Time: 06:45
Bedroom.
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Sleep didn't come easy at night; the burning, sharp pain on my side made damn sure of that, and my mind replayed the strange encounter like a broken record.
The shadowed figures, the loud sounds of groans and punches. More questions than answers permeate my head.
**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**
The repetitive, insistent beeping of my alarm wakes me fully. Squinting my eyes and lazily moving my hands, I find it on my nightstand. Punching the button at the top, I finally manage to stop the irritating sound.
My back sinks deeper into my bed, my lazy eyes locking on the ceiling, enjoying the quietness of my small apartment, the light cream walls calming my train of thought.
Some minutes pass by without me even noticing; the simple wish of staying in bed for more time entices my body like a spell, but the memories of my earlier days on the station, back when I was an officer, get back to me.
Detective Reele's screams, Tina's laughter, Verda's hidden grin—all of those memories giving me enough energy to get up.
I let out a loud groan as I get out of bed, the soles of my feet meeting the overfamiliar coldness of the wooden board floor.
Out of instinct, I move to my bathroom, my hands lingering at the metal handle, preparing myself mentally to look at myself in the mirror—something that has become harder every day.
Time: 07:10
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I wear my jeans, sturdy boots, and old hoodie on top of the gray shirt I got when I graduated from the police academy before leaving my apartment. Not having much time to eat breakfast, I decide to skip it for today... again.
I take the elevator down to the ground floor, resting my hands deep inside the pockets of my hoodie as the coldness of the morning hits me, my lips already starting to crack.
Not even glancing at my car parked in front of the apartment, I start walking faster to get to the station, seeing only some old couples walking their dogs and people rushing to their jobs.
Arriving at the heavy glass door of the station, I waste no time opening it to get inside.
Once inside, I let out a sigh, letting the warmth inside the station take hold of me and allowing myself to take a breather. I start walking to the office area, and that's until Douglas stops me.
"Morning Detective," he half smiles at me, my guts telling me that something bad is about to happen. "My fath- the mayor is here in your office with a strange woman; they asked me to tell you to go to your office as soon as you got inside the station."
Shit, I totally forgot to clean up my office in my hurry to get home yesterday.
"Okay, thanks, kid." I smile at him; at least he seems to be taking things more seriously than yesterday. "Your phone is with Tina, by the way; don't forget to get it back."
I watch the kid smile at the prospect of having his phone back, a smirk slowly growing on my lips. "But don't forget, if I catch you using it again,"
"Relax; I won't use it while working again." He answers a little too quickly for me to believe him, but I shrug anyhow, walking towards my office and leaving the kid to his job.
Approaching my office's door, I take a couple of deep breaths before gathering enough courage to deal with whatever awaits me on the other side of it.
Once the door is opened, I get to see the faces of those inside my office: the mayor, a man nearing his fifties, staying on his feet near my messy and unorganized table, looking at his watch.
His clothes looking so perfectly clean that it makes me want to puke; the business casual style of his clothes leaving the impression of a very serious and organized man; his tan skin matching perfectly the brownish and gray tones of his trousers, shoes, shirt, and sport's jacket.
The second person I focus my attention on is a woman that looks to be in her thirties, her hands casually resting on top of her crossed legs, her blue eyes shining as the old and yellowed light of my office is reflected on them.
Her traditional business attire fitting well with the image I believe she wants to portray, with her blond hair falling to her shoulders, making her face look like a very pleasant one to look at.
I extend my hand to the woman for a greeting. "Nice to meet you; I'm Detective Olivia Rivers."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective. I'm agent Julia, but please call me JB." She gets up from the chair and shakes my hand politely before sitting back down. I look at the mayor and simply nod. "Mayor."
"Detective," he says, taking his eyes off his watch as I sit down on my table, adjusting his jacket. He smiles like a businessman, focusing his eyes on JB. "I believe you'll be happy to hear that the agency Miss Julia represents decided to lend a helping hand to our city after the murder of that tourist girl."
I shouldn't be surprised the mayor doesn't trust me to get the job done, but going as far as accepting a proposition from outsiders? That's something new, even for me. The man always hated 'tourists', saying they were 'dirtying Wayhaven's prestige name' and 'trying to infect us with their city's mores'.
A change of heart at this point, I don't believe it; whatever this agency is, they must have a lot of influence.
