Alaric finished up the autopsy report , checking the time , he picked his phone up , he tapped on a contact simply named ' The Liberator' , the phone rang for a while , but the other person finally picked up.
" Hallo ," a soothing voice rang out.
" Lys , I'm done with work, I had a long shift today and I have to be in early tomorrow , so can I crash at your place ? " Alaric asked.
" Yeah sure , did you have dinner ? " the voice asked.
Alaric chuckled and shook his head , " No , there was a case and I didn't even have time to eat lunch let alone dinner."
" A case ? " the voice asked , tone noticeably perkier.
A small smirk began to form on Alaric's face , " Yes , a very interesting one too," he cooed.
The other end of the line went silent for a while , finally a sigh came through , " I suppose you can't share any details with me . Well what do you want for dinner ? "
Alaric's smirk grew larger , " Whatever you're eating, Lys , I'll be over in a while , I just have to hand the autopsy report in."
" Hmm okay , when you arrive, let yourself in."
" I will , " Alaric replied before ending the call.
With a victorious smile on his face , he bounced over to the office of the Violent Crimes Unit . The detectives were still working hard. Cassius was hunched over a table.
Detective Belios was the first one to spot him , " Dr. Tolliver , is the autopsy report out ? ".
Cassius lifted his head at this , seeing Alaric coming over , he pulled him a chair , " Sit down , how is it ? "
Alaric handed the folder over to him . Cassius slowly leafed through the file.
" The fatal wound is the stab to the heart , from the internal analysis of the wound , the killer was quite determined , the stab is clean , no signs of hesitation , just one straight decisive stab."
Cassius lifted his head up at this , " But means the victim didn't struggle either.
" Bingo , we also found traces of Scopolamine in her system , and over here , " Alaric flipped to a page that had a photo of the victims arm , small punctures visible on it .
" Scopolamine ? isn't that a drug used to prevent motion sickness ? " Detective Beaumont asked.
" Yeah , and doesn't it come in tablet form ? " Detective Belios added.
"You are both correct; it is an anticholinergic drug used to inhibit nausea and motion sickness. Yes, we often find it in tablet form, primarily because the injectable form was banned five years ago, " Alaric explained.
" So our guy's using a banned drug on his victim, " Cassius cut in, his voice low , " Can we track the medicine ? "
Alaric nodded , " While it's banned there are some places that sell the drug illegally , you might find some clues over there."
" Thank you Alaric , is there anything else ? "
" Well we're still analyzing the foot print , the blood on the roses were confirmed to be from pigs , and we found some fibers on her wrists , they were sent to the lab , you'll get that report tomorrow. And that's all ."
Cassius nodded , " Thank you Alaric , heading home ? Want me to drive you ?"
" Nah I'm good , you haven't had much sleep yourself , I'm crashing at a friend's house nearby ," he said, staring directly at Cassius, who immediately understood.
" Okay , get there safely ."
Alaric nodded and he exited the office , he bounced outside and called a taxi , while waiting for the taxi , he appreciated the beauty of their city , Novara was known as a city that never sleeps , and that was extremely accurate , you could be here at an ungodly hours like 1am and it'll still be crowded, just as lively as it was during the day.
The taxi arrived and Alaric got in , " Take me to The Elysium please ."
" The Elysium , as in the luxury apartment complex ? Young man, you sure must be balling ," the taxi driver snorted . Alaric just smiled and nodded politely.
Sensing that his customer wasn't much of a speaker, the taxi driver continued the rest of their journey in silence. Soon, a tall building shaped like a spiral appeared before them; every twist and turn of the building was like an optical illusion, pulling a person in to get lost in its fluidity.
The taxi driver stopped in front of the security gate , Alaric paid him and got out , he approached the security gate and the security guard nodded at him , " Mr. Tolliver , we've been informed of your arrival beforehand , please go in , " the guard said emotionlessly, opening the gate for him.
Alaric nodded and thanked him before entering, he saw a bricked pathway leading towards the building illuminated by old-school Victorian lamps , the light yellow lighting gave the already luxurious area another touch of luxury. Alaric walked towards the building slowly , he really liked this place , so when Lysandra brought an apartment , he wanted to buy a apartment here too, but when he heard about the price , he quickly changed his mind , by no means was he poor, his job payed him quite well but the price of the apartment was the equivalent of 5 years of his salary. So now he just treats Lysandra's house as his own.
Near the building , the path splits into two , one path leading to the award winning garden designed by one of the greatest landscapers of their city , the garden was so famous that people often tried to sneak in to see it , but the security here was tough not even letting a fly through.
