Deadly Riddles (Mike Anderson Book 1), page 8
"Mike, what are you doing with that PDA?" He asked.
"Nothing, I just—" I was interrupted by him grabbing the PDA out of my hands.
"Missing stuffed animal…tipped over nail polish…" He began reading off the screen. "Mike, what is this?"
"I, uh… Well, I was searching through the house like you said…" I trailed off awkwardly. I ran my hands through my hair nervously. "My notes are on the PDA, may I have it back?"
When I got it back, I tried to regain my composure before giving my presentation by taking a deep breath. I stared at the screen in my hands and started talking. It didn't look that professional, but this was the best I could do with such little time to prepare.
"Missing stuffed animal…" I read off the screen, trying to remember what I was going to say. "Oh! The father said that her, uh, favorite toy was this rabbit. B-But, uh, couldn't find it… in the room I mean… b-but I did find a missing stuffed animal. I mean, I found that one of the stuffed toys was missing. The nail polish in front was knocked over."
I took another deep breath. I wasn't really doing a good job explaining what I found, but this was the best I could do.
"Is he ok?" Jay asked. Taylor gave him a look and he backed off. I had never really spoken this much in front of the other guys on the team. It frustrated me that this was the first impression I was giving them, stuttering like an idiot.
"Um, the rest of the room was clean." I continued, gaining my confidence back a little, "Meaning the kidnapper most likely took the doll, which means that it was probably someone that knows that that's her favorite."
"But it could just be a huge coincidence that that was the stuffed toy he took. Or her favorite toy could've been lost before the kidnapping and he took something else." Jay countered. It wasn't in me to press the issue and debate my point, so I let his comment go without a rebuttal.
"Jay, I want you to go talk to the ex-wife and get her statement. Tomorrow, Mike and I can talk to Spartz at his office downtown. I want the rest of you to work with forensics and see if you can pick up any leads from the evidence."
I didn't really like any of the suspects we had so far. The wife had the opportunity. It's perceivable that she knew how to disable the alarm easily. She would've known which stuffed toy was her daughter's favorite. But why risk going to jail and losing the divorce settlement and custody of her daughter in the process by committing a crime? Why ask for a ransom?
Maybe it was just out of spite. Maybe this was an ugly divorce and it was revenge on her former husband. Then why didn't Shelby implicate her when Taylor asked him who most likely would commit this crime. If he didn't think she was capable, then why should we? It might have been possible that Shelby knows his wife is capable but is covering for her for some reason, although if that were really the case then he wouldn't have called the cops.
Then there was Spartz. He had the motive, if he wanted to hurt his rival and perhaps compromise him emotionally by kidnapping his daughter. But the crime was committed in such a way that it was almost impossible that he could've done it. And like with the wife, why risk suck a lucrative career as a businessman? Why potentially throw it all away?
You had the kidnapper asking for five days to deliver on the ransom. It made me think that this was less about the money and perhaps something else. Both suspects didn't really need money, and there would be ways to hurt Shelby that aren't as risky if this were about revenge.
The meeting ended, I had worked out some of the logic but hadn't come any closer to figuring this one out. I would need more information, and that would have to wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Eleven
I had made it back to my place. I was still moving stuff in. There were boxes everywhere, but I had been there long enough to set up my entertainment system.
I had a projector set up to throw an image at this giant screen on the wall that went all the way to the floor. Speakers were then wired all around the room to provide me with surround sound. I loved this setup because it allowed me to store everything, including the game system and projector, behind me rather than clogging up space right next to the TV.
I was playing a first person shooter online with my online friends. It was a group of people I had been playing games with for over two years now. It was four of us. First there was me, and then you had Toothpick and Darthsmallz. Those were their gamer names obviously. They were brothers still in high school.
Darth was the loud mouth of the group. He could sometimes be off putting if you weren't ready for him. But if it wasn't for him, it would be pretty silent while we were playing because the rest of us didn't really talk other than to communicate strategy. He and his brother were a pretty good two person team as they were usually in tune with the other's movements. It helped that they both played in the same room.
I met these guys through the game. I always like the team matches, and I got to know these guys by playing with them a lot. They liked my style of play, and they were decent players, so we grouped together a lot. For the longest time it was just the three of us playing these video games. Then RedArrow showed up.
You need four people to compete in most group matches. If you have three it automatically pairs you with a fourth. Red was paired with us a lot over the period of a week, and eventually we just asked him if he wanted to join the team. The guy is pretty quiet, but he's a smart player and amazing on his own. The guy is always playing in free for alls, and he's pretty highly ranked in that category.
And eventually we made it official and created a group named Train Wreck containing the four of us as the only members. I made us a website so that we could plan events. Generally we would get together two or three times a week and play our favorite first person shooter game.
Time passed and people settled into specific roles. Everyone knew what everyone else was good at and what they were bad at. Eventually I started making specific strategies for certain maps. Fast forward to the present, and we were the highest ranked team in the nation at Capture the Flag, and in the top five in several other games.
