Chapter 5 / Investigation

[ Gartersbee, June 30, Year 1403 ]

"An investigation?" Marie asked.

"Precisely." Mr. Hayes replied.

But we're only regular officers Mr. Hayes, not even special investigators or something like that. Why couldn't you call out somebody like Mr. Munroe or the other old folks?" Hannah asked.

"We're a bit short on people like them right now since they're all either busy with other duties or were sent west towards Eusendel by government orders." replied Mr. Hayes.

"Lucky them, getting to travel around the country." groaned Hannah.

"Can you tell us more of what we will be investigating Mr. Hayes?" Marie asked, curious about the assignment.

"Well, reports are telling us that there is a suspicious individual living in this apartment block who goes by the name of 'Ernest Maer'" he said.

"May I see the report?"

"Very well Marie." Mr. Hayes replied. Afterwards, he went to the other side of the table in the meeting room to grab some documents, then returned and handed them to Marie.

.

INDIVIDUAL REPORT

NAME - ERNEST, MAER

AGE - 25

HEIGHT - 177 CM

GENDER - MALE

RELATIVES -

• MONIKA, MAER

• JONATHAN, MAER

OCCUPATION - CAB DRIVER

RESIDENCE - ESTER APARTMENT BUILDING

OFFENSE(S) - NONE

NOTES - Seen suspiciously handling and possessing a briefcase provided by an unknown and also suspicious individual. Ernest appeared weary and alert when receiving the briefcase, suggesting it may contain something important or possibly illegal. This hypothesis can be supported by the fact they dealt the exchange in a secluded alleyway, and that the other individual was masked and cloaked. Ernest brought it back to his apartment, and it was never seen again. Further investigation suggested.

.

"A briefcase?" said Marie, curious of what the report had stated.

"Yes, we believe that the briefcase might be containing something illegal or forbidden, although we don't know to much. He received the briefcase in an alleyway from a individual wearing a cloak and mask, and when he received it, he seemed awfully worried and was looking around, almost as if he was making sure nobody saw." replied Hayes.

"But that doesn't mean that it is something bad though."

"It could be though however, and that is why."

"I see, so you want us to investigate it just in case?" Marie asked.

"Precisely."

"Is there anything else we should know Mr. Hayes?" she said, shuffling through the other documents included with the report.

"There's not much else."

"So when will we be going already?" Hannah said, barging in on their conversation.

"Well you will both be dispatched there at around 12:30 today, so around an hour from now."

"So we have quite a bit of time on our hands, what should we do until then Mr. Hayes?" asked Marie.

"I want you both to prepare your kits and read up on some of the documents while you're at it."

"Is that all Mr. Hayes?"

"Yes, that's about all."

"Understood."

"Good, I'll be taking my leave now, I have other important matters to attend to. I'll be back in around an hour, and so will your ride."

"Thank you Mr. Hayes."

"I'll see you both then."

After bidding the two a temporary farewell, Mr. Hayes left the room, leaving the two of them alone to analyze documents and prepare their equipment. Maps and documents were scattered across the table, with various pieces of information on each of them.

"Isn't it great Marie?"

"What's great?"

"We finally got something other than a pointless patrol assignment!"

"It was only because they had no other option though." replied Marie.

"And? That doesn't matter, we finally got something interesting!"

"Sure Hannah."

"Come on! Let's see what kind of guy we're dealing with!"

"You sure are eager about some information…"

"Of course I am! We can catch the man red handed!" exclaimed Hannah.

"Catch? Did you forget he's a cab driver?"

"So what?"

"That means he probably won't be home by then since he'll be taxiing people place to place."

"You've got to be kidding!" Hannah replied, disappointed.

"That's the truth, but at least we won't have to deal with him if he get's in the way. Now let's get back to what we were doing Hannah."

"Fine, fine." she replied.

Around an hour later, they had both studied up and prepped their gear as the clock struck 12:30. Mr. Hayes entered the room and told them to meet out at the front of the building. When they arrived, a police car awaited them on the road, outfitted in the standard black and white paint scheme with it's unique siren and police light.

Both Hannah and Marie entered the car, which on the inside was not much different than a normal civilian vehicle.

