The Theft of the Golden Kiss

Under what should be a dark blanket of night, the skies popped with hues of reds, yellows, oranges, blues, greens, and whites. Car alarms rang out in residential neighborhoods. Somewhere, something horrible was happening, but nobody could intervene. The New Year's celebration was at a fever pitch, and nearly everybody from the city was downtown.

New Year's Eve is a great time to reflect on what to do better. With the copious amounts of alcohol, drugs, and sex, nobody was reflecting on anything. Soon, everybody would start to make their way home. That's where the fun begins. It always starts at 12:01, when the new year hits, and they realize what's to come will be more of the same.

Another year has passed. It's ending the same as the last. That's why Duncan didn't like New Year's Eve. After living through a few decades of them as an adult, he believed nothing changed from year to year.

His partner was different. Jerry was an optimist and believed that anything was possible. He hadn't seen as much as Duncan, but he refused to give in to the cynical routine some guys showed around this time of year.

"I get it, you hate New Year's," Jerry told Duncan as they drove around a corner.

When the two heard their number on the radio, they cringed simultaneously. All Duncan could think, as Jerry answered the call, was there goes a quiet New Year's. Only two hours into their shift, Duncan Malone and his partner, Jerry Steele, were dispatched to a robbery.

"I guess we'll be able to avoid the drunks and the two o'clock fights," Duncan sighed.

"See, that's thinking positively," Jerry optimistically replied as he told the dispatcher they were heading to the address.

"What got swiped?" Duncan asked.

"Dispatch didn't say, only that it was high-end and they needed two detectives," explained Jerry.

Thirty minutes later, a black unmarked Suburban parked in front of 1606 Bayside Drive. Duncan and Jerry exited the vehicle and walked to the front door. Duncan looked at the high-end cars in front of the residence. As he passed a Ferrari, a Corvette, and a Bentley, he commented on the place belonging to an overpaid athlete or rock star.

"They deserve the same consideration anyone else does, partner," Jerry reminded him.

Jerry knocked on the oversized door, and the two waited for someone to answer. When the door opened, to their surprise, it was the owner. Ruben Canfield owned the residence and had called the police. He stood there, wondering who they were.

"I'm Detective Malone, this is Detective Steele," Duncan announced as he introduced himself to the owner.

"Come, come in," Ruben urged the two officers. "I'm glad you could come so quickly."

Jerry and Duncan walked into the home of the producer and part-owner of the local football team. It was every bit as lavish and tacky as Duncan imagined. The New Year's party was still in full swing except in one room. Ruben took them there to talk.

"So, what seems to be the problem, Mr. Canfield?"

"Let me show you," insisted Ruben, leading them to his study.

Ruben led the two into his private study. It was a place he considered his sanctuary. Ruben's study was where he conducted meetings on the weekends, took business calls, and read scripts and proposals. Ruben spent half of his time there.

"So, why'd you call us?"

Ruben pointed to a pedestal that sat behind his desk. Jerry got up to examine the pedestal, noticing something was missing. As Jerry inspected the glassed container, Ruben described how he learned of the "crime of the century."

"And when I came to the office to celebrate the New Year and for the Golden Kiss, it was gone," wept Ruben. "Please, you must find it, it's irreplaceable."

Duncan took notes while Jerry carefully went over the pedestal. It stood five feet tall, covered in black onyx, and trimmed in gold. The top was clean. Jerry thought how professional the thief was, not leaving a mark or smudge behind.

"So," Jerry pondered, "a priceless piece of art disappears in the middle of a party. Have you considered it was one of your guests?"

Ruben admitted that many of his guests were parasites only there to suckle at the teet of power he represented. His closest friends were there, but he admitted to the two officers that he could count them on one hand. That left twenty-five to thirty people who might steal from him.

"Are all of those people here?" asked Duncan.

"They are," admitted Ruben.

Duncan and Jerry talked. The chances of them finding the Golden Kiss would get slimmer if it made it off the grounds. Their best chance was to catch the thief at the scene.

"How are we going to do that?" asked Jerry.

"We're going to unveil the smoking gun," Duncan suggested.

