Cold Hearted (Open)
Part I: The Blonde Rose
The parking garage off Rue Metchnikoff was a small three story, one being below ground. It lay nestled between an apartment complex and an electronics store. Half filled to capacity, it offered parking for those living in the apartment complex which was a bit costly due to being in such close proximity to Par de Saint Cloud, a scenic park in New Paris. It offered all sorts of outdoor activities which appealed greatly to Felix Finlay as he stepped out of an unmarked police vehicle. A brisk wind ran up his spin as he wrapped the coat closer to his body, unacustomed to the cold. It quickly passed and he continued to move down the street. The area was taped off and blocked by uniformed officers. A small crowd and media vans gathered outside the cordon zone.
"Felix, we have to go down to the bottom parking level" said Inspector Isabelle Sandeau, his partner. The two were parners for the past two years and worked well together. She kept step with Felix as he quickened his step. The search for Sophie Bosset was in it's fifth day. She was last seen driving her silver PT Cruiser on Avenue Victor Cresson after visiting the Clerion Market to pick up some grocceries. The bagger at the check-put counter a youth remembered helping her with her grocceries to her vehicle and watched her make a right on the Avenue, northward. An hour ago, an older woman went to her car in the lower level garage and discovered the vehicle and remembered it from the news story and called the police. They took her statement as well as the bagger. There were no other people in the area that remembered seeing the cruiser and the camera at the entrance to the garage was out of commission, scheduled to be serviced later that day.
"Izzy, let's make sure to get the last recording used by that camera" Felix said, pointing to it as they entered the darkness, escorted by a constable who remained silent and ahead of them. CSI were on scene as well as Forensics.
They spiraled down and entered the open area to discover the forensics van parked a few yards away from the cruiser and police tape with large lights surrounding the area. Men and women in white coveralls worked around the vehicle. Felix slowed down suddenly, soaking in the scene. Where did he nab her? He wondered. They struggled to work out a timeline of events. The camera being inop was bad luck for them.
"Inspector Finlay, Sandeau" Dr.Hoche said, removing his blue gloves and clearing his throat.
"Doc, is she in there?" Felix inquired.
"No, Inspector. There's no body. We found hair and skin samples matching her and about a dozen different fingerprint sets. There's no bodily fluids. There are numerous foreign threads in the vehicle and assorted items in the trunk.
"Her grocceries?" Isabelle asked, flipping open her notebook.
"No, actually" Hoche seemed just as puzzled as the detectives.
"He took her grocceries?!" Isabelle seemed startled. Sophie Bosset was abducted, possibly dead and her abductor is playing games. The interior of the car was newish, being about three years old, kept in good condition. Felix slipped on his gloves and ducked under the tape towards the car.
"Forced entry?" Felix asked.
"No, all the locks and doors are untampered with." Hoche responded, stepping up as well. A photographer began taking shots of the car and they stepped back again. They went over the basics and Felix and Isabelle stepped off to the side and began comparing notes. They already spoke to the landlady and the woman who discovered the vehicle. Now, they began piecing together possibilities.
"Maybe she just skipped town, Felix. No forced entry, the bagger noted she was cheery and nice. Maybe she just wanted to start anew?" Isabelle discussed. It was doubtful in his mind, Felix was a veteran and Isabelle; though experienced, didn;t have the same years he did. Nothing was always what it seemed.
"No, he had to have nabbed her somewhere from Clerion Market to here. She was heading in the opposite direction of her apartment." Felix conjured "We need to search her apartment."
"The parents didn't know what she was doing that day. She called in sick to the studio earlier on October 5th, around seven in the morning to her boss. She went to Clerion at around...eleven o'clock" Isabelle read off her notes. "Left Clerion at eleven fifteen"
"Between eleven fifteen and today, that's a long time for someone to grab her. The owner of her apartment didn't recall seeing her since she disappeared and the last time her card was used was at Clerion Market" Felix lowered his chi and began to contemplate what happened to her. Sophie Bosset worked as a photographer at a studio, around 23 years old, blond, blue eyes, well liked by her friends and a promising future.
