Murder,mystery and mayhem

He stirred his whisky, almost nonchalantly, even as his well-rounded face seemed to be drawn in overwhelming deep thought. 19 years of Pat Noyce’s extravagant career at the Los Angeles Police Dept. had the thick skinned stickler, seen a wide assortment of cases; some obtuse, few brilliant, others rudimentary, while some simply dumb-founding, and yet such queerness of tragic events that had transpired that eventful night had succeeded in baffling his trained eye.
He sipped onto his whisky, lit a cigarette and tried to gather his distorted overworked mind. On the16th of April,1954 Pat had arrived upon the investigation scene almost at the crack of dawn, and found the lifeless body of Arnold Saget, a slim jaded looking man in his early 20s, with a bullet pierced through his heart. Eerily, the body was found on a safety net hanging outside the window of the 8th floor of that very building. The safety net was installed to protect some building workers, which Pat discovered, that none in the building were aware of, including Arnold. Pat found a seemingly authentic suicide note undersigned by Arnold outlining his despondency, and aloofness to life. It was apparent to Pat from acute observation of the crime scene that Arnold had attempted suicide by jumping off the tenth floor. As soon as he jumped, even as he was crossing the 9th floor, he was shot at, and he landed on the safety net on the 8th floor. Further investigations revealed that at the time of Arnold’s death, an old couple was fiercely involved in a squabble on the 9th floor. When Pat entered the couple’s house, the old man fell to his knees and beseeched pardon. Weeping uncontrollably, he admitted to having shot at Arnold, accidentally. He also revealed that Arnold was his only son.
Upon questioning the neighbourhood, Pat found out that the old couple often fought, seldom resulting in the elder man threatening to shoot his wife with his gun. The elderly man sounded earnest when he told Pat that he actually never loaded his gun, that he merely used it to threaten his wife, and used hollow threats to stifle her. He never meant to shoot his wife nor his son, Arnold. It was an inopportune accident, one that the old man solemnly regretted. Pat had found him convincing in his version of the story, and sincere in his penitence. Experience had taught Pat much.
He was groping with his pocket looking for another cigarette, when he heard a slight knock on his door. Pat saw the wall clock that hung over his dinner table 1:26. It must be Sergeant Morgan, conjectures Pat. He opened the door.
“Ah.Good evening Sergeant. Surprised to find you at this infelicitous hour. I hope its good news that you bring.” said Pat, as he closed the door behind Sergeant Morgan.
“Care for a cigarette?” asked Pat.
“Thank you, but I’m good, sir. I found another witness to the Arnold Saget murder. A one Mr. Dave Hanson, the owner of a licensed gun shop on the east side. The 125 mm gun used by the elderly man was bought at this Mr. Hanson’s shop. He confirms that the old man never purchased bullets from him, at least not recently.” said Morgan eagerly, with a noticeable keenness in his voice.
“Ah. I’d figured it out. I have a feeling someone else has a hand in planting these bullets in that gun. Someone very…. “
Sgt. Morgan interrupted “Oh, yes sir. A few days earlier, a lean looking pensive man had dropped in at the gun shop, wanting to buy six 125 mm bullets. Needless to say, Hanson was surprised, considering how outdated the 125 mm gun is. Perhaps this man has something to do with this murder.”

“Could you find anything else about this man and his whereabouts?” quizzed Pat.
“No sir. We’re doing the best we can.” quipped the sergeant
“Okay. This case gets all the more entangled. Help run me down on this one, will you? First a man tries to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Midway through the fall he is shot. He lands on a shelter built by construction workers, which he was not aware of. The person who shoots him is his very own father. He never realized the gun had bullets and accidentally shot his son, who was in the process of dying anyway, but wouldn’t have died, because of the shelter. Something’s amiss. I still can’t figure out what’s going on?”
The sergeant added “This other guy buys bullets from a gun shop and is most probably the one who loaded the gun.”
“Indeed strange. I guess this man who bought the bullets will have a big part to play in this murder. I guess it’s pretty safe to say this mystery man who bought the bullets at the gun shop is indirectly responsible for Arnold’s murder.”
“I guess so.”
2 minutes of silence followed. Both men submerged in thought.
“Sir, I’ll take your leave now. I’ll keep you posted on any further news.” said Morgan .and bid good night

The next morning, Pat was greeted at the office doorstep by an invigorated Sgt. Morgan
“Good morning Sir. I’ve got some startling information. This morning we got the gun shop owner Mr. Hanson to help describe the man who bought the bullets. We got a rough sketch of him. The results are quite mind-boggling.”
The sergeant went on.” I questioned the entire neighbourhood again. The mystery finally seems to be coming to a conclusion, yet the coincidences seem thrilling to say the least. Arnold and his mother were apparently never on good terms with each other. She had cut-off all financial support to him, making him utterly despondent. He was vexed, beyond reasonable limits. He was so flustered; he would even dare to kill his mother. He failed at that, he also never managed to put bread on his table. So he decided to give up his life.”
Pat’s eyes lit up.” Okay. So who was the man who bought the bullets and ended up responsible for Arnold’s death?” he asked the sergeant/
The sergeant promptly replied almost half expecting the question. “There lies the irony sir. It was Arnold who bought the bullets and loaded it in his father’s gun hoping he would shoot his mother accidentally some day. Uncannily, he ended up murdering himself while committing suicide. How about that for coincidence, sir?”
“Ah! Murderer and the victim, both the same. Fascinating!”