Sleuth Home - Message Boards - Role Playing Stage

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.

Aug-8-2009 21:08

Vulkie departed and Eric glanced over at Joseph. "Well this is quite the predicament we've gotten ourselves into," he mused to himself, "We have no idea where Heimlich is, and with Sergei there is no safe place."

Joseph nodded in agreement, "Yes," he replied, "but, I don't think that he's in any immediate danger. The NKVD seems pretty intent on catching him, and from what you said on the phone it sounds like he may have renounced his life as an assassin."

Eric shook his head, "I'm not so sure. It's not the type of thing you just walk away from." he sighed. At that moment there was a knock on the door and a stout woman stepped in. She was Eunice, a secretary from the robbery division.

"E-e-excuse me Lieutenant Zeo," she stuttered, "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I have a message for Officer M-m-marvington."

A look of confusion came across Eric's face, "Why do you have a message for me?" he asked, "Should that go through missing persons or homicide?"

She looked around the room nervously, "W-w-well you s-s-see," she stuttered again before spitting out the rest of her sentence, "the message is from your father and I think he was a bit confused and I couldn't find you no matter where I looked and I knew you'd want to talk with him but I wrote down everything he said Officer Marvington I swear I did!" she finished and looked as if she was about to cry.

Eric's face lost all expression and he grabbed the secretary by the shoulders, "Where is this message!?" he demanded.

"D-down at the main desk of m-m-missing persons! Captain Hogan said he w-wanted to look at it! C-can I g-go now?" she whimpered.

"Yes!" Eric said, "Go! Thank you!"

Zeo stared at Eric, "Now you know she was scared," he said sternly, "so why on earth would you do that to her?"

Eric gave a look of absolute seriousness to Zeo, "My father is dead," he uttered with dread, "and Captain Hogan is well aware of that fact. It was the first case that Heimlich and I solved together."

Aug-8-2009 21:22

"Stay here," Eric urged, "I'll go try to get my message back from Hogan." He stood up and walked out of the office. He already had to deal with him once today when he got back, and Hogan had been livid about his disappearing for a week without notice. Of course he did understand and had always liked Eric, but he had to follow protocol.

He walked down the steps to the missing persons division. He saw the frosted glass door marked Capt. Hogan, walked up, took a deep breath, and knocked. "Come in!" came the deep voice from the inside.

He opened the door and stepped through to find Hogan standing there holding a piece of paper. "Ah Marvington!" he said as he smiled and beckoned for him to take a seat, "Have a seat. I was just reading this odd message from someone claiming to be your father! Your father died in that soap factory fire didn't he?"

Eric sat down and smiled, "He did yes Captain Hogan," he started as he tried to come up with a lie, "but that message is from the priest at my church." Dammit Eric! He thought to himself, that was one of the stupidest lies you've ever told! "Ummm! Yes! He er... had asked me to take care of a matter for him and was going to leave me a message letting me know how things turned out!"

Hogan glared at him, "Excuse me?" he retorted, "This is from your priest? It doesn't read like it's from your priest! It reads like someone is messing with my phones and I don't like it Marvington!"

Oh God Eric, think think! Eric began to sweat as his mind raced, "Um... well you know what?" he started not quite knowing where he was going, "Why don't you read it to me Captain? That way I can let you know exactly what it means? And I can assure you that no one is messing with your phone?" he managed to stutter out. Yeah that sounded confident. Now he knew how Eunice felt.

Aug-8-2009 21:38

Hogan peered over his reading glasses at him, "Marvington, I really don't have time to waste on this! I was about three seconds from throwing it in the garbage when you walked in! Now you had better start playing straight with me or so help me I'll suspend you for insubordination!"

Well can't switch stories now, he thought. "Sir, I am waiting for a call from my priest. A parishioner of his confessed to being involved in the disappearance of a local resident. He owed me a favor due to helping him out a few years ago. He's trying to convince the parishioner to come forward, but I couldn't publicize that I had been speaking with him, because it's a violation of the confessional seal! Do you understand why I had to keep this quiet?" he pleaded.

