C10 Impossible Hunting

"Damn it, it's already crowded. I'm late, aren't I?"

This morning, the chief called his cell phone to wake Caleb out of bed. When Sir Colter contacted him in the morning, it was clearly a precarious case. Hearing the murder victim was found in an abandoned port — instantly gave him a shot of energy.

It was lashing out all night, but only this morning. A cold wind was blowing. When Caleb came out of his flat — he had to use a double coat to dispel the spine-piercing air.

Caleb raised the yellow line that delimited the crime scene. He was briefly held back from entering by several officers and forced to show his badge. They paved the way for him when they discovered he was an intelligence agent, MI6.

Picking up a pair of latex gloves of his own preparation, Caleb walked around. "Come on. I came on Sir Colter's orders. It was a bumpy ride."

Caleb's eyes wandered; The pool of blood of the victim has dried up. He examined from their last death marks. Both got a headshot through the forehead. One in front, one behind. One of them crushed the limbs of the corpse leaning on the frame of the car.

All the headshots of the corpse reminded him of the case in Switzerland last year.

Caleb thought to himself. [Could it be the same suspect? But why?]

By this time, the harbor had become more crowded. Caleb's gaze circled all over the place. There will be no other eyewitnesses in such a deserted place. What are they here for anyway?

Examining the various pockets of evidence collected on one of the forensic team's equipment tables, Caleb reached into his pocket to open his phone. He looked for pictures in his photo gallery. He tried to match one of his used cartridges to a photo of a ballistic bullet.

Caleb's sharp eyes taper when one of the former cartridges is similar. "This?!"

"Hey, don't touch that!" one of the forensic officers yelled at him.

Caleb focused; He took out his intelligence badge wallet from under his coat pocket, picked it up and showed it to the bobbies who kept yelling at him, without returning his gaze.

"Sorry," he stated absurd, and straight back.

Caleb smiled obliquely. Mumbled with humming. "Whoah, this shot pattern. It's the same suspect!"

It's just one piece of evidence; it makes him extremely jubilant. Good lead. It's one of those advances Sir Colter might want to hear about. Caleb moved to the other side to approach one of his co-workers, who came faster to the crime scene than him.

‘The ghost’ they were looking for appeared in London.

"How is it, Bailey? Any other evidence?"

Bailey is accompanying and supervising the running of the crime scene.

Caleb's discipline could be more assertive, but when solving complex cases, he's an expert.

"You’re late, partner. Yeah, I've asked a few witnesses. Two officers on Night Watch at the base reported they were escorting a madwoman to Nottingham. The woman raved that she was kidnapped by mercenaries of unknown people. Confessed to being beaten and pursued by a Hitman. But the weird thing is, there is no record in the surveillance footage that the mysterious woman ever came to the base."

Caleb paused, turning to his partner to observe Bailey's face with a puzzled expression.

Bailey shrugged her shoulders. She knew the astonished look Caleb gave. "That's what I got."

"Why is there no surveillance camera record or report? Both officers claimed that. Then the woman came, didn't she?"

Bailey took out a little evidence of the concrete notes she had collected throughout this morning. "Observe all my records."

[A Hitman? The Ghost?]

Caleb read it carefully. Bailey is also devout to her work. She always included every detail of the crime scene. His partner had a powerful instinct, which Caleb did not find in anyone else. Caleb clearly needs it. Like the words, their collaboration is complementary to each other's shortcomings. Bailey also requires a critical and sharp opinion from Caleb.

When others didn't see it, Bailey, on the contrary, noticed all the details first. If someone else's prediction misses, Bailey's presumption is always telling.

Caleb snorted bitterly but giggled, consoled.

"You think he's the ghost we've been chasing since last year?" asked Bailey, crossing her arms. "He disappeared without a trace. We found traces of it in Switzerland. We've tracked it all down. Still, I did not find anything."

Caleb let the cold wind blow through his hair. He scratched his itchy temple. "Mysterious woman and our beloved ghost. What is the red thread about it?"

Bailey declined to comment as she did not have a definite answer. Chasing this guy, they always find if it's not a confusing maze, it must be a dead end.

Caleb's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, I found something. Cartridge case on ballistics. Matches the assault on Switzerland last year. It's the same bullet. It must be the same guy and he is in London."

Caleb reaches into his pocket, showing Bailey his invention. At first, a silence evaporated in the air before Bailey realized something similar.

"Dear me. Is this the same bullet?!"

"Yep. You can be sure that the suspect is the same. We get nothing in Switzerland. When he did, none of the surveillance cameras were working. As always, he killed in detail, without a trace, like a ghost. The devil in the details." Caleb chirped in a vexation tone. Full expression.

Bailey sighed long and deeply. Her eyes focused on the picture in her hand.

