The Case Of The Suspicious Investigator

• Abner Alex, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

“And now, I will announce the winner of this majestic and captivating trophy for ‘The Investigator of the Year’!” Announced Ace Jones, the CEO and Co-Founder of The Investigators. Harlow Becket crossed his nervous fingers which were sweating non-stop. His pale forehead was bathed with water and his shivering knees shook like an earthquake. It was his dream to achieve The Investigator of the Year trophy ever since he started working at the Investigators. Its golden appearance glimmering beautifully in the sky filled him with a sense of astonishment. It was the most dazzling trophy he’d ever seen. To be clear, it was made of literal gold. He’d also wanted it so that he could get a hint of respect from his insolent colleagues. “The winner of The Investigator of the Year trophy is... JARRED COLLINS!!” Harlow’s heart sank. His mind stopped whirring and his whole body went numb. He had failed again. His shoulders fell and his dark, shadowy eyes became blurry. Even though all he could hear was ringing, he could still hear the laughing and mocking of his colleagues. “Better luck next time. You will need it. Ha ha ha ha!” Fortunately, he had enough power to control his rage. When Harlow was leaving for home in disappointment, he saw someone's computer open with their password unlocked. After scanning the perimeter for anyone staring at him, he typed up ‘Jarred Collins’ on the computer. When Harlow read the description, he was shocked at what it read. It said that Jarred had only been working at The Investigators for only a year. It seemed very rare that a newcomer would already get The Investigator of the Year trophy in their first year. He read about the case on how Jarred got The Investigator of the Year trophy. The next day Harlow went to Jarred and started to congratulate him on the trophy while also placing a camouflaged tracker on Jarred’s pants. He did it by purposely dropping a cup of coffee on Jarred’s pants and by trying to clean it while putting the tracker on him. That night, he followed Jarred to a warehouse. Jarred then opened the warehouse door and walked inside. Harlow sneaked inside too. “So it’s you," a voice escaped the shadows. Jarred spun around bewildered. “How did you get in here?" he hissed bitterly, as a droplet of sweat from his forehead kissed the concrete floor. “Coffee break," Harlow said, chuckling as he took his phone out with the tracking app open. “Shoot” Jarred searched for the tracking device and threw it. Jarred confessed that he had kidnapped kids and ‘found’ them in his warehouse. He was then put in prison and Harlow got The Investigator of the Year trophy. His colleagues finally gave him the respect that he had earnt. As Harlow was packing his things, he found a note saying 'Congrats on Jarred but he was only the beginning...We're the real challenge,' Harlow grinned. "Okay," he stated confidently, "Challenge accepted."