If Only She Knew

18. A Different Game

As though the criminal determined a cause of death depending on some motives he had with each person...

By that logic, the criminal seemed to have hated Haron, the aspiring rock band guitarist, the most.

"Give me some gloves. I want to check it."

"Ariana, we can't be tapering with evidence like that. We have to report to the headquarters and wait for a backup squad first." Archie touched her arm slightly.

Ariana didn't even care to be grossed out then as she looked all around at something to clamber on.

"I don't care, I'll take all responsibility if I wipe any evidence by mistake, but this murderer doesn't leave any evidence anyway." She retorted and looked at Carla and Jacob.

"Stop, miss Johnson. That's an order." Archie put a hand on her shoulder from behind, with a sympathetic smile.

How dare he?

"You order me?"

"I'm the team leader. I'll go call the HQ now. Sorry, I'm trying to prevent something we might regret." Archie had a rectus smile plastered on as he dialed away.

Ariana puffed, defeated.

If only she had anything to climb on she wouldn't have resigned to Archie.

"Damn it." She crouched down near the former window from whence one could fall easily.

The floor was covered in dried up dirt but she didn't care.

Jacob looked at her incredulously.

"You're not afraid of heights?"

"Nah, I'm used to them." She glanced at him.

So the five of them just stood there and waited for the UK Forces.

As they waited and talked about different topics like politics, sports and best vacation destinations, with the body in the middle of the room, they sensed, slowly, the smell of death.

Ariana, crouching herself on her high heels, almost fell asleep.

"Someone's coming," Archie's voice woke her up, though, just in time.

They didn't expect it when the brunette guy with disheveled hair and dark eyes, a piercing on the right side of his nose and a grunge outfit came in.

"Joseph?" Ariana stood up suddenly. All the eyes in the room flew to the new arrival and the guy scratched the back of his head.

"What are you doing here?" Ariana drummed her heels towards him. He smiled seeing her and caught her hands looking down at her.

"I checked in with the local police and they told me you guys would be here."

"And who are you?" Joseph looked up hearing the question. He saw a tall blond guy with tattoos coming towards him.

"I'm her boyfriend." Joseph gestured to his blonde angel. "Hope it's alright that I'm here. I couldn't stay out of it when she told me she was pursuing the murderer on her own."

"Archie Carolan." The team leader stretched a buff hand while his eyes flitted over Joseph. He tried to be friendly.

"Joseph Samuels."

*

Soon Joseph had learned that they were standing beneath the dead body of Alexander Arseniev and he was very much creeped out.

The UK Forces arrived by plane, in the middle of the night, bringing means of lighting and collecting evidence and all, and the team watched them pull down the corpse.