Day 6
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If there's one thing I didn't expect is how hard this would be—guilt washes over like the bad aftertaste of puke post a few rounds.
Now that I'm standing here again, seeing my car parked exactly where I last left it that night, the scene I'd give anything to just forget about starts to replay in my mind.
Dalia and Yui start walking obliviously towards the house, talking between themselves as I stand frozen in place, eyes locked on an almost imperceptible spot on the grass, pooling with a disgusting dark liquid—I'm surprised I even noticed it in the first place, but then again, it only makes sense.
No one besides us would know what it is—lucky them.
It takes a moment for me to notice a figure standing quietly beside me, and when I turn to look, I'm met with a gaze unexpected to me.
At first, curiosity strikes as to why she isn't following the other two agents, and then I catch a fleeting glimpse of her hand almost reaching out to my shoulder, only to stop a few inches from landing. A frown takes over her expression, not directed at me—I think—before she faces away.
Colette doesn't say a word through it all; instead, she decides to stand by my side and wait for me to do something.
For some reason, the simplicity of her presence gives me enough strength to gaze away from the spot and back to the house, breaking the cycle before it can start.
I take a deep, fulfilling breath, feeling the cold air of the morning invade my lungs from top to bottom until it is forced out.
The thought of thanking her comes over, and so, instead of breaking the silence that extends comfortably between us, I end up nodding gratefully to her instead, wearing a small smile that is almost washed away by the resolution growing in the depths of my brows.
Her expression stays the same as usual, only less rigid than I came to get used to on this week's start, and as she nods back, a voice calls out to us, breaking the moment.
"You guys are planning to become decoration out there?" Yui asks loudly, wearing a puppy face while pointing to a snout smelling their feet from underneath the door. "Come on, the dog wants to breach containment here, and I want to hug it. Very badly so."
"When this assignment is over, I'll personally talk to our handler about a few patient improvement exercises for you, Yui." A laugh escapes Dalia as automatically Yui's face contorts into despair. "I am sure you will enjoy them. Again."
"Nooooo, I'll very much not like them." Instantly, Yui's pride is thrown away as they clearly consider kneeling on the ground to beg. "You know that boss is going to take my things away and probably forget to hand them back like last time."
Their discussion helps me put the bad memories away, lost in a laugh that goes out, stolen by the wind.
"I think that is our cue to join them before something bad happens," I say, turning to face Colette, who doesn't react facially, instead joining me in silence as we walk to meet them.
In front of the door, I fish the keys out of my coat, finding them without a problem before and sticking them to the keyhole. Once the key is turned and I start to push the door open, Pirate jumps back to avoid being hit and sits down, wagging his tail furiously at the sight of so many people.
From below, Yui bends down and passes through the gap beneath my arm, securing their spot as the first one to get inside; their eyes lose no time in meeting with Pirate's single one, shining in pure happiness as they do.
"Doggo! Your long wait is over; who's prepared for some snacks?" The tone in Yui's voice paired with their playful smile gets Pirate's tail to wag so much that I fear he might learn how to fly. Now that I'm thinking, he would make one cute flying dog.
Without losing time, Yui reaches into their jeans pocket, which now I notice is filled with snack bars they probably got from the car as we were getting out, and takes one that I recognize. A dog treat, meat-flavored; I see they prepared for this, huh?
"What a good boy. You like hugs, don't you? I know you do because I do too." They hand the treat to Pirate, and he immediately starts to devour it, giving the agent a unique opportunity to hug him without mercy. Luckily for Yui, he is so used to Mel doing it that there's no risk in doing so. "So warm~, so fluffy~. Like a big teddy bear."
As that happens, I get inside and gesture for the other two to enter as well, and once they do, I look out, making sure that there's no one looking in this direction on the street before closing it shut.
Dalia takes some steps inside, passing by Yui, who's too distracted at the moment to even care, and looks around, carefully examining each and every corner.
"You have a beautiful house, detective; both inside and out." A soft smile turns to meet me once she gets a good look around; for some reason, it makes me happy to hear her say that. "Thank you for allowing us to use your place to plan our next move."
