Destroying Evidence (part I)

"A gossip?"

"Yes, my baby. A gossip. Or are you gonna tell me you never heard the expression?" My lady asketh, while she belittleth one of her hands in my direction, "Whispers. Rumours. Small talk. Idle chat. That's what it means."

My lady reacheth for the glass of wine and after a brief pause she explaineth it to me again:

"Sometimes they're lies, it's true. Often they are. But sometimes they can be true, too. And that's not a lie."

"I just meant, ma'am... I don't know what the gossip is about."

"Oh, that was it? You should have told me sooner. Like I was saying: the gossip is there's a werewolf attacking people in this town. Our quiet, safe Sproustown is being terrorized by the same monster who ate little red riding hoods' grandmat. Can you believe a tale like that?"

"My lady wasteth sarcasm. Clearly we are both very well aware of the veracity concerning werewolves' existence."

"And such rumor was spread by...?"

"The source claims it was the SAD. Ahhh!" My lady leteth herself be relieved in a sigh as she stretcheth out of her comfortable seat, "If it was the SAD then the source is reliable, but the source who claims it was the SAD is not reliable in that sense. So it may be true or it may not be so. Therefore... A gossip."

"And m'lady wouldst thou like me to look into it?"

She findeth herself in an air of doubt.

"No... I don't think it's necessary. Not yet, anyway. In the meantime, we'll keep it on the back of our minds in case we need it later. What I want you to do is something else. I want you to take an attitude based on a real fact. Something concrete that actually happened. And this; I know it really happened."

I pay attention to the rest of her narrative.

"You're aware that after the... Ahem... 'unfortunate' death of Jim Sanford of the DEA, all the departments in charge decided to investigate Jeffrey Sprohic further? About three teams were sent to Silverbay Penitentiary. Howard's, Sarah Harmon's... And the third? I'm not sure..."

"It only maketh sense, m'lady. Sanford's death maketh it clear Sprohic is not to blame for McMiller's death. Although he was caught stealing the jewels the same day, such an event was provoked by someone who wanted to get rid of the guilt."

My lady giveth me a mocking stare.

" 'Provoked by someone...' Well aren't we secretive... You talk it like you don't know who that someone was."

"I still can not conceive the need for thou to have murdered an arbitrary accountant that day. Was he by any chance involved in the illicit sales of Deluxes?"

"No. Like you said, it was an arbitrary murder. I was hungry. A vampire has to eat. Nom-nom."

My lady enlighteneth with the simplicity of a child.

I already knew she was the cause of it, but I avoid talking about it. Those things are not polite when spoken, even if only amongst us.

"And if the cops get too worked up about it... ...They'll find out something they shouldn't. I certainly don't like this idea. Come on, Shinobi, my baby. Let's go to the balcony."

My lady loveth to bathe in the moonlight while on the balcony of the Pinnacle Hotel, our current hiding place.

"You understand what I mean?"

"I understand. However, I could swear, ma'am, that Sprohic thinketh whoever set him up was Verde, the same one who hired him to steal jewelry. After all, he was appointed to the robbery for the purpose of relieving his brother of a debt. It was a pretext for forgiveness. His brother wouldeth normally have been hunted by mercenaries and killed for owing a dealer. So it only maketh sense to conclude that..."

"Yes, yes... Yes..." My lady dismisseth my comments with repeated vertical gestures from her beautiful hands, "I already know all that. I'm not afraid of Jeffrey Sprohic's testimony. But there is someone else who knows the truth. Or rather, who knows part of the truth. And if there is someone who is good at inferring the whole truth from the partial it is the SAD, thus I can't let that half-truth get to their ears."

"Someone who acknowledgeth half the truth?"

"Did you mention a Sprohic brother just now?"

"That I did. The little brother. The debtor. He is a client of Verde's..."

"I know! You have to stop assuming I don't know the facts, Shinobi. If anyone doesn't know Sprohic's brother here, it's you. As I was saying... This man you mentioned, being a client of Verde, knows a lot more than he looks. I know that because I know very well everything he's doing... I even know where he's been all this time."

"All this time?" I find myself legitimately taken by surprise, "I thought he left town temporarily to run away from Verde. One doth not hear from him since the day of the jewelry store."

"Yes. But he's still in Sproustown" My lady throweth her body on the sun chair, placed on the balcony, facing the moon, "and he knows it wasn't Verde who killed Gerald McMiller. He's following Verde's every move while he's hiding."

"Dost My lady imply that Alexander Sprohic hath been spying on Verde's movements here in town while hiding from him?"

"Understand what I mean? What if now that the attention is on his brother, he decides to put his face on it again and tries to get his brother out of jail by telling the police that the big, silly zombie was innocent from the start? In the conditions the police encounters itself now... They'd believe him. They wouldn't have believed then, but they'd believe it now... And so attention would turn to me. To 'us.' The SAD would find out there's another freak eating people on the quiet nights of Sproustown."

"I do not understand how thou getst to know so many things like that. With what kind of finesse wert thou able to monitor the movements of even Sprohic's brother?"

My lady laugheth.

"That, Shinobi... Is the power of our contacts. Did you really think we could set up a Deluxes sales group without having leads? That's not the case. The thing is, I know from reliable information that Alexander Sprohic, the brother of our beloved scapegoat, is more than aware that Verde wasn't planning to accuse his brother of murder that day."

"I presume the job is to find a way to silence Alexander?"

"Pim pom! Straight to the point! That's the Shinobi I know. Since I know his location, I'll make your job easier. Just go there and do your part. Maybe we can keep him in the fridge, because now that I realize, I need food for next week too."

