1 Breakstone Avenue, Baysworld, Cascoss, 1:20 P.M
Lee's house was big and like a manor. Lee himself did not present himself as wealthy, so Daniel could only guess that he inherited it.
Alice Stripzel, a lady of 43 approached them from the front of the blue building that was Lee's house. She was wearing a Everleson heights realty firm uniform. Her violet hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had a medium chest, and she was the same height as Daniel. Her sky-blue eyes shone as she saw perspective tenets and not curious detectives. Her lipstick was an amber orange and she had dyed her eyebrows brown. She had no makeup on other than her lipstick and she still looked beautiful.
"Hi, Alice Stripzel, Everleason Height's Realty. Are you here to rent this place? I can see that you must have enough money to afford it, seeing you are officers of the EPD." Alice said in a medium tone voice, her tone was professional and hungry for a sale.
"There's no way you could have seen our badges from there." Lucinda spoke. "So, how did you know we were with the EPD?"
"You were at the boot camp and forgot to change and that camp always hosts the officers of the EPD on the second day of the month. Lee told me that. He was such a funny guy, not a good doctor, but a funny guy." Alice replied.
"So, you are aware of his passing?" Daniel noted.
"I was one of the first to hear about it. Otherwise, I would not be here trying to convince you to rent the place. I would give you a look inside, but we must wait for the movers to take his stuff to his mother's place." Alice explained.
"You said he was a bad doctor." Damien noted.
"Were you one of the three people accusing him of malpractice?" Daniel added.
"That is right. Why are you looking into the matter? Was he murdered?" Alice replied.
"He was." David relayed.
"Dear me. So, I guess you have come to look inside for clues? I do not know what you expect to find here." Alice noted and gestured them to follow her up the pathway.
"We are looking for a motive." Dan explained.
"A motive? But he was the one who died wasn't he?" Alice replied.
"He was," David stated. "But Dan here believes that the reason he was killed lay in the manor you rented to him."
"Did you give him a discount for this place?" Dan inquired as Alice opened the door.
"Not at first." Alice replied. "He was supposed to help me, and he just made my condition worse, and I had to go back a week later."
"That's when he fixed you up, right?" Lucinda asked.
"That's right." Alice replied. "After that I felt so much better than I did allow him to rent this place for cheaper. But do not tell Mr. Bronzewick that I have been doing under the table dealings, I do like my job." They entered the manor and Alice started leading them around. It was a fantastical place. Emerald green and cobalt blue lined the floors, walls, and the grand staircase.
"Do you remember him healing you?" Damien asked.
"Now that you mention it, the first time I saw him for my ailment he did not do anything to take away the pain, but the second time he sedated me, so I was asleep the entire time. So, I do not recall anything he did to me." Alice added.
Lucinda coughed. "He didn't sexually assault you, did he?" She spoke.
The three men were surprised by this. Such a delicate manner was just discussed in a very casual tone.
Alice laughed as if the question proposed was a ridiculous one. "No. He would be silly to do anything of the sort with Mikela in the room."
"Mikela was there?" Dan spoke with a tone of interest. "As in Mikela Bruise?"
"She was there. I believe now that she has been relieved of her duties, she is now taking on the appointments that Lee had for today. At least that is what the person on the other end of the phone relayed to me when I showed concern about her."
They entered a room with cameras and VR machines and a small stage with a green screen and they could see an open door to an editing room.
"Do you think we could stop the tour here for a bit." Dan stated. "I think this room is very interesting."
"Sure." Alice stated and she went to a big wooden box and opened it up. She found a folding chair within and placed it down and sat on it. "Pretty neat right. There is no secret that I do not know about this place, or the things contained within."
"What are your feelings on Mikela?" Dan inquired.
"I think the nickname the other patients gave her over the last two weeks is atrocious! Clumsy Bruise. What a horrid moniker."
"But you believe otherwise."
"That is right. When I first met her, it was she who was more help than the doctor who she assisted. But I cannot fathom how she fell from being so good to gaining a nickname that does not suit her in the slightest."
"So, she was already working alongside Dr Andrew when you first met her."
"That's right Dr. Smith."
"Did the patients ask for evidence of his actions?"
Alice shook her head. "I asked for evidence. I have videos trying to prove he was bad, but they all show him being good."
"Thank you for your time, Alice. Why do not you get us all something to drink and we will look around here."
Alice walked away and the four officers walked around the location. "So, Daniel." David stated with a strawberry flavoured magical cigarette in his mouth. "What do you think the victim was using this room for."
"VR goggles, a VR machine, a computer so powerful you could program a space flight with it with ease, cameras, a green screen and enough tape to make seven movies." Lucinda listed. "What was he doing in here?"
