Death of a Cameraman(if: $cluecount < 1)[It was late at night, but the others had gone to the trouble of turning their lights on so I wouldn't miss them. In the gentle and not-at-all-horrible red and blue strobing, the boss told me what he knew. "The victim is from the town, mid-20s, worked as a cameraman for the news." He pointed down at the scene, where an outline of the body was chalked and a handful of items sat around, all placarded. "We're still waiting for word back from forensics, but that won't come until morning at the earliest. I assume you can take it from here, Detective."
Well, I'd try.
There were six things on the ground that had been placarded for me: [[clue 1]], the outline of the body; [[clue 2]], a destroyed camera; [[clue 3]], a few stapled-together scraps of paper; [[clue 4]], a series of bloodstains; [[clue 5]], a broken branch from the woods; and [[clue 6]], a small recording device.]
(else-if: $cluecount < 6)[Everything that I needed to know was apparently all right here. I had a feeling that unless the outline started moving, I wouldn't have much in the way of distractions. I'd just wished the police lights weren't blinding me the whole time.
The six clues hadn't changed at all: [[clue 1]], the outline of the body; [[clue 2]], a destroyed camera; [[clue 3]], a few stapled-together scraps of paper; [[clue 4]], a series of bloodstains; [[clue 5]], a broken branch from the woods; and [[clue 6]], a small recording device. I also had my [[journal]] with me in case I needed to check my notes on anything.]
(else:)[Everything I needed to know was apparently all right here. However, given the fact that I'd already examined every clue I was given, and compounded by the roaring headache the flashing lights were starting to give me, I knew I would have to wrap up my investigation quick. I had all my notes in my [[journal]], and if necessary I could look again, but I was starting to suspect it was time to make my [[conclusion]] as to how this man died.
Just in case, I still had the clues close at hand: [[clue 1]], the outline of the body; [[clue 2]], a destroyed camera; [[clue 3]], a few stapled-together scraps of paper; [[clue 4]], a series of bloodstains; [[clue 5]], a broken branch from the woods; and [[clue 6]], a small recording device.]
(if: $clue1 is true)[(set:$clue1redux to true)]
(if: $clue2 is true)[(set: $clue2redux to true)]
(if: $clue3 is true)[(set: $clue3redux to true)]
(if: $clue4 is true)[(set: $clue4redux to true)]
(if: $clue5 is true)[(set: $clue5redux to true)]
(if: $clue6 is true)[(set: $clue6redux to true)]I got the call from my boss to come down to the woods outside town. He told me there was an incident, one that resulted in the death of a local, and that the cops suspected foul play. Myself, you know, I'm rarely called in on a case given that I'm a homicide expert in a town with a population in the triple digits. Of course, I jumped at the chance.
I pulled up to [[the crime scene]] and parked nearby.
(set: $clue1 to false)
(set: $clue2 to false)
(set: $clue3 to false)
(set: $clue4 to false)
(set: $clue5 to false)
(set: $clue6 to false)
(set: $cluecount to 0)
(set:$clue1redux to false)
(set: $clue2redux to false)
(set: $clue3redux to false)
(set: $clue4redux to false)
(set: $clue5redux to false)
(set: $clue6redux to false)(if: $clue1redux is false)[The cameraman's body was outlined here. There weren't very many identifying factors aside from what of his body was outlined for me to look at, but it was clear that this guy was pretty imposing in life. Even with his legs at awkward angles and his knees clearly bent, the outline extended for a solid 6 feet, and his arms, despite being caught partially under him as if he were trying to break a fall, still showed enough to betray a sizeable wingspan. I noted these down in my [[journal]] before returning to focus on the entirety of [[the crime scene]]. (set: $clue1 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue1redux is true)[The cameraman's body is still outlined here. I puzzled over the odd position in which he died: surely he must have been facing away from his attacker, as his large frame would have made him very hard to overpower head-on. Ultimately, I resolved to check my notes in my [[journal]] as I returned to [[the crime scene]].](if: $clue2redux is false)[The remains of a destroyed video camera were scattered around near the outline of the body, with a small placard labeled "2" set down in the middle of the wreckage. I knelt down next to it, trying to both not disturb the evidence and not get glass in my legs as I studied it. I noticed that the damage to the giant lens was oddly circular, which would rule it out as the weapon; after all, if you were to hit someone over the head with a camera, it would surely shatter. All this I wrote down in my [[journal]] before straightening up, stretching out my back, and observing [[the crime scene]]. (set: $clue2 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue2redux