Resting my back on the chair, my eyes scan JB; her polite smile and business-like pose almost make me believe this proposition is a good deal, but after yesterday, no, there are too many new things on the board, and too many questions unanswered.
"And how does your agency propose to help?" I ask, not bothering to hide my suspicion.
JB's expression remains the same. "We wish to lend your station one of our teams of special agents." She opens her mouth to continue, but I stop her before she has the chance.
"Why?" I squint my eyes. The mayor doesn't seem to approve of the fact that I'm almost starting to interrogate her, but he doesn't stop me either.
"It's simply what our agency does: help small towns like yours when big cases like this one happen." JB's smile doesn't seem to change, but something in her voice tells me she's amused by my actions.
I look at the mayor, and he nods his head. Even if I dislike the guy, he's no amateur, so I'll trust him on this one. It's better not to make enemies so early on in the case.
I let out a sigh and relax my posture, my hands resting on top of the arms of my chair.
"I believe it's decided then." JB's voice brings my focus back to her. "My team will be in your care, Detective."
I nod my head. Even if I wanted to refuse, I'm pretty sure the mayor already agreed on it. Getting up from my chair. "When will I meet them?"
"They are probably close by now," She checks her phone, seemingly using what seems to be a tracking app. "I'll leave with the mayor now." She stands up and looks at the mayor. The mayor takes his prompt and leaves the room, leaving only her standing at the door.
"You surprised me today, Detective; you have a keen eye." her voice seemingly losing the softness and politeness it had earlier, instead replaced by a tone I can only describe as luring and unnerving, the smile on her face now reminding me of one a handler gives to its dog. "I expect great things from you."
And with that, she leaves me alone in my office. I release the air stuck in my throat and sink my back more into my chair. Should I be happy I impressed her, or should I be scared of what the future holds for me?
Time: 07:20
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As I'm finishing up the last bits of cleaning on my table, I hear a knock on my door. I peer through the blinds and can make out the shape of three figures standing outside. It finally seems that the agents arrived, but they certainly took their sweet time. Maybe they are not as punctual as I had thought, not that I'm any better.
Sitting on my chair, I push the box with the now-organized files beneath my table. "Come in."
The door opens, the three agents step inside the room, and quickly one of them steps towards my table with a hand extended to greet me and a smile that, for some reason, makes me feel a little less anxious about all of this.
"You're Detective Rivers, right?" I nod. "It's good to finally meet you. My name's Agent Dalia, but please call me Dalia; there's no need for honorifics."
Shaking the woman's hand, I start to study her, firstly her odd choice of clothes: a long coat over an unbuttoned vest and a white tunic, nails painted black, and a necklace that appears to be a small bird skull and bones strung on a thin rope.
But appearance-wise, she's quite pretty. She looks to be twenty four or five, with a mole under her lip on the left side, wavy brown hair that flows smoothly, grey eyes that entice my curiosity, and tan skin.
To avoid making the situation awkward with me staring, I retreat my hand and look at the other two agents, seeing that one of them has already taken my couch as theirs, I train my eyes on the one standing to the side of Dalia.
The fair skinned, black haired woman looks to be over twenty eight. Her style seems professional compared to Dalia's. Formal black pants, black knee-high leather boots, thigh-highs, a simple white blouse with a heavy black coat on top, and a pair of black gloves.
She stares at me, almost as if challenging me to keep looking at her. I raise an eyebrow but brush her manners aside. I extend my hand to her, and she only looks at it before looking away... This is getting awkward really fast.
To my luck, Dalia's voice cuts through the awkward atmosphere. "This here is our leader, Agent Colette." Dalia looks at me with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, she's in a bad mood."
Dalia shoots a gaze at Colette, and so they seem to start to communicate without words, only by expressions and hand gestures. Not wanting to disturb them, I find my eyes landing on the last agent.
Short shaggy hair tied up in a ponytail, but only the back part, leaving the hair on the front still on their face, three hoop piercings on each ear, two on the helix, and one on the snug. Light scars on their pale skinned face.
If all, they look to be the youngest, especially because their clothing style is more casual than the other agents, composed of a black shirt with two layers on top, one being a golden canyon flannel and the one on top of the flannel being a dark gray field jacket.
