A BLANK CANVAS OF CRIME

Damon woke up in a dimly lit room with a pounding headache, completely disoriented as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. His brown eyes landed on the lifeless body next to him, and panic surged through him. Looking down, he saw himself covered in blood with no recollection of what had happened; his heartbeat rose. The room was unfamiliar, and before he could grasp anything, the police burst through the door.

 "Hands where I can see them!" one of the officers screamed. "Please listen to me! I didn't do anything!" Damon pleaded. "Everyone says the same thing. Now hands behind your back," the officer responded, handcuffing him. "I swear I haven't killed her," Damon cried. "Listen here, you smartass; we will decide that. Take him to the station," LAPD detective Ryan Caldwell instructed as he headed to inspect the crime scene. Ryan kneeled down to see a woman's dead body on the ground. "She was shot right in the heart. 

The people from the forensic department will take the body. Let's examine the scene further if we can find some evidence or the identity of the woman," Ryan said to his partner Emily. The two started to examine the room to find any potential evidence. "Look what we found here," he smiled. Emily came with the evidence bag as Ryan put on his gloves and picked the gun out of the bin. "Ryan, I found this faded picture too." Emily showed it. "That is the guy who was taken to the station. But the woman's face is not clear," Ryan spoke. "I will tell the team to recover the picture," Emily responded. "Let's head to the station now." With that, the two left in the car. 

"I am telling you I don't remember anything! Please just trust me!" Damon's cries could be heard from the investigation room as Ryan and Emily entered. "He has not cracked." Ryan spoke walking through the door. "He is constantly saying the same thing. But he did recognize the victim, saying that she is Serena, his girlfriend. But according to his social media account, they broke up six months ago," the interrogating officer explained. "We have found the murder weapon, and soon we will find evidence against you. So I suggest you speak up. Tell me when did you guys start dating," Ryan spoke in an intimidated tone. 

"We have been dating for two years now. We met in 2021 through a dating app," Damon replied. "So that means three years now," Ryan pointed out. "No, it's just been two years now. It's 2023," Damon spoke. "What did you just say? It's 2024 now," Ryan said, and Damon froze in his position. "What?" Damon was shocked, and his brain got all foggy. "Captain, I need you to come with me," another officer entered the room. Ryan nodded as he got up from his chair and headed out. "What was so important that you intervened in the middle of the interrogation?" Ryan asked, irritated. 

"You saw how Damon got a head injury. Well, we did his basic scans, and the doctor thinks due to the injury, he has lost his partial memory," the officer Kai explained. "Is that why he said that it was 2023 now?" Ryan was unsure. "When the doctor was talking to him, he seemed quite confused. “If he has lost his memory and is ill, how are we supposed to hold him responsible for murder?" Kai sighed. "What about the gun? Did you find his fingerprint?" Ryan was still hopeful. "Yes, we did, but there is one more set of fingerprints we found on the weapon. And it didn't match anyone in our database," Kai explained. 

"What are we going to do now?" Ryan almost screamed. "Captain, the autopsy reports of Serena are ready," another female officer interrupted them. Ryan and Kai stood in front of Serena's dead body in the autopsy room. "The victim is Serena Jones, age 27, cause of death by gunshot, and time was around 3 am last night. From the looks of the shot, the killer seems to be a professional because they shot straight in the heart. And also with a good physique since the injury on her head was done with brute force. On top of that, I also found drugs in her system. I have sent it for further testing to find out which one it was," the autopsy doc

Advertisement

tor explained. "She was involved in illegal activities. Plus, we are looking for a professional here. And did you examine Damon's wound?" Ryan asked. 

"Yes, I saw. He was also hit with almost the same force as her," the doctor said. "By the looks of it, there was also a third person in the room last night. Kai get a background check on Serena, and I will get information on Damon. Thanks, doctor." With that, they left the room. "I have gathered information about Serena; she was born and raised in New York and worked in a cosmetic company. What the forensic doctor said was true. Serena was under the influence of drugs. She has had a history of abuse since she was in high school. Surprisingly Damon was the one who kept her away from drugs, and her parents were also happy. But after they broke up, she started doing it again. And the reason for their break up was that Serena cheated on Damon with a thug named Matt." By the time Kai finished speaking Ryan and Emily were in shock. 

"And when we spoke to Damon's family, we found out his parents died a long time ago. His only elder brother is in San Francisco, and he has a best friend named Charlie with whom he is close. Charlie informed us that Damon worked in an IT company and he was devastated after his breakup with Serena. He hadn't seen her since until yesterday he got a call from Serena who said she missed him and wanted to meet him. Damon refused, but she persistently called him, and he ignored her. Until he got a call from her at around 12 am saying she was in danger and someone was trying to kill her. That was when Damon went to her house," Ryan explained. "But he doesn't remember anything. How will we find out what happened?" Emily was frustrated. "They must be bringing in Matt now. If his fingerprint matches the murder weapon and he confesses, then we have our killer," Kai spoke. "Don't you find Damon suspicious? What if he is lying about his so-called memory loss?" Ryan pointed out. 

"We don't have sufficient evidence against him, and he has no motive to kill Serena. If he wanted to, why would he leave his fingerprints?" Emily spoke. "Matt is here," a police officer interrupted their conversation. "Why did you kill Serena?" Ryan screamed for the millionth time. They had been sitting in the interrogation room for hours, and Matt had not cracked. "Captain, the fingerprints on the murder weapon match Matt, and we have evidence of Serena owing Matt money. And how he had threatened to kill her," Emily showed a video of Matt and Serena. "Do you have something to say now?" Ryan smirked. 

“I killed her. She told me she loved me and also left Damon for me. I was ready to waive off that money for her. But when she called Damon at her house that night, I got angry. I hit her on the head, and that was when Damon came. We got into a fight and also hit Damon. I wanted to kill him, but Serena got in the way instead. So she died." Matt spoke. "You are under arrest for the murder of Serena Jones," Ryan spoke, and Matt was taken away. 

Damon walked out of the station as a free man and headed straight home. When he walked he saw a man sitting on his sofa. "Good job, Charlie. I am safe now." He smiled. “We had to do it. She got to know your real identity. And she saw you kill the underworld mafia Rodriguez’s son, as much as you loved her she was a liability.” Charlie sighed. “I did love her at one point but she cheated on me, multiple times. And also had evidence against me for which she blackmailed me. I had to let Matt kill her.” Damon spoke. “We have that evidence now. Besides I can’t believe she wasn’t scared of you, the Cassius Blackwood, the son of the biggest mafia in the world.” Charlie replied. “Forget it. She’s gone now. What about that CCTV footage of me at the station?” Damon asked. “Changed the person’s face and if anyone remembers your face or gets suspicious they will be gone. Besides the police’s attention is already diverted to a big robbery so no one will remember you.” Charlie explained. “Alright, let’s go we have the world to conquer.” Damon smiled.