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Heimlich VonVictor
Heimlich VonVictor
Vigilante

Jul-25-2009 17:35

"This book was written by Heimlich VonVictor & describes true events that occured during his time as a detective." As he finished these final words on his manuscript he dropped his pen onto the desk. He had just referred to himself as a detective in the past tense for the first time in his life.

He didn't want to believe that it was over, but when one takes pen to paper and scribes one's life story as a matter of record, there was a sense of finality to it.

He picked up the stack of papers before him, each page a piece of a life he would never get to live again. He looked up at the framed newspaper article celebrating his 100th case solved as a detective. It had already started to yellow and fade.

He walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of gin and a glass. Even if it was a bittersweet occasion, it called for a celebration, and that meant a good Tom Collins.

He looked up at the plaque on the wall that his agency presented him upon his retirement.

"Retirement! Psh! That's rich!" he grumbled out loud to no one in particular. He remembered the exact conversation.

Eric had called him into his office and said it very clearly, "Heim, you're a liability. Some of the stunts you've been pulling lately have got the other detectives mighty scared."

He had tried to brush it off, "I'm a liability!? Do you realize how much money I pull in for this agency each year? You should be down on your hands and knees thanking me for being able to make bank!"

Eric sighed at him, "Heim, I can't keep you on. The Baltimore incident was the last straw. We'll let you retire, and we'll let it look like it was your decision to do so. We'll keep it out of the papers."

What choice did he have? He had put on a grin, went to the dinner, accepted his plaque, and faded into obscurity.

He was reliving this oh so favorite of memories when the phone rang. Startled, he dropped his drink on the floor and the glass shattered.

Replies

Heimlich VonVictor
Heimlich VonVictor
Vigilante

Jul-25-2009 17:35

He cursed to himself as he ran over and picked the phone up, “Hello?”

A man with a thick Russian accent responded, “Mr. VonVictor. I am in need of your services. My good friend is in jail, and you must defend him in court.”

He gritted his teeth, “How did you get this number? I am retired! Even when I was a lawyer I was a prosecutor not a defense attorney! Goodbye!” and with that he slammed the phone down. He had just started to clean up the spilled drink and broken glass when the phone rang again.

He stormed over to the phone, picked it up, and screamed, “What?!”

The voice responded, “Mr. VonVictor, I don’t think you understand. I don’t care if you are retired. You will defend my friend and you will find the real criminal or I will reveal your dirty little secret. His name is Sergei Kobetz and you will help him.”

Before he could respond, the line went dead. Sweat began to pour down his forehead. Did this man really know? What would happen if it got out? He couldn’t take that chance; he had to play this man’s game for now. Who could he trust? He needed someone outside of his old agency, who didn’t know the truth, and who wouldn’t ask too many questions.

He picked up and dialed. One ring…two… some fumbling, and then a voice came through, “Hello?”

He smiled to himself, “Hello old friend. It’s been quite a while.”


Vulkie3
Vulkie3
Haynes

Jul-26-2009 03:57

Relaxing. That was what I did. I almost solved a 1000 cases,hell,it was a real achievement. Picking up my favorite bottle of liquor,a fine bottle of whiskey, I went back to my apartment and invited some friends of mine to celebrate.

"To the 1000th solved case!" I shouted and everyone raised their glass and shouted it also.

When I just had my whiskey up,the phone rang. After 2 times and letting Ace not kiss me (Acemaster I mean,but I call him ace), I picked up the phone after some fumbling.

"Hello?" I replied,with one finger in my other ear.

"Hello old friend. It's been quite a while." the other person said.

"Heimlich,is that you? I can't hear you so good. Can I call you back from the payphone downstairs?" I replied.

So,I hung up,went downstairs without explaining everything,went to a payphone on the street and dialed Heimlich's number.

Heimlich immediately picked up. "Yes,I'm listening" I'm said. And so,Heimlich told me the whole story and it was shocking. "First,how does this guy know your number and second of all,what secret do you carry with you by which he is threatening to expose?" I asked Heimlich after he told me everything.

