by Don Aldrin
I was just observing the entire time. By this time, he looked at me, smiled at me and then winked at me. He then dropped to the floor and the two buildings exploded. After that, I woke up.”
“Okay. So who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said you knew who he was.”
“Yes, he was wearing a police uniform. He must have been a costume designer.”
Everyone shook their heads at what they had heard.
“Trance, are you sure? Isn’t it possible that he may be a cop instead of a costume designer?”
“Well, come to think of it. There was no way of telling if the uniform was real or just a costume and if that man really was a cop.”
An officer comes in with a report. He hands it over to Lt. Mulroney.
“Sir, we have a lead on the bomber. Trance was right. Our suspect is a cop. Based on the report from the surveillance cameras, this particular cop have been sighted coming in and out of both buildings several times. There must be a connection between that person and what happened between the two buildings.
The elevator must have been a diversion. It grabbed our attention so he was somewhat open to have planted and detonated the bomb in the other building. He is Sergeant Morris Davis.”
Everyone was shocked as Sergeant Davis is from this police department, but he is supposed to be on leave.
“Every one, I know this is a tough blow to our department, but we have to arrest Sergeant Davis as soon as possible. Team Alpha, please go ahead and he should be in his residence. Be gentle with him, but be assertive. He’s quite dangerous. Go.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The officers had arrested Sergeant Davis in his home just as Lieutenant Mulroney said. He was charged with destruction of property and attempted homicide and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The surveillance videos did capture him planting the bomb and sabotaging the elevator in West Gold Tower.
It was another successful case for the precinct and again, with the help of Trance’s dreams, the convict was arrested and sentenced in a single trial.
Chapter IV: Headhunter
Several days after the incident at the two towers, Trance spent the day doing his usual stuff and then went to bed at the same time he usually does. The dream continues on with the same story.
He ran up the West Gold Tower and sees a lady standing at the ledge of the building. Trance ran towards the lady and shouted, “Hey! Stay away from the ledge! Wait for me!” However, it’s much clearer now.
It seems that the lady did not really jump off the building. She was shot. There’s a silhouette of a person on the east side of the building holding a shotgun. The person is wearing a hooded jacket so it’s hard to tell if the person is a man or a woman.
That person shot the lady on the ledge. That is why the lady fell off the building. After shooting the lady, the hooded person aimed the shotgun at Trance and then he suddenly wakes up.
It seemed that lately, the dreams have been progressing slowly and that the developments are quite significant. Trance woke up feeling exhausted this time, but he has to stand up and move on.
After doing his morning chores, he decided to take the day off and watch TV. It was just a regular day and not much is going on. He then turns to the entertainment news channel and there he saw something. Bridgette Heart is coming to Small City for a benefit concert. It will take place at the Small Plaza two weeks from now.
Hearing this, Trance felt a bit excited. He never told anyone about this, but he was a really big fan of Bridgette. He was quite shy about it and he worries a lot what other people would say if he is a really big fan. He has a collection of her work in his home and he kept this secret really tightly.
As one of the star’s biggest fans, he immediately did research on the upcoming event. All of the information he needs about the event has been secured in around 30 minutes or so. He already bought tickets, the most expensive ones so that he could watch the concert right up front.
He also booked his hotel room near the event to make the experience much more exciting and he even bought special tickets for the fan signing event. He collaborated with his fellow fans and they have a meet up before the event.
Even though Trance was in his late 20s, he didn’t mind what other people would tell him. He’d just say, “Why? Just because we’re grown men, it doesn’t mean we can’t be fans.” But he still kept it a secret from almost anyone he knew. He spent the entire day making his initial preparations for the event.
Later that day, around 6:00 in the evening, a call came in from the lieutenant. But he wasn’t able to answer the phone immediately.
“(Beep) Please leave a message.”
“Trance, if you’re there, pick up the phone quick! We need your help.”
Trance heard the message and ran to the phone.
“Yes, Eva. I’m here. What’s up?”
“Well, this is quite interesting and weird at the same time. You know the West Gold Tower, right?”
“Yes, and?”
“Well, somebody fell from the roof deck. We don’t know for sure whether it’s an accident or if there’s a crime involved. We wanted you to check. Maybe your dreams could help the investigation.”
“Of course, I’ll be there.”
Trance hurriedly went out and drove to the scene early that evening.
“Lieutenant, I’m here. What have you got so far?”
“Get this. His name is Vincent Baker. Ring any bells?”
“Hey, he’s an officer at our precinct. It’s so sad.”
“Yes, he is from our precinct.”
“Have you asked around for any info or any leads or motive as to why he jumped off the building?”
