Detective Andy Cooper, undercover Secret agent

Prompt

You are invited to guess the identity of the guilty party at the end of the episode. The answer will be revealed in the following episode. If you choose, write a short story of your own naming yourself "Detective (insert name) Whodunnit" to solve the case yourself, explain your pick of villain for the ending of this episode. Post it here. Good luck! Winner will get a 😘.

Supersecret

Department of the "Joint CIA, FBI Covert Operations". One of those types of departments that do not exist. Andy has been working here for two years, but there is much more to her than meets the eye.

Detective Andina Cooper (never refer to her as Andina) walked into the office this morning looking around warily. Always expecting the unexpected with these male ego driven pranksters whom she worked with. She was tall, athletic, slim, stood 5ft 11", and was very smartly dressed in a dark green pant suit with white shirt and a tiny understated off matching tie. Her signature hat was on her pristinely neat head. She didn't care about the digs towards the hat.

A meeting had been in progress in Chief Marko's office, the door now opened and three lead detectives walked out, Mack, West and Zander. Mack was good looking, smart, though you wouldn't know it by looking at him, with his Columbo detective style trench coat and devil may care attitude. West was wily, the one you would mistakenly tend to overlook, had a plain but intelligent face and could sing like a bird. Zander, the leader of the pack, drop dead gorgeous and as narcissistic as they come. They were good detectives, but there was definitely something shady about them.

Zander beckoned to her to come over. She groaned, slung her light jacket and handbag across her desk and walked over. Well, she thought, this should be interesting.

"I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence, madam Detective". He said with a snide ring to his voice.

Andy ignored the slight. Zander was an ass and she would not be goaded by the likes of him. She had not been late and he was just trying to get a rise out of her.

"What can I do for you Detective"? She asked quietly, venom dripping with every word.

"We have a case for you, you may want to take the two trainees over in Investigations with you". Andy glanced through the glass enclosure at the pool of new trainees who needed breaking in.

Great, Jess and Matilde, the two divas of the trainee pool. Well, this case better be worth it.

"What is the case then". Andy smelled a rat. Why were they so eager to give her the case.

"A body has been reported at the Foster Home over at 18th and 23rd. Here is the report. Get over there on the double. The boys and I have a big case we are handling and this one is all yours". Zander smiled and winked as he and his cronies turned and walked away.

The stink of the smelly rat got even more putrid.

"Are the forensic people on the way there, what about the coroner"?

"Sure, just get on over there now".

Andy walked over and opened the connecting door. She courteously asked permission from the section supervisor and called the women to come assist her on the case. They jumped at the opportunity. The office had become stifling, and they were eager to get outside. Jess and Matilde grabbed their purses and notebooks while Andy briefed them with what little she knew on the way out.

As they walked out towards the car park, Andy noticed the tall dark and brooding Agent Garrik Finn observing her quite openly. The man had an unsettling air about him. His direct stare, his uncommunicative attitude, his need for solitude and always working alone. She would feel him staring at her out the back of her head. She hastened towards the car, trying to give him a wide berth.

"Detective Cooper, a word please". He called to her.

Damn it.

"Ladies, you go ahead, I will meet you at the scene", Andy called out to the two women who were eyeing Finn and giggling.

"Hello Agent Finn, how can I help you today"?

"You have been avoiding my calls Cooper. We are still waiting on the report of your findings on Chief Marko and the group of detectives".

"That's because I barely have anything to report, I am still working on getting an in with the group. I need a little more time to earn their trust". Andy was mad that it was taking so long to get into the meetings with these jackasses who thought they owned the world. They had her working as a double agent. Between the two departments one could easily go mad from all the chauvinistic competition. Too many bosses to report to.

"You have two days to report back to me". With that he turned and walked abruptly away. Finn was cold as ice, she had refused to go out with him a few times. Still, Andy was a bit attracted to his reserved strong, silent type mystique, but she had no time for relationships right now.

As she drove downtown to the Children's Home, she pondered on what condition the body was in. The women drove their own vehicle, she didn't want to babysit anybody.

Detective Andy Cooper was young, but even at twenty-six years old, she was no stranger to operating in the testosterone fueled bullpit of the agency. She was the only female detective among the ten others milling around in the office. She had graduated from the Academy of Undercover Covert Operations, had been top of her class and recruited straight out of the academy. Andy knew that she was smarter than all of them bunched together, but she kept her acuity in check.

She was used to the cat whistles, 'did you get lost on the way to my heart baby' jokes, the humor and all around 'boys will be boys' atmosphere. What made her weary were the few who thought that she was not welcome here. Most unfortunate for her, since these were her 'superiors' for the moment, but she had every intention of outranking them in very short order. They would respect her as their equal or their better, Andy vowed to herself. For now, she smiled and pretended that she was one of the guys. She was an only child and was not accustomed to sharing.

Andy didn't have any childhood traumas to dwell upon. Thankfully she had had a loving and well balanced childhood. Her mother, who has a background in science, preferred to work as a kindergarten teacher, was strict and stern, yet her pupils loved and feared her a little. Her father an adept tradesman who built the most beautiful furniture, was the doting parent who more or less spoilt her. He owned his own woodworking shop and a large retail store that sold his creations. His workers all adored him and had worked with him for years. She loved her mother dearly, but got away with using her wiles on her dad.

