“Moving to Sandago at this time would be quite a bad idea” The man on the seat behind me was flipping through a newspaper. Two women sat across from him –I assumed his wife and daughter. The wife looked worried.
“Oh no. Had there been another murder” she said. The daughter covered her mouth, worry radiating off of her.
“’Fraid so. Oh we couldn’t have picked a worse time to leave” I couldn’t help it, I scoffed. Quite loudly too. He turned to look at me his angry expression made him look like an oversized teddy bear. “What? Do you disagree with me?”
“Quite a bit actually.” I put my arm on the seat and looked him in the eye “I believe you remember reading in history books about in 2030 when Jacksonville –it used to stand where Sandago stands now- was completely leveled. I believe that was far more catastrophic then just one or two murders.”
“But it’s some of first murders to happen in decades!”
“Well, yes, but it’s not to happen in the country just the city, murders happen all over the country,  and I have heard rumors that Matti Scarlett Gushgow is on the case.” The whole family gasped. The daughter looked back at the dad.
“Well we have nothing to worry about then!” she nodded sure of herself “I wonder if I can meet her” she got a dreamy look on her face. “Everyone says she is the kindest person ever and her dog is so sweet” I pulled my brown lace ribbon top hat over my face.
“Yeah well, never trust a second hand story.” 
The girl looked at me surprised “why?” she gasped again “have you met her?” I peered at her from under my hat. She was a young about sixteen I was ten years older than her but, to be technical, I looked about fourteen that’s what happens when you never age. She seemed quite happy to have someone to have “met” the hero. My scan showed her heart beat was climbing at an alarming rate.
“Calm down. You’re going to pass out if you don’t” The man with the newspaper asked.
“How do you know if her heart is beating any faster or not” I flashed my hand at him. You’d have thought he had seen the pope walking down the street he looked so shocked. The fishnet glove I had on both hands was fingerless with white lace near the bottom. But that was hardly what shocked him on my right hand there was a brass mechanical ring with three garnets embedded in it chained to the end of the glove. Everyone on earth had a different type of ring to mark what class, what species, gender, and race. I was female, middle class, Caucasian, and of course something that made most people’s head spin a cyborg. The train started slowing to a stop.
“Oh I- I see. I- I’m sorry” most people didn’t like it when people brought up the fact that they were cyborgs, but they were just so rare that you didn’t think about it. I didn’t care whether you broth it up or not, although I don’t like people who pry so don’t ask me which parts of me are robotic and don’t ask me how it happened, asking things like that will get you punched. The train came to a full stop and I turned toward the speaker above my seat.
“Keep your hands and feet away from the doors. Keep your hands and feet away from the door. Keep you hands-” It repeated. I looked back at the girl.
“Sorry no, I’ve never meet the person you just described” her face fell but I wasn’t lying I had never heard of the detective she was talking about, someone perfect and just so nice and kind. But if you’re looking for Matti Scarlet Gushgow look for the cyborg girl who was mean and rude to everyone. If you’re looking for Matti Scarlet Gushgow look for the freelance detective who hadn’t aged a day over fourteen. If you’re looking for Matti Scarlet Gushgow look for me.
The train station was always packed with people at this time of day. I walked over to animal pick up. The line wasn’t long for this, not many people took animals with them anymore, not many people had animals anymore. I scanned my ring and a small animal cage swirled around to face me. The plype inside howled, I unlatched the little hook that kept him inside. He sprung out of the cage making me fall to the pavement. I looked up at the little alien pet. Its indigo fur was silky soft.  All six of its paws came up off the ground when he jumped “ugh hello there Orpheus” I ground he licked my face with his black tongue. “Down boy down” he got off of me and I wiped my velvet laced skirt down. “Now come on.” I tapped my cane in front of him “We have a killer to catch.” Orpheus followed right on my geared heels.
