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

by May Freighter

  “Annalise?” Her mother touched her shoulder. “Are you serious about this?”

  Giving a nod, Annalise unlocked the door to her apartment and entered it. Her mother didn’t follow, giving her the space she needed to think things through. She grabbed her coat off the hook by the door and searched the living room with her eyes, for what, she didn’t know. Not finding anything that caught her attention, she left her home and headed to work.

  Her hopes for a peaceful journey to the DPD were demolished the second she met with Devlin. He waited for her in front of her car in the underground car park.

  “What do you want?” She pushed him away from her door to unlock her car.

  Devlin moved enough for her to get closer to him but not enough for her wrist to reach the scanner. She scowled as she looked up at his handsome face. His eyes reflected hidden interest and questions his mind was busy conjuring, yet she wasn’t about to let him interrogate her.

  She raised a brow. “Well?”

  “I would like a ride to work,” he replied smoothly.

  She knew that wasn’t what he wanted to say and didn’t bother pressing him for the truth. It would save her time and possible anti-wrinkle treatments if they got to work, sooner rather than later.

  “Sure. Get in,” she said, and he stepped out of her way.

  In the car, she announced the destination to the computer and waited for him to climb in. His long legs seemed to be restricted in the cramped space—much like Mavel’s used to be when he drove her around the city. Her heart gave a heavy thump in her chest at the memory. She wanted him back. She wanted to see his cat-like silver eyes focused solely on her while he made love to her, or to see his smile full of love and affection which he had to hide from the rest of the world. He couldn’t stay by her side, she knew that, not when Falcon was searching for him.

  As the car left the Tower, she faced Devlin. “Is Mavel still wanted by Falcon?”

  His brows lifted a notch before his gentlemanly façade returned. “I no longer work for them, or have you forgotten that titbit?”

  “How do I know you are telling the truth?”

  Devlin’s hot gaze travelled along her body. “Oh, my dearest Annalise, if only I told you half the things I know.”

  “Stop it with the flirting!” She pursed her lips and gripped the steering wheel tightly, although the car’s computer was in control.

  He broke the silence with a chuckle. “I understand. I will stop if it’s something you find to be utterly atrocious and it has no effect on you whatsoever.”

  Her hands peeled away from the wheel, and she took him in. His grey suit was pressed, his crisp white and black shirt stretched over his taut chest and stomach. She knew that if his buttons came undone, she would be faced with hard muscle from years of training. He didn’t have a single sliver of fat on him. Devlin was pure strength and power underneath his perfected disguise of a gentleman.

  He didn’t wait for her response and took hold of her hand. She tried to tug it back, but he held on with a vice-like grip. Raising her knuckles to his lips, he planted tender kisses on each one and measured her reaction by assessing her through those captivating blue oceans he had for eyes.

  “Stop…” she whispered, unable to extract any more protest out of her body.

  Why does he affect me so much?

  She reacted to him as if they were lovers for years, yet she had barely known him for a few weeks. How much of her childhood with him had she forgotten to have her heart racing like a falling star through the night sky?

  Instead of letting her go, he pulled her closer and grasped the back of her neck to keep their faces inches apart. Her free hand was trapped between her body and the armrest, so she couldn’t swat at him or fight him off.

  “Do you truly mean that? Do you want me to stop touching you?” he asked in a low, husky voice.

  Her words trembled as did her insides. “Y-yes…please.”

  “Liar.” He pulled away and, for the rest of the journey to the DPD, said nothing.

  Like a drum, her heart thumped in her chest. Her body became hot for reasons unknown to her, and she could no longer deny the fact that she wanted him—or, at least, her body did. Her mind, on the other hand, seemed as confused as a sailor in a desert.

  In the DPD car park, she erupted out of the car before he could make his way around to open the door for her. She ran past him into the building, passed the scanner at the door, and briskly walked to the lifts. As usual, people were taking forever, and he caught up with her in no time.

  Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she let out a sigh of relief when she spied Rios striding towards them.

  “Morning, lovely lady,” Rios chimed. He seemed oblivious to the awkwardness between her and Devlin.

  “Hey,” she said, creating some space for Rios to squeeze in next to her. “Did you get a new case?”

  Today, he wore some kind of tropical-style shirt with pink palm trees stitched onto the front. He draped his tanned arm over Annalise’s shoulders and pulled her in to study her with his grey eyes. They were almost hidden under his mop of dark curls. “Want me to whisper the details into your ear?”

  Next to them, Devlin chuckled.

  She shot them both a glare, and Rios separated from her with a smirk.

  “She’s always playing hard to get,” Rios said with false disappointment.

  “Tell me about it,” Devlin replied.

  Des—Rios’ beast—swayed her hips as she glided to the group, and they piled into a lift. She gave Devlin’s ass an open assessment. “Aren’t you the Falcon guy?”

  Rios’ amusement died on his face, but Devlin seemed unaffected by her comment.

  “No, I no longer work for them,” Devlin replied, meeting Des’ doubting stare.

  “I guess you must have quit. Who in their right mind wants to work for the HPD at a rate of two thousand credits a month? How much did you get over at Falcon?” Des inquired.