"He has been charged with malpractice by three people, one who is dead and one who is trying to convince us to rent this place." Daniel explained. "Alice relayed to us that during her second visit to Lee, he worked a miracle, however, he knocked her out to do so. Why? "
Damien put his hand up. "Damien, you are aware that this is not a classroom, so please lower your hand. If you wish to speak then you should simply clear your throat." Dan said.
Damien cleared his throat.
"Any thoughts Damien?" Dan inquired.
"The reason is because he wanted to fake being the one who helped her. He took the recording from the device he was told to wear and doctored it here." Damien concluded.
"That's right." Daniel said.
"Now I see. So, he was not healing them, it was Mikela that was doing the healing and he took the credit. But Mikela has a FORMAL badge, she would have recorded what really happened so he could not have kept it a secret forever." David added.
Daniel scratched his head through the illusion of his hat. "You are right about that. He would have to scramble her badge somehow."
David nodded and put his cigarette out and threw it into a nearby trash bin.
Alice returned with some refreshments, some lemonade, some tea, and some coffee. There was a can of green tea on the tray she procured.
Alice moved the keyboard to the computer aside and placed the tray atop the now cleared space. She took the can and opened it. She took a big sip.
"Where did you get that?" Daniel inquired.
"I got it from Lee's office. He unlocked his personal fridge and gave it to me." Alice replied.
"So, it came from Baysworld medical centre?" Daniel added.
"Yes. It is his favourite drink. There are a few in the fridge here, but I marked mine with a big A, so I knew it was mine."
"May I see the tab?"
Alice looked from side to side as if she were wondering if somebody was questioning her, she bent the tab back and forth until it snapped off and passed it to Daniel. Daniel examined it. He had seen one like this somewhere before.
"Daniel, are you okay? You are holding that drink tab as if you were a jeweller examining a diamond ring." David noted, lighting up another one of his signature cigarettes.
Daniel showed it to David. "Look familiar?"
David puffed out some smoke in a look of interest spread across his face. "Lucy, look." David stated.
Lucy came over and examined the tab too.
"What's with all the interest?" Damien inquired.
"This tab looks exactly like the one that came from the scene of the crime." David told Damien.
"You did not know that because we did not include you into the investigation until we got permission to do so." Dan explained.
Damien nodded. "I understand. But what does it mean?"
"It means that whoever killed the victim also took one of his cans to the scene in order to frame Leopold." Dan established.
"Is that why the captain is holding him in his quarters." Damien noted.
"Then we now know for certain that my uncle didn't do it." Lucy added.
"Why is that, Lucinda?" Daniel inquired.
"Because he absolutely hates green tea. He tried it a few times and it is not his cup of tea, no pun intended."
Daniel nodded. "So, if this tab and the one found under Brian's bed is the same then we can prove that the ex-commander was not responsible. He would not be sad anymore."
David and Damien both nodded. "But if it wasn't him," David spoke. "Then who?"
"I am not sure yet. I would like a copy of the footage of all his actions when he healed his more recent patients. Call as many as you can to meet me at Everstone manor." Daniel stated. "Damien, would you see what talents our friend had."
Damien nodded. "I also want to check on Brian too. My ability may not work in the camp but sometimes I get inklings, hunches in fact when I am near some powered people."
Daniel nodded. "I never thought of that. Brilliant idea. Get your uniforms and my suit from the boot camp and I will meet up with all of you later." Daniel stated.
Damien raced off trying to hide his happiness that he was so helpful. David and Lucy followed.
David pressed the button on top of his FORMAL badge and soon after a member of system corporation arrived driving David's shiny bronze vehicle. He exited the vehicle and noticed some leaves on Daniel's car and cleaned them off. Dan went to his car. "Thank you Mindo." Daniel said to the system officer.
Mindo Gravin nodded and let Daniel drive his car away. He then made his way back to the nearest branch of system corporation.
Daniel input the address of the Everstone manor and started driving toward his destination.
#
Makeshift meeting room, ground floor, Everstone manner, Everleason, Cascoss, 4:30 P.M.
Daniel was now in his nice warm and soft brown suit with his favourite tie that was the colour of his beloved wife's eyes. His hat was no longer an illusion, it was his real woolly hat with those ever so famous letters: D. S. Smith adorned on it. He was wearing his official EPD utility belt. All the things I said he did not have before in the first chapter he did have them now.
There were six others in the room with him. You already know David Lancer, he was observing from the corner of this very purple room, and Alice was sitting on the left side of the table from David's perspective.
Daniel was sitting at the eastern end of the long table; he was facing one of the two shorter ends of the table.
