by Sam Sea
“Fifty seconds, maybe…”
“But, Li’a, do you see time stamps of the other noise recordings identified as the opening of front door, steps going outside…”
"9.34.05...”
“That’s right…somebody exited the house before the paintings were lifted from the wall…we have his thermal signatures, should be able to track him down…also, see this file here…”
“The noise of the front door being closed at 9.35.01?”
“Yes, now… no outside thermal scan of the person making that door closed…are we to think that the wind did it? I don’t think so...that was professional...a thief…you cannot even see thermal scans of him. He had some serious equipment on him. He was inside the house when the dean was killed and left afterwards…”
“Also, I know of no jetter that makes no noise...none. it would have been recorded if it moved closer to the house.”
“What does that mean…?”
“No jetter.” Val said simply.
“But how then were the shots fired?”
“I do not know...you can answer some of the questions too…please feel free.”
“So there were at least three different people…”
“At least three, maybe even more...”
“Maybe the dean became aware of the burglar and before he could call for help, whoever was covering for the burglar from outside shot him dead.
Yes, you see...now that is starting to make sense...all of it now is starting to make sense, you see? Except who was the first person that exited he house?”
“And how did someone make that shot, without being lifted off the ground?”
“Yes, that is a mystery...you know there is someone who is very good at looking at the situations from a completely different point of view. I am going to communicate with him, and send him all these files, and see what he has to say.”
As the police officer was parking the car in the underground garage, Val was forwarding all his files to Timor. Hopefully, he will find something.
“I’m going to check if your boss is in…” Val said to Li’a.
“Doubt it…” Li’a answered it, and as Val had a chance to see himself, she was actually right. The captain office was locked and the desk clerk on his floor had no idea where he was.
Now that I work his case, who knows, maybe he even went fishing, dirty bastard…Val decided not to bother him after all, but went two floors down and found an empty office space close to where Li’a worked.
He finally had some alone time to look over the files.
But an hour passed too fast, and as he sat in empty office and nursed his second cup of coffee, he got an encrypted communication back from Timor in a written format.
‘You were right, not Mikka...so basically, you are looking for a small enough device that can go undetected through their security net, quietly enough, but powerful enough to fire a bullet from that distance. No reported murders using such weapons during the last hundred years…No items like that in military inventories…So basically, you are old enough that you can look for those devices, because I could not find any.
Val smiled shaking his head as Timor just gave him a very good idea.
Minutes later, Li’a knocked on his door and said that they brought in some of the people he wanted to talk to.
“So, who did you get here?” Val asked as he saw bunch of them, some sitting some spacing nervously in the waiting room.
“Well, we got almost everyone you wanted to talk to in person...Very unorthodox method, I’ve got to say…Many of them protested, some even declined. We had to use your name repeatedly.”
“I know…They all value their liberties and their rights. But then now, this is an ECI investigation, so…”
“With whom do you want to start?”
“Let’s start with that slightly overweight fella' there…He looks rather nervous…Who is he?”
“His name is Friklin Mazzan.”
“Mazzan…the name sounds familiar…an art dealer?”
“Yes, his whole family makes a fortune dealing in art and antiquities.”
“He owns Mazzan Auction House?”
“No, it belongs to his grandfather…But he works there.”
“So what is he doing here?”
“His signature showed leaving neighborhood two minutes after the shooting…the pattern of his steps, and his thermal scans…We believe he was the first man to leave the house.”
“Great job to find him so fast…Yes, I definitely want to talk to him first. Give me a minute so I can pull some info on him and then you can bring him in.”
A minute later, Li’a walked an art dealer to face Val’s murky stare.
“Mr. Mazzan, I am ECI Valticus, and I think you know why you are here…” They shook hands before the nervous man set down in the chair opposite Val’s table.
“We believe you are the last man to see Mr. Teri DiAmon alive.”
“I had nothing to do with it!” The man raised his voice, raised his body from the chair, obviously experiencing a severe panic attack.
“Had nothing to do with what?” Val asked him calmly.
“…anything that happened to him…” the man seemed unable to find the right words.
“Can you please be kind enough to answer my questions…” Val said and started going over files he started to gather on Mazzan.
“You understand that Mr. DiAmon and I had been friends…Friends for centuries. We have a friendship that spanned lifetimes. I would never try to do any harm to him…”
“Nobody said you did… Well, nobody yet said you did, Mr. Mazzan. We are just trying to find all the information about what happened last night.”
“You could have called me…”
“Are you telling me how to do my job?”
“I just do not understand why my presence was requested here-“ His face was red, burning, words coming out with foaming spit.
