In The Beat Of The Night

  CONFIDENTIAL
  APRIL 23, 1987

Rain sprinkled in the air as police cars, fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene: a man had been murdered. Dabney Quimby I, police chief in Metro City, to be exact. Among the investigators: Nightbeat, the Autobot detective, who was deployed at Miami Police Department's HQ in Miami, Florida. But soon, a while after his DNA had been scanned to identify him, an unexpected visitor arrived, driving a custom white 1977 Chevrolet Chevelle. Out stepped Jonathan Brown, alias "The Inspector", head investigator at Metro City Police Department. He wore a gray trenchcoat, black boots, and a gray hat in 2 different shades. "You, there! Stop!" Nightbeat shouted to the man after transforming. John did as told until Nightbeat walked over. "What the hell kind of business do you think you have here!? All of the required officials have arrived and this area is blocked off for the next 2 miles. So, tell me, sunshine: what are you doing here?"

The Inspector showed Nightbeat his police badge. "I'm from Metro City, here to investigate the crime scene." "Alright, let me check that badge first. So I know it ain't a counterfeit..." The Autobot checked John's badge, saw it was real, and let him in. "The suspect has been identified, yes?" "Right. Mr. Dabney Quimby. Why?" Nightbeat replied. "That's just it." the Inspector continued. "Quimby was the chief out in Metro City. His son, the undersheriff, deployed me out here in the hopes of contributing additional information to the case." "Right, then. Put these on, we're gonna investigate the body." Nightbeat said, handing John a pair of latex gloves. Brown pulled out the bullet, handing it to Nightbeat, who handed it to Perceptor, newly promoted to chief forensic scientist due to his ability to scan evidence for lacings or fingerprints on-the-spot. "Nightbeat, a cursory evalution would show that this bullet is laced with poison. More specifically, lipophilic alkoloid, a type of poison used by golden poison frogs. I can, in turn, conclude, that when Quimby was shot, the bullet prevented his nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction, which lead to either heart failure or fibrillation, which likely will be determined in the autopsy."

"So, the question is...who shot him?" Nightbeat pondered aloud. The question would soon be answered, as a gunman, one Sanford Scolex, then suffering from throat problems, shot Gadget square in the back with a regular bullet. "The answer? Me!" he shouted from the rooftop of the apartment nearest to the crime, also where Scolex shot Brown to begin with. "That would explain it. Perceptor, get Brown on a gurney and to the hospital! God forbid the bullet doesn't kill him first..." Nightbeat concluded, commanded and grumbled, leading a trio of officers up onto the roof. Meanwhile, Brown would soon be found to be the appropriate subject to test a brand new, government-commissioned project, thereby transforming "The Inspector" into "Inspector Gadget", now and forever.

END FILE