is true)[I wasn't looking forward to inspecting the camera again, but I knew I had to. Not much had changed since the last time I looked at it: same circular hole in the lens, same scattered glass shards, same destroyed camera body lying nearby. Miraculously, I avoided getting glass cuts again as I straightened up, but as I checked my [[journal]] and returned to the full picture of [[the crime scene]], I knew I was pushing my luck with that.](if: $clue4redux is false)[The placard for the fourth piece of evidence at the scene was an odd one, as it was placed very carefully in the middle of a line of bloodstains. Given the direction and size of the stains, murder was a fairly obvious answer--the stains extended out a good ways, with small stains a few feet off giving way to massive lines of dried blood on the ground the closer they got to the body. I could only stare and wonder what the hell might have created such a grisly display.
Carefully, I stepped around the bloodstains to look at them from every angle I could stomach, before jotting down a few lines in my [[journal]] and going back to [[the crime scene]]. (set: $clue4 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue4redux is true)[The bloodstains were still there, grim as ever as I glared down at them. Something really quite awful must have happened to this man for him to die so violently. For a moment I hoped it was just a freak accident of some kind, that someone hadn't intentionally done something so horrible to this victim. But that's the exact sort of thing I'm called in to rule out. I've seen it before. I regarded my [[journal]] notes and walked away towards [[the crime scene]], trying to get the taste of iron out of my mouth.](if: $clue3redux is false)[There was a small packet of papers on the ground near the outline of the body, with a "3" placard sitting next to it. I picked up the packet and leafed through it, no doubt to the dismay of the cops nearby: a lot of it was technical stuff for camera work that I wasn't nearly specialized enough in the industry to understand, but what I could understand was the very last page. "Tonight, 10:30. Get the video that will sink him."
Suddenly, the reason for the cameraman's death made sense. Whether he was looking to blackmail whoever this other person was or simply doing some investigative journalism on a lead, whoever he was looking to capture was important enough to be "sunk," and desperate enough to murder over it. I wrote all this down in my [[journal]], indicating to my boss that the police were right to suspect murder as I wandered back towards the heart of [[the crime scene]]. (set: $clue3 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue3redux is true)[As I approached the hastily-stapled packet of papers again, one of the cops caught my attention. "Don't do that again, you'll ruin the evidence!" she yelled. I acquiesced, holding my hands up as I stepped carefully around the papers, trying to glean as much as I could without touching them. This wasn't much at all, but thankfully I still had my [[journal]] notes safe as I trudged away from this part of [[the crime scene]].](if: $clue5redux is false)[The fifth placard was placed over the skinny end of a broken tree branch, probably one taken directly off one of the trees in the area. As I knelt to inspect the branch, I could see the entire thicker end of it was covered in dried blood, like a makeshift club that had just been used very heavily. If this was the weapon, it wouldn't have come as any surprise to me.
I grimaced as I documented the scene in my [[journal]], still feeling a touch queasy about the barbaric violence that the branch showed. As I returned to the front of [[the crime scene]], I knew that I would have to put away whoever did this with an airtight case. I couldn't have someone capable of this level of cruelty running around any longer. (set: $clue5 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue5redux is true)[I really didn't want to look at the branch again, but I had to in case there was something I had missed. Experimentally, I nudged the non-bloody end of it with my shoe. Goddamn, was it heavy. It must have taken an insane amount of strength to raise this high enough to swing it and hit someone as tall as the victim was in the head. With a sigh, I consulted my [[journal]] as I returned to [[the crime scene]].](if: $clue6redux is false)[The sixth piece of evidence was sitting further away from the others, off to the outside. There were two of them, and as I picked one up, it looked like a small cassette deck, almost, with a small protrusion coming off the top like a walkie-talkie. As I bent down to inspect the other, I noticed a handful of buttons on the device. One of these buttons had the universal symbol for "play" on it, so I pressed it experimentally. I wasn't expecting anything to come out of the device, but it started to play whatever had been recorded on it.
