Cyril Khan
SWRP Writer
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((By the Sword))
The sun had just begun to rise outside when the Duly Detective Agency offices opened. Shadows of furniture and plants covered the far wall. The decorated wallpaper glowed orange with the morning light. Investigator Duly stepped through the front door and set his gray coat on the coat rack and his leather hat on the very top. He pushed the switch next to the door and moved towards his desk. He didn’t get far before he let out a sigh of displeasure.
Slumped with his feet on the desk, Archel Samuels slept leaning the rolling chair back dangerously. Looking at the young man over his glasses, Duly coughed loudly. Instantly Archel jumped up, knocking the chair backwards onto the floor. Duly shook his head and made his way to the desk. “I take it nothing from the case was found, Sam,” he said with a dim tone. “Seeing as you have slept through the night here.”
Sam picked himself up from the floor and stationed the chair upright. He quickly ran over to the desk and pointed to a photograph. “No really,” he said. “I think it’s that guy.” He was pointing to a homeless man a good distance from where the picture was taken. “He was the only person in the area that knew the streets well enough to get away so easily.”
Duly shook his head and bent over the pictures. He then straightened his back and looked at Sam carefully. “That is a farfetched guess,” he said quietly. “This was armed robbery. The homeless man had neither had a gun in possession or could afford one.” Samuels quickly pointed to an old case file and a picture that had been from it. “Remember that homicide case we took,” Sam laughed. “I think this homeless man found the murder weapon we never found. The site that the killer confessed to placing it didn’t have it anymore.” He then pointed to the picture of the robbery site. “The robbery was a few blocks from the hiding place; it was well within the roaming spot of the homeless man. I suspect that after the robbery he hid the gun in the same place he found it.”
Duly nodded; the evidence seemed to fit. He looked carefully over the items on the desk for a few minutes. In the end he had no other possible solutions than the one Sam offered. “It’s good enough,” Duly said. “I’ll phone it in.” Sam’s mind had already turned away from the case. His stomach began talking to him, and he looked about the room for ideas of what to eat. Suddenly a thought came to him. “I know what wou-“ he started, but was quickly cut off. “Save it,” Duly growled. Sam always came up with odd ideas for breakfast foods; sometimes they could be considered normal, while other times it was just better not knowing what it was.
Duly put down the communications device after submitting the information to the police. If it solved the case, they would be paid. As of now, the detective team was eight and zero with their cases; there was little doubt that the solution was incorrect. It wasn’t more than two seconds after Duly put down the phone when it rang again. Sam, however, quickly ran to pick it up. Duly tried to pull the handset away, but it was too late. “Hello… yeah… yes… yup.. you got it… oh dear… wonderful… not good at all… interesting…” so spoke the young man. “I’m certain that he wouldn’t mind taking the case… no it wouldn’t be too trouble… how much again?” He quickly took his head off the phone at the price mentioned. Duly didn’t bother to look at his expression; Sam was excited enough if they were hired for a mediocre price. Of course, he did react, though late, to Sam’s next question. “I have one more thing, and it is extremely important,” Sam said with a grave tone. “Do you have pie?” No response was given other than a tone. “She hung up,” he sighed. Duly took off his glasses while shaking his head and slapped himself across the forehead.
“So what’s the job?” Duly said after a while. Samuels hadn’t lost any energy even though no pie was present. “We’re investigating a homicide,” he said enthusiastically. “But we’ve been hire to prove that the lead suspect is not guilty.” Duly quickly showed more interest at the final statement. He motioned for Samuels to continue. “An officer, Hank Dachs, was killed randomly last night. No murder weapon was found and the lead suspect is Artemis Bac, the Chancellor’s husband. They are willing to pay us plenty if we can clear his name.”
Duly quickly wrote everything down carefully. The fact that this involved the Chancellor made him severely interested in the case. This could be one of the biggest cases of his lifetime, and he didn’t wish to make any mistakes. His experience could avoid mistakes; Sam was the one he feared the most, however. “Okay, so this is a big deal,” Duly said looking at his notes. “Clean up your mess,” he ordered pointing at the photos on the desk. “We’re going to the crime scene.”
