III. The Claw-mark case.

Nigerian Police Divisional Headquarters (NPD HQ), forensic lab...
14:48


    Silas George has had his worst days displayed before him in 3d reality for the better part of the year. He is a detective of the Nigerian Police Force, but for months now he hasn't been feeling like one. 


    The nightmare started some three months ago with just one call, like any other call. Like always, he stepped out to investigate, and the murder was more like a wild animal attack, a mad wolf perhaps, and he was quick to rule it off as an open-and-close case. 


    The victim had his chest scratched or rather clawed open, but then, another body was called in two days later. This one was found in a rural wasteland torn apart by a supposedly big animal. 


    Then another call came in, then another, and then another Until it became a State crisis. 


    Most of the victims are found in Ahoada areas and Orashi forest, and Silas worked his butt off in an attempt to solve the case already dubbed the Claw-mark case by the media. But try as he may, he found nothing but dead ends. 


    Every lead, every forensic analysis, every suspect, every newly found body all led to a dead end, a waste of time.
    But then again, Silas is walking down the Forensic department to retrieve the reports of the latest body that was found in Orashi forest the previous night to set himself up for another dead end.


     He reached the door and turned the knob, allowing himself in.
    "You are kind of early." Dr Mercy Abdullah said, not bothering to look up from her work table.


    "Yeah, you know, with nothing new to pursue, I just want to get this over with," Silas replied, walking towards Mercy in the rather dim lab. He did not even bother with a rubber glove, he is very sure he won't need it. "Remind me again, why do you..."


    "...have the lights off?" Mercy cut him off with a smile as she turned her attention away from the victim she was halfheartedly examining. "Just because!"
    "Whatever, so what's new?"
    "New?" Dr Mercy asked sarcastically, showing off her perfectly white and arranged teeth that seemed to sparkle even in the dim lab.
    "You know, Silas, nothing is new."


    Silas sighed, not disappointed as he collected the outstretched file from Dr Mercy;


     "Same as always?"


    "You bet." She said, taking off her gloves as she headed on out, Silas followed suit. He doesn't need to read the report, he already knows it by heart courtesy of the repeatedly occurring reports he had been reading. 


    They are all just reprints at most.


     "And I bet the case is still at a standstill." Mercy said as they headed down the corridor.


    "As still as a pond, I tell you, and bodies just keep turning up so that the case can't go cold." Silas said, walking side by side with Dr Mercy, "I swear it is a traumatizing investigation."


    "What about your kid?"
    "You mean Maxwell?"
    "Yes, Maxwell and his friends. I know you don't want to admit it, but they did help solve the homicide case, right?" Dr Mercy said as she pushed the elevator button to go down.


    "Well, it's kind of embarrassing to admit, but they did help, that is if we ignore the troubles they cause while doing so," Silas said with a subconscious sigh. 


    "It's a good thing they are quiet these days. Although it is unsettling how much trouble they haven't caused these last weeks, I have a bad feeling they are brewing something terrible and will probably have me in a pickle jar when they launch whatever it is."


DING...!


    The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. Dr Mercy hit the first-floor button, and they began their descent.
    "So," Silas began, "you are not mad, are you?" Silas asked with a guilty smile plastered on his face. 
    Dr Mercy has always had a crush on Detective Silas even before the Claw-mark case, but never have they been close until the killings began. The Claw-mark case has been the perfect opportunity for her, as she is the leading forensic scientist on the case.
    "Maybe a little." She said, recalling how upset she was when he stood her up for dinner last night.


    'He didn't even call.' She thought.


    "I am sorry, Agent Hassan had me on a wild goose chase. I know I should have called, I am terribly sorry." The elevator dinged their arrival. "Let me make it up to you, lunch?"


    "Sure, since you insist..."


    <<< ...Ring...! >>>


    Silas' phone rang. He made a pleading face and picked up the call. 
    "Detective George!" The annoying voice that stung Silas' ear was none other than CSP Hassan's. 
    The Chief Superintendent of Rivers State Police Force, the son of the Inspector General, and easily the most annoying, entitled, and undeserving Police officer Silas had ever met. 


    His entire career was based on Daddy's-money, power pull, and taking credit for his subordinates' work - especially Silas' work. In the last three months, Silas has seen the worst CSP Hassan can do.    
    "Chief," Silas swallowed his annoyance.
    "Where are you, Detective?" The tone was familiar. It is the tone that always preceded an errand, a new victim, or another dead end lead.
    "My office. Why?" Silas said with a down crest voice as Mercy bid her goodbye, making the 'call me' gesture.
    "What do you mean why?" Hassan said. "Another body was found earlier this morning in Orashi forest. And you are doing what?"
    
    Silas bit his tongue. It was all he could do to stop himself from giving an aggressive sarcastic response. He said instead;
    "I will be on my way now, are you going to be there?"


