The couple that discovered the body turned out to be a skinny 23-years old guy and a short girl in boho clothing. They looked worried and although the guy tried to appear calm, his scared eyes were running back and forth. On the contrary, the girl didn’t try to hide her feelings: her red eyes and haunted look spoke for themselves. Seeing the dead body for the first time is no picnic. Amanda still remembered it when it happened to her. She was astonished, and not in a good way. “It’s good they are not vomiting”, she thought.
“Please, don’t be afraid. We just need to get your statements”, Brian said, taking the recorder.
“We’re not”, the guy smiled weakly, “Lucy here is very brave, right, honey?”
“I didn’t mean anything like that... I’m sure you can protect your girlfriend if any danger comes”, Brian tried to act embarrassed.
Lucy’s face brightened.
“Yes, that’s right, I always feel safe when he’s around”, she mumbled, pressing closer to her boyfriend.
“He’s not a lost cause after all”, Amanda thought, “it’s not for nothing that he has so many medals and certificates of honor”.
“We’re happy your love is so strong, you are a cute couple”, she said gently, “so, may I get your names?”
“Alfred Kent”.
“Lucy Gerard”.
“Are you French, Lucy? Your English is great,” Brian remarked.
“Half. My mom is French”.
“That’s very cool. Does this club have French music?”
“It does! This is why Alfred and I go here. I want to show him my culture!”
“Quite an unorthodox approach”, Amanda thought.
“Can we talk about what happened there?”, Brian pointed at the bathroom, “what were you doing there?”
“We went there to make out”, Alfred replied without a hint of embarrassment.
“I get it that you were probably entranced with each other but maybe you saw someone before entering the bathroom?”
“Well, we didn’t immediately find…”, Lucy’s voice faltered, “...the body, so we spent there about 3 minutes...”
“So the killer had left before we went in, is that what you want to say, darling?” Alfred interrupted her.
“No, not that. I think that when we were reaching the bathroom... There were so many people around... I think I saw somebody exiting...
Brian eagerly jumped at this piece of information. His eyes sparkled with interest.
“What did they look like? Can you describe them?”
“No... I only saw their back... They were wearing something white...”
Brian sighed. Too bad. That could have been a breakthrough. But again a dead end. He groaned internally.
“Are you sure, Lucy?”, he heard Amanda’s voice. All this time she was silent, so he even managed to forget about her. The girl lowered her eyes and nodded. Blush crept on her cheeks.
“I noticed that you have your left hand behind your back. What do you have there?”
Brian looked at Lucy more closely. Indeed, she had something in her left fist.
“Please, show it. I promise nothing will happen to you. We won’t judge you”, Amanda said, throwing a warning glance at Brian.
He rolled his eyes. She can’t be really thinking he is a heartless monster!
“It’s nothing illegal, Detectives”, Alfred quickly chimed in probably feeling a danger to his girlfriend, “we just... Sometimes... To relax...”
“Please, show it”, Amanda repeated in an authoritative but soft voice.
Finally, Lucy gave in. In her hand was a small package with easily recognizable powder.
“Weed, I see”, Amanda said calmly, “have you smoked last night?”
“No...”
“Well, we’ll have to take your blood samples to ensure your statements can be considered valid...”, Brian began but Amanda elbowed him in the side.
“You are free to go”, she said, giving the package back to Lucy.
“Really? You’re not going to arrest us?”
“No.”
“Thank you! Thank you very much!” The girl turned to follow her boyfriend but suddenly came back and quietly whispered:
“I remembered! He was tall! It was definitely a man!”
“Thank you Lucy, you were very helpful to us”.
Finally, the couple left. Brian waited for a minute then asked in an angry voice:
“Why didn’t you agree to take their blood? They could have easily lied to us. Have you seen the guy? He will move mountains for his girl, not to mention give false statements. And the girl could have hallucinated everything!”
“No, she couldn’t”.
“Why are you so sure?”
“I know this type of weed, it never gives hallucinations. It was created to help people get relaxed and feel at ease, nothing more, nothing less”.
“Oh, right, mafia princess! How could I forget? Drugs are your thing”, he snorted, “anyway, let’s go to Moore now to report”.
“You won’t try to drive me away again?”, Amanda got surprised.
“Is there any point in that? If we don’t indulge your whim, your daddy will unleash his anger on the whole PD”.
“It’s not my...”
“Well, here you are,” Henry cheerfully got up from his chair, “we’re already wrapping up. Brian, you’ll give me your report later. Right now I want you to do something different...”