"Well,I'm not that hard to reach though. I "had" some businesscards with my number on it. Maybe he got one of them?. And to your second question.... I don't know the answer to that" Heimlich replied.

I knew Heimlich was lying about that second question. He definetely knew what the secret was,only he couldn't tell me. I accepted that in my mind,while the voice in the phone constantly said : "Are you still there Vulkie?"

"Yes,I'm here" I replied.

"Let's meet" Heimlich said...

And so,we made a meeting....

Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Jul-26-2009 05:50

I hated missing Vulkie's little celebration, but work could not wait.

I had no idea why there was an escalation of crime in the summer. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it's just that other detectives were out on holidays. Either way, my rate of conviction doubles every summer. Just yesterday, I had put three scum bags behind bar: Frank Gilfoy, Evelyn Chien, and Sergei Kobetz. All of them had no real alibi and sufficient physical or witness evidence. All of them guilty, or so I hope. I really had no time to dwell on yesturday. Even with so many daily convictions, the pile of case files on my desk was not getting any smaller. *sigh* I lit up another cigarette and went back to my research.


Heimlich VonVictor
Heimlich VonVictor
Vigilante

Jul-26-2009 14:22

Heimlich walked towards the Tricky Mister. It had been ages since he had been insde the actual building. He chuckled thinking about the last time he had been in. He had told Pete Lewton that if he didn't give up the info on the suspect that he was going to put his head right through the wall. Now he hadn't actually intended to do it, but Pete just had to call his bluff and a week later there was a bill on Eric's desk for wall repair along with a note saying that Mr. VonVictor was no longer welcome in the establishment.

He pulled open the door and the smell of stale tobacco and booze invaded his nostrils. Immediately Cyrus looked up from the counter, "Oh no! Don't even think about it." he shouted as he came around and walked towards Heimlich, "Get the hell out. I told you never to come back here and I meant it."

Heimlich had expected this and smiled at him. He pushed him to the side and shouted, "A round for the entire place on me!" Immediately a cheer went up over the bar. He turned back to Cyrus, "Throw me out now and they'll hate you forever."

He stared daggers at me, "Alright, you can stay, but I swear by all that is holy if you ever rough up a customer in here again, a repair bill will be the least of your problems!"

Heim smiled and walked in. Vulkie saw him approaching. Could that really be him? He seemed to have aged ten years since the last time she saw him, and yet he had only been retired a year.

He sat down across from her, "Hello Vulkie. It's been quite a while hasn't it?"

She looked at him with concern, "Where the hell have you been? You just decide a year ago to retire? You realize that Marvington Associates folded four months ago?"

Heim sighed, "You could say I've been trying to find myself. Frankly I couldn't care less about what happens to Eric Marvington. The point is I need your help now. "

Vulkie felt a pang in her chest. He had become so bitter. What had happened? Why was he walling himself off?

Heimlich VonVictor
Heimlich VonVictor
Vigilante

Jul-26-2009 14:24

There was only one way to find out. She looked at him and said, "What can I do to help you?"

Heim reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin. On the note a name was scribbled, "Sergei Kobetz". Sliding the napkin across to her he said, "I need you to pull his arrest file and find out everything you can. Specifically I need to know what he did, who arrested him, and how strong the evidence is. I turned in my P.I. license when I retired, so I don’t have access to the files, and legally I can’t even investigate this case. I don’t have any contacts at the police station anymore, but if you do, I need you to convince one of them to reinstate my license. I never gave up my bar card, so in the meantime I’m going to go meet with Mr. Kobetz and see if I can find anything about our mysterious friend. I guess he’s my client now, so they should give me immediate access to him."

They finished up their drinks and parted ways, neither truly knowing what they had gotten themselves into…

Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Jul-27-2009 04:42

Zeo looked up from his stacks of files and flushed when he saw Vulkie by the door to his office. Not only did he miss her little party, he didn't even bother to call. He knew that work was not a sufficient excuse, although it was the truth.

