Not many were at Claud's funeral, only his friends, some colleagues, people at the agency, and Booker. Claud has no relatives anymore. He was an only child and his mother and father died a long time ago. Booker also doesn't know if Claud has any cousins because the man never mentioned anything about it.
Booker was left alone at the cemetery. The rain started pouring as he stared at the firm soil where Claud's body is buried ten feet below. Booker tried to fight the tears but did not stop them when they came rushing down his face. He cried silently not minding the curious eyes of some people visiting their deceased relatives.
He wiped his tears along with the pouring rain rushing to the ground.
"I will find your killer old man and I will give you justice," Booker said to himself.
He heard footsteps behind him but didn't bother to see who it was. The man stopped beside him and patted his shoulder. Devin Colton is a guy that every detective envies. He is a known public figure because of his talent in being a detective. Unlike any other detectives, he solves his cases very fast that it becomes questionable especially for Booker. Booker didn't like the guy. Devin Colton loves to brag about his achievements and never shares to anyone how he solves those hard cases easily.
Colton was once a member of Claud's detective agency before he was scouted to enter the Private Detectives Association. That association has the smartest, greatest, and fastest detectives among all. But Colton is one of the most questionable among all of them. He became a private detective for solving the murder case of one senator who was killed only by his wife because he was also a drug dealer in their city. Since then, the man had always been the one who is picked to do cases like that except for the case Booker last did.
"Colton," Booker said in a deadpan voice.
"Hey Book. I'm just here to offer my condolences to Claud." Booker didn't like him there. The last person he didn't want to see at Claud's funeral is him.
Claud was the one who put Devin on top but the guy didn't even give recognition to him. Booker really hates the guy's guts. He is his biggest rival among all.
Devin sighed. "Old man was a good guy but he was always curious. He always dig up cold cases and puts himself in trouble. Maybe that's what killed him."
Booker clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
"You shouldn't be like him, Book. Or else you might lose your life too early." Devin shook his head with a grin.
"You have no respect, Colton. All you have is your ego and your pride. But don't be too carefree. You might be the next case I'll be working on." Devin looked at him with cold eyes. Booker did not mind him and walk away to his house.
*
"Boss, I think that Booker knows something. Bennet was working on something when I killed him that night. Do we have to dispatch him too?"
"Just let him be, Devin. You know how clumsy he is when it comes to handling cases. He was just lucky on his last case."
"Yes, boss."
"Go."
*
The moment Booker came to his house, he immediately opened the drive that Claud left him. He scanned all the files, footage, and folders there but didn't found anything out of the ordinary. It was still the files that he found and studied on his last case.
He groaned and brushed his hands through his hair. He opened one more piece of footage. It was when the drugs were transferred to the country. It was only a video with no audio. He forwarded it and when it was nearing the end, he noticed something.
"It wasn't there before. I'm sure I didn't say something else in this footage before." He played it and paused it again.
"Maybe it's just one of them." He didn't know but he had a strange feeling that what he saw is something he knows. He shook off the strange feeling and checked out more footage. The more he looked at them again, the more he noticed that there is really something else there.
"A car? Whose car is that?" He tried to zoom in but couldn't really make out what those numbers are. He decided to call his partner Joji, who's a computer expert.
Joji answered on his second dial. "Hey Book, you called. Anything you want?" She asked.
"Hey Ji, I want you to check out the footages we had on my last case and see if you can also notice something else."
"Okay, don't hang up. I'll check it now." She fumbled on her computer and also saw a black car parked not too far in every video. She finished checking the footage and then already knew what Booker want her to do.
"Hey Book, this is not a good one," Joji said on the phone.
"Hey Ji, have you figure out whose car is it?" Booker didn't receive an answer. He only heard some beeps.
"Ji, still there?" He heard a gasp but did not mind.
"Book, that car is stolen. It is said here that the owner is dead actually." Joji answered. Booker noticed something fishy in what Joji said but just agreed.
"Can you tell me the plate number so I can search something about it?" He took a pen and paper to write it down.
"I just said it right. The owner of the car is a dead man and it is stolen. I'll hang up now. Goodbye."
The line went dead and Booker's mouth turned into a frown. He slammed his phone down and walked towards his window. He was upset and is full of thoughts. He was about to turn around when he saw something shine across the road. He walked near the window and stared at where the light came from. He ducked as soon as he realized that it was someone who was about to shoot him. A bullet passed when he ducked. His breathing became heavier and he took his gun from under the table. He carefully stood again and went to the side where he can't be seen. He found the shooter just hiding behind the bush across the street. His window is open and he is a great shooter so he tried his best to hit the man. There are no near houses so he took his chance and shoot. It hit the man probably on his shoulder so it got alarmed and ran.
Booker went down but stopped at his front door. He picked up the white sheet of paper and opened it.
"Stop the case or I'll kill all the people you know and their families."
Booker gritted his teeth and crumpled the paper. Before he went inside his house, he examined the surroundings and decided that it is already safe.