The Apartment

Chapter III

The Apartment !

Chapter I : Prologue

Chapter II : "You have been served" 

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Mark kept his gaze on the envelop and gazed it for a moment to sink in the authenticity of the envelop and the inscription it had. The same kind of typewriter print. Is it from the suspect we are after?, Mark asked himself staring at the envelop. May be it could be something to get us off his back, mislead us into a goose chase. May be. Or he thinks himself to be an evil genius and probably showcasing his psychotic side by giving us clues or what he is upto. Is this a game to him? Is he trying to challenge us based on the way we might solve this game of his? The questions kept haunting Mark. But he wanted to be better sure than speculate. He wanted to judge the similarity in the print on the note and the envelop. He took the envelop and got into the elevator to the lawyer's apartment. When he reached the apartment, the police were just clearing out from the house as they have whatever they wanted. Mark asked for the evidence file in which the note was kept. It wasn't a big surprise, the print was same and could be concluded that it was the same typewriter print. It was their suspect's own envelop. 

So, what does this envelop have? As this was from the same suspect-killer, it should be legally turned into as evidence? But the suspect in question, he should rather be more interested in making an escape plan, may be leave the city, hide somewhere where no one could ever find him. But he is somewhere here, somewhere close and keeping an eye on what is happening. He has an ulterior motive and I have got to find it out, Mark spoke under his breath. Does his ulterior motive creating more crime scenes? The thought itself gave Mark a chill. This was a very sick game he was playing and he should be stopped before more dead bodies surface. The suspect has been a step ahead all this while and I have to catch up with him and take a step ahead of him and eventually catch him. But how? Mark felt the frustration building up and as a counter he hit the wall. He had a lot on his mind and the thoughts got jumbled. He hit the wall even harder to silence his rebellious mind. What he wasn't still certain of was how the killer did this and went away. He sat on the stairs that we beside the elevator and closed his eyes as he took three long deep breaths. The scenes started formulating in front of his, his version though.

The killer must have known this lawyer from somewhere. He has followed him for a week or so knowing what he did in his time and where he lived. But he chose the previous night to step up and execute his plan. Why? May be he thought it was time? He got into the apartment without tripping the security alarm. He knows his way around things. And this was a not a easy thing to crack either. So electronics, check. He probably entered the apartment from the front door itself. The balcony way is not out of the question but it is way too risky and not easy. But if he did, there would be definite clues and there were none. So, balcony, cross. He managed to dodge the security cameras in the floor and there was no log of anyone using the elevator beside the lawyer at that time, before and after. Was he inside the elevator? Impossible, the security camera in the elevator would have showed something. So the only left was the roof. How did he manage to get on the roof? Lets assume he did come from the roof. He entered the apartment from the front door and disabling the security before it went haywire, closed the door behind him. And then what? No footprints, no smudges, nothing! He was good at what he did and he clearly knew what he was getting into. He was careful not to touch anything and leave any evidence behind. Where did he hide? He had to hide somewhere not to get caught if the lawyer was to check his apartment. The bedroom? That would have made it quite difficult to make his way back into the living room. But how did he know that the lawyer would be in the living room? The safe place for him was the balcony. It was vast and lot of blind spots. And at that time even I wouldn't assume to be sitting there and waiting to kill me. The lawyer came to his apartment close to midnight. He was a little drunk, the aftermath of the party he had just attended. But he still had to take another glass of drink? Why? The photo of his wife misplaced on the table. He picked it up to mitigate the pain had to drink. He then sat on the chair facing the balcony and lit a cigar. He might has slipped into sleep as he was tired already. The intruder took that as a chance and entered the living room from the balcony. He woke him up. There was a slight struggle from the lawyer as a result of the shock and his reflex to save himself from that panic stood up to grab something. But the intruder was fast. A bullet pierced the lawyer and he fell down face down. The intruder left that note beside him and left the same way he came. From the roof? The roof ! 