Hogan shook his head, "Eric," he said tenderly, "why didn't you come to me from the beginning? You know I would have kept your confidence on this! I don't think this message has anything at all to do with you, but here you go." As Hogan handed him the message, he put it at his side and tried not to look. He didn't want Hogan to see any reaction he may have.

"Thank you sir." Eric said and saluted his captain before turning and leaving the room. He raced up to an empty staircase and looked at the document. He turned completely pale as he read it:

"Eric- arrived safe and sound with your brother Steven at the vacation home. Will be returning on Tuesday. Please let Uncle Richard know how everything is, as he will be joining us tonight."

Tuesday... it was the day of the trial! Heimlich had sent the message! He had made it alright, but Uncle Richard? He didn't have an Uncle Richard. Then it clicked. Cambridge!

His heart raced faster as he tore off towards Joseph's office.

Aug-8-2009 21:55

Barnes wanted that I typed a report for him. As I typed,I saw him enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper,while he told me what I needed to write. "Yes,sincerely,Captain. Graham Barnes." and so the letter ended.

"Well done Miss Juliano,very well done. May I call you Valerie?" Barnes asked. "Of course Captain Barnes,you may." I replied. "Please,call me Graham." Captain Barnes said.

"Alright Graham. I have a small question. Could you tell me who that person was,who met you? That person with the army visor hat. He seemed very important" I asked Graham Barnes.

"Well,I can't really tell you that. It's strictly confidential. But since you are new here,I can grant you that. His name is Bjorno Adelé and he's a Russian secret police officer. He's the boss of the..." Graham said.

"NKVD?" I replied. "How do you know that" Graham Barnes asked. I knew I shouldn't have done that. "Well,detective Zeo told me he had a case that involved the NKVD" I replied.

"That damn Zeo. Always troubling me. Would be pleased if I could get rid of him. You know,he's been a pain to me since I got promoted to Captain. You still haven't asked how it came so,huh?" Barnes said.

"No,sorry. I've been really busy lately. I will ask him sometime. You can be assured of that" I replied and asked if Captain Barnes wanted another coffee. "Please,take one yourself while you're at the coffee machine." he said and so,I took a cup of coffee while I saw Eric rushing towards Joseph.

"Psst,Vulkie,come over here." Joseph said and I tippled towards his desk. "Seems we got a message from Heimlich. Richard Cambridge will be meeting Heimlich at his safehouse. All is fine with them. Well,come on,off to Barnes you go" Joseph said and I grunted. I've chosen to do this,I shall fullfill my job,I thought,as I knocked on the door. "Enter" Barnes said. "Here's your coffee Graham. Can I be of any assistance further?" I asked.

"No,you can go. Chat with some other people" Barnes said and so I went o

Aug-8-2009 22:05

"(off)"

As I went towards Joseph's desk,I saw Barnes coming out of his office,shouting at Joseph : "I want that report,now,on my desk!"

"Yes Captain. I'll give it to Valerie." Joseph replied. "Here you go Valerie" and Joseph handed me the report and took a cigarette out. "Damn Barnes,hope he chokes one day in his own vomit"

As I brought the letter to Barnes's desk,I saw a letter lying on his desk. It was from Bjorno. I quickly made some notes on an empty paper and rushed towards Joseph,giving him my notes. "I found a letter from the NKVD chief on Barnes's desk" I replied. "Here are some notes and keywords" I added,handing over my notes. "Joseph,can I ask something of you?" I asked.

"What is it Vulkie?" he replied. "How come you and Barnes are such "big pals". Barnes mentioned something about getting promoted..."

Joseph sighed and took his coat and went out,for a walk. Something was not right with Joseph. This troubled him. He needed to talk with someone. Maybe,that someone could be..... And then it flashed into my mind.

As Joseph was back,I yelled : "Mr. Zeo,telephone for you",as Barnes looked out of his office towards me.

