The Killer Boss

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

Another suspicious lead is still a lead.

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ALL FEET WERE busy shuffling.

Soon after gathering all important evidence from Calvin’s flat, Edward and Suarez moved to where the two female detectives of their unit were currently at. The whole ride inside the elevator was taunting and nerve-racking. Not one of them had the power to speak after all that they had uncovered inside Calvin's home.

Well, it was what they were hoping, after all—to find some evidence or clues regarding Scarlet Monroe. But what they didn’t expect was to see not one, but more pieces of information that could lead to Scarlet’s case.

Certainly, it wasn’t what they were anticipating.

Suarez remained silent in his tracks, as his mind was invaded with a lot of speculations and assumptions regarding what they just found. He couldn’t even be bothered uttering a word to Edward as he was busy in his own set of thoughts already. There were a lot of things running in his mind but he couldn’t speak it out loud. He just hopes that they are on the right track for now.

On the other hand, Edward was rubbing his chin, something that he always does when he’s too focused on his own train of thoughts—an automatic mannerism that had always been a part of him since it never failed to give him a peace of mind whenever he did that gesture. It had always cleared his head whenever he focused on the thoughts that were invading his mind. While doing so, another hand was crossed below his chest as he was busily indulging the theories that’s popping in his brain.

Although a lot of evidence had been laid in front of them, he can’t seem to ponder what relation the two had. It’s obvious for him that Scarlet and Calvin were both involved with dealing drugs. But aside from that fact, he’s certain that there was more to it. He wanted to believe that there was something going on between just a seller and buyer relationship between the two.

But one thing is for sure, Edward needs to find out. No matter what it takes and no matter what happens, Edwards wanted to solve this case.

Whenever he was given a case, he always made sure to get it done—to close the case and to serve justice to all victims. That being said, he made sure that all of his efforts don't go to waste. As much as possible, Edward doesn’t want to have unsolved cases nor cold cases. Which is prolly the main reason as to why he’s currently the best one in their field despite being younger than most of his colleagues—well, aside from his unit. And that is also why, most cases are being assigned to him. Since his superiors are aware that he will do his very best in regards to his job.

The moment they entered the security room, Michelle and Rona were busy discussing something with one of the apartment personnel. They both seemed engrossed with their agenda that the both of them didn’t notice that Edward and Suarez were closing in to where they were standing.

It was more spacious than what Edward had imagined. The place didn’t seem cramped up unlike what he was used to seeing whenever they would inspect CCTV rooms back in the past. The white paint covering the walls accentuated the black colored computers and screens up front—making it easier to see every movement coming from all of the screens.

“Detective Conrad and Detective Suarez,” Rona was the first one who noticed his superiors entering the room and she instantly bowed to them as a sign of respect. Only when she did that, Michelle noticed the two and greeted them too. “Sirs, come take a look at these,” she beckoned them to come closer, offering some space in front of the table that was full of computers and screens.

Edward noticed that there were some screens that just had a static display—appearing that some CCTV weren't working inside the premises of the building. It appeared to him that there were more than five screens that didn’t have anything displayed on the screen.

“What you got here, ladies?” Suarez questioned, scanning his eyes through the entirety of the room and most especially on the equipment in front of them.

Edward was quick to notice that most CCTV were like that. That being said, he couldn’t help but wonder how a seemingly luxurious flat didn’t have the means to repair all the CCTV that wasn't working. Considering how expensive the rent of every person staying at the place was, there was a doubt that was looming inside of him—why didn’t the management didn’t fix important security such as this one? The apartment isn’t in any way newly built but it was clear to anyone that the building seemed fairly new… so how come some CCTVs aren’t working?

At times like this, Edward felt like he needed to question everything that seemed suspicious to him even though it isn’t entirely the case. As a detective, it’s something that is etched at the back of their minds.

Moreover, something has been bothering the Lead Detective ever since he found out that Calvin is living at such an exquisite flat. He knew that the young man had tons of cash back in his unit but he’s uncertain where Calvin gets the means to have so much money.

Is Calvin working together with Scarlet in terms of selling drugs?

The lead detective shook his head sideways, shrugging off the idea. There are more important matters to be taken care of and he needed to focus on those aspect firsts.

“Any leads?” Edward questioned the two female detectives in particular.

Michelle was the one who answered then immediately offered a frown, indicating that there wasn’t much of a clue that they had gathered. “The CCTV lounge is perfectly working,” she began, looking at Edward and Suarez's faces for any reaction or expression that would indicate for her to continue. So when they nodded, she added. “There was footage where Scarlet and Calvin entered the building together. The CCTV inside the elevator seemed perfectly fine too. However, the CCTV near Calvin’s unit wasn’t working—so there wasn't any evidence that the two of them entered Calvin’s unit,” she elaborated, showing some clips of what she was talking about the two detectives.

Despite the footage being grainy, Edward was mindful that the first time Scarlet was inside the longue, she was still wearing her school uniform, the same one that they had found inside Calvin’s abode. Well, he’s not entirely sure if it was the exact clothes but surely it was her academy uniform. After that both Calvin and Scarlet entered the elevator together.

