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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 1:41:09 GMT -5
"Damn it all, I told you that was too much dynamite!" One man said. In the distance, the prison was on high alert after the escape of one of its prisoners. The prisoner, now being carried by three men because he had been knocked out, who where being led by a fourth to a truck, were running as fast as they could. "It's a miracle we were able to get him out as is! Just keep a low profile and lets get back to base. With the organization effectively dismantled and us the only ones left, we gotta plan every move carefully" the lead said as they got into the truck. "Dr. Drugg will have to be caught up on a lot of things; and make sure we get him a proper cane at some point after he wakes up! Ever since he took that bullet to the knee he's been walking with a limp" said another. The truck drove off into the night; the five men inside making up what little that remained of The Black Scorpion. Literary Mosaic No.8
Part I The Empire Strikes Back
***** Adolf Gunnarson was out for a walk when suddenly he heard gunshots go off in the nearby alley. "What the?" He said as he ran towards it and pulled out his service revolver. When he got there, he saw three figures running away, and a dying man in the middle of the alley. Gunnarson ran over. "Sir, are you ok?" Gunnarson asked. The man had been shot at least ten times. "I promised they would get their money...I promised..." he said, between sputters and coughs. "Stay with me sir, you can make it" Gunnarson said as he tried to help. "It was just 500 pounds... I was going to pay it back... Ronald Wright is a man of his word" he said. "Just stay with me Ronald, just stay with me" Gunnarson said. "It's not right... it's just not right..." he said, closing his eyes and finally dying. "Darn it all" Gunnarson said, before heading over to a phone booth. "Operator... get me Scotland Yard"
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 26, 2017 1:45:14 GMT -5
"Who is it?" asked Gent.
"Gunnarson, Sir."
Gent picked up the phone. "Gunnarson, it's late, I want to go home, what happe- say what? Okay, I'll be right over!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 1:49:40 GMT -5
Officers came by a little later and secured the scene, Gent asked what had happened.
"The man's name is Ronald Wright. Shot at least ten times over a debt. By the time I got here I saw three figures running away" Gunnarson explained.
"So we got a body, some bullet casings... anything else?" Gent asked.
"In all the commotion, I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to properly look over the scene" Gunnarson explained.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 26, 2017 1:59:35 GMT -5
"Understandable," said Gent. "Now then Gunnarson, did this man say anything to you?"
"Yes he did; that's how I figured out who it was."
"Can you repeat everything he said?"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 2:02:50 GMT -5
"He said I promised they would get their money...I promised, It was just 500 pounds... I was going to pay it back... Ronald Wright is a man of his word, and It's not right... it's just not right..." Gunnarson explained.
"Is that all?" Gent asked.
"Every word; so from what I can understand so far, this man was killed over a debt" Gunnarson explained.
"Perhaps enforcers to an illegal money lender?" Gent offered/
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 26, 2017 2:04:17 GMT -5
"I would guess to," said Gunnarson. "The man looked like an honest soul who had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. At least that is my impression."
"I see," said Gent.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 2:12:27 GMT -5
"Well, if its an illegal money lender" Gent thought, "then that does narrow down the field" he reasoned.
"Yes... 500 pounds is quite a hefty sum. I'm thinking it can only be one of the dirty four" Gunnarson explained.
The "dirty four" referred to the most notorious illegal money lenders in London. Alan Brennan, known on the streets as "Volcano Al" for his fiery temper, Jack Thompson, known as "One-eye Jack" for his missing right eye, thus requiring him to wear an eyepatch, Henry Stevens, known as "Henry the iceberg" for his rather calm demeanor, even in dangerous situations, and Joseph Hall, known as "Butcher Hall" for the way in which he left his clients when they didn't pay up.
"Perhaps look around for some clues; something that can indicate a direction" Gent suggested.
"Good idea; then maybe we can finally lock one of them up" Gunnarson replied. So he began searching the immediate area of the body, and working his way around.
"Let's see... hang on, what have we here?" He said, picking up something.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 26, 2017 2:18:37 GMT -5
It was a crest of some sort. It looked black but Gunnarson couldn't quite make out what it was.
"Gent, take a look at this," he said.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 2:26:49 GMT -5
"could it be a calling card?" Gunnarson asked.
"Maybe; we'll analyze it in the lab" Gent offered.
Then, Gunnarson saw something several feet from the body. He went to look at it.
"I thought I saw something fall out of one of the men's pocket's as he was running away" Gunnarson realized. He picked it up, and saw that it was a pocket knife.
"Custom made; there's nothing standard about this" he observed. Then, on one side, he saw "R. Klein"
"Ah ha. Gent! I found something!" He called out.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 26, 2017 16:58:57 GMT -5
"Hmm," said Gent. "We'll have to dust it for prints."
"I think you might find some of mine on their," Gunnarson quipped.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 26, 2017 17:28:34 GMT -5
"Well, where you are holding it, it's unlikely prints would be there anyway" Gent assured.
"Though I can say this so far- we can rule out Butcher Hall and Henry the Iceberg; the way this man was killed, it doesn't match their style" Gunnarson explained.
