what?" Detective Rodney said as he tried to pull the door open.


    "It''s locked from the outside!" Thlong said exasperately, "This door can lock both ways. If you lock it from the inside, you can still open it from the outside with a key, but if the outside is locked, you can''t unlock it from the inside!"


    "How is that even possible?" Detective Rodney asked Thlong, "Shouldn''t it be using a keyhole?"


    "Well, a doorknob only has a keyhole on one side." Thlong said, "Since it was like that, Lucy decided to install a lock, so we could also lock it from the outside."


    "Is everything here designed by Lucy?" Detective Rodney asked. "And what''s the purpose of locking from the outside?"


    "Yes, everything here is designed by Lucy." Thlong said, "As for the purpose, I''m not even sure why he would install something like this in the first place!"


    "That Lucy''s one shady fellow." Detective Rodney muttered to himself. "We''d better confront him later."


    Detective Rodney examined the door. He hit it with his fist. "So, what''s this door supposed to be made of?"


    "Well, it''s made of high quality aluminum." Thlong said, "It''d be hard to break."


    "Of course," Detective Rodney said, "The good news is, the hinges are on this side, so we can break it open. The bad news is, we don''t have anything to use to open it."


    "Whoever''s locked us in will get in deep trouble!" Thlong said, "Ugh, the stress is killing me, I''d better call Lucy to get us out." He took out his phone, only to realized that it was dead.


    "Darn it!" Thlong said angrily, tossing the phone unto the ground, causing it to break. "I forgot to charge it. Now what?" Detective Rodney took out his walkie talkie and talked into it, "Anyone there? This is Detective Rodney, anyone there?" When no one answered, Rodney did it again, "I repeat, this is Detective Rodney, anyone there?"


    "I hear you, sir. What do you need?" An officer finally replied. Detective Rodney continued, "Officer, we need your help. We are stuck in the stockroom on the 1st floor, and we are locked from the outside, please Help get us out."


    "Okay then, sir, I got." the officer replied, "I''ll try my best. How can you even lock a door from the outside?"


    "I have no idea." Detective Rodney said, "Just bring a lockpick, would you?"


    "Yes, sir, I''ll be there." The officer said, and then hung up.


    "Well, then." Detective Rodney said to Thlong and Karma, "They''re coming to us. In the meantime, we should investigate this room." Rodney said as he took his flashlight again, "Hopefully, we''ll find something useful here,"


    "Possibly" Thlong said, going to one side and rummaging crates.


    "Hmm, what''s this?" Karma said, stooping down and holding up a leaf.


    "I don''t know." Detective Rodney said, "It''s too dark for me to see."


    "It''s probably just a leaf from a chastetree. We have a lot of those."


    "Yes, but why is it on the floor?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "You probably bumped into it." Thlong answered.


    Karma was searching the shelves while Detective Rodney was investigating the other things. Karma suddenly spotted something and showed it to Rodney.


    "Sir, do you think this can help?" Officer Karma asked Rodney, while holding up a fire extinguisher.


    Detective Rodney took the fire extinguisher. "Hmm, maybe we can use this to break the hinges." He said.


    He went to the door and kept banging the fire extinguisher on the hinges. He did this for several times, and when it didn''t break, he stood up and went several paces back.


    "Stand back." Detective Rodney told Thlong and Karma, "This is going to hurt a lot."


    Detective Rodney ran at the door with the fire extinguisher, and while he did, the door was opened by two officers on the other side. The other officer who was standing right in the doorframe didn''t have time to move, and Detective Rodney crashed into him.


    "Oof¡­ Sorry, officer, you okay?" Detective Rodney said, getting up and apologizing to the officer while helping him up.


    "Uhh, I think so, sir." The officer said, getting up, "What were you doing with a fire extinguisher anyway?"


    "I was trying to break open the door." Detective Rodney said, "Anyway, it''s good you came."


    "Of course, sir." The other officer said, "We couldn''t just leave you alone."


    "What''s going on here?" Somebody behind them asked. When they turned around, they saw a lady in a uniform coming towards them. "Did something bad happen here?"


    "Ah, Jeyn." Thlong said, rushing up to her and introducing her to everyone. "This is Jeyn Aetresse, an immigrant from the Kingdom of Krushnivania. We have been giving her work, and she works here as a janitor."


    "It''s good to meet you all." Jeyn said, bowing.


    "Ah, it''s good to meet you, Jeyn." Detective Rodney said, bowing back. "I''m Detective Rodney, and this is Officer Karma. What made you immigrate to Moony?"


    "Well, we''re having a really hard time in Krushnivania right now." Jeyn said sadly. "Especially my family. King Eishkov Krush Smernakov VI of Krushnivania just died recently and our new king Smernakov VII is having a hard time right now, fighting rebels on the southern side of the country, and our economy has recently collapsed following the death of our beloved king, placing us in a depression. Even things in the capital Vostav isn''t much better, in fact, it''s worse, since the king lives there, and he declared martial law. I was forced to find work, and seeing the success of Moony, I decided to come here. Of course, it''s hard to find work without a degree, but in the meantime while I''m working here, I''m studying at Eastern Moony City National University."


    "Oh, that''s great!" Detective Rodney said, "But, how can you fund your education while working as a janitor?"


    "I got a scholarship" Jeyn said, "and the pay here''s not so bad, at least compared to Krushnivania. 10 000 Moonyvian Mohns, and I get to send some to my family.


    "Really? How do you manage to survive?" Detective Rodney asked, amazed. "How much is the current exchange rate for Mohn to Kasch?"


    "1 Moonyvian Mohn equals 100 Krushnivanian Kasch." Jeyn said, "And with that amount, you could buy 10 pounds of rice."


    "I''m sorry about the current state of your country." Detective Rodney said, "I hope you''ll enjoy your stay in the Republic of Moony, and I hope your country will stabilize again."


    Detective Rodney then said, "Okay, enough talk, we need to investigate. Jeyn, did you see the set of footprints when you came here?"


