Case: 1: A Dystopian Mystery (Annalise Storm Chronicles Book 2)

by May Freighter

  “Hang on,” Graham said, rising from his seat. He strode to a small desk by the window and activated a terminal on it. After letting it scan his comms, he searched for something until he straightened up and pointed at the screen. “Says here his name is Gregory Sage.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Annalise mumbled when Devlin strode back into the living room.

  “What about Mr Sage?” he inquired, eyeing her and the beast in turn.

  Annalise walked to her partner. “He was our victim’s new master.”

  “There is no such transfer data in his logs. I checked them last night.”

  Graham crossed his arms. “It says so right here. You can take the copy of this contract with you if you like.”

  “That would be useful.” Devlin proceeded to copy the files off the terminal.

  The old man failed to mention that Gale was his new servant, and it made Annalise want to punch him in the face. How could he disregard her existence like that? And, more importantly, why was he hiding his basilisk from the official records?

  “I got the files and her things are clean,” Devlin announced a moment later. As he moved away from the terminal, Graham grasped his elbow.

  “I have not given you permission to touch me, beast,” Devlin responded with a dark expression shadowing his face.

  A chill crept along her spine at the way he spoke and glared at the offending hand of another human being as if it was toxic. With an unsteady hand, she grabbed Devlin’s other hand, pulling him away from Graham. Neither of them broke eye contact, and it didn’t bode well, not when her partner was inching his hand towards his holster.

  She forced a pleasant smile. Although she didn’t want to do it, she took hold of his hand, giving it a warning squeeze. Devlin’s attention was drawn to their linked hands and the tension in the room dissolved like an ice cube in hot water.

  Annalise breathed out a sigh of relief. “We should be going. Thank you so much for cooperating, sir.”

  “Tell me if you find the bastard who did it,” Graham shouted after them as they were leaving the apartment.

  Once they got to her car, she turned in her seat. “What the hell is wrong with you? That man was upset, and you behaved like you’ve got a modded phobia.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then what is it? You hate them, is that it?”

  He paused long enough to form his response. “I scanned both bedrooms in that place. Both came back clean for Red Dust, but Graham had more than enough antidepressants and antipsychotic medications in the bathroom to fill up a shelf. So, he was either lying about her not being on the edge, or he is the one taking them.” He took in her disbelief and tapped his wrist comms. A projection of his recent photos appeared, proving exactly what he had said. “I couldn’t let him get too close to me because I needed room to manoeuvre. If he became possessed, both of us could be in danger.”

  She reclined in her seat and looked at the dashboard, pretending to check for any updates on the display to get away from his scrutinising eyes. “You could have handled it better…”

  “I could have, yes.” He touched her hand. His warm skin sent a shock through her system, and she retracted her hand, moving it close to her chest.

  “Don’t do that!”

  He inclined his head and his wrist comms activated. Upon reading his incoming message, he said, “Mr Brent was brought in to the DPD for further questioning with his lawyer. Before we get down to business, would you care to have some lunch? I am famished.”

  She ignored his request and activated the computer in their service car. “AID, bring us to the DPD headquarters, Silver District.”

  “Is that a no to lunch?” he inquired.

  “There’s a cafeteria there. You’re more than welcome to get something to eat while I get to the bottom of this case.”

  Devlin let out a soft laugh. “I do like it when you get serious about your work.”

  Against her will, her cheeks bloomed red, and she had to stare out the side window to keep him from noticing. Or that was what she told herself as she was certain he paid attention to the faintest twitches of her body.

  7

  Possibilities

  Back at the DPD, she did her best to avoid starting a conversation with Devlin as they headed for the HPD office. To her dismay, Roland Brent and his lawyer weren’t waiting in the interrogation room. Instead, the security guard was seated at her desk. His smug young lawyer of a lanky build, which she was certain Roland couldn’t afford on his salary, smiled at her and offered his hand.

  “I’m Jim Hayes. You must be the detectives in charge of this possession case,” the blonde lawyer said.

  Begrudgingly, she shook hands with the guy. “I’m Detective Storm and that’s Detective Madoc. Why don’t we do the questioning somewhere more private?”

  The lawyer checked his wrist comms for the time and smiled again. “By all means, but my client won’t be saying much to you today. Mr Brent doesn’t think you believe in his innocence.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. Her father once said that people who smile too much have the most to hide. She was beginning to see truth in that statement. This lawyer was going to cover everything up before she got a chance to poke around.

  “Please follow me,” Devlin ordered, getting everyone to trail behind him to the interrogation room. He pulled out a chair for Roland and his lawyer then took a seat opposite them.

  Annalise remained standing by the door. She didn’t want to get too close to her partner. His strange influence on her was starting to make her doubt what she felt towards him. She couldn’t possibly like him. Her heart belonged to Mavel. So, why did her body react to him as if Devlin was the one she longed for? There had to be something up with that.

  “Would your client be willing to explain to us why the body of Gale Green was moved post-mortem?” Devlin asked Jim, bringing her back to the conversation.

  The lawyer looked at his client and leant in, whispering something into Roland’s ear.