"Right; we'll see if there's any connection to one-eyed Jack or Volcano Al once all the evidence is collected" Gent explained. Just then, Gent received a message. "Ah, I see. Gunnarson, I'm afraid I need to go. Detective Walton is in charge of this case, report anything you find to him" Gent said as he went to leave.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 27, 2017 13:24:27 GMT -5
Detective Walton turned out to be a snob.
"Sir," he said to Gunnarson, "this is police business. Please leave the scene."
Gunnarson was taken aback. "You don't know who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are! You're Adolf Gunnarson, god's gift to the detective world, who always solves his cases by luck and guessing. I'm sick and tired of you one-upping the police - without any evidence I might add! - and it's time we beat you at your own game."
Gunnarson was now severely taken aback. "If you talk to Gent," he said, "he will tell you that I have the authorization to stay here."
"Fine!" snapped Walton. "Just stay out of our way!"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 27, 2017 16:12:29 GMT -5
"If it means so much to you- I'll retrace the steps of the criminals since I did see them flee after all" Gunnarson said without so much as a glance at Walton. So Gunnarson first followed the path he knew.
"The turned right over here" he noted. Around the corner he saw a few things. One of them was a knocked over garbage can.
"I thought I heard banging metal; so they left in such a hurry one of them tripped" he concluded.
Then there was the item that really caught his interest...
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 27, 2017 16:23:48 GMT -5
"It looks like the tip of a knife, broken off somehow," he thought. He picked it up gently and made a mental note to show Gent later on.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 27, 2017 16:55:16 GMT -5
"The man was shot though... perhaps they tried intimidating him with knives first?" Gunnarson thought to himself.
He kept following the path. Until at last, he came out in between a couple stores. He entered the one on his right; a haberdashery.
One of the employees came up to him. "Can I help you sir?"
"Yes, I'm investigating a case and I think you might be able to help me. By chance, did you see three men in black overcoats run in front of your store?" Gunnarson asked.
"Yea; yea I did. They actually stopped outside of it for a minute. They looked nervous; you know, like they were in a hurry or something" the employee explained.
"Did you catch any features of the men?" Gunnarson asked.
"Yes. All three of them were white; but two of them were brown haired, and the other was blonde. One of the brown haired men had a beard; the blonde one had green eyes" the man explained.
"Any other features you noticed?" Gunnarson asked.
"Come to think of it; I heard a couple of them screaming; one was going on about how the bearded guy was an idiot for not arranging a car, and the other said something like "That was your job George!" Then they hailed a taxi and drove off. That was about it."
'Did you get the licence plate of the taxi?" Gunnarson asked.
"Only the first three letters; R7L" the man replied.
"I'm going to send an officer here; would you mind repeating everything you just said to him?" Gunnarson asked.
"Of course" the man replied.
Some time later, the witness was talking to an officer.
"Still think it's just luck Walton?" Gunnarson asked the detective.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 27, 2017 17:32:54 GMT -5
"I didn't say you didn't look around for clues," replied Walton, frowning, "I said you came up with your theories through luck and without any real clues to back them up. Now, if you'll excuse me..." and he walked briskly away.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 27, 2017 18:03:22 GMT -5
There was not much more Gunnarson could do at that point, so he went home for the night.
......
Next day, he came to visit Gent for an update.
"Progress is slow, but we may have a lead" Gent explained. Bringing him to where the evidence was processed, someone came up to Gunnarson with a report.
"Based on the knife's fingerprints and the other information we received, we've been able to figure out the owner of the knife" the man explained.
"So who is our R. Klein?" Gunnarson asked.
"His name is Robert Klein; he's run into trouble with the law before; in fact we have his mugshot on file" he said, showing it.
"Looks like we have our bearded man" Gunnarson observed.
"He's a slippery one; he's been arrested four times but every time he's slipped away; apparently someone he knows is friends with a damn good lawyer" the man explained.
"What charges has he escaped?" Gunnarson asked.
"Mostly burglaries and assaults... but there was a connection" he explained. And he showed Gunnarson a paper.
"Committed crimes with known associates of Jack Thompson... One-eyed Jack?!" Gunnarson exclaimed.
"This could be our chance. The Dirty Four have been a thorn in this city for long enough- we get this guy, and we just might be able to turn them into the dirty three" Gent declared.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 28, 2017 17:13:36 GMT -5
"So what are the plans?" asked Gunnarson.
Just then Detective Walton walked into the room. "Excuse me, sir, but I wanted to show you... oh... hello, Gunnarson..." he said, frowning at the private detective.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 28, 2017 18:23:37 GMT -5
"Hello, Walton" Gunnarson simply replied. Gent got them back on track.
"Anyway, you were about to show me something?" Gent asked.
"Oh, yes. Here it is?" Walton said, showing it to Gent.
"Care to explain Walton?" Gent asked.
"Gladly. This is..."
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 28, 2017 18:41:21 GMT -5
"...part of a fingernail we found at the scene."
"A fingernail?"
"That's right. It was..."
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