With trembling hands, Lihse avoided looking at Gustav in the eye. He appeared to be a hitman for the mob than a homicide detective, even more so that he was angry. So, he focused all of this attention on the cup in his hands.
"Why don't you calm down?" Mila tried to appease Gustav.
"How can you expect me to calm down when an important piece of evidence has gone missing?" Gustav retorted.
"And you think I'm responsible?" Lihse took a sip from his cup.
Gustav grabbed a chair and sat in front of Lihse, and took a deep breath.
"You are," Gustav took the cup from Lihse's hands and set it on a desk. "Depending on what you tell me, I will have to arrest you as an accomplice to murder."
The very little color Lihse had on his face drained away, making him look a statue.
"I already told you. The last thing I remember was parking in front of the morgue to pick up the sample Mila had told me about. Then I remember nothing after that."
"Do you take drugs?"
"No!" Lihse refuted. "I don't even drink."
Gustav glanced at Mila.
"His drug test came back negative."
"Then why can't I...?" Lihse looked very confused and scared. Probably not because of a huge blank in his memory, but the probability that he could end up in jail.
"Temporal memory loss?" Mila mused.
"Yeah... Yeah, that could be it," Lihse replied. "Maybe the result of some trauma."
"What trauma could've you experience from your car to the main door?" Gustav shot down that likely explanation.
"Then what could've happened? I know Lihse for a long time. He's not the type to get involved in criminal activity." Mila explained, trying to dissuade Gustav from drawing out the cuffs, and drag Lihse to jail.
Gustav knew he didn't have proof to keep Lihse in jail. He just had enough to keep him there for 24 hours. He was an accessory. Someone was going to great lengths to keep the police off their trail.
"Alright, off we go." Gustav tapped Lihse on the shoulder.
"Wa... Wait... What?"
"Gustav, you can't do this!" Mila chided.
"It's detective Johren," replied Gustav with a serious expression on his face.
Mila, at times, could dissuade Gustav from being a hard-ass, but when he became even more serious about his work, there was no force that could dissuade him.
"Don't worry," he smiled. "I'll make sure we give him the best holding cell back at the precinct."
Lihse let out a soft whimper as they walked out, leaving Mila behind, who found the whole spectacle strangely amusing.
**
The city's 24th police precinct was located downtown, and they knew it for handling some of the most violent, toughest cases in the city. Most police cadets would avoid getting assigned there, and those that did would eventually request to be transferred to other precincts.
If you could resist a year or two at the 24th precinct, you were considered being tough, and able to handle anything life threw at you. That badge of honor, however, was not something many aimed for.
Then, there were men like Gustav, who thrived in such a tough environment. Everyday more and more cases walked in through the door, keeping the entire police force in the 24th on edge, and for Gustav, this was the reason why he signed up to join the police. His transfer to the 24th out of the academy was a like many other cadets assigned by the city and had no choice.
Even though there were days were everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Today was one of those days.
As Gustav waited for the transit department to send over the traffic footage near the city block where the morgue was located, he browsed, the evidence recollected at the crime scene for new clues.
The only clues he had were the place she worked at, and age. No name. Her personal belongings were stolen. And the other was the strange material recovered at the scene, which was also stolen.
Someone was also taking great lengths to make sure no one recognized the girl.
"How can you look at that?"
Behind Gustav there was a woman standing behind him. Her long red hair was tied in a braid that hung over her shoulder, and piercing green eyes where her most outstanding features.
"Afternoon, detective Rosya." Gustav tucked away the picture he was looking at in one of the drawers of his desk.
"That was more gruesome than usual," Rosya sat on the empty chair at the side of Gustav's desk.
"For a robbery detective, it could be very intense."
"I had never had any stomach for the gruesome stuff." Rosya giggled.
"What brings you here?"
"Why do you have to be so cold?" Rosya replied.
Gustav liked talking with Rosya, but at times she would just chat him up while he was working. It kinda bothered him, but that attitude was the result of her younger age and inexperience.
"Fine, fine." She finally said throwing her hands up. "There's someone looking for you downstairs."
**
"Thank you for coming," Gustav welcomed a young man into a small room. "I'm homicide detective Gustav Johren."
