Short Stories and Flash Fiction

by Alice de Sturler

  It worked. Miles became calmer. But he never forgot. No note.

  After the Benedict Brother’s first major national success, Adam got hit with a lawsuit. Tammy, fresh out on parole, was suing her former stepson for financial support. The band’s record label provided a legal team that quickly made the case go away. But it had caught the attention from the media. Adam was after all, a rock star.

  Miles considered this the defining moment. This “blast from the past” as he called it, should have been Adam’s turning moment. When Tammy popped up again in his life he should have grabbed the moment to ask the media for help in locating his baby brother. He didn’t. Not one statement, not one confidential note came to the orphanage. But this time, Miles did not get angry. He just changed.

  Part 5:

  “Chief?” Deb Brynn was standing in the doorway. She looked from Hanson to Luc wondering whether to bolt from the office or to deliver the message that Mayor Storm Richards was waiting in the conference room. Of course, Richards had no appointment. He just barges in hence his nickname “Stormy.”

  Deputy Chief Athena Hanson straightened up indicating she was all business again and Luc took the cue. “Yes, Ms. Brynn?”

  “I am sorry, Sir, but the Mayor is in the conference room and …” Deb stopped talking as soon as Luc’s hand went up in complete understanding of the situation. He just gave his loyal secretary a soft smile and said “I know. I’ll deal with him.”

  Her eyes lightening up with relief, Deb Brynn nodded and headed over to the conference room where she’d pour coffee and tell the Mayor that the Chief was on his way.

  “Let’s get this over with, Teena. Coming?”

  “Give me a minute?”

  “Absolutely!” With that, Luc grabbed his notebook and disappeared into the hall way.

  Athena looked at the piles Luc had made on his desk. What seemed odd to her was that the ongoing crimes pile was so high. Crime was down in Vance. She grabbed the first few files. Those were ongoing investigations, indeed. But the next files were not. Luc had stacked the serial killer files on the same pile.

  You can’t let go either.

  Athena sat down and grabbed Miles H. Guard’s file. Miles was cleared of any and all suspicion. Hands down, he was suspect no 1. Bearing a grudge, auditioning for your stepbrother’s job, not telling anyone who you really are … yeah, it set off all sorts of alarm bells.

  But it wasn’t Miles who had gone haywire. Clearly, he had issues and the only medicine that would ever cure him would be a profound discussion series with Adam supervised by a shrink. But Miles was not a killer.

  The file was meticulously organized. It had all the old reports from the moment Miles and Adam had entered the orphanage in the company of Child Protection Services after Tammy Hunter had tried to sell them both to finance her next high. Report cards, disciplinary notes, doctor’s notes, and his final adoption papers. Miles had stayed in the orphanage for quite some time after Adam got adopted. Only after he became more social was he able to handle visits from families again.

  When Miles was in his teens, he met James and Emily Mitchell. Both were in their late fifties, early sixties. They did not look senior but their reasons for wanting to adopt, were. Their own children had made it clear they were not one bit interested in caring for mom & dad in their older days. They had stopped returning phone calls from the people who gave them life.

  The Mitchells made desperate attempts to stay in touch. They searched for pictures on social media in hopes to keep at least tabs on their kids’ welfare. Ultimately they had hired a private investigator to find out where their kids were so they could give the contact information to their lawyers.

  James Mitchell had not been able to cope with this abandonment and suffered his first heart attack after two years of no contact. That’s when Emily hired the PI and told a lawyer to inform the kids that their behavior almost killed their father. She threatened to disinherit them all granting only college funds to grandchildren after proof of birth was presented to her lawyers.

  They had laughed in the PI’s face when he served them the papers. “We know our rights. Who the hell does she think she is? It’s up to pop and he’d never agree to this!”

  But James did agree with his wife.

  After another health scare that left James wheelchair bound, their options were hiring a fulltime nurse, moving to a nursing home “or having another child” James said one day. After a moment of silence, Emily asked him how he planned to do that. James simply said “adopt.”

