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

by May Freighter

  “Two months ago, Judy came to me, asking me to allow for the security officers to leave the Science labs unlocked at night. When I demanded what she was trying to do, she used blackmail to keep me quiet.” Sage leant forwards, searching their faces for something. “I did it because I couldn’t let this school fall into chaos. Many important people send their kids here for the sole reason that we will take good care of them.”

  Devlin shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not interested in your self-preservation statements. Red Dust can be used in low doses to increase brain activity and improve memory. The Medical Sciences committee has imposed strict laws on this city as there were cases of students suspiciously overachieving in their tests and then committing suicide. I have checked your school’s scores last night for the past ten years. Your students are well above average in their academic subjects.”

  “Are you implying I’m feeding these drugs to my students?” Sage shouted, rising from his seat like a tidal wave.

  “Are you?” Devlin stared him down, and the principal shrunk back into his executive chair.

  Sage sucked in a breath through his flaring nostrils. “No. I would never do such a thing! It is illegal and the side effects are not worth it.”

  Annalise tapped Devlin on the shoulder. “We have to find this Judy Wilson. She must be the one running the drug operation at this school.”

  He nodded and expectantly looked at Sage. “Call her in.”

  Sage grimaced. “I can’t. She disappeared on the same night Gale was killed.”

  “Great, she’s on the run,” Annalise grumbled, glaring at the principal. “This could have been avoided if you had told us the truth earlier!”

  Devlin raised a brow at her, and her stomach clenched. Was he suggesting she should do the same? Returning her attention to the principal, she planted her palms on his desk and leant in until their faces were only inches apart. “Are you willing to testify that Roland Brent killed Gale Green in cold blood?”

  Sage returned her burning stare. His face had become creased with more wrinkles as the wheels in his head turned. “It would affect the reputation of this school.”

  Devlin stepped closer to them, saying, “Do you want to risk being brought up on drug distribution charges? There’s always the possibility you couldn’t clean up the labs entirely. A few specs of the drug would be enough to bring you to the DPD HQ with us.”

  “Fine,” Sage snapped, shifting away from them. “I will testify.”

  Annalise flashed him her victory smile. “Glad you saw some sense.”

  “Give us the home address and emergency contact details for Judy Wilson,” Devlin ordered.

  Gregory opened up his terminal and, a minute later, the data was uploaded to their wrist comms. Annalise skimmed the info. The woman was married. Her husband, Fred Wilson, lived in Silver and worked for ETek as a low-level technician. Would Mrs Wilson abandon her husband to escape justice or was he in on it?

  “We should test the Science labs,” Devlin said, getting her attention.

  Sage ran his hand through his white hair. “Is that really necessary?”

  “We need to know what else she was cooking in there,” Devlin replied, his pleasant exterior deteriorating faster than a meteorite entering the atmosphere. “I need the access code to the private offices.”

  Begrudgingly, the principal tapped the authorisation commands into his wrist comms. “There, you should receive the access code in a minute or two.”

  They left the principal’s office, and she trailed behind her partner to the Science labs.

  Annalise took a look around. Although it had been years since she was last here, the long lacquered tables, brass sinks, racks of chemicals up against the walls, and eerie mannequins were still there. The mannequin that irked her the most was one of a dissection of a modded woman. Their biological structure was almost the same as that of the purebloods, yet her teacher loved to demonise them and paint their existence as a plague rather than a natural occurrence, or as natural as humans playing gods in the twenty-second century was.

  Devlin activated the small circular drone Clive had given them. He left it to hover around the room, scanning the surfaces.

  She couldn’t help taking another look at her partner. He was pale, and not in a good way. She could tell he was struggling to stand as he rested his back against one of the nearby walls.

  “Are you going to keep staring at me?” he asked, meeting her gaze.

  Annalise managed a smile. “You’re in need of rest. I don’t think you being here is a good thing.”

  He was about to come her way but staggered and fell to his knees. Quick on her feet, Annalise caught him. She gently helped lower him to the floor and touched his forehead. “You’ve got a fever again.”

  “I’m fine,” he muttered, brushing her hand away.

  She stood and pointed her index finger at him. “Stay there and don’t move. I’ll bring you some water. Afterwards, we’re going to get you home where you can rest.”

  “Anna—”

  “No excuses!” She ran out of the lab and followed her memory to the cafeteria. He could catch an infection or his wound could heal badly. She felt helpless and annoyed at the same time. Why couldn’t he be a normal guy and not someone who was Falcon’s ex-employee?

  At the cash register, she paid for a bottle of water and made her way back. Her mind kept creating different scenarios of his demise, and she came to realise that on a certain level, she did care whether he was alive or not. She clutched the bottle in her hand. Of course, I care about him. He’s my partner! There is nothing wrong with looking after the person who is meant to watch my back.

  She heard Devlin’s voice coming from the labs and slowed her pace. As she got closer, she noticed that he was talking to someone.

  “…need to hurry up, son. The succession announcement is only three months away, and I know how hard you have worked to prove your worth,” a woman’s voice came from the speaker of his comms. “But, if you can’t do it, throw in the towel now.”

