Red Alarm [A Detective/Thriller Story] DISCONTINUED

Chapter 13

One..two.....seven stabs.

She coughed blood out of her mouth. The pour woman was lying helplessly on the ground. A pair of hands trailer over a leather brief case.

"No...please..." with the little strength that she had, she tugged him at his shoes, preventing him from taking another step toward the door.

The hands got off some rope and ended her life for good. Her hands, taking in the last straw, slowly collapsed to the ground just like what her body did so a few moments ago.

"Black shoes...blood..."she opened her eyes."She left blood on his shoes and I think this isn't just a homicide detective."

"Officer Gonzales," he dialed on his phone. "Find out Mrs. Min Guk's financial transactions before her death."

She nodded and began typing on the keyboard.

On the other hand, Lieutenant Camembert was talking to Khen. "Is Felix with you?"

"Yes captain," he viewed the man who was tapping his fingers out of the dull atmosphere. He let him reach out to his phone and clicked to activate speaker mode.

"Felix, are you there?"

He recognized the girl's voice from his apartment. "Oh, you're the police officer from earlier."

"It's lieutenant you idiot," corrected Khen.

His eyes showed off his shocked expression considering how young the female was. "Yeah, I mean lieutenant. What is it lieutenant?"

"Did you and your mother argued last time?" she asked.

"We did argue quite a lot," he replied. "Last time it was about the money. I called her on the phone and told her I needed to buy a new motorcycle. "

A message popped in Atarah's smartphone. "Was the motorcycle around $12,000?"

"It was around $11,500 in the market... Yeah, I guess so."

"You could hand over the phone to Officer Millard now thank you."

"What kind of a son are you?" He hit the boy on his head. "You're an adult now yet you ask your mother for some money?!"

"Officer Millard?"

"Uhm, yes lieutenant?" He went back to his phone.

"Take him to the morgue. He should at least see his mother."

She hung up and faced Cole. "In the meantime, we'll catch the culprit."

~ ⚜️ ~

"This is a case of robbery because of the brief case you saw?" He summed things up.

"Exactly," she agreed.

He turned the keys on as the car vibrated. Both officers hit on the road. Detective Carter turned his head to her who sat beside him. "If my conclusions are right, we're going back to the boy's apartment?" He smirked.

"You really are a natural detective," she joked.

So this is a case of robbery and homicide in which the son was framed. Cole thought. The culprit thought that him killing his own mother would be the best cover up. His records of gang involvements will give cops preconceived opinions into believing he really did. However, the vision she'd just saw proved it was something else.

"The killer also left some other details," she showed him a picture of the body that was zoomed in on her neck. "Look at how the rope was tied."

He looked closely. The rope. It was tied into a bowline - one of the knots in which they teach you in boot camps and military training.

"Jackson O'Neil,"he uttered.

She nodded in agreement. "He must've heard Felix talking to the phone."

"The statement Mr. Jung gave earlier was also rather strange," he pondered.

Jackson wasn't too sharp to just leave the murder weapon in the scene of the crime. It wouldn't have triggered the detective's suspicion when the knife wasn't place close to the door. He must've turned the knob, making the door open a little just to give enough space for his escape after leaving the object on the floor. Otherwise, it would've been placed far away before Mr. Min Guk opened the door.

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh, good day officers," the surprised Jackson O'Neil opened the door. He stepped aside swinging his arm to his right as the officers entered. "Are you looking for more evidence against Felix? I, myself, couldn't believe he could do such a thing but sadly that was the truth."

"Yeah, we thought so to. I mean who could do such a horrible thing, right?" The lieutenant examined the room. Her eyes trailed up and down until she caught sight of a black shoe lying under the racks. She picked it up, letting it swung back and forth for the man to see.

His eyes widened. He took a step back hiding his sweating palms until he bumped against the table. "W-what? You're accusing me now?"

Within seconds, Cole hauled his masculine arms into his grip. His body was struggling as the detective forced his cuffs into binding his hands. He jerked in pain from his head being hit by the wooden furniture.

"I never said anything about accusing you," she bent down to meet his gaze.

"Hey! Do you even have a warrant?!" he protested. "Get one before resting me!"

He tightened his grip and tugged him in a forcibly manner, letting his sight level to the man's.

"Listen, I hate punks like you. We've got enough evidence to arrest you even without a warrant you jerk," he said before pushing his swollen face back to the ground. A number of officers showed up in the scene.

"Take him to custody,"Atarah ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," nodded the officer. Two of the policemen escorted the culprit to the car but it was not yet over. She raked her hands inside the closet letting the folded clothes flung to the air. There it was, safely sheltered underneath the thick pile of denim jeans.

"The brief case."

She unlocked the item just to be sure of what was inside. "Let's head back to Officer Millard."

~ ⚜️ ~

He gave the suitcase back to Mr. Jung. The grieving man was puzzled as to what it was.

"That's what Felix's friend had stolen from her. She was suppose to give it to her son mister," he breathed in some courage before to keep talking. "Before she passed away."

"Mom..." the young man was on his knees, his eyes puffed from hours and hours of crying.

"This was for your motorcycle," his father handed the case.

"No, keep it," he replied, wiping off his tears. "I'm sorry dad. If only I'd been a good son this wouldn't have happened. If only I -."

"It's okay son," he took him into his embrace. "It's okay."

Despite all that had happened he still learned to forgive. I guess a parent's love for his own child never fades away. Cole thought. He wondered what he'd do if he will meet that monster. Would he also have forgiveness in his heart?

"Crap," It was then that he realized. "The test results."

"You're late," Melissa stood up from her seat. It wasn't him to be like this especially when it comes to the chief.

"We had our reasons," Atarah replied. "Tell us what you've found."

"You're in luck. The samples match," she arched her cat eyed glasses. "But I also found something else clogged in his throat."

Her thumb and index finger held a piece of crumpled paper for them to see. It was a yellow memo, crumpled into a size about as big as a coin. He revealed what was inside. His eyes widened in shock. Inside was a hand written letters drawn from the blood of the victim.

  I couldn't take his heart to the underworld, but since you've found him, let the game's begin.

Yours truly,
The Grim Reaper