I wondered if the cameraman had set this up in case something happened to his camera, so he could still get what he needed. As I listened, I heard a voice from the device.
"Knew you'd be coming here."
"So what?" retorted a second voice.
The first voice spoke again. "Well, you should have known you couldn't get away with it. I had multiple leads tell me about what you did, and even if I hadn't been tipped off that you'd come here to try to cover your tracks, we've been monitoring you ever since you conducted all of those drug arrests."
"Well, you were right that I came here to cover my tracks." What sounded like a fight ensued, ending with a crash that sounded like something glass hitting the ground.
"You thought that would be enough to save you, huh?"
"It will be. Smile."
The audio cut out immediately after that, and I was left staring at the device on the ground.
I recognized that other voice.
Shakily, I scribbled something in my [[journal]] before getting up and running away towards the rest of [[the crime scene]]. Anywhere was better than next to that device right then. (set: $clue6 to true) (set: $cluecount to it + 1)]
(if: $clue6redux is true)[I wandered over to the recording device on the ground, fighting the urge to kick it. I couldn't stomach the thought of listening to the playback again, so I just sat next to it and stared into my [[journal]] for a little while. Eventually I got back up and gloomily returned to [[the crime scene]].]I opened my journal and checked my notes. Here was what I had written down:
(if: $clue1 is true)[The victim was very tall, broad, and rangy. It would have been very difficult to successfully hurt him head-on, much less kill him. Given that it appeared he fell forward based on where his limbs were bent in the outline, it would be reasonable to assume that he was killed from behind.]
(if: $clue2 is true)[The camera couldn't have been used as a weapon. Even though the camera body is mangled on the ground, the camera lens isn't shattered like it should be; instead, there's a single circular hole in the glass, with shards all around it at my feet.]
(if: $clue3 is true)[The victim was looking to capture a video tonight that would "sink" some unknown third party. Given the secrecy of such an investigation, it would be reasonable to assume that this third party was the eventual murderer.]
(if: $clue4 is true)[There are massive bloodstains around the body and ejected off in the direction the victim would have been facing. With how large the stains are and how far they traveled, I can believe the victim died within minutes of the injury.]
(if: $clue5 is true)[There's a broken branch dropped near the body, with one end completely covered in blood. I find it hard not to imagine that the victim's head was at some point bashed completely in using it, and harder to get the image out of my mind.]
(if: $clue6 is true)[We have audio of what I think could be the moment of the murder. The victim is clearly heard to be confronting someone about "drug arrests," and the two get into a fight that could very easily be what led to the victim's death. I recognized the voice of the person the victim confronted and fought with.]
I closed my journal resolutely and returned my focus to [[the crime scene]].I looked at my notes as I approached my boss. He straightened up, looking at me coolly. "Well, Detective? Have you figured something out?"
I nodded carefully. "Yes, I have. We both know it was murder, but I think the weapon will be a surprise to you. The cameraman was..."
[["...bludgeoned."]]
[["...shot."]]Hang on, that wasn't what happened. Try again from the [[conclusion]]."...The cameraman was shot."
My boss raised an eyebrow. "But what about the bloody tree branch? Surely that's got to be obvious as the weapon, it was caked in his blood when we found it."
I shook my head. "Nope. The attacker must have had some sort of gun, because when they wrestled the camera away, they threw the body on the ground and shot him through the lens. That's why the hole in the glass was circular instead of a complete shatter. It never touched the ground until it was set down."
He nodded. "That makes sense, but how do you know for sure that the camera was used?"
