Shadow: Ninja Detective

Powdered and Peppered

The room's light flicked on, blinding me and leaving me momentarily defenseless. "Johnny told me I might be expectin' some company tonight," Anderson's smug voice said. "So I recorded a snorin' track on my phone." He paused then chuckled. "He never said some dude in black pajamas would be visitin' me, though."

I'd been caught red-handed in the act of attacking what my eyes now adjusted to see—a large body pillow. Anderson stepped into the room holding a high-powered assault rifle ready to take revenge for my disturbing his peace.

Think fast, Shadow.

"That's ninja to you, bub," I said, cool as a cucumber. "And just who, exactly, is Johnny?"

"My buddy over at the store, Johnny Minuto," Anderson said. "He phoned a couple hours ago and told me about the situation over there. Said I should be prepared for trouble in case the cops decided to barge in asking questions."

"So this Johnny," I began, continuing to stall while I concocted a plan, "he's an accomplice from the robbery that took place earlier tonight?"

"Accomplice?" Anderson said, looking genuinely confused. "Hey, wait a minute. I ain't robbed no jewelry store, especially the one where I work!"

"Then explain to me how I saw security footage of you exiting the side door, only to reappear moments later from a black sedan with four other guys?"

"Did you see my face?"

"Of course I saw—"

But had I?

Stay calm, Shadow. Use your training and keep him talking.

I thought back to the footage. What I had, in fact, seen exiting the door was a man roughly Anderson's build, stout but not muscular, wearing black from head to toe. But it wasn't proof I'd actually seen Anderson in the video.

"I didn't think so," he declared. "You got no evidence it was me, and you know why? 'Cause I didn't do it!"

"Then perhaps you'd like to inform me who did do it?"

"That bozo Henry, that's who," he said, raising his weapon triumphantly. "Henry...?"

"Henry Clouse. We at work like to call him 'The Louse' 'cause of the name, you see."

"Clever," I said, discreetly palming the smoke pellet I'd carefully fetched from inside my belt. "And who is this Henry Clouse, precisely?"

"He's the store manager, duh."

"The manager?"

"Yeah, you know, the guy who tells everyone what to do, who has access to all the vaults and doors, who—"

I hurled the smoke pellet on the floor. A homemade mixture of baby powder, pepper, and other ingredients exploded in a puff of smoke. I was on Anderson in no time, disarming him with a chokehold from behind.

My mask (and the wet garments) prevented much of the smoke from getting through to my lungs. Fortunately, Anderson wasn't as fortunate. He'd inhaled a lungful of the concoction before I'd cut off his air supply and was coughing and sneezing up a storm. His body convulsed violently as I held on for dear life, riding him like a scorned rodeo bull.

When the smoke cleared, I eased my grip, feeling like I'd been tarred and feathered —only, I was powdered and peppered. Suddenly, I registered what Anderson had said a moment before I'd set off the distraction.

The guy who has access to all the vaults and doors. The doors! Clouse was the one fumbling with his keys before I'd exited the security room. No wonder he was so nervous: he was in on the whole thing!

"How do you know for sure it was Clouse?" I said.

"J-Johnny t-told me so," Anderson said between coughing fits. "Said he'd seen Louse—I mean C-Clouse—lurking around in my office yesterday, right after I'd left work."

"Doing what?"

"Messin' around with my equipment—tryin' to, anyway. I guess the cops showin' up tonight and all scared him off before he had time to finish whatever it was he started."

Had Clouse visited the security room to do exactly the same thing I'd just done earlier? Except, instead of copying the video files, he would have undoubtedly intended to wipe them clean off the map—or, in this case, off the DVRs.

It all seemed to fit. If Clouse had, in fact, been the stocky key master witness I'd seen earlier tonight, he was definitely the same build as Anderson, and it wouldn't be hard to collect more evidence to confirm his guilt. For example, the security feed would have shown him returning to the store earlier that night without having left it. Also, obtaining a warrant to search his residence and vehicle for the stolen items would be easy enough.

"So, Larry—may I call you Larry?" I said, still holding him tightly enough so he couldn't get away or reach his gun, "If you're so innocent, tell me: how'd you get your hands on a weapon identical to the ones the burglars used?"

"I'm a security guard, for Pete's sake," Anderson managed. "I know how to get things. But it wasn't illegal, I swear!"

"I bet you do," I said, though somewhat convinced. "Okay. I'm going to slowly release you, pretty as you please, and you won't go for your rifle or try to attack me or any other such nonsense, got it?"

"Fine!" Anderson said, like a bratty teenager who's just been told to go to his room without supper.

"And how am I supposed to trust you?"

"Didn't shoot you when I had the chance, did I?"

I considered that for a moment. "Fair enough. But if you try anything funny, I'll be on you like ham on rye faster than you can say 'shuriken.' And, if you thought my little trick with the smoke was a nuisance, you wouldn't want to see what I can do with a set of nunchucks."

"Whoa," he said and relaxed in my grip. "You carry numbchucks, mister? You really are a ninja."

— — — — —

Thanks so much for reading my new story Shadow: Ninja Detective. I'll be uploading the full story in the coming weeks, but if you'd rather not wait, you can purchase it for just 0.99¢ by clicking the external link.