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Everyone in the office turned and stared at the sound of the door creaking. It swung open by a man dressed in a suit. He was presenting himself greatly, pushing his chest back, making strong eye contact with Troy. The attorney wanted to look confident. He needed to look confident.

After settling down, Troy thought about the attorney’s tardiness, all thanks to Detective Finn

“Monday, February 29, 1988, eight o’clock sharp, Ava R. Vladimir checked in at New York East Hospital, reporting signs of pain in the lower region of her stomach. Husband Dr. Gustavo Vladimir was working a shift on the North Wing in NY East Hospital, unknown that his wife has checked herself in. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Isa Fletcher pushed Vladimir into trauma as she went into emergency labor two and a half hours prior to midnight. Vladimir went under a C-section, giving birth to a healthy seven inch, seven-pound baby. An hour past midnight, nurses reported Ava Vladimir missing from her hospital room, last seen by Dr. Isa Fletcher and Dr. Tripp Underwood.”

Tripp Underwood.

Troy narrowed his eyes at his name, sucking his teeth. As he watched the attorney shuffle the papers in his hands, Troy folded his hands on his lap.

Troy brought his attention back towards the attorney. “Dr. Tripp Underwood had an intimate relationship with Fletcher for three years during Fletcher’s residency at NY East Hospital. During the time Vladimir was missing, Fletcher and Underwood were the last ones seen near Ava’s room. Previously lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tripp Underwood was employed as one of New York East Hospital’s attendings, specializing in plastic surgeon and repair.”

Underwood, M.D. in Assassination.

“Underwood gained his citizenship, moved to New York City and build his residency at New York East Hospital. After five years of his practice, Underwood was promoted Chief of Surgery due to his many trials.”

Double lives were just in the texts, Troy thought, no one cared about the details but only the bolded lines.

As the attorney continued reading his mother’s police report, Troy let out a titter, shaking his head. He noticed Detective Finn eyeing him carefully, furrowing his eyebrows together. The detective didn’t know shit, Troy thought, he didn’t know shit about Underwood. After his episode, Troy was certain, from Finn’s reddened face, that Finn wanted to tell him off, maybe even stop this entire thing. But the detective left it at Troy.

“Dr. Gustavo Vladimir,” Detective Linus announced the name of his father, reading another profile. The minute the detective started to speak, Troy tuned his voice out. He didn’t need a recap of his father’s life. He didn’t need a reminder of his father’s abandonment.

He already knew about his father’s hiatus mind towards Earth, and why he’s always pushing away from him. Troy watched the men and women around him talk about his father, pushing the idea in the air that his father was somehow behind his mother’s murder.

“Does it give you any insight that you left school with your father the same time your mother’s case was submitted into our system?” Detective Linus spoke with confidence. Troy thought again how often Linus raised his voice in order to seem superior. It wasn’t the first time.

“Constellations are only alignments, not conclusions,” Troy responded to one of Linus’s question harshly, pushing his elbows on his cold seat. “I took a break for myself not because I was running away.”

A guy, Troy didn’t know his professional position, started to write down what he was saying, word for word, by the breath.

Detective Finn continued, “Are you aware that your mother’s case was filed in our system eighteen years after her murder?”

“Chloe Roux.”

The detective choked. “What?”

The guy transcribing everything Troy said paused and stared at the detective closely. So did the men and women observing the meeting.

“Chloe Roux,” Troy repeated, looking darkly at Linus. “Not setting down any cold stones, but was it Chloe Roux who submitted the case to you guys?”

“That is classified information.”

“My mother’s sister submitted the case when she thought was a right time for me, didn’t she?” Detective Finn remained silent. Troy started to raise his voice, glowering. “She was the one who wanted justice for my mother, didn’t she?” Troy winced, “Chloe Roux...she’s the person you're sampling blood from, isn’t she?”

“Troy Vladimir.” Linus interrupted Troy firmly, buying his attention. Troy pressed his lips together, slouching back into his chair. The detective stirred into another direction, saying, “Why do you want to work in this industry?”

Troy knitted his eyebrows together, evening out his breathing. Troy sighed slowly, trying to clear his mind. He looked carefully at Linus, pinning his eyes closely on him.

“I don’t know if this is true, more so believable, but my father told me that my mother was a great detective before she died. She believed in justice and cared for this town. She put her last breath on the line for another person’s millionth.” Troy coughed, slightly leaning forward. “I appreciate people who choose this kind of path in their life, and I would like to do the same.”

Detective Finn nodded, hiding his widened eyes as he listened to Troy’s rather spotless response. “Fall 2005, you attended the University of Pennsylvania. Tell us about yourself and your years of study.”

Troy nodded, scratching the back of his neck, feeling the black ink dance towards his fingertips. The thought of his tattoo made him pause. He licked his lips, saying, “I graduated a year earlier than the rest of my class because I obtained enough credits as a four-year high school student. I chose to study Computer Engineering at Penn.”

“You took prerequisites for Computer Engineering during your first semester? How will your studies benefit us?”

Listening to the detective speak, Troy pursed his lips together, thinking deeply about his past studies. “I left Penn after my third semester. I took courses that included Math 104, 114, 240 and 420; Chemistry 101; Physics 140; CIS 120 and 240.” Troy tilted his head to the side and looked directly at Linus. “I’m sure you have no idea what I’m talking about but feed all you want on my excellent math and science work.”

Detective Linus cleared his throat loudly, pushing his attention towards the papers in his hands rather than Troy who masked his dead mother’s personality a little more than he should.

“It says here you left your previous job due to personal reasons.” The detective was scanning over Troy’s pristine résumé, all thanks to Jackie, and asked, “Would you like to explain why you left?”

“At my previous job, I learned to adapt to the different environments thrown at me. Right now, I’m trying to look for a fresh challenge, hoping to see myself grow and hold a commander-type position.” His voice was thick and croaky. “With a position here, I would be able to view things through another dimension rather than plain grains and spots.”

“What is your greatest weakness?”

“I believe my greatest weakness is working with other people. I can work well with a partner, but I can’t show them how much I appreciate their time or work.”

“Why should I hire you?”



As Troy walked out of Detective Finn’s office, his attention landed across the room, onto Angie’s fruity laugh. She was standing, face hurting with red, next to another girl in her late twenties. The moment he had spotted the She-Finn, Troy’s eyes did not avert his gaze. As he became distracted by her appearance, the sounds around him started to fade.

The process or questioning or whatever Finn set up happened in a quick second. A few questions here and there, and now he owns a ticket to finding justice: a gold badge the shape of a soft beating heart. Troy winced at this own thought. NOT A BEATING HEART, he thought. Though, through all the noises and buzzes, he couldn’t help but feel his own heart beating louder and louder the more Angeline Finn smiled.