Chain Reaction 2.28: All In The Family

     I have two possible suspects: Bjorn or Malcolm. It would be catastrophic to arrest the wrong dude. It would be worse to arrest Mr. Landgraab's son, especially if he's not guilty. My whole career rests on this one move. Plus, I don't want Mr. Landgraab hating me. He and Uncle Alex continue to compete to see who can be the richest man in Eden.

    The thing is: Neither of them fully match the description. Bjorn is wearing a jacket and slacks and is blond. But he's a fully-fledged adult, and he doesn't have the 'hates children' trait. He has kids.
     I'm going to make good and plum sure before I make an arrest, so I spend quite a bit of time getting to know everyone at the park. Bjorn keeps pointing me to Malcolm. I don't know if that's because he's guilty and trying to shift blame or being honest.


     Malcolm is a young adult and blond, but he's not wearing slacks or a jacket. I don't find out enough about him, but I do find out he's family-oriented. Doesn't 'hates children' clash with family-oriented?


     Even though I have three things on Bjorn and only two on Malcolm, my gut tells me it's him. He robbed his father? Why? I guess that's the big question.

      Oh, Maker, please don't let me regret this 'til the day I die. I book the heir to one of the wealthiest families in Eden.
     "You're going to regret this, Taylor," he snarls.
     Plum.

       "In the cell, sir." It feels weird calling someone my age 'sir.'

      He doesn't resist. He looks really bummed.
      I hate making the call to Mr. Landgraab to tell him I've arrested his son. I tell him he matched the description, but inwardly, I cringe. Malcolm doesn't completely match the description, but I can't tell his father that I'm going on my gut here.
      No big surprise: Mr. Landgraab is distraught his son's been arrested. The chief is upset with me, barely wanting to support me in my decision. It won't look good for the force if I'd mistakenly arrested Geoffrey Landgraab's son.
      I had better do the most awesomest job ever done as I interrogate the guy.

      I have almost no experience doing this. I've done it once before, but the maker failed miserably in guiding me to getting a confession.
      "This is ridiculous, Ethan. Let me out of here, and I might forget this ever happened."

       I'm making a powerful enemy here, whether or not the man is guilty. What was I thinking?!
       I clear my throat. No going back, Ethan. You can do this. You can prove he's guilty. You can get him to confess. Tons of questions I'd pondered as I'd done my research on the case pop into my head. Why would he want those files? And why would he have to steal them from his dad?

      "Let's get this started, Mr. Landgraab." I show him some of my evidence. A flash of anger comes into his eyes as he looks at one of the pictures. He knows he's accused of stealing files from his father, but he doesn't know that I know exactly what files they are.
      "Cloning," I state succinctly. "Why would someone want to clone members of the Landgraab family?"

      "That's a good question! Who knows what those nutzos out there want with our genetic roadmap? I wouldn't be surprised if some slut came up and pretended to be knocked up just to get at our money!" He wipes his brow.

      "Cloning is very expensive. If a woman turned up pregnant, claiming to be knocked up by either you or your father, she would've already had to have money to begin with." Pieces start falling into place. I think my gut was right!
       "Well, uh, having money only makes you want more money."
       Nice try.
       "You looked at this information like you hadn't seen it before." Of course, he has seen it before. He stole it, probably angry that his father wouldn't let him have it in the first place. I asked him that question to get him in a mood.
       He rolls his eyes. "Of course I haven't."
       "Why would your father keep this information from you? Did you know he had your genetic roadmap on file?"

     "Of course I did!" He breathes fast. "Are you implying my father would keep something from me? I'm practically his partner!"
     "But you didn't have access to the files, did you, Malcolm?"
     "No. He kept them locked in his drawer."
     "You knew where to find them," I state in a questioning way.
     "Of course I did! But that doesn't mean I went in there and stole the lock!" He pauses. "I mean the files!"
      Interesting slip.
      "You're not married, are you, Malcolm?"
      "No. Neither are you. What's the point of this question?"
      "Actually, I am married. Pretty recently. At the love fest."
      He laughs. Then, he laughs harder up to the ceiling. "Ethan! Why am I surprised? I can see it now. You're so simple-minded that you fell victim to the potions!" He cackles.
      That pisses me off, but I don't let it get to me. I'm getting close. Family-oriented! It's not 'hates children'! It's family-oriented! Why did I miss this before?

     I look at the file again, pretending to ponder something. "You know. It's doubly-funny that you're not married. It stands to reason you're Eden's most eligible bachelor."
     "I hate that title," he snarls. "It means I can't trust any of the women that I date! They're not interested in me. Do you have any idea how much that sucks?!"
     "Yeah, I bet it does, especially since you're family-oriented."
     "I am! I want to start a family, but I can't trust anyone!"

     "And you knew your father had the information on how to make clones of both of you, your mother included. You have the money to pay for cloning, but your father wouldn't give you access to the files."
     "I want a family! How else am I supposed to make that happen if I can't trust women?!"

     He too late covers his mouth.
     "Admit it, Malcolm. You strolled into 'dear old Dad's' office, picked the lock, and stole those files, angry he wouldn't share them with you."

       "Fine, you pathetic excuse for a sim. I did it! Happy now?! Those files should've been mine anyway!"
       I can't hide the uber-pleased look on my face. I officially place him in custody, and the clunk of the cell door closing has never sounded more satisfying.

      My boss is so pleased that he makes me a detective for real.
      YES!

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