    "Yes, I did." Jeyn said, horrorstruck, "I cleaned them up. Why, are they important?"


    "They could''ve been." Detective Rodney said, sighing "Do you remember where they lead? Maybe we could still get something out of this."


    "Well, I do remember that they turned the corner, and went all the way to the garbage dump at the back alley."


    "Okay, that''s a relief." Detective Rodney said, "Thanks. Come, Karma, let''s go."


    They turned the corner and reached the door leading to the alleyway. As soon as Detective Rodney opened the door, he winced back, pinching his nose.


    "Oh my, it smells horrible here." Detective Rodney said disgustedly. "What kind of garbage do you even throw here?"


    "Oh, you know, expired medical stuff like leaves, fruits, things like that." Thlong said. "Anyway, do you mind continuing the investigation? Even I can''t stand this place."


    "Fine," Detective Rodney said, "let''s get this over with."


    Detective Rodney, Karma, and Thlong walked into the alleyway. "Karma, stay with me." Detective Rodney said.


    "But, sir, wouldn''t it be better if we both investigated separately?" Karma asked.


    "Well, that would be the case, but I''m not sure I can handle it myself." Detective Rodney said. "Especially since I think I might faint from this smell."


    "Okay then, sir." Karma said.


    As Thlong was waiting for them to finish while covering his nose, Detective Rodney and Karma looked through the piles and piles of garbage.


    "Great." Detective Rodney said, "We''ll need more help if we want to finish looing through all this garbage. Let me look for those two officers, while you continue the investigation, Karma."


    "Okay sir." Karma said as Rodney left. Karma turned to Thlong. "Aren''t you going to help?"


    "What? Of course not." Thlong said, "I will watch you, but don''t expect me to go digging around in that garbage."


    "Fine, whatever you say." Karma said as he continued looking around.


    By the time Detective Rodney came back, he still didn''t find anything.


    "Did you find anything?" Detective Rodney asked Karma.


    "No. Not a single thing." Karma replied, "All I found was more garbage."


    "Well, we better keep looking." Detective Rodney replied. "I got us some help here."


    "Of course, sir." The officer replied, "We will be glad to help."


    "Well, I''d better leave, then." Thlong replied. "I can''t take this smell anymore."


    As Thlong was about to leave, he stepped on a muddy part and slipped, covering himself in mud.


    "Argh." Thlong said angrily as he tried to stand up. "Now I''m all covered in mud!"


    The officer tried to stifle a laugh as he helped Thlong get up.


    Detective Karma suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, what about the tracks?" he asked Karma. "Did you find the tracks?"


    "No, sir, not at all." Karma replied, thinking how foolish he was for forgetting about it.


    "Hmm, that''s strange." Detective Rodney said, mostly to himself. "If the tracks supposedly led here, then how did they disappear? Jeyn may have cleaned the floor up in the building, but it''s impossible to clean up mud here. Unless¡­" Detective Rodney suddenly got an idea, "Maybe, it could be that the tracks don''t lead here at all. Maybe, it could be that they were simply washed away. Or maybe , Jeyn could have been trying to mislead us all along."


    "Jeyn?" Thlong asked, amazed. "Why would Jeyn be trying to mislead us?"


    "Well, there are lots of possible reason." Detective Rodney said, "She could be the killer, or maybe an accomplice, but we won''t know until we fully investigate this case."


    "I think it''s highly unlikely that Jeyn''s the killer." Thlong said, "For one thing, she doesn''t even know the victim. There''s no motive to kill."


    "Well, we''ll never know until we investigate this matter fully." Rodney said, "For now, we won''t confront her, since we aren''t sure yet."


    "You too, stay here and investigate." Detective Rodney told the officers, then turned to Thlong. "Thlong, are there any other places that are accessible that are muddy?"


    "Not that I know of." Thlong said, "This is the only place that I know that gets muddy."


    "Which means that maybe we''re on the right track." Detective Rodney said, "Sorry for the pun. But we must find those muddy tracks."


    "Karma, come with me, we''re going back to the station." Detective Rodney said, "We need to have a look about Jeyn''s immigration files."


    "Hey, so you don''t trust what I say?" Thlong asked Detective Rodney.


    "Of course not. Since when did we ever trust people under investigation?" Detective Rodney said, "We''ve got to take a look at it anyway, maybe we can find something."


    Detective Rodney and Karma went to the parking lot and got in the car when Karma asked Detective Rodney a question before he started.


    "Sir," Karma asked Rodney while driving, "who do you think is the actual killer in this case?"


    "Well," Detective Rodney said, "I don''t know. We haven''t investigated this case fully, and between Paradox Industries and Luminescence Corporation, I''d say that they''re both pretty shady."


    "Do you think we''ll actually get to arrest the killer?"


    "That''s what I don''t know, Karma." Detective Rodney sighed, "Hopefully, we''ll get to the bottom of this as long as we investigate the case fully. I don''t know if we will manage to arrest the killer, but we will try and try, until we find the killer, and put them behind bars. Now, keep your eyes on the road, or we''ll crash."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said, and as he was driving, he couldn''t help but wonder if there was a bigger mystery to this case than meets the eye.

 12 Detective Karma Chapter 12

    Back at Luminiscence Corporation, Thlong rushed to Lucy''s office, and slammed the door open. Lucy was busy reading a book and he looked up at Thlong.


    "Oh, Thlong, it''s you." Lucy said, "Why are you muddy?"


    "That''s a long story." Thlong said, agitated.


    "Well? What did you discover?" Lucy asked Thlong.


    Thlong slammed on the table. "I should be asking you, how did you manage to get hemlock?"


    "How did you find out?" Lucy asked.


    "We were locked in that storage room." Thlong said to Lucy.


    "What?" Lucy said, standing up, "What do you mean by, ''locked?''"


    "I mean that we were locked inside from the outside." Thlong said, "Honestly, why did you decide to install a lock on the outside?"


    "It was for times when I need to conceal something, like the hemlock. The lock which only I have the key to." Lucy said.