"Yeah, your house is very nice and cozy; to be clear, I'm not saying this just because of this good boy here." They say grinning at Pirate, who happily accepts any attention he can get and basks on it fully. "It reminds me a lot of a grandma's house, the good kind where you expect biscuits and bowls of sticky candy that you don't think will taste good but somehow do."
"Talking of biscuits, is anyone else craving something to drink? I could make some tea for us." Dalia stops to analyze me before adding something else. "Or some coffee, if you prefer."
"Thank you, guys." I smile, feeling slightly better than I was before hearing them say that. "And, uhm, sure; I could go for some coffee. The kitchen is just past the corridor beside the stairs; there's coffee near the sink and tea on the upper shelves to the right. Could you make mine plain?"
"Sure, no problem; I'll be back in a minute then." Finishing her words, Dalia turns to Yui with a scolding face. "Try and behave yourself, Yui, please. Remember that this isn't our house to be doing whatever we find suitable."
"What! I'm always on my best behavior." They grin widely and turn to me, mischief washing over their expression. "The detective thinks the same thing, I'm sure. She loves my shining personality and loves to have me around."
I don't say anything in response, yet I can't help but smile at their silliness; in truth, they aren't the worst to be around, and at this point, I'm getting used to the flirting and jokes so much that at times, I expect it to happen.
The smile seems to be all that they need to prove their point. "See, I'm right about her loving me."
Dalia only shakes her head and starts to walk to the kitchen. "Just, please contain yourself a little; that's all I ask."
With that, Dalia is gone from the corridor, disappearing through the door at the end of it; seeing that if I don't say anything, we will all be at the entrance waiting for her to get back, I start moving towards the living room.
Yui and Pirate get up together and follow right behind as Colette quietly moves, at times almost managing to make me forget she's there if it wasn't for her strong presence.
Catching a glimpse of the sofa, Yui rushes towards it and loses no time in throwing themselves there, which prompts Pirate to do the same, taking the space beside them and happily enjoying the comfort he usually is devoid of when I'm around—after all, I'm the one who has to clean his fur from it. Luckily for him, today I'll allow it to happen as it is a special occasion.
All good investigative work starts with a map, or so I saw it in a show once. It isn't like Reele had much time to teach me the basics before he was gone.
Anyway, I occupy myself with finding a map of the city that I'm sure I have somewhere, especially since the mayor made sure to hand out so many, so many times, with the pretense that if we find a tourist, we should do like a good police station and hand them out.
Finding one tucked away underneath a bunch of paid bills and different documents that I hid inside one of the cabinet's drawers, I sigh and move back to the coffee table.
As I do, it becomes easy to notice Colette grabbing something from the small TV stand before turning back and joining me.
I pay it no mind at first, as I focus on unfolding the map atop the table; in memory, I swear these were small, but it seems that in reality, they were printed two times the meant size—impressively, it covers most of the coffee table. Maybe this isn't one of the tourist ones, but where I got this I can't remember—no matter, it is probably Mel's.
When it is all spread out, without wasting words, Colette places near the edge one of the markers I didn't remember was here in the living room and waits for no acknowledgment before losing her gaze on something else.
She looks at Yui and the dog on the sofa, frowns, and then turns towards one of two armchairs.
"I'm taking that seat," Colette announces before sitting herself down—legs straight, body erect, leaving her shoulders square-looking and hands resting on her thighs stiffly—she acts so militarily that it sometimes impresses me.
With one shake of my head, I get back to the matter at hand and start studying the map of the city I know so well.
While I mark some of the important places related to this case, Dalia returns from the kitchen with three mugs in hand.
"Here's your coffee," Dalia hands Colette one of the mugs, receiving a nod of acknowledgment before moving over to my side. "And here's yours, detective. I just wanted to tell you that I took the liberty to borrow some of your mugs. I apologize in the case you find my actions to cross a line."
"Oh no, please, don't worry about that; I should be the one thanking you for going through the trouble of making the drinks." I accept the mug she hands me and take a sip of the hot liquid, feeling the familiar bitterness wash away some of the sleepiness still plaguing me. "Mel and I almost don't use those mugs anyway, so it is good to see them getting some attention instead of gathering dust on the shelf."