For her sixth birthday, Aunt Penny, a writer, had bought her the first children's mystery storybook, 'The mystery mansion'. By age four Andy had been an avid reader. Penny owned an extensive library in her rambling four-bedroom house and Andy loved to spend time with her. It was here that she was introduced to all the great writers, from Nancy drew, to Ms Marple, Hardy boys, Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, The secret seven and many more. She read about all the female spies of long ago and watched every detective movie ever made. Andy knew that someday she would become one of the great female detective/secret agent.

Bringing her mind back to the job at hand, she pulled into the parking lot of the old fashioned building and proceeded to the entrance to the Home. The two women had already parked and waited for her. Looking around she noticed the glaring absence of forensic and coroner.

They were met at the door by the matron Ms Beezly, who greeted them with much concern in her voice. Introductions were made, hands were shaken.

"Come in, come in. I hope to get this puzzle cleared up as quickly as possible".

She led them down a dark staircase to a kind of cellar. Old rocking horses and children's toys were scattered here and there. In the middle of the floor was a dead cat with blood which had seeped from the neck.

"Here it is then. It belonged to Timmy who has gone missing, the police thinks he just ran away, but not Timmy, he loves it here".

So the victim was a cat. Ah! That explains the whole charade back at the office. Good one Zander, you prick.

"What happened with Timmy". Andy asked. The report barely mentioned something about a missing child.

"Timmy is the fourth child to go missing from here in the past year or so, other children have been disappearing from the orphanage not far from here too. These children have no relatives so no one in really investigating. But now suddenly a mysterious, really tall gentleman in a nice black car showed up and said someone would come to investigate". The matron explained.

Finn had been here.

So he is the one who had her sent here. The case suddenly became more interesting. She had Jesse and Matilde gather the children to start asking questions, then went outside to call Finn.

"Hello Cooper", he answered gruffly.

"Did you come here to the Hampton foster home. Can you tell me what is going on"?

"Yes, we have to meet later to talk about it. The disappearances and your undercover case is linked somehow. The dead cat is a significant clue, look at the body carefully, speak with the kids and let me know what happens later. Meet me at the usual place at 8 o'clock sharp". Click. Andy groaned.

The matron had returned to her duties and Andy looked closer at the scene as was requested. Putting her gloves on, she walked around the area gingerly, not wanting to disturb any clues. The cat had had the neck cut with a blade which was found over by the window, why would anyone drop the weapon instead of hiding it. It was either an accident or by a child who was frightened. Part of a note was found in the corner with the words (,,,t me at midnight) written on it. The shoe prints in the dust were obviously those of a child. There was dust on the windowsill from a shoeprint, someone had climbed out the window and closed it behind them. The grounds outside yielded nothing, everything was dry and dusty. Andy bagged all of the evidence and joined the ladies in questioning the over fifty children living in the home.

She chose Timmy's best friend Evie, Timmy was eleven and Evie just turned eight. At first she was too shy and distrustful to talk about Timmy. Andy offered her some of her favorite candy wrapped in fun butterfly paper.

After a while Evie whispered that the man had been coming by at night and bringing gifts and candy for the children. No one spoke about it, it was a secret, and everybody loved the gifts, they kept them hidden away so the adults wouldn't see them.

"Have you ever seen the man Evie"? Andy asked hopefully.

Evie hesitated for a moment, she looked around as if expecting to see the scary man lurking in the shadows. Then she whispered so low that Andy could barely hear her.

"Yes, one night I followed some of the older children. I saw him and his car too. Timmy says he only comes on Friday nights when matron lets us stay up late. He leaves notes with the ones he wants, he tells them to rip it up and put it in the trash after they read it and does what he asks, Timmy told me so. He made Timmy kill the cat, then he cried and climbed out the window. I cried a little too, but I didn't tell on Timmy ". Evie said sniffling.

Andy got up and hugged the child for a few minutes, telling her it was ok, no one would blame her for anything. She then called Matilde to sit with the child a moment.

"Are you leaving then"? Matilde asked, Andy shook her head no, lost in thought.

"Stay here Evie, I will be right back". Andy hurried outside for pictures of her coworkers from their folders in her car.

When she returned, she thanked Matilde and sent her back to finish questioning the other children.

She showed the pictures to Evie, but before the child could answer, her phone rang. She reached into her purse for it and a picture popped up on the screen.

"That's him". Evie breathed, a bit upset, pointing at the screen. "That is the man who made Timmy kill the cat".

Andy was shocked.

"Look at it again please Evie". This cannot be the man who comes here at nights Andy gasped. She looked from the screen and back at the child in alarm. She must be mistaken.

"That is him, and he drives one of the old-fashioned blue cars you see on TV all the time, the ones only rich people always have, it looks weird too". Evie said, looking puzzled.

"OH MY GOD". Breathed Andy.

End Part 1.........

Can you guess whose face appeared on Andy's phone. Was it one of the detectives, which of the characters mentioned had kidnapped the children from the foster home?

........................................................................................