BELLS IN NEW YORK

Chapter 01- Part 01

The bright sun shone through the framed windows of the Brooklyn police station,pooling on the floor in puddles of fairy dust. However, within the station, an ominous storm was brewing.

"You haven't found any new information about the culprit since the last time I was here? That's over three weeks ago, James!" Chief Samuel Bryson bellowed, making the entire division descend into a deafening silence. "This is just one person, James! Just one moron! How hard could it be? I've given you the freedom to use all available resources and you're telling me you still can't find anything? At this rate, we are only confirming what the people think. You are just a bunch of useless puppets that can't even solve a case," he roared, so many unsaid words clouding his eyes, yet his mouth couldn't seem to keep up. At the receiving end was Chief Detective James Campbell.

But it was crystal clear that he wasn't the only one the words were directed at.

Chief detective Campbell was the official detective in charge of this case, so it was normal that he shouldered most of the blame for the team's inability to track down the criminal who was the reason behind all the commotion. However, I had a small sense of guilt that was eating me up inside, seeing that detective Campbell was taking all the blame for a project that was shouldered by a group of people.

Detective Campbell was one of the best detectives at our police station. A project that he was in charge of always came to a closure in the blink of an eye. He was smart, logical and very detail-oriented, hence the ability to see through clues that others often miss. The fact that this particular culprit in question managed to slip past detective Campbell's watchful eye only shows how skilled of a criminal he is.

The entirety of the division office was silent. It seemed as though nobody even dared to breathe in fear that the angry grey eyes of the chief would turn away from detective James and towards them. The whole time, detective Campbell stayed silent, his head hanging low.

After a few more painstaking minutes of chief Bryson glaring at detective Campbell's head, he let out a long sigh, heavy with frustration.

"James, you are one of the best officers in this field. But this performance is unacceptable. I'm very disappointed. Let's head to your room. We need to talk in private."

Nodding his head, detective Campbell headed towards his office, chief Bryson following close behind.

The moment they exited through the double doors, all the remaining officers let out a collective sigh of relief. It felt as though the time stop was finally lifted. As I plopped down on my seat, I tried to get my breathing back on track.

Chief Bryson's frustration was understandable. This case has been running since four months ago, and we are yet to find a new clue of who the culprit is. But you can't blame chief detective Campbell either. He did try his best. But the criminal mastermind behind everything is always a few steps ahead of us.

The usual chatter resumed in the room, but the frustration in the air was almost tangible. Every officer that passed by my desk sported a pair of dark circles. I can assure you that no officer in our division has had a good night's sleep in four months.and I chose the perfect time to enter all this madness.

I was appointed a detective three weeks ago. Oh, and let me formally introduce myself. I am Drithi Sharma, age 24, Indian-American, junior detective-in-training who definitely didn't fail the entrance exam twice.

You should probably ignore the last part. That was TMI on my part. I apologise.

Okay, who am I kidding? You are going to be with me throughout this story so you will figure it out sooner or later. I might as well come clean.

I failed the entrance exam. Twice. Barely made it with the third. There. I said it. I might not be the prodigy I wish to be but hey, I'm on the right path towards my dream. I must also add... I'm not officially part of this case. Unofficially, yes. Being a trainee has its quirks. I, am in charge of sorting out the data collected from the investigation. I have a pretty important role, don't you think?

"Dee, are you doing your work? you need to turn that in within the day, okay?"

Shit. I swear it feels like I am back in the penitentiar- I mean school, once again.

"On it, officer!" I replied, before getting back to work.

Now, where was I? Oh, right. I wasn't yet officially taking part in the investigation, but a moment didn't pass when I didn't wish some sort of sorcery would bring me into the investigation. If only I could have the glory of being a part of such a big case... I could only dream.

A quick fifteen minutes passed and the sound of chief detective Campbell's entrance door brought me back from my trip to dreamland. The double doors to the main hall opened, and the authoritative giant re-entered the room we were in.

"Don't stop investigating. Look up every little detail. I don't want to see this prankster slip through our fingers again," chief Bryson ordered as he turned to leave. As the automatic doors opened again to let the chief out, he stopped on his tracks.

"One last thing. I'll be appointing a new Chief detective later this week. Bring the speed you've been working at up a notch. Time is scarce."

With not so much as a glance back, the chief walked out of the police station.

Groans echoed around the room. How much harder did chief expect us to work? Clearly 24 hours a day wasn't enough. But before I could mentally rant on about possible salary deductions, a thought crossed my mind.

Did chief tell us to expect a new chief detective? If I heard that right, then that means detective Campbell-

♧♧♧

Aaaand there it is! Part 1 of 2 of chapter 1. I decided to break it into 2 parts coz I didn't want it to be a lengthy read :)

Do let me know if you liked the chapter. I'd love to know your thoughts.

I hope I did a good job with hooking you in to the story, but if I didn't, I promise it will get better!

The next part will be up next week! See you then.

Adios!

26/03/2022