    Thlong took the lock out of his pocket. "Here''s the lock." Thlong said, dropping it on the table. "It was on the outside."


    "Wait a moment, let me see that." Lucy said, examining the lock. "Wait, I don''t use these kind of locks ¡­"


    "Well, then, enough about that." Thlong said angrily, "Why didn''t you tell me you decided to get hemlock illegally?!"


    "Well, I knew you wouldn''t like it anyway." Lucy said indifferently, "It''s not like the police would find out, about it, or so I thought."


    "Well, they almost found it." Thlong said, "You got lucky this time. Officer Karma saw it, but luckily, they didn''t know anything about plants." Thlong then asked, "By the way, how did you get it?"


    "You know how hard it is to get hemlock." Lucy said, "And, well, when a certain group offered to sell me hemlock, I decided to accept their offer."


    "Surely not Deyd Krimeenall?" Thlong asked, "If you bought it from him, we will be in bigger trouble."


    Lucy scoffed, "As if he would sell me hemlock. No, I got it from some other group. I''m not telling you the name, though."


    "Anyway," Thlong asked Lucy," What''s your shoe size?"


    "Is this relevant?" Lucy asked.


    "Yes, it is." Thlong insisted.


    "Fine." Lucy rolled his eyes. "Size twelve and a half."


    "So you''re not the one that put the set of muddy footprints?"


    "What? Of course not!" Lucy said, "You know how I love cleanliness."


    "Then someone from the outside must''ve been coming in here." Thlong said, "There were muddy footprints that came from outside, to the dumpsters, and they also planted jewelry." Thlong then added, "It''s not yours, is it?"


    "Well, it''s not. What shoe size was it?"


    "I heard that it was ten and a half." Thlong said. "Who do you think has been sabotaging us to look like the killer?" Thlong asked Lucy anxiously.


    "Whoever it is." Lucy said slowly, "We have to catch them soon."


    Detective Rodney and Officer Karma went immediately to Chief Ahrest''s office once they reached the station. Detective Rodney knocked first before entering.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest said, in a way that Detective Rodney could tell that he was angry.


    "Something wrong, Chief?" Detective Rodney asked cautiously.


    "Hmm? Wrong, well, obviously, something is wrong." Chief Ahrest exclaimed, fuming. "All that time it took to interrogate Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire and still nothing! And the worst part is, we can only keep them up to tomorrow night!"


    Chief Ahrest took out a pill and swallowed it. "It seems I need to be taking these anti stress pills more recently now. Being a Chief is so stressful." He muttered to himself, but loud enough for Detective Rodney and Karma to hear.


    "I apologize for my ranting." Chief Ahrest said, as he returned to his normal self again. "So, you''re back. What did you discover?"


    "Well," Detective Rodney started saying, "We did find some sort of link with Luminescence Corporation and Mr. Deyd Krimeenall, although at the moment, we''re not sure. We did find a set of footprints, but apparently there was nothing at all at the end."


    "Anything else?" Chief Ahrest inquired.


    "Well, we were locked into a room." Detective Rodney said, "We''re no sure who did it, though."


    "What?!" Chief Ahrest stood up from his chair and exclaimed, "You were locked in a room. I will demand an investigation into that immediately." Chief Ahrest then walked towards Rodney and said, "And I''m sure you need something. How can I help you?"


    "How did you know?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest, astonished.


    "Well, first of all, you didn''t just come in here to tell me about the investigation. All the times you came here, you never did. So, come on, what do you need already?"


    "We need to see the immigration documents for Ms. Jeyn Aetress, currently employed under Luminescence Corporation."


    "Oh? What for?" Chief Ahrest asked, "Is it relevant?"


    "Well, we do think if there would be something wrong with it, it could be important." Detective Rodney said, "We''re not rounding her out as a suspect yet, and hope we might be able to find something from her file. She might be an illegal or something."


    "Very well." Chief Ahrest said, picking up his phone and dialing. "I''ll call up the Immigration Authority and ask them to bring us a file on her right away."


    Chief Ahrest dialed a couple of numbers and was talking on the phone.


    "Yes. Yes, I see. Thank you, I''ll be waiting. Please send it as soon as possible." Chief Ahrest said as he put down the phone. "Well," He said as he turned back to Detective Rodney and Officer Karma, "they said it''ll take up to a week for us to get the report, so we''ll best hope that it can be sooner."


    "Does it really take that long?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Yes, I also hoped it would be sooner, but there''s nothing we can do about it." Chief Ahrest said. "Hmm, looks like shift is over." Chief Ahrest said, glancing at his watch which said 8:30 PM. "You should all be going now."


    "What about you?" Detective Rodney asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Well, I still have some important matters to attend to. You go on ahead" Chief Ahrest said as he organized important documents.


    "Oh, and one more thing." Detective Rodney said, taking the plastic bag that had the jewelry out of his pocket and tossing it at Chief Ahrest. "Maybe you''ll find something important on this. Send it to forensics."


    Detective Rodney, Officer Karma, and Officer Byron set out when a black limousine suddenly stopped in front of them, and a man and a woman both came out.


    "BYROOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    "What the-?!" Detective Rodney exclaimed as they came rushing towards Byron.


    The woman hugged Byron. "Oh, Byron, it''s great to see you!" she said as she kissed Byron.


    "Mom, please stop." Byron said, trying to get away.


    "He''s right, honey, don''t embarrass him in front of his friends." Byron''s father said, walking up to them.


    "Why, I believe we haven''t met yet." Byron''s father said to Karma and Rodney.


    "I am Officer Karma." Karma started, but was interrupted by Byron''s mother.


    "Oh! So you''re that Karma our son keeps talking about!" she said, going up to Karma and kissing him, "Thank you for helping our son through the police academy, he''s not-


    "Mom!"


    "Come on, now, Jane." Byron''s dad said, "Stop embarrassing our son." He looked at Detective Rodney, "And who might you be?" he asked.


    "Detective Rodney." Detective Rodney replied, "Head of the Homicide Department-"


    "Ah, so you''re a Detective?" Byron''s mother asked Rodney.


