Tic Tac Toe
“Will someone please get that bitch to shut up?” his companion yelled as The Detective massaged his forehead with the knuckles of his hands. The dog was crying, had been crying, howling, wailing, unearthly sounds, since before they had gotten here. Her fur was spotted with blood and guts, but her mouth was clean. Besides, they knew now that it was not her who had torn her master apart. Heck, it couldn’t even be called torn apart.
“Does it even matter anymore, sahib?” Saad asked and frowned as the dog kept on yapping. No one had rushed to put a muzzle on her or to sedate her then or now. They were distracted or terrified. The Detective understood what he meant. The world was coming to an end. Why keep on solving crime, maintaining, or trying to maintain, law and order when the world was spiraling downwards into the dark shavings of madness.
“I don't know,” he said to himself softly. Not even Saad heard it.
He looked at the dog. She was white, in trauma. Her eyes were rolled up inside her head. Her fur was spotted with red, and she was trembling. She was howling, whimpering, shivering.
“Let’s go,” he turned around, and went back. They had done all they could have here.
***
“Found it,” one of the technicians sighed and leaned back in her chair, a smile on her face. The Detective went over, leaned by her chair, and looked at the screen. It was grainy, but it would suffice. There was the dog, for a second, he couldn't believe it was the same one. Joyful. Prancing around. Racing in short bursts, and then waiting for her owner to come around. He was running, slow and steady. He passed out of the screen, then the dog who was still in the screen went berserk. Things flying around. Things splattering onto her fur. She ran away, and then came back later. Slowly, tentatively.
“No sound? No other cameras?”
The technician shook her head. Do we have any information on him? Who he was?
“Yeah, just pulling it up”, someone replied. “It took a while to match him, but here he is.”
The Detective leaned by that monitor and scanned the screen as he looked at the life and history of the now-deceased runner. “Wait, there, print that.” he held the paper in his hand and asked the technician, “Are you sure about this?”
The man just nodded, confused. But they were all used to their boss keeping the cards in his hands, so they smiled as The Detective rushed out.
***
He stopped at the door. It was pouring, he moved away from the door. The rain made splashing sounds as it dropped on the pavement. The streets were empty, as per the usual these days. He remembered in his childhood, this used to be a main street. And this city had never slept. Now it seemed never to be fully awake. Confronting the man was not a wise idea. He had no proof, he had doubts and suspicions, he was almost certain he was right. He couldn’t prove it though. The paper his technician had printed had said that the runner had gone to the doctor a few days ago, and he had recognized the name. Arif Tendu. He turned away. Two people watched him. Boris. And a man in a darkened cavern.