The city was quite pretty it took a hover train from Minotol (where her last case was) almost a whole day to get there. It was built high up buildings where stacked on each other like apartments all made of bronze metal and red bricks. Air ships crowded the docking zone their blue hovers glowing brightly. Green foliage was over grown in ever plant box and window sill vines covered in pink flowers budded along the sidewalks. People in top hats with striped tights and high heeled boots with tiny gears walked around some in hover carriages. Towers that touched the stratosphere covered the area. To me it was a lovely city, we policed too guards in black buttoned up coats with one golden star in the middle of their helmet stood on every corner. A cover was used for the police station it was old and run down and never had any lights on. The actually police station was hidden from the public eye. On the corner of Twenty Third Street there was a small ring scanner. If scanned by certain people a door opened, I was one of those certain people, at least until the case was over. The inside was very different from the buildings that the streets where lined with. Instead of being styled after 18th century London it was like the rooms you saw sci-fi movies. It was cube shaped with an elevation near the front. On the floor below there were five lines of computers each had a worker typing way. In the back of the room, on the wall, was a mounted desktop screen, completely blue at the moment. I was standing of the elevation scanning over the newest newspaper. Every now and then a work would look at me with sympathy I glared back. I had wondered who was killed but there wasn’t one. Actually there hadn’t been a murder in two weeks. It was a while before anyone came up to me, it always was. The person who did come up to me was a man in his twenty’s with unkempt blond hair and bright blue eyes, his uniform was barley buttoned and had a couple of food stains. “Hello.” He was expectantly cheery.  “I’m Shane Tymon.” He put out his hand for me to shake. It was only polite that I reciprocate, abate reluctantly. “You must be Matti! It’s nice to finally meet the person helping us with this case” oh my god he wouldn’t stop smiling. It was really starting to bug me.
“Nice to meet you too” I said through clenched teeth. Another woman came up behind Shane. Her blond hair and blue eyes matched Shane’s. Her uniform was much neater that his.
“Don’t mind him, he’s kind of an idiot” She seemed like a much more tolerable person. “I am Channon. This idiot here” she pointed to Shane “is my brother” ah that made sense.
“Yes, I can see-. “ I didn’t get to finish… the screen in the back turned red and started blaring an alarm. My super sensitive hearing made the alarm seem ten times louder, had to cover my ears. It was over as quickly as it started. “What was that?”
“It’s the murder. he’s on it again” she scowled
“Then why did it stop, it’s impossible to kill someone so quickly.” I looked at her quizzically.
“That’s what we had thought to”
The carriage ride was a long one. It hovered along the rainy night streets to the ally way all too slowly for my tastes. It stopped eventually the street lights emitted a soft glow. The alley in between a butcher shop and a guns shop was packed with police. Channon and Shane where in the middle of the mess. The others moved out of my way, a white sheet covered a body Shane was kneeling next to it. Channon standing looking quite cross. “Who was it” I asked looking at them.                    
“Samantha Golding.” A flurry of information about said person flew through my eyes. She was twenty-eight, college dropout, and “like all the other victims she was a lady of the night if you know what I mean” Channon kicked him in the side
“Be mature” Shane cleared his throat
“And respect the dead” he had gotten that lecture before “Right. Any way her neck was slit and her lady parts cut out” An old legend flashed across my eyes, a murder who had never been caught.
“Like Jack the Ripper” it was a statement not a question
“Yeah.” He yelled over his shoulder. “Someone pack the body up”   
I sat on the computer with my eyes watering I looked at the clock I had been there two almost three hours since starting this search. “Do you need any help” A smiling Shane was behind me, I scowled
“No I do not” I could almost hear his pout
“You know the newspapers often say things like you did it single handedly and never offer any pictures of you, I didn’t actually believe that till I meet you. And just so you know, me and my sister, we can always help even if it’s not or case anymore” My scowled deepened; I didn’t need the lecture right now. “Here just take my number so you can call us if you need help”
“Ugh look I appreciate the concern but trust me I don’t need the help” I picked the case files and got ready to leave. I ignored the very obvious disappointment and worry on his face.