    "Well, most obviously, didn''t I just state it?" Detective Rodney said, but she didn''t appear to hear him.


    "Ah, so you''re Byron''s superior!" Byron''s mom said to Detective Rodney. "Please excuse my son, he''s a bit."


    "W-well, not exactly his superior." Detective Rodney said quickly, "I''m Karma''s superior. Byron''s superior is someone else."


    "Enough of the talking." Byron said suddenly. "Mom, Dad, what are you both doing here?"


    "Coming to get you." Byron'' dad said, "Son, you know how dangerous the streets are at night. We want you to be safe."


    "You know I''m a cop, right?"


    "Even cops can be attacked." Byron''s mom said, "Hey, does your friend want to join us?"


    "Err... no."


    But Byron''s mother turned to Karma. "You want to join us, dear?"


    "My house is on the other side." Karma said quickly, and added, "Besides, I''ve got my own car."


    "Ah, okay fine, then." Byron''s mom said, though she looked disappointed.


    "Bye, Karma, see you tomorrow." Byron said, a bit relieved, as they left.


    "Why didn''t you join them?" Detective Rodney asked, "Your house is just a bit farther off than theirs."


    "I didn''t want to embarrass him any further, sir." Detective Karma said.


    "I see. What a bunch of stereotypical, generic people." Detective Rodney said.


    "What do you mean, sir?" Karma asked him.


    "We have the donut loving cop, and his overprotective parents." Detective Rodney said, "Bet you the next thing is that they''ll be fighting."


    Karma was about to go, when Detective Karma called him back. "By the way, Karma, since I''ll be at court tomorrow, you should go to Chief Ahrest''s office, he''ll tell you what to do. Tell him I sent you."


    "Okay, sir."


    After that, Karma left and went home. When he arrived, he went in, and saw luggage packed. His father was nowhere to be seen.


    "He must be out again." Karma thought to himself, "I feel as if he''s leaving. I''ll ask him about it when I see him."


    The next day, Karma woke up late. When he saw the time, he panicked.


    "Oh, no, I''m late." Karma said, quickly doing everything. "He didn''t even have time for breakfast as he rushed to work.


    When he finally arrived at the police station, he was wondering why there seemed to be so few people, and he immediately went to Chief Ahrest''s office.


    "Come in." Chief Ahrest said as he knocked.


    Karma went in. "Sir, I''m not late, am I?" he asked anxiously.


    Chief Ahrest looked at his wall clock. "Um, no, it''s just that I''m early." Chief Ahrest said, "Karma, why do you look like you''ve rushed everything? You''re thirty minutes early."


    "Really?" Karma said, feeling relived. "Sorry, sir, it''s just that my clock said that I was thirty minutes late, it must''ve been broken."


    "Well, get it fixed next time." Chief Ahrest said, putting on his coat. "Anyway, Detective Rodney told me you''d be coming here. Since you''re here, we should get going. Since we have to release Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire today, it would be best if we investigated Paradox Industries today. Hopefully, we might find something that will keep them detained for even a bit longer."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma then left the office and went to the parking lot. There, they got into the car and drove off towards Paradox Industries.


    While driving, Chief Ahrest suddenly asked Karma. "So, Karma, how is your father doing?"


    "Oh, uh, he''s fine, sir." Karma replied.


    "That''s good to hear." Chief Ahrest responded, "By the way, does he still do police work?"


    "Sometimes, sir." Officer Karma said.


    "Well, Karma, he was a great chief, except that he managed to let two criminals named Brad Polesse and Than Long escape."


    "Really, sir?" Karma said, surprised, "I always knew something was wrong when he suddenly quit his work, he always said that it was about time he retired, but I knew he would never do that, so what happened at that time?"


    "Well," Chief Ahrest started, "you see, Brad Polesse was arrested for the murder of the billionaire Mill O. Nair., and after a while in jail, a riot happened. Your father, me, Detective Rodney, along with the warden and a couple of officers quickly put it down, but Brad Polesse and Than Long managed to escape."


    "Why are you telling me this, sir?" Officer Karma asked Chief Ahrest.


    "Well, I just thought that you should know." Chief Ahrest responded, "Oh, and the last words of Brad Polesse was that he would come back, and make an organization called Team Luminescence."


    "Is that why you think there''s some importance in Luminescence Corporation, sir?" Karma asked.


    "Yes, but it''s possible that they are totally different from each other." Chief Ahrest said, "This could be a different company, and the letter that said that Mr. Lusserson had a different identity? It could just mean he''s a drug dealer or an undercover spy. But whatever it is, I can''t be certain until we search them thoroughly.."


    After that, Chief Ahrest asked Karma, "Anyway, how close are we to Paradox Industries?"


    "We''re almost there, sir, it''s just past the next block."


    "Hm, that was fast." Chief Ahrest commented. "Well, I hope we''ll find something, anything at all."


    When they arrived, the guards let them in, and they were met by a Mr. Alfard.


    "Excuse me," Chief Ahrest said, "Who are you supposed to be?"


    "I''m Alfard." Mr. Alfard introduced himself, "Henry Joseph Alfard. I''m the Manager of Paradox Industries, and Mr. Paradox put me in charge until he gets released."


    "I''m Chief Ahrest, and this is Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest said, pointing to himself and Karma, "And, well, we need to investigate again."


    "Very well," Mr. Alfard said, "I will tell the employees not to bother you. If you need any help in your investigation, you can find me in my office; it''s the one opposite of Mr. Paradox''s office."


    "Thank you, and one more thing," Chief Ahrest said to Mr. Alfard, "Why weren''t you here yesterday when we were busy investigating?"


    "Ah, yesterday, I was off to close a deal on behalf of Mr. Paradox." Mr. Alfard said, "When you arrested him, he called me up and told me to be temporarily in charge until he gets released."


