Inciting Investigations

Chapter 23

Birdy actually loved the care that he put into all of his actions. She had been away for so long, and she was glad to be back. He fussed over every little detail to make sure that it was just perfect for her, and she fought back the giggles because of how ridiculous she thought he was being. In her mind, he was acting like a mother bear or hen or something.

Finally, after plenty of ‘it’s okay’s, she convinced him to just sit down next to her on the couch. He huffed, still not satisfied with his job of taking care of her, and flopped down next to her on the cushiony blue seats. He leaned back on the arm rest and sighed, rubbing his face.

She felt bad for making him so worried, but she still thought that what she did was what had to be done. She couldn’t have gone on with her life knowing that that monster was still out there, just roaming around with no consequences for his actions and how he hurt others.

Still, she was surprised when she heard her brother say, “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” She asked out of genuine curiosity. This whole situation had been because of her.

“I was trying so hard to make sure that you never had to meet him that maybe I pushed you even harder into that. I’m sorry.” He had begun wiping his cheeks with his hands as new tears began to make their way down his face and neck, into his lap if he didn’t catch them.

She knew that there was no point in trying to convince her extremely stubborn older brother that it wasn’t his fault, so she simply settled on returning the favor that he had sent first.

“I’m sorry.”

Now, it was Cyrus’s turn to be perplexed by her words. He turned in his seat to look at her with confusion evident in his expression. Before she could continue, he also asked, “Why?”

“I should’ve listened to you.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I…” She wasn’t quite sure how to keep going with what she wanted to say. “I think you were right…about me being too young for all of this.” She hated the way her voice cracked when she said that.

She felt brother’s hand on her shoulder right before he pulled her into yet another hug, as she shrugged the excessive amounts of blankets off of her shoulders so that she could embrace him better. She smiled as she held her brother close after the weight of their words.

She felt wet drops flow down her face, but she did nothing to attempt to stop them, just letting them slip their way around her skin until they landed on Cyrus’s shoulder. She really just didn’t have the energy to even attempt to stop crying or attempt to move the droplets.

After what felt like an eternity, in all reality it couldn’t have possibly been more than a couple of minutes, the two siblings separated from each other and giggled at each other's teary and red eyed faces. Beginning to make fun of each other and how stupid they cried.

“I have a pretty crying face.” Cyrus pretended to flip imaginary hair over his shoulder.

“Yeah, and I’m Taylor Swift.” Birdy pushed the imaginary hair back over his shoulder.

“Then where’s your cat you imposter?” He questioned her.

“She’s at the vet. Thank you very much.” Birdy kicked her brother in the shin lightly.

He laughed and dramatically rubbed at his leg, not even where she had kicked him. After a second, he looked up at the clock, and his face slowly fell into a disappointed frown.

“Why don’t you head on up to your room, Bird? I still have to call everyone and tell them that you’re actually okay.” That reminded her.

“Where is everyone anyway?” She asked.

“Out looking for you.” Oh, she felt horribly guilty once more for making everyone worry about her.

Still, she stood up and walked up the stairs to her room with her bag. She sighed because of all the exhaustion of the day and walked over to her desk. As much as she just wanted to take a nice warm bath and then head for bed, there was one last thing that she wanted to do before completely closing off this case. Just one last little thing to complete this journey.

Juneau, Alaska…Amatuer Detective Report

10/17/25

- Anders Case (Cyrus Latido de Corazon)

Detective On Case (Writing Report) - Birdy Anders

The case has come to a successful close. My partner, Sarah Hensen, and I found the suspect hiding out in Spain under an alias. His past name of ‘Tempest’ was pulled back in the presence of his true identity, Jacob Hensen. He was found living in a small rental home, and my partner and I were aided by the Spanish police in apprehending him there. After a couple more days in Spain, I am happy to say that both Sarah and I are gratefully back in our home of Alaska. Mr. Hensen is currently awaiting trial, both by Spanish and American courts, though I have no doubts that he will get the treatment and punishment that he deserves for his crimes.

Case Closed

(Whoo! That's the end!

All these chapters at once are my new year and holiday gift to yall.

Happy New Year!

Hope you enjoyed! Bye!)