"I said no."
Miles leaned forward, the curl of the right side of his lips showing his dissatisfaction before it straightened, his face blank once again. The balding man opposite Miles looked even older under the intense lighting, the eye bags underneath his deep set eyes were now more pronounced. The chief of police, Derrick, slouched in his chair, holding a mug of steaming coffee, something that had now become Miles' source of alertness despite the fact that his heavy eyes longed to close and melt into that abyss of sleep but such a privilege no longer belonged to him. The nutty smell of the coffee almost caused him to have a headache, his vision slightly blurring before it came back to realization. His tongue slid over his lips, the left side unable to catch the moisture it laid on its chapped and pale surface.
"S-ir, you kno-w I am more tha-n capab-le."
Chief hummed before he took another gulp of the steaming coffee that looked hot enough to leave a permanent burn in his throat. He winced as he swallowed it down, his greek nose scrunched up which made more wrinkles form on his pale skin. He dropped the mug on the desk with a faint clink, the brown liquid sloshed in it before settling down. Chief clasped his hands together before resting them on the table.
"I know that, Miles. But in situations such as this, it would be easy to start thinking with your heart rather than your head."
"But si-r, I can assu-re you that wo-n't happen. Besides, you gav-e me this cas-"
"Yes. It was yours until I realized it was your father that had been killed. If I had known sooner, I wouldn't have given you the reins over it." Cheif studied the young man intently
Miles gritted his teeth in frustration, the heaviness around him thickening several degrees as he felt his right eye begin to burn. Taking a moment, he used the eyedrop to moisten his eye before returning his attention to the matter at hand.
"I prom-ise tha-t-"
"Miles, you know words can't reassure me of your capability in this case."
"Then le-t me sho-w you. Gi-ve me a chanc-e."
Chief sighed before massaging the bridge of his nose. Miles felt the familiar pool of frustration, the same feelings that arose when he was younger and nobody seemed to believe he could do anything. Hard work had brought him to where he stood today and he was going to keep it that way as long as he was given a chance at least. Miles hoped within him that the chief wouldn't call it quits for him handling the case because beyond wanting more responsibility, being the best detective he could be, he wanted to know who had killed his dad. Even though every single thing about that monster made him sick.
"Miles, as at now, our resources are stretched too thin. There are many cases that are demanding our attention and there is absolutely no time to waste and too many are delicate." Chief leaned back in his chair before flexing his fingers.
"Okay. How about this? You'll still be on the case, but you won't be leading it. You'll be assisting."
"But yo-u know I prefe-r to work al-one"
"I'm sorry Miles, you can't be a chooser in this situation. I'm ordinarily not supposed to even allow you anywhere near this but this is the only compromise I can make concerning this issue. Do you accept?"
Chief stretched his hand out, waiting for Miles to take it in acceptance.
Miles nodded, taking his hand before shaking it. Chief released his hand before stretching a little. He gave Miles a pointed look afterwards.
"Be careful though. Any wrong move and you won't be working on the case. Have I made myself clear?"
Miles nodded grimly.
"So, get back to work. I believe you have witnesses to interview with Detective Alice."
Miles walked out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as he had set foot into the hallway, he took a moment to inhale and exhale with his left eye still open, unblinking. He opened his right eye again, the sharp white light made him squint, contrasting greatly with the warm yellow light that bathed the chief's office. Miles shook his head and began to walk down the hallway, the white tiles were sparkling clean, the grey walls without a single mark or speck. Police officers and other workers alike walked through the hallway, weaving past each other as they chatted, most holding mugs of coffee. Miles almost smiled at that, most of them were most definitely coffee addicts. Though he wasn't any better. The right side of his lips curled downwards in a frown.
The thought of all that had happened while he was in the house continued to pester him. The most powerful thought was that his father was dead. The same shudder passed down his spine making him bunch his fists. Even calling him a father was beyond merciful, the thought of him made the same sick feeling conjure to life in his gut. Then there was his sister. His little sister known all around for her beauty, his competitor when they were younger.
He could almost faintly remember how his mother was always so fussy around her. Trying to get her more skin care, making sure she went to the spa at least once a month. He could still recall how she always forced her to eat healthy, go on diets, of course her father usually saved her from such but still she always tried as much as she could. Sometimes he was happy that his mother had never fully given him that attention. His heart panged, that familiar pain ringing in every beat. At least he felt like he did, the only thing she had ever done was ignore, criticize him and of course, drop him at birth.
The ridiculousness of the whole situation almost made him chuckle, a bitter one at that. He tried to shake off the stale feeling of his past. Since he went to that house four days ago, he hadn't stopped thinking about it, resurrecting memories that he had refused to acknowledge for so long. It tore open the wounds that he had tried to stitch by himself but now with the visit to his childhood home and of course his sister's coming, they had a part to play in making the memories and thoughts come back. Not leaving his father's death out of the picture which led to a confusing wave of feelings which he had a hard time trying to decipher.
