Consulting detective, Alexander the Great- or so he would insist on being called if the name wasn't already taken- watched on in confusion as a woman stumbled into the refurbished station.
The more steps the woman took, the more Alexander was starting to realise that something was horribly wrong. The knife stuck in her abdomen- right where a knife was not meant to be- was the main indicator.
The knife, still lodged in the woman's abdomen, was a positive sign. The victim obviously had some smarts about her. If the knife had been pulled out, Alexander feared the woman would have already been dead and he wouldn’t be home in time for supper.
Not that Alexander had little empathy for the situation. He was always sorry for victims- most victims- but he had an appointment that he just had to keep and if he didn’t keep it, he was afraid that the most sordid, sorriest consequences would occur.
Crimson red blood steadily streamed down the bottom of the woman’s white blouse and down her bright pink pencil skirt.
Observing the woman carefully came as second nature to Alexander.
He'd been profiling people since he was a babe in the cradle. He subconsciously profiled everyone and anyone he encountered. While some people took offence to his keen judgments, accusing him of being condescending, Alexander viewed his assessments as astute. Everyone made judgements about people, he just happened to do it just a little bit better. It was this razor-sharp intuition that made him one of the most sought-after consulting detectives in the field. In fact, he believed, as his stats did prove, that he was the best of them all.
Up close it was evident from the victim’s eyes, rimmed with red, that she had been crying. Her eyes were now devoid of tears. Perhaps the primal instinct to fight back had taken over the woman.
“IT WAS MY HUSBAND,” the woman cried, looking awfully pale and faint even though there were now numerous police officers tending to her, “MY HUSBAND, JEOFFREY DAVIES, DID IT.” The woman stumbled a few more laborious steps in the direction of Alexander and fainted.
Well, that is a new development, the watchful detective thought.
It wasn’t the fainting that intrigued Alexander, he was sure the woman had good odds of living.
It wasn’t even the allegation that it was the husband that did it. In most cases the spouse did it, and the whisky that the woman had been in contact with, which Alexander could tell from the rich sweet smell faintly wafting up from the woman, was a sure aggravator of problems between a couple.
Alexander had already garnered that the woman was married from the prominent tan line around her ring finger signifying that a ring had only recently been taken off, and it was clear that she was affluent from the classy, high-end clothes she was wearing and the way that even in pain, her nose stuck up in the air.
What intrigued Alexander was that Jeoffrey Davies, who the woman claimed was her husband, was the district attorney. And this team that Alexander was a consultant for was probably the only team in the corrupt city that would go up against the district attorney at a time like this when it was said that the youngest DA was about to get promoted once more.
The station of the Special Investigation Division Against All Villains Alike (SIDAAVA for short) were equipped to solve any mind-scrambling problem no matter whether done by humans or superhumans, but never before had a mystery of any kind taken place right on their doorstep.
“So, I guess this is our jurisdiction,” said Jacob, the youngest and newest addition to the team.
“We don’t usually take cases where nothing extreme took place,” Alexander remarked.
“Might as well solve it,” the chief of SIDAAVA had apparently ambled out of his office to see what all the noise was about.
Alexander let out a little sigh, closing the flaps of the board a little disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to test if one of his best friends, biggest rival on the team, and occasional lab rat, John James, had made any improvement in guessing what Alexander was thinking. The probability was low, but it was that God loves a tryer. At least now Alexander would be able to make certain that he would win the game of Guess Who in no more than one question when they got back to it. He opened the flaps once more and picked the perfect character. Rose- elderly, grey hair, brown eyes and a key feature- she was wearing a yellow hat.
But for now, he had to investigate.
[Congratulations! You now have a new mission!]
I don’t think this is a ‘congratulations’ type of surprise, Alexander thought. Not for the victim or for me.
[Mission 299: Solve the stabbing of Kate Davies]
----------
Victim’s profile
Kate Davies
Status
Alive (for now)
Age
D.O.B
34
(22/01)
Marital status
Married five years
Occupation
Doctor (surgeon)
Background and family
From a long line of affluent doctors. One child (5) with her husband
Physical appearance
Caucasian, blonde, blue eyes, slim, 5’9
Accessories and clothing
White blouse. Pink pencil skirt. Black high heels.
Even though it was a normal day on the surface, there was an ominous feeling in the atmosphere. Maybe it's just because it's Friday, Alexander consoled his troubled head.
Questions flooded the mind of the prized detective, as they did in every case.
How did the victim manage to find the only place in the city that would help her lodge a case against her husband? Why would the district attorney stab his wife with everything on the line for him at this point in time? What was the cafe serving for lunch?