  Knowing that his time on earth would be limited and that he could not count on his own blood to take care of his beloved wife after he’d gone, James sent out the PI on another job. Search in orphanages for those kids who had the least chance of getting adopted.

  They had to be able-bodied as taking care of them was key.

  They had to have their wits about them as they’d have to deal with their lovely children.

  They’d have to be intelligent to quickly master medical histories, medicine routines, dosages, and everything else to come.

  And most of all, they had to be the kind who’d enjoy a quiet life with elderly parents who loved to read and travel.

  Completely unexpected, Miles immediately connected with James over social media and apps. Emily had not seen that coming. James complained about the lack of privacy and Miles just sat there explaining the settings. Management was even more baffled so they offered the Mitchells to stay for dinner.

  After many visits to the orphanage and another PI report about maniacal laughs from his children, James decided to bring Miles home for a weekend visit. Emily made Miles watch while she set out James’ medicine tray. She later told Hanson that Miles took a very long, expressionless look at that tray. Then he had simply said “I hope he’s not in pain.”

  His facial expressions never seemed to show much feelings but Emily learned quickly that Miles expressed his feelings through words. And they bonded over literature and poetry. When Miles moved in, he had exactly one suitcase with clothes. The other nine boxes carried his books and journals.

  Athena browsed through the thick file. The Mitchells had even given them the PI’s reports. Athena put the file down and rubbed her head. She felt a pounding headache coming on. She grabbed an Ibuprofen before she joined Luc and Stormy in the conference room.

  Part 6:

  After another mind-boggling meeting with Stormy who still didn’t get it that he would not get a statute or a library named after him, Luc and Hanson decided to check in the break room whether anyone by chance had dropped off a free lunch. When they came in, a bunch of detectives were tackling a Ziti Al Forno.

  “Chief, come get it while it is still hot!”

  “You mean while there’s still any left because I beat you to it, right?”

  Laughter broke out while Detective-Sergeant Aiden Herschel was trying to decide whether to swallow the Ziti or to spit it out on his partner’s plate.

  “I lost 7 lbs. already, you moron!”

  Detective Sander Schmidt looked at his partner with a straight face and said “When will you get to the other 53?”

  Hanson grinned while she grabbed plates and scooped up steaming heaps of pasta for the Chief and herself. “So who do we have to thank for this delicious free lunch?” Luc asked.

  “I think it is from that new Italian restaurant on Oak, Chief” said Ally Ellsworth. Athena gave her a smile. She liked Ally. She had proven herself an organizational wizard who singlehandedly imposed order in the evidence room. “Ally, remember Miles Guard’s case? How many dead bodies did we end up with?”

  Ally wiped her mouth and started to count on her fingers. That was her thinking-mode. She could hold up seven fingers and tell you there were 58 files that needed to be shredded. She looked up, another sign she was in deep-thought, counted past 10 to thirteen and then said “six roadies and one security guard. Why?”

  Hanson shrug her shoulders. “Just going through the Chief’s files
he is generously leaving me.”

  Luc grinned and said “Has anyone kept track?”

  Schmidt and Herschel looked at each other before Schmidt said “Why, Chief? Case closed, right? Guard is innocent, Adam is alive, and you know where that bastard is.”

  Luc nodded “I just hate loose ends, that’s all.”

  “Woo, back up. Am I missing anything?” said Ally. “There are loose ends? We had six dead roadies symbolizing the six live performances that Miles did with the Benedict Brothers. The security guard’s death was not planned unlike the others. What am I missing?”

  Herschel wiped his hands and grabbed a notepad. “We had Stockholm, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, and London as venues. Each dead roadie worked for the band at one of the stops. Phil Alexander worked Stockholm, Greg Ellsworth worked Rome, Neil Smith worked Madrid, Dan Arthur worked Paris, “Muskrat” Steve Mullaney worked Amsterdam, and Bruce Shell worked London. The security guard Ash Tripp was employed by Vance Stadium management.”

  “I am with you so far” said Ally.

  Herschel continued. “The first three roadies were found murdered outside Vance. Arthur, Mullaney, Shell, and Tripp were found in Vance. Of these last four victims, only one was found alive enough to give us some information.”