Dalia seems to have ended her discussion with Colette and caught me staring at the agent on my couch. "That one is Agent Yui." I turn my head to meet Dalia's eyes. "They are of the quiet type, so if they ignore you just know it's not by bad faith."
Nodding my head, I cough to grab the agent's attention. "Okay, now that we all know each other's names and all, I think we could start by sharing the information we have on the case."
Grabbing my notebook and opening it, I turn the screen to the agents. On the screen is the victim's location log I got yesterday. "We know not much about the victim, but our pathologist is already working on a report."
Colette and Dalia focus their eyes on the log. Colette's eyes seem to get even darker as Dalia's face seems to lose all color. Dalia is the one to speak. "Did you investigate any of these locations?"
"Actually, Yes." I rise from my chair and walk to the map of the city hanging on the wall. My fingers dance on the thin paper before stopping on top of the warehouse's location. "I only had time to investigate one, and so I chose to search the warehouses yesterday."
I watch as Colette looks at both agents before glaring at me, the woman making me feel like a little rabbit being hunted by a big wolf. I try swallowing my saliva, but my throat seems to have closed. Her eyes seem to have something feral hidden in them, something I don't want to mess with.
She looks at Dalia. "I'll go investigate the hotel where the victim stayed with Yui, so deal with this." Her tone seems to be familiar somehow; I can't exactly pinpoint where I heard a voice like hers before, though.
With that, Collete leaves my office, and Yui follows right behind.
"Not even a goodbye, huh?"
"What?" Dalia looks at me with curiosity. I still feel that she's nervous about something, but with a leader like that, I guess I can't blame her.
I sit at my table, just at the side of Dalia's chair. Crossing my legs, I look at the two figures disappearing from the office area. "Just thinking of how hard it must be to work with 'eccentric' people like her." The agent seems to let out a heavy breath of relief before starting to laugh.
"I heard people describe her as many things, but never as eccentric." She smiles at me. "You would be dead if she heard you." I grin at her, the tension in the air slowly dissipating.
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After a minute or so of smiles and laughter, I adjust the hoodie on my body and look at the map, bringing my head back to the case. "You up to investigate the bar with me? We might as well do something till Verda has a report for us."
She nods her head, rising from her chair and adjusting her hair. "Oh, of course, good thinking, Detective."
And with that, we leave the station, grabbing one of the patrol cars, and going in the direction of the Rusty Anchor Bar.
Time: 7:45
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It's good to be back in a patrol car again. It's something I always forget: the smell of coffee that lingers in the car from other officers' shifts, the smooth feeling of the wheel, the soft roaring of the engine—all things you learn to appreciate when your own car is essentially falling to pieces.
My eyes focus on the street, but sometimes I remember to look at Dalia; she looks out the window as if reminiscing. Sad eyes, or at least it looks like they are; her gaze lingers on the houses along the main road before falling on me. Finding my gaze already on hers, she gives me a small smile.
"Could I ask you something, Detective?" Her voice comes almost like a gentle wisp of wind, and so I nod my head. "Do you like Wayhaven?"
I shrug. "I guess so, but I never got to any other cities."
A look of surprise permeates Dalia's face. "Really?"
"Really."
Dalia seems to think before asking her next question. "What about your parents? Did they never travel with you?"
"I don't have any parents."
Dalia's smile fades and is replaced with an embarrassed look, her eyes looking away from me. "I'm sorry, it was dumb of me to ask."
"Don't be; you had no way to know it." One of my hands leaves the gear stick and finds her shoulder. "And I have no problem talking about it too."
Her smile seems to get back to her face, and as I'm about to retreat my hand, she puts one of hers atop mine, and so I leave it there.
The way her eyes linger on mine prompts me to continue, and so I do. "I grew up in an orphanage; there I met my best friend Tina." An involuntary laugh escapes my throat. "She was beating up some boys that tried to bully me without me even asking for help, and after that, we became inseparable, like sisters, but obviously I'm the smarter one."
The smirk on my face slowly becomes a gentle smile, almost as if I'm mirroring hers as I look at Dalia once again.
It's easy to be around her, it is as if we were friends before even talking to each other, and I like that she reminds me of Tina. I like people who are easy to talk to, people who genuinely seem to care.
Noticing that we are arriving at the bar, I take my hand off her shoulder to shift gears, and so I park the car, turning off the engine, and putting the keys in my jeans' pockets.
"Thank you, Detective."