Edward’s brow furrowed when he noticed the two of them on both of the edges in the elevator, the space between the two of them were noticeable, as if the both of them didn’t know each other—like they were just some stranger riding the elevator together. Based on the clip alone, he quickly deduced that it might be a plan of theirs to appear that they aren’t related to one another. However, it only made them more suspicious as Edward caught on one thing.

Despite the proximity, Edward noticed how the two were talking, their lips were moving as they looked straight ahead. It’s a clear indication that they truly know one another. If it isn’t, why would they be talking to one another while they’re inside the elevator? Not unless they are just mouthing some inaudible words… which seemed weird to anyone watching the footage.

Aside from that, they were caught entering the building at the same time and Calvin introduced Scarlet at the reception area as a visitor, and guest of his. So the both of them making it look like that they don’t know each other is already out of the table. As to why they even bother putting a space between each other inside the elevator is what confused the lead detective.

In addition to that, the camera was the only thing that was working inside the elevator. There was no sound in the video so they couldn’t decipher what the two were talking about. But based on their facial expressions, it seemed as though the conversation was intense. After that clip, there were no videos after they had exited the elevator.

With eyebrows raised, the lead detective could not help himself but to question both Michelle and Rona. “Is that it?” Edward had asked, in which Michelle immediately shook her head in disapprovement. The lead detective didn’t even need to utter any more words to know what Michelle meant when she said those words. So he stood there, silent for a while when Michelle seemed to not be done with their findings.

“There was another footage,” she replied, ushering the personnel to show them the next video, the guy pressed some buttons, and the screen showed the apartment’s lounge once again.

“What happened in the clip?” Suarez was the one who answered, eager to know what the other footage is about.

In that video, Calvin was seen departing from the place, and what was odd is that there were no signs of Scarlet on his side, or any proof that she was going with him. Instead, Calvin was alone, dressed in some sweatpants and a hoodie. He also appeared to be moving in such a hasty way, like he was going somewhere really important.

Edward’s eyes widened when he remembered the note that they had seen earlier.

Hollow Street near Bagels Shop, 5 PM.

The thought echoes inside his mind as he had looked over the screen, and saw the time stamp label on the footage.

It was 30 minutes past four in the afternoon. He ogled over Suarez, he too had his eyes widened in shock with the sudden revelation. Seemingly as though they have the same thought inside their head.

“That was the day he received the note!” Suarez had exclaimed, too loud that the personnel felt jumpy because of his voice.

“What note, Sir?” Detective Rona inquired with a raised brow and a knitted forehead, seemingly having no clue of what Suarez had spoken out.

Michelle was quick enough to catch what it might be, so she responded. “You got a clue?”

Edward nodded in her direction,validating her question. “A piece of paper was found under his bed and a note was written on it,” he then repeated the words that were written on the paper. “Hollow Street, 5PM.” The lead detective informed, emphasizing every word and that was when Rona and Michelle noticed the timestamp on the footage of Calvin leaving the apartment. “We initially thought that it might be in correlation with the case, and upon seeing this video—we can easily back up that deduction,” he finished his statement, implying his sentiments.

Both Rona and Michelle were relieved of what their superior had informed them. At first they were very skeptical about the whole case being a homicide, but Edward had proven that once again his deduction and instincts were never wrong.

A sudden report that Michelle gathered earlier stopped her grin, and now turned out to be a frown. Edward recognized the sudden change of her mood.

Edward is confused by what Michelle Is acting despite them knowing that it is a big evidence. “Anything wrong, Detective Michelle?” he had asked, worried about what was going on through her mind.

Michelle let out a frustrated sigh before answering. “Unfortunately sir, there was no more footage that would give us any clue,” she had begun to state the downside of their findings. “After Calvin left the Apartment at 4:30 in the afternoon, he didn’t come back that day, or the days after. Aside from that, there were no traces of how and when Scarlet had left his unit,” she informed them.

Suarez’ eyes widened with the information. “What do you mean? She wasn’t caught on the CCTV when she left?” he asked and Rona nodded as a sign of confirmation.

“What about the backdoor?” Edward asked, confirming something.

“We had already checked it, the CCTV was damaged so we wouldn’t be able to tell if Scarlet had left by that door. We can’t also swab the knob for many people who had entered and exited that very room. Any DNA found would just mess up our whole investigation.” Michelle grumbled, quite defeated that she didn't have gathered any information on how Scarlet had left the place.

They seemed to be close in solving the case as soon as they found out that Calvin is related to Scarlet’s case but now, they seem to be in another dead end and they do not have any more possible leads in regards to how they will be able to solve Scarlet Monroe’s abrupt and unexpected death.

How could Scarlet leave Calvin’s apartment without going through the lounge? And how did she have access to the backdoor without the personnel or guards noticing her?

Those questions were clouding Edward’s mind. For he couldn’t believe that Scarlet, a young girl, would be very careful in executing something like this. He tried to envision what was going through her mind the moment that he was with Calvin and the second that she had vanished into thin air.

Did the two of them plan it all along? For Calvin to vanish first and Scarlet would do the same, but something unfortunate happened and that took her life?