    "I see. Thank you." Chief Ahrest said. He and Karma proceeded to go directly to Mr. Paradox''s office. "We didn''t check this place thoroughly enough before," he said, "there might still be evidence."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma were searching through Mr. Paradox''s things in order to try and find something that they could use to increase his detention time. Chief Ahrest was sifting through the books, while Officer Karma was looking through his desk.


    "Karma, have you found anything yet?" Chief Ahrest said while inspecting a book.


    "No, sir, not yet." Officer Karma said as while inspecting things on the desk.


    "Well, better keep looking, then." Chief Ahrest said, searching. "We need to find something, anything, even for a small thing in order for us to keep him detained longer."


    "Okay, sir, I''m searching." Officer Karma said. He tried to open a drawer on the left side, but it was locked.


    "Sir, this drawer''s locked." Officer Karma said to Chief Ahrest, "Maybe we should unlock it?"


    "We''re running out of things to check, so I guess we don''t have a choice." Chief Ahrest said, "So let''s do it. Let''s get Mr. Alfard."


    Officer Karma and Chief Ahrest went up to Mr. Alfard''s office door and knocked on it.


    "Come in."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma went inside Mr. Alfard''s office, and Mr. Alfard greeted them.


    "So, what do you need help with?" He asked.


    "Well," Chief Ahrest began, "you see, there''s this locked drawer in Mr. Paradox''s office, and we n3ed to open it."


    "In that case," Mr. Alfard said, taking a set of keys, "Here''s the keys. Most of the drawers use the same keys so you might be able to use my key for it."


    "Thank you." Chief Ahrest said, taking the set of keys from him. "We''ll be going now."


    They went back to Mr. Paradox''s office, and, after several attempts of trying different keys, they managed to open the drawer.


    "Finally." Chief Ahrest commented, opening the drawer, "Now, let''s see what''s in here."


    When Chief Ahrest looked in the drawer, there was only an envelope in it.


    "That''s strange," Chief Ahrest said, opening the envelope and pulling out two pieces of paper. "There''s nothing in this envelope, other than these two pieces of paper."


    "Is there nothing written on it, sir?" Karma asked.


    "Nothing at all." Chief Ahrest said, looking at the other side of the paper, "Well, perhaps this may have been written with some sort of invisible ink, so I''ll send it right away to the Forgery Department. It might just be the evidence we need."


    Chief Ahrest put the papers back in the envelope. "Well, I hope this has something incriminating, since we found nothing else whatsoever. We just have to put our faith on it."


    "Of course, sir." Officer Karma said.


    "We should get going now. The sooner we get this over to them, the better. We have to release them today if we don''t find anything."


    "Oh, leaving so soon?" Mr. Alfard said when he saw them leaving.


    "Yes, we''ve got what we needed." Chief Ahrest responded.


    Upon their arrival to the police station, they immediately went to the forgery department.


    "Oh, Chief." An officer said upon seeing Karma and Chief Ahrest, "To what do I owe the pleasure now?"


    "Hopefully, you''ll be able to find something on these papers, Officer Marge." Chief Ahrest answered, putting the envelope on the table, "Whether or not we get to lengthen Mr. Paradox''s detention depends on what we can find here."


    "Oh, very well then." Officer Marge responded, and looked at Karma, "Oh, and who''s the new recruit?"


    "This is Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest answered, "Karma, this is Officer Marge."


    "Pleased to meet you." She answered, holding out her hand, which Karma promptly shook.


    Chief Ahrest''s phone rang suddenly, causing Chief Ahrest to answer it, ":Hello?"


    "Chief, where have you been?" The voice on the other side asked.


    "Oh, Detective Rodney." Chief Ahrest answered, "Well, me and Officer Karma were investigating Paradox Industries."


    "Are you still there?"


    "No, we''re already done." Chief Ahrest replied, "Detective, why do you sound tense?"


    "You see, Chief," Detective Rodney replied, tense, "There''s just been a robbery at the `` Newfund Bank."

 13 Detective Karma Chapter 13

    "WHAT?!"


    Chief Ahrest roared so loudly that all the officer in the vicinity turned to see what was happening.


    "What are you all looking at?" Chief Ahrest said to everyone in the vicinity, that all the officer turned away and resumed what they were doing.


    "Detective Rodney. Please explain in more detail."


    "Well, you see," Detective Rodney started, "while you were gone investigating , we received a call that there was a robbery at the Newfund Bank. But things escalated, apparently, so now the perpetrators have three hostages with them."


    "What? And where are you?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We''re on our way, but there''s heavy traffic out here." Detective Rodney said, "We think we won''t make it in time. You might be able to, though." He added.


    "Very well, we''re on our way." Chief Ahrest said, before ending the call.


    He turned to Karma, "Well, Officer Karma, looks like we got a robbery and hostage taking on our hands. Let''s go."


    "I''ll have things ready when you get back." Officer Marge said to Chief Ahrest.


    Chief Ahrest took out his walkie talkie and talked into it. "There''s been a robbery that became a hostage taking at Newfund back. Get the SWAT Division on the case immediately."


    "Come on, Officer Karma." Chief Ahrest said as they headed for the patrol car.


    "Chief, I heard what happened." An officer ran up to them when they were about to get in.


    "Come with us, officer." Chief Ahrest said. The officer got in the driver''s seat and they headed towards the bank with sirens on.


    "Chief, you there?" A voice came out of Chief Ahrest''s walkie talkie.


    "Yes, I''m here, what is it?"


    "Chief, the SWAT team''s been dispatched. They''re on their way."


    "Good, we''re also on our way. Tell them to meet up with us outside, since we''re nearly there."


    "Yes, sir."


    When they finally reached the scene, they stopped and got out, guns in hand. There was another


    patrol car nearby and there was one officer pointing a gun at the entrance, while another officer was lying next to the car, with another officer assisting him.


    "Ah, Chief Ahrest!" the officer holding the gun said.


    "Officer, what happened here?" Chief Ahrest inquired.


    "Well, we were on patrol nearby, so when we heard there was an emergency, we came here as soon as we could." The officer said, "We ended up engaging in a firefight with the perpetrators and Officer Thompson here was hit. They''ve retreated further inside with three hostages."


