Foregone Conclusion

By the end of the night Mark Hayle will die. No ifs, ands, or buts, he will be dead in every sense of the word. But that’s getting ahead of things, and spoiling them only slightly, so let’s back up. Tonight is March 5th, 1998, at a fundraising ball hosted by the esteemed Adam Stricklan. Adam is quite wealthy, and has a hand in almost everything that happens in this city, civil projects, donating to campaigns for politicians, land development, along with a few other ventures not currently worth mentioning. It goes without saying that such a wealthy individual would be at the center of high society, so anyone who’s anyone will make an appearance at this ball. That includes detective David Kazimmer and his partner Mark Hayle. They’ve been in the public eye for quite a while now, being on the trail of every major case, saving lives, solving mysteries thought to be unsolvable. David is a bit of a savant when it comes to these things, and any blindspots he may have are covered by Mark. The point is, though they aren’t bankers or politicians, they’re famous enough at this point to receive an invite to such functions as the one they’re currently attending.

The ball is terribly mundane, everything that you’d expect to happen. A live band, a fundraising gimmick, all the hand shakes and how-have-you-been’s, nothing out of the ordinary. Except one thing, one guest that draws the attention of the detectives as soon as he enters. Liam Stricklan, Adam Stricklan’s son. Liam was at the center of a nasty case that David and Mark were working on, and it became clear who was responsible. It also became clear that someone was pulling strings to try and get them off the trail. While it was never outright proven, it’s clear who would be doing such a thing for Liam. But despite the obstacles, despite those who would try to protect such a criminal, David and Mark had Liam dead to rights. That is, they would’ve, had evidence not been mishandled, removing the lynchpin in their case against him. It was a genuine accident that just so happened to let a criminal go free, though his reputation, at least, was ruined. So seeing him out and about at such a public event is quite shocking. A reentry into public life perhaps, after enough time has passed for the incident to be out of people’s recent memory. He mingles and chats and everyone at the very least does a good job at pretending like they don’t know the truth about him. Such an appearance is like an old wound reopening for David. He was content, at least, with the fact that everyone knew what Liam was, even if the case fell through. But seeing Liam out and about like this, with no regard for anything, not a worry, it galls him to consider that maybe people won’t hold him accountable.

The ball ends unremarkably, aside from Liam’s appearance, which is unfortunately unremarkable as well, as if everyone has forgotten the case that was on the front page of every newspaper for a month. What is remarkable, however, is the invite that David and Mark receive to the afterparty. These fundraisers are rarely anything beyond an event to keep up with the times in politics and high society. The true social event is the after party, a much more exclusive event where an invite isn’t a courtesy, and those who are unwanted are left out. As far as David and Mark were aware, they are very much unwanted. Neither detective truly wants to go, but the absurdity of it draws them in. And so they arrive at the private residence of Adam Stricklan, along with the other guests. A few bankers, an athlete, some investors, a couple politicians who often pretend to be at each other’s throats to make the times they agree seem more reasonable, nobody remarkable. Liam Stricklan, for example, is an unremarkable presence at his family house. He’s been going to these private afterparties for a while, slowly reintegrating himself back into society, edging his way in, becoming commonplace so that nobody at these afterparties would see him as out of place. Once they’re used to him, he goes out in public, and when the right people act like something isn’t out of place, everyone else assumes that thing isn’t. That was what David believes happened anyways. In reality he has no idea what’s gone on in these afterparties because, to reiterate, he’s never been to one. So the detectives mingle, socialize, joke, and do whatever they can to try and get a feel for the situation. It’s almost as mundane as the fundraiser. It is interesting to see what the guests are like out of the public eye, but it’s nothing worth mentioning or remembering. No, what everyone will remember from that night is when Adam Stricklan is found in his office, dead from what seems to be a heart attack.