“What is it, Captain?”, readily asked Brian.
“Like a trained dog.“, Amanda noticed to herself, “though maybe all officers behave that way in front of their superiors”.
“So, kids”, Henry continued, “I want you to pay a visit to the father of Michael Jameson, the first victim. Perhaps he’ll tell you something new”.
“But you interrogated him a month ago”, Amanda said, “how else can he be of use?”
Brian winced. All Capianos refer to people as living things, as some trash. This really disgusted him.
“You’re wrong, Amanda. People tend to get overly stressed when talking to the police right after their loved one died. With time they may remember some things but not deem them important enough to tell us. That’s why we have to visit them ourselves”.
“Exactly, Brian. It takes time, sure, but most often it’s really worth it. It was actually me who came up with this idea”, he proudly grinned, “well, take the police van and go. Amanda, you’re free after that and Brian, remember your report”.
“Yes, sir”.
Brian crookedly smiled. He wasn’t happy with the idea at all. In truth, he hated those little trips. Contrary to what Henry said, they rarely bore fruit, mostly it was a waste of both time and fuel. What was worse, now this Capiano girl will be there with him. In the last hour he got more or less used to her presence but her endless chatter... He couldn’t figure her out and that drove him crazy. What does she want here?
****
“Cool, there is a cell here”, Amanda said, climbing into the van, “have you ever...”
“Yes, I have”, Brian replied without letting her finish, “Thomas Jameson’s house is about 20 minutes from here. Now listen: he is a drunkard, not particularly dangerous but still be careful. He will be the new type of person for you, that’s for sure”, he smirked trying to offend her.
“You sound like you worry about me,” Amanda smiled, not taking the bait.
“I don’t. I don’t want problems, that’s all. Have you read his first interrogation report?”
“Yes, I have. He didn’t seem to care about his son’s death much. His wife died a month ago. Around that time he started drinking even more than he used to. As for Michael, he lived with his father, was on the brink of being expelled from college and worked as a barista. Was found at Pegasus in one of the booths. Phoenix tattoo, a package of weed, as in other cases.”
Brian quietly hummed.
“You don’t seem surprised by my knowledge”.
“I'm not. Capiano’s resources are limitless. I won’t be surprised if your dad has my biography somewhere in his files”.
Well, he is not wrong. She doesn’t have his biography, of course, but she does have his profile.
After some silence, Amanda asked:
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I talk and you keep your mouth shut”.
“Right, because last time it worked out brilliantly! You would never get that information from Lucy with your methods! You almost scared her away with your talk about blood samples!”, she exclaimed.
“First, it’s a standard protocol, second, what is your info even worth? Some ephemeral tall guy in white?”
“You’re just jealous because I managed to fish out the information, not you!”
“It was beginner luck. And with Cody say thanks to your looks. It was enough for him to spill the beans”.
He didn’t know why he even remembered how she got that info from Cody but somehow thought it important to say. This girl’s confidence started to annoy him. She achieved something only once and now she is boasting it?
“You can’t even imagine what I see every day at work. There are dozens of cases on my desk. Not only petty thefts and hijackings, but also murders, rapes, kidnappings... Should I continue?”
“No, don’t. You are right, I can’t understand it. But I want you to know that solving this case and putting Nocturnal Phoenix in jail is as important for me as it is for you.”
“Stupid, stubborn girl”, Brian thought, “why should I even care about her well-being?”
Aloud he said:
“We’re here”.
He shut off the engine and exited the car.
“Of course he won’t offer me a hand”, Amanda thought, rolling her eyes, “what did I even expect from him?”
She opened the door and followed the detective.
*****
Jameson’s house was small with painted blue walls and white window sills. Surprisingly, there were pot flowers on them, though they looked wilted. Their leaves turned a yellowish colour and the soil looked like that of Sahara. They called the doorbell. No one opened the door for a good 10 minutes.
“Maybe he’s not home?”
“He is”, Brian said, “see this curtain? It has just moved. He looked out of the window”.
“Huh? Wow, you’re very attentive”.
“Comes with the job”, Brian shrugged.
Amanda looked at him differently. He obviously didn’t think of it as something extraordinary, but for her it was nothing like that. She remembered how he easily found her at the crime scene, how he knew exactly where Henry will be and how much time he will spend there, how he grabbed at any opportunity to learn more from the witnesses…
Being a policeman is definitely his calling. He is natively good at this. Even though his attitude leaves a lot to be desired.