Alaric arrived in front of the building , he walked over to a palm scanner , this was the biometric scanner that grants you access to the building , only registered people can enter , thankfully Lysandra put him and Cassius down as secondary residents , allowing them to enter the building with ease.
The sliding glass door opened up , letting him enter , Alaric strode in and pressed on the elevator , within seconds the elevator arrived and he pressed on Lysandra's floor. The whole building has 56 floors , but thankfully Lysandra wasn't the biggest fan of living that high up so she settled on the 20th floor. Despite having that many floors , each floor except the first 5 floors, only accommodate 2 people each. Lysandra shares her floor with a nice old lady, a retired shaman, quite a unique pairing.
The elevator arrived at the 20th floor and Alaric got outside just in time to see the old woman stepping out of her home , " Mrs. Delucia , do you want me to hold the elevator for you ? Alaric yelled over.
" Oh yes please dearie , " the woman's high pitched voice rang out .
Alaric held the elevator for her and the old woman rushed over , " Oh thank you darling , visiting Lysandra again I presume ? "
" Yes Mrs. Delucia ," Alaric answered politely .
Mrs. Delucia clicked her tongue at this , " I really don't know how in the world is someone as sweet as you friends with that ice block."
Alaric just gave her a small smile , did he mention , these two neighbors completely hate each other , they are the total opposites , their differing mindsets leading to many clashes.
" Mrs. Delucia , you better go now , I don't want to hold you here," Alaric urged her.
" Oh that reminds me , I'm already late. Bye dearie …"
Alaric smiled and waved till the doors of the elevator closed. Then he sighed and turned to head over to Lysandra's door , he tapped on the number pad on her door , before punching her passcode in , Lysandra was bad with numbers so she used a combination of their birthdays to make her passcode. With a small tune the door unlocked , and Alaric walked in , Lysandra had already placed some slippers out for him , so he removed his shoes and slipped into the comfortable and soft slippers , he walked through the hallway , and entered the living area .
Lysandra had a more old-school aesthetic, so her apartment was decorated with paintings, antique furniture, and Victorian decor.
Alaric didn't see Lysandra around so he decided to go ahead and take a shower, he walked over to a door engraved with his initials , he opened the door to see his room spotless , his room was quite a juxtaposition compared to the rest of the house , he himself preferred a more minimalist design opting for simple and monochromatic things . Alaric placed his bag down on a table and walked over to his bed , Lysandra had changed his sheets , replacing the normally navy sheets with an ivory one. Alaric used his hand to feel the bed , a small smile formed on his face , Lys had been attentive enough to get him his preferred material too.
A small knock sounded , " Al ? Dinners are almost ready."
" I'll be over quickly , right now I really need a shower, " Alaric replied.
" Okay , you were out of soap and your sheets were dusty so I changed them."
" Thank you , I'll be out soon Lys ."
Alaric heard footsteps walking away from the door , he quickly undressed and grabbed a towel walking into the bathroom , he jumped into the shower scrubbing all the grime and dirt off his body. Lysandra had brought him some good soap , since he deals with dead bodies a lot , he preferred specific soaps , and thankfully Lysandra had gotten him one. Soon a striking scent of eucalyptus and citrus permeated the whole bathroom and room. Alaric felt all the grime leaving his pores.
After he was done , he opened the closet and pulled out some comfortable clothes. After dressing he walked over to his bag and pulled out a file before heading out , a delicious smell filled the whole apartment , the scent almost carried him off . He followed the smell to the kitchen, Lysandra had her back turned to him , and she was stirring something on the pan.
Alaric walked over and sat down on the kitchen island , the kitchen was open concept with the island functioning as a seating area .
" You done already ? " Lysandra asked turning around.
" Nah , the soap you brought did a wonderful job, " Alaric replied.
" You'll have to wait for just a while longer till I finish this sauce, have this for now , " she walked over to her fridge and pulled out a huge salad bowl , she grabbed a smaller bowl and some cutlery , placing it before Alaric she served him some salad.
Alaric started on the salad silently , it was quite delicious , " What is this ? It's really delicious ."
" That's a modified Greek salad , in addition to the traditional ingredients such as feta , olives , tomatoes , cucumbers and red onions , I also added some grilled chicken for more protein, and the dressing has a bit of pepper and salt, " she answered.
" Mmmm , this might be my new favorite salad , " Alaric replied, wolfing down more salad.
" Go ahead and have some more then, though do keep some space for the main dish and dessert ."
" Oh I have a tonne of space left don't worry , I'm literally starving , " Alaric answered while filling his bowl up again.
" How was work Al ? "
Alaric's hand paused , and he broke out in a small smirk , but he quickly stopped himself , " It was hell , a girl was killed and left at the church. "
" The church ? "
" The old gothic church you used to drag us to . Some sick bastard left the body right on the altar, " Alaric stood up to see Lysandra's expression , but he was unsuccessful.
