Tevun-Krus #103 - Androids

Samuel's Mysterious Case - A Story by @DavidGibbs6

Samuel's Mysterious Case

by David Gibbs / DavidGibbs6

A strange feeling came over Samuel, it was one he hadn't felt in a long time. There was something about the crime scene before him that bought up a vague sense of deja vu. It was unusual in that there hadn't been a violent death inside Sam's jurisdiction for so long most people had forgotten that they happened at all. He stared for a long time at the love bot, poised with her connector still punctured through the man's eye socket. He slouched forward but her rigid frame kept him from collapsing onto the floor and in return he balanced her twisting form, one leg still raised from the floor. Like a grisly action photograph they were frozen in their final moments.

The drone scanned the room slowly rotating around the scene taking photographic evidence. Its beeping snapped Sam back to the moment and he shifted his position so that it could get a complete picture of the room. Once done he would have a 3d modeled copy of the scene and he could stare at it all he liked. Not that he enjoyed it in any way. The whole situation gave Sam an itch, it was a puzzle and until it was solved, he would continue to feel this niggling sensation. Then there was this other feeling that bubbled in the back of his mind just out of reach of his consciousness.

"So do you think its a murder?" Zarn the medical examiner came from a bedroom into the main living area, letting the drone pass to continue scanning the other rooms.

"It sure as hell looks like one." Sam rubbed his face. "There hasn't been a murder in the country for two decades. So why here and now?"

"I don't understand it either." Zarn admitted. "I've never seen anything like it. There is something not right about this. It makes no sense."

"I have seen this before." Sam spoke softly. "I wish I could remember it but I know I have seen it."

"A malfunction like this?" Zarn raised an eyebrow.

"No." Sam pondered. "Not the love bot aspect. Something about the man's body."

"Well... I'll know more after the autopsy." Zarn offered.

"Thanks." Sam replied half heartedly as Zarn let himself out.

Sam would stay until the drone had finished and had uploaded the data to the police system. Then he would authorize the waiting ambulance to remove the deceased. After all these years his mind was a little slow but he followed the protocol. It was ingrained in him. The sight of the bodies had been too much for his deputy. She had been the first on scene after a report came in from a routine pest inspector. She was now dutifully collecting witness statements from neighbors, later he would have her check all incoming and outgoings. There was always a wealth of data to gather and every detail mattered in an investigation.

Checking that the drone had green lit the room, a signal that it was complete, Sam moved to the love bot, checking the nape of her neck to match the serial number to the box he had already eyed in the corner. It matched. Nothing outwardly seemed off about the bot, besides the obvious tangle of her input fingers in the man's skull. As the lead investigator he would follow up on the manufacture details and gleen what he could discreetly before using brute force with warrants. If this was a murder, he had no intention of tipping off a suspect by being heavy handed. Before that he had some reading to do. Using the instruction codes in the packaging, Sam downloaded the manuals and started reading.

Hours later he felt he had enough background to draw upon to make the call. He had consumed the manual as well as general marketing information that was readily available online. The squad car phone link was backed up and as good a place as any to make the call so he punched in the number to connect it. It rang three times before someone connected.