Ridley 1

Sneak Peek

5th October 1933

It was empty inside the diner, not surprising since Congress put a prohibition on alcohol a

few years back. Since then many bars have gone out of business, but to the man’s fortune,

VioBence, a past bar, has been going strong since rebranding itself into a cafe and diner. But

when it comes to rebranding, it doesn’t necessarily mean that business will continue to boom. A

man sat at the counter with a notebook beside a cup of coffee. Reaching for his cup, he felt at the

top of his head, a droplet hit his hair. On the left of him was a fedora, which he placed on his

head, protecting his short hair. After that, he continued with drinking his cup of coffee.

“Quite the regular aren’t you Mister Kaine,” a voice said.

Turning around, Kaine saw, sitting at a booth, a man with a folder and a cup of coffee.

Kaine held his cup of coffee up, took a sip, and then placed it back on the counter.

“Not much of a regular here anymore,” he replied. “Not after Congress decided that for

me,” he said.

The man from the booth chuckled before he rose and walked over to the man. Sitting next

to Kaine, his head scanned the room, moving his head left and right before reaching into his

pocket and passing a paper to him. Kaine raised an eyebrow at the man’s actions. The cafe's

ambiance shifted from the fans above them to a slow sax that escaped the jukebox from the

corner of the room.

“Doctor Collins, I presume?” Kaine asked.

Carter turned to him. “Detective Kaine, I assume?” he replied before passing a piece of

paper to him.
 Ridley 2

Kaine put his hand out and pulled the paper close, opening it and finding unintelligible

handwriting.

“Hughy told me you specialized in this type of work. I don’t care how much you charge

for your services. I just need to know if you are as true as word on the streets claim that you are,”

Kaine turned his head at the man. “Not trying to be rude, but I just want to get my money’s

worth,” Collins said.

Kaine crumbled the paper into a ball and tossed it at Collins. “If you have doubts about

my expertise, then I recommend clearing out,” Kaine dug into his pocket and retrieved a cheap

brown wallet. “It is not wise to risk your money, especially in harsh times like now,” he pulled a

dollar, tossed it onto the counter, and turned his back on Collins.

He hopped off the chair and to his feet, making his way to the door, but stopped at a

hanger where he pulled up a coat that he began to don. Collins remained seated, holding onto the

crumbled paper ball, watching as Kaine fixed himself and pushed the door open, hearing the

chimes sound off.

Kaine walked out as rain poured down from overhead, walking on the sidewalk, hearing

the sounds of motor vehicles in the distance with their horns quiet. Kaine scanned, but no one

was present, expected at this hour. He checked his left wrist pulling back his sleeve to reveal a

watch, displaying the shorthand at XI and the longer arm on V, continuing his walk down the

cement until the sound of distant chimes entered his ears.

“Wait!” a distant voice exclaimed. Kaine turned around to find the Doctor sprinting down

the cement to reach him, with the rain pouring onto him, his white dress shirt providing a view

into his black undershirt.

 Ridley 3

Kaine remained still as Collins sprinted, having to take a breather just before reaching

him, seeing this, Kaine passed him and back to the diner, where upon entering, the chimes rang,

then took a seat at a nearby booth, with a free coffee provided for him. The chimes once more

rang, revealing a drenched doctor standing at the door before he joined the detective.

“Shall we begin?” Kaine asked the doctor.

Collin shook his head, before pulling out the crumbled paper and after he attempted to fix

it, passed it over to the detective. “May I start from the beginning?” he requested.

Kaine brought out his notepad and pen before looking at the doctor and giving him a nod.

“Start where you think is important,” is all he said.

The doctor looked down at his hands, his eyes squinting as he did so…

*****

“We’re ready to proceed, doctor,” a nurse said, as the doctor, Carter Collins, looked down

at his hands, which were now gloved and over a tray of utensils, before turning over to walk

down the hall. To his left was a nurse pushing a cart, to his right was another nurse who held a

clipboard.

“Autopsy for a Mister Morgan. Found underneath a bridge leaving Brooklyn. Witnesses

say he was drunk before being found. Along with that, he appears to have had a portion of organs

extracted for donation,” another nurse said.

Doctor Collins turned to the speaking nurse with raised brows.

“Donated? Just yesterday I was here overseeing him. How could his organs be donated

already?” Carter asked her. The three reached a swinging double door and upon pushing it open,

found themselves in the main room.

 Ridley 4

“My apologies doctor, it appears that Doctor Nickelson had been requested to operate as

a result of scheduling conflicts with you,” she said, earning a groan from Carter.

He brought a hand to his face and shook his head. Being a part-time autopsy doctor didn’t

do him any favors, especially in harsh times like now, but upon thinking this he soon cleared his

head. The three continued to a chamber with a number tag, the nurse with the stretcher walked

over and pulled it open, causing the corners’ of Carter’s eyes to stretch.

“Where is the body?” one of the nurses asked. The other nurse placed both of her hands

on her ears, her mouth agape.

Carter only stared at the empty chamber, unsure what to make of it.

“Contact the headmaster, he must know or at least have an inkling of what happened,”

Carter requested to his nurses. The two followed his order, the two of them leaving him alone in

the morgue.

He brought his hands forward, looking at them.

“You were just here,” he voiced softly.

*****

Carter brought his eyes up from his wet hands to the detective, his pen spinning by his

fingers. Kaine kept his eyes on the doctor, waiting for him to continue, but the doctor remained

silent, and seeing this Kaine cleared his throat.

“Suppose Hughy shared my contact number with you after this series of events?” he

asked him, receiving a nod for a response. Kaine buried his notepad and pen into his trench

pocket and rose from the booth.

Carter’s head whipped up. “Where are you going?” he asked him. “You’re not just

leaving are you?” he questions him. Kaine raised an open palm at him.
 Ridley 5

“Calm down Doctor Collins,” he extended his arm out. “I’m simply getting ready to start

my investigation. No need for payment either,” he told him.

Carter stared at him, before extending his arm out and shook the detective’s hand. “Why

no payment?” he asked him. Kaine stopped the shaking with a pull of his hand.

“Cause I knew Mister Morgan, he was my lead in another investigation,” Kaine then

walked over to the entrance door. “That investigation revolved around a doctor that I’ve had my

eye on for a while. It’s highly likely, she was involved with this disappearance, and more,” he

told him.

“More?” Carter asked, his voice shaky.

Kaine turned to him, pulling the door open, the chimes ringing.

“Mister Morgan never wanted his organs to be donated,” he informed Carter before

leaving the diner, with the chimes falling to the floor as the door closed.