Edward was completely racking his brain to have some elucidation of what could have possibly happened.

If Scarlet was still inside Calvin’s apartment when he had found the note, does that mean that there was another person that Calvin was about to meet? At first, Edward and Suarez thought that Calvin was to meet Scarlet. But this information had proved them wrong. Who could Calvin meet, and why did he never come back?

Whoever that might be, it could lead them to another path of leads and clues.

But how could they possibly know who it was if Scarlet is dead, and Calvin is nowhere to be found?

This is one hell of a tough case—that they are sure of.

Not that he was implying that his previous cases were easy. However, this one is totally on a different level since in his past cases.

Just as Edward thought that everything was falling right into place, providing them a sense of relief whenever a piece of evidence was presented on their faces; a new dead end or route appeared to their very sight. Knocking them into some kind of wall that produces them immobile.

“Have the first video taken to the forensics and have them decipher what the two were talking about. Hire some goddamn lip reader if necessary, we need to know what the two were talking about.” Edward ordered the two female detectives.

The two nodded in agreement and proceeded to do their work.

After hours of investigation in Calvin’s flat and the CCTV footage, the unit had packed up and handed all evidence to the forensics. Hoping that anything would lead them to a much more smooth path than they had imagined.

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WORK DIDN’T STOP after they left the flat.

The team gathered once again in their stationed office, ready to tackle what they all gathered, so that everyone in the unit would be fully aware of the circumstance that they were currently at and if there was any more information that needed to be disseminated.

As a Lead Detective, Edward was standing in front of everyone beside a huge white board where the photos of evidence found had been laid in front of them. Even though the timeline of the events was written on the board, some timestamps were missing as they were still unsure of the proper series of events that had truly happened.

“We had corroborated that Scarlet had been at Calvin’s home the day before the party at Monroe’s place had taken place. The victim was seen at the Creekside Grand Flat’s lounge at three in the afternoon. Yet we couldn’t entirely identify when, and what time she left the vicinity without anyone noticing.” Edward had completely uttered, not wasting anymore time in his hands.

“Inside Calvin’s flat, we found numerous pieces of evidence that they had been together inside his room. One thing that pretty much stood out was Scarlet Monroe’s uniform in his possession. All other evidence had been sent to the forensics for analysis. The CCTV footage didn’t provide much of a lead for us, but the footage that they were seen together inside the elevator was also sent to the forensics as we will try to decode what they were talking about,” he added.

Everyone was just listening intently to Edward’s words while some were taking notes. Edward could detect the worry and anxiousness settling inside his co-workers face. All were nothing but contorted faces as grimaces of frown were etched into their lips. He could relate to them but he didn’t mimic their expression, instead he was trying to uplift their moods. Providing them praises and gratification for what they had done during the investigation. The lead detective’s very well aware that all of them are distressed and sleep deprived as they were working with Scarlet’s case.

“Despite all of that, I want to thank every single one of you for all the hard work that you’ve put into investigating this case. I’m aware that this isn’t like the normal cases that we’ve been assigned to but despite that, you’re all still committed and giving all your best.” All appeared to smile after Edward was done praising them.

He knew that he needed to be strong for the team and to stand as their pillar, to support them. Edward knows that everyone is giving all their best to solve the incident.

Although, that isn’t the end of the meeting that was currently taking place. There are still some reports that need to be talked about. That being said, the lead detective didn’t prolong any further as he asked a question.

Edward had looked over to a specific detective then inquired, “Wilson, any reports?” Since he sent Wilson to another place all on his own, Edward was curious about the information gathered.

“The cashier noticed the blonde boy, Calvin, just outside their shop since there were no customers by that time, and he witnessed a car stopping in front of the guy. Not soon after, Calvin entered the car and drove away.” The detective looked over his notebook of notes, checking if he had missed anything then proceeded to nod towards Edward’s direction indicating that he was done talking.

“Did the cashier notice the plate number or any clues about the car?” Edward questioned.

“A black Chevy, Sir. The cashier didn’t see the plate number as the car had driven away in such a hasty manner. Aside from that information, there were no more witnesses by that time that could testify.” Detective Wilson had finished, quite satisfied with his work as he was the youngest detective in their unit.

“Good work, Wilson. Keep it up!” Edward had exclaimed and that had automatically casted Wilson’s lips to form a smile.

“Is there any more information that needs to be voiced out?” Edward had asked, as he was close to adjourning the meeting.

Some had remained silent and some had answered “No, sir” in uniform.

When Edward was about to dismiss everyone, a detective had interfered with his words, cutting him off guard by the sudden scream.

“Sir!” Detective Rona had yelled, as she was looking at her phone seemingly reading a text that she had just gotten. “Uhh… we had located Calvin’s parents. They live on the coast of Denver,” she had informed in what seemed like an abrupt manner, not wanting to prolong the conversation. “It is basically a three hour long drive from here.” Rona had added, a little worried knowing that it was somewhere far but still within the city.

“What are we waiting for?” Edward exclaimed, “Let’s go!” he beckoned.

Now, they are set off to somewhere that would hopefully help them know where Calvin is at.

The uncertainty awaits them and Edward is willing to welcome it with open arms.