  She was ready to roll her eyes as it looked like one of those detective dramas on television where the bad guy would spin some sob story right about now.

  Roland rolled his shoulders. “I’m not aware of anyone moving the body. It must have been someone else.”

  Devlin arched his dark brow. “According to your previous statement, you shot Ms Green from point-blank range with two tranquilliser darts as she was running towards you in her possessed state.”

  “I would need to have you transfer a copy of that statement to my digital address,” the lawyer said. “We will review it and—”

  “There is nothing to review,” Annalise interjected, walking to the table to face Roland. “Tell us what happened! Why did you shoot her in the back? Why was the camera disabled in that hallway?”

  The lawyer jumped into the conversation with a stern expression. “Detective, this is a courtesy call. A pureblood in this city was attacked by a modded woman gone savage. Can you not see how terrified my client is?”

  Devlin rested his elbows on the table, folding his arms on the metal surface. “He must account for his actions, Jim. If he is innocent, shouldn’t he be cleared of suspicion right away?”

  “Why are you suspecting him to begin with?” Jim scoffed. “As I have said, this is a pointless waste of time. There is no reason for you to worry about a basilisk to such an extent. She should have kept her psychological state under control instead of forging her medical reports.”

  Annalise frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  The lawyer smirked. “My firm had a look into your victim’s medical appointments with her doctor. The basilisk receptionist working at that office has received a large compensation from Gale Green. I have already forwarded our findings to your department.”

  “I will have to double check that,” Annalise said.

  “There is no need. The woman confessed to the DPD officers this morning about her fraudulent actions. She was taken into cu
stody of another department.” Jim stood. Roland followed his lawyer’s movements and rose as well. “We will be on our way. As you can see, Mr Brent did nothing other than his duty as a security guard. A possessed modded was shot because she was forging her records. I believe more competent detectives would call it an ‘open and shut’ case.”

  In disbelief, she glanced at her partner for support. Devlin’s expression didn’t betray what he was thinking. Annalise had grown accustomed to him being able to easily counter the suspect or lead them into a trap. Why isn’t he saying anything? Does he want me to intervene?

  Their eyes met, and she sensed that he was going to let Roland go. She was prepared to protest when Devlin smiled and shook hands for the second time with the lawyer and his client.

  “Thank you for your time, Mr Hayes, Mr Brent,” he said.

  “Good to know we have come to an understanding,” Jim replied, ushering his client out of the interrogation room with a cocky smirk.

  “I’m sorry, but what was that?” she snapped at her partner. “Why did you let him walk out of here?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t you see what is happening here?”

  “Yes, a guy who killed a modded woman is going to get away with it!”

  “No, Annalise. You’re missing the key points again.” Devlin sat on the edge of the table, meeting her stare. “First, I want you to calm down and forget this case has anything to do with the modded or purebloods.”

  Begrudgingly, her shoulders relaxed. She was eager to find out where he was going with this. “Okay. I’ll try. What am I missing?”

  “Let’s throw out some possibilities of what happened to our victim to get a clearer picture, agreed?”

  “Fine.”

  “Good.” He folded his arms and tapped his chin with his index finger. “Ask yourself, why did Gale go to the institute after working hours?”

  Annalise rested her back against the wall as she thought of possible reasons. “She was either called there by Sage or was working overtime.”

  He nodded. “At a prestige school such as Montgomery Institute, what was it like when you studied there? Were any of the security measures ever disabled?”

  “Now that you mention it, no. My father was ridiculously strict when it came to what school I went to. At the time, Sage always went on about how they have a daily maintenance of all systems done by an onsite engineer in the morning.”

  “Which means someone had deactivated the security feed when no one was looking. That person had to have access to the security office and the cameras.”

  Annalise’ eyes lit up, and she edged closer to him. “Roland had access to it with his security clearance. It wouldn’t be hard for him to do that.”

  “Yes, we will have to find evidence to prove that, but you’re on the right track. Now, why would Gale be in the Science wing?”

  “The Science wing can lead to Sage’s office if you were to go out through the double doors and take the stairs.”

  Devlin slowly rose and took a step towards her. “So Gale was working late. She was most likely called to Gregory’s office and the shortest route at the time was past the Science labs. On the way there, something must have caught her attention. After all, the security feed would not be turned off for a simple smoke on campus.”

  Annalise was ready to jump up and down when her brain clicked with where he was headed. “Oh my God, whatever it was had to do with Red Dust—the drug that enhances the brain’s processing and memory!” In her outburst of excitement, she hugged him.

  Devlin wound his arms around her, pressing her into his chest. “I am glad I could make you happy.”

  She froze, realising what she had done. “I didn’t mean to…”

  Taking a step back, he said, “I understand. There is no need to justify your actions.”

  She gave him an awkward nod.

  Devlin continued, “It is obvious that the principal is covering up whatever happened at that school. I have heard of Jim Hayes, and his services don’t come cheap. He only works for the rich and, since our suspect doesn’t belong to the Golden District category, someone important must be backing him.”

  “We could try tracking the money,” she offered.