  “Mullaney” said Hanson with a soft voice. She had found Steve on his houseboat barely breathing. He had been beaten and a hex key was rammed into his skull protruding on the other side. Hanson had managed to get him alert for a few moments before he died in her arms. When she asked him whether it was Miles he had tried to shake his head. “I know his voice too well” he managed to whisper.

  “How did you zoom in on Miles, Chief?” Schmidt asked. He had joined the department after the massacre and had only heard bits and pieces about the case.

  Luc pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair. “It was too perfect. Half-brothers, one left the orphanage and led the good life, the other remained and had anger issues. He kept tabs on his famous brother, auditioned when he saw the announcement, and kept his yap shut about his real background. He toured with them so when he showed up here in Vance he drew no suspicion from the security guards. Everyone had the flu including Adam so it was perfectly reasonable that Kirk Tobias called Miles to fill in for Adam. He knew the band, the music, the routine, everything.”

  “Tobias?”

  “Band manager” said Hanson. She continued. “Miles had of course come to warn Adam. He thought Adam was the target. He had followed the news, knew about the roadies getting butchered, recognized the names from his six stops in Europe, and put two-and-two together. When he asked the guards to be let in through the back so the fans would not see him, he raised no suspicion. It made sense for Tobias to announce the switch as late as possible to avoid any unrest amongst the fans.”

  “Miles showed up and Arthur dropped dead. Same MO. Beaten and then the temple drilling with a hex key” said Herschel. “Arthur was last seen setting up for Adam who was also wearing a jean jacket over a white shirt. Both had short brown hair so we assumed too fast that Miles has mistaken Arthur for Adam. Finding him scrubbing under the shower kind of nailed it.”

  “I still don’t see the loose ends” Ally said.

  “Me either” Schmidt chimed in.

  “The bastard is the loose end. Am I right, Chiefs?” Luc and Hanson turned around and saw Detective Erica Paul leaning in the doorway. Tall, slender, athletically built, Paul towered over many of her colleagues. Her refusal to date anyone until she had finished graduate school earned her the nickname “Ivory Tower” which later became just “Towers.”

  “Towers, explain this one to me, ok?” Schmidt said while pushing back his chair to grab a drink. He looked at Paul who hesitated. Athena knew why. Any loose ends discussion would eventually touch on Luc who made the wrong tactical decision to beef up security around Adam instead of listening to Paul and others who had wanted to dig into Miles’ background. If he had listened to Paul, they would not have lost Tripp.

  Part 7:

  “You know that Miles grew up in an orphanage and for a while tried to morph into his brother, right?”

  “Yeah” Schmidt said sitting down again while looking straight at Paul who was visibly uncomfortable. She crossed, opened, and re-crossed her arms before examining the paint on the door frame. Then she said: “When Miles finally found a home with the Mitchells, his focus shifted. He became less obsessed with Adam. Now he too had a family of his own and he played a major role in that family. The Mitchells were getting older. Miles learned about medical procedures, compound

  medicines, and all sorts of medical equipment that James needed. He also learned he was not their only child. The Mitchells had biological kids.”

  Herschel nodded while chewing. “Yeah, the Money Monkeys. I remember the look on the PI’s face when he told me that story. The jerks really could not care less if mom and dad lived as long as they inherited when they died.”

  “Exactly” said Paul. “They found out they would not inherit a dime because of Miles.”

  “Wait. What?” Schmidt seemed to understand but clearly needed to hear someone say it.

  “After the Mitchells adopted Miles they made him their sole heir.”

  “Holy hell, did he know how much they are worth?” Schmidt said.

  Hanson shook her head. “Nobody knew exactly but one thing was obvious: the Mitchells had called their kids’ bluff. They genuinely liked Miles and in time, they grew very close into a tightknit trio. Miles told me he had finally found peace and quiet. To be accepted and supported. To belong to a family and to have a real home. He said it was the Mitchells who encouraged him to go to grad school and to pursue a career as an architect.”

  “So the monkeys knew that all the dough was now for Miles, right?” Ally said.