The sun had just begun to rise outside when the Duly Detective Agency offices opened. Shadows of furniture and plants covered the far wall. The decorated wallpaper glowed orange with the morning light. Investigator Duly stepped through the front door and set his gray coat on the coat rack and his leather hat on the very top. He pushed the switch next to the door and moved towards his desk. He didn’t get far before he let out a sigh of displeasure.
Slumped with his feet on the desk, Archel Samuels slept leaning the rolling chair back dangerously. Looking at the young man over his glasses, Duly coughed loudly. Instantly Archel jumped up, knocking the chair backwards onto the floor. Duly shook his head and made his way to the desk. “I take it nothing from the case was found, Sam,” he said with a dim tone. “Seeing as you have slept through the night here.”
Sam picked himself up from the floor and stationed the chair upright. He quickly ran over to the desk and pointed to a photograph. “No really,” he said. “I think it’s that guy.” He was pointing to a homeless man a good distance from where the picture was taken. “He was the only person in the area that knew the streets well enough to get away so easily.”
Duly shook his head and bent over the pictures. He then straightened his back and looked at Sam carefully. “That is a farfetched guess,” he said quietly. “This was armed robbery. The homeless man had neither had a gun in possession or could afford one.” Samuels quickly pointed to an old case file and a picture that had been from it. “Remember that homicide case we took,” Sam laughed. “I think this homeless man found the murder weapon we never found. The site that the killer confessed to placing it didn’t have it anymore.” He then pointed to the picture of the robbery site. “The robbery was a few blocks from the hiding place; it was well within the roaming spot of the homeless man. I suspect that after the robbery he hid the gun in the same place he found it.”
Duly nodded; the evidence seemed to fit. He looked carefully over the items on the desk for a few minutes. In the end he had no other possible solutions than the one Sam offered. “It’s good enough,” Duly said. “I’ll phone it in.” Sam’s mind had already turned away from the case. His stomach began talking to him, and he looked about the room for ideas of what to eat. Suddenly a thought came to him. “I know what wou-“ he started, but was quickly cut off. “Save it,” Duly growled. Sam always came up with odd ideas for breakfast foods; sometimes they could be considered normal, while other times it was just better not knowing what it was.
Duly put down the communications device after submitting the information to the police. If it solved the case, they would be paid. As of now, the detective team was eight and zero with their cases; there was little doubt that the solution was incorrect. It wasn’t more than two seconds after Duly put down the phone when it rang again. Sam, however, quickly ran to pick it up. Duly tried to pull the handset away, but it was too late. “Hello… yeah… yes… yup.. you got it… oh dear… wonderful… not good at all… interesting…” so spoke the young man. “I’m certain that he wouldn’t mind taking the case… no it wouldn’t be too trouble… how much again?” He quickly took his head off the phone at the price mentioned. Duly didn’t bother to look at his expression; Sam was excited enough if they were hired for a mediocre price. Of course, he did react, though late, to Sam’s next question. “I have one more thing, and it is extremely important,” Sam said with a grave tone. “Do you have pie?” No response was given other than a tone. “She hung up,” he sighed. Duly took off his glasses while shaking his head and slapped himself across the forehead.
“So what’s the job?” Duly said after a while. Samuels hadn’t lost any energy even though no pie was present. “We’re investigating a homicide,” he said enthusiastically. “But we’ve been hire to prove that the lead suspect is not guilty.” Duly quickly showed more interest at the final statement. He motioned for Samuels to continue. “An officer, Hank Dachs, was killed randomly last night. No murder weapon was found and the lead suspect is Artemis Bac, the Chancellor’s husband. They are willing to pay us plenty if we can clear his name.”
Duly quickly wrote everything down carefully. The fact that this involved the Chancellor made him severely interested in the case. This could be one of the biggest cases of his lifetime, and he didn’t wish to make any mistakes. His experience could avoid mistakes; Sam was the one he feared the most, however. “Okay, so this is a big deal,” Duly said looking at his notes. “Clean up your mess,” he ordered pointing at the photos on the desk. “We’re going to the crime scene.”
