Crime (h.s. au)

Chapter Thirty Nine

Harry

"What's going on?" I ask Ava, her face pale as she walks out of the Chief's office. I saw their conversation unfold and I watched both of them in distress.

"I have to go to New York. I was asked to work on a murder case," she says simply and she walks towards her office. My feet follow her and she shuts the door to her office after I enter.

"The Chief's daughter is a suspect in the case," she whispers, and my eyes blow wide.

"What the fuck?" I ask, and she nods her head. That's unexpected; I had only just met her but she seemed like a nice enough girl.

"Apparently her ex-boyfriend is the victim," Ava explains, and my hand runs through my hair. This is heavy news, and I'm sure the Chief is beside himself. There's a great chance she didn't do anything, but there is always a possibility.

"You're going to be working there?" I ask, and she sets her coat on the desk.

"We are going to be working there," she tells me, and I nod. I'm glad I'll be able to work with her.

"When do we start?" I ask, and she tells me tomorrow.

"Sorry I'm taking you away from your cold case," she says, taking a seat in her chair. I laugh a little.

"It's cold for a reason," I remind her, and she shrugs.

"Knowing you, you would be the one to solve it," she says, glancing over at me.

Ava and I have spent a decent amount of time together. We've had dinner together almost every night for the past few days and it's really nice to have just the small amount of time together. Christmas is in two days and I have yet to ask her if she wants to do something, simply because neither of us has family. Or at least, not close by.

"Thanks, Nicks," I say. "I do have a question for you though."

She flickers her gray eyes to look in mine, and I brush my hand over my jaw.

"Christmas is in two days and I want to cook dinner for you," I tell her, her lips parting into a smile.

"I'd love to. But no gifts," she points, and I agree.

"Perfect," I tell her, waving to her before I leave the office.

Like hell I won't get her something. The woman has given me herself; she deserves a gift on Christmas. I take a seat at my desk and I start packing up the cold case file I had been working on, stowing it away in the bottom drawer of my desk.

The Chief knocks on my door and he closes the door, taking a seat across my desk.

"You'll be working with Ava on a case I'm horrified about," he tells me, and I fold my hands on my desk. I'm sure the news of the victim being his own daughter's ex-boyfriend has him a little disturbed. With the conversation I had with her, she didn't seem all too pressing. But everyone has a dark side.

"So I've heard," I say, and he runs his hand over his face.

"Look, I know I can't talk about my daughter to make her not be a suspect, but know this is a father's worst nightmare," he says, and I nod my head in understanding. I've seen first hand what happens to parents when their kids are ripped away from them. Not saying this will happen to him, but it's the thoughts that fill parent's minds that are thes hardest to get rid of.

"I'm sure it's difficult to wrap your mind around it. But there's still an open investigation," I remind him, and he just takes a deep breath.

"The thought of my own daughter doing something like this makes me sick. I don't think I can tell Marnie. Or Jacob, for that matter. They'd lose it," he sighs, and I press my lips together.