I.
Private Detective John Kimmling was sipping from his morning coffee, when he was disturbed by a knock on his office door. Annoyed at the early disturbance, he sprang to his feet, slammed his coffee on his wooden desk, and stumped over to the door. He opened it with such brute strength that his young assistant Layla barely managed not to fall. Baffled and anxious, as she was new to her job, she nearly in a whisper announced to the 6 feet giant the rather bizarre new case he was just booked for.
“Don’t joke with me Missy, I don’t like childish jokes!” was the detective’s reply.
“I…I’m not,” stuttered Layla, “The Misses was truly in distress, when she called me!”
“A banana peel!?” laughed Detective John, “How can a banana peel cause so much distress?”
“I…I’m not sure, she didn’t want to tell me. She wanted to talk to you privately, and made an appointment in an hour,” explained Layla, her eyes lowered to her shoes.
“Great! Some druggie who forgot that she ate a banana. Why must I be continuously punished?” asked the detective himself, as he turned away from Layla, while slamming the door shut.
Layla stood glued to the floor in front of the shut door. She never imagined her first day of work to turn out quite like this. Her superior was a total dickhead who doesn’t like his job, or so it seemed at least to her. It took her several minutes to finally walk back to her desk, which was situated just a few feet away from her boss’s office. As she was sitting down, she looked around. Indeed, Detective John’s private detective firm was quite small. It wasn’t even really a firm, rather a room on the topmost floor of an apartment complex. All it included was Layla’s desk, which was carefully put next to a big window spanning over the whole length of the room, a counter on the opposite side with one coffee machine sitting on it, and of course the detective’s office, situated in the only other room.
When Layla applied, she didn’t expect her future workplace to be this small. Even more surprising was that she seemed to be the only person working for him. So, she didn’t expect to receive a call this morning because she was slowly thinking that this was a complete joke of a detective firm. Nonetheless, when the call came in, she nearly hung up, as the woman on the phone was so frantic about the finding of a banana peel in her garden that Layla first thought it must be a prank call. How dumb do people think I am to believe such a story, she thought to herself. But then the woman was crying and demanding an appointment with Detective John that she couldn’t say no.
Ultimately, leading to this moment. Her very first real encounter with the detective, since her interview was conducted by another man, named Jimmy Tumbsborough. It struck her as strange that she didn’t get to talk to the person hiring her, but she took the job because she was desperate.
…
Ding, Dong
Layla was startled, lost in thought, when the doorbell suddenly rang. She quickly got up and walked up to the big metal door, the entrance to the room. Before she opened it, she glanced at the office, then at the clock hanging above it. 11 am, the banana peel woman was here! As Layla carefully opened the door, a young woman, probably the same age as her, was standing in front of her. Her eyes were swollen, she must have cried buckets, asserted Layla when she first saw her. She then let the brunette to Detective John’s office. Reluctantly, she knocked on the door twice, making sure he would hear her.
“Come in!” shouted Detective John.
“This is Miss Downwell, she is here to talk about the incident,” explained Layla.
“Ah, you’re the banana girl!” smiled the detective, pointing at the chair in front of his desk, motioning her to sit.
“Sir, I know what you think, but I am not making this up,” said the Misses in a girlish voice, “I even took pictures!”
Miss Downwell gave her pink phone to Detective John who sat upright in his chair. When he looked back up after analyzing the picture, he seemed flabbergasted. The picture beheld a freshly opened banana peel, with the capital red letters “K I L L” written on one of its sides. Astonished, he asked the young girl to send him this picture. Then, he asked her about where she found the peel. The girl explained that after returning from a photoshoot, she was a famous Tiktoker, she went out into her garden to have a relaxing swim in her pool. However, when she got closer to it, she saw the banana peel laying right next to it. First, she didn’t think much of it, and was ready to throw it away, but then upon picking it up she saw the writing. This made her freak out, as she believed that she was being watched, and someone wanted to harm her. This led her to look up private detectives in the area, as she thought that the police wouldn’t believe her. And that’s when she came across Private Detective John who advertised himself as taking on any crime with utmost secrecy and diligence. Thus, the call was made.
“Will you help me, Detective John?” pleaded Miss Downwell, tears in her eyes.
“If that makes you stop crying, I will see to it!” answered the detective scornfully.
