The Crime System

What is this Crime System About?

"What the...?" Confused by this sudden explanation, Luke quickly selected the orb again, causing the voice to repeat the description of the Invisibility Eavesdropper device.

"Detective Sullivan, I added two sugars to your coffee, just how you like it!" Bella called out, mistaking his distant expression for simple enjoyment of his drink.

Her voice yanked him back to reality, and the bustling noise of the precinct suddenly felt overwhelming. He needed somewhere quiet to process what was happening. Ignoring Vincent's usual griping and Priscilla's presence, Luke stood up and headed for the door.

As he stepped out, he ran straight into Captain Jake Sheldon. They'd never been particularly close, so Luke ducked his head and tried to slip past him.

To his surprise, Captain Sheldon blocked his path and asked, "Sullivan, weren't you supposed to be taking a personal day? How'd you end up catching our thief instead?" His expression turned serious. "Level with me here. How did you know they'd show up at that location tonight?"

"Captain Sheldon, I'm really not feeling well. Can we discuss this another time?"

Luke tried to step around him, but Sheldon caught his shoulder and said thoughtfully, "Sullivan, whatever your methods, bringing in a suspect is what counts. You're doing this badge proud! Keep it up!"

Luke was shocked by Captain Sheldon's words. In all his time here, he'd never heard the stern, by-the-book captain praise anyone like that.

What had gotten into him?

Captain Sheldon walked into the squad room, where Vincent immediately started up with his complaints again.

Luke didn't have the energy to deal with any of it and headed straight for his temporary quarters.

While they called it quarters, it was really just a cramped office space behind the main precinct building that had been converted into sleeping quarters. The tight space was shared between three officers, without even a private bathroom.

His roommates were fellow patrol officers. The younger one was decent enough, but the older one snored like a freight train – making every night a challenge.

Thankfully, the snorer was working nights, or Luke would never get any sleep.

It was nearly dawn now, around four AM. He made it back to his bunk and didn't even bother cleaning up. He just kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto the bed, ready to pass out.

But after tonight's supernatural experience, sleep wasn't coming easy. Getting executed by lethal injection, crossing into another world, assuming a new identity, discovering this mysterious crime-solving system and earning rewards – it all kept spinning through his mind, keeping him wide awake.

This Crime System especially intrigued him. Luke had a strong feeling that his incredible luck in catching the York Criminal wasn't just coincidence – the System had engineered it somehow.

Maybe when the System activated, it altered reality just enough to put him in the right place at the right time?

After closing the case, the System had rated his completion at seventy percent. That must refer to how well he completed the System's assigned mission. Back at the diner, what if he hadn't chosen to chase the guy in the jacket? Would his completion rate have tanked?

So even if the Crime System set up perfect opportunities, it was still up to him to recognize and act on them to succeed?

The more he thought about it, the more excited Luke got. With this Crime System backing him up, could he solve future cases just as impressively?

"Man... if that's true, I could become the department's top detective. The perks would be insane..." he muttered to himself.

Finally, exhaustion took over and he drifted off...

When Luke woke up, he felt anxious about what the Crime System might have in store for him. He quickly checked on yesterday's reward – the Invisibility Eavesdropper was still there! No doubt about it, this thing was designed for surveillance. Completely undetectable – definitely a valuable tool.

Back at the precinct, the squad room was much quieter than before. Just a few detectives working at their desks. No sign of Vincent Parker or Priscilla.

As he walked in, several detectives gave Luke awkward looks. Fair enough – yesterday had been weird. The usual pushover suddenly goes full action hero and solving the York Case single-handedly. Pretty hard to process.

He ignored the stares and headed straight for his computer.

Luke's desk neighbors were Aaron Dawson and Adam Mercer, who worked on cold cases. These were major unsolved crimes from years back – usually violent robberies or murders that had gone cold but were too significant to close.

While waiting for his computer to boot up, he glanced over curiously at their work – and saw they were looking at photos of bloody crime scenes.

"Jesus, what happened here?" Luke asked, suddenly interested.

"This one?" Aaron Dawson spoke up first. "Uptown murder case from ten years back. Victim was butchered – stabbed over forty times."

"Oh yeah?" His computer was ready, but the case had caught Luke's attention. He picked up one of the photos for a closer look.

As they filled him in on the details, he started analyzing it automatically. "Hey," Luke said thoughtfully, tapping his nose as he looked at them both, then held up one of the photos. "Guys, I might have some thoughts on this, if you're interested-"

He shared his analysis, pointing out things that didn't add up and suggesting new investigative angles. Luke could see the moment it clicked for them.

Before he could even finish, Aaron Dawson and Adam Mercer were rushing out of the squad room, eager to chase down the lead he'd given them.

Luke turned back to his computer, allowing himself a small smile. It felt good to help, even in someone else's case. Now, what did that Crime System have planned for him next?