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13.63% Little Detective / Chapter 3: Chapter 3 The Warehouse Parking Lot

章節 3: Chapter 3 The Warehouse Parking Lot

"What time is he coming?" I asked, I continued to glare out the windshield into the night.

"He'll arrive at exactly midnight," Jones said. "We have to be early and wait here with our lights off. He's never been late."

I looked around at the empty, creepy abandoned parking lot. We were on the worst side of town, anyone could come up and do something. Plus most people on this side of town hate cops. I couldn't help but be a bit nervous.

"So we just wait here until he shows up?" I asked as I looked at all the windows of the old warehouse. They were darker than the parking lot, and a hell of a lot creepier. "And then what happens? We give him the file and ask him to investigate for us?"

"If his people had nothing to do with it, we tell him everything we know as he looks through the file. He'll take the file and let us know the information he finds as soon as he finds it," Jones said. "The longest I waited was a full week. And that's because it had a lot of controversy behind it. Also, make sure you leave your gun on the dashboard."

"This is so wrong," I muttered as I unclipped my hoister from my pants. I placed the gun on the dash.

"That's another thing," Jones said. "When he's here, don't speak. We don't want to make him angry. Because I've only known you for a day and you've already irritated me beyond my limit."

I glared at Jones before a bright light was shined in our eyes. I raised my hand in front of my face to cover my eyes. I looked underneath my hand to see a car coming towards us. The headlights nearly blinded me since we were sitting in darkness for so long before.

"He's here," Jones muttered nervously. He took off his gun hoister and put it on the dashboard.

The car stopped thirty feet from Jones's car. I watched as three figures stepped out of the car. The one at the driver's door stayed next to it. The one at the passenger side moved to lean against the hood of the car. And the last one moved ten feet in front of the car and stood there with his arms crossed. All of them were shrouded in darkness. It was impossible to see anything except their silhouettes.

"Step out of the car with me, Kid," Jones said before opening his door.

I followed his lead, stepping out of the car. Jones walked to the front of the car and I moved to stand right next to him. It was then that I noticed the file still in his hands.

"Hello Detective," a voice called out. I looked over to the man standing fifteen feet from Jones and I. I didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking at us.

"Thank you for coming, RM" Jones called back. "We have a murder of a woman named, Jessica Cullson."

"Cullson," RM nodded. "Saw it on the news. But before we continue, who's she?"

His hands fell from their folded position and one hand pointed at me. I could feel the men's three pairs of eyes move over to me. I couldn't help but shiver. I didn't feel like I was in danger, I felt like I was being analyzed. I had never felt someone trying to undress my mind and past before. It felt weird. And it got even weirder when I felt like one of them was trying to undress me with their eyes.

"New partner," Jones said. "It's a new policy. And she's new brand new. This is her first case."

RM held out his hand. Jones walked up to him and handed him the file before walking back to my side. RM began looking through the file.

"What's your name, little detective?" RM asked in a deadpan tone, not even bothering to look up from the file.

"Anas-" Jones was cut off from saying my name.

"I want her to answer," RM shouted. He still hadn't looked up at me. Which I was grateful for since I physically shivered despite the warm coat I was wearing.

His voice was so low and commanding. It was a voice you would expect from a mafia boss. Many women would find it sexy, I know I did. But others would find it terrifying to their core, like I did too.

"My name is Detective Anastasia Barnes," I said, confidently.

I wanted to show everyone here that I wasn't afraid of him. But in reality, I was terrified. This man standing fifteen feet from me was terrifying and I knew nothing about him except his name and his job. And forget about the other men he brought with him. More than anything, I wanted to hide in the car.

"Tell me about this case," RM demanded.

"Jessica Cullson was-" Jones was cut off once again.

"I want her to speak," RM demanded, making it very clear that he didn't want Jones to speak. His voice made me shiver again.

"Jessica Cullson was found in her home by her maid right after nine AM," I said. "She was seen leaving her house at ten fifteen PM the night before to go to the Galaxy Illusion club by the same maid. The security at the club saw her enter alone, but leave with an Asian male. He was about six foot and has tattoos around his neck. We have a still from CCTV with his face. There should be a photo in the file."