Detective John felt like he was manipulated into taking this job, as he couldn’t stand weeping girls, while it didn’t help that his blue-eyed assistant stared at him from across the room. She had a weird air about her, thought John. She wasn’t quite what he expected her to be. He thought, after hearing from Jimmy Tumbsborough, that she must have some special charm, which made his old friend choose her. Instead, she didn’t have any facial expressions, she looked worn out, her blonde hair all messy in a bun, her work outfit a pair of dark washed jeans and an oversized sweater, her big glasses hiding her bright blue eyes, the only thing about her that was pleasing. Altogether, plain and boring. And now John had to work with her on this case.
II.
The 30-minute car ride over to Miss Downwell’s two-story villa was spent in silence. Neither Detective John nor his young assistant were in the mood for talking. Layla was still upset that her boss didn’t let her drive his car, even though it was made clear to her that this would be one of the many tasks she was initially hired for. John, on the other hand, was upset that this novice of an assistant would even dare to think of driving his most prized possession. What made matters even worse was that she took his car keys without asking him and was sitting in the driver’s seat when he came to the parking lot that morning. Upon seeing the girl behind the steering wheel, he couldn’t control his anger.
Poor Layla then witnessed the worst version of Detective John. He ripped the car door open, glared at the flustered girl, and forced her out of the car. Layla first resisted because she couldn’t believe this unfair treatment, but the detective’s face looked so grim that she quickly complied. As she was standing all shaken up in front of the car, she felt tears rising to her eyes. Speedily, she stopped a tear from streaming down her reddened face. Regardless of this miserable situation, she had to keep her head in the game. Thus, when Detective John shoved passed her to sit in HIS seat, she shook off all her frustrations and swiftly walked around the vintage car to take a seat in the passenger seat. She just had closed the door when Detective John took off with such speed that Layla was pushed forcibly into her seat.
…
Miss Downwell’s villa was truly impressive. How can a 20-year-old person afford such a place, being an influencer must be great, wondered Layla, as the car was pulling up the entry way. The house, a modern construction, was surrounded by a tall spikey silver fence. It seemed impenetrable. Detective John got out of the car first. Not waiting for his assistant, he walked up to the gate and rang the bell. Already used to the detective’s rudeness, Layla quickly joined him. As they were waiting for Miss Downwell, Layla started to look around, while taking notes. This was soon interrupted by John who seemed utterly displeased with his assistant’s eagerness.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Detective John angrily.
“I’m taking notes, I thought that’s what we’re here for,” acknowledged Layla proudly.
“I don’t recall telling you to do that! After all I’m the one giving instructions, or am I mistaken?” demanded the detective, glancing at his motivated assistant.
“I… I am sorry, I won’t do this again,” reassured Layla.
She didn’t feel like arguing with John. She learned in this short time that it’s better to just admit defeat. After all she wanted to keep her job.
…
Miss Downwell, dressed in a bright pink tracksuit with her chestnut brown hair in a bun, led Detective John and his assistant into the garden. In comparison to the villa, it was rather small, the swimming pool taking up half of its space. Still, it seemed idyllic, with beautiful pink roses lined up on either side of the fenced-in garden.
Detective John made the young Misses show him the exact spot where she found the banana peel. Nothing at first glance seemed out of place. At first, the detective was sure he would find at least one clue as to who could have placed this forsaken banana peel at the pool, but he couldn’t find anything, not even footprints. Despite the ground still being rather muddy, as it had rained on the day of the crime. This led to his sudden outburst.
“Miss Downwell, are you sure you didn’t put that peel here?” interrogated Detective John.
“I…I didn’t sir! I swear! I am allergic to bananas!” revealed the visually upset Miss Downwell.
“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier!” demanded the detective.
“I didn’t think it important…I’m sorry,” cried the young girl.
Knowing the truth about the girl’s allergy, Detective John changed his mind rather quickly. Now he was certain that this garden was a crime scene, and poor Miss Downwell the innocent victim. However, he couldn’t quite get over the fact that there weren’t any footprints, and so no solid evidence that a crime was actually committed.
Suddenly, Layla came running up to the detective, holding her phone up. The phone revealed a freshly dug hole in the ground at the far-right side of the fenced-in garden. Detective John was quite exhilarated by this find, which took the unsuspecting Layla by surprise. She hadn’t seen that side of him. So excited was he that he let a smile escape his lips. Ashamed by his sudden show of emotions, he instantly changed back to his old self. Yet, this did not fool his new assistant, she could see right through him. Under all that anger and stubbornness was a man who was too proud to admit that he liked having someone like Layla around. Hence, from this day forward, Layla made up her mind to make this hostile detective like her. How she would do it, she didn’t know quite yet.