He came face to face with the dark door with conference room sprawled on the plaque. He shook his head, knowing that this was time that he had to keep himself grounded from the fog that swirled around his brain. He grabbed the door knob before pushing it open.
Detective Alice stood by the side of the long table at the centre of the room, behind which a thin blonde woman sat. She turned at the sound of him coming in before tossing her red hair over her shoulder. She smiled in knowing which made the familiar annoyance rear its head once again but he refused to allow it to show on his features.
Miles walked towards the empty chair beside Alice before sitting.
"We would start the interview now." Alice looked up at the ceiling mounted microphone and after she was sure it was on, she turned back to look at the woman again.
"This is Detective Alice, badge number 816, conducting an interview with Mary, regarding the death of her neighbour, Tom Gates."
The mention of his name sent a rush of emotions through Miles but he kept them locked up as he always did, not allowing himself to register the simmering glimmers of his younger life. It had been almost 9 years since he left. He couldn't understand why he was still affected by this. His stomach twisted into knots as that loathing sensation smothered him.
"-please could you state your age and full name for the record?" Alice smiled at the woman. The young woman nodded, patting down her shiny blonde hair.
"My name is Mary Hills. I'm 23 years old."
"How do you know Mr. Tom Gates?'
"He, he is- well, was my neighbor." She said with a sniff, blinking rapidly with unshed tears in his eyes. Alice nodded solemly.
"The news is tragic, isn't it? What was he like?"
Mary leaned against the glass table, using a napkin to dab her teary eyes before putting it back in her purple purse.
"He was a wonderful man, always insisted on helping everyone. He was the life of every party. I wasn't born here in Rivera, but he was the one that helped me and my husband get settled in our house when we first moved here. He has helped us in so many ways that I've lost count," she broke off, swallowing visibly as she seemed to recount with so much gratitude on her face. Seeing someone praising the psycho Miles called his father was sickening, once again recalling that he was still the pretentious man he was, his image perfectly held up for others to only see that good man that was divorced unjustly that spent all his free time away from the opera helping people, the people that mattered anyway.
"He sounds wonderful . You were the one that called in the police and said you found his corpse, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Could you give me a brief rundown of it? Of how you found his corpse and whatever information you deem necessary to add."
Mary adjusted in the chair, folding her hands over her chest and Miles noticed the slight tremble that she tried to hide as she played with the hands of her pink knit sweater. A bead of sweat broke out on her forehead as her eyes glossed over. Miles watched her keenly, also wanting to hear what had really happened.
"I... The previous night or early morning rather, I heard a shout by past 12. I didn't think much of it especially because my baby started crying soon after. The next morning when I woke up by 9am maybe, I noticed that there was smoke coming from the window of his house. I ran to his house and tried to open the door but of course it was locked. I had to call my husband and he in turn got some others who helped us to break the door but by then he was-" she cut herself off again and finally the tears fell. Detective Alice went to stand beside the woman and rubbed her back, comforting her in whatever way she could. Miles watched the exchange with clenched fists, unable to understand the growing turmoil of emotions pulling at each other in his chest.
"Sometimes I.. I ...think it was my fault. If I had been quicker, maybe he would still be alive right now."
"No, don't say that. You did what you could do, that's all that matters. One more question before you leave; do you have any idea as to why anyone would want to kill him? Maybe a trait he has that could make more enemies for him than friends."
Mary touched her chin and was lost in thought for some moments before sighing. "I don't know. I haven't known him for so last night but as I said earlier he's a wonderful man. But it could be jealousy though, I mean he does play as the only pianist in the oldest opera house in the whole of the city plus he has many awards to his name on top of that. It may not be but that's all I can..... speculate." She gave a weak smile and Alice gave her a reassuring one in return.
"Well I-"
"Do yo-u by chance kno-w anyone that sel-ls liquid nitrog-en?"
Mary was startled by the question and Alice raised her brow, the question throwing off whatever annoyance she would have had for him butting in. Miles could feel the cogs working in his brain. He brought out his note and started jotting. That was one of the only reasonable explanations to the ice on the window pane. Currently with the risks that liquid nitrogen posed, it was banned but he knew that there would of course be people that would go behind the law to continue since it held a lot of purpose like breaking locks. Though when he thought about it, he wondered what it had been used for since the glass hadn't been smashed into pieces.
"No I don't."
Miles raised his head. Mary shook her head to enforce the idea then gave a strained smile. Miles figured she wouldn't, though he wondered whether tracking down whoever sold it could bring him closer to finding the criminal but he doubted since he for one he still wasn't entirely sure that it could have been the liquid nitrogen, though there was a high probability, and still he had no idea what it had been used for.
"-Thank you for your co-operation. I hope you-" Alice was obviously about to dismiss the woman when the door flung open. Arnold, a communications officer, came in with red cheeks.
"Detective Miles, sorry for interrupting but someone's here to see you."
Miles raised a brow and as if reading the unsaid question, Arnold answered with even hotter cheeks,
"Bella Cox."