Clean Criminal // l.s.

xvii.

Time always seemed to pass slowly when Harry was away from Louis. He felt like his computer when it lagged, not getting much done, not having the will to play that YouTube video about kittens. He felt like the sandman, sleepy and drowsy and just wanting to lie down, but he knew that wouldn't happen.

He sat at his cluttered desk in his cluttered apartment and tried to focus on the medical paperwork he had gotten from Abigail. His mind kept drifting, like a sailboat on the waves. One minute he was learning about the symptoms and signs of sexual abuse, the next he was thinking about sleeping and how badly he needed it.

Harry rubbed his hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. He took a sip of the Coke he had with him and tried to relax just the slightest. Until his eyes started to flutter and he instantly opened his eyes.

Focus, Harry, just focus, he thought, when did it happen?

Harry looked through the phone records that he had printed off. He skimmed over dates and times until he came across August 15th of the year prior, the first time Zayn and his killer talked. Harry looked for the first time a multimedia image had been sent. He then brought up the image on his desktop, figuring this was the start of it all, September 3rd.

Why did he wait so long? Why is that date important?

Harry then searched through Zayn's files, looking over the newest information he had found. He came across a news article with the headline, "Three Years After the Case of the Vanishing Boy." Harry hadn't read this article yet.

"Kidnapped at the age of five by his friend's father, young Malik was forced to experience events none of us can even imagine," the article had stated. It then said, "When Zayn Malik returns home a year and a half later, his parents are shocked. We're here to find out the aftermath of such a traumatic time."

Harry found it disgusting that a newspaper company was making money off of a boy's pain. How vile must those vultures be to squeeze a story out of a nine-year-old boy who has been tortured enough? It was sickening how these bloodsuckers only live for one thing and one thing alone: money. They couldn't give a fuck about the lives they are interfering.

The article had stated that Zayn was kidnapped on September 3rd when he was walking home from the local park.

Must have been the first time. But why would he do the same thing? Why repeat history?

Harry picked up his phone to dial the only person he thought could answer his questions, "hey, Smith," he spoke when someone had picked up on the other line.

"Harry, it's two in the morning, get some sleep," Paul had spoke.

"Sleep is for the weak. I have a case to solve and I need your help. What can you tell me about sexual offenders and those sexually abused?"

Paul yawned before speaking, "well, I can send you the whole report I did on the matter. It may serve a purpose."

"Great! Please get that to me A-S-A-P. Thanks so much," Harry rushed, hanging up to dial Abigail's number.

"This better be good, Styles," Abigail spoke, half-asleep.

"I need you to get me any and all articles on Zayn's disappearance as a child. I need any videos that there might be, any audios from radio stations, just give me what you got," Harry said, speaking quite quickly.

"I figured you might say that," Abigail replied as she opened up her own laptop, "I'm sending the document your way should be there in your inbox in the next ten minutes."

"Thank you, Abi. Now get some rest. I'm gonna need you again tomorrow," Harry said before hanging up yet again.

He was determined to solve this case, even if it was the last thing he did.

.

Louis Tomlinson first met Zayn Malik in fourth grade. It was a time of change for both of them since Louis' parents were getting a divorce and Zayn's family was still trying to get him to go to therapy. Needless to say, the two were bound to find each other.

Broken pieces always find other broken pieces to try and fix themselves, Louis had thought as they grew older. When he told Zayn, the younger had agreed.

"Sometimes they actually do fix themselves," Zayn had said the first time Louis told him. Louis shrugged off Zayn's comment, thinking that his was far more insightful instead of meaningless mumbo-jumbo.

Nonetheless, the two had meant and started a beautiful friendship that would last over a decade. Of course this meant lots of jealousy along the way. Girlfriends and boyfriends came and went, but Louis was always there for Zayn and Zayn was always there for Louis.

Zayn had grown up into a fairly attractive guy that had attracted a lot of older men. They were never good men, they were mean and always grabbed Zayn in inappropriate ways. Louis never really noticed when some man was groping Zayn while they were at the bar getting sodas. Zayn would be uncomfortable the rest of the night and not say anything, Louis still didn't notice.

You see, Louis wasn't really an observer of things he wasn't looking for. He could tell you right off the bat that the picture across the room was tilted or that the chairs were not tucked in correctly. He could even tell you an estimate of number of pieces of gum underneath a table just by own look. But when it came to the way people acted and reacted, Louis was oblivious.

None of this stopped Zayn from loving Louis; Louis was hard not to love. And neither one of them really know when it started happening, Louis still doesn't really know about it, but it seemed to be when Zayn had gotten his first camera.

And now that's why he's dead.