"If that's the case, I'll take your word for it." A kind smile takes over her before she finds the spot beside Yui on the sofa and stops to rest her body. That gives her a moment to peacefully enjoy the flowery smell escaping her mug and to sip from it. "Once more, thank you for allowing us to use your house and for letting us borrow some of your coffee and tea."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Ugh! Come on, you two, don't start the infinite cycle of thanking each other, please." Yui pouts while still hugging Pirate, who breathes happily and loudly. "Wasn't one of you that said we don't have much time to linger around? So let's get on with it. I want to have more time later today to hug this beautiful creature without having to worry about this damn mission."
"Even if rudely spoken, Yui's words make sense." Dalia takes one more sip of her tea before placing it aside. "It is best that we use this time to start discussing our next step."
Nodding in concordance, I look at the map and start to mentally prepare the next words that I'll speak; once I'm ready, I start.
"Okay, let's look at the map and talk about theories then. Our killer had to get the equipment from here." I point to the Harbor area and cross a line using the marker to the other side of the city. "All the way to the Old Mill without being seen. By how big the boxes were, a car is out of the question, unless he were to risk going back and forth many times to get it all. Yui, do you think he would maybe be able to carry it all?"
"Nah, when it comes to being a vampire, that bitch is mostly talk than anything. No real strength or speed; he is just a slightly improved human." Yui talks with a mixture of pride and disgust. "There's no way he could cross the city with one box, let alone two without being caught."
"Hum..." Their words make me think about any other way he could reach the Old Mill that wouldn't involve any of the main streets, and before I notice, a path becomes clear in front of me. "But would he be able to do it if there was no one to see him? Like a perfect scenario where the path is a straight arrow with nothing in the way."
"Yeah, I guess." They think for a moment more and shrug. "If he somehow got a row of empty streets and he wasn't running on an empty stomach, it would be possible. Still one box at a time, though."
Hearing that gives the theory forming in my head some more strength, bringing a seriousness that doesn't go unnoticed.
"Wait, don't tell me—did you really find something?" Now excited, Yui leans forward on the sofa to look at the map to try to find the answer before I tell them. "Okay, whatever it is that you see, I don't get it."
"Yeah, I think I know how he did it." Using the marker, I cross a line along a path that fits all of the descriptions I gave: the train tracks. In its path, I make sure to mark all the interesting places it crosses. "This fits perfectly; scarily so. It is empty, and it crosses the exact two points he needed to travel between; all that he would need to do is get the boxes and go for it."
"Okay, you're definitively crazy—of course, I'm talking the good and fun type of craziness." Grinning widely, they follow the marked path attentively until reaching its end. "Wow...Now that I'm seeing it, I can tell that the person who designed this thing was very bad at their job."
Ignoring Yui's remarks, Dalia joins us both in the discussion. "I do understand the logic behind your line of thought, detective, but there's one problem with it."
Easily, she grabs my full attention, and once I'm looking at her, she starts to explain why. "Yes, the equipment could have been taken there, yet one question stays unanswered. Where would our target store the stolen apparatuses? And seeing that most work on electricity, how would he be able to use it?"
Her questions are fair, and, sincerely talking, there's no way to answer them for certain; of course, that doesn't mean I won't try. I'm sure this is the right path; down to my gut, I know. I just need to connect the dots to make sense.
"To start, let me say something so it doesn't feel confusing. The information I got with Brutus about the time the second victim left the bar suggests he died between that and the time I got there. Somewhere between six-something and seven-twenty. Assuming that the killing happened at the moment the second victim set foot on the mill, it means our killer would have had plenty of time to move both the body and equipment around this circle."
To emphasize the point, I draw a circle that envelops what I find is a believable distance someone could cross carrying a body on the established time, adding some more space seeing that the killer has more capabilities than a human; in the end, it envelops a good chunk of the forest and a small percentage of the city.
"He sure didn't get the body back to the harbor; there were too many people there working, so he hid it somewhere in the forest before returning. About the equipment, the best answer I could think of would be the generator the teens use when they do parties. It stays there rooting all year around and could easily be moved someplace else if he wanted to."
