Sergio

'Forensics identified the gun to belong to this department', Lao whispered nervously, 'and from the looks of it... this gun belongs to you'. 

He lifted his phone to show me a picture of my gun, wrapped up in a forensic bag for examination. It was 3AM when I received Lao's call.

'Chief, I didn't do it!' I argued repetitively, 'I swear. I did not murder her!'

'Then who did?'

'I-I don't know!' Locked behind sound-proof walls, the chief express his rage at my entanglement in the murder of Amy's friend, Cleo. Since there was one glass wall and some of the detectives could see us, he downplayed his body-language... but not for long. 'I-I can find out–'

'You better, and this investigation must stay between us', he grunted in a deep voice, 'do you even know how this looks?' he walked in circles, hands on hips. The situation was dire. 'If the press finds out, this could be a hot mess!'

'Well... it may not be the way it sounds', I assured him.

'A young, black girl murdered by Bluebridge PD cops?!' he retorted, 'I don't care what the truth is, I just don't want this going public'. Police departments in the city were under heavy investigation, and the punishments were getting stricter for sloppy officers.

Cleodora Martinez was her full name.

Confined and conflicted in my car, I examined the stuffed pony. Only after her murder, had I figured out her coded message. We shared the same mother. "A far but close friend", she wrote, followed by the current address of my mother in an old, made-up Morse code she used.

Years later I was still fond of that code.

Each time I re-read the letter, thought about Cleo's corpse, my mother, and my gun used to frame me... angry tears grew in my eyes, then I scrunched up the letter.

What kind of joke was this?

Local to the murder, the Southbridge police department took the murder case into their hands. As I arrived at the crime scene to do my own hunting, they were still around, probably making sure no Bluebridge detectives like me were on site. To get into the house, I had no choice but to either wait for them to leave... or disguise.

By now, noticing private cameras from the neighbouring apartments across the road, the Southbridge police potentially had footage of the murderer that night. Smooth and cautiously, I entered the crime scene in a full white bodysuit with a face shield.

'Hey you!' the officer in charge of the investigation called me out. Slowly, I turned around, 'what took you so long?'

'Errr... errrrm...' the whole time, I kept my face down.

'Come on! Get back in please with the rest of the forensics. Let's not waste time'. Considering it was after 3AM, and Southbridge police were not as large as us, the investigation team was limited to a handful. Phew.

He didn't know who I was.

Distinctively detached, this two-storey hideaway that Amy and Cleo occupied was surrounded by tilted trees. The murder occurred in the garage. A shot in the forehead. Items collected, included my gun, Cleo's glasses, her cell phone, a golden watch, and other personal items.

I walked over to a distant corner of the garage to a wall with an expressionistic, South-African styled landscape canvas.

But I noticed the canvas was covering something attached to the wall, so I gently lifted it up and removed it. What I discovered was spectacular.

On a black chalk board was a collection of photographs taken from an analogue camera. Most of them were of me, but from different angles and locations. Another collection of photos were of Selena, and another woman who looked like her sister, labelled 'the Roses'.

Then another woman, short with white hair, labelled 'Tabitha' was annotated exchanging arrows with Selena's sister. Some information on the chalk board had been erased, and some images ripped off.

There were other faces from Bluebridge Police department, Kai, Morello, Lao and higher-ranking chiefs... but I couldn't understand.

All this time, in events where we were close to catching Amy, Cleo was there... investigating us.

Hastily, after taking a picture of the board, I collected remnants of all the torn images; it was likely the murderer only ripped off the images of himself. I also bagged the chalk eraser, which he used to erase selective information. Finally, before the others could see me, I covered the chalk board with the canvas again.

In the day, it was back to the Acosta files. Now that I had recovered the files Selena deleted, and my annotations back, I was gonna find another way to arrest him. But in the night, I had to go through the elimination process with my own partners, assuming one of them was the murderer. Day after day, I collected their fingerprints to match them with the prints I found on the torn photographs and eraser. Two weeks had passed, as I felt myself becoming more paranoid whenever I tried to investigate a new detective.

I knew all these people. None of them had the capacity to murder a young girl, cold heartedly. This person had to know me long enough to know where I kept my gun, steal it, then have the audacity to murder, and frame me with an ulterior motive.

'It's no use', I complained to the chief, 'I've gone through nearly everyone in the department and haven't got a match'.