They finished up at the scene, Felix felt the familiar sting of frustration associated with his line of work. The frustration of not being able to connect the dots, find a conclusion and find the suspect as well as the victim. Hope began to fade with each passing hour and day that she still breathed. The horrible thought that her abductor could end her even at that moment gave him chills. Isabelle entered the vehicle and whipped out her cell phone to make a call to Chief Inspector Renan and give him an update on the case. SO far, they were at a dead end. Her ex-boyfriend had an alibi which ruled him out as suspect from the getgo. They had to wait for the fingerprint ID's to come back and for the full report by Hoche.
She snapped the phone shut with a hint of frustration. Isabelle flicked back a few locks of her brown hair and tried to calm herself.
"Well, Renan is putting the heat on me bad" Isabelle said as she buckled the seatbelt and Felix pulled out from the curb and through the police line, passed the media who pointed their cameras and shouted at them.
"Damn pests!" she hissed. Felix turned his head but back to the road, clouds formed over the skies and rain was forcasted for later in the day. As he drove, Felix continued to think of all possibilities. Then it clicked
"Hey!" he snapped "We need to visit the transit authority. Maybe one of their cameras caught her."
"Damn" she hissed once more "Why didn;t we think of that earlier? It's so simple."
"Don't beat yourself up about it. These things happen, don't get too emotionally attached. Sometimes these things just click whenever they come to you." Felix tried to comfort his partner. After years of cases, he learned not to get too upset. He became cynical towards the job, desperate to stop the pain of failure, he tried to cut emotions from the equation.
Traffic proved to be quite frustrating as every moment counted. They were on a clock, she may still be alive or not and evey second wasted meant that he might get away. The morning commuter clogged the streets and avenues as the police car slugged through.
"So you think that the transit cameras could have something? There was an exchange store across the street and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, of course, the transit authorities camera system data base should have the whole avenue covered at certain points, namingly lights." Isabelle said.
"Yep" Felix clicked his fingers as they made a turn off onto the bypass which sped them down through the city.
Finally, they reached thhe Transit Department for the city of New Paris. It was a modern building, black glass structure with an adjacent concrete two story building. He parked out front of the office and phoned Renan about their progress. The inspectors entered the main reception area and flashed their badges, the woman at the front desk became wide-eyed and called her supervisor. Jean Haynout, and older man in his fifties and a rounding stomach appeared, adjusting his glasses.
"I'm Inspector Finlay and this is Inspector Sandeau" Felix introduced and they all shook hands.
"Inspectors, what can I do for you today?" Haynout asked, clasping his hands together.
"Sorry for the short notice but we need to review some footage from the camera system database. It's part of an investigation" Felix said.
"Uh-Okay" Haynout hesitated. "Come this way, I'll lead you to the main moitor hub." he took them passed the receptionist and down a long hallway, through some offices. Isabelle manned the phone once more and called for Technical Investigations to arrive and assist with the screening, it would take them fifteen minutes to arrive.
Finally, the group reached the main monitor hub which was a spacious room with numerous screens, desks, IP ports, and modems. Several technicians buzzed about as wires hung from the ceiling. Haynout motioned for them to enter.
"This is the main collection hub for the transit monitors. All the camera images are routed through here and saved on the database. It's very complex but we manage" Haynout smiled faintly, trying to ease his heartrate.
"How long do you keep the feed from a particular camera?" Felix asked.
"For two weeks then is is deleted to make room for more images. For the major arteries there is a backlog system that stores the data."
"What exactly do these cameras cover?" Isabelle asked, flipping open her notepad once more.
"Major roadways, intersections. The roads and avenues surrounding important government complexes, embassies, stadiums, police precincts, hospitals, historic sites, major banks and such." Haynout hummed. He was an experienced techie and now moved up to a supervisor role.
