Story: The Red Button

Everyone in the Police Department clapped and cheered as Detective Raven entered the room. He had solved yet another intractable murder case. How had he worked out that it was the babysitter with so few clues?

“You’ve got some sort of sixth sense, Raven,” said the Chief.

Raven smiled and simply replied, “Just good old-fashioned detective work, Chief.”

Later that night, Raven descended into his basement. It was filled with files, full of the details of unsolved murder cases. On the desk was an open file marked ‘White’. Jane White had been found in the street, with nothing to indicate who had killed her.

“Alright Jane,” Raven whispered. “Tonight it’s your turn.”

Raven opened a locked box and took out a small device. It was a small, black cube with no features other than a single red button. Raven closed his eyes, picturing Jane on the night of her death. Then he pressed the button.

He was there. The rain was hitting his face. Jane was in the street, walking home. Raven saw a man approach Jane from behind, carrying a gun.

He always hated this part. He knew he couldn’t intervene. When the scientist had given him the top-secret device, she had warned that attempts to change the past could result in catastrophe. He could only observe, and use the information back in the present.

Raven recognised the man’s face: he was Jane’s secretary. Raven didn’t need to see any more. He pressed the red button again.

Instantly, Raven was back in his basement. Now that he knew who to investigate, he’d be able to find the evidence he needed.

Within a week, the secretary was behind bars, and the Police Department was in awe once again.

“At this rate, you’ll solve Falkenroth,” they teased him.

Mr Falkenroth was the bank manager who had been found dead inside his vault, stabbed in the back. There was no one else in the vault, and it had been locked from the inside. It was a mind-boggling case that had remained unsolved for ten years.

Raven took out the file marked ‘Falkenroth’ and laid it on the desk in his basement. He pictured the bank manager, and pressed the button.

He found himself inside the vault, hidden behind stacks of banknotes. Falkenroth was counting the money. Raven looked around. He could see every corner. There was no one else there. He checked the door: it was already locked. He watched it closely.

There was a scream. Raven jumped from his hiding place. The bank manager fell to the ground, with a stab wound in his back.

And there she was. The assassin wiped her blade clean. She winked at Raven. Then she pressed the red button on her device, and she was gone.