Autopsy of a Mind

Chapter 136: Already in the Landfill

"The prosecutor has been called and I have handed over the evidence to him," Nash perked up from his seat. 

"Did he sound happy?" I asked blandly as I rolled around in my chair.

"Extremely. Collins made his life hell in a past case and he was jumping with joy with the thorough detective work we did," Nash sounded so proud of himself. I rolled my eyes. 

"I'll go talk to the officer who brought in the box," I sighed. I moved out of my chair and went to the staff room. I found the guy laughing alongside others and called for him. 

"Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you some questions?" I prompted as I neared him. 

He looked between me and the group of his colleagues before nodding. "Let's go somewhere else, shall we?" he said softly. 

"Don't want the others to know you brought in a bloody box into my room without making sure what it was?" I asked without much emotion. It was protocol to check incoming items thoroughly, especially ones that didn't come from internet stores or the like. 

Too many cases of threatening letters from people to detectives and officers had made it a rule. 

"I am sorry about that. I thought it was something Mr. Butler sent you," he said in a small voice. 

"Ah, so the news has traveled." I smiled a small smile. That seemed to put the guy at ease. 

"Yes. We didn't think Mr. Butler was interested in women, or that you were taken. Some of us were vying for your attention. Now I know why you didn't even understand when we tried to flirt." He scratched his head guiltily. 

"That's probably why all of you found out about my relationship in the first place. Apologies on my side, though I am quite slow when it comes to signals made in my direction." He looked at me strangely. "Besides thinking about Mr. Butler as a caveman who essentially marked his territory, let's talk about how you got the box, shall we?"

The guy blinked. "Well, the mail was on the front desk and I saw your name and brought it in. No one had checked it before, I presume. I just saw your name and brought it in." He scratched his head once again. 

"Did you see anyone put it on the desk or otherwise?" he shook his head. 

"It was in the pile of letters and deliveries, so I didn't think much of it. No one seemed to have touched it, though." He shrugged. 

"Did you see anyone watching you take the box away?" I asked. That was a logical question. The culprit would want to wait around and see if his gift reached the target, right? 

"No one in particular." He looked thoroughly confused. Before any rumors started spreading, I had to stop them.

"Thank you for talking to me. I don't think I need to ask you not to speak about this matter to anyone. It's part of an ongoing investigation and talking about it will cause us problems." I quirked my brow, waiting for him to acknowledge that he understood. 

He nodded quickly. 

"Again, thank you." I shook his hand and walked away. 

I headed towards the front desk and saw the guy at the reception. "Hey!" I chirped, placing my elbow on the desk. 

He looked up at me and blinked in confusion. "Miss Lewis. Can I help you with something?"

"I was going to inquire about a package," I said quickly. 

"Oh. Did you not get a parcel or something of the sort? Or was it a food delivery? Nothing has come in your name as of yet."

I nodded. "You haven't noticed any packages come for me?" I asked. He answered truthfully. "I received a package this afternoon with some troubling content and it had no return address. I need to know who left it here. Would you mind pulling out the footage from all of this morning up?" I asked in the politest voice possible. 

In a police station where everyone thought themselves powerful because they were in a uniform, this was common courtesy. 

"If you buy me some pizza, I will think about it," he responded in kind. 

I chuckled. "Fine. I'll order a pizza of your choice for the favor. What say you?" The bribe was made and from the look on his face, I knew that he would take the hook and give me what I needed. 

I got all the footage in the email. And then I saw the delivery guy put the package down. I noted the company tag on their uniform and called the company. And then I was on a wild goose chase. All from the comfort of my office.

"Evie, it's six in the evening. Get off work," Sebastian called from the door. 

I looked up, surprised. "Don't you have work to do on the BTS Killer case?" I asked in confusion. 

"Yes, I do have a lot of work, but that can wait!" he claimed. 

"And what would your reason be?" I asked, unashamed at our flirting in a public space. 

"My girlfriend will be out of the city for a few days and I want to go out on a date with her. Is that so much to ask?" He tilted his head to the side and waited for my retort. 

"I need to get the records of who asked to deliver the package before I can do anything. The trail is fresh and hot and I have to find the source before it cools down."

"And seeing that your hair is a complete mess, I can gauge that so far your quest for the man behind the deliveries is not going well?" he asked, his smile dropping. 

"No. I used Nash's batch number to get them to talk and everything. I spoke to the people who made the deliveries in each location."

Sebastian blinked. "What was the transfer like?" he asked, walking over to my desk and kneeling down beside me.

"Uh Basically, this guy ordered a bunch of transits from each location across the city. So, there was five delivery personnel that the box changed hands with so far before it reached us."

"And no fingerprints?" Sebastian asked, bewildered. "That sounds like a convoluted plan, too."

"Of course, he wants to throw us off and make us go on a wild goose chase. But if he has sent us something physical, I can't just miss the opportunity." I paused and finally thought back to his question. "The package was left in an obscure park South of the City. Footfall is so low that they don't even have security guards or cameras. The first guy picked up the package from a bench in the park, neatly put it inside a generic Ziplock pack. They were asked to wear gloves and then the parcel went to several locations all around the city before finally reaching here."

I huffed. 

"And the plastic bag? Where is it?" Sebastian asked, getting worried. 

"They were asked to recycle it."

Sebastian blinked. "And we have no plastic recycling bins in the station or within twenty meters of it so" he thought out loud. 

"The last delivery person threw the plastic out a few blocks from the station. Judging the time, the next shift took the garbage around three in the afternoon."

"It's already in the landfill."

"Contaminated and there is no way we will find it," I added. 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves or worry about our losses," Sebastian said in that soothing voice of his. "Knowing this guy, he probably didn't even leave behind any traces on that plastic. Have you checked out of numbers yet?" he asked finally. 

I shook my head. "It was one number doing everything. He ordered the deliveries from smaller, local companies from the phone. It's out of service now," I told him. 

"He must have paid somehow!"

I laughed. "Yes. That is what I need to figure out. How did he pay them through internet banking if he was going to go to such a big fuss about not leaving a trace?"

Sebastian stood up and pulled me along with him. 

"Give the task to someone. They can bring out the name of the person who registered, the owner of the bank account. Everything, okay?" he pleaded. 

I nodded. "And where are you going to take me, Mr. Butler?" I asked him. 

"It's a surprise. And I hope you really like it because I worked really hard for it," he pouted. 

"You worked hard for a date?" I squeaked. 

"Some guy gave you a present and now you are running behind him. I am inclined to believe that he is not behind me but you! So, I must catch your attention before this criminal mastermind steals you away!" He grinned, his eyes sparkling and making my heart melt. 

"Okay. I'll go with you without question," I gave in. He retrieved a piece of cloth from his pocket and dangled it in front of my eye. "What is that?"

"A blindfold," he said casually. "It's to protect the surprise. You're too intelligent to not figure it out if you see the signs." 

"The things I do for you," I groaned. I closed my eyes and let him do what he wished.