Duncan walked to the pedestal and gingerly lifted the cover. Allowing his pinky to touch the lower rip of the glass case, he looked at Jerry and smiled.

Duncan asked if Ruben had something they could borrow to hold the top of the display for them to move it out of the study. When Ruben returned with a large platter, Duncan couldn't help but laugh. He hoped they'd have something else on a platter before they finished.

Duncan followed Jerry, followed by Ruben, to the party. As they entered the room, the detectives displayed the pedestal case for all to see. Duncan whispered in Ruben's ear before making a public announcement.

"Lady's and gentlemen," he yelled. "I'm Detective Malone, and this is Detective Steele. We need your attention please."

Jerry circulated through the room as Duncan explained why they were there.

"There's been a robbery tonight, and one of you is the likely perpetrator. We're going to get elimination prints from each person in the house. Since the perpetrator left a print on the lower part of the glass partition, we'll be able to compare those prints and have this solved in no time," explained Duncan.

Jerry nodded at Duncan as they watched the responses from the crowd. A few made their way up to console Ruben and promised they'd do anything they could to help. A few others commented that it was ridiculous, and a few were calling their lawyers. Overall, nobody refused to cooperate.

As the crowd began to chat, an attractive brunette joined Ruben. Jerry noticed her, then Duncan, as she pulled Ruben off by himself. Seeing that, Jerry and Duncan followed.

Ruben sat at his desk as Mary talked to him. She was trying to convince him that the Golden Kiss wasn't worth getting the police involved. Ruben argued with her.

"You're so jealous," Ruben sighed. "I told you, this was not something you had to worry about."

Duncan cleared his throat as he walked into Ruben's study. He apologized for the intrusion, then introduced himself to the attractive brunette. He learned that her name was Mary, and she was Ruben's girlfriend.

"Girlfriend," he smiled. "Is that why you took the Golden Kiss?"

Ruben got angry with the detectives. He was sure they didn't know what they were talking about. Jerry wondered if he had a point.

"Partner?" asked Jerry.

"I got this," Duncan promised.

Duncan looked at Ruben. He saw a successful and established man in his sixties. While they were going through the house, Duncan noticed some photographs. Until the main room, none of the photos included Mary.

"Sir," said Duncan. "What exactly is the Golden Kiss?"

"It's his wife!" yelled Mary.

The Golden Kiss was a photograph taken in 1990. It was a picture of the love of his life, his first wife, Helen. He announced her to play a lead role in a movie. When Helen heard the news, she got so excited she kissed the producer in front of everybody.

"It was on New Year's Eve, 1989. We were at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. There were people from the press there. The big three were there. Yet, all I could think about was that kiss. I made the announcement right at midnight, and we were married just hours later," admitted Ruben.

"Where is it?" asked Duncan.

Mary took the photograph from her purse and handed it to Ruben, a tear in her eye. Duncan asked her why. She wanted one time to kiss the big buy at midnight on New Year's Eve.

"What about his wife?" asked Jerry.

"She died ten years ago from cancer," explained Mary, standing up to be cuffed.

Ruben had gone into his study every New Year's Eve since Helen's passing. He'd lock himself in there and turn on the same song they first danced to at the Hard Rock. At midnight, he'd take the picture out of the case it was in and kiss his wife on the cheek.

"Sometimes, even after five years, I swear I can see her ghost," admitted Mary.

Duncan told his partner to take her out to their car. As Jerry and Mary left the room, Duncan waited a moment.

"What do you want us to do with her?"

"I don't know," admitted Ruben. "She robbed me. I didn't get to share our moment this year."

Duncan smiled. It was sweet. In a town filled with scumbags that cared little for their wives, Duncan imagined what Ruben and Helen must have been like before she got sick.

"It's none of my business, but you might be missing out on something that your wife would want you to have," Duncan suggested.

Duncan turned to leave. Before he could get out of the room, he heard Ruben say that they could let Mary go. He even asked them to take her home.

As the Suburban with Duncan, Jerry, and Mary exited the grounds, nobody saw Ruben turn on the music in his study and dance to their song. Ruben was late, but he knew Helen was the most understanding woman in the world, so after thirty years the Golden Kiss was just a couple of hours late.