    "Have you called an ambulance yet?" Chief Ahrest asked, concerned.


    "Yes, sir." The officer said.


    "Do you have any idea who the hostages are?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We do have a good idea on who they are." The officer said, "We think it was the owner of the bank Mr. Holt Starvald, along with his secretary and the bank manager."


    "Wait, Mr. Starvald?" Chief Ahrest asked, surprised.


    "Yes, sir, turns out he was on his monthly visit to the banks when the robbery happened, so, now, there he is."


    "So, how many perpetrators are there?"


    "I think three fired on us, but there could possibly be more inside." The officer replied, "They were armed with assault rifles, and there was one with a pistol."


    "Any civilians trapped inside?"


    "We think there is, sir?" the officer replied, "But we can''t get them out unless we have backup."


    At that moment, the SWAT team finally arrived. They screeched to a halt and the police hurried out.


    "Sir!" The captain of the SWAT team saluted Chief Ahrest. "What do you need us to do."


    "Seems as if Detective Rodney isn''t here yet." Chief Ahrest told Karma, "I want you to stay here and block the entrance, and inform Detective Rodney when he arrives."


    "Yes, sir." Karma said.


    "Let''s go." Chief Ahrest told the SWAT team captain.


    "Understood, sir." The SWAT captain said to the team members. "You heard the chief, let''s go!"


    Chief Ahrest and the SWAT lined up on both sides of the door. On the SWAT captain''s command, they broke down the door and rushed in.


    "Looks like there''s nobody here." One of the SWAT said.


    "Stay sharp." The captain said, "They may be hiding."


    Back outside, Officer Karma heard the sound of a siren. A police car arrived, whereas three SWAT officer and Detective Rodney came out.


    "Karma, where''s the Chief?" Detective Rodney asked.


    "Sir, he''s gone in the building along with the SWAT team.


    Detective Rodney signaled to the SWAT team to go into the building. He then turned to Karma.


    "Come on, Karma, let''s go."


    As Chief Ahrest and the SWAT slowly progressed through the third floor, they came across a locked door.


    An officer took out his shotgun and shot the door, causing it to break, and they attempted to go in. They were fired upon by two robbers, who were hiding behind an overturned door.


    "Get down!" the captain commanded. They quickly got on the ground as bullets razed overhead.


    "Flashbomb!"


    A deafening sound went off and the robbers were dazed. They quickly went in and arrested them. They saw a couple of people crouched around the room.


    "Well, we can''t be too sure about this." The captain said, "For now, just secure everyone."


    Once they cleared the third floor and left a couple of SWAT in the room with the robbers, they proceeded to the fourth and uppermost floor, where the robbers were holding out.


    They went onto either side of the door. "Okay, prepare to engage." The captain said.


    As they all aimed the gun at the door, the captain kicked down the door and threw in a smoke grenade.


    The robbers, who were now coughing and disoriented from the smoke, fired blindly upon the SWAT.


    "Augh, I''ve been hit!" one of the officer said as a bullet hit their arm.


    "It''s just a flesh wound, you''ll live!" The SWAT captain said, "Fire!"


    After the firefight, they rounded up the surviving suspects and opened a door on the side that was locked. In it was the three hostages.


    "Sir, I hope you''ve been alright in there." Chief Ahrest told Mr. Starvald.


    "Oh, I had a jolly good time indeed." Mr. Starvald said sarcastically. "It was a good thimng you policemen showed up when you did. A gentlemanly banker like me couldn''t possibly survive those ruffians!"


    "If you don''t mind, we need to bring you to the precinct for questioning." Chief Ahrest said.


    "Of course, anything to help the police." Mr. Starvald said. "I hope you''ll bring my secretary and manager to the hospital?"


    "After questioning." Chief Ahrest said, "Let''s go."


    Detective Rodney showed up accompanied by the three SWAT officers and officer Karma.


    "Ah, Detective Rodney, you''re late." Chief Ahrest said.


    "Well, looks like you''ve done it well yourselves." Detective Rodney said.


    "Yes, it''s a good thing too that we came." Chief Ahrest said. "Anyway, enough of the chatter, let''s get going."


    When they arrived at the station, Chief Ahrest got Detective Rodney to ask Mr. Starvald for his testimony, while he and Officer Karma proceeded to go to the Forgery Department.


    "Ah, Chief, right on time." Officer Marge said, "I''ve got it done for you."


    "So, what have you discovered?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "Turns out that they were using the most high tech invisible ink." Officer Marge said, "Even UV lights didn''t work. That was when my assistant accidentally spilled water on it."


    "What?" Chief Ahrest asked, "So, what happened?"


    "I''ll let my assistant answer that." Officer Marge responded.


    "W-well, you see, Chief." The assistant began, "Turns out that it was written in an invisible ink that is waterproof. So when the water spilled on the paper, only the part that was written in invisible ink remained dry."


    "So, did you find out what it read or not?" Chief Ahrest asked.


    "We did, sir. We wrote what it said on another piece of paper." The assistant said, handing him that piece of paper, "And, it was for a purchase of one million mohns worth of hemlock, which he purchased from Deyd Krimeenall!"


    "What? One million mohns worth of hemlock, from Deyd Krimeenall?" Chief Ahrest exclaimed. "Well, in that case, I guess it is now time to confront him about it. And just in time, too. Any sooner and we would have had to release them."


    Chief Ahrest and Officer Karma went into the room that Mr. Paradox and Mr. Eclaire were detained. The guard moved aside for them. Attorney Pence was also there, talking to Mr. Paradox. He stopped when he noticed the officers.


    "Ah, Chief Ahrest, what is it this time?" Attorney Pence asked the chief.


    Chief Ahrest dropped the paper on the table. "This is evidence we found that shows that Mr. Paradox was involved in the illegal hemlock trade."


    "Oh?" Attorney Pence said, "And do you have any more evidence other than this piece of paper that could have forged just to get my client detained longer?"


