Chapter 5: The First Clue

Detective Maria

I was sipping on my cup of coffee, thoughtfully focusing on the mystery. Asmara was sitting on the chair placed beside me. All the police officers were actively moving around the hall, making calls and trying to solve the mystery. I had given four officers to read the books sent to me.

Clicking my pen against the desk, I was thinking...trying to make sense of Black Fist's message. 

'Only Fools chase after deadly traps'

The cooling fan was pleasantly cooling the air around me, the lamp reflecting on my brown wooden desk. I had my feet folded and rested on the legs of my revolving chair. Asmara was studying the note that Black Fist had sent to me. 

Earlier, one officer had asked me details for what had happened at my place. Many officers had already been sent to search my place for any clues.

I had told the truth...the blatant truth and explained that I believed that the Black Fist hadn't left any fingerprints in my place. That search was just futile...but still, we had to be through. 

The police had asked for what exactly he did. 

And there was one thing that I told them...that I had learned about Black Fist; I told them that he had links with the southern side of our country. The note he had left me had a distinct smell of plants that were only found on the southern side of our country. It was fresh and crisp. Also, Black Fist was fully interested in this game because he had written the note. It was not printed. 

After explaining the details, I then returned back to my desk, with Asmara already waiting for me That woman loved to smile. She seemed so bubbly, smiley and friendly; she was carefree. Something I wasn't. 

Now sipping on my cup, I stared at my laptop screen and decided to read some articles. Reading...I used it to relax and gain ideas.

 "He is really mocking us now..." Asmara spoke after a  minute, reading the message. over and over again. "I mean, he is literally giving us a heads-up...telling us about what he is to do next, and we are here literally working to solve his puzzle instead of finding him and putting him behind bars. That is just how good he is that this game," she mused, leaning back against her red chair. 

I kept staring at my laptop screen, taking a quick sip of my coffee. 

"Me..." I then spoke, lowering my gaze as I eyed a crinkled paper placed next to my laptop. 

"What?" She gave me a confused look. 

"He is mocking me..." I met her gaze for a moment and then turned around to look at my laptop. I had typed in 'Old History' in the search bar. I wanted to read about some western leaders. Black Fist had sent me books about history, planets, etc. I wanted to read a few historic chapters to truly get the gist of history...feel the vibes. 

What could the message mean?

Hmmm...

'Strike one' had meant to be reshuffled, but this message was a whole sentence. Did I need to rearrange it, decode each and every word, or was it linked to something else? What was the point of sending me books? Did Black Fist mean to distract me with them? Or were they really connected?

Randomly clicking on articles and famous histories, blurring out the active world around me, my eyes widened a bit as I came across one article:

'Tanks become DeathTraps in world war one'

The article mentioned how the tanks used to carry soldiers around had turned into deathtraps because they had been fabricated with thin metal.  These tanks moved slowly and because of their thin metal, bullets could pierce through them. 

I read it with interest. 

The situation, sort of reminded, me of how the police force had been kept trapped her, with Black Fist mocking them with attacks. 

"Office Zara," I then looked up, calling an officer who was standing with a group of officers, a few desks away from me. All of these officers were reading the books that had been sent to me.

"Can you see if this book has any mention of World War one and its malfunctioned weapons?"

"Sure..." Officer Zara quickly checked the table of contents. 

"Yes," She nodded, all eyes were on me now. Asmara was looking at me...wanting to know what was going on.

"Okay, check if there is any mention of the Trappist-1 system in the book of the planet?' I then instructed. There were officers rushing around us, phones ringing, doors being slammed, so it was quite hard for many to hear me. 

"On it..." She then grabbed the planet's book and her eyes widened as she nodded. "Yes."

This Trappist-1 system to study the atmosphere of the earth-like planets. Its discovery was huge and loud...

I wonder if...

"Asmara," I then turned towards the intern with a thoughtful look. "What kind of people live in Middle Blue Town?" I asked. I wasn't fully aware of the people who lived in that area. 

"Ummm...I am not sure. But, there are a lot of museums there," she spoke, moving around on her chair. 

"There are historic museums, there...planet museums, jewellery shop."

At this, I quickly turned and started typing on my laptop. Officer Zara and her crew were watching me with eagerness, learning what I had frowned. I clicked the button on what I was looking for and then smiled wide. 

Yes!

Turning my laptop around, for the office to see, I called out to everyone. 

"Officers, I know which place Black Fist is going to rob!" Everyone stilled and turned towards me.

"It is the Suraj planet museum owned by a German couple. It offers study classes, too, where topics such as Trappist System 1 are discussed." I announced. 

"How do you-"

"It is simple," I explained, looking at everyone. "Black Fist gave me about history, planets, etc. He claimed only fools chase after death traps. Those death traps reminded me of the weapons used in World War 1. Then, I wondered about how planets are connected with this when I remembered the discovery of Trappist system 1. It is a fine discovery and uses the word trap in it. So, if my theory is correct, Black Fist is meaning to attack a planet's museum owned by a German couple."