“Well, nobody’s certain as to whether he indeed jumped off the ledge or was thrown or pushed, but we’re looking at all angles now.”
“Hopefully, I could help. I haven’t had a new dream lately, but if this case is for me, I’ll certainly dream about it tonight.”
“Well, we sure hope so. So what do you think?”
“I have no idea. But I guess, I’ll have to go back and sleep and see if it’ll help.”
“Why don’t you look around? It’s only been a few moments since you got here.”
“I might have a dream about it and the faster I dream about it, the better.”
“Oh, all right. Take care. Don’t forget to tell me if you dream about this, okay?”
“Of course, lieutenant. See you, guys later.”
Trance went ahead and left immediately. He went back home and since it was night, he decided to sleep early that night in the hopes of having a dream about this and be able to shed light to the mystery.
However, the lieutenant left out an important detail that she didn’t show Trance. When they arrived at the scene earlier, the victim was holding a piece of paper. There written is none other than Trance’s name, Trance Weaver.
In the middle of the night, Trance had the dream. He dreamt that he is being framed for something he didn’t commit, but he saw two men talking, one was the victim and other was a cop as well. They were just silhouettes so it’s hard to determine who they were, but he was certain the other one was the victim because of his nameplate.
Then a few moments after, the one with the nameplate ran towards the West Gold Tower and up the roof deck, that officer was followed by the other one. The victim was pushed over the ledge. Then, Trance woke up and immediately contacted the lieutenant.
“Eva, I dreamt about it.”
“Yes, Trance. Most likely you did, but we’ve just confirmed that Officer Baker was pushed over the ledge, by another cop. It was unclear who the cop was because the closed-circuit television only caught the back of the assailant.”
“Hmm… so he was a cop after all.”
“Why?”
“It was the same in my dream. The cop ran after the victim and pushed him over the ledge. They were arguing before the incident happened.”
“Is there an
ything else that might reveal the identity of the killer?”
“Well, there were no clues. It was a very short dream.”
“We got our backs on the wall now. We’ve asked those who were with him recently and they said nothing was curious. Except for one of his friends that told us that Officer Bakers knows something.”
“That’s too bad. Hopefully, we’ll get to know what really happened and why he was pushed.”
“It seems your dreams are getting rusty.”
“Hey, don’t say that. But I guess you’re right. We should have caught the perpetrator or knew what happened by now.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. You can go back to sleep now. Thanks, Trance.”
“Sure thing. Just let me know if you need something else.”
Trance ate a light snack and rested for a bit before calling it a day. Later that night, Trance’s had the same dream again. This time, another detail was revealed. As soon as the lady was shot, the assailant turned towards Trance and shot him. This time, it was clear that the person was a cop because of the uniform. The person was slim, but he wasn’t able to get any more details because he just caught a glimpse of the killer.
The next day, she told the lieutenant about the developments of his dream. They both agreed that the dream is getting much clearer and more interesting. But of course, he has to take care of himself and hopefully he’ll know the identity of the lady on the ledge before it’s too late.
Days have gone by, but the cops are at a dead end when it came to the case of Officer Baker. There were no leads and the victim was not able to leave any clue behind or told anyone what his information was. The case went on unsolved.
Chapter V: One Mean Racing Machine
Along the Small City Highway on a regular Wednesday afternoon is a modified import car cruising at dangerous speeds. Cops are in pursuit but they are no match to the power of the race car and the skillful maneuvers of the driver.
The car was a modified white Lamborghini Aventador and it blew past anything on the highway. The cop cars were powerful too. They were Dodge Chargers, but against the Aventador, they were simply no match against the latter’s speed, agility and acceleration.
However, again in this case, the driver of the Lambo was quite skilled. Not only is the male driver avoiding accidents, but he was pulling stunts, which stuns the cops chasing him. He was still able to perform those maneuvers even though the police were chasing him.
The Lambo is now almost 400 meters away from the nearest cop car. The force needs something faster. They have employed a chopper. A Small City Daily chopper followed behind. They are now in the freeway atop the Lambo. However, this is a modified Lambo. The day was bright and the freeway was clear so the driver took advantage of its two large turbochargers and at near breakneck speeds, it was able to outrun the choppers after 2 kilometers.
The Small City PD sent out notices about the white Lambo and a reward for the capture of the driver. Based on the plate number, the owner is none other than, Gabe Brittain, the multimillionaire software company owner who is one of the most famous citizens of Small City.
The cops were baffled as to why he was running. He was known to be a very good man and he shares his blessings to the people. They were at the walls when it came to the investigation.
