"Is there any news on who broke into my apartment?" Vanessa asked eagerly as she showed Officer Varner into her sister's apartment.
"Not yet. I just need to ask you a few questions. Are you sure nothing was missing from the apartment?"
"As sure as I can be. I didn't notice anything gone."
"What about money? Valuables?"
"No. Except for the cash I carry with me, I keep all of my money at the bank and my valuables in a safe deposit box."
"It looks like the culprit was looking for something specific. Do you have any idea who might have broken in or what they might have been looking for?"
"No, none at all. I told the other police officer all of this last night," she answered impatiently. Talking to the police made her feel like she was going around in circles. They kept asking her the same questions and never gave her any answers. "Isn't it the police department's job to answer those questions?"
"We're doing the best we can, ma'am. We have a lot of cases to handle and the more information you can give us the easier it will be for us to get to the bottom of this. Now, can you think of anyone who might have wanted to get into your apartment?"
"No, no one." As he scribbled in his notebook, she asked, "When can I go back home?"
"At anytime. We're done there."
"But is it safe? How can I be sure whoever broke in won't come back?"
"You can't be. This kind of thing could happen to anyone, at anytime."
"That's comforting! So you aren't going to do anything at all to protect me?" Vanessa was growing more frustrated by the moment. She couldn't stand Officer Varner's attitude. He was professional enough, but he acted like he didn't care about the case. She got a strong impression that he'd rather be somewhere else.
"If you think it's necessary we could send a police escort with you, have an officer watch the building for a few days, make sure there's no suspicious activity. With no suspects and no motive behind the crime, it seems overly cautious to me. If the person who broke into your apartment didn't find what they were looking for there, I doubt they'll come back."
"I think it is necessary. I would rather take the precaution."
"Right," Logan said as his pager went off. "I've got to get back to the station. If you insist on having an escort, come down to the police station and I'll have one of the other officers escort you back to your apartment."
Hector hung up the phone with a smile on his face. He had just received a phone call with the news he had been hoping for.
He slapped Andrew on the back as he walked past him. "Good news, Martin. You can get out those party streamers after all. I just got some good news to celebrate."
"What are you talking about now?" Andrew asked.
"You never were very quick, were you? I still don't get why they decided to promote you over me. I'm not quite sure how you won that one, but it's really not my concern anymore. Hopefully I won't have to put up with little twerps like you from now on."
"You're leaving?"
"Don't start the party without me," Hector said, leaving a dumb-founded Andrew behind as he headed towards Lawrence's office.
"It's good news, Lawrence. I just got the call from the building commission. They've listened to your new proposal and they've accepted the plan. You've got yourself a building permit."
"That's great news."
"So, it looks like you can start construction any time."
"We will, as soon as possible. Have you told Edward yet?"
"I was going to call him next."
"I'll do it. We need to discuss the next stage and plan the groundbreaking anyway. Thanks for all your help, Quentin."
Hector walked in just as Lawrence was hanging up the phone. "Hey, Lawrence. Have you got a minute?"
"I'm a little busy right now, Hector. Is it important?"
"Very important, but it won't take long for me to say what I need to say," Hector replied as he sauntered into the office. "I just wanted to tell you that I quit. I've just been offered a very good job from another lucrative company and it's much too good for me to pass up. I know it's customary to give two weeks notice, but I'd appreciate it if you could do me a favor and let today be my last day. They want me to start ASAP. The other employees can pick up the slack and I'm sure you can manage without me. You always seem to manage somehow," he ended with a sarcastic laugh.
"This is short notice," Lawrence said slowly, trying to decide if Hector was serious or if he was up to something. "It will take some adjusting, but if you have to leave right away, we can work it out. Congratulations and good luck."
"Thanks and the same to you," Hector replied. He hesitated a moment as he walked towards the door. "Who would have imagined when I found you working on that street corner that you would end up being the one with the corner office and the boss's daughter? It makes you wonder, where would we be now if I hadn't brought you here that day . . . guess we'll never know. Good luck, Laurie."
Logan knocked on the Lieutenant's office before entering. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Varner. Come in. I wanted to talk to you about your investigation of the Stuart murder. It's time for you to give up the case."
"But, sir. I can't give up the investigation now. I am so close to cracking this case. If you could just give me a little more time . . ."
"You have been working on this line of investigation since the murder occurred. Do you have the evidence to make an arrest?"
"Not yet, but I'm getting very close."
"Close isn't good enough. We can't stall any longer."
"We have to, sir. This could be huge. If we can get enough evidence to tie the murder of one of this town's most prominent businessmen to our suspects we could bring down their whole crime organization. We've been waiting for a case like this for years."
"We have, but trying to make an arrest without the solid proof to back it up isn't going to do any good."
"So they get away with murder yet again?" Logan asked. "I know there's a connection and I'll find the proof. I just need a little more time."
"I'm sorry, Varner, but we're out of time. We're making the arrest this afternoon and as of now you are officially off the investigation."
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