The other thing that bugged Alexander was that he had noticed the woman wasn’t wearing her wedding band. No band? It’s weird. Keeping up appearances was the usual aim of the game of the district attorney and his family.
Alexander sat down on the table with two of the four other detectives in the team, handing them each a perfectly ripe banana, “She wasn’t wearing her wedding band.”
John James and Angelica both looked at Alexander inquisitively. “What?”
“I noticed she wasn’t wearing a wedding band when they took her to the hospital. The indentation was still around her finger. It’s weird.”
“Her husband just stabbed her. I am sure they weren’t getting along. I mean, I wouldn’t wear a wedding band if my husband stabbed me.” Angelica looked at Alexander quickly, “not that I have a husband...”
Huh. Blushed cheeks. Smart watch beeping indicating a higher heart rate. Lips slightly parted. Eye contact a fraction too long. Huh. Maybe I’m wrong, Alexander thought. Alexander purposefully looked over the fact that he was hardly ever wrong about these things and continued pondering on the case.
John James started nodding. “Alex is right. People forget that they are even wearing their wedding ring at all. And in all her photos on social media, and she sure does have a lot, she has it on.”
“It doesn’t make sense for there to just have been one big bust up with no warning signs. What are the chances of her taking off her engagement ring when she was scrambling for her life to get away if it all happened this morning? Their marriage has to have been tumultuous for quite some time.”
Alexander chanced a glance at his status menu. His intelligence right now was at an 80, 30 above where he was on average showing that he was on the right path. The four attributes Alexander valued most were as always listed on his status menu acting like an automatic slider showing how much he was using that particular characteristic at the present time. What he was hoping for was that he would manage to get enough XP points through completing missions that he could reach 500XP points which would give him either a free clue or a free stat point that he could add to one of his attributes so his average functioning in the area increased.
Name:
Alexander Thomas
Titles:
N/A
Mission:
299: Solve the stabbing of Kate Davies
Experience points:
150/500
Goodness Galore
28/56
Emotional stability
20/40
Intelligence
80/100
Charisma
45/90
Clues left:
8
Free stat points:
Skill menu
Angelica shoved her phone into Alex’s face. “But look at this. This is from last week. The husband is...was so sweet to her. It wasn’t Valentine’s, an anniversary or her birthday.”
Adjusting his eyes to the phone, Alex realised what Angelica was talking about. On October the twelfth, Mr Davies had posted a wedding photo of the two of them.
Below the picture read, My wife is incredible. We have been together seven years now and it has been worth it. She has done so much for me, even when I haven’t deserved it. I am so blessed that she is with me in this journey and I hope she is with me through it all. Nobody compares to her. A real angel.
Scrolling down, he took in that it was the only post Jeoffrey Davies had dedicated solely to his wife.
“Interesting.” Alex opened up his status menu again. [Intelligence: 90/100]. Great. I’m on the right path.
“No, not ‘interesting’. What’s wrong with you boys?! What you meant to say was ‘Awwhhh, Sweeet. How nicceee.”
Alexander blinked at the woman. Angelica blinked right back at him expectantly. Alexander blinked at the woman some more. She was still blinking at him. He sighed, I shouldn’t let down my fans, that would be bad for business.
“Awh, sweet, how nice,” Alexander parroted her a whole lot less enthusiastically and moved on to his next quest setting his sights on John James.
“How’s the family?”
John James squinted his eyes, “Why are you asking me that?”
“Your mum. How’s she doing?”
“Fine. Why are YOU asking Me that?”
“I’m one of your best friends. Of course I would ask you that.” Alexander quickly searched his mind to check whether he had done anything untoward to John James lately. I flirted with his ex-girlfriend when I bet that she wasn’t as committed as he was… But that was for his own good of course. I traded his beloved signed baseball for information from an extremely hard headed informer... For the victim’s good so understandable. Three months ago, I psychologically programmed him to listen to my instructions over the chiefs when it came to investigations... BUT that was only for a week and it was all to make him a better detective. Yep, Alex decided that he was correct, he had done nothing bad as of late, they should still be best friends.
“You gave yourself that title. I never accepted,” John James continued.
“Oh well. That doesn’t change it. We’re best friends. You don’t have friends apart from me.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“And you don’t have friends or family, apart from me.”
The whole room stopped as soon as the words came out of John James' mouth.
Angelica who was previously amused at the back and forth between the two now shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The look on John James’ face showed immediate regret.