Mark took the stairs and ran up to the roof. It was just any other ordinary roof. But it had gravel around the boundary of the building. He managed to find certain skid marks as if a hard landing which seemed to have been wiped down. He canvased the surroundings to find an adjacent apartment which could be used for a jump. May be the suspect used the adjacent building to enter this. Beside the skid marks he saw an adjacent apartment nearly ten feet apart. If he had come from that apartment, he had to had some help. It didn't much time to locate the hook which was used to hold the wire of sorts. There was traces of footprints. Mark took a picture of the partial footprint on his mobile. He did come from this way, but didn't leave from here. The security camera's from that apartment could give us more clues. And also, the mode of transportation after he left the apartment. There was a lot of possibilities. That is something to be looked into as well. I will have to inform Sam to canvas through the security footage of three blocks, anything that just could put someone in the time frame.

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The rain was heavy that night. The nature must have been furious. Is was a simple apartment that any normal middle class guy would have, rented obviously. The city was expensive in itself and affording even a small apartment would mean that he was Rich. But he managed his expenses. The rain lashed through his helmet as he sped towards his apartment. He reached his apartment which was just at the verge of the city. He was completely drenched in rain. The cold water that bathed him calmed his thoughts. He had almost forgotten what he had done that night. He was at peace. He placed his overcoat to dry beside the window on the hanger. The apartment was small, had one bedroom, a small kitchen and a living room. It was sufficient for him and under his norms of payment. He stared across the living room onto a wall as he grabbed a beer from the mini fridge in the kitchen. He kept his eyes fixed at the wall as he walked towards it. The wall that he was staring at resembled what would be termed as a collage in layman terms but not the simple good looking collage. Oh, it was looking good alright, but only he could understand. It was the collage of photos, newspaper cuttings, files, reports, print outs, torn out pages, sticky notes, pins, different colored threads and whatnot. The whole office supply was improvised to create this roadmap. He stared at the picture of the lawyer at the bottom corner, took a red sketch and crossed it with two distinct lines across the edges of the photo and tied a red thread over the already existing yellow thread. The red thread had the origin just on the lawyer. He took a few steps back and looked at the wholeness of the collage and assured himself with a half smile that in time he will be able to reach the top of the pyramid. The smile faded on his face a moment later, finished his beer in a jiffy as he stared at the second picture. He went to his bedroom, sat on the bed with his laptop and started his research about the next guy in the list.

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(To be Continued...)

P.S. : I am continuing the fictional story I started a while back. Hope this is not as awful as I fear it to be. Lets' see how this turns out to be. Gracias. 

"You have been served"

Disclaimer : This following piece of fiction is a continuation of the first part Prologue, which I wrote a long time back. I have have had this feeling to continue this somehow. So, here it is.

Chapter 1 : Prologue

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I check the time on my watch. The time was 2210 hours. I still had over an hour to set everything in place. I got on my bike, drove to the destination parked it a few blocks away beyond the eye of suspicion. I took care of the security cameras. I have been canvasing this neighborhood for the past few weeks now. I have to be careful. I have got a long list to deal with. If I get caught, the injustice would win, yet again. I need to set things straight when I can before it's too late. The security camera on his apartment floor have been running in continuous loop and the guard couldn't figure it out. Of course, I have timed it well. But, today better safe than sorry, I am going to disable them. I need them to know that somebody was here and altered everything here. His apartment looks well, RICH. I have had the layout but he did a pretty good job decorating. But, it is going to be such a waste. He won't be able to stay long enough. I had to be cautious not to misplace anything. Anything out of the context could put my plan in jeopardy. Luckily, I was able to find his revolver, a 9mm and a great choice. May be it was gifted by someone. It has an engraving JM, his name. I scanned around the house, the AC was on. It was never off. I assumed it was the cold weather filled with the aftermath of the rain. Oh, he has a beautiful scenery. The city looks beautiful in the night and from this height. The car, his car was headed towards the apartment. It is almost time.