  “Yes” Luc confirmed.

  Ally wiped her hands, got up and asked “How many monkeys were there?”

  Paul smiled at her. “Now we are getting to the loose ends. The oldest, a super arrogant looser rallied all the monkeys and together they hatched a plan: they would take revenge on mom and dad through Miles.

  From his adoption file they learned about Miles’ half-brother. Kill those around Adam, alert the media about Miles’ secret past, highlight how he hid it when he auditioned for the band, and paint him as the jealous angry stepbrother from hell.

  If they succeeded in killing some people around Adam, Miles would be suspect #1, get arrested, convicted, and as a convict he would be ineligible to inherit the Mitchell fortune. They’d contest the will and bingo!”

  “Back up!” Schmidt was rubbing his temples as if he felt a headache coming on.

  “They decided to just kill a few people in Adam’s circles? Just like that? The plan was to just kill a few?” He looked sincerely focused and was in sheer disbelief.

  “Amazing what a couple of fools will do for money, right?” Herschel looked approvingly at his younger partner. Schmidt was alright. Herschel had hesitated at first when the Chief partnered him with Schmidt.

  Schmidt had first gone to law school before he went to cop school. Somehow Herschel felt it might have corrupted his brain and that he’d not fit in. Schmidt had proven him wrong many times. But every now and then Schmidt’s textbook life would surface and Herschel knew a possible expose on the criminal deviant mind would pop up if they’d let him.

  “Research shows that the average human mind will not in the first instance resort to murder as a solution to a situation for which rational explanations exist. There are …”

  “Schmidt?”

  He looked up and saw Paul looking at him before she gazed downward again. “They weren’t normal.”

  Paul continued. “From the moment that the oldest made the rest aware how much money their carefully-spending parents really had, all hell broke loose for the Mitchells. Some called them frugal but I think that’s exaggerated. They definitely kept an eye on their spending and never went overboard. But those kids somehow go
t it in their heads that they deserved more and that it was their right to demand more.”

  Schmidt’s integrity and respect for his own parents showed. He really could not wrap his mind around the idea to claim your parents’ money. He asked how the monkeys found out their parents were loaded.

  Luc took a sip from his soda. “They searched through their parents’ papers and even took a look inside the safe James has in his office. I am not sure how much they are really worth but yes, the Mitchells are loaded. The kids got angry that they had to do chores instead of having a hired help around. They were furious that they had jobs as teens to earn extra pocket money while mom and dad clearly had a lot tucked away. They felt that the Mitchells had imposed hardship on them by denying them early access to the money.”

  “There is no child entitlement to parents’ wealth!” It came out of Schmidt with a bit of spit and his cheeks were getting red.

  Paul smiled. “Told ya they weren’t normal.”

  Ally picked up her plate and walked towards the sink. “If I recall correctly, the Mitchells left average sized college funds to their grandchildren upon proof of birth. They left some money to charities but the bulk indeed goes to Miles after both James and Emily pass away. I saw a copy of the will.”

  “That is right,” Hanson said.

  She had a long discussion with Emily after Miles was arrested. Miles had not shown up at home after work one day. He had left a note on James’ medicine tray. It simply said that he had to warn Adam.

  Despite the fact that he abandoned me, he remains my step-brother.

  I could not live with myself if I didn’t try to warn him. I have forgiven him a long time ago for turning his back on me. I will not turn my back on him now that someone is out to get him.

  Athena recalled that when Emily spoke about Miles she had a softness in her voice. Her eyes were moist when she told Athena about the first time they met Miles and how he quickly became theirs despite the age difference. She was spiteful when she spoke about her own children. Hanson had noticed that the Mitchells referred to their own offspring as “the children.” But Miles, he was their son.

  Miles was off course suspect number 1. His past that he had kept hidden during the auditions and even later while touring, it worked against him. But for Miles it had been therapeutic. He felt that he had to audition to see if Adam recognized his face, anything about him. He had to find out how he would feel about Adam if he stood in front of him. Whether he recognized him or not, for Miles it became a defining moment. Letting go of the past and moving on, or maybe patch things up.