Alexander didn’t know why the pressure in the room had shot through the roof, what John James said was true, nothing to get mad at. But, telling himself that he was fine didn’t change that his emotional control decreased from his average of 20/40 to 9/40.
Fortunately, a welcome distraction wasn’t too far away. “FOOD DELIVERY FOR A MR ALEXANDER.”
Alexander unwrapped the food. An omelette and sweetcorn, a load of yellow, a weird combination but just what he needed to continue on in his experiment. He handed the plate over to John James with a smile on his face. “Here you go. I remember when your mum made me an omelette once when I went round your house to look at a case file so I got it for you.”
John James’ face dropped. “Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. ”
“So, how is she?”
“What?”
“Your mum.”
“She’s great thanks. She has just started a new Zumba class online. She also has a new favourite song called Don’t Cha. You might know it. It goes, don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me. Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me. A real force, my mum is. The other day...”
And with that, the mummy’s boy James John was off talking about his mum. In other words, the fish had taken the bait.
---------------
Suspect one
Jeoffrey Davies
Status
Alive
Age
D.O.B
38
(08/04)
Marital status
Married five years
Occupation
District attorney
Background and family
Not much known about background. One child (5) with his wife
Physical appearance
Caucasian, Black hair, brown eyes, 5’11
Accessories and clothing
A black suit. Well put together. A lot of an expensive cologne.
Relation to victim/motive
Husband
Lola Richard
Status
Alive
Age
D.O.B
35
(24/01)
Marital status
Single
Occupation
Babysitter/housekeeper/assistant
Background and family
From a long line of affluent doctors.
Physical appearance
Caucasian, blonde (dyed hair), blue eyes, slim, 5’7. Rocks on her heels a lot.
Accessories and clothing
Casual clothes. A black top and black trousers.
Relation to victim/ motive
Sister
Babysits her niece.
Singing the song 'Brown Eyes' loud enough for his colleagues to hear, Alexander watched as the prime suspect, Jeoffrey Davies, was escorted into the station. He arrived with the victim's sister, Lola Richard, and his child, whom Ms. Richard was babysitting.
Although handcuffed, Davies appeared utterly relaxed. He looked over at his child and sister-in-law with tenderness and reassured them, "Don't worry. It's just a misunderstanding." Meanwhile, Ms. Richard appeared shaken and tears poured from her eyes as she nodded and whispered into her niece's ear.
“How was he when you found him?” Alexander whispered to the chief.
“Didn’t seem any the wiser to what was going on. Had his suit on and was eating breakfast with his daughter and sister-in-law. May I say he wears too much cologne. Anyway, he just seemed like a man getting ready to go to work. Either he’s a great actor or there’s something weird going on... Good news though, I heard from the hospital, the knife missed all critical areas. She’ll be up and running in no time. What luck. ”
Alexander had a feeling. He checked his status. [Intelligence: 100/100]
Checks out. The perpetrator is extremely smart, he thought.
----------------
“She’s my wife. Why would I stab her?” Joffrey Davies huffed and puffed.
“Forensic examiner says your prints are on the knife.”
“Which knife? Is it a knife from my kitchen? Then yes, I guess my prints would be on the knife. I know nothing about this. You know me. We have worked together before. I wouldn’t do this. I don’t know why my wife would say such a thing.”
Alexander chuckled slightly watching the district attorney trying to fend off the chief.
“Why is he here?” Jeoffrey Davies said hardly even taking a glance at Alexander.
It wasn’t a surprise that Alexander had a slightly contentious relationship with the district attorney. Not on his end, Alexander was fine. But the man clearly found him annoying. Heaven knows why when Alexander had kindly solved and wrapped up all the man’s cases with a huge red bow. Apparently ingenious was an intimidating thing. Everyone seemed to like Alexander until he was set to investigate them.
The chief carried on undeterred. “Answer the question. Why did you stab your wife? We have enough evidence to arrest you, I am just doing you the courtesy of investigating.”
“I didn’t!”
“I have a better question,” Alexander jumped in, “Your wife knows that you're cheating, but in your opinion does she know that it is with her sister?”
“What?” Jeoffrey’s eyes shot open.
“Come on, it's obvious. You're definitely a cheat. The Instagram post rings of a philanderer apologising to his wife. The overuse of cologne says you're still trying to impress someone. And you happen to look at her sister, who herself is trying to take the position of your wife, like you love her. Grim stuff.”
Alexander stared at Jeoffrey making sure to not break eye contact.