But that could change today. A new team had risen up in the rankings named Hunting Party. We had battled against them a few times in Capture the Flag, and we had yet to beat them. They were smart and patient.
They used a pretty simple Counterstrike strategy similar to what we played. They would stick three of their guys in the base with the flag. Then send one guy out as a scout to keep the opposing team's defense honest. With three guys in the base, it makes it pretty hard to mount any kind of strike to grab the flag while defending their own base.
Now, the rules of Capture the Flag were pretty simple in this game. The first team to capture the other person's flag won, but you can't capture their flag while they have yours. Also, the flag carrier will be a tad slower and couldn't shoot at the same time as he's carrying the flag making it possible for people to catch up to him and kill him if you don't defend the flag carrier.
Sometimes the game would be over in minutes, and sometimes it would take forever for this first guy to bring the enemy flag back
"Ok guys, they have caught up to us, but we're not going to let them pass us." I spoke. We were in the game lobby and it revealed that our opponents were the Hunting Party team, and the game was Capture the Flag. One more loss and they would take over our number one ranking.
"Ya got that right, Gramps. Those suckas beat us for the last time!" Darth yelled back. Gramps was my gamer name. It used to be something else, but then when we started playing as a group Darth and Tooth would usually call me Gramps because I was so old compared to them. It didn't really bother me. In fact, I thought it was kind of cool.
In the real world, I was nervous wreck most of the time. I always felt uncomfortable dealing with other people. But in the game world, the human element isn't as big a factor. All you had was the game. No hidden motives, only strategy, winning and losing, advantages and disadvantages. I could thrive within the video game world.
"You guys remember the plan I came up with right?" I asked.
"Tru dat." answered Darth.
"Correct." muttered Red.
Their counterstrike strategy was pretty solid, but like most strategies they had glaring weaknesses that could be exploited. Only one team member at a time is ever really outside, and this limited their visibility. Three people would always be at the base. So if you could contain the scout, you would have free reign to position your teammates and grab the weapons you wanted that were placed in various locations on the field.
"Les git dis train goin!" exclaimed Darth as soon as the match began. We split up into three groups. Red went up the left side of the map, and stopped before he got in range of their base. He could usually handle himself in a one on one situation. If the scout ran into him he would be able to take care of it.
Darth and Tooth teamed up and went up the right side and I followed them to the place where the sniper was while they continued to the base. I set up my camp with my sniper under a cliff where the shadows would help camouflage my appearance. I could see the majority of the map from my location, giving me the ability to help out on offense as well as help defend the flag. Now everyone was in place.
"Who has the scout?" I asked.
"I got him. We probably have a few seconds before we see him again." Red replied.
"Good. I'll find him with my scope and we'll take him out again before hitting the base." I told the team. Like I had said before, their lack of visibility had allowed us to set up where we wanted, how we wanted. And it allowed us to pretty much attack four on three in their base while keeping our flag safe at the same time.
"Red, I found him, he's in the trees to your left. I don't think he's seen you yet." I told Red, "Tell me when you kill him, I'll see if I can't snipe someone trying to peak out one of the windows before you guys go in."
I had the front entrance to the base on my scope. Their scout was about to be dead again, and with no visibility from inside I figured one of the three might try and peak out the window to know in advance if we were coming. So I zoomed in on the window.
I couldn't believe my luck. One of the players had hid against the wall right next to the window, but with the angle I was looking in, I had a shot at him. This guy hadn't gone up against a sniper before apparently.
"Red?" I quickly asked.
"I got him, I'm heading to the base now." He responded.
"Ok, everyone get ready. Let me know when you get close to the base." I told them. I had the guy in my sight and if I timed it just right, it would provide an element of surprise that we could hopefully capitalize on.
"We're in range and heading in." Red informed me. I zoomed in with my scope, and moved the crosshairs over the guys head. It was time.
"Time to go John Woo on these suckas!" Yelled Darth, and with that battle cry they closed in on the base.
I pulled the trigger and the sniper fired quietly. I saw the bullet connect with its target. The body went down fast, and I saw a lot of movement within the base. Seconds later I saw Darth and Tooth run in the front entrance. Darth duel wielding pistols and Tooth brandishing a shotgun. And seconds after that was Red with his trusty rifle.
I couldn't tell what was happening inside the base, so I zoomed out to look for the scout. He had probably respawned somewhere. I still heard the cacophony of noises coming out of my earphones as the three of them battled on. Eventually the game informed me that we had grabbed their flag.
"Tooth and Darth are both down, but I have the flag and I'm running back." Red told me.
CLACKCLACKCLACK! A machine gun fired from a distance. The scout had respawned and was gaining on Red now that the flag slowed him down.
"I'm being shot at!" He cried out.
"I found the guy." I responded, "But I don't have a good shot. He's running in the trees still. See if you can't bring him out in the open."