    "Why would I be there?" Hassan scoffed, "Get down there and find me a real suspect, Detective, and don't come back until you have something for me."
    With that, Hassan disconnected the call and left Silas foaming in annoyance at The CSP's audacity. If anything, Silas should have been given the promotion, but Hassan's father had pulled a superiority stunt and gave Hassan credit for Silas' work.


   'Acting almighty when he can hardly handle an interrogation muchless an investigation of this scale.' He thought as he put his phone away and stepped out of the building.


   He got to his car, an official black Toyota Corolla, and dialed his partner before heading off towards Ahoada.
   
   
***
 Port Harcourt Gardens, Max's Apartment...
16:25


    *Cling*


    Max snapped out of his sleep at the sound of the metallic noise. His first instinct is to pick up the baseball bat lying on the floor like the thousand other things in his room. But he brushed it off and tried to go back to sleep.


    <<< *Grunts* *Clink* *Clong* >>>


    That was all the convincing he needed to pick up the bat and quickly stalk to stand behind the Ruby Red curtains covering the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking his backyard swimming pool from a wide balcony. 


    'I will hit him so hard he will rue the day he decided to become a burglar.' Max thought to himself with a smile plastered on his face.


     He listened to the burglar groan, grunt, and mumbled something about doing something else.
     Max doesn't care for the justice or the situation of the burglar, all he is excited about is the beating. It's not every day he gets to be able to dish out a beating without getting in trouble for it.
      Whoever the burglar is, they are about to be the first thing he will ever hit with a baseball bat. 


    "Darn it, I loved that scarf." Max heard the burglar whine but he didn't hear the familiarity in the voice, not in his excitement.


     He waited as the burglar muttered something about locked doors and opened the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass window.
      Max waited until the burglar got inside and walked a considerable length before coming out with a combination of excitement, stealth, and speed.
       Maybe it is the motion sensor lamp outside on the fence suddenly coming on at that exact moment when Max brought his bat down for a downward blow.
       The burglar half turned just enough for Max to catch his face and he recognized it. James.


        James' eyes widened at the glimpse of the head-ramming threat. Max refocused his momentum and thanks to James' fast reflex, the damage was avoided by two to three inches.


    "Are you kidding me?!" James yelled as he sprang back up after dodging the close call 
    "What the hell, James?" Max retorted.
    "You trying to take my head off or something?" James yelled, rubbing a phantom pain in the back of his head through his head warmer.
    "I could have killed you, you idiot. I thought you were a burglar."
    "And the response to burglary is a baseball bat?" James snapped, "Normal people run outside and call for help or something like that. Why do you even own a baseball bat, you don't like the sport." 
    "I don't know, it was signed by a..." He paused to read the signature on the bat, "B...bi...Ben something, it was expensive."
    "You don't know who signed it."
    "You have bought a lot of stupid things like that, don't judge me," Max said, throwing the bat to a corner, "What are you doing here?"
    "Cecilia was worried, do you even realize junior Max is swinging around?" James said, walking to pick up Max's towel on the floor near the plastic flower pot and threw it at Max's face as he dumped himself on the armchair.


    "When was the last time you cleaned your room?"
    "I don't know, when was the last time you cleaned yours."
    "Oh, I have never..." James kicked a stray shirt as he walked into the dumpster of a walk-in closet. "Gosh man, at least hire someone to do the boring stuff."


    "What do you want, James?" Max asked with a groan as he combed his hair with his fingers. A black Jordan jogger's pants hit his face.
    "Like I said, Cecilia is worried." A lemon short-sleeved plain shirt lands on Max's feet two seconds before a black hoodie with red sleeves.
    "And you are here because...?" Max tried to think of any reason James would miss a Friday night out to rummage through his already rummaged closet. 


    "I lost a bet. I am a creature of the night, Max, I was made for the ladies not to babysit you," James called out with a whiny tone just as he threw an All-star Snickers in the general direction of Max.
    "I just need to rest, let me rest," Max said as a boxer briefs hit the floor next to him.


    "You don't get to rest young man, get your butt up right now," James said standing in the doorway to the closet. "I have had enough of your weirdness today, don't add sleeping-on-a-friday-night-out to it."
    "I am feeling better now thanks," Max groaned as he picked up the outfit James had chosen for him. "Where are we going, do I need a hoodie?"
    "Oh, it's darn cold outside. At this rate, Port Harcourt might freeze over."
    "I am not wearing these though." Max said, kicking the All-star sneakers aside.


    James rolled his eyes and gestured for Max to hasten up as he moved towards the door.


    "Why did you lock the front door?" James asked, "I have never known you to lock it."
    "Oh, I didn't realize I locked it. I gave you and Cecilia a key right?" Max said walking out of the closet with a red and white Dior Converse and the joggers James picked.
     "I did, right?" He said as he put on the lemon shirt and hoodie.
    James shrugged; "I have no idea, come on, let's get out of here.”