"We need to see the feed on Avenue Victor Cresson on October the 5th" felix asked. Haynout did not give any flak and moved over to a computer, hanging over a technician and directed him through the system to pull up the images. After a few minutes the images came up.
"Which section of Cresson?" the technician asked, without looking up from the screen.
"Can you find Clerion Market, it's near Roosevelt Circle" Isabelle said, leaning forward. The technie nodded and searched the logs from the numbered cameras. Finally, they got the desired feed and began to scroll through.
"Fastforward to around eleven" Felix directed. The images were clear color images, taken every three seconds. The stop motion was annoying to him but ignored it and concentrated on the parking lot. At 11:10 a silver PT Cruiser pulled into the parking lot, matching the tags. A tall blonde woman stepped out and moved inside.
"Look!" Isabelle exclaimed "The sun roof is down in the image but in the parking garage it was up." Felix nodded, it was something, she spotted it quickly and felt some satisfaction in his partner's finding. "Why was it up in the garage? That day it was sunny. I even took a walk that day."
Felix mulled for a few moments while the image lay frozen in front of him. Why is the top down here and up in the garage?
"Perhaps our guy abducted her and made her drive her own car to the garage or somewhere else first." Felix said.
"That would explain why the top was up, he didn't want anyone or anything to notice he was in there." Isabelle added further. They had the techie resume the feed and little or nothing of importance happened. It showed her leaving, the bagger assisting with the grocceries and her leaving, turning right, northbound. The technician scrolled through the different points and they followed the cruiser. Suddenly, it made a turn off into an alley about five blocks up from Clerion. There were no cameras covering that area.
"Dammit!" Felix cussed aloud but quickly apolgized. They lost her trail but no had a place to look at. The street's name was Rue Nobier, a short street. At this point, their technicians arrived and took over for the techie.
"Alright, get all the images you can pull, here's the timeline and the addresses" Felix handed over some slips to the TI supervisor. The inspectors extended gratitude towards Haynout and departed, heading back to Avenue Victor Cresson and Rue Nonier.
Le National Headquarters is located in the economic district of the city. It occupies an 18th century building of classical architecture and rests next to a software company with a broad plaza seperating the two buildings. Le National is one of the largest and most-read newspapers in Vallera. Read by most citizens as well as sold in bordering nations. Claire Vauthier, one of the several investigative reporters working for the paper tapped a pen off her table. Her hair was shoulder length black, green eyes and attractive. Her nose, people joked, was the best part of her with her ability to sniff out a lead for a story. She butted heads often with the editor and outside agencies and single-minded in her resolve to get a story. At the moment she had time to relax. Claire was in her early thirties and recently divorced after five years to an engineer. The ended it bitterly when she discovered him cheating. The police have her on report for breaking his nose the night she caught him.
As she finished up some last minute changes to another story, her phone rang, startling her momentarily. After the second ring she lifted the reciever and brought it to her ear.
"Ms.Vauthier's office" she hummed sarcastically. There was a pause on the other line.
"Claire Vauthier?" the male voice asked.
"Yes, may I ask who is calling?" she straightened up in the chair.
"I have knowedge concerning the disappearance of Sophie Bosset" at this point a notepad and pen appeared in Claire's hand as she looked out and surveyed the newsroom, everyone was minding their own business.
"I'm listening, Mr...?"
"Don't worry about my name, I don't want any attention drawn to me." the male voice said. "Are you interested still?"
"Yes, depends on what you have to say."
"I know where she is, I know where Sohpie Bosset is at...right now" he annunciated the last two words, making his point clear.
"Where is she?" Claire inquired, listening carefully now, he had her full attention.
"There is a Saint in a Cloud who gave up his rightful possesions for a life of humble service. A little food for thought, Claire" the line went dead. Claire lingered for a moment, soaking in what just happened. She gently set the phone down and pushed the chair back, staring at the phone.