III.
Private Detective John’s office was burning hot, making it difficult for the detective to concentrate on his mysterious new case. The missing evidence has been occupying this mastermind’s head for the past few days. However, no matter how often he analyzed Layla’s photos, which she took when visiting Miss Downwell, he couldn’t find anything of importance. And so, the all-mighty private detective who never relied on anyone, was left to take desperate measures. That is to ask his brilliant new assistant for help, as he deep inside his iron heart had to admit that two sets of eyes might be better.
When he quietly opened his office door, he saw Layla sitting behind her desk with her head held between her hands. Her hair was all disheveled, as if she just had been caught in a tornado. Slowly, the detective walked up to her desk, cleared his throat, and then as usual he couldn’t resist, slammed his hands on the desk. At once, Layla lifted her head up.
“How can I help you… sir?” asked flustered Layla, her eyes shaking.
“You need to come to my office!” directed the detective with his regained authority.
“Now? Why?” inquired Layla with a slight smirk.
“Yes Now! I… I need your help with the case. Satisfied?” admitted Detective John with a sigh.
He knew that this was all she was waiting for. He could see it in her eyes, and that annoying smirk really put him on edge. Yet he knew that without this girl, he probably would never crack the case. Thus, he had to let his guard down, which was difficult for a man like John.
John never worked with others; he was particular in that way. Yet he accepted, though reluctantly, Tumbsborough’s request to hire someone if only an assistant. His friend was of the strong opinion that John needed someone who’d aid him in making his private detective firm more successful. After all, Detective John had a success quote of meager 50 %, which he had to push to at least 90 if he wanted to keep his firm. With this heavy burden, the decision was made- the fate of John’s firm lying now in the hands of the unsuspecting assistant.
…
Layla was given back her photo material to examine closely, while Detective John sipped on his coffee. Minutes went by, then hours. The detective grew increasingly nervous, he kept looking at Layla who was now sitting in a corner of the office, still looking at her photos. Another hour went by, when Detective John couldn’t take it any longer. He jumped out of his chair, which flew backwards, startling his focused assistant, and then proceeded stumping over to Layla.
“Please tell me you finally found something?” snapped the detective, he really was at the end of his wits.
“I did!” revealed Layla with a big smile now visible on her face.
“Could you repeat that again? YOU found something?” asked Detective John.
“Well, if you consider a white string of hair something, then yes,” replied the assistant.
“White hair? Of course that’s SOMETHING!” cried out Detective John who completely forgot about his image.
Indeed, two of the photos Layla examined, unveiled two barely visible strands of hair. One at the pool where the banana peel was discovered, and the other at the back of the garden where the hole in the ground was situated. This was a remarkable find. Especially when considering that the detective would never have detected the hair without Layla’s keen eyes. So relieved was Detective John that he even managed to say thank you to his wonderful assistant. Quickly the decision was made to return to Miss Downwell’s home the next day, so they could ask her about the hair.
…
Miss Downwell looked at the photos with utter shock because at first, she didn’t understand what she was supposed to see. But Layla insisted that she should look very closely at the two photos presented to her. With a shriek, Miss Downwell put her hands in front of her mouth, the photos slowly flowing to the kitchen floor; she had finally discovered the white hair strands.
“Miss Downwell, do you have any idea who this hair belongs to?” questioned Detective John.
“I… I don’t… I don’t remember…,” stuttered Miss Downwell.
“Are you sure? Maybe your neighbor has white hair?” asked Layla.
“Right! Do any of your neighbors have white hair?” restated Detective John.
“I’m not sure. I am quite new here, so I haven’t met all of them,” admitted Miss Downwell shyly.
Detective John realized that this interview wasn’t going anywhere, so he once again was left to his own resources. Or was he? Layla, unbeknownst to him, crept up beside him, pinching his arm. Surprised, Detective John screeched, and was ready to punch whoever hurt him, but he quickly calmed down when he saw Layla’s excited face.
Despite them investigating every part of Miss Downwell’s garden, they did not spot the security camera above the terrace.
“Miss Downwell! Why didn’t you tell us that you have a security camera?!” asked Detective John angrily.
“I… I forgot!” answered the flustered girl, “I’ll show you the footage right away!”