"I could hear the attacker telling the victim to smile on the audio recording, right before it cut out." I didn't love the explanation, but it was all I had. "The device auto-equalizes, so the gunshot blew the audio out entirely. That's why you can't hear anything from when the murder was in progress."
"I see." My boss smiled. "So do you know who killed him?"
I knew. "I'm pretty sure..."
[["...no, I don't know."]]
[["...you did."]]
[["...I did."]]Well, that's just not a good answer to give at all... especially after I said I knew! Try again from the [[conclusion]]."...I'm pretty sure you did."
There was a resounding silence at the crime scene. My boss and I stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before he finally started laughing.
"What? Have you lost it, Detective?"
"No, I haven't. Everything lines up. You're the head officer of the town precinct, so you of course have your service gun. You're strong enough to fend off someone as physically imposing as the cameraman, and of course you had a reason to kill him."
"What reason would I have had to kill him, son?"
"It was from the first part of the recording. He was talking about how the drug arrests last month were fake, according to multiple sources. There was another voice on the recording, and it was yours."
There was a pause. "Are you sure it was mine?"
"Yes, I am sure."
"You don't understand." As I looked down, I could see him clearly flash his gun. "Are you //sure// it was mine, son?"
"Is this a threat?"
"No, just a mistake that you made. You can correct it right now, son, or I can do it for you."
"Alright." I raised my hands non-threateningly. "It's not something to die over."
"Good choice," my old boss started to say, before being cut off by a very loud siren that had joined the awful flashing lights behind us.
Two cops jumped out and tried to tackle him, but he was faster. He shot twice, one hitting a cop in the stomach and the other going right into the car. As the cops faltered and looked around for medical attention, he jumped on me and pinned me to the ground.
"There's one thing I don't understand," I grit out. "Why was the branch covered in blood?"
He smiled down at me. "After I shot that man, I took a branch and beat his brains out until there was nothing left. I couldn't let the autopsy show that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck, after all."
"Why?"
"To cover my tracks." With that, he wrapped his hands around my throat and began to throttle me. I fought him to the best of my abilities, but he was much stronger than I was, and it was a losing effort. My vision swam before blacking out entirely[[.]]Ha! Well, I'm flattered that you think I managed to set this whole scheme up, but unfortunately this isn't that kind of twist ending. Go back to the [[conclusion]] and let's see if we can get justice on the real perpetrator."Detective, can you hear me?"
I was dully aware that I could breathe again. I groaned weakly and tried to sit up, but couldn't get much more than halfway. "What?"
"Do you need to go to the hospital?" An officer, younger than me and clearly trying not to tremble, was standing over my body. One of his hands was stretched out in my direction, and the other, to my mounting horror, was clutching the branch.
"What did you do?"
"I saw the boss strangling you, and I panicked. I... got him off of you." He motioned to his left, and as I weakly turned my head, I watched sideways as a medical gurney with a sheet over it was wheeled into a police ambulance. "I couldn't let him kill you."
I sighed, nauseous as I accepted his help standing up. "Thank you."
The young officer dropped the branch. "Do you need any assistance?"
"Yeah, actually, can you drive me home? I'm not in any shape to operate any sort of machinery." My vision was still blurry, and I was worried I could black out again at any moment.
"Sure, let's go. I don't think they'll want me around the department for a while anyway." He quickly led me away from the scene and towards my car. "What do you think will happen, Detective?"
"I think it'll turn out okay," I said, carefully reaching into my coat to hit the [[stop button]] on the second recording device.Everything did turn out fine, as I expected. The police boss didn't make it, obviously, but the recording became key evidence in a state-led investigation that exonerated both myself and the officer who saved me from any wrongdoing and shed light on the exact abuses that the cameraman was investigating at the time of his death. The officer who was shot ultimately recovered, and though I was released from my contract with the police department, I brought on the young cop as an assistant in my private investigation company. My throat still closes sometimes for no reason--should get that checked out--and I'm still not fully recovered from the events of that night, but I solved this Death of a Cameraman.
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