Her words seem to come out of nowhere, but at the same time, they seem to hold a real feeling, making me raise an eyebrow. After all, all I did was talk about my past; I didn't do anything worth thanking.
Seeing my reaction, Dalia laughs. "You are indeed a good person, Detective."
With those words hanging in the air, she leaves the car.
Leaving the car, I look around the parking lot, seeing only a motorcycle parked on the side of the bar—a motorcycle that I know very well; after all, it belongs to the owner of the bar, Alexander, a big muscular man that captivates most people on first glance, standing proudly at his 6'6.
I look at Dalia. "Come on, let's talk with the owner." She nods her head before we both walk to the bar door.
Pushing the old wooden door, we are hit by the smell of beer and bacon. The booths in the bar are all empty, and the only place that isn't empty is the bar counter, as behind it stands my favorite bear. Holding my will to rush to greet Alexander and make a scene, I start walking casually to it.
Upon hearing our footsteps, Alexander swipes his big red-haired locks off his face before a big smile grows on his lips. The big man who resembles the description of what a Viking would be quickly put the cleaning cloth he was using to clean the counter away before rushing to me.
"Olivia." Alexander hugs me, his voice rough and deep, but as always, instead of making anyone fear him, it makes people feel safe. Even with all his strength, he holds back just enough not to break my back, which is appreciated. I hug him back, and not being able to hold back the big grin on my face, I start swaying without letting go of the hug.
After a few seconds, we break the hug. "Hey, big man, I missed you," I say it genuinely.
The big man fixes his long red beard. "You've been gone for a long time." His eyes hold pride as he looks at the badge on my waistband. "You even became a detective; I always knew you had it in you."
Oh man, he is going to make me cry if he continues, so let me change the subject.
I point to Dalia. "Oh, let me introduce you two. This one here is Agent Dalia; her unit is helping the station with the new case, her included."
"And the big man is Alexander, the best bartender in Wayhaven."
Alexander looks at Dalia, who extends her hand to him, and quickly pushes her hand away and instead hugs her too. I watch as Dalia is lifted off the floor in the hug and looks at me with a smile. "Any friends of Olivia are friends of mine."
As Dalia and the big man end the hug, I gesture to the bar counter. "Can we talk? Unfortunately, we have to ask you some questions about the case we have in hand."
He nods his head before walking back to the counter and getting behind it. Me and Dalia sit on the high stools before looking at each other. Grabbing my phone, I put a picture of the victim on the screen before showing him. "Do you know this girl?"
The big man gets his face close to my phone, looking at the picture and squinting his eyes before nodding his head. "Yes, the girl came here about two or three nights ago."
"Was she alone?" I put my phone back in my pocket.
He once again nods his head. "Yes, the girl ordered two German Aperol spritzes and stayed till midnight or so; the whole time she was here, she stayed quiet." He starts to swipe the cloth on the counter. "She had some sad eyes, that girl."
Putting my hand on my chin, I hear Dalia shift on the stool. "Do you know if she left the bar alone?" Dalia asks.
"The last time I saw her here, she was gone to puke in the alley; after that, she didn't come back inside the bar, so I assumed she had gone home." The cloth on his hand starts to move slower on the counter; his big brown eyes are locked on the counter.
"Hey, there's no way you could have known this would have happened, okay?" I gently grab his wrist and use my grip to comfort him.
He lets out a heavy sigh. "I guess you're right."
At least it looks like he is feeling a little better. I look at Dalia, and she nods her head. "Go; I'll keep him company."
Watching Dalia talk with Alexander, I get up from the stool and walk outside the bar. I walk to my car and grab the forensic kit before turning to where the big man's bike is parked in the little alley on the side of the bar where the dumpsters are.
The alley smells of vomit and trash. I hold the need to lift my hoodie to my mouth to focus solely on anything that can give me a clue of where the victim got to.
Walking till the end of it, I start to analyze the ground, looking for anything that could be relevant, but nothing really stands out.
Next, I start to look around—the walls, the dumpster, anything that could have a drop of blood or signs of someone being taken away—but again, I find nothing.
I start biting my fingernails as anxiety settles in at the back of my mind. Fuck, fuck, fuck, how can someone disappear and nothing be left behind?
Resting my back on the light pole at the entrance of the alley, I look up, letting out a groan before my eyes stop at something metallic connected to the pole—a square of rusted metal that I had never noticed before.
