𝔽𝕀ℕℂℍ. ～ 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴

03 - Mystery Case Files

Brian clicks the enter button on the keyboard, "Stephen Pittsburgh. Normal guy in his thirties that was found dead in the middle of the night, in an empty parking lot. He was soaked in his own blood and the parking lot was about ten kilometres away from his home."

"The only evidence left at the crime scene were tire skid tracks. That's not including the victim's body. He's still in the autopsy," Brian finishes. I think for a second, my mind cooking up a bunch of different solutions.

"Interesting," I point to the file on the table, "Mind if I?" Brian smiles and hands me the file. It's filled with pictures and details of the victim and the crime scene.

"So what are you doing?" I ask, still examining the file.

"The tire tracks found are unique. The only tire manufacturer that makes tires with tracks like these are from Rubber Road," Brian explains, "If the car is found, we can definitely get more info about Stephen's killer. Maybe even find the killer."

"But there'd be quite a lot of possibilities of cars, right?" I reason. Just then, the computer stops skimming and searching for data, and responds.

"Wow, that's..." I start, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes, a couple hundred vehicle possibilities," Brian says. There's silence I  the room. I can feel Brian thinking.

"Okay, now we have to find out which cars were in that parking lot at the time of death," He points out and gets up. I get up as well.

"Wait... Maybe you don't have to. Are you going to the crime scene today?" I question. "Uh, yeah," Brian looks at his watch, "Right now, actually."

"Can I come? Maybe I can find out something that could help," I request. Brian looks hesitant but then he replies, "Alrighty, join the gang."

I smirk and thank him. He calls out to Rebecca and gestures for her to meet him at the elevator.

"I haven't seen the crime scene myself. That's why I'm going right now," Brian reveals as he presses the elevator button.

"Hey," Rebecca says then looks at me, "You're coming?" She looks at Brian then back at me. Brian does the same.

"Yeah, I thought I could help. I don't like sitting idle," I answer. The elevator door opens and we step inside.

We all got into Rebecca's car where she's the one driving, Brian sits in the passenger seat and I'm in the back.

"So, anything important I need to know?" I ask, while reading some articles about Stephen Pittsburgh on my phone.

"Umm... I don't think so. I'm sure Brian briefed you on everything," Rebecca replies. "Yup!" Brian adds, with emphasis on the 'p' sound.

Soon, we arrive at the crime scene. There is police tape all around that say 'CRIME SCENE: DO NOT CROSS'. I can feel myself get excited. This is life... This is what I live for.

Brian hands me some gloves and some feet-caps. Yeah... I've never bothered finding out what those are called.

"This is pretty cool," Brian looks at me, "I'm guessing you like stuff like this."

I smile, "This is what keeps me alive."

"Okay Agent Roberts, you're off your leash," Brian says and I laugh a bit. The first thing I did was actually look at the setting properly.

There are blood stains around a white-tape figure that marks where the victim had layed.

I bend down to look closer at the skid marks. Brian's right, these are rare tire marks. I've never seen anything like it... Till now. I turn to the pole and slowly stand up. There are marks on it, scratches of beige colour. After more examinations and observations, I draw up a conclusion.

"Well, good news Brian! You don't have to search all the owners of cars with these tracks," I say while walking towards him and Rebecca.

Brian looks at me with confusion. "You narrowed it down to cars with these special tires, but obviously it's in hundreds," I say, "You can narrow it down even more to a beige van with tires from Rubber Road."

Both Brian and Rebecca stand speechless.

"Uh... That's umm-"

Brian steps closer to me, "How did you figure that out?"

I smile then point to the pole, "Well, it's simple actually. If you see this pole, where the tire marks curve, there are these scratches of beige paint. They're fresh."

I bend down and point towards the tracks. "Now, these tire tracks. You can figure out the size of the vehicle as well as the type. I know it's a van because the wheel gap is slightly smaller than any other vehicle," I narrate and Brian looks at them more carefully.

"Do you see at a point the tracks get darker? That's where the tire marks overlap. This would enable you to get the size," I conclude and Brian looks at me with a different expression as if he admires me.

"Wow, that's... Awesome! This is going to help so much," Brian exclaims excitedly.

"I can't believe you didn't pick that up, even though you're..." Rebecca starts then stops abruptly, "Anyways, take the measurements you need, then we'll head back."

Brian shrugs his shoulders and takes his measuring tape out. I join to help him after shaking my head to stop myself from staring at Rebecca.

That abrupt stop in her sentence... What was she trying to hide?