  “Sixty thousand, annually.”

  Rios and Des whistled at the same time, and the lift doors opened on their floor.

  “That’s one hell of a salary to lose out on,” Rios commented as they walked down the corridor.

  Annalise trailed behind them, slowly losing interest in the conversation. Rios had a point. Devlin would be losing a ton of money by transferring to the HPD. Living in Silver was quite expensive, as well, but not as overpriced as it was in the Golden District. She nibbled on the inside of her cheek, mulling over his actions and words until now.

  Is he trying to win me over and nothing else?

  For now, she didn’t have the time to think about it. Her case needed solving, and she had to pinpoint where Mavel was hiding out. Maybe if she talked to him, they could figure things out and meet up in secret.

  Mavel’s words remained engraved in her mind, ‘You could be harmed while they chase me. You could die, and it would tear me apart. I cannot risk you.’ Because of them, she had no choice but to find out if Devlin was trustworthy. If he was, she could try getting him to open up about Falcon and possibly bring their dirty laundry out for the world to see.

  “Devlin,” she called out, drawing him and the others to a stop at the door to the HPD office. “We should check if Hopps found out anything from the autopsy.”

  “Good idea.” Devlin smiled at the other detectives. “I will see you both later.”

  Annalise scrunched up her brows. When did they become so friendly with one another? Then again, Rios could get along with almost anyone with his excessively laid-back personality.

  Devlin motioned for her to take the lead. “Shall we?”

  She made sure to stop off at the cafeteria to grab a sandwich that she devoured and prepared a cup of green tea for Hopps. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived in the Medical Examiner’s den where he had fallen asleep next to what appeared to be remains of a woman.

  “Hopps?” Annalise asked, nudging him awake.

  The M.E. sluggishly sat up and wiped the drool
off of his chin. “What? What is it now?”

  “Here.” She offered him the thermal cup with his tea, and his eyes widened with alertness.

  “What’s the occasion?” Hopps asked, sitting up straight. He lifted the lid off the cup and checked the contents before taking a long, satisfied sip.

  “Have you done an autopsy on our victim yet?” she asked.

  Hopps slid off his stool and, stretching, dragged his feet over to the freezers. He pulled out the middle shelf with the body of Gale Green resting on a chrome plated slab. On the door, he tapped the screen and an image of AID—DPD’s AI—appeared.

  “Play the highlights of the autopsy for Ms Gale Green, body number two-eight-oh-nine,” Hopps ordered.

  “Understood. Commencing playback…” the AI’s holographic projection replied with a pleasant smile. “Autopsy record for victim Gale Green. Gender: female. Genetic type: basilisk. Age: thirty-two. The cause of death: synthetic curare overdose. Faint post-mortem bruising found on the victim's upper arms…”

  “Pause the recording,” Devlin said, stopping the AI’s report. “Can we take a look at the bruising?”

  The M.E. lifted Gale’s left arm and pointed to the finger-shaped yellow marks on her bluish skin.

  “Do you believe the body was moved?” Devlin’s intense gaze burned into Clive’s.

  “Yes, the victim was moved into the position we have found her in. The drones also picked up traces of something odd on the clothes of this woman…”

  “And what was that?” Annalise asked, edging closer.

  “A street drug commonly produced in the Black District—Red Dust.”

  6

  No Touching

  “What would a school secretary have to do with Red Dust?” Annalise voiced her thoughts.

  Hopps shrugged. “You guys are the detectives. You’ll need to find out if she was involved with a drug ring. If she was, the case will need to be transferred to Narcotics.”

  “How much of the drug was found on her?” Devlin asked, folding his arms.

  “Only trace amounts on her clothing. She could have brushed against someone who was involved with the trade, but the question remains. You guys have to dig up the facts. There is no point in speculating,” Clive replied.

  Annalise met Devlin’s eyes. “We need to talk to that security officer again. If the body was moved, his story has holes in it.”

  “Good idea. I will talk to Chief and get a few officers to pick him up and bring him here. But, before the interview with the man, we should search the victim’s place for any traces of the drug,” Devlin suggested.

  Hopps ambled over to his desk and picked up a round white sphere the size of a walnut which he tossed to Annalise.

  Catching it before it hit her face, she raised a brow. “What is it?”

  “It’s the newest and smallest CSU drone we’ve received from ETek. I’m sure it will come in handy when you’re searching the victim’s home.” He returned to her side and pointed at the blue circle on top of the sphere. “Press that button and it will do the rest.”

  Annalise nodded, stashing the drone into her coat’s pocket.

  “We will be off,” Devlin said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

  She scowled at him and quickened her pace to separate from his touch. Once they were out of the morgue, she folded her arms over her chest and whipped around to face him in the corridor. “Do you think this is funny?”

  His sensual lips tugged at one corner. “What is?”

  “You’re touching me everywhere we go. I’m this close”—she pinched her thumb and index finger together—“to filing a sexual harassment complaint against you.”

  “Would that make you happy?”

  “Yes! Yes, it would.”

