Rudolph, City of Von 2067, Monday, January 6th, around 10 hours later
Rudolph and A-3 are getting into a detective vehicle. When they get in the car, the first thing Rudolph does is light a cigarette and roll down the window. A-3 looks at the time, which reads 10:03 AM. Rudolph then starts the car with the press of a button and exits the police grounds.
With the window down, Rudolph sets his cigarette hand out the window, feels the breeze against his arm, and sees the sun beaming onto his arm even though it's winter. Rudolph goes to put the cigarette back into his mouth when, unexpectedly, a group of three people pulls up to his car on electric motorcycles and throw up peace signs before speeding off. All Rudolph can do is chuckle as he puts the cigarette back into his mouth.
Rudolph looks over to A-3, then back at the road, "A-3, we should have the autopsy report by now on Winter Rose, right?" Rudolph says as he clears his throat.
A-3 glances over at Rudolph, then back to his hologram iPad, which is held together by two sticks that anyone can easily pull apart. "Yes, sir, we have the autopsy report now."
"Okay, break down the report for me."
"First, the weapon for cutting the skin off that the killer most likely used was a 12-inch hunting knife. Secondly, no organs were missing from the victim; all were left intact."
"Yeah, if that's what we're calling intact," Rudolph says abruptly.
A-3 continues, "Next is the Christmas lights that were tied tightly around the victim's neck and the tree the victim was lying against. There's not too much on the Christmas lights other than the fact that a couple of the lights penetrated through her neck. Then we have the mask that had a smiley face on it, which was confirmed to have been done by the killer with the victim's blood. Lastly, we have the poison, which has nothing on it."
"There's nothing on the poison?" Rudolph asks.
"No, sir, there are no details on the poison other than it's marked as an unknown substance."
"Really? I guess I'm going to have to call the person who did the autopsy."
Rudolph opens the center console, pulls out an earpiece, and puts it tightly into his ear. "A-3, who was the person who did the autopsy?"
"It was Dr. Anna," A-3 replied.
Rudolph goes on his phone, enters a number, and calls Dr. Anna.
A couple of seconds pass with the phone ringing, then it stops, and Dr. Anna picks it up.
"Yes? Hello, this is Dr. Anna with Von City Forensics."
"Yes, this is Detective Rudolph with the Von police of the second district. I was wondering why you marked nothing for the poison?"
"The poison, huh?" Dr. Anna takes a quick breath, then speaks again, "Yeah, it's as it shows, there's nothing on this poison, it's new."
"Really?" Rudolph asks.
"Yeah, it's weird. Nothing can pick up anything that may have made this poison other than cyanide. Even with all this new technology, we can't figure out what made this poison."
"Is there a name for this poison?" Rudloph asks.
"Yes, what the National Forensic Agency is calling it is Xeros." Dr. Anna takes another breath, "The word Xeros means to wither, withered, and dry."
"Huh, well, thanks for all the help, Dr.Anna, and if you have any more information on Xeros, make sure to call."
"Yes, of course… and what was your name again?"
"It was Rudolph, Detective Rudolph."
"Okay, thanks, and yeah, I will make sure to call again if anything new comes up on the poison Xeros." Dr. Anna says.
Rudolph hangs up the phone, takes the earpiece from his ear, and returns it to the center console. Rudolph then glances over at A-3.
"I don't know if you caught that, but the poison is being called Xeros, and the only element they were able to find in it so far is cyanide."
A-3 keeps his eyes in front of him, doesn't glance over at Rudolph, doesn't say a word.
"We are about to enter one of the busiest parts of Von City," Rudolph says as they're driving, "Luminara Square."
A-3 takes a glance at Rudolph as if he's curious, "Why, is it considered one of the busiest parts of Von City?"
"Simple, because it sits between Von City's first and Second districts."
"Alright, we're here now. We just have to find parking, which is going to be a bitch to do."
Rudolph and A-3 enter Luminara Square, where crowds of people line the sidewalks and crosswalks. Rudolph and A-3 slowly make their way into Luminara Square. Just as they're about to enter the heart of Luminara Square, Rudolph and A-3 look up at the massive building towering in the sky.
"Robot's Specialty," Rudolph says with his shoulders stiffening and his mouth slightly opening in awe.
"That place is fucking huge," Rudolph says as he attempts to parallel park in a narrow spot.
"Okay, here we are."
Rudolph and A-3 exit the vehicle and go to the sidewalk, where a bunch of people are walking.
"A-3, try not to bump into anyone, okay?"
A-3 doesn't respond.
As Rudolph and A-3 make their way through the large crowd of people, they eventually find themselves at the entrance to Robot's Specialty.
Before entering, Rudolph and A-3 take one final look up at the massive building. The sun was beaming off some of the windows.
Rudolph and A-3 walk through the see-through sliding glass doors, and the first thing that hits them is the AC. Unlike A-3, Rudolph can feel the AC air go across his whole body.
"You can't feel the AC, right?" Rudolph asks A-3.
"No, sir, I cannot feel the AC." A-3 Replies.
"Figured as much."
"Okay, first things first, we go to the front desk."
Rudolph and A-3 make their way to the front desk, which is located to the right in the vast lobby. As Rudolph and A-3 get to the front desk, Rudolph takes notice of something.
"What the fuck? Robots' Specialty uses girl robot clerks? Fuck I should have expected this."
"Hello, sir, how can I be of help to you today?" The robot asks.
Rudolph takes a look at the robot. She had blonde hair and was wearing a black suit with a red tie. Rudolph then glances at the nametag, 'Bell.'
