Episode 69: An eventful night

Inspector Jacobs woke up from the faint San Franciscan light seeping through the curtains at the room in St. Regis. He looked at the young man sleeping next to him and sighed. He was extremely attracted to him but he was investigating his brother’s homicide. Sleeping with him was a bad decision, a moment of weakness. He got up and head to the shower.

Episode 68: A drink or three

‘Another virgin margarita, Jeffrey?’ the bartender asked. ‘So, it is Jeffrey Jacobs’ Andrew said, laughing. ‘Has a certain ring to it.’ Inspector Jacobs laughed, too. Andrew’s laugh was infectious. ‘What the heck, Ben’ he said to the barman. Make mine what he is having and please put them on my tab. It is already 8pm and we are done with official business.’ That was a thing everyone admired about Inspector Jacobs. Not only he was smart and hard working, he always followed the rules.

Episode 67: A mother’s sorrow

‘Andrew, how is your mother? How is she dealing with the loss of your brother?’ Andrew look at the Inspector and his blue eyes were deep in sorrow. ‘She is a strong woman, my mother, Inspector. She has already forgiven the person that did this to my brother and Bob. Now she is praying for justice, so no other mother will have to go through what is going though.’

Episode 66: Martha Vidauri Part 2

‘Has your mother met Ms. Vidauri, Andrew?’ ‘Once, briefly. Maybe last month or so. Bob flew her in, not sure why. To see a doctor, perhaps? She was old and fragile, I believe. I understand that Bob brought her over to the restaurant to meet my brother. Mother was there too, and they met. A very pleasant woman, she was. She sent my mother a parcel of Omaha steaks when she got back. Mother says she is surprised she was not told about Bob’s murder.’ Andrew looked in his drink and sighed.

Episode 65: Martha Vidauri

‘I was on my way to my airport when you called. But before we talk business, what will you drink?’ At the Inspector’s objections, Andrew ordered him a virgin margarita. ‘You can still have juice when on duty’ Andrew laughed. ‘So, Inspector, I spoke with my mother. Andrew was close to his aunt. She is the one that brought him up after his parents died. He talked with her every week or so. Paid the mortgage on her house with his first bonus.’

Episode 64: The Blackbird

The young man was sipping an old fashioned talking with the barman. As he laughed, his dark curls bounced playfully in the dim lighting, sending shivers down Inspector Jacob’s spine. ‘Come on, old boy, he thought. Now it is not the time to fall in love.’ He approached the bar. Andrew Nikolakis, sensing him, turned around and his blue eyes glowed with excitement. ‘Good to see you, again, Inspector.’

Episode 63: Where is Martha Vidauri?

‘Martha, was her name. Martha Vidauri. I tried calling her but her mailbox is full. Called the local police chief and as far as they can tell the neighbors have not seen in a week or two. She has a daughter in Cambridge, I think.’ ‘What was that? No, Cambridge, England. PhD in Classics, I believe. Or Linguistics. Not so sure. Still trying to locate her but the University is not being much help.’ Inspector Jacobs hanged up the video conference with Philip and looked at the business card in front of his desk.’

Episode 62: No need for carbon credits

‘Inspector, I appreciate your help on this. You see, I am worried about Inspector Blu. He seems to be taking the whole affair lightly. We have three dead bodies here and he is talking about fudge and Madagascar vanilla pods. He won’t even let me try and contact Knoff’s aunt. She brought him up, you see. Lives in the outskirts of Omaha, Nebraska.’

Episode 61: A poisonous pen

Inspector Jacobs was surprised. Who is so stupid or arrogant to shoot a poisoned arrow in the middle of Castro on Pride weekend to kill a person? Whatever happed to a poisoned mojito or mimosa? Or maybe they did not shoot it? Maybe there was another way to administer it? Dr. Singh seemed to read his mind. ‘Of course, it didn’t have to be shot from a bamboo tube like in Sherlock Holmes world. A small pen-like instrument would suffice. You approach the target, dance with them and boom! you prick them with the pen. Down in ten seconds. They would never know what hit them.’

Episode 60: The arrow

‘Ben!’ Dr. Singh exclaimed. ‘Good to see you, as always. You are a bit early, we are still working on your boy. But just as well you came, there is something interesting to show you.’ She motioned to the young lad who brought a small metal tray over. ‘See this?’ Dr. Singh said pointing to what looked like a bird’s feather. ‘This is the most bizarre thing. Straight out of a Sherlock Holmes story. This is a small arrow, blown from a tube, that was most likely dipped in poison. This is what caused his death.’

Episode 59: At the coroner’s office

Inspector Jacobs walked towards the older woman in the white coat conducting the autopsy. She was explaining her actions to a group of two young women and a young man in white coats. ‘I see you still have an audience, doc’ he said cheerfully when he approached the table. On it, George Nikolakakis was lying cut open and observed by the future coroners.

