It's time to do the time

"I've solved this case." I said.

Bethany and Dave both looked at me with a raise eyebrow. Dave was the first to break the silence. "What do you mean? You solved the case?" He said as he sat back in his chair. "I've watched this recording over and over and I don't have the slightest idea who could have done it. The camera is broken and keeps squeaking."

With a smirk on my face, I continued, "That's right, let me explain..." there was a knock at the door cutting me off. Bethany walked over to the door and opened it.

Standing at the door was a detective wearing a solid black shirt, with a blazer and dress pants. She pulled her badge out of her pants and raising to show it to us. "Hey there, Drake and Bethany. I see there's another murder at your lovely hotel." The detective turned to me and extended her hand out for a handshake. "Looks like you just started your job here, kid. Don't know if you were told, but many people die at this hotel. We're going to be working together a lot. My name is Deceive Rose."

"Uh... Hi Detective Rose, my name is Tom. I don't actually work here..." I said."That's right, Tom is one of our guests! He has already solved the case!" Bethany said bouncing place.

Rose raised her eyebrow. "Is that so? Alright, I'll bite. What did you figure out, kid?""Alright, can you play the video from the beginning again, Drake?" I said, turning to Dave. He shrugged and rewound the video. Then, once it was at minute zero, he pressed play. "Okay, listen close. You will hear a clicking noise. But right before Maggie says hello, there is a squeaking noise."

"And that could just be the camera." Rose said.

"I thought that too, however I remembered something very noticeable about raj." I said.Dave sat back in his chair. "Oh no, you're not saying," he said. The look in his eyes meant he knew exactly where I was going.

"What do you mean, Dave? What's wrong?" Bethany asked.

I walked over to Bethany and put my hand on her shoulder. "The person who killed Maggie is Raj."

Bethany's eyes grew wide, and she let out a scream. Then she burst out in tears. "No, that can't be true. Raj wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Well, there's only one way we can figure this out. Let's go talk to him. He greeted us in and took the crime scene unit to the victim." Rose said, sliding her badge back into her pocket. We all left the office and took the elevator up to the scene of the crime.

Leaving the elevator, we saw the crime scene unit performing their procedures. There was a man putting down evidence markers as a lady next to him wrote something on her clipboard. There was a man taking pictures of the body and another was taking pictures of the surrounding area. Standing in front of the crime scene were two officers blocking Raj, Cyrus, and a crying Vivica from getting any closer but still allowing them to observe the unit. "Detective Rose, the crime scene unit is almost finished with their procedure."

"Thanks, officer Brody." Rose said. The group in front of the officers turned around to see to see us walking in from the elevator. "Hey Raj, can you come over here for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure thing, Rose." Raj said, walking over. As he walked over to us, the squeaking came from his leg.

"Hey Raj, do you mind if we search your room?" Rose said. As she understood my point, her detective poker face broke. Her face now carried dread, as she knew what could happen if things didn't change.

"Why do you want to search his room? Are you accusing him of a crime?" Cyrus said he stood by his brother with his arms crossed.

Rose ran her hand through her hair. Regaining her poker face as she turned to look at Ron. "There are no accusations yet, but your three rooms are the closest to the crime scene, so it is natural you would be suspected. If you do not give consent, we have to request a warrant." She said, putting her hands on her waist.

"Umm..." Raj looked around at the floor.

"Listen brother, you don't have to do anything, you have rights!" Cyrus said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Raj stood there fidgeting and eyes darting from side to side. He looked as if he was a dog cornered by a pack of wolves. "Raj, is there something wrong?" Rose said as her poker face broke again. Rose wasn't the only wearing dread on her face. Dave was now looking at the wall and Bethany had her hands on her mouth.

"Yes, you can search my room..." Raj said, hanging his head. The crime scene unit looked over at the detective. She nodded for them to go into the room. One by one, they filed in. "What's going on? Why are you letting them search your room? You did nothing wrong, Raj!" Cyrus pleaded with his brother.

With his head still down, tears fell from Raj's eyes. "I... I... I did something wrong, Cyrus. I murdered that poor girl."

"How could you?" Vivica screamed, charging at Raj. One officer standing in front of the crime scene rushed over to grab her and held onto her as she struggled to break free. "Let me go! That bastard killed my best friend!" She screamed.

"Take her to the lobby, Officer Clark." Detective Rose said. On cue, Officer Clark guided Vivica to the elevator, kicking and screaming. When the elevator doors shut, the hallway went silent. One person from the crime scene unit poked his head out of Raj's room. "Detective, we found what looks to be the victim's liver in the ice bucket." He said.

Cyrus's face filled with shock and horror. "Brother Why"

"I got into some trouble with gambling and before I realized I had a problem, I was in more debt that I could repay. So, I got desperate, and I went to the dark web. I found my way to a site where they buy human organs. The guy I was chatting with said he would give me 500,000 Monero for a liver. It's an untraceable crypto and if I convert it to USD, I could pay off my debit and be a free man again." I pulled out my phone during his story to look at the current price of the coin. The search results showed that each coin was worth $182. I need to get ahold of that liver.

"Brother, if you needed money, I could have helped you. We could have figured something out!" Cyrus said, now on his knees, tears running down his face.

"You shouldn't say anymore until you are reading your rights Raj." Rose said. Looking over to Broody, he nodded, pulling out hand cuffs. He tightened handcuffs on Raj's wrist one at a time. Then Broody guided Raj to the elevator, as he read Raj his rights.

"Sharp ears kid, you ever think of joining the force?" Rose said, looking at me with her hands on her hips.

"Oh no, I'm already a software engineer. my problem-solving skills are more suited for computer science related problems." I said, waving away the offer.

"Well, if you ever consider a career change, just call me," Rose said, reaching into her blazer and handing me her card.

"Uh... Thanks. I'll keep you in mind." I said, putting the card in my pocket.

After such a hectic night, we went our separate ways. Dave and Bethany, still shocked about their coworker's crime, went with Detective Rose, as she had a few more questions. While I went back upstairs to be reunited with that sweet, sweet hotel bed. Finally, laying in my bed, head on the pillow. I was ready to float off to dreamland. But then my phone rang. Life can be so cruel.

Someone must have died to call me at this hour. Too soon? Reaching over to the nightstand, I grabbed my phone. It was Bret. "To what pleasure do I have to be speaking with the batman of the USA?"

"Yo Tom! What'cha got planned for tomorrow?" Brett said.

"It's my day off, so nothing in particular." I said.

"Perfect! I need a favor. Can you go over to one of my clients and update all their security software for me? I have a mission coming up, so I'll be mia for a bit."

"Don't you think this is more up Jose's alley?"

"I tried asking Jose, but when he is not in the cooper cove. Jackie steals him away to plan their wedding."

I sighed. "Fine, whatever, just give me the address."

"Thanks so much buddy! I'll give you 50% of the pay." Bret said. After our goodbyes, I hung up the phone and put it on. Do not disturb. Now where were we lovely could bed? I thought about finally going to sleep.