The other four were also patients of Lee Andrew. Helen, Jason, Kyle, and Bethany. Who will be referred to as H, J, K and B.
B: "Why are we here?" She huffed angrily.
K: "I am with system! I have a job to do.
David: "Doing what? Scanning abilities, looking over the recordings from our badges and providing other FORMAL members with assistance is not that important. There are thousands of others that can do that. So just sit and let Dan ask the questions." David stared at K.
Dan: "Thank you David." He smiled. "At least I can always count on you to keep people straight."
David waived dismissively.
J: "Would you mind telling us what this is all about." He spoke in a deep and professional voice.
Dan: "Sandra!" He exclaimed.
A short lady with gorgeous violet hair, who was in her 50s entered the room. She wore an outfit that was light blue and glowed like some forms of algae. She wore titanium white rimmed glasses, and her face had a small number of wrinkles on it. Her shoes clicked and clacked as the just come from doing a tap dance performance.
Dan: "This is Sandra Marlidoon, her ability is Imagination. She imagines things and they come to life. Unlike the creation ability, the things that she makes can be destroyed as her ability changes the world and does not add things to it. You can thank her for the creation of this room, she also imagined a tv which you see there. Sandra, would you mind getting all five tapes of these fine people's last visits to Lee Andrew's office."
Sandra nodded and walked away, clicking, and clacking as she went.
Suddenly the faux tv came to life with the image split into the five videos that Dan requested.
H: "That's us!"
Dan: "That's right Helen."
K: "Isn't this illegal? I mean what about the Rhombodian Health and Safety Practices act, surely seeing this violates our medical privacy."
Dan: "You would be right, except for two things. First, this is official FORMAL evidence as the doctor was accused of malpractice and the anti-corruption board and the RHSP agents have been trying to prove or disprove the allegations, so far it is a stalemate, and secondly, there is the chance that this is fake footage designed to mislead us by Lee."
Alice: "But why would Lee mislead us? He said he did his best to help us."
H: "That is right. He even sent us personal copies of this footage, although I do not recall being awake during my appointment."
Daniel examined the footage. The five people were indeed each awake during their respective appointments. But that was a huge contradiction since Alice said earlier that she was sedated. So obviously the footage was a lie. There was also a second issue. Daniel witnessed Mikela himself when she informed every one of the deaths of the two victims. She was neat except for her face. The nurse in the footage was the same one but she was dressed a little less put together. Her breasts bounced and were on the brink of popping out, she stumbled very clumsily and there were bruises on her, from tripping over all the time. The way she was presented in this footage contrasted the way she was professionally dressed earlier.
Dan: "So all of you were asleep."
Everyone but Dan and David: "Yes"
Daniel nodded. "Alice told me she was given a green tea. Did all of you also get a green tea."
The replies were different this time, the females all accepted the cans they were offered and none of the men accepted the cans.
Dan: "How about the fridge they came from? Anything special about it?"
Alice: "It has a timed lock on it. Insert the key and it remains unlocked for an hour."
Daniel nodded. Everything was now falling into place. The main suspect was now clear. But now he just needed to find the fatal piece of evidence. "Sandra, we are done here."
Everyone got up as the room started to shrink and everyone found out that the room had been the lounge room the entire time with a few members of the Everstone family, including Daniel's with Elizabeth, were sitting by the fire.
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea. "Now that you are done with my lounge room can I have it back?"
"Certainly, Elizabeth. Thank you for letting us use it." Daniel replied.
Elizabeth laughed. "You are my husband. Did you think I would say no to you?"
Daniel shook his head. "Thank you for your time, Alice, Helen, Jason, Kyle and Bethany." The five of them left the manor.
Sandra passed David a slice of strawberry shortcake and bowed.
"Strawberries? How did you know Elizabeth?" David asked with a smile bigger than the moon on his face.
"Did you forget David?" Elizabeth replied. "I see everything."
David laughed. He had forgotten that Elizabeth had the ability to see things in other places like a security guard looking at multiple screens.
Daniel's phone rang. "Hello, Damien."
"I have the results. The tab at the scene and the tab from the green tea are one in the same and the tab from the ex-commander's drink is completely different than both. The green tea tabs were broken off with fatigue fractures and the one from Leopold's drink was broken with stress fractures." Damien replied.
"That means that the killer bent the tab back and forth to break the tab off, they were not aware that Leopold is strong enough to tear of his drink tabs. Plus, he despised green tea. Print of the results and meet me back at the commander's tent at the boot camp." Daniel replied and hung up the phone. "David it's time to give Leopold back the rank he so earnestly deserves."
David nodded and they both went to Daniel's car and went to pick up Damien. They will soon return to the military camp to free him of blame.