Little Detective

Chapter 6: The Bloody Office

It was Friday morning when I walked into work. It was six days since I started as a detective and this was the first time I didn't show up fifteen minutes early. Instead I was barely on time. I looked around and noticed that there were no other detectives in the office except Jones.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked Jones as I walked up.

"They're all on cases, new leads, that sorta thing. And surprisingly, no new bodies. But then again it's only nine o'clock," Jones shrugged. "It's been a pretty slow week."

"So we're still looking over these cases?" I asked. There was a stack of cases from the last few months that have basically gone cold.

"Guess they want your fresh, new baby blues to look them over, Kid," Jones said.

"Thanks, Jones," I said. I batted my eyelashes at him. I then sat down at my desk and began to look through the files.

"Jones! Barnes!" Captain Butler called out. We looked over to see the smiling Captain making his way over.

"Captain, what can we do for ya'?" Jones asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Just wanted to see how your partnership has been going. You've both solved the Cullson murder and the Bakers murder that Madden and Stanley weren't able to. I'm proud of you both. And I thought Jones would have asked for a partner transfer already," Captain said.

"He's threatened though," I said.

"She can be very annoying. She's too optimistic," Jones said. "I don't like optimistic."

"Better than being pessimistic," I snapped.

"I hoped this dynamic would work," Captain said. "And it seems like it does. That's why I have the two of you working these older cases. I was hoping you could get some of them solved. And also there's no new cases for you yet."

"Yeah it's been a slow-"

Jones was interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Damn it. . . . On the way," Jones said before hanging up. He turned to me and said, "New case."

"Yes!" I shouted. "Never thought I would be happy to go see a dead body. Let's go, Jones!"

"This Kid is too much," Jones said with a shake of his head.

"Let me know if you need any help," Captain called as I ran out the backdoor to Jones' car.

///

We walked up the stairs of the office building. Jones was breathing heavily behind me. I was having a trouble breathing, but not as much as Jones.

"You okay, Jones?" I asked. I stopped on a landing above the steps Jones was on.

" 'M not as young as I used to be," Jones heaved out. "Someone is goin' to have to answer to why, because of a murder, they shut down the elevator."

I laughed and continued up the stairs. The murder was on the fifteenth floor and we were on the ninth. After many more stairs we reached the floor that the murder was on.

An officer was by the stairwell door when I stepped through. I pulled out my badge and showed it to him.

"Detective Anastasia Barnes. My partner is on his way up," I panted out.

"You might want to catch your breath. It's the corner office," the officer said as he pointed to a private office. Surrounding the outside of the floor were a half dozen offices. And in the center of the floor was a dozen separate cubicles.