"Lieutenant Joseph Zeo,homicide. How can I help you?"

"Joseph. My god,Joseph,is that you. It's so good to hear your voice." a woman said.

"Well,if it ain't Anais Nin. How are you holding up dear. Is everything alright?" Joseph said,while nodding at me.

"I've missed you so much. How are things going there?" Anais asked.

"Everything's going fine,thank you Anais. I really needed to talk to you. It's been a long while." Joseph replied.

"By the way Joseph,you can tell me if something bothers you. You know that,don't you?" Anais said,while Joseph looked towards my way. I gave Joseph my "I ain't got nothing to with it,mind your own business"-look.

And so,Joseph chatted with Anais,while I went back to Barnes's office.

Just as Joseph was about to hang up,I saw Eric walking towards him,asking him something...

Aug-8-2009 22:13

"Joseph,can you help me with something?" Eric asked and Joseph walked with Eric downstairs. Just then,Barnes asked if I wanted to grab a bite at Sami's. I nodded and left Joseph a quick message with some keywords,like dinner,Barnes,phone me,apartment.

As Barnes drove the car towards Sami's,he was trying to get his hand up my skirt. "Captain Barnes,keep your hands there. I have a boyfriend" I said politely. "Sorry sweetie,didn't know that" he replied and he focused again on the road.

**************Sami's Restaurant****************

As Captain Barnes ordered a small glass of Ouzo (Greek traditional drink,based on anise-taste),I ordered a glass of water. I didn't want to drink some alcohol,not with a "Loose-hands captain". Barnes ordered a Moussaka and I ordered the mixed grill.

10 minutes later,we got our food and we spent a lovely time,chatting about hobbies,how Barnes started as a cop and his cases and how I was doing as a secretary.

After dinner,Barnes drove me towards my apartment and dropped me off.

"First thing in the morning,I want to see you in the office. I'm meeting Bjorno there,I need you instead of Molly to write a small report of our conversation. You will get some more money then else,of course,for "unneccesary" costs." Barnes said and he drove of.

I sighed,opened my apartment door (which was replaced,after the bust in of the NKVD) and I took a long bath. After that,I started to prepare for bed,just as the phone begin to rang. "Great" I thought,"just what I needed" and I picked the phone up...

Aug-9-2009 02:25

"Vulkie you crazy gal!!" Zeo exclaimed, "How could you return to your apartment after NKVD's visit? Do you know how dangerous this is?"

"I'm fine! NKVD wouldn't come back. The most dangerous place is the safest, remember?" Vulkie replied lightly. Zeo thought that this dare devil really know how to put herself in harm's way.

Zeo sighed. "I'm glad you're alright. Did Barnes..."

"I'm a big girl, I know how to take care of myself alright? How was your chat with Anais?"

"Good, good. Thanks... for asking." Zeo knew what Vulkie did, and he really appreciate it. The talk with Anais really soothed Zeo. "And that letter you found at Barnes' desk was very illuminating. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, you have a good rest now. Come back to the station in the morning."

"Hey, you begin to sound like a boss." Vulkie said. They laughed and bid farewell.

Aug-9-2009 02:26

Zeo hung up and told Marvington that Vulkie was safe. They went through Bjorno's letter again, which was enough evidence to prove that NKVD had been bribing Barnes and part of the NYPD into accusing Sergie as the killer in the Romanskis case.

Zeo held the letter up and said, "This along with the bribe/threat letter I received last week (which Vulkie had given to Heimlich for safe keeping) can nail these bastards for good."

"Excellent, we can pass it via Cambridge to Heimlich." Marvington replied.

"No." Zeo folded the letter and put it in his breast pocket. "I'm still not sure about this prosecutor. He might be righteous, but which lawyer doesn't want to win? I'm keeping this letter with me for the time being."