Finally, the suspect broke eye contact. “It’s true. I cheat. My wife is stubborn and vindictive. Plain hard to deal with. She always thinks she knows better than everyone. Never has she cared for anyone else’s opinion, never has she shown love to me or even our child.” Jeoffrey looked up and again made eye contact with Alexander. “You don’t understand the pain she has put me through. I’ll be precise. Five years, I’ve been with her, and I’ve suffered for six. You tell me how that makes sense. So yes, I may look for comfort in other ways. But cheating is not a crime. I didn’t kill her. She is the mother of my child.”
There was pain and a truth in the man’s eyes that Alexander just couldn’t ignore. But Alexander had already known that the husband hadn’t done it. He knew that from the moment he had profiled the victim, the husband and the sister. The truth was apparent.
“I know you didn’t do it.”
The chief looked between the two of them in confusion as Alexander got up and walked to the door.
“Wait,” Jeoffrey called out, “Some advice if you can help it, never get too attached to a woman to the point that you want to marry her.”
A bit too late. Too little too late. And believe me, she brought a lot more pain that your wife would ever be capable of bringing to you, Alexander thought. The only thing that Alexander was thankful for was that he had never taken the ultimate plunge.
---------
“You can let the husband go. It wasn’t him,” Alexander said.
All five members of the team were sitting around the meeting table. Four members were looking at Alexander like he was nuts.
“So, the sister then,” Angelica said.
“Did you see her sister? She was rocking on her heels, her teeth were practically chattering and all she could do was make lovey dovey eyes at the husband. Taking a husband is as far as her troubled conscience will allow. She doesn’t have it in her; that killer instinct.”
“So, who stabbed her?” The always eager Jacob asked.
The door to the room opened before Alexander could divulge his thoughts.
“The victim’s here,” an officer told them.
Kate Davies was wheeled in. It only took a second for her to start talking. “Have you arrested him? Jeoffrey?”
“We are not so sure it was him,” John James said.
“Sorry?!” The woman practically screeched. “What do you mean? He stabbed me.”
“Do you know your husband describes you and I quote as ‘stubborn’ and ‘vindictive’?” Alexander said. “I would have to agree. To stab yourself just to see your husband punished takes grit to a whole other level.”
[Intelligence: 100/100]
Everyone looked at Alexander in shock.
Content that his audience were clearly captivated, Alexander carried on. “It all started from the ring. It was indented around your finger. That meant that you took it off recently and why would a woman running for her life be concerned about a ring?”
Alexander checked the woman’s face, he didn’t want to be completely barking up the wrong tree, he would look like an idiot. Luckily, the woman was looking at him with eyes squinted with such spite that he knew that he was right.
“When you first came in your eyes showed that you had been crying recently, but you weren’t crying then. You had been crying because you found out that your husband was sleeping with your sister, but being the woman you are, you dusted yourself off and came up with a quick plan of revenge against him. Then you came here, the only place that would take on a case against your husband. You didn’t go to the hospital. You’re a doctor, that’s where someone who thinks they are at risk of dying would go. But as a surgeon, you knew you wouldn’t die, which is why you came here to give witness testimony. You didn’t think it all the way through though there were some big glaring holes in the plot you created. Maybe you only wanted to scare your husband into being a better man.”
Kate Davies started laughing, “A better man. Please stop, that my husband could never be. I wanted him to feel pain. And what would hurt the man more than his career going down the drain. A false accusation here or there is enough to take a man down. And the penalty for a false accusation is a lot less than for hurting him physically.”
With not a hint of regret shown on her face the woman was escorted out by a police officer ready to face the consequences for a false accusation.
[Congratulations!]
[YOU HAVE SOLVED MISSION 299: THE STABBING OF KATE DAVIES.]
[+350 XP]
[You now have 500XP so your XP will refresh]
[Do you want to use your one free stat point that you have earned for an extra clue, to increase one of your attributes, or do you want to keep it in the reserves?]
In the reserves, please, Alexander communicated with the system.
[YOU ARE NOW IN THE MISSION 300s. YOU HAVE REACHED A MILESTONE THAT ONLY 3 OTHERS HAVE.]
[You have gained the title: The Consultant]
Name:
Alexander Thomas
Titles:
The Consultant
Mission:
300 (Not yet given)
Experience points:
0/500
Goodness Galore
5/10
Emotional stability
5/10
Intelligence
5/10
Charisma
5/10
Clues left:
8
Free stat points:
1
Skill menu
[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU CAN NOW ACCESS THE QUEST MASTER class.
