Code of Misconduct

Lettie Burgess stared absentmindedly out the grimy window as the train clattered along the tracks towards the city. She traveled this route every weekday and was familiar with every dilapidated building and colorful graffiti tag along the half an hour commute but today was a Saturday and the main deviation from the normal was the luxury of a double seat all to herself. The lack of funky body odors emitting from sniffling strangers came a pretty close second. It was just her and six others sharing the peace and quiet of the train carriage as it swayed and clanked its way closer to the city skyline that pierced the distant horizon.

Today had meant to be a romantic evening to celebrate her thirtieth birthday. How quickly things could change she mused sadly. She’d only broached the subject of marriage with Kurt because she so desperately wanted children and was determined not to have them out of wedlock. It wasn’t like they’d only just embarked on their relationship. It had been three years since their worlds had literally collided in the flashing neon and pulsating beats of TC’s Club. They had shared a home, a bank account, a dog. His devastating response to her question had given her no choice but to reluctantly end their relationship.

It had been over six months since she’d regained her footing on life as a single woman and lately she had found herself really starting to enjoy her independence. It no longer mattered that this was supposed to have been a date night with the one she had loved. Tickets for the opening night of the musical had sold out over a year ago and if overseas reviews were anything to go by the production promised to be an extravaganza not to be missed. She was looking forward to catching up with her cousin for a meal at their favorite Italian restaurant before heading to the theater to be wowed by sequins, feathers and glitter.

Her pensive thoughts were interrupted by a lanky middle aged man covered in tribal tattoos entering the train carriage. Lettie watched him discreetly as he sat down on one of the chairs closest to the door and began rifling through his scruffy backpack, pulling out a mobile phone. She suspected that he had probably been a good-looking guy in his youth but his face was weathered from a hard life. Deep wrinkles etched his forehead and dark circles around his eyes indicated that his lifestyle was probably anything but healthy.

His phone rang and he answered it immediately speaking gruffly into the receiver in a low voice. He appeared to be chastising the person on the other end of the line and she noticed his fists were clenched tightly causing his knuckles to whiten. The call was brief and as he hung up he looked menacingly across at Lettie. She averted her eyes instantly, an uneasiness washing over her as she felt him appraising her. Out of her peripheral vision she saw him shift in his seat and her heart raced as she saw him get to his feet. For one awful moment she felt scared for her life.

The train jolted to a halt and she exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as he flung his backpack over his shoulder and stepped off the train without a backward glance. It wasn’t until he was striding purposely down the station platform that she noticed the small black notebook on the floor in front of where he had been sitting. Initially she tried to ignore it. For a good ten minutes she pretended it didn’t interest her but as the train made its way through the tunnel to her destination curiosity got the better of her and she quickly scooped it up and threw it haphazardly into her handbag on her way out the door.

Periodically throughout the evening the mysterious black notebook intruded Lettie’s thoughts but she purposely delayed opening the book until she was safely home from her fabulous night out. The thought had briefly crossed her mind to hand the book in as lost and found but her curiosity had overpowered her attempt at doing the right thing and now, freshly showered and nursing a glass of her favorite pinot noir, she finally reached for the dog-eared book. As she gingerly turned it over in her hands she wondered if its owner had even realized it was missing. Ignoring the nerves that pulsed through her body she opened the book.

Lettie studied the lightly penciled sketches that were scattered throughout the book marveling at how good they were. The subject matter was a little dubious but considering who had dropped the book the skull and cross bones, marijuana leaves and array of weaponry wasn’t that much of a surprise to her. What did pique her interest though were the various pages scattered throughout the book that looked like coded entries. Lines upon lines of letters and numbers in no particular order. Her imagination started to run wild as she wondered what secrets she had chanced upon.

She spent the best part of her Sunday trying to decipher what seemed like the impossible, even researching at length different types of codes and how to crack them, but her endeavors were all to no avail. As the day went on, Lettie became convinced she had stumbled upon a cryptic code that would eventually lead her to buried treasures. If only she could translate the damned letters and numbers that now taunted and danced blurrily in front of her eyes meant.

