Questions and Conquer
"Do you want to eat something?" officer Andrews asked him who was upright and stiff, standing at the door, like a dog on guard.
"No, thank you officer," he replied in an earnest manner.
Andrews could feel his admiration through his rhythmic gait, tall and undisturbed. The stark contrast brought after his temporary make-shift supervisor passed his judgement. Since he met her, she looked suspicious to his eye. He was sure she hid something, something painful for her to reveal. Her tensed eyes and anxious face the first time Mrs Vanesse's made his doubts solidify. He wasn't very well acquainted with the stories of the town, but anyone who stood in his place could feel the threatened aura from Andrews.
"Okay, make yourself at home," she told him, placing her bag on a clutter sofa, before hurrying into her room.
Chaze, who was still standing out, looked at the various reports on the sofa. Most of them looked like a bunch of unrelated articles. Yet, one stood out. It was an article he could recognize, an article about him. He decided not to press further. He already took his time and effort crossing the line to learn to trust her and have faith in her words. Crossing the line could only lead to disharmony among the pair. Trust was mandatory. Jumping into the deep end of the river for this case not only needed influence but also experience. He knew he lacked in both. And knowing different officers from various stations present through the town, it would have been difficult to find a supervisor whom he could trust. Someone who drove his passion to new heights.
Her words always seemed forward. Yet, with her smooth demeanor and witty jokes, she was considered the best mediator among the crowds. People who speak straight are never the ones to walk straight, he believed. Sharp words with a careless script, she convinced him to work on it and find the drive to catch them. It could have been a show, a fleeting entertainment for the people. What he hadn't realised yet was the fire he ignited in her heart to keep moving forward. To leave the baggage on the trail of time.
"Why are you still standing there?" said Andrews, who just walked out to see him, ever so stiff. "You could be mistaken for a tree if you keep at it for a tad bit longer. However, trees aren't for indoors, so move," she joked. "Let's eat something before going. She won't keep us long, but better to be prepared to go somewhere else from there,"
Chaze couldn't understand what she had been trying to convey when she spoke those words. Her every move led to new questions pop in his brain, making it difficult for the detective to understand her intentions.
"Don't zone out," she yelled at the lost boy. "What are you thinking of?" she added, wondering if he was preoccupied with the case. "Now, tell me what you prefer to eat?"
"Ah," he said with hesitation. Carried away at her pace now, he quickly replied, "A coffee would be nice. Anything works for me."
"Oh, I think I have some bagels I got for yesterday. Would that be good for you?" she told him in a monotone.
"Yes!" he said back, busy debating his hesitation.
"Tell me something more general," she asked.
"General?" he asked, confused thinking he missed a part of the conversation. "What are you trying to ask, officer?"
She was walking towards the pantry with a light step. On the other hand, he stood quietly, without any expression of joy or sorrow, contemplating since morning. "What do you think of this place? You sat all night reading up on the cases of this town. It's not the comprehensive list, but it's still the major chunk."
Andrews saw a few other files on the floor in the morning which clearly weren't related to the current case. All major cases. She didn't wish to ask for the reason he spent so much time on other cases when the murder was the primary assignment in hand. She had her concerns. If he had chosen to read the other cases after finding connections to the present one, they would not only have more work but could get into greater trouble.
Finding trouble was their occupation. Only when one finds trouble can they strive for peace. He knew that. He didn't have any specific intentions when going through them. Curious about the town no one talked about at his previous office, he set out to find as much as he could in the short time he had been there. But rarely was the queen talked about in any conversation. The other files cases were seemingly simple, yet the dynamics of the various groups stood out strongly.
"This is a pleasant place," he said truthfully. "The groups might have clashes among themselves but the cases rarely involve civilians. Everyone's happy and content, wishing to stay here forever. Is Mrs Thompson as fearful as she is talked about?" he asked back.
"If you met her when she was alive, you would have thought she was the most pleasant person you met in your life. A charismatic presence with a lot of confidence, she was a socialite at heart. And started like one too."
"Started like one?" he asked, waiting for a detailed explanation.
She took out a bagel from the paper bag and handed the bag to him. "Let's go. It's early, but we will have a better chance of holding onto her if we barge in early," she told him before explaining the queen's story. The story of fate hitting an unknown charmer to the heights of power. Part of a merchant's troop, she had various chances to interact with the mafia. Slowly, everyone started taking a liking to her and her ideas. Conquering from the bottom up wasn't a new strategy but one rarely followed. Mr Thompson whom the empire was handed to, hadn't known of this. Charmed by the inconsequential woman, he married her, welcoming the devil right through the front door.
"Sounds about right," he said, as if he had heard the story already. Regaining his composure, he told her, "Let's finish this case quickly. I want to know more about other things."
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