Undiscovered protégé

Chapter 7

"Clear" I shout, from the living room of the small cyan house we just entered.
"Clear!" I hear from the dining room. I turn to the downstairs bathroom. "Clear!" Again I shouted.
"Clear! I hear, from the kitchen. The same events occur upstairs. The house is minimalist, almost void of things, fully clear of people. Nothing besides the homeowners outside terrified out of their minds. But not a soul in the house. A back window was broken downstairs so likely the intruder escaped the house. Nothing seemed bothered, touched, moved, dust covering surfaces unaffected. Which is rather strange.
Once other units arrive on scene we head to the shop. My phone has one missed call from Angela and another one from her ringing now.
"What's new?" I ask as I put it on speaker.
"I've found a name, Paige Elizabeth Miller. We had files from Meta that we have yet to look over until now. In a deleted post by Caleb she was mentioned to be a rather close friend, I think it's actually a pretty good lead. We're locating her for an interview now. She has an active instagram account that aligns with what we've got from the Meta files and various databases."
"This actually sounds like something. Could I be in the viewing room for the interview? I can't read body language from the transcripts."
"I'll ask grey."
Tim doesn't say anything, but he does smile at me.
"Thanks, we've got to go, text me what he says."
I hang up, and Tim drives off.
I hate this case. I hate the silence of the shop. I hate Caleb. I hate Rosalind. I hate whoever is behind this. I hate every little thing in my life right now. I breathe deeply as I place my phone rather agressively in the cup holder.
"You good?" Tim asks. Did he seriously just ask that?
"Good enough." I answer, adding a small laugh and a smile plastered across my face.
He takes a deep breath before refocusing completely.
I anxiously wait for either a sound from my phone or the radio, one preferred but I'd take either. I guess the universe took my preference into account, as my phone dings, with a text from Angela.

approved. We still haven't got her to the station, but are in contact. She says she can come at 1.

The highlight of my day, that text. I really hope we're getting somewhere with this lead. I can't do this damn chase for nothing much longer. I put my phone back in the cup holder, and we turn to a road with some neighbors in a heated argument. Tim stops the car and we get out.
"I swear to god I'll light that stupid lawn of yours on fire! Nobody gives a shit!!"
"It's my property! Clean up after your damn kids! I shouldn't have to deal with your inability to parent!"
"Calm down, the both of you," Tim says, as the two take their first look acknowledging us.
"Explain the issue." He states.
They both scream words I don't process.
"One at a time!" He says, pointing to the father.
"He's upset at a little paint past property lines! It's not a big deal, huge reaction!"
"The paint affects the growth! He can't just clean up after his damn spawns!?!" The lawn guy says.
Sometimes people argue over extremely stupid things.
"You're upset over a dot paint." He says, dumbfounded, as he looks at the white paint on the grass, with a dot past the clear line of where lawn is cared for.
"Please sir, clean up after your children, this really doesn't need to be a big deal." He says, then, we exchange a look that expresses how this is definitely the fall of humanity.
(note; think imma write shorter parts from here, I'm hoping it's easier to keep on-top of, not going back and questioning every detail of what I wrote yesterday and stuff, apologies if you enjoyed the 1000+ word parts I had originally restricted myself to. Obviously there still will be longer parts, they just won't all be)