A few days later it was a busy night at The Sea Digger serving a customer and he stopped by the piano where John Doe was playing a few notes. Not real music just a few keys then stopping to watch all of the people having a good time around him. Then he would look on the keys rather depressed.
"Look, don't go wishing you didn't have all your thoughts again," Digger said approaching John from behind. John looked up and watched Digger walk past him and something in the distance caught his eye.
It was a camera flash Doe watched in the direction seeing another photo taken. Quietly to himself Doe said, "I don't have any photos of myself." He thought about it for a few seconds quietly then sat back down and continued to stare in that direction.
Digger walked back over to John and noted, "Take a picture it lasts longer." With that Digger continued on to serve someone else.
John smiled as that gave him an idea, one he should have thought of sooner but hadn't.
The rest of the night melted away as various people came and went giving moments to a few thought provoking conversations about whatever crossed people's minds; until suddenly before anyone could notice it was closing time. One last small group of people made their way to the door and left.
John turned to Digger and nodded.
"Thanks for the idea." John said mysteriously.
"What idea?" Digger said not sure what John meant.
It was now about four in the afternoon and John walked into the police station toting something in a small bag. He walked past the other officers working and walked over to Frank Hayes, who was working on finishing up a case.
"Need any help?" John asked.
"Nope, got this case all wrapped up." Frank said confidently.
"That's good," John nodded and pulled out what was in his little bag. It was a camera.
Without warning John simply said, "Smile." Frank looked confused and John snapped his photo.
"Wha?" The sound came from Frank's mouth with a hint of confusion.
John smiled as Jamie Avery came out of her office seeing the flash wondering what it was. Doe pulled the same stunt. Avery was a little confused not having seen John with a camera.
"Did you know the first hand held camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman?
"No," Frank said not really figuring he'd know any random facts.
"And the first roll film camera was invented in 1900 by Eastman as well." John added.
"I figure I should capture some of my life on film so I'll have something to remember everyone by," John explained.
Normally Avery may have argued about it wasn't the time to take photographs, but this time she decided to let it slide.
"So what happened with the case?" John asked curiously.
"Well found a body near the dock searched the water but only found some sort of plastic, no weapons, but the plastic had some blood and finger prints on it." Hayes explained briefly.
"We eventually traced the prints to a family, friends of the deceased." It seemed.
"It turned out that the family linked was the family of the partner in their business." Frank said.
"What sort of business?" John asked.
"Private Investigator." Frank responded.
"It took a while to piece it together but eventually leads lead us to the partner, and evidence pointed in his direction." So we got him.
"Glad to hear." Doe said smiling as he pulled out the camera and took another snapshot.
Later that day John sat in a makeshift dark room holding some prints under the solution. In his mind thoughts of the make up of the chemical buzzed and when the process was first invented. But he tried not to focus on these facts since they weren't important at the moment.
John pulled up one print and it slowly faded into focus where you could make out who was in the photo. John smiled for a second then moved on to the second photo and began to pull it out.
The thought crossed his mind that Karen would enjoy seeing him do something creative like photography for a change. Rather than sticking with pure facts and knowledge. That made him happy but then to think of that she was gone took some of the happiness out of the moment. John let out a sigh and fixed the last image in the batch he had taken. Then he decided he needed to take a walk and just clear his head. If that is possible he thought.
After the day John was walking along the harbor trying not to let obscure thoughts fill his mind. He walked for about ten minutes before he stopped and just looked around absorbing the surroundings.
Doe moved about twenty more feet before he realized he was within feet of the crime scene Frank had been talking about earlier. He looked around and noted a few things. All the facts moved in his head from the way the blood stained to the location where the one man went down. John took a second to wonder how fast he could have solved it. Then he just took a deep breathe then moved forward walking to the waters edge and looked over seeing nothing but the water rippling in the soft breeze.
John walked past there and took about twenty steps before noticing something in the water. It was a piece of card board with what looked like Arabic text on it from the distance he was away. He thought about what it could be a few seconds then turned to head back home.
John made it back home as the sun was low in the sky but not quite setting yet. The sky was just starting to lose its blue shades and turn to sunset colors. John walked in and sat down at a table with three newspapers and laid out one page of them and turned it over to reveal three unfinished crosswords.
Each crossword had the first fifteen clues filled into the grid and the first fifteen numbers crossed off of the overall clue list. Doe sat and started to fill in the sixteenth clue on one of them as he turned his attention to something else.