  “Nothing has been decided!” he replied, becoming agitated. “I will get it done. I can see the—” He stopped mid-sentence and lowered his voice. “I will call you back.” Then, he projected his voice to the lab’s doorway. “Annalise, I know you’re there. I didn’t expect you to be someone who enjoyed eavesdropping.”

  She peered around the door with a sheepish smile on her face. He remained seated on the floor, with his back rested against the cupboard door. “I didn’t mean to do that…”

  “You’re a cop, curiosity is in your nature,” he said, waving for her to come closer. “Can I have that water now?”

  Annalise handed him the bottle and squatted beside him. “This may sound odd, but what was that about succession?”

  He took a long drink from the bottle. “My brother and I are in a bit of a…disagreement on how we should run our mother’s company when she resigns.”

  Her brows rose. “Your mother owns a company?”

  “Yes. It’s nothing you’ll know about, I’m sure.”

  “What’s stopping you from being the one chosen by her? She sounded like she wanted you to take over.”

  He nodded. “She does, but our investors don’t. They would rather have my brother than me. Plus, I do not meet the criteria.”

  “What’s the criteria?”

  Their eyes met, and he took her hand. His single touch sent a current through her, making her swallow hard. Skin contact with him had a strange effect on her body and had her questioning what she felt for him.

  “I have to get married before the announcement.” Devlin gauged her reaction as she staggered backwards. “It’s not what you are thinking, Annalise. Yes, originally, I wanted to marry you because of the title, but I have grown fond of you.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You can’t be serious… And what’s my father getting out of this? Is that company going to give him a lot of money for selling me off like some livestock?”

  “I
have told you the reason not long ago. We have been engaged since we were children. This circumstance pushed the date forward. I would have waited a few more years and tried to get to know you better instead of forcing you into this mess.”

  Annalise was at a loss for words. All along, she wasn’t sure what to make of his sudden interest in her, but now she knew. It had nothing to do with her as a person and everything to do with some game of succession. Her heart gave a painful squeeze. “Whatever it is, I’m sure women are lining up to marry you. Take your pick and leave me out of this.”

  She turned on her heel and strode out of the room, ignoring his calls for her to come back. There was no way she would fall for his tricks again, regardless if he was hurt. A man who was willing to toy with her feelings was never going to be a good fit for her.

  At the car park, she climbed into her car. Her body was shaking, and she couldn’t figure out why she was reacting in such a way. Devlin was nothing to her. Her heart belonged to one man and one man only. She wasn’t about to take a dive head-first into a loveless marriage with a pureblood.

  Devlin knocked on her window, startling her. “Annalise, our work here isn’t finished.”

  “You can finish it up while I go looking for Judy Wilson.” She drove off.

  An hour later, she was in front of the Science teacher’s house in Silver. Judy and her husband lived in the quiet part of the district in a cosy bungalow. It looked nothing like a drug dealer’s den. There were no expensive cars, bodyguards, or lavish decorations. The house was simple with a red tiled roof and cream-coloured walls, much like the others in this cul-de-sac.

  She rang the doorbell and waited. When no one came to answer the door, she checked the time on her wrist comms. It was too early for anyone to be home from work. Annalise groaned. She should have paid more attention to the time instead of rushing off like a spoiled kid who didn’t get what they wanted. But, this gave her a chance to do what she had been itching for since Mavel left. She got back in the car and drove to the Green District.

  Once she parked outside of Mavel’s home, she scanned the area to see if anyone looked suspicious. The street was empty, so she got out of her car and edged to the front door. She needed to know if his family had heard anything from Mavel. He loved his mother and would never abandon her.

  She knocked on the door, and Christine opened it.

  The woman’s eyes rounded with surprise. “Ms Storm, what brings you here?”

  Annalise motioned at the house. “Could I come in? I have some questions for you.”

  “I’m not sure it’s such a good idea,” Christine replied sternly and started closing the door.

  Annalise reacted faster than her brain could process the information and stuck her foot in the gap. There was a good chance Mavel’s mother could break Annalise’s foot with her beast strength. But, she also knew that would mean Christine would be harming a pureblood, which was severely punishable by law. “Please, it’s only a couple of questions, nothing more.”

  After a long pause, Christine let her in and ushered her into the living room. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “No. I won’t be staying long…” She licked her lips. The questions were right there, on the tip of her tongue. Is Mavel okay? Is he staying hidden? Has he said anything about me? What came out was something she didn’t expect. “Has Falcon come looking for him?”

  Christine’s cat-like eyes flared silver. “I didn’t want to say this because my son holds great affection for you, but you should move on. Mavel won’t be coming back here. I’m sure Falcon is watching our every move. You being here is not doing him any favours. Let it rest and forget about him.”

  “I can’t do that!” Annalise grabbed the woman’s arm. “I—I have feelings for him.”

  “A pureblood like you and someone like him can never be together. Believe me, I have tried to cling to my happiness once, and it brought us immeasurable pain.”

