The ground was peppered with trash as Detective Adam Darwood and Detective Jake Milling walked up to a townhouse with a bright red door. "Is this the place?" Jake said looking at his notes.
"Yes, it is. The house number is 1272."
Jake closed his notepad and knocked on the door. After a few moments, a woman with curly long hair answered, "Hello? How can I help you?" she asked as a toddler ran around near her.
"I'm Detective Adam Darwood and this is Detective Jake Milling." The detectives held up their badges, "we were wondering if Henry Croswell is home?"
"Yes, my husband's here. Hold on..." The woman turned and called for her husband who then met them at the door.
"How can I help you?" Henry said.
"My name is Detective Jake Milling and this is Detective Adam Darwood. We just have a few questions to ask you regarding a case."
"Well won't you come in. I know it's cold outside."
"Thanks."
Adam and Jake walked through the house and into the living room. The room was painted a dark blue with a wooden floor and a small fireplace which made the room feel toasty.
"Would you like something to drink or a snack?" Henry's wife asked as she stood in the entryway to the living room.
"A snack?" Jake said.
"Yes. I just made some cookies. I'm opening a bakery in a few weeks and I just finished up this new recipe."
"Sure I'll take one."
"Detective Adam?"
"I'll have one too," Adam said with a smile.
"I'll be back in a second." Not a moment later Henry's wife came back with a plate of cookies.
"These are wonderful," Jake said with a laugh.
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry I didn't introduce you to my wife Tiffany," Henry said taking a cookie.
A little boy ran into the room with a stuffed teddy bear in his hand.
"And this is our son Zach. Say hi..." Tiffany said to her son.
Zach waved to the detectives and looked up at Tiffany, "Mommy come play with me."
"Okay. I'll be right there. Get your toys ready."
"Yay!" Zach shouted running out of the room clutching his teddy bear.
"Did you need anything else detectives?" Tiffany said holding an empty plate where the cookies once were.
"No, we don't. Thank you for the cookies." Jake said with a smile.
"You're welcome," Tiffany said then turned and left to be with her son.
Henry sat on a chair across from the detectives who were sitting on the couch. Henry tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair then said, "What can I help you with detectives?"
Adam looked down at his notes, "We were wondering where you were the morning of February 9th."
"Was that three weeks ago?"
"Yes."
"I had a meeting with a local gallery. I'm a painter." Henry gestured to a number of his paintings in the living room. "I love to paint with oils. I'm looking to get my work featured. Most of my work is sold as prints online, but I'm wanting to do some in-person displays as well."
Jake shifted his body on the couch "Okay we can get that verified. What were you doing at Apple Rock Apartments that day?"
"I have a friend who is a painter too. We have a painters group. Just a get together where we discuss the new materials we're using, news in the art world and critiquing each other work."
"Were there other people there?"
"Yes. About six of us."
"What about your tattoo?"
"My tattoo? I have a number of them." Henry rolled up his sleeves showing the tattoos on both of his arms.
"The one with the odd combination of letters and numbers."
"This one?" Henry said pointing to a tattoo on his forearm.
"Yes," Adam said holding his lips in a firm line.
"I got it at a party of sorts."
"A party?" Jake said with a chuckle. "You're clearly old enough to get a tattoo legally. Why be so secretive about it?"
"It was a bad stage in my life. Well more like a few bad years. I'm sure you've checked my rap sheet. I've done some wild things in my past. When I met Tiffany everything changed. I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday. I was due in court on a theft charge and on the way there I bought a cup of coffee from a cafe I use to go to all of the time. She brightened up my day and now she helps brighten up my life.
"Sweet story." Adam said looking around the house then turned back to Henry, "We're here because there's been a sexual assault case and the perpetrator has the same tattoo as you."
"Am I being accused?" Henry said with a tremble in his voice.
"No, we just wanted to check out your story. Do you know anyone else with the tattoo?"
"Yes, my painter friend the one who lives in Apple Rock Apartments. His name is Greg Finch."
"What does the tattoo mean?"
"Well, the tattoo says AO2050. Which means All One 2050."
"I don't get it?" Jake said slightly tilting his head.
"Well after I got the tattoo at this party we all sat around and talked. Some of the people there were saying they wanted to live in a utopia. But people could do whatever they wanted. They called the society All One because we would all be together and 2050 is the year the utopia would begin."
"Do you believe in that?"
"I mean living in a world where it's peaceful and crime free is a wonderful thing. But I couldn't see that happening especially now. I don't believe in a world where we could do whatever we want. It would make everything chaotic."
"Does your friend Greg believe in the utopia?"
"Possibly. We don't talk about that much. He's a reserved man and only talks about painting."
"Do you know his apartment number?"
"I'm sorry I should have mentioned it earlier. He does a lot of moving where he'll be somewhere for a month or two then move. I know he's moving soon, so I normally don't know where he's going until he tells me."
"Thank you for the information, Henry." Jake excused himself as his phone rang and he walked out of the house to answer it, "Hello?... He did what?!... Did you open it?... We're on our way." Jake briskly walked into the house, told Adam they had to leave and said goodbye to Henry.
"What happened?" Adam said as Jake began to drive them back to the precinct.
"Greg Finch left a package each for Rose and Sarah."
"What's in them?"
"I don't know. They want us to be there when they open them." As Jake drove through the traffic-heavy streets he wondered what Greg could have possibly sent.
ns 172.70.126.58da2
and then Add to home screen.