Sometimes you find a new case, or some other times a new case may get to you. A few days have passed since I resolved the case behind Leah Simpson's disappearance that turned out to be both a kidnapping and a murder.
I put down my pen on the desk, finishing my journal entry for the morning. I turned my gaze to see Grace, now in a more casual, non-revealing outfit which consists of a white blouse and a red plaid skirt. Ever since she moved in, she helped me as a secretary, reminding me of ongoing cases and such. Whenever I left her alone, she would help clean the place up; although we also took turns in doing so, since I don't want to treat her like a lowly housemaid.
"Takumi! Here's today's newspaper!"
"Ah, thank you Grace."
After putting my journal into the drawer, I took the newspaper from Grace's hand. I raise a brow at the headline of the first page. Since the setting of this world is akin to that of the 40's as of now, I see the black and white image of a van split in half, and what appears to be a train in the background, with a smoking locomotive that is clearly not from coal.
"What's this? A train crashing into a delivery truck near Unity Station? And that the truck was just there to begin with?"
Standing up, I slammed the paper onto the desk before walking off to my coat rack to take my trench coat and hat and putting them on.
"Grace, I'm leaving for a moment."
"Alright, Takumi!" She gracefully shouted back.
I ran down the stairs, and out of the front door. I entered my car, turned on the engine but then I heard a voice calling out to me right before I stepped on the accelerator pedal.
"Wait, Takumi! Where are you going!?" It's Grace, running out of the building like a madwoman chasing me.
"I got a train track to check out!"
"I changed my mind, I'll come as well!"
Sighing, I let her enter the front passenger door, and waited for her to sit down and close the door back. Wasting no time, we sped off. Along the way, I struck a conversation.
"So, what is it?" I asked.
"Hmm?"
"Why'd you change your mind? I thought you didn't want to leave the office unattended."
"It's... Just the thrill. I never saw a car wreck before... Only seen them in movies and such."
"Grace. You were in a bloodbath of a car on the day we first met." I slanted my eyes, as I said that with a gravy tone.
"But that's technically not a crash wreck! I promise you Takumi, I won't be in the way!"
"Let's see to that, huh?"
We arrived at the crash site a few minutes later. I see the firefighters, who are already on the scene extinguishing the fires caused by the wreck. Unlike my world, these firefighters arrives in a pickup truck supplied with ladders, ropes and the necessities of any fire engine except for the water hose and tap. While hydrants do exist on fixed spots on the sidewalks, the firefighters use water magic to put out flames. Yes, even if you want to be a firefighter in this world you have to at least be able to use water magic. I can only do a little fire magic to turn on candles and such, as well as a little electric magic to manipulate metal objects like a magnet. I used the latter to help reload my pocket revolver faster since I still didn't have a speed loader.
"What a wreck. That van got split in half!" Grace exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth in surprise.
"Didn't you see the newspaper too, Grace? I mean, you're the one who gave that to me earlier."
"I didn't think of reading it until you're about to leave, and I mean it gets lonely and boring in the office alone, and--"
"Alright, Grace. I get it. Now here's the question, why would anyone leave a perfectly good truck in the middle of the train tracks for some train to crash into like a goddamn scene from a cartoon?"
Grace shrugs. I facepalmed, and said "If you want to help, ask the people around. Maybe they saw who left the truck."
"Got it." She then walked off to a random old man, and began asking questions. But from the distance where I am standing, what I heard is gibberish.
Sighing, I walked to the truck wreck, and found pieces of metal piled on the railway rocks. I pieced them back together, to find out that it is the broken door of the van, with a logo branded on it. The logo is the shape of a number 6 with a mail symbol in the middle.
"Courier Six Co; delivers cross six-states."
I stood back up, and checked around the train which is currently stopped. Alongside the cars I find nothing special until I reached a spot near the locomotive. There, on the ground is a metal pole with the severed head of a tan skinned man with black buzz cut hair skewered through from top to bottom.
"Whoa, looks like there is indeed something behind this crash. But is this before... or after the crash?"
I went closer to the pole, and inspected it. Blood is still seeping down from the stump of his severed neck, and the color is not too dark. This guy is put here recently, but for what? To teach someone or him a lesson?
Looking closer at the rocks of the train tracks, I see something glimmering within. I dug through and found a small locket. Opening it reveals the photo of a young adult woman with tan skin and black hair standing beside the man whose head is severed.
"Must be the next of kin or someone."
"Freeze!" A voice shouted from behind.
I raised my hands up, and put them behind my head. I turned around to see a short fair skinned girl with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes holding me at gunpoint. I notice her ears are pointy, and yet she is shorter than the average elf. This girl is a dwarf.
"O-oh, You're the war hero--"
"I get that a lot. Keiji Takumi, officer...?"
"My name is June Parker... I-I'm a patrol officer and this is my first day on the job!"
"Nice to meet you, Officer Parker."
