Hidden Motive - A Hamilton Kane Mystery

Chapter 1

I was staring out my office window from the 3rd floor of the Sulisberg Police Precinct. The sun was setting and casting an orange hue over the neighboring buildings downtown capturing the overall mood of the officers going about their shifts. The evening shift are about to come in while those in the morning are clearing out and preparing to head home. Everyone was feeling the weight of the day that had descended upon the city like a cool blanket lulling you to slumber.

I was about to put on my coat to leave for the day when the phone on my desk rang and broke the silence I had retreated to.

"Yes, Lucy. I'm leaving the office now. I know. I'm heading home to get some sleep."

I've been at work since 5am and no one knows it better than Lucille Billman the front desk clerk who starts her shift about the same time. She was a heavy-set woman in her 50s with broad shoulders, a smile-less face and the height of a goliath who treated everyone the same; like the disobedient children who did not listen to their elders and stay late pass their bedtime. She was a meticulous woman who knew everyone's schedule like the back of her hand and made it her business to make her displeasure known to anyone overworking themselves beyond the 10-hour mark. Even Captain Mayers, who runs the precinct, knows not to question her when she rings him to remind him it was time for lunch. Lucy wasn't the warmest or most open of persons but her insistence in ensuring everyone eats and goes home on time really does show a deeper side to her beyond her cold exterior.

"Detective Kane. There has been an unexplained death down at the Plaza Royale. Detective McNamara is still on sick leave while Detective Babcock is stuck in peak hour traffic and is an hour away. I'm sorry but I have to ask you to report to the scene immediately."

More of a command than a request, I smiled at her conflicted tone knowing that I was about to end my shift for the day and having to ask me to pick up a new case instead.

"Ah. I see. No worries, Lucy. I'll head there now."

The line went dead immediately and I shook my head as I walk out to head for the main entrance.

"Detective Kane. Traffic is heavy at this hour. I suggest you walk over instead." Announced Lucy as I passed her desk.

"Thoughtful as ever, Lucy." I winked at her as she frowned and went back to clearing up her desk for the day.

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"What do we have here, Officer Rasul?" I greeted Officer Rasul with a nod as I walked into the elevator where the deceased was lying sprawled on the floor with vacant eyes staring up to the ceiling.

"No sign of a struggle, Ma'am. Deceased is a one, Dr Hubert Mannings, fifty-four, from Georgia General Hospital, here on a medical conference for the week. As per the front desk, he walked in and asked for a late check-out for the next day then entered the lift alone. Next thing she knew, she heard one of the cleaning staff screaming and they found him like this."

I looked down at the deceased and note the discoloration around his eyes. "Did you find any shades on him?"

Officer Rasul looked up at me in confusion.

"Sorry. I meant sunglasses. Did he have a pair on him?"

I really need to remember that Officer Rasul is not familiar with such words. Though young and eager, Officer Rasul did not grow up here and had only migrated five years ago. Unfamiliar with common buzz words due to his aversion to television and social media influences, Officer Rasul surprisingly was able to pick up English fast and had top marks in the academy when he graduated. His body just didn't bulk up so he always had that unfinished teen look to him despite being twenty-five years old and on his mother's to-do list of sons to be married off.

"Oh! No, Ma'am. No shades." Officer Rasul nodded and wrote something down in his note book.

"Ok then have Officer Logan and Shaw do a perimeter sweep and tell Officer Clarke that she has the honor of watching through the CCTV footage."

Officer Rasul visibly cringed and was about to offer himself for the duty when I stopped him. "No, Rasul. You cannot be doing things for her just because she is your partner and a woman. Partners work together. You clear the scene and she does the CCTV footage. The more hands-on deck the faster we can clear this up and head home."

Officer Rasul sighed and nodded his head. "I know, Ma'am. But my Mama told me to always take care of women. They give us life and are mothers to the children. Anything we men can do to lighten their burden then we must do."

I smiled warmly at him and felt like I could just squeeze him for having such a sweet young boy demeanor.

"Your Mama raised you right, Rasul. But that does not mean we women should just sit back and relax. Men or women, we earn our keep. That's how he honor our badge and our mothers."

Rasul beamed as he stood up and saluted me with so much pride, I could feel he might burst. "Ma'am! Yes, Ma'am!"

I tried to muffle my laugh and turned back our attention to the deceased. "Alright then, let's get the ME here and bag him. See if there any connection between the discoloration of the area around his eyes and COD. I'll question the hotel staff and head back to file the report."

Officer Rasul carried out my orders as I sighed to myself approaching the front desk to ask to speak to the cleaning staff who discovered the deceased.

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