The discovery of the bodies of two criminal division intel officers in an abandoned port shocked the entire north London area. Correspondents crowded on the sides of the installed police barrier circle. They scramble for facts like a swarm of moths obsessed with honey.

Almost all television news stations broadcast similar news; they compete to put forward the latest facts. Newspapers and digital articles posted identical incidents.

Bobbies keep forensic experts working extra who are staging and processing the case. The sounds of a digital camera lens flash flickering constantly. Both bodies were neatly wrapped by body bags, serial number boards, and ballistic bullets, and evidence was collected.

Caleb examined the two bodies through the dim glare of his eyes.

"Hey! What Are You Intelligence Agents Doing here?! This is the local police station! Stay away, don't interfere with our investigation!" cynically, an officer wearing the attributes of a captain.

Caleb smiled sweetly; no need to show his badge. He glanced briefly at the nameplate on the respectable man's chest. "Sorry, Captain Adler Ford. We just want to help because it seems your case has something to do with the case I'm working on."

Adler Ford's cheeks flushed like corned beef. He confronts Caleb through his lack of cooperation. He frowned. "The case you're handling. You two take it easy. We were able to solve all this. So, back off. You can look around, but don't touch anything."

Caleb and Bailey look at each other, throwing a knowing smile.

"Do you know about the mysterious woman? Can you give me some information? Just maybe, she's the key witness I need."

Ford sighed, feeling dazed facing this strange situation. "My two men said that she came to the office past midnight. We've gathered evidence. Not a single eyewitness saw her. Surprisingly, the surveillance cameras in my office didn't record anything or have any record of her visit when she complained about the situation and asked for help. The woman claims to have been kidnapped, beaten by mercenaries. I have no idea; the second report claims she was chased by a billionaire hitman — Liam Coltrane. Honestly, this case needs to be clarified.”

“Liam Coltrane?” Caleb was confused and interrupted one thing. "Why did your two Homicide Division Officers end up here?"

Ford shook. "The victim took the woman out of the office and drove away in a car; they said they wanted Nottingham to find out where the woman was being held as evidence. My subordinates can't do anything as they claim to carry orders directly from the Chief of the Special Investigation. When the two officers at the headquarters wanted to do a test on her — they believed the woman was drunk or under the influence of addictive substances."

"Gonna take this woman out to Nottingham?" Caleb needs clarification. His eyes narrowed. "You found their warrant? All law enforcement knows it takes a warrant, right?"

"They claim that they brought the woman with the permission of the Chief of the investigation. They needed evidence, witnesses, a crime scene, or a safe place. I asked the Chief about it, and what I’ve got? He didn't give any orders."

Bailey was busy taking notes in her pocketbook while Caleb was still thinking about all the possibilities, surveyed the unmoved body bag silently.

[Why did they bring the woman? Do you know who this mysterious woman is? There is no official order. Claiming to go to Nottingham under the pretext of examining the crime scene, but instead taking her to this deserted place? What exactly happened? Liam Coltrane? Who the hell is he?]

Caleb took a deep breath. "May I meet with your two officers on guard at the headquarters last night? I wanna hear their witness."

***

"What do you think, Caleb?" Bailey asked curiously. Keeping pace with Caleb. "The only clue we have is a description of a picture of a mysterious woman whose face is battered and hard to recognize. It doesn't help at all."

Caleb stopped at the car door. He almost always thinks positively. "Well, I haven't come to any conclusions yet. The bobbie's statement did not help, but they claimed that this mysterious woman was held captive in Nottingham. An armory? All we have to do is find the mysterious woman. Consider her a key witness; she answers all this."

Bailey looked upset. Cross her arms in her chest. "The case one year ago. Did he have something to do with it? You even gave Captain Ford information about the case. You know the rules that this is confidential. If Sir Colter finds out—?"

"We have no choice. What else do you hafta say? He's given us as much information as he can. It's not all that we're talking about, though. Take it easy, Partner. It's called information exchange. This should be done for the sake of an investigation." Caleb shrugged his shoulders. Smirked lopsidedly. He opened the car door. "Maybe. I can't say anything. Not sure yet. I don't wanna accuse anyone, either. But do not rule out all possibilities. Sometimes I always get unexpected connections. I'm so curious about what the mysterious woman says — Billionaire Crazy? Liam Coltrane?"

"Liam Coltrane's common name. Many who use it wanna look for it one by one?"

Phone Caleb rang, his forehead frowning to see the name of Robert Paulson on the screen. "Yes, Rob? What did you say?! Tell me once again! Okay! I'm on my way now!"

"What is it?"

Caleb hurriedly opened the car door. His jaw muscles tensed. "There was a brutal murder case in the Golden Royal Hotel! We're going there now!"

***