Seven Targets

Chapter one

In the early hours on a Friday morning, the moon had displayed its full shape and the stars had taken their positions on the cloudless sky of the lower part of south Philadelphia. The occupants of Walnut Street had been aroused from their sleep by the sounds of two rapid gunshots around 3 A.M. that morning. Mr. Andrew, a business guru, had been hacked to death in the living room; while Betty, his wife, and Megan, his daughter, were kidnapped. Nancy, the cook, however escaped as she stayed out of sight and hid inside the closet in her room, where she was before the armed men came in. After they had left, she came out and saw Mr. Andrew in the pool of his own blood. She then started to scream out of fright. She remained at that spot till the neighbors who heard the gunshot called the police department.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the scene with three patrol cars. Nancy was seen sitting beside the little staircase outside, sobbing. When she saw the officers, she stood up and followed them inside the house. Mr. James, a light-skinned and clear-cut young man in his thirties, was the police cop on duty in that district that night. He came close to the lifeless body and pressed the side of his neck with his two left fingers, after which he signaled to the other patrol officers who immediately inspected the whole apartment to be sure no one was there.

Mr. Andrew was covered with a white cloth. As the medics carried his body into the vehicle, the sounds of the ambulance faded away in the distance.

“What time did this happen?”

Mr. James asked as he took out a small notebook and pen. Nancy, who by now had lost her voice because of excessive crying, responded in a whimpering tone.

“At precisely 2:49 A.M.,” she said trying to calm down

“Why were you up by that time?” said Mr. James

“I was also aroused by the footsteps on the staircase”

“What did you do when you heard footsteps?” Mr. James asked Nancy again while writing down the details.

“I headed towards the door but stopped when I heard someone banging on Mr. Andrew’s bedroom door.”

Nancy’s room was at the extreme right corner of the passage upstairs.

“When I heard the hard knocking on the door, I still waited by the side of the door with my hand by the handle of the door. She continued. “If Mrs. Betty or Mr. Andrew needs me to do something for them, they usually call my name; so, I waited when I had not heard them calling for me.”

“The footsteps, how many were they?” Mr. James asked.

“I don’t know, but they were more than two.” She paused for a while and continued. “While one of them was slamming on Mr. Andrew’s door, I heard other footsteps approaching Betty’s door and mine.“ she said as she pointed in the direction of the passage way with her right hand. She

 then clutched tightly to the jacket she covered herself with her left hand. The weather that morning was chilly.

“What did you do after that?” Me James asked.

“I slowly ran and hid in the closet inside the wardrobe in my room. When the intruder came, he opened the door and paced around the room for some seconds and went out.”

Mr. James carefully took down these important pieces of information and the other remaining details. He went upstairs to inspect the bedrooms and the staircase. When he was done, he told Nancy she would be following him to the station. She was reluctant at first, but later considered it better than staying alone in the apartment. They left the building and entered the car. She sat at the back, in between two other cops while Mr. James sat in the front seat.

These felony cases, especially in the city of Philadelphia, had not occurred until recently; when, two other similar cases were reported to the police department. The first was Malcolm Carry, who was annihilated in the bathroom. His two sons alongside his wife, were kidnapped by the bandit. They have had no clue as to their whereabouts till now. The second was Mr. Stephen, a newly married man who was also nabbed on the couch in the living room of his apartment, while his wife was kidnapped. Both cases were similar, and the investigations are not making any headway. There was no concrete evidence that was left behind and no eyewitness had been around. All efforts to trace their whereabouts had been unproductive. The men were killed while their wives and kids were kidnapped.

Quickly, Mr. James looked back and asked Nancy.

“Can you identify the voice of any of the men?” He asked her looking at her face which had protruded because of her tears.

“Neither of them spoke a word,” she replied.

Mr. James thought for some seconds before facing forward. They probably made gestures to each other, he thought. There was no CCTV camera in the apartment which would have made it easier to get clues about the men's faces. Several thoughts sprinted through his mind. The last two similar murder cases were still under investigation since they occurred.