"No need to be formal, just call me June! I-I joined the forces because I've heard so much about you when you were around. I wanted to be like you and such!"
"I see, I see. You said first day? So you don't happen to recognize mister kebab here?" I gazed over to the severed head.
"No, sir. I-I never saw him before, directly that is."
"So you've seen him indirectly?"
"There's a missing person poster at the downtown station, and this guy looks the exact same as the one from it."
"Oh, really? What's his name?"
"It's Esteban Morales, if I remember correctly. The poster said that he's a courier for that Courier Six Package Delivery Company."
"Then that truck's probably his. Thanks for the help, June."
"It's... It's nothing big! It's a great pleasure just meeting and helping you!"
"Good to know. Report this to your superiors, tell them that a Keiji Takumi is already investigating, and will report further findings to the station."
"I'll get to it, sir!"
Having checked the place enough, I walked back to the car after I called Grace over. We entered the car, and I drove away from the scene, trying to look for a payphone or an emergency box which is this world's equivalent of a Gamewell fire box. We stopped in front of a popcorn stand which has a row of payphones next to it. Putting in a 25 credit coin, I then dialed the police operator.
"Keiji Takumi, Private Investigator."
"How can I help, detective?"
"I need the address of a Courier Six Delivery Company branch building, one that is close to Unity Station."
"There is one in Unity Avenue, 2 blocks Southwest of the Station itself. Anything else, Detective?"
"Do you have any records on an Esteban Morales? His next of kin, and any criminal record?"
"Checking. Esteban Morales has a sister named Catalina, who is currently staying at the Apartment Del Sol in Brighttown Street. He is previously arrested for smuggling illegal alcohol and narcotics. Several officers are on the way to secure his last known destinations."
"Thanks."
Running back to the car, I sped off towards the delivery company branch building near the station. We arrived in less than a minute, and I tell Grace to stay in the car before entering the premises. The building is small time, and is recently built. Right as I enter, I was met with the proprietor sitting behind a counter. The proprietor is a bald fair skinned man with an overweight built. He wears a pair of black rimmed eyeglasses, a white shirt supported with black suspenders that trail down to a pair of black dress pants and shoes.
"My name is Detective Keiji Takumi, Private investigator. I am here on the inquiries of the murder of an Esteban Morales."
"Esteban got killed? That explains why he didn't come back this morning from his delivery beyond the city limit."
"Did you see anyone suspicious before he left to deliver his rounds?"
"No, sir. But for all I know is that he is supposed to deliver some of these packages beyond the city limit. Maybe you can check there."
"Alright, thanks for the help."
"Don't mention it."
I walked back out to the car, and set my course to Esteban's apartment in Brighttown. Along the way, Grace struck a conversation.
"So, what's with us driving across town, Takumi?"
"There's a guy's head on a pole near the crash site. This guy, from what I've heard from the police operator delivers illegal alcohol and drugs."
"Oh dear Lord! Do you think some rival gangster got to him?"
"It seems so. What do you know about the gangs around the city?"
"Most of Downtown and Brighttown belonged to the Heisenberg crime family. They're at war with the Malzeno family, who are trying to expand into the city."
We then stopped because of a traffic jam, and the conversation continued on and on.
"Do the Heisenbergs really use couriers like that to do their work?"
"From what I've heard they do. Most of the couriers that work for them posed as normal deliverymen for Courier Six Co, and believe me, they hated the job."
"Oh, how so?"
"Even though the pay is good, the vans and trucks used by the company are as slow as mud slugs, and funnily enough the design is so odd that going in reverse is actually faster than going forwards, even when going uphill."
This whole thing reminds me of a cargo sell job from an online video game from my world. Yeah, even though the pay is good if we can make all drops, the vans are too slow and are vulnerable to hostile players. Looks like the same thing happened in this world's courier jobs.
"Any other things besides smuggling?"
"The Heisenberg Family also did business with stolen cars and guns. A military ship got robbed a few days back and all signs pointed to them."
"And nobody tried to do anything?"
"They probably paid off the heat."
"Figures." I sighed.
The traffic begins to clear up, and I begin to drive again.
"What about the Malzeno?"
"Them? Their businesses mainly involves gambling, loan sharking and protection racket jobs, making them the more gentle of the bunch. But if something gets in the way, that family will not hesitate to show an example. The last person that tried to assassinate the Don, Lucrezia, got their blood drained for her supper. And before you ask, Takumi, yes, the Malzeno family members are vampires."
"I see."
"Also, from what I've heard they got a demon working with them, brutally showing their dominance in the east, at Freedom City."
Freedom city is this world's equivalent of New York. I've always wanted to go there ever since the war is over, but since I'm stuck with my detective duties in this city, I had to put that on hold. Focusing back to the case at hand, we stopped in front of the Apartment Del Sol at 11 A.M.
Whoever killed Esteban must face justice, even though Esteban himself is not a saint.