Chapter 4: Meeting with the chief of police

"What do you mean that it's still an 'accidental death'?" Shinichi asked.

"Listen." Stone said, clearly annoyed by the intrusion. "Just because the blood samples are a match doesn't mean that the bullet is the one that killed the victim, especially when you're telling me that toy came up with the conclusion. There are only four blood types in the world, and I mentioned that there was a shooting on the Metro train last year. There's a good chance that one of the victims in the shooting could've have the same blood type as the victim in this accident. Period!"

He then boarded his cruiser and left, leaving the kids fuming about his rejection of their latest proof.

"你真的在開我的玩笑!" (You've got to be kidding me!) William remarked.

"說的也是。" (You got that right.) Ran agreed.

"I sure will like to know how much more clues will we need to convince that sarge that this is murder." Shaggy remarked. "Imagine someone like him running the whole police department."

"I sure wouldn't want to imagine that, Shaggy." Daphne said. "The whole city could be upside down."

(Indeed, Daphne. In fact, if you guys want to find out what will a city be like if it's police force is under the command of Bronson Stone, just check out what your Dimension Three counterparts have to go through in Crystal Cove, where Bronson Stone is the sheriff)

"Well, so as Velma mentioned before, we're going to have to figure this out ourselves." Fred said. "What will we have to do first?"

"First off, the evidence:" Shinichi began. "If you discover what appears to be evidence, particularly if it's the murder weapon, never, ever touch it with your bare hands. Always wear gloves."

William nodded as he showed them the pair of gloves he was wearing before saying. "Because the last thing you want is to get your fingerprints on the evidence and get the finger pointed towards you incorrectly and tainting the investigation."

He then proceeded to imitate a clueless investigator getting his own fingerprints on pieces of shattered glass at the scene of a murder and then the investigator's attempt to claim his innocence once the fingerprints on the shattered glass pointed the suspicion to him, earning several laughs from his friends as Velma made a note on that.

"Next, you've got to have a sharp mind and a keen eye." Elizabeth continued. "I know you guys already got those from your mystery-solving, but nonetheless it's important to possess those characteristics, since a keen eye helps you find clues and your sharp mind puts the pieces together."

"Third will be your deduction." Shinichi added. "From the evidence you've collected, put the pieces together and deduce. Sharpen it so it can flow with the truth, which there is only one."

The gang all nodded before Shaggy asked, "Like, what if there are still some loose ends and you can't straighten them out?"

"In that case, you'll have to make the culprit confess the truth." Shinichi said.

"Confess the truth?" Daphne asked. "How?"

"Simple. The key to getting a confession is the culprit's confidence." Shinichi replied. "Most killers are confident that you won't be able to crack the case, so they kept their mouths shut and not say a word. However, when they become overconfident, that's where things turn south on them."

"Right." William nodded. "I remember a case a year ago where a former chief inspector of the Ottawa police was found dead in a room with shattered glass, during which there was a protest outside his home and a brick was thrown into the house, which will make one think that the thrown brick was responsible for killing the former chief inspector after it hit his head."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "However, there were signs that the victim was strangled and was already dead before the brick was thrown, which was done to divert suspicion. When Will and the police commissioner interviewed the chief inspector's former business partner, who was the culprit, and asked him questions, he was able to answer them correctly, that is, until William mentioned that the victim was already strangled to death before the brick was thrown, at which the partner said that he joined the protest and had thrown the brick to his house."

"That culprit's overconfidence was game over for him when I put the pieces together upon hearing that remark." William nodded.

(For more details on the case, stay tuned for my upcoming FictionPress story The Case of the Broken Glass)

"Overconfidence is the killer for culprits in getting away with their crimes. Got it." Shaggy nodded.

"So now that we have that out of the way, what's next?" Fred asked.

"First, we're going to have the bullet examined." Shinichi replied. "It could help us unlock the model of the gun."

"As well as tracing the victim's last steps prior to his demise on the metro train." William added. "I suppose there's a surveillance camera on the train car, right?"

"That, I can arrange it with my father." Daphne offered. "His company owns considerable stock in Coolsville Metro Authority."

"Right, and we're going to have to take a closer look at the victim's body." Elizabeth added. "Because I can't help but think that there's something peculiar about the nature of the wound."

"Stone did mention that nobody had heard a gunshot." Velma said.

"That could mean that someone had a muffler added on the gun barrel, preventing other passengers from hearing the gunshot." William nodded.

A short while later, the gang was at the ninth floor of the Coolsville Police Department headquarters, inside the office of the chief of police.

Chief of Police Samuel Chastain "Sam" Rogers listened silently as the sleuths gave him a resume on the case, as well as Sergeant Stone's refusal to call in the detectives at the homicide table of East Glensburg Division.

"Alright." The chief nodded. "I'll see to it that the technicians at the Science and Forensics Division lab have that bullet checked, and I can arrange you kids to go over to the coroner's office for the victim's body. However, for Sergeant Stone's conduct, I'm afraid there's little I can do about it."

"How come, Chief Rogers?" Fred asked.

"That son-of-a-gun's got protection from the police union." Sam replied. "The president of the union happens to be Lieutenant Francis Jones (Not related to District Attorney Jefferson 'Skip' Jones or his family), who is the cousin of Councilman Alice Dovely and has considerable influence over the police departmental board."

(Note: Francis Jones is a retconned version of Frederick Jones, Sr. from SDMI for Dimension One.)

"Nuts." William remarked. "Are you telling us that any unfavourable action against Sergeant Stone, particularly disciplinary action, could wind up to City Hall and put your job in jeopardy, Chief Rogers?"

"That is the case, Mr. Wu." Sam nodded.

"Then, what should we do, Chief?" Shinichi asked.

"Just carry on with your investigation." Sam replied. "As for Sergeant Stone, pay no attention to anything he says. I'll deal with him."

"Like, thanks for the support, Pops." Shaggy says as their meeting is concluded.

"No problem." Sam replied. "I only hope you kids don't get into any trouble."

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