Chapter Three
Case Log - Teela
I went back to the scenes of the previous two burglaries fitting our mystery burglar's M.O. - THEIR safes were cleaned out, too. No strange prints on the locks or the handles; our thief clearly pulled the loot out through the locked door.
I can see why The Sorceress of Grayskull might take a personal interest in this particular case. It's most certainly … unusual (How often does one have to deal with a burglar who possesses mutagenic powers? I wonder … is this guy another one of those "X-Files" the Queen sometimes jokes about?)
What I wouldn't give for a nice little purse-snatcher right about now…
"This time, our guy slipped up," said the technician. Teela has been called to the house of Hazar the Shipbuilder. The same mysterious thief who had robbed Raanan and Orban had robbed Hazar.
"How so?" Teela inquired. She and the technician were standing in Hazar's lavishly appointed living room.
"He was attacked by Hazar's dog," said the technician. "There's a trail of blood spatter in the hallway."
"I want a DNA sequence of that blood," said Teela.
"Our thief shot the dog," said the technician. "The dog was found in the hallway with a laser scorch mark on the side of his head … dead." The technician paused. "We found a bag containing stolen goods next to the dog."
"Our thief must've dropped it when he was attacked by the dog," said Teela. Real animal lover, she thought wryly to herself. "Anything else?"
"Yeah," said the technician. "Our thief left behind something else … a witness."
"Can you describe what the thief looked like?" Teela asked Rami, one of Hazar's chambermaids. Teela and Rami were standing in the kitchen.
Rami shook her head. "I didn't see him," she said. "I heard the dog barking. After that, I heard a gunshot. When I went to see where the noise was coming from, I found Maximillian lying dead in the hallway."
" 'Maximillian', I presume … is the dog?" Teela inquired.
Rami nodded. "Yes," she said. "When I reached the hallway, the thief had already left."
Blast, Teela thought bitterly. "Thank you for your time, Miss," she said.
That night, Teela was in her quarters. A borrowed docking port was attached to a small computer terminal sitting atop her desk. A small Lucite cube containing the thief's DNA sequence sat inside the docking port.
"Computer," said Teela. "Access all records of active-duty and retired service personnel. Match unknown DNA sequence to record containing unknown DNA sequence."
"No records found," the computer replied in an electronically digitized feminine voice.
"Computer," said Teela. "Access all records of birth certificates. Match unknown DNA sequence to record containing unknown DNA sequence."
"No records found," came the computer's reply.
He's not from Eternos … and he's not from any of the nearby provinces, Teela thought. "Computer," she said. "Access all criminal records. Include Intercrime Database in search. Match unknown DNA sequence to record containing unknown DNA sequence."
"No records found," came the computer's reply.
No criminal record … THAT'S a first. "Computer," said Teela. "Access all school records. Match unknown DNA sequence to record containing unknown DNA sequence."
"No records found," came the computer's reply.
He's not from Eternos. He's not from any of the nearby provinces. He wasn't born here. He didn't go to school here. He didn't serve in the military. Teela cast her eyes upwards - as if appealing to The Ancients - and said, "You're not making this easy for me, are you?"
