D. Dupont aka Dorothy Khan 1/2

The door slammed behind me, indicating that the chief must have decided I was in the wrong and her incompetent rookie was in the right.

“What the hell were you doing coming in the back way? You are no longer part of this precinct?”

“I watched your conference and heard my name brought up. That could mean only one thing for me: unwanted attention from the press. So, the best choice is to come in through the back.” I told her as she sat in her chair, looking at me with some of the heat leaving her eyes.

“Alright. I do not want to waste your time. You were briefed a bit on the case.”

She leaned over and handed me the folder with the full details of what had occurred.

As I flipped through the file, nothing remarkable caught my eye.

“Mr. Alan Dupont, age 30, recently divorced, no children, and found dead by his cousin’s girlfriend, Eliza Din’say. She had a key to his place given to her by Charles Dupont, the cousin I mentioned.”

I took all the information in, but there are holes. Holes that a local detective could figure out.

“Why was I called here for this case? Anyone can cover this.”

“No, not anyone. You were requested to handle this case. A Mrs. D. Dupont.”

“I do not know Mrs. D. Dupont?”

“She said to tell you the name of Dorothy Kan.”

Dorothy Kan. A name I thought I buried, like this place. I guess death could not keep them.

“Does she ring a bell now?” The chief asked as she studied my face to see if I would lie about our association.

“Yes. How is she related to Alan Dupont?”

“She is his stepmother. She said if you were not brought onto this case, she knew people in high places. I was going to tell her that threatening an officer of the law is liable to get her thrown in jail, but I was stopped in my tracks when she brought up the name Jayden Lion.”

“Alright, I will go to the site of the murder and get my own information.” I rose and was stopped by an ahemm, coming from the chief.

I turned my head to look at her questioningly. 

“You will have a partner on this.”

“No.”

“Yes. This is not how it used to be. Your partner is Officer Terri Voorhes. She is your remote partner.”

“Remote Partner?” I must not have heard her clearly.

“Yes, remote. Since the world is more technology than anything else, she can be very useful to you.” She rose from her desk, handed me some sort of ear clip, and walked me out of her office to this woman who sat in an office with six screens before her.

“Voorhes, this is Detective Crow. He will be your new partner until further notice. Get him up to speed on how you two will work together. Give him the short version because I need him working on this case ASAP.”

With that being said the chief turned and  left. The woman finally turned around and faced me. Brown hair, brown eyes framed with thick lashes. A few pounds overweight, it suits her. Looking down, I noticed her left foot was in a boot.

“Before we go any further. I must inform you that if you go rogue, there will be consequences. I will be your eyes and ears on this case. That ear clip has nanotechnology that once you put it on your ear, it will blend into your skin.”

Looking at the thing, it was hard for me to believe that it would blend into my skin.

“Well, are you going to put it on? It’s best that you put it on now so I can see if I have to make any adjustments.” she said with a tone that was starting to grate on me.

I put it on, and it started to buzz a little. Like a fly could be around my ear.  She looked in both ears and nodded her approval.

“Alright. Tap your ear once if you want me involved in the conversation. It will be recorded for you to review later. Tap twice for it to be turned off. As far as being your eyes.” She reached over and handed me a button.

“A button?” I said to her coolly.

She looked back just as cool. “That is a pants button. Once you put it on, it will start recording.”

“No”

She chuckled. “I’m kidding.  That’s just a regular button.  These screens around me are wired to the whole city. I’m always watching. “

“That is against the law?”

“Not in the city. You’ve been away too long. Anyway, we have protocols in place to protect our citizens. Sensitive things are deleted.”

The city has changed. I do not need someone to delete my sensitive things, since I will not allow it to be recorded in the first place.

“ You will not record me when I am off the clock and in the privacy of my place, are we clear?”

She looked at me quizzically but nodded her consent.

“ Good, are we done?”

She nodded, then turned her back to me to face her screens.