Zor: The First Case - Part One

Chapter One: Leave No Stone Unturned

Zor had done nothing ever since that day that she discovered Arkados, her friend and partner, had been killed. And what bugged her about it was that she could of helped him. She could have stopped him from dying. In a state of panic and confusion, Zor had quit her job as a detective and ran out, never to have any contact again.

     The Faerie Zafara adjusted herself on her red sofa. It was very uncomfortable but she didn't have much income except for a little money from her friend, Stacey. She hadn't had contact with her since college. Recently, a few months after the Arkados ordeal, she stepped up again and offered to help in anyway possible. At the time, Zor had declined that offer figuring she'd find a job and get paid off of that. It wasn't the case. Word spread around and no agency nor store would accept someone in such an emotional state.

     But her emotional state had passed. Well, at least the one involving her partner. A new one arose and that was the overwhelming feeling of self pity. She hated what she had become. She stayed at home day and night, sitting in front of the fire; staring at the embers burn the hickory logs with a depressed face

     There was one time that she went out and that was about three months ago. It was only for a few minutes but she needed to take care of some unfinished business. A few months after getting the job of a detective she opened a bank account that all her money was forwarded to. Though she took it out every few weeks, she had not collected interest and refuse to do so until she needed it. That was a time that she needed it. It was the worst time of her money troubles, or it was then. The agency that she had previously worked for took the money away, claiming she was responsible for the death and her money would go towards the funeral and any other things that needed to be done. And she went bankrupt.

     Zor was snapped out of her thoughts as a booming knock on the door brought her to her senses. She gracefully got up and walked to the door, peering out the window first to see who it was. As she did so, a gasp escaped her lips. Commander Bipid, the head of the detective agency, was at the door in a black overcoat to avoid the steadily falling snow. She quickly opened the door and stood in the doorway, looking into the eyes of her former commander.

     "May I come in?" the kind voiced Chia said, blue fur tufting out from bits of his jacket.

     The Zafara nodded and moved away to allow him in. "Why are you here?" she asked in an almost rude tone.

     Commander Bipid seated himself on the couch before answering. "Well," he exasperated. "Some new evidence has popped up and...Seremdra had nothing to do with it. It was someone else...but that is why we need you. We want to rehire you to solve this case. You know him best and you know his friends and what he did and where he went."

     Zor stood there, surprised. "Do I get paid?" she asked. It was rude but acceptable in her case.

     "If you wish," he replied. "Anyway, and I don't mean to get off the subject, how have you been?"

     "Horrible," Zor answered. The truth. There was no use hiding it from the commander. He would find out eventually that she went into bankruptcy. "I'm bankrupt, have no one supporting me, and no job. How are you?" A very sarcastic comment.

     It looked as if Bipid was taken back by her attitude. "What happened to you?" he asked in a very curious manner.

      Zor shook her head furiously. "A lot. Ever since I quit...things have just happened one after the other and my life has been taken out of my grasp and pulled into a vortex of horrible events."

     "I've offered you the job back many times and you-"

     "You did no such thing," Zor replied rudely. "I heard no notice, mail, letter, or statement stating that I was allowed to come back. I know your manipulative games that you play. You always do the right thing, right? You have never done the right thing..." she trailed off as a tear rolled down her face. Zor then quickly apologized through her tears and turn away.

     In a matter of seconds she felt a firm grasp around her shoulder. "Don't cry," Bipid whispered. "You're right. I lied. I never sent you anything but I wanted to bring you back but, unfortunately, it would not go over well with Henry. He's in the position of power over me. And he wasn't very fond of the idea to bring you back. But that doesn't mean I didn't push it. I did..."

     Zor turned back towards him. "What can I do to help?" She had decided, almost without a thought, that she would help him.

     Bipid smiled before retiring back to the couch to inform her of his plan. "I want you to find out about all his enemies. I know he had to have had a lot of them. After putting so many people away, I was surprised in didn't happen sooner. But, anyway, I'm figuring it was one of them. Don't limit your search to the people he put away. Check their friends, their families, and even their enemies. Check Arkados friends. He may have been having a fight with them at the time or someone may have had a grudge against him. I need you to check every aspect of his life. Please, Zor, leave no stone unturned. We need to find his killer. It's very important to me...and you...and everyone who cared about it."

     Zor nodded. "Do you have any idea how long this project will take? It sounds very vast. I think I need some form of help. There is no way I'll get this done unless I work nonstop for five years." She walked around the room, her hands behind her back and her face in a perplexed form. She was about to solve another puzzle - without the master puzzle solver.

     "I could assign a few data searchers to get you the files and brief you on them. This would lesson up time, would it not?" Bipid said. He didn't even wait for a word or nod to that question as he immediately started to speak again. "This would mean you'd only have to investigate and interrogate. The easy stuff." Bipid winked as he said this because any detective knew that trying to solve the case and put the pieces together was harder than anything else related to a case.

     The Faerie Zafara chuckled at the small joke. "When can I come in?" she asked, anxious to begin starting the case.

     "Tomorrow," Commander Bipid said as he rose from his seat on the couch. Walking over to him he stuck out his hand. Zor grabbed it and gave him a firm handshake it as a farewell. Then, the Chia put his arms around his chest and walked outside as Zor held the wooden door open.

      Zor awoke refreshed and awake when she arrived at the detective agency that morning. It was good to be back to the wooden walls, desks, floors, and ceilings. Very plain but in a way modern from the design of the furniture. Cubicles lined the right wall and office doors lined the left. She walked straight down a long corridor filled with exits, entrances, book shelves and tables. Then, in front of her was a large wooden door. On a plaque it read "Commander Leften Bipid.". Zor quickly knocked on the door and it creaked open, revealing a large office with green carpeting, a black desk, and large bookshelves spanning the walls. Behind the desk was a humongous red chair in which the Chia sat, hovering over a few papers.

     "Commander?" Zor whispered quietly, trying not to seem too intrusive.

     The Chia lifted his head up and smiled. "I'm glad you could make it. I've been waiting for you here for quite some while. Had a bit of a trouble getting here?"

     Zor shook her head. "No, I stopped to get a cup of coffee," she said as she lifted up the plastic container in her right paw. "Needed some caffeine to boot up the old system. Can't run without the old coffee cup."

      Bipid grinned again. "Take a seat. There is much to go over."

     Zor sat down at a black chair adjacent to the desk. It was awkward for her to be in a room she had never planned to visit again. "Where is the case file? I need time to look it over and see what evidence you have compiled thus far."

     Commander Bipid grabbed a manila folder from his deck and placed it in Zors free paw. "It's quite a few pages long so I'd suggest taking the time to read over it as soon as possible. I have located a vacant office for you on the first floor, very similar to your old one..." He stopped as he saw the look on Zor's face. He quickly added, "There is another one like mine the second floor if you'd like it."

     Zor quietly nodded. She was ashamed of herself. She was unable to face the office that she had spent so many years in...with Arkados. It just didn't seem right.

     "Macky will show you to your office," he pointed to a chubby Shoyru who Zor had not noticed in the corner of the room. "If you need anything, tell me. I'll be here are day and most of the night."

     Zor then got up from her chair, file and coffee in hand, and nodded her head towards Bipid as a sign of thanks. Bipid then gave a motion to Macky and he scurried to the door to hold it open. "Thank you," Zor said as she followed Macky through the halls of the office and, eventually, to her office...

To be continued...