"So, you go by Bell, correct?" Rudolph takes his cigarette out of his mouth and puts it out on a cigarette tray.
"Yes, sir, that's correct."
"Well, I'm Detective Rudloph with Von Police of the second District, and this is A-3, who will be assisting me. We are here for the case of Winter Rose."
"I see, well, actually, the CEO has been expecting you guys, and he plans to meet with you." Bell points toward the couches in the center of the lobby. "You can wait there in the meantime."
"Okay? Thanks." Rudolph says this with his eyebrows raised.
Rudolph and A-3 make their way towards the three couches, which are arranged in a triangular shape. Rudolph sits down on one of them, and A-3 sits next to him.
Rudolph coughs, "Why would the CEO want to speak with us immediately? "
"I don't know." A-3 says.
"I don't know what's going on, but something fishy is going on."
Rudolph and A-3 hear a voice from the distance, "My, I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long!"
A large man appears, wearing a black and white suit with a black tie. He is also wearing round glasses and has no hair on the top of his head. The man slowly approaches Rudolph and A-3.
Rudolph speaks up, "You must be the CEO, right?"
"Yes, that's correct, I am William Frances, the CEO of Robots Specialty." William Frances reaches out for a handshake.
"I see, and I'm Detective Rudolph, and this is A-3." Rudolph shakes his hand and then wipes his hand on his shirt. "Sweaty hands?" Rudolph sighs and realizes that William Frances is missing his ring finger on his right hand.
William Frances then goes to shake A-3's hand. A-3 hesitantly shakes his hand back.
"Well, I think it's best if we continue this conversation in my office." William Frances walks toward an elevator, and Rudolph and A-3 follow.
William Frances, Rudolph, and A-3 enter the elevator. William pressed a button which has the number 20 on it. The elevator goes up.
'Ding.' The elevator doors open.
"My office is just down the hall." William points. William goes up to the door to his office and opens it.
William makes a hand gesture showing them inside his office. As Rudolph and A-3 enter, the first thing they see is two couches facing each other, separated by a thin glass table. Lastly, there is the desk in the back of the office, which has files and a lamp neatly placed.
William goes to take a seat. "Well, take a seat." William points his hand to the couch across from him.
Rudolph and A-3 take a seat.
"Well, you may begin asking your questions."
Rudolph chuckles, "It's funny, it's almost as if you have been preparing for our visit."
"Well, of course, one of my employees died."
Rudolph grunts, "Great, so you knew Winter Rose, correct?" Rudolph takes her picture out of a file and places it on the glass table.
William sits there for a second, then answers, "Yes, I knew her. Winter Rose was a brilliant woman, always beautiful and intelligent. She had pretty long black hair with braids and a perfect white smile."
"What was her role here at Robot Specialty?" Rudolph asks.
"She worked in the coding department." William Frances fixes his glasses.
"I see, was there ever a moment where Winter Rose found herself at odds with anyone, or maybe with you?" Rudolph stares directly into Williams' eyes.
"I haven't heard anything about her getting into arguments with other employees, and especially never with me."
"Okay, was she talking to anyone? Someone she may have liked?"
William chuckles, "Oh, of course, the boys always surrounded her."
"Was there anyone who stood out in particular?"
"No, no one stood out in particular, and if someone did stand out, they would usually end up transferring or quitting."
Before Rudolph can ask another question, A-3 chimes in.
"Quit or fired?" Asks A-3, who stares at William with his bright white mechanical eyes.
"It's as I just said, they either quit or they transferred. Why would I fire them?" William's face starts to get more serious.
"I think you may have liked Winter Rose, no?"
Rudolph looks over at A-3, surprised, then looks back over at William.
William sighs, "Of course not, how could I like an employee?" William laughs nervously.
"Just based on purely how you described her, I have reason to believe you liked her and might have even made her do sexual favors."
"Nonsense," William says in a calm voice, trying not to lose his temper.
"Is that why you killed her? Because she refused you?"
Rudolph and William both look over at A-3 in shock.
"Whoa, A-3, that might be kind of a stretch, no?" Asks Rudolph.
"It's perfectly fine," William says, putting his hand up.
"Look, it's sad that she died, but I wasn't the one who killed her." The room goes silent.
A-3 talks again, "She didn't like you, right? She tried to push you away, and in the end, you forced yourself on her."
"I admit that is quite the assumption you have made there, but you're wrong. I never did anything to her."
"What happened to your finger? It looks quite recent, no?" A-3 keeps punching him with questions.
"This? I lost it working in the room where you build robots, a saw cut it clean off."
"Interesting." A-3 says.
Rudolph then asks the next question.
"You work as a pastor at a church, right?"
"No, I'm a Baptist," William replies.
"I have one more question to ask you, William Frances." A-3 says. "How would you describe Winter Rose?"
"I would describe her as a lost soul who was trying to find a way out," William grunts.
"And did you believe you could help her?" Asks A-3.
"Yes, yes, I did, but as you can see, I wasn't able to help."
"You described her as a lost soul, and you believed you could help her, but when she declined your help, you decided she was a soul that was meant to perish, and you killed her, right?"
"Okay! I think that's enough for questions. I think you guys should see your way out now." William gets up from the couch, walks towards the door, and opens it.
Rudolph and A-3 get up.
"Well, here's my card if anything new comes up." Rudolph hands his card to William.
Rudolph and A-3 walk down the hallway to the elevator and open the doors. When they enter, they see William Frances just standing there in the center of the hallway with his hands behind his back. The doors close.
"There's definitely something off about him that's for sure," Rudolph says as he reaches for another cigarette.
"I agree." Says A-3, who presses the lobby button.