During the car ride they made sveral phone calls. Bosset was first reported missing three days ago and it was five days ago that her last movements could be tracked. The trail hopefully would not be cold by now. It was highly unlikely she still breathed but there was always hop and exceptions. Her image and details were printed and distributed and aired on television. Missing Citizens Department sent another team out. Inspectors Andelys and Nanterre were taking on other leads, mainly handling the tips as well as interviewing the parents.
The car passed over the River Seine and across the broad boulevards and street cafes. Felix was hungry but knew food must wait. Isabelle continued to jostle down notes and mumbling to herself.
"What do you think we'll find on that street?" Isabelle asked, clicking her pen.
"I'm not sure, Izzy." Felix sighed "Maybe there's some trace from her or the car or perhaps someone on that street saw something. Where's Andelys and Nanterre?"
"They got to the Transit Department just after the TI team did. We haven't gotten a status report from them yet. The two are probably following another lead there, so they're busy" Isabelle replied as the car truned on Avenue Victor Cresson. As they passed down the avenue the slowed their drive to observe their surroundings. They were driving in the same direction she did, passing Clerion Market on their right, a modest and well etsablished market, partly open with vendor carts and an inside area. After a few blocks they turned off onto Rue Nabier, a small cramped almost alley like street, one way with cars lining the right hand side. They parked just at the entrance and got out, Felix buttoned his suit jacket and ran a hand through his hair.
There wasn't much to see, mainly old style buildings, small and cramped, pottery hanging off the small balconys, several posters on the walls. Only a few cars and for the most part, seemed sparcley populated. Felix moved off to the left, eyes on the ground and anywhere that there might be a clue. Isabelle turned her attention to the windos, some had curtains drawn while others were wide open. AT the height of the buildings, little light reached the street. Suddenly, there was the sound of a shutter closing on the third floor of one of the buildings, a plain building with green shutters.
"It looks like someone wasn't enjoying the view" Isabelle remarked, sensing something awry. "Let's do some door to door sweeps, starting with that room up there" her delicate finger pointed to the recently shut window. Felix nodded and they headed down the alley.
The two inspectors entered the open apartment building door and began toclimb the spirling staircase, the walls were white with plaster falling off at certain points and a black iron hand rail coiled up the side of the stairs. They passed the second floor and onto the third floor. It was a long hallway, silent and with dim lighting with shafts and sunshine eminating from the end of the corridor.
"Which window was it?" Felix asked as they made their way down the corridor, searching for the window that closed. They believed that the resident enjoyed looking out the window and became cautious once police arrived in the alley. It was common for people to become silent and/or nervous when confronted by law enforcement.
"It should be the second door" Isabelle replied once they arrived at the door. She stepped forward and rapped against the door, mindful not to be too forceful for it could alienate the occupant and make them unnerved. A few moments passed once the echo from the knock dissipated. Isabelle tried once more as the two stood away from being directly infront of the door for safety reasons. Finally, there was the sound of a lock unlocking and the door jarred open slightly.
"Yes?" asked an elderly woman with glasses, remaining behind the door. Isabelle worked her magic.
"Good afternoon madame, I am Inspector Isabelle Sandeau with the Judiciary Police and this is my partner Inspector Felix Finlay." Isabelle smiled. "And you are?"
"Mrs. Pauline Germain" Pauline hesitated at first. The door opened completely now. Felix remained silent, wanting his junior partner to build uip her confidence and abilities.
"Mrs.Germain, I'm sorry to disturb you but we have something we need your assistance on, may we come in?" Isabelle asked softly, trying to remaining friendly.
"Of course, of course. Would the two of you like some tea?" Pauline asked as she moved back into the apartment and the two inspectors entered, closing the door. Felix hanged back and quickly glanced in the rooms they passed, trying not to make it too obvious. Pauline entered the kitchen where a kettle steamed. She took it off the burner and poured it out into three white mugs and placed tea packets into them. "Sugar?"
