All Chapters of Night Shift Windfall: My Partner's Last Message: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

"Step back, everyone! Open the door!" Peter Garrett drew his gun from his holster, and two police officers pushed open the metal doors to the walk-in freezer. A wave of biting cold hit them square in their faces.The freezer unit's compressor continued in a dull, heavy drone. There were no blood stains or dead bodies—only a few boxes of frozen seafood. "Wilbur Moran, is this the crime scene you spoke of?" Peter questioned in an icy voice. "He took a photo right here just ten minutes ago!" I replied, pointing at the surveillance camera in the corner. Peter dialed George Rowland's number, then put his phone on loudspeaker. After two rings, his call went through."Is this George Rowland? I am a police officer. Where are you at the moment?""I'm on the bus, heading back to my hometown. What's the matter?" Peter ended the call and grabbed me by the collar. "Would a dead man answer his phone?""That wasn't Mr. Roland," I said, enunciating every word.Peter shoved me aside, ord

I acted as if I was guilty, greedy, and terrified. I whisked the insulated lunchbox up and held it in my arms, saying, "I understand, Mr. Frost. I didn't actually see anything. Mr. Rowland has returned to his hometown, and I actually got that ten thousand dollars as a loan from him. "I will pay it all back to him, little by little." Tom broke into a satisfied smile when he saw my frazzled reaction. "That sounds about right. Only the bright ones get to live a long life." He got to his feet and walked to the door. "Go on and dig in. The meatballs will turn stale once they get cold."The door shut behind him. It wasn't until the sound of his footsteps had vanished completely at the far end of the hallway that I let my shoulders drop slightly. I opened the lunchbox, and indeed, there were meatballs in it. I broke one apart with the cutlery. Its center was still raw, and a deep red liquid flowed out from within.My stomach churned. This was a warning. I would end up like that

My heart sank. I hurried over. An individual freezer was tucked away in a corner. Someone was lying inside it. The body had frozen stiff, and it had turned blue. The person's face was frozen in a permanent expression of terror right before they died.It was George; the real George. His right index finger was missing a joint, and the burn scar on his wrist was clearly visible. I stared at him. My eyes welled up with tears. I ran a temperature last week, and George told me to rest while he kept watch the entire night. I hadn't even had the time to treat him to a meal. Instead, I received a ten-thousand-dollar transfer from him.He thought he could make a quick buck, so he could send some money to his elder sister back in his hometown and give himself a better safety net for his later years.In the end, he lost his life in the process.I crouched down and reached out, shutting his eyes that had remained open. I thought to myself, "Rest in peace, Mr. Rowland. I will seek justice

As my cheek was pressed down against the console, I looked up, directing my gaze toward the fire alarm button. Tom followed my gaze, noticing the glass cover over the red fire alarm button. A grin spread across his face. "Want to press it, don't you? Triggering a false fire alarm is a good way to get yourself locked back up." My lips curled up in a bloody smirk. "No," I replied. My voice was distorted by the pressure that was on me. "I wasn't thinking of pressing it."Without warning, I lifted my head and thrashed violently. The burly man in the black jacket lunged forward, trying to use his weight to pin me down. His shoulder slammed through the glass cover in the process. The blare of the fire alarm tore through the night. The entire residential complex's PA system was activated. A pre-recorded evacuation message was supposed to follow, but a mechanical female voice played through the speakers instead."Grade-A human tissues as raw materials from a basement freezer storag