"You look like a starved Panda!" Vulkie mused. "When the last time you eat? More importantly, when the last time you sleep?"

"Oh please, don't remind me! Seem like the whole Sleuthville PD is on summer holiday!" Zeo replied as he signed and chopped on a file to close a case. "Um, sorry about skipping your par-"

"Don't worry about it! You just got your promotion, so this is understandable." Vulkie walked to Zeo's desk and sat on it. "Hey I do need a favour from you, Mr. Lieutenant."

Zeo looked up at Vulkie and smiled. "You never like the chair, do you?" They both knew that with their friendship, Vulkie can ask Zeo to do anything as long as it was legal, sometimes even when it was not.

"An old friend of mine needs to have his license reinstated. Name's Heimlich Von Victor." Vulkie said.

"You KNOW Von Victor?" Vulkie nodded with a questioning frown. "The guy is practically a legend! He solved the Queens serial murder, retrieved the Crown Jewel of Brunei, and arrested the leader of the North Side gang!" Zeo finished in a breath.

"Okay, so you know your sleuth history…" Vulkie said, with her eyes darting around.

"Von Victor can have it easy. He just retired. Why does he wanna get his feet wet again?" Zeo asked.

"Beats me. He seemed to be hiding things from me. But you know, that's okay. I just want to have some action." Vulkie grinned.

Zeo made a few phone calls and said to Vulkie, "Consider it done."

"Let's go for lunch! My treat."

"And leave all the work here unfinished?" Zeo looked at his desk.

"The case files are not going anywhere." With that, Vulkie pulled Zeo out of his seat, determined to feed her starving friend.


Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Jul-27-2009 04:45

While they went down the stairs, Vulkie asked Zeo if he knew anything about the case with Sergei Kobetz.

"Hell yeah, I put the guy behind bars. He murdered a Russian couple. The victims were both artists who escaped from the Soviet regime. Rumour has it that NKVD, the Russian secret police, was behind the murder." Zeo pulled out a cigarette as the two exited the station from the front door. "If that's really the case, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to nail this Kobetz guy so easily, right?"

"Was the evidence solid?"

"As a stone. Two eye witnesses, murder weapon found at his pad. He left some of his hair and a bloody footprint at the crime scene as well." As Zeo lit his cigarette, something caught his peripheral vision, something that was hurling towards him. He ducked away from it, shoving Vulkie down along the way.

Glass shattered.
Heavy scent of gasoline filled the air.
The spot where they just stood a moment ago was engulfed by a bright orange ball of fire.

Smoke. Zeo looked down and noticed that his summer jacket caught the flame. He took it off immediately, and tried to snuff the fire out.

"Forget the jacket! It's a lost cause. You alright? You hurt?" Vulkie asked.

The summer jacket was charcoal black. The perpetrator was of course long gone. "It's my favourite jacket." Zeo sighed.

"You're in the wrong business to own any 'favourite jacket', Joseph."

Vulkie was right. Who the hell had done this? Zeo wondered. He needed a drink. Any drink besides a Molotov cocktail.


Vulkie3
Vulkie3
Haynes

Jul-27-2009 07:16

"My dress" I screamed,while Joseph pushed me downwards on the street,right on a splash of left over rain. Lucky that I was that Joseph saw it,a heat from behind us crept towards us. We immediately ran from it. A molotov cocktail it seemed. Joseph's jacket was on fire,but he realised that the jacket could not be saved.

"Come on Joseph,let's get some dinner and a drink for you" I said. And so we went to Sami's. "Hi Maria. A big plate of gyros for me and for my friend Joseph a mixed grill and a whiskey. Yes I know,it's early,but he needs the drink. NOW!" I told Maria,who gave me an annoying look that I ordered her to get it immediately. 5 minutes later,Joseph ate his mixed grill and took some sips from his whiskey. I ate my gyros in silence.

"Joseph,this was a murder attempt on your life. A kind of reprisal,a kind of revenge. They want you dead since you put a well known Russian mobster behind bars. Has it ever occured to you that he's..." I said.