  “Are you talking about your affair with James Steinberg?”

  Christine tore her hand out of Annalise’s hold and slowly sank into a seat on her sofa. “So you know about that, too?”

  Following her lead, Annalise settled next to her, tucking her hands under her. “Can you tell me what happened? Why did you two stop being together?”

  “Firstly, you need to know that I wasn’t always a worker. As a teen, I used to serve James’ friend, Edward. The three of us got along famously, and the boys never made me feel like I was anything less than them. Years passed faster than I could keep track of them, and I found myself in a situation where Edward became gravely ill with an incurable autoimmune disease. By then, James was beginning his political studies at the university and came to visit every chance he got.”

  Christine’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she went on, “My master told me the truth of how James felt about me a week before his passing. We realised our feelings were mutual and decided to give it a shot in secret, away from prying eyes of his parents and society.” She smiled fondly and wiped at the wet trail on her cheek. “Our happiness didn’t last long. I became pregnant while he was trying to hire me as a servant. The petition was immediately declined by the Transition Office as I was deemed unfit for service. His parents, too, put pressure on him. He was to become their golden star in politics. They weren’t about to let a modded woman ruin it.”

  Annalise intertwined her fingers in her lap. “That baby was Mavel?”

  “Yes. James hired a modded man to act as my guard and Mavel’s father, making it seem like everything was normal. It worked out well, and we became good friends fast. Three years passed, and our pretences grew into feelings. We had Amy a year later.”

  “What happened to James? Didn’t he want to stay by your side?” Annalise asked.

  Christine’s lips shaped into a sad smile. “James and I were never meant to be. He became a politician and married a pureblood with whom he had two children.” She took Annalise’s hand, spreading warmth through her. “Wherever my son is, I’m sure he’s doing fine. But, heed my advice, Ms Storm. Stay away from the modded.”

  Annalise retracted her hand. “What are you trying to say?”

  “You and Mavel, it’s not meant to be. You will end up in the same situation as James and I, where you will eventually need to choose between love and survival. And, sometimes, love is not enough.”

  Annalise was numb when she left Christine’s home and got into her car. It was true that their statuses were different. If she was to have children with him, the modded genes would dominate her own and their children would be born as beasts. Her parents would never forgive her, but she was ready to give up her happiness for him. She covered her eyes with her hand. This had to be the reason why Mavel left her. He knew she would sacrifice all she had to flee with him to the shadows, and he didn’t want to drag her through the mud. Even now, he was protecting her in his own way.

  Sucking in a deep breath to push back the oncoming wave of tears, she started the car and drove back to Silver.

  13

  Missing

  Annalise arrived in front door of Judy Wilson’s home a second time that day. She checked the clock on her wrist comms, but she knew that someone was at home. The light in the living room was on. Striding to the door, she rang the doorbell and the answer came almost instantly.

  An older man with greying short hair and a trimmed beard wearily assessed her, betraying slight disappointment through the slump of his shoulders. “May I help you?”

  She showed him her badge and activated her wrist comms to record their conversation. “I’m Annalise Storm, a detective with the HPD. Is your wife at home?”

  “No. She’s not been home for days,” he admitted, and she believed him. His grief-stricken face showed every emotion. The dark half-moons under his eyes backed his words, too.

  “When was the last time you saw her? And why didn’t you contact the authorities if she’s missing?”

  He scratched the back of his head. “Judy someti
mes liked to work in the lab for days at a time. She loves her work and has a tendency to forget to leave me a message, so this wouldn’t be the first time she had forgotten to inform me. Today, I called her number, and she didn’t respond. Then, I contacted the school, and the receptionist told me she hadn’t come in.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I heard a modded got possessed at Montgomery Institute—”

  Annalise nudged his shoulder. “Sir, the modded you’re talking about was murdered. She didn’t get possessed. I need to find out where your wife could have gone. Do you happen to know of any places she frequents or likes?”

  Fred took in a deep breath, but his anxiety didn’t seem to go away. He opened the door wider and indicated for Annalise to enter. “Please, come and have a seat. I will prepare a list of places she enjoyed visiting.”

  Edging inside, Annalise closed the door. She walked behind Fred to a minimalistic living room where he picked up a digital tablet and started tapping away on the screen. Since she had nothing else to do, she asked, “Could I take a look around?”

  “Of course. I’ll get the list ready for you in five or so minutes, Detective.”

  She smiled pleasantly and scanned the photographs on the wall of a happy couple and two children. Since the children were nowhere in sight and some photos showed them growing up into adults, she assumed they no longer lived with their parents.

  “Could she have gone to see her children?” she asked.

  Fred’s expression fell. He blew out a breath and staggered to a seat of the nearby L-shaped sofa. “Our children were in an accident abroad five years ago. Judy and I have had no one but each other since.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry for your loss, sir.” She pursed her lips. In the photos, they looked like a family full of love and laughter. It must have hit the parents hard to lose both children at once. Was this what drove Judy to become a criminal? “Did you or your wife have any financial troubles?”