"Yes please" Isabelle said, Felix declined. They moved into the parlor which contained a couch, recliner, coffee table, a dresser with numerous photos and some piantings along the walls. They all took seats. Felix saw the closed shutters.
"What can I do for you?" Pauline asked, clasping her hands together. She appeared to be in her sixties and from the photos, she hand several grown children and several young grandchildren.
"Mrs.Germain, is your husband around?" Isabel;le questioned, taking out her notebook.
"No, he's managing the store we own on Rue Puel" Pauline replied "I usually help him but today I do not feel well." she admitted.
"Does this window overlook the street?" Felix finally asked after remaining silent for so long.
"...Yes it does" Pauline hesitated in her response. "Why do you ask?"
"Where you home on October 5th?"
"Let me think...yes, I was home for half the day before I had to run arrands."
"Do you remember seeing a silver PT Cruiser in the Rue?" Felix leaned forward. Pauline searched her memory which was beginning to fade with the onset of old age.
After a few silent moments of recollection Pauline dug deep into her fading memory. It was five days ago and they did not give her a time that they wanted.
"Hmm...Around midday I was still at home because Luc decided to close early but had to run an arrand with his partner...So I was home doing the dishes, oh it was a lovely day, wasn't it?" Pauline said, remembering the sunshine.
"It was indeed, back to the question" Isabelle guided.
"Yes! Now I remember" Pauline exclaimed, pointing her index finger up in the air. "There was such a car that was in the alley."
"Was there anyone inside the vehicle?" Felix asked, finally there was a break.
"Not that I saw. It was parked right infront of our apartment and I don't recall seeing anyone inside."
"Did you see anyone enter or leave the vehicle?" Felix became animated suddenly "Or even someone lingering around outside?"
"No, I remember seeing the car and then the phone rang and I left to pick it up" pauline finished. Their moment of triumph faded slightly. The trail was still there but became frigid. The two inspectors took her statement and asked a few more questions and stood up, thanking her for the information and the tea.
Felix and Isabelle stepped back outside into the street opposite from the apartment. At this point Felix removed surgical gloves from his pocket and snapped them around his hands. He wanted to get a look at the scene before CSI arrived, whom Isabelle were calling at that moment. He stepped onto the small sidewalk, one foot on the street and one up on the curb. His eyes looked down, searching for anything. Then, he looked over at the wall and the trashcans. Maybe something in there. Felix stepped over to the trashcans and delicatly searched the top layers of the trash, there was alot and he doubted that the municipal garbage disposal trucks passed through such an easy to miss street. He then grasped the can and moved it away from the wall, the metallic bottom grinding against the pavement. Between the wall and the can was a grumpled up paper. He picked it up and smoothed it out against the corner of the wall. It was a groccery receipt and the paper wasn't faded or torn, appearing to be recent. On the receipt he looked at the time and the name of the market...they both matched the day and Clerion Market.
A dilema faced Claire as she struggled with what to do about this annonymous call from someone claiming to have knowledge about the disapperance of Sophie Bosset. The man gave only a sparce and unusual clue which may be nothing. Part of her believed it to be a prank by someone with too much time on his hands. Another part. however; took it for real. The question now was: what to do with this information. Hopefully this man did not contact anyone else. Of course, she wondered why he called her out of all the other journalists for Le National or even another paper. There must be some connection, was it the fact that she regularily covered the police stories and was a correspondant to the press conferences held by the authorities? Or was there something else?
After some minutes she decided to place a call to a friend in La Bibliothèque Nationale de Nouveau Paris. The largest library in all of Vallera. It stored unknown numbers of writen records, literature, and numerous other things. It also contained a search engine capable of finding information on any subject relating to history, lierature, or whatever. She had a feeling that this had either a religious and/or historical value to the saying.