As the days went by Lettie’s enthusiasm began to wane and the small black book gradually found its way from her coffee table to the bookcase and eventually into the desk drawer. Inevitably life went on and her fanciful dreams of buying herself a car with the spoils she would find when she discovered the hidden treasure the code would lead her to faded to a distant memory. Days became weeks and weeks became months. But the little black notebook suddenly found its way back into her foremost thoughts the night she saw the face of the man who dropped it on the evening news.

Lettie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. After months of surveillance an international drug ring had been taken down by federal police and they were currently searching for a key player who had evaded arrest and the public were warned not to approach the armed and dangerous man. Steely dark eyes full of hatred stared back at Lettie as she knelt in front of the television and studied Brock Lester’s familiar face. Sudden fear washed over her as her thoughts immediately went to the little black notebook tucked away in her desk drawer. Brock Lester’s little black notebook.

Her heart was racing and she quickly checked that her apartment door was locked. Rationally she realized she was overreacting and tried to calm herself down. Had this criminal suspected that she had picked up his book all those months ago she was pretty certain he would have made his presence known to her by now. Even so, she moved stealth like as she retrieved the book from the drawer and stared at it incredulously as she placed it on the kitchen bench.

Lettie knew the correct thing to do was take it down to her local police station and hand it in but the thought of doing that conjured up so many doubts and fears within her that she seriously contemplated throwing it in the rubbish bin. Police would be obliged to look at her suspiciously and possibly even interrogate her regarding what she may know about Brock Lester and his illegal activities. Her quiet unassuming life would be in serious jeopardy of intense disruption but despite her reluctance she knew as a law-abiding citizen there was no realistic alternative but to give it to police.

The fluorescent lighting was as harsh as it was bright and the starkness of the waiting room was clinical with an unwelcoming absent of decor. Several people sat in the room, some staring blankly at their mobile phone screens whilst others spoke to each other in hushed tones. Lettie could feel eyes on her as she walked nervously towards the front counter and nodded a welcome to the officer who stood behind it shuffling papers.

Refusing to divulge her reason for being there in front of a room full of strangers she was led into a cold windowless room where she was eventually joined by another officer who introduced himself as Senior Sargent Daniel Moffat. Lettie was surprised at his youthfulness, expecting an officer with his ranking to be older. She returned his friendly smile as he took a seat opposite her and looked at her expectantly. Silently she offered him the notebook, admiring his strong arms as he reached across the table and took it from her hands.

As she explained how it had ended up in her possession and whose book it was she attempted to read beyond the officer’s poker face. His striking blue eyes scrutinized her intensely as she replied to his relentless questioning that went on for over an hour. When he finally got to his feet and left her alone in the claustrophobic room she felt emotionally worn out and wondered if she was free to leave. She stood and stretched her limbs and out of curiosity checked to see if the closed door would open.

Senior Sargent Daniel Moffat appeared in the hallway as Lettie poked her head around the doorway and he laughed as he asked her if she was planning to escape from him. He waved away her bumbling explanation in an upbeat fashion and informed her that a federal police investigator may be in touch with her in a day or two regarding the matter at hand should they require further information. The book would become official evidence and be examined by experienced cryptanalysts to determine what information was hidden within its pages. Lettie was free to go and as he led her back out to the waiting room their eyes locked and lingered for a brief moment before they parted ways.

Lettie was disappointed not to be contacted by the federal police and assumed that she had not assisted in giving them any new leads. A fortnight later she was to discover that could not have been further from the truth when she had the pleasure of answering a phone call from Mister Senior Sargent Daniel Moffatt, although he insisted that she call him Daniel. Brock Lester had been located and arrested and thanks to the contents deciphered in the notebook new evidence had led to the arrest of several underworld figures involved in an international arm trafficking racket. He thought she would like to know before the information was released to the media.

Daniel also wanted to let her know about the twenty thousand dollar reward that was coming her way for assisting police in their ongoing case. Lettie was astounded to hear this surprising information and laughed joyfully. She could hear Daniel’s breath as she pressed the phone closer to her ear and felt a sudden surge of affection towards him. Perhaps sensing this opportunistic moment he stumbled nervously over his words as he asked her if she would like to go out with him some time. They agreed to meet that weekend and as Lettie hung up the phone she couldn’t help but marvel at life’s wondrous twists and turns.