When they got to the station, a file was opened for the case and Nancy was told to write a statement narrating what had just happened. Luckily, this was the only case with a witness. The previous cases left no inkling and the case had made no progress. The residents and neighbors were interviewed and neither of them gave them had solid information that would give a blueprint of the bandit's whereabouts.

By the time Nancy finished jotting down the incident it was already 6 a.m. The breaking story was already on the news. As soon as Mr. James finished preparing the case file for the prosecution, he notified the Commander. Commander Kenneth Omar decided to transfer the case to Detective Daniel at the fifth division whose previous record of investigating similar cases had been successful.

Down at South Broad Street at the fifth police division, at exactly three minutes past 5 p.m. that Friday evening, Detective Daniel started looking around the office to see if there was anything left undone for that day as he prepared to go home. Daniel McPherson, who is middle-aged

 man, who looked younger than his age, with shaven fair skin and a keen eye. He had served as a police cop at the Philadelphia police department (PPD) for the over two decades. He is married to Stephanie, and they both have two kids; Robert McPherson who would clock sixteen in a month, and Christine McPherson who was just seven years old. Daniel and Stephanie had Robert a year after they got married, but Christine came very late; as, both couples had to live separately for a long period while Daniel was investigating a murder case in another state.

As the day came to an end, he began to anticipate his retirement and looked forward to processing the last crime case on his desk after which he would retire. He longed to spend more time with his wife and the kids; he had not been able to since he became a detective. As he arranged the files on the table and thought about the couple whose apartment was broken into by a burglar, his phone buzzed. He quickly picked it up. it was the commander calling. He wondered what the purpose of the call was.

“Good day sir”. He said sitting up.

“Evening detective”. The commander responded in a thick and commanding voice which often airs superiority and the blistering atmosphere of his presence. He then continued. How close are you to rounding up the case of the burglary at Bradford avenue?” He asked.

“Almost sir”. Daniel responded, reaching out for the case file which he just closed and kept in a corner on the table.

The patrol officers that were on duty three days ago, had received a call from a couple at Bradford Avenue to report the case of their burgled apartment. The burglar who had watched and saw that the couples were not around, had opened the back door to their flat with a pin and hauled away some of the gadgets in the apartment. Unfortunately, the next-door neighbor who saw the couples go out had heard strange sounds coming from the couple's apartment and saw a car parked near the driveway. She immediately took note of the car number and alerted the police. Unfortunately for the burglar, he was caught on the scene and taken to the station.

“I want you to hand over the case to detective Desmond”. He said, pausing for a while before asking. “Is he on duty?”

“No sir, he’s scheduled to resume by noon tomorrow”. Daniel replied still pondeing as to why he called.

“That’s fine. Hand over to detective Desmond. I want you to oversee some cases on my desk and you are the best man to head the investigation team”. The commander said, not waiting for Detective Daniel's response he continued. “Stop by at my office on your way tomorrow to pick up the files”

“Copied sir” Detective Daniel replied in a rather cranky voice while he continued. “Sir, I’m with you”. The commander responded.

“The case of the burgled apartment at Bradford street is supposed to be my last after which I...”

“I know”. Commander Kenneth cut in and quickly added, “we would talk about that tomorrow when you come”.

 “Alright, sir”. Detective Daniel replied. “Ok, take care”.

As Daniel hung up the phone, his countenance had changed. This was going to overturn all his plans with Stephanie. He wasn't sure how she would feel when he informs her of this new case. She would be saddened; as, they had been looking forward to the event they had both planned to attend that weekend and a lot of preparation had been put towards it. He was still in his thoughts when his phone buzzed again. It was the commander. He picked up the phone with a mixture of joy and frostiness.

“Yes sir”. Detective Daniel said as he picked up the phone with his right hand and with his left hand, he closed the file on the table.

“Yes detective, be prepared to carry out an investigation at the crime scene tomorrow with the team. Alright?”

“Noted sir”. Daniel replied, camouflaging the disappointment in his voice.

As he hung up the phone, he dialed Desmond’s number; informing him of the case he was to take over from him when he resumed the next day. He cleared his desk and arranged all the files; he then picked up his jacket in his locker. It was rush hour; so beating the traffic home was one of his goals that evening.