CSI arrived about fifteen minutes later. The familiar vans, police, and investigators arrived and secured the scene, taking the receipt as evidence and searching through the trashcan, dusting the can for fingerprints and inspecting the surrounding area. Felix stood off to the side, smoking a cigarette.
"I thought you said you were quiting?" Isabelle interjected. Felix was leaning against a wall, watching forensics do their magic.
"Old habits die hard" he mused.
"Very cliche, Felix" Isabelle smiled. They began discussing the chain of events and where to go from here. It would take some time before any prints came back but finding the receipt gave them a flicker of hope. Of course, the trail ended there. "Maybe she visited one of these buildings?"
Felix nodded
"Perhaps, the one directly across from the apartment is abandoned. So, we don't need a search warrant just a grant of entry which will take five minutes to get." Felix took the cigarette from his mouth and cast it to the ground, snuffing it out under his shoe.
With that, Felix called Chief Renan who in turn called the judge who granted a grant of entry which allows police to enter an abandoned property or house unoccupied for a certain amount of time. Felix and isabelle gathered up several uniforms and a forensics team to come with them to the building which was plain red brick and appeared abandoned.
Naturally, they were cautious about entering the building. Felix was disgruntled at the fact that they didn't enter the building earlier before police arrived. Such mistakes were made and could not be allowed to affect the investigation or the investigator. They decided against using the main entrance and instead, went down a small alley seperating the building from another one. There was an old door which looked as if it could give. They stacked up on each side of the door. Felix drew his sidearm, and pointed it at the ground. tensions were mounting, for they didn't know what to expect inside. Isabelle stood across the door from him, her weapon drawn as well. Other police were near them. Felix pounded on the door hard with his left hand., slamming his fist against the wooden door with chipped paint.
"Judiciary Police! Grant of Entry!" felix bellowed in a deep and commanding tone. There was no response and Felix lined up with the door and kicked it hard, driving his foot, powered by his lef muscles into the door. One could hear it begin to crack and loosen but it did not give. He kicked it again and the door finally gave. The team rushed in. The interior of the building was dark and ominous. They turned on their flashlights and spred across the lower floor, the rooms were empty for the most part.
The police then rushed up the shaky stairs, shouting "Clear!" after checking every room. The inspectors remained downstairs, startled that there was no one. Felix cussed under his breath, they may have missed their chance.
After the initial sweep the forensics team entered and set up generator lights. Evening began to creep around the corner as the sun lazily began its' downward journey towards the horizon. The team worked for an hour, combing over both floors, certain they would find something, anything. Felix went back outside for a smoke, smirking at Isabelle's earlier comment. As time dragged Isabelle rushed outside, searching for her partner.
"Felix! COme quickly, they found something!" she hurridley shouted and Felix boted down the alley and into the building. Upstairs in a bedroom several members of CSI stood, awaiting their arrival.
The room was plain, a dresser, bed without matress and an old throw rug on the ground. What caught Felix's eye was the lack of dust in the room, compared to the others as his hand grazed against the top of the dresser.
"Someone was here recently" he commented. Isabelle nodded and moved around to the side as Clerc addressed them.
"Inspectors, we've discovered trace amounts of blood on the throw rug as well as several hair strands." Cler said.
"Fingerprints?" Felix asked, his eyes wandering.
"None, this place appeared to be wiped down recently." Clerc replied and continued on with his brief "We'll take the hair and blood samples back to the lab, analyze them, and give you a call. For now, there's not much more you can do here."
"Thanks, doc" felix said "Give us a call asap" and the inspectors departed. Outside they returned to the car. He mulled things over in his mind.
"She was in that room, and so was her abductor" Felix said upon opening the door.
"What brought her to this location? There was no evidence of her being forced to come here. From witness statements from the market she was calm, nice, and cheerful. The pictures from the Transit Authority show her making no other stops before Rue Nobier. Was she lured here?" Isabelle wondered as they pulled away from the Rue and back onto Avenue Victor Cresson.
