The Observer's Records

The Curious Case of Parentage

The Curious Case of Parentage

When your biological parents die, you're supposed to cry.

Stanley Garrison never expected of the day he would meet his real parents in a case he was working on. He never thought of the day the camera flash will hit their bodies to take a picture of their crime scene. He barely imagined the outline of the chalk deeply seared into his mind and the standing numbers near possible evidences would slightly plague him.

Stanley Garrison knew that this person standing and observing the crime scene was not the person he knew for the thirty years of his life.

The scene presented to him shook him to the very core. He doubted for a millisecond if he could take on this case. Stanley bit the inside of his cheek as he walked around, forcing to observe and make deductions out of this. When he started focusing on every single detail he might have missed earlier, his troubled mind subtly pushed aside the thought of his parents and concentrated more on the case at hand. The gears in his mind whirred and the heavy natural sound immediately dulled. With that, hickory-brown eyes completely fastened its gaze on the first element.

The criminal did this out of spite. It was one thing he could tell immediately. The force of impact from the weapon splattered blood everywhere, most likely it was done as an attempt to hastily end this. Could it be the criminal was also excited?

A knife, easily obtainable items weren't much of a surprise. The bloody knife stabbed on the ground as if declaring something that important. Stanley found it difficult to recall the reason.

Kalanchoe and lisianthus, flowers of –

"Detective Officer Garrison," a young man approached him with a quick salute, "Chief wants to talk to you."

A hitched breath upon the stop of the train of thought.

"What for, Lucas?" Stanley asked, turning to face the young officer.

"Chief wants to talk to you about the case, sir." Lucas hesitantly muttered.

"They know." Stanley commented.

"Sorry, sir. I know you're capable but the higher-ups are worried."

Ah, precautions before chaos may start which is likely impossible.

"There's nothing to apologize for. I'll be back soon." Stanley said then walked away from the young man.

"Good luck, sir!" Lucas shouted. With that, the detective officer merely waved his hand, not turning back to look at the new recruit.

---

Stanley Garrison doubted he would black out.

The accusation that he would be blinded by rage due to his parents' death was despicable. He knew it wasn't going to happen to himself. He barely knew the couple who chose to give him to the ones he calls more as his parents.

"Detective Officer Garrison, you must know that we are only prioritizing the case. You have a great track record but we simply can't risk it." The chief repeated as he ended his explanation.

"I understood that much, chief. However, at times like this, shouldn't you be direct to the point since you can't afford to waste time while the perpetrator is on the loose?" Stanley said in a dull tone. The chief's eyes widened for a second at the statement.

"I was afraid you will act like this." The chief said after clearing his throat.

Stanley looked at him in the eyes and the chief couldn't deny he felt how unnecessary it was to remove the detective officer off this case. Those hickory brown eyes were steadfast and reflected nothing like a robot programmed to do its job. The young boy was professional in every aspect but the higher ups were only scared that this boy might snap despite his uncaring actions. They thought that maybe his slight emotional incompetence would vanish as the case ran deeper.