Detective Adebayọ always enjoyed a good cup of tea but was hesitant about accepting one in a house of poison, even though it was five minutes before midnight and she was exhausted.
Her earbuds giggled. “Don’t be silly,” said her AI. “You’ve already solved the crime. It’s a Pu-erh tea. You’ll enjoy its earthy tones.” Adebayọ wanted to ask how the AI knew the kind of tea, but before she could, the teacup was almost in her face by the hands of Jocyln, her agitated host.
“He hated AI,” said Jocelyn, an affable young woman with a complexion that reminded Adebayọ of the chestnut-colored tapestries on her mother’s walls, the home’s only adornments in those early childhood years.
Adebayọ graciously accepted the tea and sipped, still somewhat anxious. “Yes, that we knew,” said the detective. “Didn’t we, Sonar?”
The earbuds responded with a cheerful affirmative.
“Is there more to worry about?” asked Jocelyn, glancing at her tea.
Adebayọ shuddered. “Sonar?” She knew the answer but wanted formal clarification.
Adebayọ’s earbuds replied, “Everything originated at the prepackaged food delivery factory in Dallas. One shipment of Indian cuisine to this address.” The reason for Indian food, Adebayọ knew, was that abrin had a slight licorice bouquet, easily hidden within the complex swarm of Indian spices.
Once the poison was found in the food, the case became easier to solve because no additional cases of abrin poisoning emerged.
Adebayọ considered Joceyln’s question further before replying, “This is an isolated incident, Ms. Jones. An unfortunate one. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.”
Jocelyn, the victim’s sister, nodded. “I know you are. Y’all have been great. I’m still a little shocked you even figured it out.”
Adebayọ thought about the moment she told Jocelyn they had cracked the case. And being reluctant to tell her about the perp.
“Should I tell her?” she had asked Sonar. “I mean, now? Instead of waiting a minute?”
“I think now,” her earbuds had responded.
When told, Jocelyn spoke through tears as she said, “So it was personal.”
Adebayọ nodded.
“I mean, but, why?” asked Jocelyn.
The motive question would require more forensics. More work. More research. More hunting through computer records. Adebayọ was visiting at this late hour, warily accepting a cup of Pu-erh tea, to finally answer that question.
“The stupid thing is, he used it all the time,” said Jocelyn. “Used AI for everything. Research this, research that. Then he’d blog about how much he hated it. In one post he wrote, ‘If I could poison the very wires through which AI travels so I could kill the beast, I would.’ ”
“Speaks to motive,” said Adebayọ’s earbuds.
Adebayọ knew they didn’t need motive. They had plenty of evidence. They even had the log file of one AI instructing another to lace the food of one specific individual order in a factory.
“Can an AI thing go to prison?” asked Jocelyn.
Sonar’s voice hacked into the home’s stereo speakers as a deep baritone:
“Don’t be silly.”
Notes
500 words (I enjoy the additional challenge of hitting the exact max word count)
This fiction was written for a max 500-word writing prompt.
Season 1, Prompt 2: Five Minutes to Midnight: Genre Mash-Up
I chose “Creature Feature” from this set:
Genre Set One (Pick one):
Ghost Story / A Haunting
Zombie Apocalypse
Creature Feature
Witchcraft / Curse
Folk Horror
Does AI count as a creature for creature feature? I dunno, ask the judges or ask the ghost of Bob Wilkins:
But I’m not here to win. I’m here to play!
(My argument is that if it’s not human and it kills, we gots us a good, old-fashioned Creature Feature).
I chose “Buddy Cop” from this set:
Genre Set Two (Pick one):
Office Romance
Buddy Cop
Heist / Caper
Legal Drama
Family Drama
Wait! AI as part of a buddy cop tandem? You betcha!
You can find the details of the original writing prompt here:
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