Suspicious Detective by Pretty Yojadul

Detective Zack Blast was at the table drinking his morning whisky and coffee. A newspaper lay in front of him, a letter beside it. The newspaper’s front page said, “The Mystery Murderer identity still unknown – ten murders in ten weeks.”

Zack sighed then looked at the letter. If he didn’t do something about it, his friend would be number eleven. He picked up the letter and read it again, looking for clues.

They say that you are the greatest detective ever. I am the greatest killer ever. If you ever want to see your friend again, you will play my game. Find me. PS: Did you see Squid Game? It is such a wonderful show! Also, please buy milk. You are almost out.

Wow. Oh my god. What a strange letter. There must be some clue. Zack took out his red pen and circled the first clue. Squid game. Why did the killer mention Squid Game here?

And play my game? That reminded him of a movie series. A famous killer named Jigsaw. Zack could hear his strange and monstrous voice in his head. “I want to play a game,” he would say. And none of his games were fun.

Also why did he care about how much milk there was in the house? That was suspicious indeed.

Zack grabbed his jacket and left the house. If the killer liked Squid Game he might be hiding on an island. And if he liked Jigsaw he must be hiding in a warehouse. There was only one place I could think of that matched both of those conditions. He put the key into the ignition of his car and the engine roared to life.

Now soaring over the asphalt at a hundred kilometers per hour, Zack could see his target in the distance over the azure blue waters of the bay. The Food Warehouse, the sign above it read. Filled with milk, cheese, and various sausages, it sold bulk food at cheap prices and also supplied the local supermarkets with a lot of their produce.

Zack shifted his gears and took a turnoff to the boat ramp. Then he toggled a switch, turning the car’s functions to those of a motorboat. Easing into the water he revved his accelerator and felt the buzz of the car’s descended propeller behind him. He pushed a button, letting the car’s onboard computer take him into the island while he drank another whiskey.

Oof, that burned. He followed it with a thermos of doenjang chigae. Somehow, those two, one after the other, tasted like heaven.

Zack let out a burp and smiled. This killer was about to be in jail and his friend was about to be safe. The car boat pulled up alongside a dock and auto-parked, the door opening on its own when it was finished. Zack got out and walked up the rickety wooden steps of the dock to the warehouse above. It was time to play a game.

He stepped to the metal door of the warehouse. A sign there said EMPLOYEES ONLY. The door opened easily and after he entered, the door closed behind him.

“I want to play a game,” a voice boomed out. The lights above changed to dark red and it was very hard to see.

“What kind of game?” Detective Zack Blast asked. “Is it fun?”

That gave the voice some pause. “Um, well, maybe? It is fun for me.”

“Alright, then, let’s play. What do I need to do?”

A spotlight flashed on, the beams of light highlighting a card table set into the corner of the room. On top were 5 rows of 4 cards each.

“This is the card matching game. You must match one card to its twin. You have three tries.”

“And if I can’t?”

The voice laughed. “If you can’t, then you will die.”

Zack looked over the cards. Somehow this didn’t seem too hard. He felt like he knew exactly where to look. He flipped over one card, a 2, then he ran his hands over the rest. He grabbed the other card and flipped it. A beautiful 2 stared back at him.

“I win,” Jack said.

“Lucky guess,” said the voice. It hadn’t been crazy deep this time. It was not augmented by the speaker system and whatever voice change program she had been using. It was a proud and feminine voice, one that was growing louder as it approached.

“Surely if you want to live on the edge we can play another game?” she asked. It was Lady Zoe Thunder, his girlfriend! “I so love to play them.”

Zack was shocked. He stared at her face, trying to figure out what was happening. “Where is my friend? Where is Andrew Humble?”

Lady Zoe Thunder took out a remote control and pushed a button. From the middle of the room a circle opened and there was the whirring of hydraulics. A chair rose . . . and within it sat Andrew! He was tied to a chair and in front of him was a table with a gun on it.

“A game of Russian Roulette? If you dare . . .”

TO BE CONTINUED