Now, where would this place be? If it is in the forest, then there should be an empty cabin or two. It is risky but possible. Or maybe there's something else that I'm not considering...Wait, could it be that...
If it costs money, then there exists the possibility it never happened; assuming that the past mayors were as bad as the current one, it is possible.
Dalia seems to catch on to the change in my expression by how her eyes focus on me. "By your face, I believe you are starting to have an idea of where the place could be, isn't it, detective?"
"Sorts of. It is a stretch for sure and one that would require an old map of the city to even confirm, but it isn't like I could get one anywhere. I find it hard to believe the mayor would simply lend me a copy."
"Is that so? If that's the case, then allow me to contact our handler and see if she's able to get a digital copy for us. I'm sure this won't be too much trouble for her." Dalia speaks so casually about it that I can't help but raise an eyebrow; I'm sure she notices and decides to ignore it, instead turning to Yui. "Yui?"
Supernaturally fast, Yui types on their phone before it is gone from view—every time I think I might get used to it, something new happens and I'm thrown back to square one. "Relax, Lia, I'm ahead of you."
"...Wait, how would she even—"
"Worry not, detective, focus only on keeping your mind locked on that logic." Dalia interrupts me before I can even ask. "You have something no one of us has—the ability to connect impossible points and find plausible reasoning behind such connections. It only makes sense, seeing that you're a detective for a reason. So keep it up; I believe you're our key to getting to the bottom of this."
The way her eyes land on mine, carrying an unfounded trust that I can't understand why there is, is like a punch to the stomach, but instead of hurting, it manages to drag a blush from the depths of somewhere right up to my cheeks.
Why does she trust me so much? I'm literally saying just about anything for the sake of not wanting to be wrong, to make myself believe that there's a way to win this, and yet, now that I notice, all of them seem to share this same sentiment towards me.
Yesterday, Yui said something that stuck with me: 'We are the worst unit.' Is that the reason why?
...
Why does this feel right? Like I belong here, amidst them...
Luckily, before I can drown myself in this hole, the sound of a message pop-up brings me back.
"And here you go; it isn't super high quality, but you can zoom in if you need to." Filling my vision with their phone, Yui waits for me to grab it before going back to hugging Pirate. "Oh, and click on the little magic wand icon if you need it to adjust the color; not sure if it will be of help though."
I almost can't believe it myself seeing the photo of the map, and by the contents on the table it rests on, I'm sure it was sent from the mayor's office; only he would have a photo of himself resting atop it.
Focusing on the map, some of it is worn out and almost impossible to identify. The good thing is that what I need is in a good enough state.
If the information on it is right, there were six of them across the city and mountain path, but only the location of two matters.
"Yes, this is what I needed; give me just a second and I'll explain." Grasping the marker firmly, I start to draw X's in the two locations before talking. "Saturday, before everything happened, I passed by a friend's house. Long story short, her grandmother was a journalist who covered up a story in town about the closure and possible destruction of some mines after she got some evidence about a fraudulent scheme. The thing is, what if they were never destroyed?"
"I see now, you think there is a chance the target has found use to the abandoned mines, and, seeing that most people believe it has been destroyed, no one would look for it." Dalia starts to get to where I am the more she focuses on the new markings on the map. "Do you believe that to be a plausible possibility? That the mines were never destroyed?"
"Considering the city's bad history with the old mayors? Yeah, I do."
Once more I look at their placement; one lies not too far from the Old Mill, within the circle I've drawn, and the other is the one that confuses me. It stays exactly where the red brick factory lies, but in the old map, it was a lot smaller, having the mine beside it, and now it is covered by it.
"That's it; I have a final theory here." As I say that, everyone around the table starts to pay attention to me, expecting the next words that will come out of my mouth. "The killer first used the Old Mill as a hiding spot; probably there was the place he killed Melinda Kolesov, seeing that he had energy and plenty of space for the equipment. Then, he got Andrey Kolesov there to kill him, and so he did by drying him of blood, but while he was getting all equipment out of there to place the body as we found in the morning, you guys arrived and tried to capture him."
