The first rays of sunlight pierced through the blinds, casting faint patterns on the sleek surfaces of a spacious, modern bedroom. Sam Trunk's alarm clock blinked 7:00 AM, but he was already awake, staring at the ceiling. His nerves felt taut, and his mind raced with thoughts of the day ahead. Dressing in a sharp suit, he gave himself a fleeting smile in the mirror, as if to convince himself it was all under control. By 8:00 AM, he was out the door.
"That's the last footage we have," Shaun explained, his tone subdued. "It resets every night at midnight, so there's not much to work with."
Agent Molly Shannon's patience was wearing thin. "Sam's dead, Shaun. We're piecing together crumbs while someone out there walks free."
Molly shoots, "What about the help from the Special Forces? Any clue about it?".
Shaun answers, "Uh, about that, Molly, He'll be late. They're detectives. They're supposed to be late. He's a pain in the arse. So, keep your distance from him." Molly scoffs, "I've had my fair share of 'Punks' like him. Don't worry, Shaun, I can handle him."
It's sunny and the sun's warmth is felt all around the city. The time's 3:00PM.
A taxi halts near a place where the police are investigating. A person arrives into the building while he clutches his left hand. An officer nearby greets him. The man asks him, "Am I late again, Officer John?" John replies, "No, Sir. They're just early by 20 minutes."
"Let's greet them, shall we?"
The detective makes his way into a two storied villa where the crime took place. He wonders why it's just one guy in a house that can fill a big Mexican family.
Agent Molly greets the detective.
"Welcome, Detective. Agent Shannon from SF. Pleasure to meet you."
The Detective continues, "Likewise. I'm James. James McBurns."
Molly asks the detective, "I have a question, Detective. May I?". "Please. Let's talk and walk.". As they go inside the building, checking every room, Agent Shannon shoots, "You're enlisted as a Private Detective. So, what sort do you entail?". "Same as every upstanding person in the country, Ms. Shannon."
"And what's that, Detective?" "Please, call me James. And 'Money' is the answer."
"Can you tell me, Ms. Shannon, how long have you been busy with the Victim's 'Things'?". Molly answers, "Not much to work with, Mr. James." The detective continues, "I've read the case file. Perhaps, you folks should know the victim better than anyone."
Molly answers, while looking at her case file, "Yup. Name's Samuel Trunk. 37 years old. Retired from the army. Went on a bunch of tours to the East. Was granted the Medal of Honor for his service. And a Honorable discharge after an incident where shrapnel lodged in to him. Hard ones, apparently."
"Had a wife but ran away with a banker and left him with no crumbs. He has a daughter. Attends Secondary Education. Had her birthday recently which our man attended and now we found him dead in the morning. 11:25AM to be precise".
The detective asks, "In that case, Ms. Shannon, Why are you here?" "He was once one of SF How'd you think he got a house this big with his meagre money he gets? The alarm tripped and here we are." The detective questions, "Once? Ms Shannon?". She stutters, "Uh... yeah. Yeah. He's dead. So, in that case, Mr. James, used to work."
The detective scoffs, "Not the case I thought I'd take up today." Then Molly asks, "So tell me, Mr. James, Money's everything to you, huh?" The detective replies, "I have mortgage & I need to be on time when I pay my bills. So, yeah."
3:30PM, an overcast of clouds in the sky.
As The detective and the Agent enter the last room the victim stayed, the room is in dis-array everything is mis placed and as the detective goes deep into the room he encounters a man. Molly starts, "Agent Shaun, Meet Detective James".
"Good to see you, Detective". "Likewise, Agent Shaun."
The detective continues, "So, this must be your first rodeo, huh?"
Molly answers, "Nope! both of us are working in this field for the last two years". "Oh. So, everything untouched, I presume?" detective questions while surveying his surroundings; Agent Shaun replies, "Yup. Most of it." The detective gloves his hands and picks the gun on the table, asking Shaun, "What about this one? Is this the Victim's?". He replies, "Yup. checked it. It's the victim's gun."
The detective pulls the safety off and shoots Agent Shannon as everyone duck but the gun blank fires.
"1911. A classic. Seven-round mag, has good rate of fire. However, one of the thumb rules of a field agent is to know that in a standard issue given for a Medal of honor candidate, has a socket kept in the gun at all times to prevent misfire even after the safety's off."
Agent Shaun nervously asks, 'Umm, How did you know this?" "Don't you watch movie/series for fun?", James answers in a funny tone. Later, the Detective asks Agent Shaun, "What about the "found" Footage of the victim? Anything useful?"
"We only have today's footage. The data gets wiped on a daily basis." "Well, that's unfortunate. So, any idea about where our Victim goes to frequently, or today, to be precise?"
Shaun answers, "Apparently, he prefers to stay indoors most times. Unless there's a "job" to be done, today he's getting ready to meet someone. An online date, perhaps. And he also goes to the tavern at the junction. Go have a look if you wish to."
