9:30 am on Tuesday, August 21st, 2002.

Christina sat in a small restaurant, staring down at her plate. She began her day with a couple of eggs, sausages, and coffee. On the opposite seat, there was another plate with the same food as hers, so it was clear she was waiting for someone else. In the midst of the stillness, all that could be heard were the old fans humming in each corner. Until footsteps approached. Her face was now bright with a wide smile as she looked at the source of the sound.

"Took you long enough."

Christina said with a soft voice and a clear tone. The man in front of her was miles away. Upon reaching her, he smiled at her for a moment, then bent toward her, genuflecting and kissing her lips gently. As soon as he had pulled back, he took a seat in front of her and responded.

"What can I say? I like to go in with a bang and I see that you have already prepared food for me. Besides, you look stunning, too nicely dressed for a casual breakfast. "

With a sarcastic nod, Miles made Christina laugh, causing a small blush to spread across her cheeks. Her yellow dress has flowers on it and her silver necklace has a green emblem on it. She was sweating a lot that day, so her pale skin was shining under the warm sun. As for Miles, he wore a dark green T-shirt and blue jeans. His male bun and an old-looking watch are the only things that stand out. The young Woman replied.

"Well, excuse me for making myself look good because I am meeting my honeypot."

Miles smiled slightly as he began eating as well. Christina's words made him laugh lightly, and he stopped eating before continuing to chat.

"On a serious note, I apologize for making you wait. I got a call from the department, saying that if nothing shows up today, it's going to be me and you, baby. On an airplane heading to France to spend a couple of weeks there. "

Seeing Miles continuing to eat, Christina set down her fork as she had enough, then picked up the cup and took a sip as she spoke with a cheerful tone and a genuine smile on her face before setting the cup down next to the plate as she talked.

"Really? That's wonderful news. I can't believe we're going to be able to escape the city for a bit...I checked with my lab... "

Miles gulped as he did his best to look optimistic, but in reality, this was the final straw for him. He voiced over with a touch of hesitation after she poured out the beans.

"And?..."

As she listened to the question, Christina held her gaze until a broad smile appeared on her face, making Miles realize that she was playing with him. He sighed in relief and leaned against his chair as she continued to teasingly speak.

"I was just teasing you, you idiot! Of course, they'd say I'm free to go, nothing too special going on lately. Which is surprising regarding this city's nature, but who am I to judge? I suppose you guys in the police department are doing a great job. "

As she fiddled with her shining necklace, he coughed lightly, feeling that the department had been lavished with a compliment they did not deserve, and replied with a short phrase.

"Nah, we're just lucky."

Miles hated the department he worked in. The only reason he was still there was that he was waiting for approval regarding his transfer request. Miles' work was affected because they didn't do their jobs properly, giving him more things to do and more danger to deal with. She felt frustrated when she realized she had said something wrong. Her lips trembled as she uttered a few words.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the wrong way..."

As she fumbled with her necklace, Christina frowned while gazing down at her thighs and set her hands against them. Before she knew it, Miles had reached for her face and flicked her forehead.

"O-ouch! What was that for? "

After a brief chuckle, Miles sat back down while she whined before he answered.

"Making sure that you don't get wrinkles after that kind of frown."

Due to her pale, sensitive skin, a red mark begins to form on her forehead as the two of them laugh. They finished eating breakfast.

A sound came from Miles' pocket as he opened his lips to speak, the last thing he wanted to hear today. To make matters worse, the same sound came from Christina's purse. The reason their faces turned pale was their cellphones. Perhaps they were overreacting because they had received a normal phone call, but they weren't. As Miles rubbed the side of his neck, something he does when he's nervous, he took out his phone as he uttered a few words.

"Excuse me for a minute..."

He stood up from his seat then walked a couple of tables away from Christina. She bit her lower lip before nodding, then opened her purse and removed her phone.

Miles talked to a very familiar person on the phone. It was his friend, colleague, and brother-in-arms, Robinson. He communicated with Miles over the phone.

"Hi Miles... Sorry to bother you but I don't think you'll be catching a plane by the end of this week... "

Upon hearing these words, Miles frowned and responded.

"Tell me it's just paperwork..."

After a few seconds of silence, Robinson replied.

"This is a serious matter. There was a murder. I think."

In an attempt to be optimistic, Miles smiled to himself as he argued.

"Well, come on! This is Yorkan City. Things like that happens all the time, you can't just call me for every murder that happens, I mean. I would usually be up for anything, but... Robin, not this time. This is important to me. I can't turn my back again on Christi-"

Angry with the words he heard, Robinson cut him off and yelled over the phone.

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"A family was slaughtered, miles away! Kids man! Fucking kids! "

As Miles heard these words, his jaw dropped. This was no ordinary thing, this was horrible. Then he whispered after a few moments of silence.

"God damn man... I'm sorry for being rude. I, uh... Where's the crime scene? "

In the middle of a living room with blood splattered around them, a couple of men with badges were photographing the dead bodies. Robinson steadied his breath as he looked around. Then, he closed his eyes and began to talk.

"Liberty Way, 69th street, third block. You know the drills and, for the love of God, hurry. "

Miles repeated the coordination after Robinson, then added with a much calmer tone.

"On my way."

Miles hung up, then slid his phone into his pocket, turning to look at Christina, whose face said it all when she too hung up. They weren't going to France anytime soon. Standing up from her seat, she put on her purse as miles approached her quickly. Reaching for his pocket, he pulled out his wallet. Taking out a few dollars to cover the bill, he placed them on the table alongside a tip. Trying to cheer up his now upset girlfriend, Miles spoke while smiling lightly.

Listen baby, we'll deal with this, then we're free to go. It's not like we can't wait a bit more. "

After looking down at the money and back at his face, Christina sighed deeply before speaking softly.