The scout kept gaining on him. Red altered his path just a bit so that it would force the guy to come out from his cover. They were both out in the open, and the scout was almost within range to fire on him. It would only be a few more seconds.
"I got him in my sight. Aiming…" I said, trying to get the best shot I could. I had to match his movements, but he was running in a straight line and it was easy to predict where he would be. He was a dead man now. And then all of the sudden my screen went black.
"I can't see! What the…" I started to say.
"What do you mean you can't see?" I heard someone ask.
"My screen went black. I can still hear you guys clearly, which means the game is still working." I said. I looked back towards the projector and immediately figured out the problem. The cat had decided to explore my entertainment system and was now blocking the projector with his body.
"Kitty, get down! You aren't allowed up there." I yelled. I quickly ran over to shoo him away. He jumped off and booked it towards my bedroom before I could get to him. By the time I made it back to the game. I had been killed by the rest of the team that had respawned by then.
Red went down a little bit before me and they took the flag back. During the confusion they were able to capture our flag and win the game. That meant now we were number two in Capture the Flag nationwide.
"Man! We had them!" Tooth cried out in frustration.
"Guys, I'm sorry. It was my cat. He was blocking my projector." I said apologetically. I set my controller down.
"Oh… dat cat's dead!" Darth spat out.
"When did you get a cat?" Tooth asked.
"It's a long story." I told him. It wasn't really a long story, but I didn't want to really go into details. Losing games like this can be very sap away everyone's drive. This would probably be our last game today, as bad as it was to end the day like this.
I figured the cat was hiding in my room somewhere, figuring he would be in trouble if he had stayed where he was. As mad as I wanted to be at the guy, I knew he probably didn't realize what he was doing.
I would need to figure out a way to keep him from getting up there in the future. But for now I figured I would settle for some sleep before we continued our investigation into this kidnapping case tomorrow.
Chapter Twelve
The Chief and I met at Spartz's office. He had a floor at one of the downtown buildings. He had dressed like he had just finished taping an episode of Law and Order. He was sporting a suit, with matching slacks and shoes, and a tie of course. I imagine he didn't want to look weak in front of a potential suspect.
I didn't think about dressing professionally and I had shown up in a pair of black windbreaker pants and a red T-shirt. I looked out of place next to Taylor as we walked into the first floor of the office building. Security met us there, and Taylor flashed his badge so that they would let him pass to the elevator.
"Hey sir, you aren't allowed in unless you have an appointment." The security guy motioned at me. He didn't think I was with the Chief either. I felt so embarrassed. Fortunately Taylor quickly informed them that I was with him and we were on our way to meet with Spartz.
"You look like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He said. He didn't say it like he was disappointed in what I did. I could tell he was just joking with me and forced a smile. Glad that he wasn't mad because that was one less thing I had to worry about.
"I didn't get that much sleep last night." I admitted.
"Excited about your first official case?" He asked. I nodded, even though it wasn't true. The truth was that I couldn't get to sleep because I would have that same nightmare where I was in that hospital room and I would wake up sweating every two hours afraid to go back to sleep.
This was the third day in a row that I had had this exact dream, but it was the first time I had lost a significant amount of sleep over it. I didn't know what to do. Would it get worse as the days went by?
You can ask Dr. Adam's what he thinks.
No. Because as much as I was afraid that this could get worse, I was even more so afraid at what might happen if I tried to tell someone about it. People worry about me enough.
My thoughts were interrupted with the elevator doors opening and we found ourselves at entrance to this giant lobby. When I thought of an office, I was thinking rooms, hallways and doors. But this lobby was very open, kind of like what you might find at a car dealership. There were a few desks here and there, and some had people in them. Then there was one giant desk with what I deduced was Spartz's secretary, and behind it was the door to his office.
"Usually with rookies on their first case I tell them not try anything fancy." Taylor began, turning towards me "But, I have a feeling I won't have to worry about that with you."
I kind of managed a half smile at that comment. He was right though. I was nervous. And not just because this was my first case either. I was always like this, and I would always be like this.
I wondered for a second if I was crazy taking this job. I could never be one of those smooth talking detectives that were on TV. I could never be an intimidating cop getting a confession out of a suspect in an interrogation room. What was I doing here?
You didn't ask to be here, Taylor did. He sees something inside of you that convinced him to hire you in the first place.
So I guess I'll just hang in there knowing one of us believes I can do this job. Maybe I can't look tough or sound tough, but I could think tough… if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I could get by letting Taylor ask all the questions and look tough for the both of us. Meanwhile I could just make myself invisible and listen, trying to piece together facts to come up with a plan to catch the kidnapper. And if there was something I was good at, it was making myself invisible.
Taylor and I arrived approached the secretary stationed in front of Spartz's office. She was on the computer, and I could tell by her relaxed stare and placement of her hand on the mouse that she was probably just surfing the net. She didn't even notice we were there until the Chief got her attention.