"Indeed, Agent Shaun. Ms.Shannon, care to provide me company to the tavern, if you can?" Molly, still in a shock, gently nods her head as they make their way to the tavern by a car.
4:00PM Tavern, Cloudy skies.
"Are you alright, Ms. Shannon? I apologize for the inconvenience. I assumed that you're a field agent and might've known about the gun before." "Mr. James, can we focus on the task at hand?" The detective chuckles, "Alright. Get inside and find yourself a comfortable spot while I ask around, ok?" "Why, Mr.....Oh, I get it. I'm sorry."
The tavern buzzed with quiet chatter and the clink of glasses. Molly slipped into a corner booth, her fingers drumming on the table as she ordered a cappuccino. Across the room, James leaned casually against the counter, his keen eyes scanning the patrons before striking up a conversation with the bartender.
A few minutes later, he joined Molly, setting a steaming mug of hot chocolate on the table. "They don't give out much without a drink or two," he said with a wry smile. "But I picked up something interesting."
A fed-up Molly asks, "Did you get anything beside the hot chocolate?". "Hmm....". The detective sips the cup slowly, "Hmmm.... Anything unusual about the things in the house? I mean they're expensive. More than your monthly pay. Maybe, a side hustle, perhaps?"
Molly, who is on fumes, questions, "What do you really want, Detective?!"
The detective asks, "What sort of a job does a retired vet does for your company which gets him that stuff?" Molly pauses for a moment and answers, "Ok. As far as I know, he's a moderator between us and the goons. You know, with Mafia of some sort."
The Detective goes, "FANTASTIC! A sleeper agent of the government died unexpectedly and the same government wants to know how. Quite the poetry we can find, Ms. Shannon" Molly, "Look, Detective. You need the money and I need the case complete. So, It's best if you co-operate, complete it pronto then you might get a better money bag."
"Well, in that case, Let's head back, shall we?"
The Detective hurriedly pays the bill and Ms. Shannon follows him to the car.
4:25PM, raining.
"What's with you? Go slowly!! Detective!!!!... Detective! I demand an answer!" "Sam visits the tavern only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and sits at the same spot where I was before, that means on a weekly basis, Sam gets a job on Sunday, checks if it fits his MO on Monday. If it does, he meets his clients on Tuesday and completes the job by Saturday. Your man's side hustle is quite profitable, Ms. Shannon."
Molly gets irritated, "So, you mean that Sam is a mole in the Special Forces?" The detective, "No, just ask your guy to unlock the victim's phone. It may be encrypted, but your guy can crack it, right?". Molly calls Shaun and informs him about the phone.
4:45PM, Crime scene, Overcast.
James hurries into Shaun's room. "Have you unlocked it, Shaun?" Agent Shaun, "This is a tough nut to crack, Firewall is so Adv—" The detective interrupts, "Save it. Check for recent mails, calls, texts, anything, ANYTHING we can use." Shaun mutters, "H.. Here, Here. It's the last convo between him and umm... his therapist. Something that goes like, 'THAT KEEPS ME GOING'. "What?!"
Molly annoyingly, "Ugh. Now the therapist. Where can we find this thera—"
The detective shouts, "NO!! He's not the culprit." James utters in his head, " that keeps him going...." He goes around the crime scene for clues while thinking what's the message trying to say. Finally, he ends up in the Victim's room while he's busy with the phrase.
The sun rays from the window hits the mirror and blinds him, diverting his focus to an old photo.
"That's it, that's (haha.....)that's the answer, you cheeky son of a gun.
CASE CLOSED...."
"James! What the hell is wrong with you, what's with this sudden ruckus?!" Molly was startled by the Detective's shouting.
"The thing that keeps everyone to do what we do? Ms. Shannon? Money, greed, family? In our man's case, everything!"
The detective continues, "He was in the force and when he got back his wife left him for a banker as our man was not there to 'fulfill' her needs, had filed a case against him, took the money through their bond and the girl away from sam. At this point with nothing to go for he chose to work for you; back in the government's saddle again."
"Working under you lot gave him a reason but as time goes the need or in other words, greed, took our man. Revenge, what he owned once, a life he was promised but was cut short, started to deal with the people he once swore to save this country. The money started to come by and he was getting his promised land back; But something went wrong, a mistake."
Detective takes a break and takes a sip from the water bottle nearby,
"Yeah...Me and Agent Shannon found out that Sam meets his clients at the tavern on Tuesday after checking if he can do it or not and completes the given task by Saturday and gets his money back for his trouble. The bigger the task, the better the amount. Things were smooth until one of the sides broke the deal. Unluckily, it was Sam who pulled it. Probably took something while he was doing his job and tried to keep it hidden, but his way of living lavishly brought the ripper to his house. The dealers might have found out our man's mistake and sent an assassin to take him out."