While she was lost in thought, the door finally opened and a red-faced man with a bottle of beer in his hand appeared in front of them. He was wearing a stained T-shirt and sweatpants and he smelled as if he hadn’t changed for at least a week. Discreetly looking inside the house, Amanda spied a lot of dirty delivery bags littered on the table in the living room and a kitchen island full of dirty dishes to the left.
“What a pig”, she thought and wrinkled her nose.
“Hello, Mr Jameson, my name is Brian Davis and this is Amanda Carrington”, he recalled the surname Moore came up with for Amanda, “...my partner”, he squeezed the last two words almost forcefully.
“Ah, you…Well, come in, guys, come in… Don’t just stand here…”, Thomas Jameson stuttered, inviting them inside.
Seeing the dirty sofa, Amanda said politely:
“Can we talk in the kitchen area?”
“Sure, kids, I don’t care…”, Thomas looked lost and apathetic.
When he turned his back on them, Brian took out a small recorder and attached it to his shirt. From afar it looked like a police badge.
“How have you been, sir? Maybe you remembered any new details?”, he started.
“How have I been? How have I been?! I lost two of my closest people in 2 months! How do you think I am?”, he shouted.
“We understand your grief and we truly sympathize with you but to move forward with your son’s murder we need to know everything you remember…”, Brian said the phrase he always used in such situations.
“My son’s murder? Did you kill him?!”, Thomas roared.
“No, sir, we’re with the police, and…”, Amanda tried to calm him down.
“Police scum! It’s you! You are our city’s plague! You and cursed Capianos!”, not controlling himself, he lunged at Amanda. She dodged, and his momentum carried him into the kitchen counter. Regaining his balance, he grabbed a knife and swung again. But Amanda caught his wrist, yanked his arm and threw him to the ground. All this happened in a couple of seconds, so when Brian ran up to them, the drunkard was already lying on the floor with Amanda twisting his arm. He restrained writhing Thomas with handcuffs and led him to the van. Amanda followed them.
Having locked Jameson in, Brian turned to her and angrily hissed:
“What was that? The hell did you do?”
“Some self-defense, rings a bell?”
“I told you to keep your mouth shut! You could have gotten hurt!”
“Well, I haven’t! What do you care?”
“I don’t! You can get run off the road for all I care but if something happens to you, your father will skin me alive!”
“So that’s how it is? You all just think of yourselves as my babysitters? You know what? I can do without you, your boss or my father! I defended myself while you were standing there like an idiot!”
“Yeah? And who put that scoundrel into the van while he was kicking and screaming? Would you manage a 150 pound man?”
“Fine! You did the bare minimum required of any police officer! Are you happy?”
“I will be happy when the case is solved and you naff off!”
“So all I am is a nuisance?”
“Yes, smartypants, you are! Daddy gave you a new toy - human lives?! You are just a rich, snotty, spoiled, single-minded empty brat!”
“You… You…”, shocked, Amanda couldn’t find a worthy retort which frustrated her even more.
“Cat got your tongue? Where’s your bravado now?”, Brian smiled venomously.
“You’re a poor excuse for a police officer and even more so for a human being! You dare to accuse me of playing with lives while just a minute ago you put my life in danger by doing nothing! You disgust me, I don’t even want to look at you!”, Amanda threw up her hands and turned to walk away.
“Wait! Where are you going? We should do the paperwork about this guy! He assaulted you!”, Brian suddenly called out to her, almost pleadingly.
“And sit with you in the same car? Thanks but no thanks. I’d rather walk in the company of street dogs”, she nodded at the animals looking at them from the back alley, “at least they don’t scold me for protecting myself”.
"Just let me take you home and then we’ll go separate ways like we both want”.
How quickly he cools off! And starts thinking clearly just a minute after he pulls off such a stunt! He can even become polite.
Amanda regarded him attentively. He seemed sincere but in what? His desire to make amends or get rid of her? Coming to a decision, she said:
“Fine. But I will sit in the back. And I won’t forgive you just like that”.
“I don’t need your forgiveness, you’re already a walking problem for me”, he muttered.
Hearing these words, Amanda changed her mind immediately.
Arrogant peacock! I’ll teach you a lesson!
“You know”, she said, “I changed my mind. After all, I’m a spoiled girl who does whatever she wants. So bye! I would love to never see your face again but unfortunately, we both know it's impossible. So I’ll gladly take a break from you!”, with these words, she flipped him off and ran away along the street.
"Trouble in paradise?", Jameson mockingly stuck his head out of the cell.
"Shut up!"
Brian angrily slammed the van door and drove to the precinct.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLo9O8IHqlG