" Oh …. Must be a very sick and twisted person , likely someone with a complicated relationship with god."
Hearing this Alaric smirked , knowingly or unknowingly Lysandra was analyzing the case , now he just had to add some gasoline to this small fire.
" Yes , it was a young girl and this guy even decorated her, " he added , 'accidentally' knocking his file over , deliberately making the photos slip out , Lysandra crouched down to help him collect the spilled photos , Alaric acted like he didn't see Lysandra ogling at the crime scene photos , unfortunately she didn't see the photo with the body , but the blood pool was enough to pique her interest.
" Oh …. How ? " Lysandra whipped around, her eyes twinkling , they were pleading with him to tell her.
' Bingo ! Alaric thought , " I'm sorry Lys, you know I can't tell you that , " he said looking disappointed.
The light in Lysandra's eyes dimmed , and she hung her head down , " Forget it…"
" Unless… "
Lysandra's head whipped around , " Unless what ? "
" Unless you join the force as a psychologist, " Alaric finished.
Lysandra's smile dropped , " I knew it , next time just directly ask me."
" So is that a yes ? " Alaric asked.
Lysandra didn't answer for a while , she killed the heat on the stove and she grabbed some plates from the cabinet , she opened the oven and pulled out a tray . She played the food and served it to Alaric before serving herself a plate . She sat next to Alaric , " I am looking for a new job, so yeah I guess I can apply , the thing is , will you're chief accept me ? "
" Cassius will take care of that , besides Chief Jung already asked your teacher for recommendations , " Alaric answered.
Lysandra nodded , " Yeah okay , I'll ask Professor Ramsey to give me a recommendation tomorrow."
Alaric nodded , he then turned to his dinner , " Woah , what is this ? " he asked, picking his fork up.
" It's a pan seared and baked fish fillet served with a side of garlic green beans topped with a beurre blanc," Lysandra smiled and replied.
" I love this sauce , I could swim in it , " he gushed while stuffing his face with the food.
Lysandra smiled and focused on her food , after she was done , she saw that Alaric has polished his whole plate up , and then she asked if he wanted another serving , he nodded enthusiastically , so she served him another placate before walking off to plate dessert , she had made some panna cotta and some seasonal berry compote , she plated the dessert and she placed a serving in front of Alaric who had polished his second plate off.
Seeing the masterpiece in front of him Alaric just sighed , " Honestly you should've been a chef . This looks amazing. I don't even want to eat it , it's just that pretty." immediately after he demolished the panna cotta completely.
After dinner , Lysandra told Alaric that she had to take care of somethings , so Alaric returned to him room , he had a long day , he had almost worked for two days straight so he was dead tired, so the moment his head hit the soft and cool pillow , he was in dreamland.
Meanwhile Cassius just finished discussing the case with his team , he ordered some dinner and he walked over to the Chief's office . He knocked on the door , and a voice told him to enter.
He closed the door behind him , and Chief Jung was sitting behind his desk. Lucas Jung was only a few years older than him , but his impressive record , meritorious deeds and great leadership skills made him Chief already. His hair was already slightly greying , likely due to the stress. His sharp eyes were hidden behind a pair of gold rimmed glasses.
Seeing who it was , Chief Jung placed his pen down, " Ah Voss , sit down , how is the case going ? "
Voss nodded and sat down before answering , " We have some leads , " he answered , " But everyone was exhausted , so I asked them to take a small break, " he handed over a file.
Chief Jung nodded, " Yes that's good , I would usually urge you to hurry up , but seeing this , I would say you've done quite well."
" Chief, I'm also here to discuss something ."
" Oh, what is it ? " he asked, lifting his head.
" The new psychologist , when will they arrive ? "
Chief Jung sighed , " I asked Professor Ramsey to give me a list of recommendations , it hasn't arrived yet, but I promise you we'll get a psychologist and profiler soon."
Cassius nodded , " Then I'll take my leave now Chief."
Chief Jung nodded, but just as Cassius's hand grabbed the doorknob , his voice rang out , " Voss , don't you dare leak the case to Valmont again , I'm not worried about her leaking the news , she'd never do that , but she is a civilian and she doesn't have any obligation towards us ,you remember what happened with Dr. Limeal right ? "
Cassius nodded grimly , " Yes Chief ."
Cassius walked over to the rest area , since his team often pulls long shifts , they were equipped with a rest area , Cassius walked over to a bed and jumped in, he didn't even have time to think anything , just like Alaric , the moment his head hit the pillow , he was knocked out cold.