Wait, that's right, the old surveillance system of the city—I'm a fucking genius.
Rushing back to the patrol car, I open the glove compartment, and to my luck, I find what I need—a USB cord—and so I get back to the light pole.
I look around the base of it and find the surveillance box just at the other end of the pole. I open the panel and find the power assembly and cables; at least it looks to be in working condition. I find a USB port hidden by duct tape, so I take it off and connect my cellphone to it.
"Come on, work, dammit." My prayers are answered when I see that I have successfully gotten access to the storage of the camera. Good thing the mayor didn't put any passwords on them, maybe because they thought no one would be hacking into surveillance systems—the perks of living in a small town.
Navigating through the files on my phone is not as good as it would be with my notebook, but I'll have to do it. Scrolling down, I find the recording marked with the dates. I find the footage that matches the night the victim was taken, and I download it to my phone to check later.
After hugging Alexander one last time I leave the bar with Dalia, walking to the car so we go back to the station.
Time: 10:57
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I drop my phone on the table and connect it to my notebook. Dalia looks at me curiously as she sits on the couch politely. "You didn't told me what you found yet."
"I know." Looking at the screen, a serious expression takes over my face. "You'll see in a sec."
Playing the video in my notebook, I cross my legs and rest my hands on the keyboard. Dalia's eyes widen before she gets up from the couch and stands beside my chair, eyes fixated on the footage.
The poor-quality video starts to play; the information on the top left indicates the time: 23:56, the first minutes of the recording only show the empty alley.
Finally, the victim appears in it; she has her hands on her phone, texting someone. Her head turns quickly to the end of the alley, and so she shoves her phone on the side of her boot before fixating her eyes on something.
I get my face closer to the screen to try to see what she's looking at, but the thing is just barely out of the camera's view; the only visible part of what seems to be a person is their dark-colored work boots. I move my hand to grab a pen and paper without taking my eyes off the screen, but eventually, I have to look to reach the items, and when my eyes are back to the screen milliseconds later, the victim and the man have disappeared.
... What?
Raising an eyebrow, I rewind a few seconds to the footage, and the same thing happens: the victim and the person are standing on opposite sides of the alley, and then they simply disappear.
I start to look for an option to slow down the video to see it again, and suddenly, Dalia's phone vibrates in her pocket.
"Sorry, Detective, I'll be right back." She takes her phone out of her pocket and rushes outside my office.
.:Dalia's pov:.
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Sitting on the couch, I watch as the detective plugs her phone into her computer and starts to work on something. She was very quiet while on the way back here, and now she's looking all serious...
I tilt my head. "You didn't told me what you found yet."
"I know; you'll see in a sec." I can see her chest move up and down quickly, like she's nervous or excited about something. Just what did she find in that alley?
Hearing the sound of a video starting to play in her notebook, my hands grow cold and my mouth suddenly dry, so I walk to her side to see what is playing on her computer.
And to the worst of my thoughts, I see the detective did her job; she got footage of the girl who died, and worst of all.
The figure standing on the other side of the alley—if the detective sees them moving in the blink of an eye, she'll connect the dots. What do I do? What can I do? I need to call the agency before the detective learns something about the case.
A stroke of luck: on my phone, someone is calling me, and it seems that the sound got the detective's attention. I need to be quick.
"Sorry, Detective, I'll be right back." I watch as the detective nods and brings her eyes back to the footage; that's my chance to act. I grab an old coin from my phone case and drop it quietly on the detective's table, reciting some words the spell activates. Electricity flows from the battery of the detective's notebook to the coin, draining all the juice from it. That should buy me enough time.
Leaving the office, I let out a heavy sigh, a grin on my face. I did a good job.
Patting my back I remember my phone ringing in my hand, and so I see who's calling: Colette.
I answer the call. "Colette, thank God you called me; I nee-" I stop talking as I hear Colette having a hard time breathing.
Colette's usual angry voice only sounds painful in my ear. "They were waiting for us here in the hotel." Blood starts rushing through my body. "Call the agency and come help us."
She doesn't even wait for my answer before hanging up. I look at the detective in her office, and I see her walking around her table while muttering words I can't hear.
I can't leave her here; if she charges her battery while I'm gone, she'll see the video, but I can't bring her with me.
Right?
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