"Judging by his daily routine, the only place the assassin can take him out is in his own house. Entering an army veteran's house is no joke but somehow the assassin made it. That means, he was here when the owner was not around. That means" Agent Shaun continues "The assassin came today!"
"Exactly! Great Deduction, Mr. Shaun. Now, how can the assassin enter the house that's guarded with security cameras all around?"
The Detective pauses for a moment and continues,
"Simple. An electrical outage, no power and the only way the assassin can enter is through the opened window in the victim's room itself. The assassin started to go through Sam's stuff, trying to find something but the veteran's arrival forced the killer to hide."
"Now, the tussle between both must be have been a small one as the only thing that would seem out of the place is the victim's gun. The alarm tripped, which means our man must've won the fight, but during the tussle, the killer must've struck a good blow on the victim's body where the shrapnel was; which might've caused a rupture inside, and in the end killed him. Sam tripped the alarm so that you guys would come before his demise, but not the one with good luck, is he?"
Agent Molly, who was shocked by the detective's answers, asks "Well, Ummm.. Where's the body of the assassin then?"
Detective reveals, "Simple, Ms. Shannon. The one thing out of the ordinary (as James points toward the mirror) is that guys like Sam love to have a safe bunker as a last resort and the path is behind the mirror itself. Kind of easy to know just by looking at it."
James motioned towards the ornate mirror on the wall, his voice steady but charged with urgency, "Move that mirror." he ordered.
Molly hesitated, her brow furrowed. "What are you—"
"Just trust me," he snapped, his eyes locked on the faint scuff marks beneath the frame.
Two officers heaved the mirror aside, revealing a narrow passage carved into the wall. The air was cold and musty, laced with the metallic tang of blood. At the end of the passage sat a bag, its zipper slightly ajar.
Molly gagged as she stepped closer. Inside lay the crumpled body of a man, his face obscured but his bloodied hands clutching a small, glittering object.
James exhaled sharply, "There it is—the prize that cost two men their lives. A diamond, stolen from a deal that should've never happened, probably 'Ritani Petite Diamond Halo Ring', known for its delicate and sparkling option with a halo surrounding the center diamond, in layman terms, a costly diamond."
The Detective grabs an old photo frame with the picture of a man and a woman.
"The picture here is an old happy photo of our 'once' couple. Looking at the picture, the ring worn by the lady is of diamond."
"As the marriage between the couple got broken and the latter took everything from our victim and he wanted a payback, brought a ring costlier than before for his new gal, but the diamond used to make the ring was stolen from the deal, Thus brought his demise with him.
Things men do to gain a woman's trust."
"So, ladies and gentle agents, my work is done here. Please do send the money faster and have a good (Checks through the window)... Evening and Bye." The detective leaves the premises as everyone around are trying to get an idea of what just has transpired.
10:00 P.M., Cloak Detective Agency, Half moon.
Everyone is talking about their daily cases while Detective James is busy filling his papers.
The Chief Sergeant of the agency enters the room with Agent Shannon and Shaun,
"Ladies. Listen up, these two are from the central government came here to provide our agency with a job. Hope your ears and brains are here to listen 'carefully'. Madam please."
Molly starts, "One of our facilities is having trouble, The footage we got from them shows nothing, but the scientists are insisting that there has been a break in. We would like to provide one of you with a job working for us. If you can find out what's the issue."
Pin-drop Silence for a good couple of minutes,
One of the detectives there questions, " I mean, what's the point of differe—"
Agent Shaun interrupts and says "hundred grand to the person who solves it" and puts the money on the table.
Everyone starts to check the footage. It's 10 minutes long and only consists of time lapses from night 10 to 12 and early morning 3 to 5. Each detective tries to give their answer but none of them prove to be valid.
Detective James looks at the video and says, "That was a fine offer from the government. Must be where our tax money is going these days, and the video is nice. HD quality, a nice view of the ocean, the outdoors and the paint too pristine. 'White', fine for a 'Scientific Facility' but at the very end, something's not right at the last moments."
"There was a small glint near the wall outside. I mean it could be the sun rays reflecting but the mirrors used in a 'facility' are mostly tinted, so no reflections. Unless, there's a change in the paint itself. Someone broke in when the camera is not looking and as he was either entering or exiting, it caused something that made a small crack on the wall."
" He tried to fill it up quickly, but used a different paint; one with silver coating. I guess our thief is using Night vision, which might be the reason he could not notice the difference. So Ms. Shannon, your Scientists are right. there was a break in. You should probably hire them but then I will take the money though, thanks. That's twice you paid me today. Feels funny?"
Molly laughs and continues "Yeah. See you on Tuesday 10 AM sharp. Here's the address."
James takes the card and leaves with the money.
2:00 A.M.
He took the bait, yeah the same one you told. Yeah, we will keep him out of shadows from time to time, no there will be no miss-haps, I can guarantee. His days are coming to an end that's for sure.
The line Dis-connects.....