"Are you both comfortable in there?" asked Hayes.

"Yeah, it's pretty comfy Mr. Hayes." replied Hannah.

"Good. You should be dropped off at the front of the Ester Apartment Building, which is in the western part of the town. We don't know what room he resides in, but you should be able to ask the receptionist. Your objective is to figure out what's in the briefcase. If he resists, arrest him."

"Not that he'll be there anyways if he's a cab driver." replied Marie

"Very well. I wish you good luck either way." Mr. Hayes said, closing the door.

The car began to start up, and within seconds, they were on their way to the apartment building. From the rear window, Mr. Hayes could be seen standing, watching the car as it set off, before he disappeared as the car turned the corner and headed westbound.

After a good ten minutes or so, they had finally arrived at the building. The two of them hopped off from the vehicle, which stayed outside as it awaited for them to complete their task.

"The two of us will be waiting out here, holler at us if you need anything." said the officer in the front seat.

"We will, and thank you for the ride." said Marie.

"No problem." said the driver.

Hannah inspected the building, which looked virtually the same as theirs, albeit with minor differences in coloration and decoration.

"It doesn't look much different from where we stay at." said Hannah, looking at the building.

"You're right, it looks just like our place." replied Marie.

"Well let's head inside and see what's happening."

"Right."

When they headed inside, the lobby was also similarly structured to theirs, apart from the wallpaper and decor of course. As they entered, the receptionist looked up at them and spoke:

"What can I help you two with today?"she said.

"Is there somebody named Ernest Maer that lives in this building?" asked Marie.

"Ernest Maer? I'll go see if he does live here, give me one second."

The receptionist went to a bookshelf behind her and searched through it. At last, she grabbed a book from the top shelf and began flipping through its pages, checking its contents hastily until she came across what she was searching for.

"Ah! Yes, he does live here. Do you need anything else?"

"What floor does he reside in?" asked Marie.

"The fifth floor."

"And room?"

"Room 97."

"Could you perhaps unlock the room for us?" asked Marie.

"May I ask why?"

"We have been sent by the police department to investigate the room." said Marie, emphasizing her brassard and showing her ID.

"Oh, you're with the police department? My apologies, of course then!" she responded.

"No problem, now let's make our way up there." replied Marie.

The two of them and receptionist made their way to the stairs and began heading up. After a short walk up the flights of stairs, they had finally reached the fifth floor of the apartment building. When they arrived, they began to walk down the hallway to reach the room they were looking for, walking by the many other rooms as they did so. It was first 80, then 81, then 82, 83, 85, 90, 95, then at last, 97.

"We're here ladies. I'll unlock the room for you." the receptionist said, as she pulled out a large set of keys on a key ring.

"So this is the room?" asked Hannah.

"Apparently so Hannah." Marie replied

"Not much different on the outside at all."

"Well then, let's see what's on the inside."

The door opened and the two of them went inside of the apartment room.

"I need to get back to my desk at the lobby, is that fine?" asked the receptionist.

"Yes, it's fine," Marie replied, "we can leave the room by ourselves right?"

"Of course, you can leave if the door is shut, it can be opened from the inside."

"Alright, thank you!"

"If you need any more help I'll be down in the main lobby."

When the receptionist finished saying her sentence, she quickly headed down to the lobby to attend to her duties, which she was absent for at that moment.

"Let's see what we're dealing with." said Hannah, looking around the room.

The room was extraordinarily disorganized, with small wooden boxes and junk all over the small cramped room. Both of them headed inside, closing the door while they were at it, and began their analysis and investigation. Compared to Marie, this person was clearly at least ten times more disorganized then her, as suggested by the junk left all over the floors and tables.

First, they began to investigate the living room, which was littered corner to corner with boxes, books, and clothing. The small table in the middle of the room was rendered nearly unrecognizable after being covered by newspapers which were spread out all over it. The couches were the only thing that were remotely clean, and even they had plenty of items on them, ranging from empty bottles to socks.

"Goodness grief! What kind of madman lives in this place?!" exclaimed Hannah, shocked by the filth.

"They could really do with a cleanup." replied Marie.

"This place is beyond saving! Heck, and I thought you were messy!"

"Hey!"