"I understand... ...Thus uniting the useful with the pleasant... I would be honored, ma'am. However... Wil the SAD not suspect that Verde was not responsible for the murder? Now that Jim Sanford was found dead with the same kind of wound... Supposing the one before was forged by Verde would imply this one was as well, would it not? Either that or it would imply that neither was. Both alternatives cast doubt on the hypothesis that Verde actually had anything to do with the case."

I still think my lady was hasty in leaving the young DEA researcher wounded in exactly the same way exposed in the park that way.

"What are you saying? Verde is still the prime suspect. Remember he hired mercenaries to look for the invitation at Cooper's house and he also hired more mercenaries to steal the invitation directly from SAD's building? The department will naturally think everything is connected." My lady shrinketh in her chair to make herself more comfortable, "Verde is with the invitation. And that's why he's taking care of people who might interfere with his Uahmyr tournament saga." The beautiful vampire maketh a condescending gesture with her shoulders. "First a paranormal zombie... He could have found out he was working for another gang, I don't know... And now a DEA agent who was involved with the Wilkinson gang... It all fits together... In their vision Verde is discarding anyone that stands in his way... The police will come up with a reason. When the police wants to believe in something, they make it believable."

"Sanford!? Involved with Wilkinson's gang"?"

"Well, aren't we ignorant, my baby... Are you gonna say you didn't know even that?"

"I am not exactly informed about this kind of matter except for you, ma'am."

She passeth her hand lovingly over my arm.

"I know... Could you get a blanket for me? And a chair for you. Make yourself at home."

I do as she asketh.

After my return another question cometh to mind. I am no more than a mere subordinate, I understand that it is not up to me to know all the facts. But when I have moments like that in which I can satisfy my mere curiosity, I take advantage. Partyl because I want to share more time with my lady.

"Thou said Verde hired mercenaries twice to look for invitations in different places..."

She interrupteth me with another laugh.

"That was quite something, huh? Didn't I tell you the job had to be done by two mercenaries other than you?"

"As I had suspected..."

"So that is why... I passed on their contact to thou that day and I did not hear any more about it."

"A shame. Bad Boy seemed so competent... Pierre was nothing. But Bad Boy could have escaped the police if he wanted to. Too bad. I'd like to hire more of his services."

Bad Boy and Pierre were mere codenames of paranormal beings. Such as Shinobi, for example. If those beings were aliens, their real names were more than certainly unpronounceable.

"Their role was to make the police believe that Verde was onto something the whole time? That's why thou had advised me to omit I was Shinobi when I paid them in advance?"

"Pim pom! It's all making sense in your little head, isn't it? You're so far away, my baby... Come closer."

I approach her with my chair.

It is important that this work is done in a discreet and competent manner. It is a first-hand job. That's why I'm entrusting it to you. You understand, don't you?

I don not even need to confirm.

I would always gladlt accept anything from you, ma'am. Just tell me what I need to do."

"Great. Then... Could it be now? I'm afraid we're already a little late." My lady looketh at the stars as she speaketh. One of her finesses is calculating exactly the time by watching either the sun or the stars. If observing the heavensshe imagineth it to be a time, it must be the punctual reality."

"Is something wrong about to happen?"

"Yes, Shinobi. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who ended up acknowledging Alexander Sprohic's location... 'Alexander Sprohic...' What an unnecessarily long name. I'll just call him Alex."

"I do not like m'lady making up nicknames for other people."

She giveth me a sadistic smile.

"Jealous, Jarbas? He'll just be a meal after all." she getteth up abruptly and handeth me a recording device which was in her pocket. I extend my hand in insurance, not knowing what to expect.

"What are you waiting for? Press the button. It's in the best part!"

I turn the device on and two voices are heard, talking to each other. One male and one female:

"You mean they said Sprohic's brother is hiding at this address and has been meeting these people periodically? So...? Where is their next meeting gonna be?"

"362 East Elmsley str. After ten."

"And is he gonna be there for sure, Ewalyn?"

"Much more than likely. He can't get out of there. He's being sought by Verde and his associates. That is, according to what Pierre confessed..."

"With luck we could find one of these so-called Verdes and capture them to hear what they have to say."

"Um... We'd need more personnel, wouldn't we?" A third voice asketh.

"Even if we had enough, it would be impossible... As far as I know. When we sent Chapman to set up the meeting, we told him to pretend he was a Dragon and not a Verde. Verde doesn't know where he is, remember? He's a client of another distributor now."

"But then is the Dragon gonna be there?"

"Well... No... I mean, I don't think so... It was Chapman who arranged the whole thing. And he probably didn't take advantage of any scale that already existed, but he made one up and gave an excuse. The poor fellow believed it."

"We hope he believed... So... We just go and capture?"

"We just go and capture. No hardship. Well, now..." The voice starteth to get swallowed up by a continuous static noise and the recording disappeareth.

"After ten, 362 East Elmsley Street. That being the case, I must leave now."

My lady consenteth with her head. I turn the device off and put it on the little plastic table on the balcony."

I find myself overcome with concern and I have truths to tell her. Even though she is my lady, she taketh carelessly irresponsible actions. Doth she have the courage to warn me all in such a frivolous tone and such slow speed? What if we missed the schedule?

I'm forced to leave without saying anything. M'lady must have calculated the exact time for me to leave the hotel without giving her time to hear my protests to her contrary. I simply proceed to the agreed place as soon as possible.

After all it's twenty for ten.