Taels Online

"There’s no sense in it." The girl said.

 

Detective Stevens looked up at the young CSI. Her face was pale.

 

"There’s no good sense in it, but there is a mind at work here."

 

Stevens continued to look around the room. He bent over and picked something up.

 

Stevens’ partner, Detective Brown, cocked his head, "Oh?".

 

"It’s an earring. Check the vic’s ear."

 

Brown did so. He nodded. "Torn right ear."

 

Stevens handed the earring to the CSI, who bagged it.

 

The scene was a mess of blood and other matter. The body had been moved, prior to Stevens and Brown arriving, and again after, when the CSI team arrived.

 

There were at least four cameras secreted in just this one room. Apparently every square inch of the house and the yard surrounding was covered by a lense.

 

Brown laughed without humor. "I guess there’s so much Reality TV going around that someone wanted murder to be part of it."

 

Stevens nodded slowly. He was thinking about motive and means.

 

He made his way along the corridors and through the "secret" door where the house was run from. Television screens lined the walls. There were a few desks, but in center of the room was a chair that could have been a throne. It was carpeted in red, like what you imagined the Queen would sit on, with gold and silver frills. Deep blue satin wound itself around the arms and down to the floor.

 

As Brown walked in he let out a snort. "What kind of pretentious git sits in .."

 

Brown was stopped short with a cough from behind.

 

They both turned.

 

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Roly Sanders."

 

Roly Sanders had single handedly brought the idea of Reality TV into success and fame. They were now in the set of Bigger Brother, the fifth, or maybe sixth incarnation, Stevens couldn’t remember.

 

"And you must be Detective Stevens." Sanders ignored Brown altogether, and put out his hand.

 

Stevens shook it.

 

Sanders continued, "I’ve heard a lot of good praise regarding your deeds Detective Stevens. I hope you don’t mind, but I personally requested your presence to deal with this .. unfortunate incident."

 

As Sanders continued to talk Brown quietly moved out of the room. It was their way. Everybody knew Stevens, and while they were talking to him, Brown would spend that time finding out as much as he could without interruption.

 

"Do you attend Church Detective?"

 

Stevens wondered where this was going. "You know I do."

 

Sanders nodded. "I find it difficult to understand why such an obviously intelligent man as yourself could believe in God."

 

Stevens nodded. "That’s okay. You cannot understand what you do not know." Stevens didn’t mind talking to people about his faith, but Sanders irked him. "I need to ask you a few questions Mr. Sanders."

 

Sanders nodded, seemingly unperturbed at the Detective’s brusque manner. "Please, call me Roly. Come, let’s sit and we’ll have something to drink."

 

He caught the eye of a black-clothed person standing in the corner, and the woman went off quickly.

 

As they were sitting down, the woman returned with two glasses and a bottle of wine. Sanders dismissed her with a wave, not a word was spoken.

 

Stevens ignored the drink placed in front of him. Even if it wasn’t against the rules, he wouldn’t. He hadn’t touched alcohol since the accident. But Roly Sanders would probably know that.

 

Just what kind of game are you playing?

 

"Mr. Sanders. I’ll need all the paperwork, every piece of documentation that this .. endeavour has filed away. I’m going to need to interview everybody that worked here, all the cast of the show, and people who were involved but weren’t on site.

 

Sanders nodded. "Of course Detective Stevens, but you must understand .."

 

"I don’t have to understand."

 

Sanders nodded again. "As you wish."

 

"This set is under lockdown. If you know of anything that has been removed or brought in since the crime was committed, I want to know. Until we get this mess sorted out, nothing is to happen without my consent.

 

Sanders continued to nod.

 

Detective Stevens wasn’t a fool. He knew how people worked. If the guilty party was smart, they would have put evens into motion before and after the murder itself. Finding links might be easy, depending on how deeply woven the plan was. Links could prove to be false. Or double-false, as Brown so blithely put it. True, but made to be seen as false.

 

"One last thing Mr. Sanders. Quite important. I’ll need all the video footage."

 

This was not going to be easy.

 

It was never easy.