"Well whatever, do you see a briefcase anywhere? Under the couch maybe?" asked Hannah.

Marie looked under it, but sure enough, there was nothing but empty cola bottles and crumpled up pieces of paper.

"Nothing. You?"

"I don't see anything around here either. It's likely not in the living room."

"Let's check the kitchen next."

The two of them went to the kitchen, which was connected to the living room, and only separated by a short wall, it was an open kitchen.

"Yikes! The sink is a catastrophe Marie!"

"Don't tell me about it and get to searching already!"

They checked the cabinets, nothing. The pantry, nothing. The oven, nothing. No briefcase was to be found.

"The bathroom perhaps?" Hannah said.

"Why would they even hide something there?!"

"Who knows? Maybe it's in a cabinet in there."

"Are you sure you want to go inside? Who knows what mess will await us."

Hannah hesitated for a second or so, but eventually mustered up the courage to speak.

"Let's just get it over with! I don't want to be here anymore!" she said.

Before she opened the door, they both closed their eyes, shielding them from the potential hell they

would see. At last, she opened the door, and after a brief moment, they opened their eyes to what was inside.

"Oh, it's not that bad." said Marie.

"What?!"

"The bathroom is surprisingly not too dirty compared to the other rooms."

Hannah sighed, "Thank goodness, they have some decency."

Marie checked the cabinets above the latrine and under the sink, but, as expected, nothing was there.

"There's only one room left Hannah."

"Right, the bedroom."

The two of them opened the door, and found the room to be in the same state of disarray as the living room, unorganized with clothes, bottles, and papers all over.

"Marie, you take the left half, I'll take the right half. There's plenty of places to hide things."

"Why didn't we go to this room in the first place?"

"Who cares! Just find the briefcase please! I want to leave!"

On the left half was a table and multiple bookshelves, on the right half of the room, the bed, a wardrobe, and a nightstand. Marie started searching through the bookshelves but to no avail, then she began searching around the desk and it's drawers for what she was looking for. While searching, she came across a small camera and several photographs scattered across the table, along with a letter. Upon closer inspection, the photographs contained people in them, when Marie looked closer, the people appeared as though they were sad or hurt, how odd she thought. Who would take a picture of somebody crying?

Marie put the photos in her pocket to inspect later, then analyzed the letter. She herself could barely comprehend the handwriting since it was so messy and illegible.

"Marie! I found the briefcase!" Hannah said suddenly.

"You did?!" Marie replied, surprised by her sudden statement.

"Yeah, it was under his bed."

"Have you opened it?"

"No, but we're about to open it right now." she said, opening the briefcase which she had placed on the bed.

When they opened it, the brief case was practically empty, save for a pack of cigarettes, papers, playing cards, and various other random items.

"There's nothing in it!" Hannah said, shocked.

"Wait, something isn't right." Marie said, noticing a discrepancy about the briefcase.

The brief case was at least twenty centimeters deep from the outside, yet on the inside, it only appeared to be around ten centimeters deep, not to mention it was a lot heavier than it was supposed to be, how odd Marie thought.

"Let me see the briefcase." she said, seizing the briefcase from Hannah's hands.

Upon further inspection, Marie noticed a small gap on the top right corner of the briefcase's "back", upon seeing it, she slipped her finger into it and pulled back the "back". The "back" of the suitcase had actually been a fake, and with a slight pull, she removed the fake cover and unveiled what the suitcase truly held.

The suitcase actually contained numerous objects; a handgun gun, ammunition, a tape recorder, a small photography camera, a video camera, multiple photos of various scenes, and lastly a black armband with an unusual insignia branded on it.

"A handgun!" Hannah exclaimed.

"It's quite clear that this is contraband, personal arms are forbidden, the other items are also unusual as well. We need to report this to Mr. Hayes. Our job here is done Hannah, let's get out of this mess." Marie said.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." she replied.

Just then, the turning of a doorknob could be heard from close by. When Marie peeked out the door, a man could be seen walking about the room, heading straight towards them.

Marie signaled for Hannah to stay put, and drew her standard issue revolver. Hannah hid behind the wardrobe, while Marie silently went to the other side of the room and hid behind the desk. She wondered why the man had returned despite the fact he should've been taxiing people around, however, her answer would be given by the man himself.