A few minutes earlier, just before the cops chased the car, a call came into the precinct.
“911 Emergency.”
“Yes, please. I’m here at the corner of 12th and Main Street. A woman fell off the Sirius building.”
“Just to confirm. A woman fell of the Sirius building at the corner of 12th and main?”
“Yes.”
“Is the victim breathing?”
“No, ma’am. It seems she’s not breathing and we can’t feel a pulse.”
“The emergency response team is on the way. Please stay by the victim until the EMTs arrive.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, the medical team arrived, but unfortunately, the woman passed away. The medics called it in and the police followed thereafter. The victim was Louise Chow.
The police were aghast. Louise Chow is an active board member of the company Mr. Gabe Brittain founded. It could just be a coincidence that this happened while Mr. Brittain was being chased by the cops. Something deep must have happened. The police called for a press conference about the situation.
“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we mourn the loss of Ms. Louise Chow, member of the Board of Directors at Sunshine Software. She fell off the Sirius building this morning. The initial investigation shows that there is a possibility that Ms. Chow may have been pushed.
But of course, we are also looking at other angles like suicide or an accident. But rest assured, we will do our best to close this case and let her rest. Any questions?”
“Captain Pickett, do you have any suspects?”
“As of now, we are still looking into it.”
“Is it true that the Chairman of Sunshine Software, Mr. Brittain, was the man driving the Lamborghini when the call came in to 911?”
“Yes. They happened at the same time. Are you suggesting that Mr. Brittain was involved?”
“I’m not saying that he is, sir. But are you looking into the possibility that he was running from something serious that he went through all those stunts just to avoid the cops?”
“Right now, we are not sure yet. The investigators are looking into it.”
“Captain, how about other people close to her?”
“We’ve talked to some of the family members and her friends and colleagues at work and they did not mention anything about Ms. Chow’s affairs that could have led to her unconfirmed murder. Again, we are still investigating if there is a possibility that it might be an accident. We will keep you posted. If you have any more questions, talk to our PR man here. We’ll get back to the investigation now. Thank you very much.”
The police went back to work and there were a few updates. Lieutenant Mulroney was at the scene.
“Captain, we’ve got a couple of interesting info from one of her colleagues. She said that Ms. Chow seemed to be arguing with Mr. Brittain early morning. Around an hour before she fell off the building.”
“Do you have any idea what they were arguing about?”
“No, sir. But get this, they had a heated argument the other day about the company’s situation. It seems their stocks have dwindled and investors are pulling out.”
“But that’s not enough for a motive for the murder. How about other suspects or other circumstance?”
“We’ve done a bit of research. Ms. Chow is single and had a couple of relationships before. There was nothing notable and no motives or whatsoever. The family and close friends said her partners were nice and that there was nothing suspicious about them.”
“Okay. It seems we’re heading up to that wall pretty quickly. Any news from Trance?”
“No, sir. He’s out on a trip.”
“Where?”
“He’s in L.A.”
“What’s he doing there?”
“He said he was visiting a friend. And he wants to go to Hollywood.”
“Let me guess, Ms. Heart?”
“Yes, sir.”
Both of them laughed hard, but still if Trance has a lead in order to shed light to this dead-end case. Then, a woman came up to them.
“Hey, you guys are here for the investigation, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. And how’d you get past the line?”
“I was the one who called 911.”
“Oh, all right. How can we help you?”
“I saw what happened. I heard a thud, so that’s the reason I went to the corner and there, I found her body on the floor. She was still breathing then. She uttered a few words. It was barely audible, but I clearly heard the words money, contract, case and thank you.
I looked around, but I saw no one. Even the balcony of her apartment was clear. It didn’t seem she was pushed. As soon as she stopp
ed talking, I immediately called 911. When the officer picked up the phone, it was unfortunate that the lady died right there. The medics tried to help, but her time was up. May her soul rest in peace.”
“Well, thank you for the information, ma’am. Is there anything you need? Transportation, food or anything?”
“I’ll be fine.”
With the new lead, they tried their best to dissect the new information they got. They’ve investigated banks where she transacted from lately and from her company, but nothing led to her death. They were seemingly at a dead end and was about to call it an accident. But then, a call came in.
“Eva, how are you?”
“We’re fine, Trance. We just had an accident here and we’re about to wrap up.”
“Oh, is that the lady who fell off her apartment?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I had a dream about a lady who was pushed from the door of her apartment. It wasn’t from the Sirius building, right?”
The lieutenant shook her head and the captain punched a wall. They were both mad at Trance because they had done so many things already that could have moved the investigation further, but instead, they even had a press release and shunned the murder angle.