It was so easy getting. A small jump from the adjoining building landed me on this apartment's rooftop. And I just had to get into the penthouse. I knew the security codes. Two days of surveillance was enough to decode his security code.  It was his wife death date and his daughter's birth date, something he could never forget. I got in from the main entrance as if it was my own apartment. As I realized he had taken the elevator directly to his floor, I hid in the balcony behind the door. He entered the apartment and didn't suspect a thing misplaces or the presence of an intruder, the possible killer. He had no idea of what his future would be and how short his life would become. He opened the balcony to let the fresh cold wind replace the air conditioned room. At that moment, my heart skipped a beat that I would be discovered and that my purpose will be served but in a lot messier way. But he didn't come out. Instead he lit a cigar. Probably his last cigar. I watched carefully from the tainted window of the balcony door beyond his purview of sight. He left the glass of scotch on the handle of his chair and the cigar smoke danced around his fingers. He had slept. It might have been a tiring day perhaps. I cautioned myself and briskly made myself into the room from the balcony. The curtains flew under the cold wraps of the wind. He was fast asleep. I wanted to wait for the cigar to burn his finger and then he would wake up to see me, his death. The longer I wait, the more clues I leave behind. I must hurry up. I nudge the glass on the chair handle and it slowly fell down. The fur carpet absorbed most of the noise but that was enough to bring this man into senses. He saw me with a frightened look which suddenly disappeared as he jumped up to the cupboard on the side to grab his revolver. Oh the revolver, one nice little piece. 

"Looking for this", I scoffed as he stumbled to look back at me. "I am just borrowing it for a little while. I promise to return back", my voice still mocked at his innocence. 

"What do you want?", he asked me as if I was here to rob him. Oh, I was here to rob him, but not just his money, but his life. 

"There is nothing in this world you could pay me off with. It is time you accepted, 

accepted your fate". 

"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you doing this?".

"Don't act so surprised. You knew that this was coming. Why else would get a revolver?".

"I have no idea what you are talking about?". 

"Oh, don't worry about it. It is all going to end tonight. You will have nothing but peace in the end. I can promise you that". 

"Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this to me?"

I placed a page in front of him. I wanted him to realize why he won't be able to see another day. As he picked up the paper, I could see the life go out of body. He knew what it was and he had known the consequences at that time. But he never expected to see it again until today. I lost his balance and in the moment of panic he jumped for the alarm button just at the edge of the cupboard. But he fell down with two shots in his chest. There was silence afterwards. I went out of the apartment from the front door through the service elevator, the one place the camera was old and wasn't functioning. As I got onto my bike, I switched of the remote access to the security cameras which gave the guard in the apartment that something was wrong. One camera wasn't working. He called the cops. I was long gone. Everything according to plan.

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Mark reached his office later the next day just to be welcomed by storming press which were as agitated as he was. They needed answers and so did he. They had questions, and well, so did he. It was getting a little out of hand, all this new business with the killer with no answers in hand. Mark made an mental note to drop by the crime scene once the melodrama at the office was over. All this pressure was taking a toll on him. He had just completed an half year being sober and he couldn't start that again. Never. Again. He told himself. Instead he grabbed a coffee from the pantry, filled it in a take away cup and took a sip. He knew that this drama was going to continue as long as the mystery is solved. Just as he was about to get out of the Office to find out more about the lawyer who died the other night, he was called in by his chief. He inquired about his progress and mocked about his skill which wasn't helping them in recent past. He also lay down a deadline failing which he would be handing over the case to the State and then there would be nothing they could do. 

"Are you capable of solving this?", asked his chief with a disgruntled look as Mark was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and his swollen eyes due to lack of sleep. What was he up to, thought the chief. But whatever his inquisitions were, he had the faith in him despite all the odds. He was good at what he did and there was no doubt about it. But was be becoming reckless? Has the past caught up with him? No. He brushed aside all those thoughts which could jeopardize his skill in the investigation. 

"Yes, I am well above my senses regarding this case. As a matter of fact, I was just heading back to the crime scene to find some clues. May be I could grab something that I might have missed yesterday."

"Yeah you do that. Meanwhile I have this press to deal with. They just don't believe I will be telling. They just keep hitting back with more questions. We have had no progress yet. So, please get me something. Powerful people are dropping down like used shell casings which is raising a few more questions from the superiors. They are scared, sure but they will be up our asses until this is solved. We need to end this. But you keep up your best and hope to see some results at the earliest."

"I always do my best and you know it."

"Yeah, I do. But don't flatter yourself. Just get me some good news".