“You are still not answering my questions…Are you planning to change that, or will I have to lock you up until you have time to compose yourself and decide if you want to listen to me?
“I can call my lawyer-“
“Sure you can, but only if I let you.” Val pulled his badge out, and let it shine its golden ranking right into Mazzan frantic eyes. “You know what that means, don’t you? Answer, please…”
“Yes…” Mazzan swallowed a big , and tried to relax and compose his voice with all the power he had over himself.
“Good…Now, you were in Mr. Teri DiAmon’s house last night, right?
“Yes…but I didn’t-“
“What were you doing there?”
“Well, Mr. DiAmon contacted me a while ago to consult me about certain types of articles, if…If they could be sold, and for how much. I was at his home to consult with him about that matter.”
“Have you frequented his house very often, would you say?”
“I…I’ve been there a few times before, whenever he needed consulting…”
“What exact time did you get there last night…our files indicate somewhere before 9?”
“It could have been about 9…I do not know exactly. We set outside for a while, and then we moved to his kitchen to grab something to eat, and then…”
“Then…”
“Well, we…ended talking in the study, when something, I do not know what, I really do not know what…hit him. And he fell down dead.”
“Why didn’t you call police after you saw him drop dead in front of you? You know that is illegal, right? You know as a Class One citizen, you are obligated to report all crimes. ”
Mazzan could say nothing.
“Luckily, the investigator Li’a located you right away…I may let it slite this time, if you can…be helpful, that is…”
“Were this the articles in question?” Val said and pointed to the photo of the three paintings taken from the study.
“No, of course not…Those are Lai 21X paintings. He would never part from those…They
were his favorites. No, it was about…Some other ones.”
“Okay, now I need you to concentrate really hard, as hard as you can, and tell me…Have you seen anything strange, unusual, out of place in the house while you were there?”
“No, I cannot say I did…I really didn’t…until, he…died.”
“How did Mr. Teri DiAmon appear to you last night?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was he nervous, upset, anything out of ordinary…?”
Mazzan started to shake his head. “No, he was as pleasant to be around as always. We were just ready to have some wine, to celebrate…”
“Celebrate? What?”
“Well…Our future…business deals…”
“I am looking at some personal reports of you…You really enjoy luxurious lifestyle, don’t you?”
“Guilty as charged there...I guess my family has spoiled me through time…”
“So, I have one personal question to ask you, and I apologize up front for saying it, but…Since you are enjoying playing the game of a social butterfly, why are you so obese? It certainly can’t be good for business or your image. I understand that diets can be difficult, but a younger, fit body could suite your status so much better…”
“I know, I know…but I….you know…economy is not what it once was. People are just not spending like they used to. All this uncertainty with the planetary transports being halted, it is making people very nervous…But, but you know, my family has money, and, and I would never harm anyone because of it…”
“You were trying to talk me out of the question that I was going to ask, and I bet you know the question, don’t you?”
Mazzan just put his head down.
“Are you still working for your family, Mr. Mazzan? Do you still really represent their interests?”
“I…I…” Mazzan Jr. put his head between his knees, didn’t know how to continue…”No, I won’t lie…I had a falling out with my grandfather about few years back…But…But that gives me even more reasons to want Teri alive...I needed him, needed to service…his needs, don’t you see that? I could have never killed him.”
“We are not saying you did. Just stay in the City for the next two days, please. And let us know if you can think of anything related to this issue. One more thing….”
“Yes?”
“I want you to go over his art inventory…send me the info if you see anything strange with them, and also, I would like to know which exact items was he looking to sell through your shop, okay?”
Friklin Mazzan was nodding his head, obviously more than ready to cooperate. It was hard not to notice a huge relief that overcame him.
“And, please, do not break the law again.” Val said as he was sending him away. “Who knows if next time you will run into someone so lenient and understanding as me.”
Friklin left as fast as he could, nervously shutting the door behind himself a way too loud, and then apologizing for him
“He was hiding something.” Li’a said as soon as the door closed
“You could tell that too.”
“Yes.”
“You see, that is why I prefer to conduct interviews face to face. You might not have the power to do that all the time, but I do…And you will see its value before this case is over. I am really wondering how you can solve any serious cases without interviews in the first place. I mean, if you looked just at the accumulated evidence around this case, who would you prosecute right now?”
“Mr. Mazzan of course.”
“And you still think he did it after talking to him?”
“Of course not…with his trembling hands, I don’t think he could even shoot the house.
“Even if he tried to shoot the air, he would miss…”
“Something like that…” Li’a smiled for the first time. “Besides, he is way too heavy…the only way he would go up in the air is if you were to stick a rocket in his butt and fired it up.”