"Wait, that actually makes sense! What the fuck? Why did I forget about this?" Yui exclaims loudly. "When we first got to the fucker, there was a very strong smell of human blood, but it was strange since it was moving super fast. That's how we found the place and the fang."
"Wait, you could tell it was moving, right?" I ask in search of confirmation, to which Yui nods. "Can you say if it was in this direction?"
Pointing out the mines, the answer is given to me before the words are spoken. "Exactly there; the problem was that we were short on time to go after it since you had caught us in the act, and I might have forgotten to suggest checking it later on. Sorry."
"Then, following that logic, the most probable place that he should be is the mines located beside the Old Mill; is that what you're saying?" As Dalia asks the question, Yui shakes their head knowingly; it has me smiling to see they got it too.
"No silly, the rat wouldn't risk staying in the cave for long since he knew what I am."
"I think so as well," I announce, earning a high five from Yui and a questioning face from Dalia. "There's no reason for him to risk it. If it were me, I would be smarter; I would lay low for a day there, just enough time to find a way to change locations without losing the perfect route. This gets us to why I marked the second cave. Even if it doesn't exist anymore, the factory should still have electricity since the mayor never really went through the paperwork to close it down, and it is even closer to the harbor than the mill."
For a moment, there's just silence, uncomfortable and unnerving; both agents cast their gazes upon their leader, as, even with me saying all of this, the end decision is hers.
It takes more than a moment of deep thinking, considering all the options and revising the logic presented over and over, but then the skies clear and the waves calm.
"It is decided then; we have a possible location and not much time on our hands. Good job, detective; I do hope you're right." Supportively, Dalia reaches a hand to my shoulder and gently pats it before grabbing my, now cold, half-empty mug. "We leave now. Just in case, I want you, Yui, to update Julia about our current status."
"Fine by me; I'm sure she'll be happy we are a step closer to some well-deserved vacations." taking their phone out, Yui grins mischievously and waves to us. "The last one out the door is a rotten egg. Good luck and, bye, Doggo; I'll come see you later, even if it means breaking in."
I'm not given the chance to process what they say last before they disappear, but I'm sure it couldn't be anything bad...right?
Walking over to Colette, Dalia retrieves the last mug before turning to us both.
"I'll just wash these mugs before we depart; if you wish to go join Yui, there's no need to hold yourselves waiting for me."
"Okay, I'll go to the car and join them before they get too lonely and start to miss us. I'll leave the keys on the door so you can lock the place when you're done; it is the small silver one."
"Perfect, I'll do just that. It'll be just a minute."
Dalia's voice slowly gets further away until it goes quiet as she disappears into the corridor leading to the kitchen, which leaves me and Colette alone in the living room.
"Shall we?" Even as I ask her, there's no response, but at least she does get to her feet and follow me once I do start moving out of the house.
That stands true for about two seconds, as once I reach the door, suddenly, her hand lands and latches on to me, tightly holding my shoulder, successfully stopping me one step from getting outside. It hurts a bit, but not too much, even when she digs her finger almost hard enough to cut through my coat's fabric, and when I turn to look at her in hopes of finding out why she's doing this, she speaks.
"Follow any order I give and don't leave my side." She orders, leaving no room for discussion, clearly; her brows frown and a growl threatens to leave her, another reason to play this right. "Understood?"
"Yes," I answer simply, with no funny comment or complaint to add, which in turn makes her hold become more comfortable in strength and her body language appear calmer.
"Good. Do that, and I'll keep you safe in return." Having said all that she wanted, her hold becomes nonexistent, signaling the return of her silent demeanor.
If this was anyone else, I would surely get mad and push them away, but, I don't know, something in her eyes when I looked at it told me that she wasn't doing this out of bad intentions or to hurt me, so there was no need to react like that.
Actually, in a strange way, this may be her way of showing she cares. That sure would be an improvement. Okay, I might be reading into this too far; best not to think anything and just move on.
Establishing that in my mind, we both leave the house and get to the car, soon being joined by Dalia, who, as soon as she gets her hand on the wheel, starts driving us to the red brick factory.
I never prayed one day in my life; religion was never something that got to me, but right now, I put all of that aside and, for the first time in my twenty-four years, pray for any god that might listen, asking for our safety.
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