Paradise: Murder At Midnight

Chapter 1-Rookie?

February 2004

breaking news, Yet another drug bust was conducted by Vanessa Coleman, what can she not do. Leading brick company Perry & Pearl weren't up to just shipping bricks, they are actually the main suppliers of the new unknown drug Zelophine also known as "Paradise". Due to the fire that demolished the building a lot of evidence was destroyed but it stays strong enough to bring Perry & Pearl down. Here is Vanessa in her latest interview.

Cameras flash from everywhere as the media clamors for answers. "Vanessa, I'm Lenin Charles from NNC News. Have your team obtained any of the substance Zelophine?" "Yes," she replies. "The drug is being examined and studied in the National Lab of Crime Studies." The journalists bustle for more answers. "Stacy Quinn from C2 News here. What exactly is Zelophine?" "Zelophine is a highly addictive drug that causes its users to consume anything and ultimately end with themselves. There are many more studies to be conducted and more investigations to be made. We aren't clear on anything besides the symptoms as of now."

O'Neal Smith from TCN Radio chimes in: "The building was suddenly burnt down, and as you said, many samples of the drug were destroyed. What was the main cause of the fire, and was it planned?" "As far as I can tell, the fire started in the building's manufacturing area. It was unbelievable that it spread that quickly throughout the building. Again, more investigations are still to be done."

The crowd bursts into an eruption of excitement again, every journalist eager to speak. Amongst the crowd, a man dressed in a black trench coat approaches the desk. The room grows cold, and the silence gets loud as his footsteps become audible. "You've done it yet again, Vanessa," he says as he retains his shades with two fingers. "Congratulations on your latest drug bust." The dark man with a shrewd influence suddenly fades back into the crowd.

The two police officers at her side look at her as if they're asking to take action. Gasps spread across the room like a wildfire. "Leave him. Empty vessels tend to make the loudest noise. That's enough for the night. I'm heading home," she objects as she stands up. Cameras flash as headlines are already being made. "Vanessa will not be taking any more questions. Thank you," her assistant announces on the microphone as the police officers safely escort her to her transport.

She looked out of the window of the vehicle as it drove by the skyscrapers of the luminous city. "I have a bad feeling about tonight some thing feels off" she muttered as she kept her eyes outside the window "Do you still want to go straight home?" The driver inquired, he was the only person in the car with her

"No it's fine, I have some things to sought out there" Vanessa responded as she laid her head on the window glass, her mind was crowded with thoughts.

Not too long after, the car arrived at her home. She lives in the 20th floor of a 40 floor building. The night was cold and the winds began to pick up.
She stood outside the car just to give the driver thanks for his work "I'd like to thank you once again Mr. Lee, I'm sorry that this was way beyond your working hours." She said with gratitude

"No no! It's not a problem at all, it's great to help out city's hero" he joked as he left.

She entered the building, scanned a card of identification which allowed her entry to the elevator then got to the 20th floor where her apartment was located, she took out her keys and opened her door. By the neatly stacked books, organised documents and dusty furniture you can tell she never has any guest over, nor does she be here often.

She opened a draw took out a paper and a pen then began writing.

"This doesn't make sense, the creators of this drug cannot be Perry & Pearl brick company, it definitely has something to do with the Tartic gang, they are the biggest mafia gang in the city. In the drug bust before this, apparently they had world class scientists working for them engineering drugs that can rule the world and cripple economies. It does make sense for a company which does global exports to be manufacturing such a drug but that can't be it. Mr Han Burberg is the leader of the Tartic gang and he has an alliance with the mayor of the city, it's not my place to get involved in that yet, I don't have any solid proof, I keep running in circles. Everyone in this city's lives are in danger, its not too far from this drug becoming rampant. The reason I'm writing this letter is because I have a bad feeling about tonight. I know the right detective will find this. Your first step of solving this will be to somehow get some insights on the Tartic gang.