RM flipped through the papers and picked up what I'm guessing was the photo. He held it in the headlights of his car to get a better look at it.

"Time of death is sometime around one in the morning," I continued. "Cause of death is a single gunshot wound to the chest. The bullet went through her body and lodged itself in her vanity. Ballistics are still trying to find a match but we suspect a high powered handgun."

"What kind of woman was she? What did her family have to say about her?" RM asked.

"We haven't talked to her family, yet," I said. "Her sister, who lives with her, is in Costa Rica. Her parents are driving up from California. And we don't know of any close friends. So we only know of what her maid has told us. The maid said that she was so nice. Cullson didn't deserve this to happen to her. The usual from someone who didn't really know her."

"If I don't have an answer before you talk to the family, I want to know what they say," RM said. "I know who's in the picture, I just need to see what I can find out about what he knows."

"Someone you employ?" Jones asked. I was wondering the same thing.

"No, someone I have a truce with," RM said, closing the file. He held it over his shoulder. The man leaning against the hood of the car walked over and took it from RM. The man was a little shorter than RM, but was thinner than him even though his shoulders were wide enough to stop cars.

"I'll see what I can do," RM said. "Now. You, Little Detective. Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm Detective Anastasia Barnes," I said.

"He wants to know more about your history before he looks you up," Jones said. I looked at my partner confused. "All the detectives he works with he does a background on."

I looked back to RM. I could tell he was waiting for me to start talking. From what I could see of him, he was standing there in confidence. His hands were in his pockets, shoulders relaxed, head slightly lifted up, looking at me. This cocky bastard.

I sighed. Now was my turn to be confident. I took a step forward, placing my hands in my jacket pockets. I raised an eyebrow at RM before starting.

"My family has lived here in Towson my entire life. My family consists of my dad, and my two older brothers. My mom was killed when I was ten. She was a detective like I am, being my inspiration. I've always been the top of my classes all the way until I graduated the police academy. I was a street cop for the past three years before being promoted."

"She's a good girl," the man on the hood of the car called out. "My guess is that she's never done anything bad in her life."

"So what if I haven't?" I asked.

"This must be killing you," the man chuckled, "asking for help from the mafia."

"Enough, Prince," RM said. "Leave the girl alone."

"Aren't you a knight in shining armor, RM," I said.

"So is Detective Jones teaching you the ropes, Little Detective?" RM asked.

"I'm smarter than I look," I said.

"I'll hold you to that," RM said. "What do you know about me?"

"Your the leader of mafia here in Towson. You help our investigations in return for us looking the other way," I listed off.

"Anything else?" RM asked.

"Do you want me to know anything else?" I asked. "Because if I had enough evidence or a confession I would put you behind bars as soon as possible."

RM let out a chuckle. He took a few steps closer to me. I reached for my gun only to realize that I had to leave it in the car. Instead I sent him the fiercest glare I could muster.

"You won't be able to do anything to me," RM said. "Miss Barnes, please don't get me wrong. I would never harm anyone, unless they threaten my business or my friends. I am going to give you a second chance. I don't want this partnership to begin with distrust between the two of us."

"Partnership? What makes you think I'm going to continue asking you for help?" I asked. "I can solve any case I come across. And I will."

"Kid." Jones grabbed my arm tightly. I looked at him only to see his eyes wide with fear. It was the first time that Jones showed an emotion towards me beside annoyance or anger. In that instant, I knew that I should keep my mouth shut.

"Sweetheart, do you know how many cases involve the underground? Therefore, involve me?" RM asked. I shook my head. "About half the cases you get. And do you know how many cases I see?" He stopped and waited for me to answer. I shook my head when I realized he wasn't going to continue without my answer. "I see about two thirds of the cases. And most of them are helped solved by me. So tell me again, tell me your not going to want my help."

I looked over at Jones who still had his hand gripping my arm. I took my gaze away from Jones and looked down at the pavement. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he was winning. He may think he was winning, but I still had the choice of giving my cases to him. And as long as I was a detective I would not go to him for help on any cases.