"Innocent? Nah. The evidence was clear about this. He was there,people saw him and the evidence points to him. There's no way..." Joseph replied.

"Unless..." I replied.

"What Vulkie? You come up with something?" Joseph asked curious.

"Unless there's an imposter. A person who really lookes like him,in face,but his voice isn't and he's different then the original Kobetz." I replied.

"That could be possible" Joseph replied.

"Come on,let's go to Heimlich's place and tell him of what we thought of." I replied and we almost left the restaurant,when Maria shouted : "Hey,you got to pay for that!". I blushed,left 50 dollars on the table,told her to keep the change and hauled a cab. And so we went to Heimlich VonVictor and explained my "theory" of a look-a-like Kobetz.

Vulkie3
Vulkie3
Haynes

Jul-27-2009 07:23

"Ridiculous. There's only one Kobetz and that's the one that this Zeo-person put away" Heimlich answered,in his best german-english voice. I hated that accent,but I got used to it. "It's not ridiculous. Everyone can look perfectly like another person and act like that person. Only the voice is different." I replied.

"It could be possible,but it's not usual for someone to do that. Usually,there's only one possible way to solve a case. And now,you're trying to tell me there's a kind of look-a-like on the loose,who would really be glad to get rid of that Kobetz-fellow" Heimlich replied.

"That's also what I'm thinking from now on" Joseph replied. I had convinced them,luckily,in my advantage.

"But how could he get the hairs then and the shoes. How could he have possibly gotten them. Kobetz hasn't reported a burglar, or anything like that" Joseph asked. "Well,it's usual for those guys to not report anything to the police. Once in the mob,always in the mob. And you don't get out of it easily. Especially not the Russian kind. Usually,they find you dead or floating somewhere, or buried in a grave deep in a deserted forest." I replied.

I once had a case,concerning the Russian mob. Seems the person I suspected was missing and I had to quit the case. Unfortunately,I found him dead,three months later. It was horrible. His teeth were pulled out,his fingers were cut off and the head was so beaten and shaved,that you couldn't identify the person,unless you knew him.

Just then,the phone rang and Heimlich picked it up...

Heimlich VonVictor
Heimlich VonVictor
Vigilante

Jul-27-2009 18:41

"Hello?" Heimlich cautiously answered the phone.

"Mr. VonVictor," the voice on the other end replied, "you did well today. I'm glad to see you understand we mean business. Remember Sergei Kobetz will walk away from this and you will catch the killer."

Before he could respond, the line went dead. He smiled to himself as he thought back to what he had done that day

***

After arguing with an officer over whether his bar card was valid, he had been allowed to meet with his client. He arrived at the cell to find a short heavyset man with piercing blue eyes and a long black beard.

"Who are you?" the man spoke with a much heavier accent than his mysterious friend.

"My name is Heimlich VonVictor. I'll be representing you in your case." he replied.

Sergei stared at him for a minute before bursting out laughing, "Heimlich VonVictor! Haha! I ask for attorney and he give me Heimlich VonVictor! Maybe I say I need to confess sins he bring me pope!"

Heim slammed his hand against the bars, "This is not a joke Sergei!" he bellowed, "What exactly are you charged with?"

Sergei shook his head, "Murder, they say I kill Russian refugees, but not guilty!" Heim felt a vein in his head begin to pulse. Murder? This was going to be an interesting case.

"Alright..." Heim stated cautiously, "Sergei, do you have an alibi for the time for the murder?"

Sergei nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! Have alibi! I was with Nikolai and Ana Romanski!"

Heimlich smiled, "Perfect!" he said happily, "How can I reach them?"

Sergei looked down at the floor, "Em... no.... they dead."

Heimlich's smile disapperared and he place his hand over his face. He was afraid to ask, but he did anyway, "They're the reason you're in here aren't they?"

Sergei smiled, "Yes you see now! But innocent! So go now?" he asked.

"No Sergei," he responded, "No go now. What happened that night?"

Sergei thought back, "Is very hazy. Was having drinks with friends. Then lights go out.

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