Cherry Knife

A New Beginning: Yen Monroe

Yen arrived twenty minutes late for the meeting. Unbelievable. Even after setting five alarms, he failed to be on time. A bad first impression. The police station kept busy; the receptionist herself advised him to run so he wouldn’t make such a poor impression. Facing angry and tired police officers was going to be difficult. He stopped in front of the door and opened it slowly. Whiteboards. Files. That place had everything related to the case. As he entered the room, he felt the pressure of ten pairs of eyes fixed on him; the group didn’t even try to hide its anger.

“You’re late, uh…” The officer looked up his name on a file. “Detective Yen Monroe.”

“I’m so sorry, officers. Traffic up north was horrible.”

“But there’s nothing up north, not even small towns,” a bearded officer pointed out.

Not knowing the city had played a dirty trick on him, and would continue to do so for many, many moons.

“And here we thought the perfect morning finally arrived; for once, we all arrived early. Then our winning ticket turned out to be late,” said a member of the administration.

“And I apologize again. Nobody’s perfect.”

Little by little, an argument broke out around him. Someone raised their voice.

“Enough, enough.”

Everyone fell silent and turned around.

Blonde. Blue scarf. Black coat. Yen didn’t know her, but from the immediate silence, he knew the entire police station respected her.

“You wanted the other detective; there he is. You can continue now.”

No room for reply. She hid behind a mountain of papers after giving the order. It took thirty seconds for the rest to react and return to the matter at hand. A gray-haired officer stepped forward.

“All right. Um… Detective Monroe?”

“Yes?”

“Do you need any specific information?”

Of course. While too embarrassed to admit it, he hadn’t had time to investigate the case. A few days ago, he hadn’t even set foot in this region. Hesitation. He closed his eyes. Yen tried to cover up his lack of knowledge with a different approach.

“Well, I’d like us to go over the basics.” It proved difficult for him to sound professional, but he gave it his all.

Silence. The group exchanged glances. Handling this situation was going to be a challenge.

“I see.” That gray-haired officer shuffled through some documents. “The first five cases were the same: The Cherry Knife killer found the victims and…”

Yen Monroe tuned out. The next fifteen minutes of explanation bored him so much that he made his own plot on the spot. A phantom killer. Formed by the union of a tormented soul and a legendary weapon from the first space empire. Only one detective could solve the case and save the city of Trevia. Yen Monroe. The Ace.

“Let’s get back to the current case.”

The fantasy world faded. Yen acted as if the police officer’s words had helped him understand the case better. He closed his eyes, trusting that his ears would pick up bits of the monologue. Nothing. They repeated the word “Cherry” twenty times. “Detective.” “Murders.” The most basic words ever in an investigation.

“Do you think there’s a pattern to the locations?” the youngest police officer asked.

“It’s too early to determine those things,” Yen felt like a professional liar. Or maybe he was. Nope, he thought.

“But we’ve already determined that they always kill the victims in abandoned buildings…” pointed out a red-haired policewoman.

Well, not so professional. He used the only piece of information he knew before taking the case as a last resort.

“Except for the detectives. Eight died. Those are eight victims who don’t fit the pattern.”

“Well, yeah…” the redhead shrugged.

“Which also means I’m a potential target for the killer.”

“Right.”

“Therefore, if you’ll allow me, I’m going to need copies of these documents. I’ll investigate the city on my own.”

The officers left out a collective “Huh?!” It just made no sense.

“That’s what the rest said, and none of them came back,” said the youngest officer.

“I’m not like the rest. I’m Yen Monroe. If you hired me, it’s for a reason,” he said and turned around, ready to begin his adventure in Trevia.

Most of the group argued against it. The detective’s attitude didn’t encourage them at all. He kept trying to leave. Yen always investigated better alone; the others’ opinions didn’t help him, and they never would. It was a tug-of-war. The cops tried to keep him from leaving, but nothing worked; he went on his own search for answers. They spent ten minutes arguing nonstop about how to proceed; of course, Yen couldn’t get his way.

“Wait, at least let someone go with you,” said the gray-haired officer.

The rest nodded in agreement.

Yen sighed. The condition for leaving the police station. He scanned the room, analyzing the candidates (none particularly interesting). He needed someone without initiative and, above all, without the guts to argue every decision. Having chosen the officer who seemed to be the least intimidating, Yen tried to raise his voice. He failed. No, someone beat him to it. Everyone looked toward those gigantic walls of paper, some more nervous than others.

“I’ll go investigate with him.”

Yen couldn’t believe it. The worst option. She, who intimidated everyone for reasons he would find out later. Going with her meant he wouldn’t be able to do things his way. But he didn’t have no choice. Everyone agreed, and soon they drowned his voice. Finally, the woman called the meeting to a close. Police left the room; only two people remained, and he couldn’t argue. First, they would read the documents, and only then could they head out onto the streets of Trevia. He grabbed one stack of papers, and she took the other. Not very efficient. Overall, the situation was anything but professional.

Silence. Yen tried to focus, but couldn’t. The presence of someone intimidating and confident prevented him from understanding most of the words on the paper.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“I despise working with people.”

“Too bad, little detective…” she replied.

He ignored the woman’s words. The woman ignored him. Five minutes later, Yen sighed and stood up from the uncomfortable leather seat. None of this would help him solve the case. Easing the tension would be a good start. First: the woman; he refused to investigate alongside someone without knowing her name or rank first.

“What’s your name?” he mumbled.

“Excuse me?”

He sighed once again.

“I asked you your name.”

“Can’t believe your ignorance. I seem to recall that the file they sent me contained all the case information, including our names.”

“I didn’t read the file…”

“Can you speak up? I can’t hear you.” She picked up a mug.

Did she have something against him? Yen’s patience wouldn’t last long enough to find out.

“You heard perfectly well what I said.”

“Sorry. It just seemed ridiculous that a detective hired by the police wouldn’t do his homework. With so many lives at stake, it’s irresponsible of you, Monroe. Personally, I don’t think you’re the right person for this job.”

Silence. Shame washed over Yen. Unable to come up with a witty reply, he retreated behind the mountains of papers. He read and read. The words didn’t register in his mind. She didn’t lie. That’s all he remembered. Her words.

Yen left. He looked back; the woman didn’t follow him. Good. Enough of that unnecessary tension. Having to deal with people nerfed his strengths; Yen Monroe worked on his own. Then. Now. Forever. He looked around. The city wasn’t that big; he could discover something in a few hours. Sure. With everything on the line, he promised to try harder than ever to catch the Cherry Knife killer. He might have trouble finding clues, but at least he had a recent map. It was better than nothing. If they’d pinned their hopes on him, it means the city of Trevia needed him. Yen Monroe. He loves to hear his name. Yen Monroe. Yen Monroe!

He opened his eyes. A paper ball hit his right cheek, landing next to a cemetery of balls. How strange. He could have sworn he’d walked out the front door. But no. He sat in the uncomfortable chair again, surrounded by papers.

“You’re finally awake.” She sipped her coffee. “You fell asleep before I could tell you my name.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been getting very little sleep for the past few days.”

“Suzu Haller. There you go.” She smiled just a little.

“Nice to meet you…”

“Now, let’s get back to the case. It’s serious business.”

He dove back into the documents, this time calmly. Take notes became easier. Less tension, more professionalism. Maybe this Suzu Haller wasn’t such a terrible companion after all.

“You know… I dreamed you were insulting me for being a bad detective. Isn’t it curious?”

“Well, no. I said that. Several times while you were sleeping.”

What a horrible start to an adventure. Practically forced, he went back to the monstrous document avalanche.