  He chuckled and started heading for the lifts. With his casual retreat, she fumed even more. How could a man so educated, respected, and good-looking be such a complete ass? Then, she recalled that not a single man in her life was anything else. An exasperated groan left her mouth, and she stalked after him. At the end of the day, she didn’t have time to waste by standing around, mumbling to herself. Human Possession Department had a strange reputation already, she wasn’t about to add to it.

  They got the address for the vic’s apartment in Silver from the institute’s secretary who seemed less than eager to provide the information. Annalise spent twenty minutes on her wrist comms, trying to convince the woman to transfer Ms Green’s employment files to her.

  Now that she stood at the front door of a cheap apartment close to the edge of Silver, she wondered why on earth the universe partnered her together with Devlin. And, the more she thought about his reason for joining the HPD, the less it became convincing. No one in their right mind wanted to work for that unit. Sure the pay was slightly better than average and the cases were scarce, mainly due to the fact that the modded didn’t get possessed too often, but the job involved dealing with modified humans day and night. Devlin seemed like a stickler for rules. He didn’t come across as someone who belonged in the Pro-Modded Party. If he did hold a membership there, her father would have thrown him off his balcony before he could say ‘alabaster’.

  Devlin knocked on the door, bringing her back to the now. His searching eyes scanned her face. “Thinking of something nice?”

  “Yeah, pushing you off the Tower’s balcony.”

  The door unlocked, and a man with a scruffy black beard and silver eyes met them. His bleached hair fell over his dark brows. His features showed her that he was a beast and his ironed grey shirt and jeans reflected his servant status. He wouldn’t be able to live in Silver without a master.

  “Hello, is this where Ms Gale Green resides?” Annalise asked.

  “Who’s askin’?” the guy in his mid-thirties responded, running his stern gaze over her small frame.

  She flashed her badge and saw the beast’s eyes widen. “We are with the HPD. Could we come in?”

  The man moved aside to let them enter. Shirts and jackets were slung over the back of the bar stools by the kitchen island and the sofa. What used to be green tiled flooring under her feet was now a shade of an apple pure. Some of the tiles managed to maintain the last two centimetres of their original colour around the edges with a decade-long grime creating rifts between them. To her right, two large windows let in the light as well as the chill from the outside. This place needed some insulation improvements. At the Towers, it would have gotten the management fired for such indifference and lack of maintenance. Would she end up living in a hopeless pit, too?

  “I was about to go out. My boss called and—” the beast began.

  “Wait.” Devlin activated his wrist comms recording. “I need your name and Citizen ID first.”

  “It’s Graham Green.” He proceeded to mumble his identification number into the comms. “Can I go now?”

  Devlin shook his head. “Not quite. Please state your relationship with the victim?”

  “Victim?” Graham’s nasally voice rose. “What’s happened to her?”

  “We are trying to find out, sir.” Annalise reached into her pocket for the CSU drone that Hopps gave her. “Would you mind if we scan the place?”

  Seemingly in shock, the man didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t even blink. A second later, his face fell and his eyes watered. “Is she…is she dead?”

  “Yes,” Devlin said, a little too fast for Annalise’s liking. He could have gently dropped the news of the woman’s passing. They were obviously close.

  “We were going to get married this spring…” Graham wiped at the stray tear that escaped him. His broad shoulders sagged, and he stumbled to the nearby sectional sofa. He sluggishly took a seat and with newfound determination asked, “When did this happen?”

  Annalise raised her hand, stopping Devlin from dumping another emotionless response on the guy. “Can you activate it? I’m going to talk to him.”

  “Are you certain?”

  She nodded and dropped the CSU drone into his awai
ting hand, then joined Graham on the sofa. Once Devlin left to check the bedroom, she activated her wrist comms for recording the rest of the interview. Taking hold of his shaking hands, she managed a smile and met his judging stare. “Ms Green passed away yesterday morning. Did you not notice her being missing?”

  “We lead separate lives. She recently got re-drafted as a servant for some rich pureblood in Silver. It had doubled her pay and workload. I was out all week with my boss, driving him to his business appointments to notice anything was amiss. I should have—”

  “You’re not at fault.” She patted his clenched hands. “But, I need to know if she was under a lot of stress recently. Has she completed her psych evaluations prior to working for her new master?”

  Graham cringed at the word ‘master’. It didn’t please her to use it, but, in Divinity, there was no other politically correct term to be utilised in such situations. “She passed her physical and psychological evals, yeah. She seemed happy, never complained once. Especially, not since she got to work at the institute.”

  His answer made her question the security officer’s retelling of the events during their interview yesterday. If Gale was happy and wasn’t under any stress, she couldn’t become possessed and attack him. Did Roland murder her in cold blood?

  She pressed her lips into a grim line. The case would be taken out of their hands if that information got out. No one in Homicide would bother solving a modded person’s murder seriously, and it would become a cold case in no time. She couldn’t let that happen. Taking a moment to use her comms again, she deleted their conversation and restarted the record. She could blame it on data corruption or a bad reception later.

  Another question popped into her head. “How could she work at the institute and be a servant? Was her mas—” She cleared her throat and knotted her fingers in her lap. “Was her new boss there as well?”

  “Yeah, he runs the place, I think.”

  Annalise’s brows shot up. “Do you by any chance know their name?”