Ch. 2 - The Package

The sun rose over the city skyline, promising a pleasant day with no clouds in sight. Any other day, the bright blue sky and light wind would be a welcoming sight. Today though, the unfiltered sun seemed to mock Detective Sadie, drilling into her sleep-deprived brain, and giving her the mother of all headaches. Grumbling in annoyance, she grabbed her thick-framed round sunglasses from their case as she drove slowly through the streets of Circovia.

Sadie’s car cruised to a stop outside of a yellowed-brick building with a large sign reading CIRCOVIA ARMORY. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, willing her headache to go away as she recounted what she found at the crime scene. The Jane Doe was an eerie mix between a human and a dog, a golden retriever if she had to put her finger on the breed. She’d clearly inhaled some from of gas, although it was unclear if the gas had triggered the fatal transition into a dog or if she was already mid-transformation. A small metal cylinder was found near the crime scene that had an orange liquid similar to the coloration that remained on the glass of the phone booth. Sadie looked at the bagged cylinder in the passenger seat as she mused over her findings. She was sure this object was the source of this mysterious gas. While the coroner performed his autopsy, she was going to bring the odd device to a specialist.

With a sigh, Sadie grabbed the bag and climbed out of the car. She was in the process of closing her car door when an odd rumble came from her stomach. Looking down at her navel in confusion, she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything since the late lunch the day prior. Still, the rumble continued longer than she would’ve liked. She made a mental note to get some breakfast after this stop and headed into the city armory.

Dingle dingle

The ringing of the bell at the door signaled Sadie’s entry to the portly man behind the counter of the armory. The balding rotund man was in the middle of cleaning out the barrel of an old rifle that he carefully placed to the side as Sadie approached.

“Mornin’ ma’am. How can I help ‘ya?” A revolting mix of booze and poor-quality cigars wafted off the man’s foul breath.

Sadie approached the counter but looked elsewhere for her usual contact. He was nowhere to be found. “Good morning. I’m looking for Andy. Is he in yet?”

The large man, clad in a strained and stained wife beater and worn jeans, was silent, his eyes narrowing as he inspected the businesslike woman in front of him. Sadie stood her ground under his gaze without flinching. They stood awkwardly silent for a while before he finally snorted, spit a lougie into a bucket behind the counter, and said, “maybe. Who’s askin’?”

“Me. Detective Myers. I need his expertise on something. Could you grab him for me?”

“I’mma need a buzzer before I do anything for you babe.” A slimy grin spread across his face like he’d just made the smoothest one-liner. Sadie rolled her eyes and flashed her police badge in front of his face, making the slimy smile fade as he slowly read the words emblazoned on the metal.

With another snort and a readjusting of his belt, the creep gathered his composure, picked up the gun and cleaning brush, and nonchalantly returned to cleaning the rifle. “He’s in’a back, flatfoot. You can head round the corner there to find ‘im.”

Sadie followed the goon’s instructions, going around the corner and down a short hallway lined with shelves of ammunition and guns. The entire armory smelled strongly of gunpowder and cigars, but she breathed a sigh of relief when comparing it to the awful smell surrounding the creep behind the counter. Sadie noted that everything smelled more layered and stronger today for some reason, but attributed it to clear sinuses and over exhaustion.

At the back of the hallway, Sadie walked into a small workshop with a wiry old man hunched over the desk. The top of the man’s head was bald, but the tufts of gray hair above his ears and on the back of his head gave Sadie a mad professor sort of vibe. The oversized goggles that covered his eyes as he looked up at her only added to the assessment, but the warm smile across his face calmed her nerves.

“Miss Myers! You’re a sight for these old eyes o’ mine. What brought ya into the armory today?”

Sadie smiled and took a seat nearby, letting herself relax a little in the company of a welcome friend. “Andy. You should probably get better help for the front of the store.”

Andy laughed, coughing a little on the gunpowder that rose from his jerky movement. “Oh that’s just Teddy. He’s a lil gruff, but he’s passionate about the goods and knows his way around guns. Much better than the young scrubs I’ve had before.”