Miss Downwell speedily walked into her house, Detective John and Layla following closely. In a hidden room, between the kitchen and the bathroom, was the security room with screens, showing nearly every inch of the goings-on in and outside of the villa. Layla and the detective were speechless, which didn’t happen often.
Once they came to their senses, John directed Miss Downwell to show them the footage from the security camera pointing into the garden. It took the girl several minutes to find the date and time of her discovery of the banana peel. When she did find it, Detective John took her place at the computer. Now Layla and Miss Downwell looked eagerly at the screen, while the detective rewound the tape to the moments before the discovery. Minutes passed and nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. All of a sudden, Layla ordered John to pause the tape, which he did immediately. Astonishingly, the detective’s remarkable assistant spotted something that could crack the mystery. But, what the three were seeing now on the screen was unbelievable!
…
With its white fur, the long-coated cat was seen digging the hole under the fence. After it seemed satisfied, it squeezed through the empty space and walked proudly into Miss Downwell’s garden. As it got closer to the pool, and thus closer to the security camera, it could be observed that the cat was carrying in its mouth, the BANANA PEEL!
IV.
Utter silence befell the security room. Detective John was too stunned to speak. Layla couldn’t believe her eyes. Miss Downwell felt faint. A cat, a white-furred cat was the culprit! This wasn’t at all what they were expecting.
“Great…I knew this case felt iffy!” broke in Detective John, “I should never have agreed to this nonsense!”
“But… Sir…what about the writing on the peel?” asked Miss Downwell shyly.
“Right! Detective John, we should at least find out where this peel came from,” appealed Layla.
“If you want to waste your time, please feel free to! But for me this case is closed!” announced Detective John.
With these words, the detective stormed out of the room into the driveway, and drove away, leaving a stupefied Layla behind. What kind of a detective just up and leaves his assistant? pondered the young assistant. Despite her boss’s ignorance, she decided to investigate on her own… for now. And so, Layla promised the distraught Miss Downwell to find out where the cat could have stolen the KILL banana from. To do so, she thought it was best to go back into the garden and retrace the furry friend’s steps.
Once outside, pawprints near the pool, and all the way to the hole became visible. How they could have missed the prints before was a mystery to this young assistant who always relied on her 10/10 eye vision. She quickly excused her inattentiveness, as she remembered that she and Detective John never imagined their culprit to be an animal, and thus only looked for human footprints.
Standing now on the opposite side of the fenced-in garden, Layla could still see the pawprints, but only faintly. So, she did her best to follow them. However, her tracking came to an abrupt stop. The pawprints ended in front of an empty parking lot near the newly opened Greenspace grocery store. Immediately, this seemed weird to her. The cat couldn’t just have beamed itself somewhere else. Thus, the only logical conclusion Layla could come to was that someone was parked in this exact spot, taking the cat with them. Suddenly, something caught the assistant’s eye. A folded-up pamphlet was lying just a few feet away from the parking spot. When Layla picked it up and unfolded it, her eyes seemed to fall out of their sockets.
…
Detective John was ruthlessly ripped from his slumber at the noise of something like an elephant wanting to burst through his office door. Agitated, the detective sat up from his chair, shook his head forcibly to wake himself up, and marched angrily to the shut door. When he opened it, he saw a familiar face, but not the shy girl he first met weeks ago, instead the girl glanced at him provocatively.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded the detective rather taken back.
“I am here to tell you that I found something!” declared Layla proudly.
“Ah you found something, another cat with a banana peel or maybe something new like an apple peel?” asked Detective John sarcastically.
“Funny! But no! I found something far more interesting,” disclosed the young assistant.
“Well, spit it out!” demanded Detective John.
Layla then shoved the pamphlet into the stunned detective’s face. At first, Detective John didn’t want anything to do with it, restating that the case was closed to him. But because Layla was so insistent in uncovering the truth behind the silly banana peel, he couldn’t resist. Secretly, he did wonder where it came from but didn’t want to bother himself with such a hideous task that he led his new assistant resume the investigation. However, now he could no longer stay quiet, he wanted to join her. Needless to say, the great private detective fairly enjoyed hideous cases.
The pamphlet now in the detective’s hands beheld an illustration of a fruit stand filled with any fruit one could imagine. Above it was written in black letters,
Pop-up Fruit Stand.
Only from 2nd August to 15th August.
Come get your fill of fresh fruits!