Gustav examined every little detail about the visitor, this made some people rather uneasy, especially those involved in cases he was assigned to. The young man was in his early-30s, with short black hair and short in stature.
"Y... Yeah... Sure."
"Don't be nervous, take a seat." Gustav tried to sound comforting, but without much success. The intense look in his eyes and serious nature was more intimidating than comforting.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Richard Aimes."
Gustav began jotting down on his notepad.
"You came here, because you knew the victim?"
"Y... Yeah," Richard replied nervously.
"What was your relationship to her?"
"I was her supervisor. When she didn't show up for work, I thought something was wrong, for she was very dedicated to her job."
Richard gave Gustav the folder he was carrying.
Inside was a picture of the victim, along with her name. Abbey Dodson. There was no doubt it was the same girl found in the forest that night. Now that he had a name, the investigation could move forward.
"Is it helpful?" Richard inquired.
"Yes, this is very useful."
Setting aside the folder with the picture, Gustav continued. "How did you know this was the girl that was murdered?"
Richard went pale.
"Eh... I rarely interact with women in my line of work, so when I heard that a girl matching her description had been murdered. I just assumed they were talking about Abbey."
"That was a rather sharp deduction from you."
"Am I in trouble, detective?"
"It would depend on what you tell me."
Richard felt like he made a terrible mistake meeting with rather intimidating detective. The urge to get up and run for the door was too strong, but his legs just wouldn't listen.
"Where were you the night Ms. Dodson was murdered?"
"I was at home, having dinner and getting ready for bed."
"Can anyone confirm your whereabouts?"
"You can ask my parents," Richard watched Gustav's pen move. Every stroke was like a nail on his coffin.
"I'll give them a call." Gustav jotted down on his notebook. "Did you notice any change in her behavior prior to her murder?"
Richard pondered the question.
"Well... She was going more frequently to the doctor."
"Was she sick?"
"To me she looked healthy, and happier than ever before."
'Happy?' Gustav wrote down on his notebook.
"Does it have anything to do with her doctor visits?"
"I guess so," Richard replied.
"Could she had been in a relationship with this doctor?"
That question seemed to make Richard uncomfortable.
"Not that I know of."
"Did you ever asked why she was going to the doctor?"
Gustav examined Richard's body language. He was tense, there was something he wasn't telling him. More pressure and Richard would crack, spilling everything. Or he would completely shut off, it was best to hold back. For now.
"Do you have any more questions for me?" Richard fidgeted on his seat.
"That would be all," Gustav replied. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Aimes."
With that, the interview ended. Gustav had not only gotten more information that he hoped for, but also a new person of interest in the case. Whoever, wanted to erase Abbey Dodson identity in an effort to avoid being discovered, overlooked that a coworker would recognize her.
Now, he only had to wait for the traffic footage to discover who stole the sample from the morgue.
**
The clock struck midnight when Gustav reached the last traffic cam footage. Transit had taken more time than expected to deliver them.
This late at night, it would be hell for some, but it was quiet enough for Gustav to get more work done.
Behind him was a whiteboard filled with the information he was able to gather so far in the Abbey Dodson case. The pictures of Abbey, Lihse and Aimes held by magnets and a large question mark beneath the three pictures. The mystery man behind it all.
"Wait a minute," Gustav leaned closer to the screen.
The traffic cam footage recorded right around the time Lihse "lost" the sample, showed Lihse talking to a man who approached him. The silhouette of the man was blurry, compared to Lihse.
"A signal jammer?" Gustav mused. "No, that's not right."
There were devices that would block the camera's view, but usually, it showed on the footage as bright light. Some of these were used by street racers to avoid getting their license plates. But this was different.
The man itself was blurry. As if a fog had enveloped him.
Gustav watch the footage closely.
The mysterious man walked up to Lihse as he got out of his car. Lihse spoke to the man, shook hands and walked to the entrance of the morgue. The man observed Lihse and walked out of the camera's range.
Gustav sped up the footage until Lihse reappeared with the sample in his hands. Instead of getting in his car, Lihse waited. There, the man reappeared. They stroke up a conversation again, and after they were done, the man tapped Lihse on the shoulder and was given the sample. In that moment, Lihse fainted and the man helped him into his car, before walking away and disappearing into the night.
"The hell just happened?"