Adam was, admittedly, a less than healthy 77, but he was the type of man that seemed like he would last longer than the city itself. What’s even more shocking is the death of Jordan Hilman, one of the wait staff. This one is undoubtedly a stabbing, and his body was hidden in a closet. Luckily, the two detectives are here to solve it, and they’d prefer if everyone stayed, just as a precaution. The murderer likely won’t fall for that one, but a few cases have been solved just by seeing who runs away when asked to stay. They find the heart attack to be a bit suspicious, and that's when David reveals something interesting. One of the many ventures that Adam Stricklan was involved in is a supplement called Aldemide. It’s supposedly a wonder drug, though its actual effects are debatable. But there are 2 important facts related to it: Adam had fully bought into the idea and took Aldemide daily, and there is currently a lawsuit alleging that taking too much Aldemide could cause lethal side effects such as heart attacks. So the leading theory is that someone poisoned Adam using just a bit more Aldemide than he usually takes, but poor Jordan Hilman, just doing his job, saw or heard something that would reveal the poisoner, and so he was dealt with in a less refined manner. David lays this theory out in front of the members of the party he asked to stay, and there is a moment where his eyes meet Liam’s and something passes between them. A strange something that disappears as soon as Liam draws a weapon and is gunned down before he can fire off a shot. David has always been quite the quickdraw expert, and that, well that appears to be that. Who stood to gain the most from the death of Liam’s father? The one that would inherit the Stricklan fortune, Liam. Who had access to the house and the food? Liam. Who drew a weapon as soon as a semi-plausible theory was presented that named him as a suspect? It did just happen so reiterating it isn’t necessary. The case is open and shut and everyone can go home.

David is Mark’s designated driver, although Mark has had a lot less to drink than he usually would’ve during a fundraiser night, which was appropriate given the circumstances, so it’s clear as day when he says he knows. David asks what he means and Mark repeats himself.

“I know. I know what you did.”

Neither of them speak as David drives down the road. As previously mentioned, Mark covered any blindspots David had. They’re perfect compliments to each other, they both know how the other works, they know each other’s expressions, what the tightening of a jaw or the twitching of an eye means. Earlier in the night, when Liam made his first public appearance in a while, Mark saw David’s face, he saw how much David hated Adam, and how much he despised Liam. How his eye darted toward Liam every time he entered a conversation. In truth, David had never been remotely okay with Liam’s freedom after he committed such a heinous act. It had always been like a grain of sand he couldn’t quite get out of his eye. Mark could always see that in David, even if he himself refused to admit. Mark also saw the bottle of Aldemide left in the kitchen, probably by Adam Stricklan himself after taking it for the day. Another fact about Aldemide, it dissolves quickly in drinks. Most people take it with water in the morning, but if someone were to drink it with a strong drink at an afterparty, that would work just as well. Why is any of this important? Well, Mark saw Adam go into the kitchen at one point during the after party. Then, shortly after David followed. Then a member of the wait staff, who David later found in the closet, ran out of the drinks he was passing around, and so he went to the kitchen as well. After that, well there were multiple times where David and Jordan were absent, and one time where Jordan simply didn’t come back after leaving to get more snacks for the guests.

Another thing worth mentioning, Liam had no reason to kill his father. Adam, as previously mentioned, was a not so healthy 77, and despite how he seemed, if he dropped dead in a week or an hour it would come as a shock but not as a surprise. Liam was the heir, and despite committing a truly heinous crime, he did care for his father, if only because he knew just how many strings he pulled to try and stop the case from moving forward. One more thing, one more note, specifically that look that passed between him and David right before he died. Mark didn’t know Liam well but he knew David, he knew how he looked when he almost wanted a suspect to draw, when his vindictive side came out and he wished he didn’t need an excuse. He knew what David looked like when he was lying to try and get a reaction out of a suspect. If he had to sum up the look that David gave Liam, it would probably be something along the lines of “You’re going down for this, are you going to go down swinging?”

None of that is said out loud. They know each other, they both know what the other is thinking. David knows that Mark is, in some ways, as vindictive as he is. No matter how much Liam and his father deserved what happened, it was, at the end of the day, 2 or 3 murders depending on what that quickdraw situation would be counted as. And Mark knew that David wasn’t going to go down for this. And Mark knew that if push comes to shove, he’s just another body, just another theory from a savant that’s solved so many cases off theory alone. Perhaps David would simply say the roles were reversed, that Mark was alone at those times, that Mark gave those looks. Mark doesn’t make it home. You've known what would happen to him from the start.