  “Without a warrant, that would be next to impossible. And, as you may have guessed, no judge would willingly provide that unless we have solid evidence.” He shrugged. “Right now, we have nothing but a theory.”

  She pouted. “Aren’t you supposed to be some bad-ass secret agent who has connections everywhere? You did work for Falcon.”

  He chuckled. “Are you disappointed I no longer work for them?”

  “No, I meant—”

  “I know what you meant, Annalise. As a matter of fact, I do know a judge or two. I will give them a call to see if there is anything they can do.”

  Annalise’s wrist comms went off, and she checked her messages. Chief wanted to see her in his office. She swallowed a ball of nerves forming in her throat. Hopefully, it would have nothing to do with that deleted interview recording from earlier.

  She stood in front of the Chief with a lopsided smile, or more like a grimace because she didn’t know what to say to him when he pressed her about the deleted recording. The system logged it as tampering with the data, and AID was certain there were no connection malfunctions in the area at the time. Damn technology.

  “Mind explaining this to me, Storm? Why did you tamper with that recording? I should dismiss you on the spot, but I am giving you the benefit of the doubt to explain yourself and your actions,” Chief snapped, running his hand over his balding scalp.

  She sighed as she walked around the chair across from him and slumped into it. “I was worried that the case will be taken away from me. I no longer believe that it’s a possession case, sir. I believe the basilisk was murdered in cold blood to cover up a drug operation going on in the Montgomery Institute.”

  He probed her with his steely gaze, seemingly to make sure she was telling the truth. A moment later, he blew out a breath. “Why is it every time you get a case, it turns into a mess?”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Honestly? I’ve got no idea. I have terrible luck, it seems.”

  “That you do,” he agreed, visibly relaxing. “No more tampering with the evidence, Storm. I will let you off with a warning. But, if you do it again, I will be forced to kick you off the force. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “One more thing…”

  Annalise pressed her lips into a tight line. Is he going to take my case away and forward it to Narcotics or Homicide?

  He met her worried stare. “How is this arrangement working out for you and your new partner?”

  Relief washed over her, and she shrugged. “We’re adjusting to one another, I guess.”

  “Good. I am not against office romance, and I understand you two are about to be engaged—”

  “What?” She shot out of her seat, her eyes burning with suppressed anger. “Where did you hear that from? If Devlin told you, I will strangle him where he stands!”

  “It was your mother. She and my wife were at a salon together in Silver the other day.”

  Annalise ground her teeth. Her mother still had her hopes up that Annalise would wake up from her need to be a detective and join the army of pureblood housewives. “We are not getting engaged.”

  “I have nothing else to say. You’re dismissed.”

  “What about my case? Aren’t you going to pass it on to another department?”

  Chief began typing something on his terminal when he added, “There is no evidence to support that it’s anything other than a possessed attack. While that is the case, it’s in our jurisdiction, and I think you are too stubborn to let go of it.”

  She grinned. “Thank you, sir!”

  “Don’t just stand there all day, get to work,” he barked.

  She walked out of his office with her spirits lifted. The first time she was faced with Chief Sunderland
, she thought he was a sexist bastard who wanted to give her a hard time for being a Storm. As weeks went by, she was beginning to see his true colours. He cared for his team and did his best to protect them. At the Academy, when she was handed a slip with her future department’s name, she thought it was the end of the world to be working for Human Possession Department. Now, she believed it was the best thing that could have happened to her.

  Humming a tune, she headed for her desk. On the way, Calla bumped into her and, to steady Annalise, she grasped her by the shoulders.

  The flare scanned the room quickly with her red eyes. Noting that no one else was around, she whispered, “There’s something wrong with your partner.”

  Annalise’s eyes bulged. “Is he sick? Where is he?”

  Calla shook her head, making her blonde hair with red streaks dance around her small face. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel weird being around him.”

  “You too?” Annalise pulled her to the coffee area where they could talk in private. Once there, she poured herself a cup of coffee to make their conversation seem as nothing more than innocent office gossip.

  Calla prepared a cup of tea as well. “Not in the same way as you, I bet. You hold a sexual interest in him, whereas I don’t.”

  “I don’t have any feelings for him!” Annalise hissed, trying to keep her voice low.

  The flare rolled her eyes. “What I was going to say is that when I met him in the corridor and touched his shoulder, I couldn’t get a read on him.”

  Annalise frowned. “Maybe you didn’t touch him properly and the shielding from his badge was active?”

  “No. I felt his muscles under my palm. He most definitely managed to block me out with his mind alone.”

  This was Greek to Annalise. She wasn’t well acquainted with how flares functioned. She knew the basics: when they touched someone, they could induce or read emotions of others. “So, he’s what? Strong-willed? Can’t be read?”

  “He’s something alright,” Calla muttered.

  Jamen strode up to them and nudged Calla’s elbow. “No time for tea breaks. We have to get going.” His eyes briefly met with Annalise’s, and he inclined his head in greeting. Afterwards, they left the office, leaving Annalise to stand there, pondering what exactly Calla told her about Devlin.