    "Well, the actual paper was written on by invisible ink." Chief Ahrest said, "And this is what it said. It confirms that Mr. Paradox was in contact with Deyd Krimenall, which makes him our number one suspect."


    "Whatever you say, then." Mr. Paradox said.


    "What?!" Attorney Pence exclaimed, staring at Mr. Paradox, "Are you okay with this? They''re accusing you of the murder."


    "It''s not like we can stop them anyway." He said angrily, "And they will learn that I am not the killer eventually."


    "Are you still maintaining you''re not involved in Deyd Krimeenall''s murder?"


    "Of course I am!" Mr. Paradox said angrily, "You know who''s suspicious? Mr. Lusserson of Luminescence Corporation."


    "That has crossed our minds." Chief Ahrest said, "We''ll be investigating them eventually."


    "Ah, good-"


    "But until we can find his guilt in the murder, I''m afraid you''ll have to be stuck in here." Chief Ahrest said.


    "What about Eclaire?" Mr. Paradox asked.


    "Well, uh, he''s allowed to post bail since he''s not directly implicated, but he''s still involved." Chief Ahrest said, "You aren''t, though, Mr. Paradox. This note claims you have one million mohns worth of hemlock, and that is a very grave accusation."


    "Attorney Pence." Mr. Paradox said to Jeff Pence, "Go post bail the first thing tomorrow morning for Eclaire."


    "Of course." Attorney Pence said.


    "We''ll be investigating this case of your possession of hemlock." Chief Ahrest said, "Well, I hope you''ll be comfortable here in the meantime."


    "Still, unless you find more direct proof of my client''s involvement other than that so called hidden ink message," Attorney Pence said, "You won''t be able to keep him detained for very long."


    "Oh, well, in the meantime." Chief Ahrest said, "Atleast it''ll keep him out of the way of the investigation, for now."

 14 Detective Karma Chapter 14

    "I see," Attorney Pence said, "now I understand. So you extended my clients detention so he would be out of the way of your investigation?"


    "I guess you could say that." Chief Ahrest stated, then whipped around, "Come, Karma, let''s get back to work."


    As they went out. Chief Ahrest closed the door behind them and turned to Karma.


    "So, Karma." He said, "I''ll head back to my office to think about what to do next. Detective Rodney is probably already at court for the trial. Why don''t you go and check up on Mr. Starvald, if he''s still there? After that, you can go take your lunch break."


    With that, Chief Ahrest left Karma and proceeded to go to his own room.


    Karma walked down the hallway as he walked into the room with Mr. Starvald.


    "Er, Mr. Starvald?" Officer Karma called to Mr. Starvald. Mr. Starvald turned around.


    "Yes, what do you want, chap?" He asked Karma politely.


    "Chief Ahrest told me to check up on you."


    "Ah," said Mr. Starvald, "That''s considerate of him. He was always a true gentleman, much like myself. Well," Said Mr. Starvald, standing up and fixing his tie. "I need to go now, Officer."


    "Oh, of course." Karma said as Mr. Starvald left the room. Now alone, as Detective Karma was walking to his own department, He ran into Officer Byron, who was eating a donut.


    "Ah, Karma." Byron greeted Karma, "Fancy seeing you here. I heard that you got involved in a hostage taking at Newfund Bank. What happened there?"


    "Oh, nothing we couldn''t handle." Karma told Byron, "Hey, Byron, are you also on break?"


    "Hm, oh, yeah." Said Byron to Karma, grinning, "I was just about to see you to see if we could go have lunch together."


    "That sounds like a good idea." said Karma as he and Byron headed off towards the parking lot and they got in Byron''s car.


    Byron got into the driver''s seat and Karma got into the passenger seat. When they put on their seatbelts, Byron started the car and they drove off.


    "So, where are we going?" Karma asked Byron.


    "Well, my dad opened a new branch just a bit further down the road," Byron replied, "We''ll be eating there."


    "Well, Donut Land serves other thing than just donuts, right?" Karma asked.


    "Of course they do." He replied, and added, "So, Karma, why don''t you tell me about what happened?" Byron asked Karma while he drove.


    "Well, this morning, we went and investigated Paradox Industries. We tried to find something that would keep them detained longer, and we did."


    "Oh?" Byron said, intrigued, "And what did you find?"


    "Well," Karma explained, "We found a piece of paper that links Mr. Paradox with the illegal hemlock trade. As you know, Deyd Krimeenall sells hemlock, so there''s gotta be some connection there, right?"


    "I believe that''s highly likely, like a ninety nine percent chance." Byron agreed, "I think the Chief will investigate Paradox Industries again."


    They came to a halt as the stoplight in front of them turned red. Byron turned to Karma to continue their conversation.


    "I hope we find something to implicate Mr. Eclaire also." Karma told Byron, "We haven''t found anything about him, so he''s free to go after he posts bail."


    "Tough luck." Byron replied, "Well, I''m sure you''ll find something."


    "Byron, the light''s green." Karma told Byron, pointing at the stoplight.


    "Oh, sorry about that." Byron said as he continued to drive, "Let''s go."


    He and Karma talked for a while before they arrived at Donut Land. They decided to get drive thru since it would be more practical if they needed to go to the police station quickly.


    "Hello, welcome to Donut Land," the speaker said, "may I take your order please?"


    "Karma, what you want?" Byron asked Karma.


    Karma looked over the menu and looked for something other than donuts. Then he saw that meal number nine was, a burger, while number seven was fries and a coke.


    "Well," Karma said, handing Byron ten mohns to pay for his order, "I''ll have a number seven with extra ketchup, and two number nines, one with cheese."


    "Okay," Byron replied, taking the ten mohns. "We''ll have two number nines, one with cheese, a jumbo number nine, a number six, a number seven with extra dip, a number twelve, and a large donut."


    "Okay sir, we got your order." The person talking through the speaker said, "Please proceed to the next area to claim your meal."


    "Did you just order everything donuts?" Karma asked Byron.