"That's what I thought," RM said confidently. He then turned to Jones. "I'll see what I can do about the case. I'll let you know what I find out."

And just like that, he turned around, and walked to the door behind the driver. The man standing next to the driver's door - who hasn't said anything this entire time - opened the door for RM and closed it behind him. The broad shouldered man got into the passenger side. And finally the driver got in the car driving off, leaving Jones and I in the darkness.

Once we were alone for a couple minutes, Jones finally let go of my arm. I could feel his glare in the darkness. I moved away from him to sit in the car. Jones got in the car after me and turned it on. The lights turned on and I grabbed my gun from the dashboard. I put it back on my waist.

"Why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?" Jones hissed. "If we get in trouble with him, there's nothing that can be done. He can ruin our lives, our families' lives. Why couldn't you keep your damn mouth shut, Kid?"

"It's not in my nature," I said. "Listen, it's late. I had an exciting first day of work, I just want to get some sleep."

"Where do you live?" Jones asked. "I'll drop you off."

"Two blocks south of the station," I said.

"Good, I don't have to go far," Jones said. "Buckle up, Kid."

///

I stepped into my apartment and flipped on the kitchen light.

"Murph?" I called out for my dog. I looked over the sofa to see Murphy trying to get up from his pillow. "Aw, you poor puppy."

I walked over and picked him up. I took him into my bedroom and placed him on his doggy bed in the bottom corner of my bed. After I changed into my pajamas I slipped into bed. Murphy was already snoring on his bed.

As I laid down, the moonlight was shining through a crack in my curtains. I kneeled onto my bed and jerked the curtains around so there were no cracks. But something caught my eye.

I pulled back the curtain to peek through. I shadow moved on top of the building across the street. I knew that sometimes some of the residents of that building would have parties on the roof. So the rood must be finished for residential use. And maybe there was someone enjoying the serene night on the roof.

I moved the curtain back to completely cover the window. After being out so late I was excited to finally get some sleep. And I didn't even last a minute after my head hit the pillow.


章節 4: Chapter 4 The Backseat

It was around noon the next day when I walked back to my desk after I got the file about the Cullson case from the M.E. I was getting ready to go over the file with Jones when I saw he wasn't at his desk. I looked around the office to see if I could find him only to find out that he was no where to be seen.

I walked over to Detective Sanchez and Detective Richmond's desks. Richmond was throwing pencils into a cup on the far side of his desk and Sanchez was on his computer.

"Hey, where's Jones?" I asked them when I got close enough.

"It's noon, he's at lunch," Sanchez said without looking at me.

"I just got the M.E report for our case, I was hoping to go over it," I said as I lifted the file to show them.

"You can try catching up to him," Richmond said as he tossed another pencil, missing the cup. "He usually goes to the sandwich shop down the street."

"I wouldn't," Sanchez warned. "Lunchtime he's off the clock. He doesn't do work when he's eating."

"Well now he has me," I said. I started to make my way to the door, calling back to them. "Thanks guys."

"No problem, beautiful!" Sanchez called out to me.

I ran out the front door of the station. To my left were more restaurants and stores, so my best chance was to head that way. I wanted to catch up to Jones. Maybe we could have lunch together, to get to know each other. And also to talk about the case.

But before I could even leave the station's property, someone grabbed my arm. I turned to see a taller, muscular, handsome Asian man with large doe eyes. He wasn't looking at me, instead he was looking towards the street.

"Who are you?" I asked. As I spoke I tried to pull my arm from his grip, but his grip was too strong.

He didn't say anything to me, only pulled me towards a 2020 black jaguar sitting on the curb. He opened the door to the backseat and shoved me inside. He slammed the door behind me.

"What the hell?" I yelled moving to open the door. But the man stood in front of the door.

"Hello to you too, Little Detective," the voice of RM said.

I looked next to me to see the most handsome man I've ever seen. He had slender, sharp mono-lid eyes. His face was round with sharp features. He had cute dimples that didn't match the cocky smirk on his face. And his lips, oh heaven, those lips were full and luscious and looked so soft. He wore a black fitted suit with a black silk shirt underneath the jacket. His dyed blonde hair was styled like he didn't care, but he clearly did.

