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He stuffed the black welding mask into his bag and left the campus on foot. He asked Garovel for directions and received them, discovering it was no short journey; but in time, he arrived and the reaper met up with him on the street corner in front of the station.

Hector took a seat on a wood-and-stone bench. ‘So, uh... have you learned anything else about him?’

‘He doesn’t get along with his partner or any of his fellow officers here. Everyone seems to think he’s an asshole.’

‘Is he?’

‘Maybe. I’ve only known him since this afternoon.’

‘I guess it doesn’t matter much...’

‘He appears to have a daughter. Unlike him, she’s a brunette and wears glasses. She looks very young, though the photo on his desk could be several years old by now. No information on the mother, yet.’

‘Wow... you’re observant...’

‘You’re easily impressed. It’s not much to go on. Mallory doesn’t seem to have an active case, at the moment. I only saw him doing follow-up paperwork, but I did discover that he’s scheduled to appear in court in a few days.’

‘For what?’

‘Not sure, but there aren’t many things that cops go to court for. If he were being prosecuted for something serious, I doubt he would still be allowed to come to work. Could be they just bumped him off active duty, but I’d guess he’s appearing as an expert witness.’

‘So... someone wants to kill him before he testifies?’

‘Seems likely. But then, killing a cop right before his court date isn’t exactly easy to cover up. If I’m right, then someone’s either very stupid or...’

‘Very influential.’

‘Yeah.’ Garovel looked at Hector and smirked. ‘Heh.’

‘What’re you smiling about?’

‘Y’know, for someone dumb enough to kill himself, you’re smarter than I thought.’

Hector’s face went flat. ‘Fuck you, too, Skeletor.’