NOTICE: As this class is the highest of them all for detectives, vigilantes, villains and supervillains alike, we have wiped the slate clean for all attributes (back to the maximum of 10) and other classes (on level 0) so all QUEST MASTER class members can start on an even playing field. There are currently only four of you on this level.
The Consultant. The Gamer. The Venomous Violet Vigilante. The Chaos Expert.
Use each other to move up and conquer QUESTMASTER. Only one will be granted the title of THE TRUE QUESTMASTER]
[https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/81407316/bba771999a904d34baec2ddde3d61186/e30%3D/1.png?token-time=1682553600&token-hash=obE1KbtaZ3IDLlR_8ZI7OzkpNHCxW4KFvg87HKyxc-s%3D]
Interesting. Alexander had never heard of such a class before. He had solved the most mysteries out of everyone he knew but he never thought that he would now have to compete with three others. This is tragic. Why are they all legendary villains? Though the Venomous Violet Vigilante would baulk at the thought of being called a villain, that’s exactly what Alexander perceived her to be. The biggest villain ever, and the villain of his heart. But Alexander didn’t think she would bother him with her antics for now. She was currently on her best behaviour.
Alexander also doubted he would have to worry about the Chaos Expert for now. That guy was a formidable evil and only came out when he thought he had a suitable opponent. He never worried about petty crimes or about levelling up little by little. He would come out when he thought of a plan big enough.
The one that Alexander thought that he had really had to worry about was the Gamer. Contrary to the Chaos Expert, the Gamer was known for spreading widespread panic whether little or big. He thrived on playing games with anyone he saw as an opponent. He loved pitting puzzles, riddles, and quizzes against other people. Great and now as the only one with morals, I will probably be the target of his attention, Alexander thought.
---------------
Whilst Alexander was thinking about the villains he would have to face, his detective teammates were getting ready for another game of Guess Who. He tuned in right in time to flaunt one of his skills.
Humming the tune of ‘Don’t Cha’, Alexander turned his attention to John James who was currently flipping open the Guess Who board getting ready to pick a character. “I can guess your character in one.”
“I haven’t even picked yet.”
“Pick then,” Alexander said, carrying on his humming softly.
As a new addition to the team, Jacob had no idea what was going on. “What’s the big deal? Anyone can guess. That’s the point of the game. Guess Who?”
Alexander took a deep breath ready to impart some much-needed wisdom to the younger generation. “The best strategy for Guess Who is to ask a question that rules out fifty percent or more of the characters on the board each time. That takes time. My strategy is just to read my opponent’s oh so telling face and body language.” Alexander turned to John James,“have you picked yet?”
“Just guess.” John James spat out.
“I guess Rose.”
With that John James slammed all the flaps on the board down, “Why do you always insist on doing that thing that you do? How did you do that?”
Alexander- in his great infinite wisdom- didn’t think it would be smart to tell John James while the man was still deliberating whether they were friends or not that he had spent his day trying to subconsciously program him. Rachel with brown eyes and a yellow hat bore an uncanny resemblance to John James’ mother. The banana, the ‘brown eyes’ song, the omelette and the humming of John James’ mum’s new favourite song just when the man was about to pick a character were all for very good reason.
Just as Alexander was sure he was going to be the first to witness a blood vessel pop out of someone’s forehead- no prizes for guessing who- a toy car with a note attached whirred into the office nearly hitting the chief.
With a loud voice, the chief started reading the note,
The Gamer's note [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/81362649/1182aca8fa8b41f8a20141be4001bda3/eyJ3Ijo4MjB9/1.png?token-time=1682553600&token-hash=-eLl_xnoDYXQoNiTRGFW82yyPRURVGKVvTlZBxYvK6E%3D][https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/81407316/bba771999a904d34baec2ddde3d61186/e30%3D/1.png?token-time=1682553600&token-hash=obE1KbtaZ3IDLlR_8ZI7OzkpNHCxW4KFvg87HKyxc-s%3D]
“Imagine my surprise when I saw The Consultant added to the ranks of the very best of EVIL and GOOD. A new friend, my first thought. But there can only be one Quest Master, my second. Maybe I can make him see the benefits of being my sidekick, my third. Unless of course…. I crush you first. GOTCHA.”
The Gamer had started up.
“This for you?” The chief looked at Alexander inquisitively.
“I’m too tired for this.” Alexander said. He looked at the team knowing that everyone would be willing to help him. “Tomorrow we will probably be busy.”
Alexander looked at his watch; he had to get home. Every Friday evening, he had an appointment where nothing was said and nothing was done. He would just sit in his apartment, gazing out the window while Violet did the same from the derelict building opposite him.