"RM," I whispered. My heart beat sped up in a way I didn't recognize. It wasn't adrenaline, like how it was when I was shoved in here. It was something completely different, and I didn't know if I wanted to know what it was.

I couldn't believe that the leader of the mafia was actually this young and good-looking. And he wasn't even looking at me. Instead, he was staring out the window at the cars passing by on the street. He handed me a file, not bothering to look at me.

"That's what I found," RM said. "He's a member of the gang EXO. He's their go-to assassin, named Chanyeol."

"You have business with them?" I asked.

"More like they have business with me," RM said. "One of the many businesses I own is real estate. I buy warehouses and buildings and sell them. And sometimes, gangs drive a hard bargain. And what they do in the places I sell them, I don't know."

"Whatever you say," I muttered with a roll of my eyes. I began looking into the file. "Does this Chanyeol have any places he frequents? Anyplace we can find him so we can question him?"

"He's an assassin, Little Detective," RM said as he finally turned to look at me. "He's not going to be easy to catch. If at all."

"Right now, we just need to question him not arrest him," I said as I still looked through the file. "But he is our lead suspect at the moment."

"Little Detective, I think you should start wondering why EXO would have their assassin to kill Cullson," RM said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I turned to look up at him.

"Think about it." RM turned fully to face me. He put his arm on the back of the seat and leaned close to me. "Why would a gang, one that is pretty high up, want to kill some heiress from the suburbs? If a gang kills someone, it's because that person has done something to them or one of their people. Or they need to tie up loose ends."

"Okay, so if Cullson somehow betrayed EXO, why just leave her in the house instead of finishing the job and getting rid of the body?" I wondered. I looked back down at the files not wanting to look at the handsome man next to me.

"Why exactly," RM mused in a low tone. "Have you talked to her family yet?"

"No, not yet. Her parents got into town late last night. And they've said they're not coming in until they can come in with their daughter who comes back from Costa Rica later tonight," I said.

"I would have the daughter in a separate interrogation and ask her about EXO," RM said. "They left that body there for someone. And the only other person living there is the sister. The sister is the key to figuring out why Cullson died."

What kind of stuff did EXO deal with? What illegal businesses are they into besides assassinations. RM must know. I turned back to look over to RM only to flinch away. He was a lot closer than he was last time I looked away. I wasn't expecting him to be that close to me. He was inches away from my face. Was it possible for someone to be more attractive up close?

"Back up," I said before I placed a hand on his chest and pushed against him to get him to move back. He didn't move, so I pushed harder. "RM, please back up a bit."

"Am I distracting you, Little Detective?" RM mused. His tone was deep and sexy. I just about melted as he spoke to me. How would that voice sound in the morning? Or murmuring against my skin. Or feel against my lips. Or feel against different parts of my body. I mentally shook my head, getting those thoughts to stop before they went too far.

"Not in the way you're thinking," I hissed at him. "I don't do well when people are looking over my shoulder."

RM chuckled and leaned back against his seat, a good distance away from me. I glared at him. He made me loose my train of thought. I was going to ask him something, and now I don't remember because his stupid attractive face and dumb sexy voice caught me off guard.

"I was going to ask something," I whispered.

"Go ahead, then," RM said.

"Well now I don't remember," I confessed. "What were you talking about before?"

"The sister is the key to finding out why Cullson was killed," RM restated.

"Oh! I remember. What kind of stuff does EXO do that would lead to them wanting to kill an heiress?" I asked.

"Why would I know?" RM asked. "I'm just a businessman. What would I know about a gang's activities."

"Don't play me, RM. I can find out from the sister or from you. It would be nice to know what to talk to her about when she comes in to talk to us," I said.

"EXO mostly deals in illegal drugs. They only kill if something goes wrong with their product," RM said. "If someone ripped them off, stole from them, or worse."

"So the sisters could have been mixed up with dealing drugs?" I wondered. That's when I remembered, "The M.E report. I just got it before I left to find Jones. He's at lunch right now. If there were drugs in her system when she died we will know with this." I spoke as I opened the M.E file to read over it quickly. "There was ecstasy in her system. But that's strange."