He was a little bored, the police hadn't asked for his assistance in over a week and he felt he needed the thrill of catching a criminal. Although after a thought he realized he was glad that no cases required his unique ability to be of assistance.
But he needed something to do to take his mind off of the facts in his head. At that moment he turned his attention to the television screen. The volume was just a bit too loud and John grabbed the remote and it slipped out of his hand. With a bang the control hit the ground and the channel flipped to some new mystery show.
The lead character walked on screen with a smug look on his face and announced, "The second I saw the scene of the crime I knew who had done it." He said full of confidence.
"I only had to disprove the murders alibi to force him to finally confess to the clever way he had pulled off this crime" The character added after turning towards the criminal as if to show off.
An idea flashed in John's mind as he stood up suddenly and moved towards the door. Two of his crosswords fell to the ground in his speed to make it out. He reached and grabbed his jacket as he slid out the door.
The sun was finally setting on a long and busy day and the bright orange glow was cast all along a street just a few turns away from a busy city street. It was an area of town that never got too busy a few shops scattered between the townhouses and apartments. Many people had already arrived home for the night.
A loud screech as a slightly tarnished navy blue Dodge Neon pulled into a space moving at least three times the speed limit. The driver looks around frantic before pulling the keys and fidgeting with something on the dash. Then hopping out and running into a building. He glides through the door as it slowly closes after an old lady just left. Down the halls he ran and up one flight of stairs, he fumbled with the keys for a second then picked the right one and slid it into the lock tumblers clicking as the door swung open. He quickly secured the door and ran to the phone picking up the receiver. He dials first hitting a wrong key and then taps the button the receiver rested on to get a dial tone again. Then quickly dialed again this time correctly, the phone is ringing.
A woman answers, "Seattle Police Department, Officer Jenkins speaking, how can I help you?" She asks kindly. In the split second he looks out the window as if expecting to see someone had followed him.
"It's my brother," He stated quickly emphasizing the word brother.
"Well, sir I'm af--," He pulled the phone away from his ear expecting her to continue for a while.
He looked around as if there might be a man in the shadows watching him. Taking advantage of the lull he pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket and looked at it. Just as he was flipping it to look at the back there was a loud thud his head turned to it instantly. In doing so he missed a single paper that slid out of the envelope and found a new place to rest under the desk.
"Sir? Are you still there? What about your brother?" The officer asked after he was quiet and she had finished talking.
He replaced his ear to the receiver just as she was asking the last question. "He is missing."
"I'm going to have to redirect you mis--," She starts to say but he quickly cuts her off "No I mean I think I found him."
The officer sounding a little confused. "So he isn't missing anymore?"
"No, Yes er I--," He pulls the phone away to take a quick breathe. "I'm not sure, he was reported missing in 1998." He said finally finishing the sentence. Immediately adding, "You have to help me, over." Almost inaudibly he mumbles two letters and then he took a second glance at the envelope.
There was a long pause on both ends, the man was thinking about this envelope, and the officer wasn't quite sure to whom the call should be forwarded. The woman finally decided that it best he should discuss it further with those that first dealt with the missing person. On the other end the man sat quietly.
The silence was interrupted by three silenced gunshots that had gone through the door, and hit him three spots on his back. He had no choice but to fall with a slight thud to the ground as his energy slowly faded away. The phone receiver clashed to the floor with a clunk. At the moment his eyes closed for their last time the door swung open by the force of a boot on the person on the other end.
After hearing the noises the officer on the other end kept asking "Sir? Are you alright?" With no response after the third time asking she immediately requested that help be sent to the address it said the call was coming from on the display screen.
There were three men, one leader with a dark coat and wearing gloves whilst the other two where acting as his henchmen. One of the henchmen placed a gun into his pocket as he walked in and stood waiting orders. The lead man reached into the dead man's hand sliding the envelope out of his grasp. He places the envelope into an inner jacket pocket. He walked around for a minute examining the layout of his apartment.
With the wave of one hand in a nonchalant sweep, both men look under the cushions of a sofa then throw them on the floor then one of them turns the entire couch upside down, while the other examines a small desk filing cabinet and removes the contents onto the floor. Suddenly just as he gave the signal to start he holds his hand out with one finger up so they stop for a moment. The leader stares out of a window for a few seconds. Mesmerized by something that just happened outside. Then he quickly walks out of the room and with another signal they all quickly follow behind him to exit out the back in the same quiet fashion that they had entered. Police sirens wail in the far distance.
Outside the building a dark colored AC Cobra with two white racing stripes pulled up to the building. Slowing to a stop as the lone passenger John Doe stepped out.