Mark left the office with a coffee in hand. He reared his car in reverse setting it straight to go ahead to the crime scene. He reached the scene only to find the Yellow Do Not Cross police tape outside of the apartment. It was a penthouse, a luxury one indeed. He scanned the surroundings but started with the entrance. The door doesn't seem have been fiddled with nor any signs of forced entry. The killer might have been inside the apartment before the lawyer had even come. Did he have a duplicate key? If he had, he also had to know the security lock code to disable the alarm. What about the cameras in the doorway? That should help a little. He picked up the report of the observations by the forensic and skimmed through the details. Nothing useful, he told himself. The cameras have been disabled. As a matter of fact they have been working in loop for a couple of days before they were disabled the other night. That means the killer had an elaborated plan to get him. But what was the need for a stakeout? If he wanted to kill him, he might as well do it. Looks like he had an ulterior motive. If that is the case, what was it? The balcony door seems to be undisturbed, but that is not true. It was the only possible access to the penthouse. If he had made his way, it could be either from the roof or from the floor below. Mark looked for clues to find any clues that the killer might have left behind. He was very careful not to leave any. He looks like a professional hitman of sorts. Not even one shred of clue is left behind. How can this be possible?, thought Mark. A strand of hair or sweat or something should be here somewhere. What about the note? He went to the scene of the crime to find a chalk etched outline of the lawyer who was killed last night. Beside the outline of the body was a note in white paper on which it was printed 'FOR A BETTER SOCIETY'. It was printed and nothing more could be done except the kind of printer and paper. That won't be of any help. If it was hand written, may be the hand writing analysis or the use of words could have indicated the state of mind of the killer. State of mind! chuckled Mark. State of mind, my ass. He is a god damn psychopath and he needs to be put down. After scanning through the stuff, fridge, balcony and everything that could possibly be linked to the killer which was around in the apartment as it was clear that the killer had been waiting for him for a long time, he tried to recreate the scene in his mind. 

James McGumry was the name of the lawyer whose embodied outline lie in his apartment while his corpse is being investigated by the Forensic department back in the office. He looks like a rich wealthy person judging by the interior of his house which was possible designed by the best interior designed in the town. And also the Mercedes that was in the parking lot, a limited edition. Though it is practically impossible for a lawyer like himself to be owning such a priced possession. He drove his own car which meant that he wanted to be in control. Of course, he is an lawyer and the control over things comes with the territory. So, after a busy day at the court he drops by for the dinner party at the Mayor's house. He has a little too of Champagne but he feels he is in control and drives himself home after the party. It wasn't a long drive from the Mayor's house to his penthouse. As soon as he reached his home, he entered his house just like everyday, casually. He didn't suspect anything weird or anything out of place. If he had noticed something out of place, he would have known that something was wrong. This means that the killer was careful not to disturb anything in Lawyer's apartment. May be the lawyer was too drunk to notice, which could be a possibility. But living in solitude does give the person a sense of caution towards his surroundings. So, he would have known. He looked at his wife's photo on the beside where he kept his keys safely. He looked at it and put it face down as he took the glass from the minibar beside and poured a hard scotch into it as took a sip. He might have walked back to his chair facing the balcony. He sat there as he lit up a cigar and took a sip of the scotch. He might have been thinking about his deceased wife as he looked at the bokeh of city lights that shimmered in front of him from his pent house balcony. He dozed off into blissful sleep only to woken up by the the glass that fell on the velvety furry carpet. He might have seen the intruder in front of him and stood up to take action. The killer didn't shoot then, but he waited as the lawyer searched for his revolver in the side cabinet only to find nothing there. The intruder looked deep into his eyes and might have said something before putting two bullets in his chest, the sound of which subsided by the silencer on the gun. The intruder made his way out from the front door itself and stay unnoticed. The door had an automatic lock which could lock itself once the door is closed. But how did the intruder get inside in the first place? The balcony is the only possible explanation.

Mark wanted to examine the body and find whatever he could that the forensic experts might have missed. He made a mental note to check back once examining the body and could indicate any clues about the state of mind of the killer. He reached his car and as he threw the cigarette stubbed between his lips, stamped on it and looked up to open the door of his car. He found an envelop on the windshield of his car which had an inscription "YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED", the same typewriter handwriting found beside the outlined body of the lawyer in his apartment. This sent a shiver down his spine as he looked at it even before he opened it.

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P.S. : I am writing fiction after a very long time. Hope this is not as awful as I fear it to be. Lets' see how this turns out to be. Gracias.