"Someone around her age, her background, her tax bracket having ecstasy in her system. Is that really strange?" RM asked.

"No what's strange is that there was no trace of drugs found anywhere in the house," I said. "We would have done a complete search of the residence looking for any clues of the murder. There was no residue of drugs anywhere in the house. And the M.E said that there was no drug residue anywhere on her."

"That is strange," RM muttered. "Maybe something happened at the club, then."

"I'll have to get the CCTV from inside the club then," I muttered. "That means I'll have to call Nate. Hopefully he hasn't deleted the footage yet. Maybe I can call Jones and he can go and pick up the footage. Nate isn't very good at being quick when sending things to me. Am I mumbling again?"

"Yes, but it's kind of cute," RM said. I felt a blush rise up my face. I flipped my hair over my shoulder to hide my face. "Well, since Jones is at lunch, why don't I treat you to lunch?"

I whipped my head to look at him to find that he looked directly into my eyes. He seemed serious, like he really wanted to have lunch with me. He was so attractive. And I have never been to lunch with someone outside of colleagues from work. Was this a date? Because I've never been on a date before.

I began to freak out mentally, but RM still gazed at me, waiting for my answer.

"Um . . . lunch? I - I - I don't. I don't usually eat lunch. Just a few bites of a homemade sandwich at my desk," I stuttered.

"You only started working at a desk yesterday," Namjoon pointed out.

"Well before it was my cop car," I snapped.

"So you're saying no?" RM asked.

"Well no - um. I'm not saying not, but um . . ."

I gulped and looked away from him. My eyes found themselves looking out the window. The man who pushed me into the car had moved from my door to lean against the passenger side door with his arms crossed over his chest. I looked away from him to the front of the station. It was then that I saw Jones as he walked up to the doors.

"Look, there's Jones!" I shouted. "I need to go give him this information. Thank you, RM. Let's do a raincheck on lunch, some other time."

I quickly opened the door and went to leave. But before I could get a foot outside the car, RM gripped my arm, causing me stop.

"I'll hold you to that, Little Detective," he said.

"You can call me Barnes," I said. "Or even Ana. But please stop calling me that."

"I think I'll stick to Little Detective, I like it," RM mused with a smirk. "I'll see you around."

I shot out of the car and into the station faster than a bullet. I ran all the way to mine and Jones' desks and threw the files at Jones. They landed on the desk, causing Jones to jump at the sudden sound.

"What are these?" Jones asked. He picked up the files and began to look through them.

"M.E report and the information that RM found out," I said as I flopped into my chair out of breath.

"What did he say?" Jones asked.

"The guy from the club is a member of EXO," I gasped.

"Drug Lords," Jones muttered. "Little-miss-heiress is a drugie."

"Or the sister is," I said. "M.E report says that there was ecstasy in her system. But there was no residue anywhere on her hands or anywhere in the house. It's like someone put the pill in her mouth for her."

"So this EXO member meets Cullson at the club," Jones said. "He takes her home, forces her to take the drug. She runs upstairs to get away from him, grabs her knife to defend herself, but he shoots her before she gets the chance."

"We need to find the guy and get his side of the story," I said.

"Jones, Barnes," a voice called out. We looked over to see the secretary from the front desk. "You got some people asking for you."

"I have five minutes left for lunch," Jones groaned before shouting back to her, "Send 'em over!"

Three people came walking over with tear stained faces and red eyes. There was an older couple and a girl a few years older than me.

"Are you the Detectives in charge of our daughter's murder?" the man asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullson?" Jones asked stood up to greet them.

"Yes," the man said. "Do you have any idea who killed our daughter?"

"We can't release that information right now," Jones said. "Is it okay if we talk to each of you in private?"

"Of course," Mrs. Cullson spoke up. "Anything to catch our daughter's killer."

"Great. Why don't we start with you, sister?" I said. I turned to the girl who looked at me surprised. "You are the one who was living with her after all."

"Sure thing," the girl said. She gave me a sad smile before I led her to the interrogation room upstairs.


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