On the way back to the hotel I was staying at a red light flashed a cross my vision, it only did that if I or someone else in the vicinity was in some kind of danger. I looked down the street and there in the alleyway a man in a top hat and suit… he was stabbing something cackling madly. I reacted before I could think it through, I pulled the small pistol off my thigh and aimed it at the man, my automatic aiming system kicked in it would be a dead on hit. But he turned around before I could pull the trigger. He wore a mask to cover his face, he ran like the coward he was, Orpheus and me cased him through the twisting streets and alleys. Orpheus bit his leg. I saw the ruby red of blood. He kicked Orpheus off of his leg, he turned into one of the busier streets before I could get to him, I tried scanning for his face in the crowed but without a picture of his face I couldn’t find him. I walked back to the dead body, Some of the police where already gathering, I scanned her fetchers Aesha Isala she meet the criterion that all the others had  I pinched the wall with my metal hand leaving a huge indent in the metal with even some bricks now chipping away, and stomped away from the crime scene with Orpheus… the killers blood still dripping from his teeth.
The next day I was in a lab scanning the blood: type B. The DNA was quite helpful, of course, but to truly find out who has the same blood type I would have to scan everyone in the city, just the thought of the trivial task made me want to scream, of course I would not. I am calm and cool and I don’t scream in public not matter how daunting a task seems. “Hey” oh great just what she needed another lecture on having help of others. Shane read the screen she was at. “You’ll have to scan most of the city to find him. Need some help” I knew, I KNEW that I should have just politely asked for help but my pride was damaged enough for one day, one month, one forever, so I had to ask in the most round about was possible.
“To say that I would want to do this horribly awful task alone would be in fact a lie. So you and your sisters… Help would be appreciated if you could in fact scan 1/3 of the city or guard me  just in case this murder is stronger than he seems of course you don’t have to, actually it’s better if you don’t.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. HEY CHANNON” he walked back off to his sister while I put my head in my hands. What had I gotten myself into?
I had never had help on a case, I had never needed it, but then again I had never scanned an entire city for their DNA. But eventually a twelve at night when we had all meet back up, we ran into the people who I had met on the train. We talked for a little bit.
“I didn’t ask you but what are you doing moving to Sandago? New job or something?” the wife smiled at me.
“Oh no dear we already lived here we were on a vacation. Two week vacation, coming back from Hula” I felt like someone had just poured cold water into my veins, Shane and Channon went rigid, I looked at the man.
“Can I please see you wrist.” The man looked at me quizzically but held out his wrist. And I scanned… and it matched. I remember my confusion when getting off the train and looking at the newspaper and seeing that there had been no murder… so what could the man have been talking about?  I remember the huge gap in time from one of the murders and the next one that happened right after I got to the police station. The man with the daughter, who had idolized me and the kind wife, was the jack the ripper impersonator. I had never whipped my gun out so fast in my life.
I looked in through the one way glass, Channon stood on the other side of a gray table with the man on the other side, I could hear Shane trying to explain what had happened to his wife and daughter, “why” Channon didn’t even look angry, she just looked confused.
“Why what? Why I am here is the better question”
“Don’t play dumb we have your DNA it’s a perfect match” the man just scowled. “Fine then” she walked around to his side and raised his pants leg, the one my dog had bit. There where circular fanged holes on his leg.
“Fine, I did kill those girls. My reason isn’t very complicated. Those girls weren’t girls” Channon raised an eyebrow. “They were pretending”
“Your transphobic?” that was a word I hadn’t heard in a while, there was really no point in being hatefully towards Trans people, I man you weren’t going to change who they were so why hate?
“I was just putting things back in the natural order.” Channon put the cuffs on him her self. 
He was in custody and I was leaving, the train station was empty today, for once. I heard loud footsteps behind me and I was all of a sudden I was turned around. Shane shoved something in my face “here take this” and then ran back to where his sister was waiting for him. I opened the slip of paper. Mine And Channons number was written along with some a series of nine numbers. The idiot.  Hadn’t I told him not to give them to me? And yet I found myself putting the numbers in my contacts as I round away on the train to my next case.