Episode 58: Philip and Jacobs

Inspector Jacobs listened to Philip for a few hours. It was late afternoon when he put the phone down and he had missed lunch but he did not care. He had heard of Inspector Blu. One of the force’s finest inspectors, he was surprised he was still in active duty. Word on the street was that he was fair, never played any dirty games, trusted his gut and worked hard night and day to get his guy or gal behind bars. The last he heard of Inspector Blu, Jacobs was a young detective who just joined the force. Inspector Blu had investigated and solved a series of pet abductions from Park Avenue. The ultra rich will pay whatever to get fluffy back. In a city where some kids go to bed hungry.

Episode 57: A phonecall

As Andrew was getting up to leave, the Inspector’s phone rang. ‘Do not mind me Inspector, I will see myself out. Should you need anything or would like to talk to me, please call my cell. I share the number with very few people.’ Andrew wrote ten digits on a piece of paper and gave it to the Inspector. The Inspector picked up the phone but before he could say anything a very excited voice from the other side came: ‘Inspector Jacobs? This is Detective Philip Liu from NYPD. We have to talk!’

Episode 56: The reward

Andrew took out a checkbook. ‘Inspector, in this age, money speaks louder than any conscience. We will be putting up a reward of half a million to be paid to whoever provides information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of whoever did this to my brother and his boyfriend.’ He wrote the check, and teared it from his checkbook. He leaned over and gave it to the Inspector. ‘He was a handsome man, the Inspector’ Andrew thought. 

Episode 55: A brother’s duty

Andrew paused for a bit. ‘Inspector, when I heard that my brother was found dead, I assumed that things got out of hand while partying last Pride weekend and that he went back to his old ways. This would have broken my mother’s heart. That is why I flew in. To identify the body, deal with all the paperwork and the police and spare an old woman the heartache. Now you are telling me I misjudged my little brother and there is a bastard out there that is responsible for his death?’ ‘His and his boyfriend’s death, Andrew.’ 

Episode 54: A Greek diner

Andrew cleared his throat and looked at his hands. ‘As I already told you, Inspector, George was a very talented chef that was facing his own demons. Since he met Bob he became a better man. Was looking to start afresh and they chose San Francisco. Dad wanted to expand his empire of Greek restaurants so he offered to George to be partners. He would put up the money for a restaurant and George will run it. So, George flew here to find the perfect place’.

Episode 53: Murder, he wrote

Andrew left a shout of surprise and sank into his chair. ‘Murdered, you said?’ ‘Yes, sadly. A day or two before your brother was killed. We think the two murders were related, give your brother’s and Bob Knoff’s relationship. I will ask you to keep this information in confidence. Now, why was George in San Francisco by himself?

Episode 52: Bob is dead

Andrew cut off Inspector Jacobs impatiently. ‘Inspector, as I have said, I have Bob Knoff’s address. I will be happy to share it.’ ‘That will not be necessary. We are aware that George was intimately involved with Bob Knoff and we have his contact details.’ Andrew leaned over to the Inspector’s desk. ‘So, Inspector? When will you talk with him?’ His voice had a sense of urgency. ‘I don’t think we will, Andrew. You see, Bob was murdered a few days ago.’

Episode 51: The Inspector speaks

Inspector Jacobs looked in to Andrew’s blue eyes. ‘A beautiful color they were’, he thought. ‘That is probably the color of the Mediterranean sea as the sun plays with the waves in the summer.’ He wondered what Andrew Nikolakis did for a living but something told him it was probably wise not to ask. He cleared his throat and said ‘Andrew, the SFPD appreciates you flying in at such short notice to San Francisco. We were hoping to gather as much information as possible about George as his friends and acquaintances may provide us with valuable information.’

Episode 50: The Greek mother

‘She always had a soft spot for him. We all did. He was the youngest and most charming. George trained as a chef and was a talented one. But he was throwing his life away with all the partying. So, we were very relieved when last year he met someone and started turning his life around. No, we never met him. Heard a bit about him from George so I did some digging of my own. I have connections in the city so I found out a few things. His name was Bob Knoff and was a trader on Wall Street. An honest one, I am told, if there is such a thing. Still, he seemed to love my brother enough to make him want to turn a new leaf in his life. I have his address, if you need it.’

Episode 49: Tzatziki and souvlaki

Andrew took a sip of his coffee and proceeded. ‘George was the younger of four, all boys. As you have probably gathered from our last name, we are of Greek decent. First generation, our parents moved to New York in the seventies. Old fashioned, from a tiny village in Crete. Beautiful place, paradise on earth even if I say so, but very conservative. George’s was a wild child. Alcohol, drugs, partying, multiple boyfriends. My mum did not approve. She wanted him to find a good Greek boy and settle down taking over our dad’s chain of Greek restaurants.’

Episode 48: An expensive suit

Inspector Jacobs looked at the young gentleman sitting across him. Dressed immaculately in an expensive three piece suit. Armani, perhaps. Or Hugo Boss. He has seen these suits in the Westfield but never dared to try them. You cannot buy such a suit in a cop’s salary. He sighed. One day, he thought. He looked his visitors in the eyes and said ‘So, Mr. Nikolakis, the deceased was your younger brother?’ ‘Please, said the young gentleman, Inspector Jacobs, call me Andrew.’ ‘He looked the Inspector deep in his eyes. The Inspector felt a shiver, like Andrew’s eyes were reaching his soul.