"She must've known her abductor." Felix said as they stopped at a light, watching other cars buzz around and halt. "There's no way she could've been coherced into going to that building. Sohpie Bosset must;ve gone there for a rendevous or something along those lines."
"Alright, let's meet Andelys and Nanterre and get their info from the parents. Maybe Sohpie had a lover her parents didn't know abbout or approve of" Felix finished as Isabelle pulled out her phone and speed dialed the other inspectors.
At Cafe Dino, a street side cafe along Boulevard Natiel. It was a quaint and typical acfe in New Paris. The dinner crowd had yet to arrive and the tables outside were sparcley poulated, save an elderly group and a few couples. The car pulled up along the curb and Isabelle and Felix stepped out and approached the cafe. Two men occupied one table, secluded from the rest, seperated by a sea of empty tables. One man had a mustache and goatee with salt and pepper hair. The other was younger with slicked back black hair and built solid. They stood up and shook hands.
"Claude, what do you have for us?" Felix asked. Claude Andelys was a veteran, in for a few more years that Felix himself. The two were once partners in homocide division but after years of gruesome cases they both transfered to missing persons division.
"Well Felix, the parents are understandably still shaken about this whole mess and are more thirsty for knowledge than us." Andelys began. "They last saw her two days before she was last seen by anyone. Their conversation was normal, her life, the job at the studio, etc."
"Did they mention a boyfriend or lover?" Felix asked.
"Nope, she broke up with a man named Vincent Jaures about five months ago, we talked to him and his alibi around the time of her disapperance checked out." Claude finished.
"And the studio?" Isabelle interjected. At this point, Bernard Nanterre jutted in.
"Her boss, Hugo Mermoz seemed a little murky to us. His alibi is a bit shaky as well. Of course, upon further questioning he checked out." Nanterre replied, leaning forward. He spoke very pointed and stand-offish.
After some more conversation and business talk, the inspectors broke off and formulated a plan of attack for tomorrow. Her picture was already distributed and a call center set up at the station. Andelys and Nanterre would check out the university she recently graduated from. There were bound to be friends of hers still on campus, maybe even a romantic interest. Felix and Isabelle would check out the studio and double check Hugo Mermoz
They returned to the Municipal Police Headquarters late in the evening after a lengthy drive back. The station was deserted for the most part, save some on-duty office workers and members of the night shift including patrol officers and some detectives finishing up some work. Felix passed the Homocide Division to see a solitary detective burning the midnight oil. He remembered all those nights working overtime, all the time he didn't spend with his family. He wondered if that detective will succumb to the same illness that plagued himself. Chief Renan remained in his office as well, smoking a cigar and barking into the telephone. He had a crue cut and built like a brick. Luc "Ram's Head" Renan was a force to reckon with. A commanding presence and booming voice. The members of the missing persons division as well as everyone in the department respected and liked by everyone. He spent a lengthy amount of years on patrol, moved to homocide, excelled there and transfered to missing persons.
"Finlay, Sandeau!" Renan boomed "Come on in, I'm just on the phone with some pissant reporter who thinks he's clever by talking directly to me!" he shouted into the reciever and slammed it down. He flipped a switch and looked up at them with a more gentle face. "Apologies, now please come in".
"Chief, we've got some breaks in the Bosset Case" Felix said as they each took seats infront of Renan's desk.
"Give me the details" Renan cupped his hands. Felix looked at Isabelle as if telling her to give the brief.
"Uh-Well Chief" Isabelle coughed "We managed to trace her movements on October 5th from Clerion Market to Rue Nobier which is just about a mile north off of Avenue Victor Cresson."
"So, she didn't get far?" Renan asked.
"We're not sure yet. We interviwed a woman living on the Rue who informed us of a vehicle matching the description of the one owned and used by Ms.Bosset. A receipt from Clerion Market was discovered in the area and we searched a building across from the apartment. An upstairs bedroom has been used recently and blood and hair samples were taken from the room, we're still waiting for the results." Isabelle was nearly out of breath.