    "What do you take me for? One of those fat, unhealthy, donut loving cops?" Byron replied, "Only number twelve and the last order were donuts, number six was a tuna sandwich."


    "Wait, why does donut land sell so much more non donut meals than donut meals?" Karma asked.


    "Well," Byron said, "Dad knew that the he would''ve gotten more customers if he didn''t just sell donuts, so he diversified a bit."


    "I think he diversified a little bit too much." Karma replied. Byron continued driving until they reached the next area.


    "Here you go, sir." Said the lady behind the desk, handing over a bag. Byron took the bag.


    "How much?" He asked, pulling out his wallet.


    "It''ll be one hundred mohns, sir."


    "That''s not that expensive." Byron said to himself, looking through his wallet. He saw he was twenty mohns short. "Er, Karma." Byron asked Karma, "Could you lend me 20 mohns? I''ll pay you back later."


    "Fine," Karma sighed, taking out twenty mohns from his wallet and handing it over to Byron.


    "Thanks." Byron said, handing the money to the cashier. "Here you go."


    "Have a nice day, sir." The cashier said as they drove off to the parking of the restaurant.


    "Okay, now give me my food." Karma told Byron as Byron handed him his order.


    "There we go." Byron said, "Now, let''s eat!"


    They ate their meal in silence, but Karma broke it by asking Byron, "So, what about you? Any cases recently?"


    Byron took the time to swallow his food, "Well, there was this one case we had to solve that involved a 1 million mohns counterfeit bill."


    "Wait, does that even exist?" Karma asked.


    "No, which is precisely why it''s counterfeit." Byron replied, "Some foreigner complained about not knowing it was a counterfeit bill and made a scene at the airport when he was going to convert it to his country''s currency of Nistrian Nacurs. We had to go to the airport and fix the issue."


    "Well, did you?" Karma asked Byron.


    "We had sufficient evidence to think that he actually knew it was a fake. In fact, we think he was the one that forged it."


    "He didn''t bother checking our bills to see if something like that existed." Karma said, laughing.


    "Yeah, it''s weird." Byron agreed, "I guess he didn''t know a one million mohn bill didn''t exist. Why, if it did, we could by a house with that."


    They continued discussing what they did while eating. When they finished, Karma looked at his watch.


    "Look at the time." Karma told Byron, "Our break''s almost over. We have to get back."


    "Agreed." Byron said, and he turned the car on and drove.


    "I wonder what the Chief''s next course of action will be, though." Karma said, "We don''t have that many clues to work on, at the moment. We might investigate Luminescence Corporation again."


    "We didn''t really find anything else other than note at Deyd Krimeenall''s house, right?" Byron said, "Other than that bottle of cyanide. That''s not really much evidence to work on."


    "We''ll find a way." Karma said, "We can''t fail our first job."


    They arrived at the station and got out. They went in and parted ways.


    "See you later, Karma." Byron waved to Karma as he headed to his own department.


    "You too, Byron." Karma said, going back to his department.


    As Karma walked towards his department, he bumped into Officer Grand. Officer Grand dropped what he was holding, and Karma picked it up and gave it back.


    "Sorry about that, officer." Karma apologized, "Where were you going anyway?"


    "Well, I was going to go see the Chief." Officer Grand replied, taking the envelope from Karma. "I''ll be seeing you."


    "Okay," Karma replied, "See you."


    Karma walked away while Officer Grand walked towards the Chief''s office. He knocked on the door.


    "Come in."


    Officer Grand opened the door and went in. He slowly closed it behind him.


    "Ah, Officer Grand." Chief Ahrest greeted him, "You have the autopsy report ready?"


    "Yes, sir." Officer Grand said, placing the envelope on the table. Chief Ahrest opened it and read the report.


    "So," Chief Ahrest said, looking up after he finished reading the report, "the cyanide was not used to kill Deyd Krimeenall?"


    "That''s right, Chief." Officer Grand said, "That is what we initially thought since the cyanide bottle was found next to the dead body, but now that we performed the autopsy, we found traces of conium maculatum, in other words, hemlock, and its poisonous chemicals in the victim''s body. The killer must''ve left the bottle to mislead us."


    "Hmm, I see." Chief Ahrest said, "And the cup? What does Doctor Brown say about it?"


    "In the cup, we also found traces of hemlock." Officer Grand continued, "Doctor Brown thought it was strange at first, but now that we found this out, the killer must have put the cyanide after Deyd Krimeenall died."


    "Okay." Chief Ahrest nodded, "I might have to send another team to investigate. You can go now, officer."


    "Yes, sir."


    When Officer Grand left, Chief Ahrest was left alone, thinking about what this meant for the case. If Krimeenall was not killed by the cyanide, but rather hemlock, then that broadens the wide range of possibilities for the case. As of the moment, it seemed that Mr. Paradox was more of a prime suspect than Mr. Lusserson was. But he''d also have to look into that. Maybe he would need to send a team to investigate Luminescence Corporation and Paradox Industries.


    He would have to ask Detective Rodney to investigate Luminescence Corporation if he came back. As for Paradox Industries, they would need to find hemlock in order to arrest Mr. Paradox for possession of drugs, if not murder. He picked up his phone that was on the desk and dialed for the Drugs and Organized Crime Department.


    "Sergeant McKild? It''s the Chief." Chief Ahrest said, "I need you to come down to my office."


    A while later, there was knocking at the door, and Sergeant McKild came in. He closed the door behind him quietly.


    "So, uh, Chief." McKild said, "What do you need me for?"


    "We may have found enough evidence to assume that Paradox Industries is in possession of hemlock." Chief Ahrest told him, "I want you to go there and investigate."


    "Yes, sir." Sergeant McKild responded, "I''ll go inform my men." He said before he left.


    Chief Ahrest sighed at the unexpected turns this case was taking. He thought about how the former Chief Karma had handled situations like this. He had and uncanny ability of finding evidence and tracing criminals. This would just be a simple case had he still been the chief. But no matter how complex, he was sure they would be able to find the killer.