Eridanus Flooding

8: It's Only Illegal If You Get Caught

"The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic." 

~ G.K. Chesterton

~**~~**~

Mateo Emblem's office took the saying 'cleanliness is next to godliness' to a whole new level. Spotless, organized, and extremely color coded.

Sticky notes of a variety of colors were stacked in neat piles on the corner of the desk.

One of his drawers even contained seven sharpened pencils, all the exact same length, the same amount of spacing between them.

The floor-length window behind his desk cast a gleam of natural light across the room, reflecting dazzling shapes onto the opposing wall, which fluttered and danced with the movement of the sun.

Adrian Monk would have an office like this, V.C. thought as she shuffled through the desk. Jack was to her right, inspecting the only bookshelf in the room.

She pawed through a stack of receipts paper-clipped together.

Some were for work expenses: client dinners, fundraisers, and even an occasional hotel charge.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

V.C. moved down to the next drawer and opened it. Stacks of files were piled inside.

As she pulled them out, V.C. noticed they were court records. Again, nothing unusual for a lawyer.

She was just about to close the draw when a flash of black captured her eye.

Under a stack of blank paper, the corner of an ominous black folder stuck out. V.C. dislodged it and flipped it open.

The first line read- 'Divorce Application Form'. Mateo's name made an appearance more than once as she read on, her eyes skittering down the page rapidly.

On the line, 'Reason for Divorce', Emblem had scrawled 'Irreconcilable differences'.

A light dinged in V.C. head and she filed that information under 'Super Duper Important Information!!'

She looked up from the file to glance at Clark Jameson. He was still leaning against the door, both hands covering the handle of his cane.

His head was pointed towards Jack but his eyes were glossy. It was like he wasn't even taking in the scene as the Commander pulled a single book from the middle of the shelf, flipping open the cover.

She could see the cover of the book, a beige color with curvy white font.

Uninteresting.

For the life of her, she couldn't fathom why Jack had selected that book from the shelf.

Catching his attention, she called to him. "Rhodes, take a look at this."

At the sound of her voice, Clark Jameson broke his train of thought and watched Jack stride toward her. Not casting one glare at her, it seemed Jack had momentarily forgotten their never-ending feud and temporarily reconciled.

V.C. handed Jack the folder and pointed to the document. Still speaking in a whisper, she slid her hand down the page, pointing at the divorce application. "It looks like Mateo and Silvia weren't a happy couple after all."

While Jack scanned the page, V.C. bent down and tried the bottom drawer of the desk.

She pulled the handle but it was locked.

Inspecting the desk for a key that would unlock it proved futile as she came up empty.

She grimaced and looked up at Clark Jameson. His secretary had come and started up a conversation. While he was distracted, V.C. came to a decision.