"My career choice as a forensic detective sometimes makes me regret it..."

After he set his fingertips underneath her chin and pulled it up, Miles brought her gaze into his eyes; there was a slight blush on her face as she stared into his eyes. Afterwards, he talked.

"But we met each other because of that, didn't we?"

Christina tried not to chuckle lightly as she listened to his words before nodding and responding in a more positive tone.

"Dinner on me next time we head out, okay baby?"

Before leaving, Miles laughed lightly before walking toward the exit and speaking as they left before the barista arrived.

"Whatever you say. Buttercup, would you ride with me?"

Moving to the side, Christina smirked lightly as she shook her head.

"Not this time sweetheart, I got my own ride."

Miles smirked as he made his way to the end of the sidewalk as she pulled out her car keys from her purse. As he reached the end of the sidewalk, she showed him her keys and he answered.

"See you there."

With that, they went on separate roads. Christine had to head back to the research lab in the department, join her team and head to the crime scene. For miles, he was driving his mustang down the road, headed straight to the crime scene.

If you looked at Liberty Way, a road separating various classes in the city, you would see that the middle class lived on the east side, and all they worried about was their family, their taxes, and their loans. However, on the west side of the road lived the poor. People there were either sick, dying or dealing drugs. The buildings there were a complete mess and ready to collapse at any moment. They would only give you stares as you pass, stares that would make you feel guilty even though you didn't do anything wrong. However, the middle class section had a lot of well-made residential buildings, which were in very good condition, and there was a very peaceful atmosphere, at least until 69 Street was reached. A huge crowd of neighbors and passersby wondered what was happening inside the building as they watched police cars sweep the area. Police cars were all over the place as they secured the area. While he parked his car next to the road, Miles mumbled under his breath with an almost sarcastic tone and expression.

"Here we go again."

The crime scene was inside a cozy apartment consisting of two bedrooms, one large living room, a salon, two balconies, a kitchen and one bathroom. Oak wood was used for the floor, and the walls were painted in azure. The golden-haired man was standing in the middle of the living room while the team taking pictures was taking pictures. The scene was quite unbearable. The family sat on the couch, consisting of the father, the mother, and the daughters. Their throats had been slit, and their mouths had been ripped open, creating the illusion that they were smiling. Blood was pooling on every surface of the living room beneath them. As a result, Robinson was beyond disturbed to make any sense out of the situation. Speaking to himself was all he could do.

"What kind of sick fuck who would do this?"

Taking a napkin from his pocket, Robinson wiped sweat from his forehead before shouting at the other police officers.

"Can someone open the freaking window?! It's already boiling here... let alone the damn scent of blood. "

"Calm down Robin, I can understand why you're acting like this, but if you keep behaving that way, you'll miss out on some very important details."

Miles responded. He didn't seem bothered by the scene as he stepped into the room, but seeing the small daughters, who looked to be around nine and ten years old, instantly made him frown as he walked to the side of the room and stood in front of the window. In his decision, he did not open the window and instead walked back to Robin while he spoke.

"Let's not touch the crime scene. What do you have for me?"

The heat made Robin sweat as he wiped the sweat off his head, then he folded the napkin and placed it back in his pocket. He replied to the question with an annoyed expression, having difficulty dealing with such gruesome murders and the heat.

"The husband, Hammerstone Wales. A 36-year old male with no criminal records. He works for the Wilson construction company. The wife, Hammerstone Scarlett. A 33-year old female with no criminal records. She cuts hair. The two daughters are Irelia on the left side and Stefanie on the right side. Both of them go… used to go to Benjamin noore public school. The murder was reported around half an hour ago by the neighbor. He said that yesterday he was with the husband and they were supposed to watch a baseball game this afternoon. He saw that he and his wife weren't replying to his phone calls this morning, so he went to check on him... He claims that he smelled something funny inside, then attempted to open the door. He found it unlocked, walked in and found this. "

Inhaling after finishing speaking, Robinson looked at the miles and raised an eyebrow before turning back to the bodies. As he studied Robin's words, Miles shook his head and made a statement.

"Very interesting... hmm."

Seeing the blood under his shoes, Miles raised his foot and looked at it. It was sticky and muddy, adding to the disgusting quality of it.

"Judging from the way the blood turned out, I'd say that the murders or suicides were committed before sunrise... "

A questioning tone of voice came from Robinson when he crossed his arms and glanced to the side at Miles.

"Do you really think it was a suicide? I mean, who the hell would do this? "..."

Observing the crime scene with his eyes, Miles moved to the side and shook his head.

"Look at Wilson construction company stocks. They took over the entire market. On my way here, I noticed that the stuff inside the kitchen was packed up in boxes. They were probably moving out to the northern section of the city. That man was making a lot of money. So no, no one from the middle class who recently became successful would dump everything just like that, let alone kill their own family or mess up their god damn faces... I wouldn't, you wouldn't. "

Whenever Miles stopped talking, Robinson began gesticulating with his hands up and down in an effort to slow his speech down.

"Alright, alright. Take it easy... "

While Robinson's frown grew grumpy, sweat began to form on his pale skin. His voice was irritated.

"Can we at least open the damn window? I can't breathe in this small room in the middle of... this mess. "

Whether it was panic, discomfort from the heat or simply being disturbed by the view, Robinson could not stay in that room for very long. At this point, Miles regarded him with suspicion, doubting his reliability, but anyone in the room would have felt the same way as Robinson. While leaning slightly to the side, Miles let out a deep sigh before looking toward the doorway.

"Go outside and get some fresh air. Don't take too long though. I need you. "

Robinson, with his back turned towards Miles, sighed in relief and stepped to the doorway, where he replied.

"You got it."