DETECTIVE'S POV:
The heavy door of the forensics room clicked shut behind Ariana Spencer. The moment her footsteps faded down the corridor, my junior officer, Tony, stepped up beside my desk, looking deeply unsettled.
"Sir, if you don't mind... can I ask you a question?" Tony hesitated, shifting his weight.
"Go ahead," I said, not looking up as I flipped through Percy's sparse case file.
"Why were you being so harsh on that woman? She seemed completely innocent, sir."
I let out a cold, humorless chuckle and finally looked up at him. "Because my job is to be harsh, Tony. Pressure makes criminals crack. It makes them open their mouths sooner rather than later. They need to know right off the bat that they can't fool me with their little manipulation tactics."
"But how can you be so sure she's a criminal?" Tony pressed, his voice full of naive defense. "She looked completely devastated. You saw her face when I lifted that sheet, she was full of genuine grief and loss."
"Listen to me carefully," I said, leaning back in my chair and pointing my pen at him. "A criminal never walks into a police station wearing a sign that says *'I did it.'* You have to read between the lines. I've been doing this long enough to tell by looking at a person's face that she is not as innocent as she plays. Think about the timeline, Tony. A girl reconciles with the ex-boyfriend who dumped her. A few days later, that same ex-boyfriend completely vanishes off the face of the earth. In my book, that points to one glaring motive: revenge. She killed him."
Tony looked skeptical, but I kept going.
"Did you see how perfectly every single piece of evidence was removed from his body and the original crime scene six years ago? It's like someone tried to erase his entire existence from society just so they wouldn't get caught. That takes calculation. That takes a cold mind." I snapped the file shut. "Anyway, enough debating. Give me the address to the victim's old apartment. I'm going to go down there myself and see what kind of evidence we can dig up."
Tony nodded reluctantly and handed over the file.
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the apartment complex. The hallway was quiet, smelling of old dust and concrete. But when I reached Percy's door, my hand froze on the knob. It was already unlocked, sitting slightly ajar.
Someone's inside.
My instincts flared. I drew my service weapon slowly, keeping my movements completely silent. I pushed the door open with the tip of my boot, clearing the corners of the room one by one, ready for an ambush.
As I rounded the corner into the living room, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Standing right by the couch was Ariana Spencer. She didn't look startled. In fact, she had that exact same unreadable, melancholic expression on her face. A dark thought crossed my mind, she knew I was coming for evidence, so she beat me here to make sure everything was scrubbed clean.
I frowned deeply, lowering my weapon before sliding it back into my holster. I cleared my throat loudly to break the silence.
She turned around slowly, her eyes meeting mine. "You're here?"
"That is the exact same question I should be asking you," I countered, crossing my arms as I stepped into the room. "I am here conducting a official homicide investigation. But why exactly are you here, Mrs. Spencer?"
"I... I came here to recall the last moments I spent with him in this place," she stammered, her voice dropping to a fragile whisper as she looked around the dusty room. "All the memories we shared here..."
"Save it," I interrupted coldly, cutting her off before she could spin another sob story. "Your grief isn't going to bring him back to life. But your cooperation might. So..." I took a deliberate, intimidating step closer to her, towering over her slightly. "...how about you let me find the evidence instead of standing in my way and interrupting my investigation?"
I wasn't asking for her help. I was giving her a dead-serious warning to stay out of my territory.
Ariana wiped a stray tear from her cheek, swallowing hard. She gave me a tight, reluctant nod and began walking toward the front door. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, I called out to her one last time, making sure my voice echoed in the empty apartment.
"And remember one thing, Mrs. Spencer... sooner or later, I always catch the killer. No matter what they do to try and stop me."
She froze. For a long, tense moment, she just stared back at me, her eyes searching mine. But she didn't say a single word. She just turned around, opened the door, and left me alone in the shadows of the apartment.