"Where the hell is the letter?" a voice said. The footsteps began to grow louder and louder, and soon they stopped. At last, the door opened and a man walked into the bedroom.

The letter? Why would he go after the letter? Marie pondered about this, but now was not the time, for he was right outside. She will save the letter for later, after she dealt with Ernest.

"Where the heck is it?" he said, walking over to his table. "What happened to all the photos?"

At that instant, Marie stood up and pointed her revolver at him.

"Stop right there!"

"Gah!" the man screamed. "What are you doing in my apartment?!" he asked.

"Are you Ernest Maer?"

"Yes! Yes I am! Now why are you pointing a gun at me?!"

"You are in possession of contraband which is illegal."

"I do not possess such a thing!" the man replied.

"You do possess them, we found them in a briefcase under your bed."

"I do not have a briefcase!"

Marie signaled to Hannah, who set the briefcase down and opened it to reveal the contents.

"We found a handgun in your briefcase there, the possession of firearms is illegal."

"You must be mistaken! That isn't my briefcase! That was never there!" the man said.

"We have evidence that you clearly took it from a shady figure and brought it back with you." Marie said.

The man hesitated to speak for a bit, as he had been completely busted by the two officers. Marie continued to stare at the man, until she grew impatient and took action.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back—"

Suddenly, and without warning, the man pushed her gun aside and used his knee to kick Marie straight in her abdomen, causing her to collapse onto the floor. From there, he dashed out the door, running for his life. Hannah followed in close pursuit of the man as Marie tried to recover from the sudden kick to the stomach.

With a rush of adrenaline and determination to catch up, Marie stood and bared the pain on her stomach. The sound of a crash could be heard in the living room. Not wanting to be left behind, Marie began to run out, only to be greeted by the sight of Hannah beating the ever loving life out of the man, who was by now on the floor after being tackled Hannah.

"How does that feel you scumbag!" Hannah yelled, still punching the absolute hell out of him.

The man by now was reduced to a corpse that was barely breathing after the brutal beating from Hannah.

Punches continued coming at a constant pace, each one harder than the last, leaving bruises and markings all over his face, which by now had been bloodied by Hannah, who seemed to have entered a violent rage. The sight reminded Marie to not mess with Hannah, but now was not the time to think of such a thing, for now Marie thought, they needed to apprehend him.

"Flip him over." Marie told her.

She did as Marie said, and then the man was cuffed from behind with a pair of metal handcuffs.

"You're coming with us."

After making her statement, Marie and Hannah hoisted he man up to his feet and began walking him down to the police car which had been awaiting them for the past few minutes. When they reached the car, the officer in the front seat greeted them:

"Welcome back, who do we have here?"

"The man who was under suspicion, he assaulted Marie and possessed a gun in a briefcase." said Hannah.

"Oh? Well in that case, to the penitentiary he goes then!"

"We'll take him to Hayes, and he'll decide from there ladies." said the driver.

"And us?"

"He said you could have the day to yourselves as far as I'm told."

"Really?" replied Hannah.

"You heard him." said the officer in the front seat.

"Sweet!"

"Well then we'll be heading off now, farewell!" the driver said, before driving off.

The two of them watched the police car drive off into the distance, before it disappeared around the corner.

"Well Marie? Do you have any ideas?"

"Not many, to be completely honest, I would like to head back to our apartment and rest there for the day."

"Good idea! Let's head back!"

"On foot…?"

"You've walked a longer distance before! Besides, we can visit the stores while we're at it!"

Marie sighed, still feeling the pain from the kick to the gut, and agreed. By then, it was midday and the crowds were dense with people. As they continued to walked back, Marie grabbed both the letter and photographs that she had stuffed in her bag and pockets respectively and inspected them for a moment. What were they of? What were they for? The questions lingered in her mind for a while until she came to a thought came to her. Does Ernest Maer know what it is? It was with that question that she came to a solution, she'll just have to pay him a visit in the penitentiary tomorrow and ask directly.

But tomorrow and today were two completely different matters, and at the present, she decided to enjoy the rest of her day recovering and resting. Confrontations can be left for another day.