Sadie chuckled, remembering the timid acne-ridden teen that had been at the store last time she’d come for help. “Fair point, fair point. Is he a greaser though? I’d hate to have you be tainted by the mob scene overtaking this damned city.”

Andy waved his hand dismissively, pushing the goggles unto his forehead and turning towards Detective Myers. “I know you didn’t come to just check on who I employ. What’s the case this time?”

Sadie pulled out the baggie with the strange cylinder and placed it on the desk in front of Andy. The older man grabbed the bag and delicately handled the object held within. Confronted with a new toy he didn’t immediately recognize, curiosity shone within the tired eyes as Andy inspected the cylinder closely. Sadie cleared her throat as he turned it over in his hand. “This was found near the scene of a **** at the corner of Harlow and Barry Street this morning. I’m thinking that this was a gas release canister of some kind, although I’ve never seen one as small before.”

“Me neither. Nor one of this design either.” Andy licked his lips and set the cylinder down on the desk before looking back at Sadie. “Based on the broken ring on the top, it seems that the inventor of this device used it like a sort of grenade.”

“A grenade?” Sadie leaned forward, pulling out her notebook to write the details down. “So this was like some sort of pin-release system?”

“Aye, keen assessment detective. You can see a hole where a pin was pulled right here,” Andy said, pointing out a small hole near the top of the canister. “Rather than a boom though, it seems some kind of gas came out of the bottom here. Wait.. what is this orange stuff coming out of it?” Andy brought the bag up close to his face for closer inspection, his eyes crossing.

Sadie politely grabbed the bag away, careful not to give too many details to the public, even if Andy was a friend. “We’re looking into that now actually. You’re my first stop of the day, but thanks for the low down Andy. Your information continues to remain tip-top as always.” Sade stood up and extended her right hand for Andy to shake.

He chuckled, pushed the hand away, and came in for a hug. “Anytime, Sadie. You just walk past Teddy and right to me next time, yeah?

Sadie laughed, returning the hug as professionally as possible. “Gladly. Thanks Andy.”

Sadie turned to leave with bag in hand before Andy chirped up. “By the by, you’re looking a little heavier than normal. Take it easy on the meals pally!”

Andy was right. Sadie sat in her car outside of her apartment complex and poked an inquisitive finger into her belly. Sadie had always prided herself on her tall athletic build, but her usually easy-to-spot abs were hidden behind a small paunch of fat. What’s more, it seemed her small b-cup breasts seemed fuller than normal, and her arms had more padding than usual. Clearly, the recent string of back-to-back shifts wasn’t doing any favors for her mental or physical health.

After her meeting with Andy and Teddy, she’d returned to the station to drop off the evidence and check with the coroner. He wasn’t finished with his autopsy though, so she called it a day and headed home to get a nap in at the minimum. With exhaustion eating away at her mind, she headed up the steps to her fourth floor apartment.

Right in front of her door was a small orange package the size of a box of chocolates. A small purple bow rested ominously on its top. Confused, Sadie picked up the package and entered her small apartment.

Sadie loved her city apartment, if mostly for the wonderful views she had from her high-up perch. The apartment itself was small and modest with a large bookshelf filled with all of her fiction favorites, a small dining setup in the middle, a decent sized kitchen, and a small but beautiful bedroom overlooking the streets of Circovia. A bundle of unread letters sat on a desk near the bookshelf and Sadie crashed into the nearby seat, placing her feat on the ottoman before opening the curious package.

The box was mostly empty save for a small paper the size of a business card and a children’s book.

Well this is certainly one of the weirdest packages I’ve ever gotten…

Sadie pulled out the book first. It was titled THE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD and featured stylized drawings of a lion, monkey, cow, and dog sitting next to each other and seemingly looking back at the reader. There wasn’t anything special about the book itself; upon opening it up, it read like an introduction for a small child to various kinds of animals and the sounds that they make.

Even more confused than before, Sadie placed the book among the others in her bookshelf and turned her attention to the small paper. In small cursive writing it read:

You shouldn’t have touched that liquid Detective

Are you still feeling like yourself?

575 Denton Ave