However, the groundbreaking revelation was that the writing KILL in bold capital red letters was printed across the page. The exact same writing that was found on the banana peel in Miss Downwell’s garden. That had to mean something! Detective John even had to admit this. Yet, time was not in their favor, as the fruit pop-up stand would only run for one more day. Thus, the detective and his assistant had to act quickly before it was too late, or they would never catch the culprit of their curious case.
…
Their first hint was the Greenspace grocery store, which seemed only proper to become their first place to hunt for clues. At the grocery store, Detective John decided to split up. Layla was to ask for any witnesses of this KILL pop-up fruit stand inside the store, while the detective would look around the parking lot and its surrounding area.
Half an hour went by, and both Detective John and Layla were done with their questioning. First, they didn’t say anything. Somehow, this investigation had turned into a game that neither of them wanted to lose. Still, the excitement was written all over Layla’s face that Detective John could only guess that she found something, and he…didn’t.
“You found something didn’t you?” asked Detective John, keeping a stern face.
“I did! And I bet you want to know what!” grinned Layla.
“Yes indeed, so please Miss Layla could you tell me now before you burst,” smiled the detective.
Layla blurted it all out at once, so excited was she. One of the workers of the grocery store had been tasked with organizing a space for this fruit pop-up stand a few weeks ago. He told her that the couple working at the fruit stand were notoriously handing out these exact same pamphlets that Layla found. Apparently, they are vegan enthusiasts who want people to buy fruits instead of meat. If this wasn’t interesting enough, the worker revealed that he did find something strange about the fruits the couple sold, namely that they were placated with an odd red writing. Instantly, Detective John’s face lid up. This is it; this was the truth they were after all along. Now all they needed to do was to find the pop-up stand, which wasn’t easy at all.
…
Layla, for the first time since meeting Detective John, was allowed to drive his car. What a revelation! She couldn’t believe her eyes when the detective handed her the keys. At that moment, Layla knew she had the detective wrapped around her fingers. Clueless, as he was, Detective John’s only reason why he led her drive was because of her superhuman vision. He believed that she could detect the fruit stand faster than he would, and so his decision was quickly made. Nevertheless, some part of him felt sorry for his previous behavior, and wanted to right his wrongs, but of course he would never admit this.
The goal was to drive around the neighborhood, hoping to catch a glimpse of this fruit stand. But to no avail. Not even Layla’s keen eyes could find it. Disappointed and discouraged as they were, Layla decided to make their final attempt. Thus, she decidedly drove to the neighboring village’s grocery store. To their surprise, when they arrived, the pop-up fruit stand, the one they’d been searching for all day, was standing right there in front of the store’s entrance!
As soon as they saw it, the two jumped out of the car, and walked steadfast toward the stand. The couple immediately greeted them with a big smile on their faces. But Detective John and his assistant didn’t even look at them. All they were after was the red writing on the fruits, which they saw instantly, the red letters jumping out at them.
“Why do your fruits have written KILL on them?” asked Detective John with a serious face.
“Because that’s our motto, sir,” answered the man who seemed surprised by the detective’s furiousness.
“Your motto!?” grilled Detective John, “Your motto is KILL, kill what?”
“Oh! No sir. It doesn’t mean kill in the literal sense!” unfolded the girl this time.
“What is it supposed to mean then!?” inquired the detective, now even more agitated.
“K.I.L.L stands for Kindness is Loving Life because we believe that animals are supposed to be loved not eaten!” clarified the man.
“You mean it’s just a stupid abbreviation?” blurted out Layla, nearly bursting out laughing at this idiocy.
“I guess it could sound wrong… we see that now,” acknowledged the couple embarrassedly.
Detective John couldn’t believe these two fools. Who would even come up with this nonsense was all the detective could think about. At least they finally figured out the truth, which did make him feel satisfied, despite the absurdity of it all. However, his assistant did not seem pleased, something seemed to be occupying her mind. Just a few moments ago, she looked ready to bust a gut, and now she seemed quite serious again.
“But what about the cat then?” asked Layla bewildered.
“Right, there was this cat,” affirmed Detective John.
“Oh, a white cat?” asked the girl shyly.
“Yes!” shouted the detective and Layla simultaneously.
It turned out that the couple owned a white cat, which ran away with a banana the day of the discovery of the peel in Miss Downwell’s garden. It must have eaten it before entering the garden and left the peel at the pool.
…
The mystery of the banana peel was finally solved. This was celebrated in Detective John’s office with two cups of coffee and a celebratory toast to the young assistant’s remarkable resilience. Then both burst out laughing, the most wholehearted laughter anyone could ever witness.