"Good, now what?" renan inquired.
"Tomorrow we are going to interview Hugo Mermoz, Ms.Bosset's boss at the studio. Andelys and Nanterre will go to the university that she graduated from last year. Her ex-boyfriend Vincent Jaures has a water-tight alebi." felix jumped in, giving Isabelle a rest.
"Excellent, it's good that we have some leads. The call center has produced nothing as of yet. You both know that with each passing hour, her chances of still being found alive dwindle. So we must move fast." Renan finished "Go home and get some rest, you'll both need it."
OOC: Feel free to post comments. Wether they're praises or scorn.
After checking off work, Felix slumped over to his personal vehicle and saw Isabelle speed away towards her home. He couldn;t blame her, it was a long day and more such days lay ahead. He fumbled for the keys and started the car, lurching off onto the bypass and driving back to his apartment. Helen and he divorced about three years ago and he moved to an apartment. Helen lived with their daughter Alison and Brice, Helen's new husband. Their marriage failed for several reasons. Felix became obsessed with work, catching killers and saving the city, one case at a time. The stress from the job mounted as did Helen's discontent. Soon, Helen found herself in the bed of another man and their marriage completely collapsed. The two rarely spoke unless it had something to do with Alison, whom Felix loved dearliy. She was 10 years old now. Alison would visit every other weekend and on some holidays. They wrote often and now Alison is quite computer savy.
Night's gloom now covered the landscape as the city lights flickered with life and breathed their illumination onto the city. The key turned and light from the hallway flooded the entrance to his apartment. He set down his bag in the doorway and flicked on the light switch. His apartment was simple with numerous pieces of classical items. An old globe sat in the corner, a few paintings, some other antiques he collected from time to time. He had a study full of literature as well as philosophy and law. He entered and closed the door gently. The evening's activities composed of him reviewing the case, plotting a copurse of action as well as a light dinner and finally began reading a novel he recently purchased. After that, he went to sleep, climbing into bed and clicking off the lamp on the dresser next to his bed.
Meanwhile, another light across the city clicked on and a man climbed out of bed, on a completely different schedule from Felix Finlay. Mathis Reyer worked as groundskeeper at Parc de Saint-Cloud. It was a sprawling park complete with a race track and a pond. He smiled as he moved over to the stove. Mathis lived in a cottage on the parc, secluded from the race track and everything else. He enjoyed the silence and seclusion. It was another night of work, he prepared his bag and headed out, making a stop first to say good-ye to someone special.
Mathis locked the door to the cottage and started out across the small road along it. He knew all the trails like the back of his hand, so familiar were they, after years of working there. The park hired him about ten years ago and he did his job well, doing lawn work, miscellaneous jobs here and there, and repairs. He was basically his own boss by now but supervised around three others who came in now and then. It was a job he enjoyed, working his own hours, being his own boss all appealed to him. The power, even how slight, gave him a charge. As he moved off the road and onto a dirt trail, he carried a flashlight and decided it was safe to click it on. A beam of light illuminated the path ahead, casting shadows against the trees and bushes. After a hike he moved off the trail and through the brush, the markers he laid out served well.
Finally, he made it to his favorite place, his own secret spot in the vast park. It was down in a gully by an old pond which was not utilized by the park service. There, an old stone building, the old ground's keeper's cottage lay. Shrubs surrounded the building and wines. It was hard to spot at night but he found it easy enough. He wore coveralls and carried a bag with him. The door was an old wooden one with iron clamps on the sides. He unlocked the lock on the door and opened it, the wood creeking in the silent night. The inside was dark but he was not alone. There was a rattle of chains off in the coner of the windowless building. Suddenly, his flashlight came upon a figure, chained to the wall, a young woman, sobbing, bruised, and scared.
"Hush, Sophie" Mathis said in a calm voice, bringing his finger to his lips "It's going to be alright" and he closed the door behind him.