Just the Truth

Chapter 8

"I don't understand," I shook my head tossing the files aside.

"What's wrong?" Blaire asked me handing me a mug of coffee and sitting beside me on the kitchen table. I convinced Palma to cover my morning class for me so that I could concentrate on my parents' files.

"It's true that my parents obsessed over this file but I don't understand why. There's nothing special on it at all. Nothing that I can tie to their deaths anyway," I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my coffee. It was bitter, reflecting my morning attitude. This was increasingly annoying. Every time we found a clue it seemed like the puzzle only grew larger and more complex.

"What was the case about anyway?" she asked me and I sighed, handing her the files.

"They were investigating the death of an agent of R.I.P. Her name was Gabriela Maldonado, she died on a mission. She was around 16 when it occurred. Apparently R.I.P has been going on for longer than we thought," I explained.

"It was a search and rescue mission, they were supposed to be in and out. Gabriela wasn't even technically supposed to be in the building, she was in the getaway vehicle manning the com devices and talking to all of the agents inside. There aren't any details in here to explain why she entered the building but she did and she never came out," Blaire noted as she went through the file.

"So then how do they know she's dead?" I asked. Blaire skimmed through the files uneasily.

"There are no crime scene pictures but there is a report. Her body was found by the building a few days later with signs of torture. Her cause of death was-" Blaire stopped talking and I turned to look at her.

"What was the cause of death?" I urged her.

"She was drowned," Blaire finished quietly, as she handed me the report.

"Who was the head of R.I.P at the time? We need to get our hands on the crime scene photos, we might have a serial killer on our hands," I replied calmly and Blaire looked at me slightly surprised.

"I'll take care of finding the information," Blaire nodded her head. We were putting the files away when my phone rang like a shrilled scream breaking the silence.

"I'll get it," Blaire rose to her feet and quickly strode to the phone, pressing it to her ear to listen. She nodded her head and replied with a mumble of 'yes' or 'no' every so often and then hung up.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"They have the weapon that was found at the crime scene. They want us to take a look at it," she explained and I nodded my head, already on my feet and ready to go.

"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the team or something?" Blaire asked me but I already had my jacket on.

"They can meet us there, let's go," I told her. Blaire sighed but nodded her head. She checked to make sure Bullet had food in his bowl before following me out the door in a hurry.

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"You must be Agent Wynters?" A young woman asked me upon entering the dimly lit lab. She wasn't exactly tall but she walked in a way that oozed confidence, though not in an overwhelming or unfriendly way. She had bright eyes and tan skin to be envious of.

Fluorescent light bounced off the grey colored walls and several specimens were lined up on each side on steel tables. It was freezing cold and I was glad I grabbed my jacket with me.

"Yes and this is Agent Ladner. Are you Doctor Cordova?" I asked her after introducing Blaire.

"No, I'm her assistant, Arielle Chang Lixin but just Arielle is fine," she explained with a smile.