“Ha…” Val chuckled imagining how scared Mr. Mazzan would be then. “You do have a sense of humor.”
“But he is hiding something…”
“All of them are…All of them have some secrets. You get to be scared of those that seem not to have any…”
“Because they know to hide them…”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, I want to talk to someone from the university, his colleges, people he was close to at work.” Val said as he stopped to think of his next step. The coffee in his cup seemed to have mysteriously disappeared again.
“We have his assistant here, and…Most of them actually volunteered to come and talk to you once they heard that the alternative was the ECI office.”
“Before you bring him in, I have something else to tell you…”
“What?”
“You know you are my assistant now…” Val said looking at his empty cup…” And as such, you are part of this investigation…so fire any questions you may have while we talk to them. You may spot something I do not. You don’t need to just stand there and look at us talking like you are watching a table ball game. Okay?”
Li’a didn’t say anything but she was obviously pleased, pleased to the point that she went to Val’s desk and without question took his empty cup away for refilling.
“Bring in the assistant then. Forward me his files, and what is his name again?”
Wida Mantoz was one of those citizens who enjoyed wearing glasses. In his early thirties, he was a head shorter then Val with trimmed dark beard covering half of his face.
“Can you please be kind enough to take those off,” was the first thing Val told him, pointing to his glasses. He didn’t know what exact kind they were, and didn’t want to waste time finding it out. Also, one of the major points of the interview was to look the person directly in the eyes, and connect with them.
“Mr. Mandoz, thank you for coming here to talk to us…We would like to go with you over some information concerning your boss Mr. Teri DiAmon. You are of course aware that he has been murdered last night?”
“Yes, of course, I’ve seen it this morning on the news feeds…We are all shocked at the University-“
“Here it says that you started to work about ten years ago as his assistant?”
“Yes, it’s been ten years now.”
“It says, you are 95 years old, and had your most recent transplant about 15 years ago ..But it seems you stayed in the same field. You already have over…forty years working as a professor of history, and now you are an assistant to the dean in the same department?”
“Yes…well, I love history. Some people, they like to try new things, but I…I like history.”
Val, for a long second, looked at the intensity in Wilda’s eyes. The passion was there. Val felt connected as his love for the history was also borderline obsessive.
“Can I offer you a glass of water or anything else, a coffee?”
“No, no thank you,” the man answered as he continued to sit quietly waiting for the next question.
“How well did you know Mr. DiAmon?”
“Well… There was a period of time when we were very close, when he spent long hours working at the University…I think at that time I got to know him fairly well…but recently, in the last few years,
“How would you characterize your relationship with the dean?”
“It was very professional in most part…he was fairly good boss…sometimes overstepping his boundaries a bit, but mostly it was very satisfactory.”
“Overstepping his boundaries?”
“Well, I was his assistant, not his secretary…I mean sometimes he asked me for things that normally were not my responsibility…”
“Like what?”
“Like filing his documents, sometimes…meeting people at the Space Elevator, stuff like that…I didn’t mind most of those things, although that is not what I signed up for…
Val was not going to interrupt him.
“You understand that my duties were mostly to
be his coordinator with the rest of the department. I ever regularly lectured two classes on my own…”
“I see, classes on early Capital formation and the last Vazz War…two completely different subjects, I have to say.”
“Well, that is what the history department needed, so I stepped in to fill the spot.”
“So, that means you got to know him very well then?”
“Well, initially yes, but he stopped going to the University on a regular basis almost three years ago. He would get there maybe one day a week, so…In a way that’s why I picked two classes to teach. There was just much less things to do.”
“Does it surprise you that he was killed?”
“Of course, greatly…He was very much liked by everyone. He had very easy manner about himself.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“I talked to him yesterday about the new position being filled for Dr. Varaz’s place who is leaving us…He is transferring to another school…But in person, I have not seen him since…about five days, the last time he showed up in his office for his class…he was still giving lectures on occasions.”
“I am accessing here the file that the dean had about you…You know what I find interesting about it?”
“What?”
“It is very thin…Just a basic info about your past work experience and your present ones. Not much is actually there. It seems that files of all the other people he cared to keep track off, seem very much detailed, look here…this is his secretary for instance…,a lot is there…her constant evaluation, well, you are right, not much is recent here, but still…Even, this professor Dr. Varaz… His file, evaluations, recent publications, opinions, it’s five times yours.
“But yours, not that much is really there…Why do you think that might be the case?”
That sounded very interesting to Li’a as well which suddenly appeared behind Val’s back and looked into it herself.
“I…I have no idea…Didn’t even know that he kept files on people. You would have to ask him about that.”
“Well, you know I can’t…”