"Heimlich trust the guy, but if you're not so sure, yeah, I don't see the harm in keeping part of the evidence with you. Anyhow, let's go to Cambridge now or we'll miss the chance to pass messages to Heimie. He need to know the truth about Sergie and his brother."

The two detectives went for Zeo's car. As Zeo reached for the car door he saw two door handles. The earth spin out of place for a second, then everything went back to normal. He leaned on the car window to steady himself. "Eric, you drive." Zeo tossed Marvington the keys.

"Is everything alright?" Marvington asked as the two switched places.

"Yes. Everything is alright."

Aug-10-2009 22:56

Eric started the car, and glanced over at Zeo, who looked slightly sick to his stomach. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" he asked with concern.

"No," Joseph replied, "we need to get to Cambridge and soon."

They drove the rest of the way to the courthouse in silence. Eric thought it was odd, he had been on the force with Lieutenant Zeo for four months now and they had barely said two words to each other, but in the past few days they had almost become friends. He wondered if it would last after the whole Kobetz matter was settled.

His thoughts were interrupted as they arrived at the courthouse. They figured their best chance to catch Cambridge would be where he worked. They walked up the steps together and Eric looked at Zeo, "Ever have to testify against a suspect?"

Zeo nodded, "Of course! Both as a detective and a police officer." he affirmed.

Eric shook his head, "I haven't had to do it yet," he confessed, "At my agency I was more of an office manager, and as a cop I haven't had to go to court yet."

Zeo smiled knowingly, "Don't worry," he assured him, "you'll be fine when you have to. It's just another part of the job."

They walked through the large wooden doors and came to a desk with a clerk at it. She peered over her glasses at them, waited for a few seconds as if hoping they would leave and then asking, "Yes officers. How can I assist you today?"

Eric smiled, "Good afternoon. I'm looking for Mr. Richard Cambridge. I need to discuss some new information on a case of his." he replied.

She shook her head, "Sorry kid. He left about fifteen minutes ago to go to lunch at Sami's with Captain Barnes."

"Barnes!" Eric shouted before composing himself, "I mean oh, that's quite interesting! Thank you!"

As they walked out, they both had the same thought on their minds, "If Cambridge was an ally, what was he doing having lunch with Barnes?"

Aug-10-2009 23:18

Eric climbed into the driver's seat once again. Then turning towards Zeo he said, "C'mon let's take a trip over to Sami's. I have a feeling it will be quite an enlightening trip."

Zeo nodded in agreement and they were off. They pulled up outside of Sami's about five minutes later. Zeo peered through the glass, "I can see Cambridge!" he rasped, "And he's with two other men. One is Barnes, and the other I've never seen before."

Eric hopped out of the car. "Well let's head in. No sense in waiting out here all day." he smirked. The two men walked into the restaurant and walked straight past Maria as she tried to seat them.

As they approached the table Zeo waved his hand, "Mr. Cambridge! What a coincidence meeting you here! We were just looking for you!" he said.

"Ah! Excuse me gentlemen," Cambridge apologized and got up from his table, "The officers here are giving me an update on the Kobetz case."

They walked a safe distance from the table and Eric started to tell all, "Richard, we found out that..."

"Not now!" Cambridge snapped, "Listen. That man sitting with me? His name is Aleksandr Trepov. He is the ambassador of the Soviet Union to the United States. He is trying to prevent an international incident by requesting our assistance in capturing two NKVD operatives who entered America illegally. Bjorno Adelé, the head of NKVD, and Leon Kobetz, the NKVD's deadliest assassin. Barnes is working undercover hoping that Adelé will lead us to Kobetz, and I am warning both of you right now that you are not to go near Adelé if you see him. If we lose him, then we lose our only link to Kobetz. Now Mr. Trepov is going to excuse himself to use the men's room in just a minute. That would be a good time to get your questions in!" he barked, "Now what did you want to tell me Eric?"

Eric shook his head, "Nothing," he replied, "I just wanted you to tell my father that everything is fine. My sister is safe as well."

Cambridge nodded and returned to his table.