'That's nearly everyone, Sergio', Lao reminded me.

'But the people that are left – they just wouldn't do it'.

'Assume nothing'.

'What if this murderer infiltrated my stuff somehow, found my gun, then framed me to buy time?' I suggested. In thought, Lao froze. 'Think about it. It's taken over a week and I've got nowhere. The murderer obviously wanted us to assume that someone from the department killed Cleo because the investigation would take forever, and they would have more time to cover their tracks. Maybe he's just been playing with us the whole time'.

'And what if you're wrong?'

'Look...' I braced myself, 'I know this is going to sound – insane, and I probably should've told you a long time ago...but...'

'What?'

'Amy... she has powers', I blurted. The chief's face grew stiff, then he scoffed. 'It's true. Ask Selena. We were in the car when we arrested Amy and that lorry tipped and exploded right next to us, but Amy... she used her powers to repel the flames. Kai and I saw her teleport at the gas station'.

'What?'

'Yeah!' before I could explain further, I shut the door and lowered my voice, 'what if... what if she knows others with similar powers? It's not impossible that they could have infiltrated the department and murdered Cleo'.

Naturally, Lao hadn't fully digested the information I gave him because his undivided attention was on clearing up Cleo's murder. Exhausted from failure the next evening, I threw my phone to the desk. Still no match.

'Hey'.

'Huh?' Oh. It was Selena.

'Are you okay?'

'Never better'.

'You're lucky it's not an iPhone. That would've cracked excellently'.

'Thanks. Did you come by just to tell me that, or do you have any more excellent advice?'

'No'. In her hand was a bag of food and beverages, a typical newbie's way of making friends with existing detectives. She took a seat on a backwards chair. 'I'm sorry about Cleo. I can't believe she was your half-sister'. So far, Selena was the only other person that knew about Cleo's murder, but she didn't know I was being framed, and that I had to investigate her and everyone else in the department.

'All this time... and she never communicated with me', I mumbled, out of contrition. 'I didn't notice. I could've helped her, spoken to her or anything. I would've given her a real home'.

'Maybe... she was too scared to approach you, because, you know... we're cops. She was a thief'.

'But it's family; its different. If you found out a family member of yours was involved in a petty crime, would you arrest them?' Selena dipped her head as I asked the question. 'I just found out she was my half-sister'.

'There's only so much you can feel for her. You hardly knew her'. Although I hated to agree, Selena was right. Cleo and I had no pre-existing relationship, making my grief for her shallow. Selena handed me a strange drink. 'Try it. It's sake'. I grabbed it. She smiled slightly, then got up.

'Hey', I stopped her, 'I don't think he believed me, but... I told the chief about Amy's powers. Something strange is going on in this department and I think its connected'.

'What's connected?'

'Before I tell you, this has to stay between you and me. You can't tell anyone'. Selena sat down again, leaning in, and I made sure no one else was around us. 'The Southbridge police think someone from this department murdered Cleo, and whoever murdered her used my gun, so...'

'Oh...?'

'Yeah'.

'So...you're gonna investigate everyone in the department? Alone?' she whispered. Hesitantly, I nodded, 'wouldn't that take for-ever?' Knowing it would, I shrugged. We both sipped our drinks. 'I could help you...' she suggested. I sighed.

'Don't – go through the hassle. I'd rather you didn't get involved'.

'Sergio, you need a hand. I can help...' she insisted, 'I don't like watching you weary yourself with your lonesome burdens day by day, then take it out on your phone'.

Two was better than one, and it would speed up the process in trying to collect a match. However, the volatile nature of this investigation was the reason I didn't want Selena, or anyone else getting involved.

With no conclusion set in stone, we left the office at night. Beneath the balcony bridge which attached the separate buildings of the department together, we walked through the alleyway leading to the parking lot.

'I don't know why you choose to carry the weight of this alone', Selena continued complaining, our echoey footsteps distinctively loud.

'Yeah, well. This beer is so sweet', I retorted, finishing the drink she gave me, 'fruity'.

'Sorry', she confessed, 'I like sweet things'. Then I slowed down. 'What?'

'Hands up!' a growl came from behind us. From the shock, we dropped our glass bottles to the ground simultaneously. I knew I was counting extra footsteps. 'I said hands up!' it was her... Amy. Slowly we turned around to face her stiff revolver. Through Selena's wide bug eyes, I knew what she was thinking. Instinctively, Selena pulled out her gun, but before she could aim it, Amy snatched it out her hands using levitation. A split second. 'No more sudden movements'. Like darts, her eyes shot at Selena, and now she had two guns pointed at us.

