Man In Black

CHAPTER IV-1

CHAPTER IV

The detective proceeded out of the chief's office. He himself had been wondering: how long? How long till they uncovered the mystery of this case just like the others? He knew it was only a matter of time before the Chief lost his cool.

And when the Chief lost his cool, it was like an explosion.

The detective was not very surprised, though. The man was under a lot of stress; this he could see as the Chief, mug in hand, came out of his office and went straight toward coffee maker. Well he needed the coffee, because he sure looked like it.

Tobi saw firsthand how stress could age a man. His Chief looked....

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ring of the LIPD public phone. The telephone operator picked it up at once.

"Hello, you are on to LIPD, how may we help you, please?" she asked politely.

"This is an old friend", said a very deep voice with an unnatural reverb from the other end. The voice itself scared the operator. Tobi looked at her and mouthed "what is it?" She pointed to the phone and plugged it to the amplifier system.

"Why are you mute, young lady? Does my voice scare you?" the voice asked sarcastically. This part was heard by everyone. It sounded like the voice of God.

"Well, if you won't speak, may I speak with Detective Akano?" he asked.

Without hesitation, the detective walked straight to the table of the telephone operator and picked up the reciever.

"Look, young man. I don't know what games you plan playing with the police today, but I can assure you we have more important things to attend to, so if you will please..."

"Our good old detective!" he said genially. "I'm sorry to interrupt you like that, rest assured I do not mean to be rude. Have you been wondering who killed that woman? Well, here I am. You may call me the Eel."

A gasp came from a policewoman. Others gave muffled exclamations. Everyone began chattering excitedly. Tobi motioned for Cole to trace the call.

"Mr Akano, you told your Chief you want me to make a move. Well, I will. On the 23rd of this month, I will send your Minster of Defence on to the afterlife. I mean, if he cannot defend his own country, he ought not to live, right?" He laughed a sardonic laugh.

"At least now you know I'll make a move, but about the slip, please don't expect it." He paused.

"This Chivita has a great taste, you know. Wow, this country has good stuff. Well before I split, let me save you the trouble of tracking this call. I am calling you from your Chief's office. Goodbye, for now." The line went dead.

The department was silent for five seconds as the import of his last statement settled in. Then, as if relieved from paralysis, Detective Akano ran straight for the Chief's office, followed closely behind by his team. The Chief stared stupidly.

On getting to the door, the detective found that it had been locked on the inside. It took some time for them to force it open. When they did, they found a half-full pack of Chivita and one of the chief's glass cups on the table. A piece of paper was stuck to the wall with a pin. On it was written:

See you soon

and under it was a lip print in red lipstick. The lipstick bottle was also on the table. The Chief was raving mad. The detective was speechless. He knew he had to step up to get this guy, and he would.

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