'Okay. Our hands are up', I said slowly, noticing bystanders in the distance, 'what do you want?'

'Who killed Cleo?' she tremored, eyes watering. Selena and I gave each other a look, then we looked back at Amy, 'one of you disgusting cops killed her! Was it you?!' Her eyes shot at Selena.

'Hang on', I intervened, 'calm down now. We – we're actually investigating it'. Spiked by the tensity of the atmosphere, my voice began to wobble, and I paced on the spot. 'We're trying to find the murderer'.

'I don't believe you'.

'It's true!' Selena blurted, 'there's a mole in our department'. From both sides of the alleyway, lights from the police cars flashed on the three of us. Then from the balcony bridge above us, a pair of officers shone torches over our heads.

'Stop right there!' an officer shouted through a megaphone, 'put your hands up girl!' With both guns in her hand, Amy put her hands up, her angry eyes fixed on Selena and I, 'and drop your weapons!' Three seconds later... she dropped the guns. From the dark look on her face, and knowing her abilities, I feared what she would do next...

'I hear you have powers...' Lao whispered, stooping to Amy's level. For the second time, we apprehended her in the vault. She was in a black hoodie and leather jacket, shorts, and black thigh-high socks. To my surprise, she became defenceless, allowing the police to cuff her without flinching or resisting, but from that constant look she gave us... I could tell; she was scheming something. 'If it's true what they say about you having powers... show me'.

'What?' Amy mumbled. After an unattended hour in the vault, she grew despondent, chin down, leaning on the glass. The fact that Cleo was dead upset her way more than it did me.

'Show me what you can do', Lao repeated himself. Agitatedly, she lifted her chin, giving the chief a hard and angry stare. Eyes red from her extensive crying, and shadowy from her long fringe, she looked like a gothic zombie.

'I'm still figuring out how they work', she uttered, 'ite?'

'Mmmn. Alright'. The Chief walked away. In the meantime, we kept the vault area occupied, but Selena spent most of the time disappearing into visible corners, speaking to her sister on the phone. I focused more on Amy falling asleep on the glass.

'Hey', I tapped the glass. She flinched, 'got you some food'. I slipped her a tray of freshly cooked dinner through the delivery window. Briefly, she stared at it, then looked away, '... best consumed hot?' I added. She didn't respond. I knelt down. 'You know, I recently just found out your friend, Cleo, and I were related. Maybe you're angrier at her death than I am, but I wish I knew her like you did'.

'Your gun...' finally she twisted to look me in the eye, 'why was it there?'

'I didn't kill her! I swear, 'after finding out she was my half-sister, I would never do that!' Before I could fully unleash my emotions, I repressed myself. 'Your boss, Acosta, does he know anyone else with powers, anyone who could've potentially killed her?'

'No. He doesn't even know about my powers. Besides, why would Acosta have her killed?'

'Maybe she became a threat to your organization. I saw Cleo's secret board of investigations. Maybe she knew some information she wasn't supposed to know. There were missing photos – ripped off, erased information, the murderer's attempt to remove themselves from the bigger picture. They must've infiltrated our department too'.

'I need to tell you something', Amy murmured, 'the other day when your partner fell asleep... Cleo spiked her with phymethadol using coffee, then disguised as a cop to bust me out'.

'What?!' That explained Selena overdosing on duty. Phymethadol had symptoms of dizziness, intoxication, 'if Cleo has been here... there's a good chance she went through my stuff –'

'She didn't take your gun. She was shot with it'.

'It doesn't matter. There's a chance the murderer found it at your hideout and used it against Cleo'.

'That doesn't make sense either. Before she died, Cleo was obsessed with you. If she was gonna steal anything of yours like a gun, she wouldn't just leave it lying around in an easy place to find, waiting for someone to murder her'.

'Or what if they were after the diamond... assuming you haven't already given it to Acosta...' crunching up into a ball on the floor, Amy grew despondent again. 'Listen, you really wanna find your murderer, correct?' she eyed me angrily, 'we can help you with that, but you're gonna have to lead us to Acosta'.

'Why?'

'Because! He's the link we need'.