Arrested (Book 1 of the Arrested Trilogy) {malec au}

Chapter Four

"So how many people live in this building exactly?" Alec asked. A woman wearing a maid's outfit walked by. She smiled up at him. He smiled back.

"I'm not really sure. A lot. That's all I can tell you, really. I don't care much for getting to know my neighbors. Never did. This one's mine. Number 112," Magnus knocked on the door, which was unlocked much to Alec's surprise.

"Why is it unlocked?" Instinct took over and Alec reached for his gun at his waist. He stopped Magnus from opening the door, taking the lead like he was taught in police school. Leaning up against the wall beside the door, he pushed it open with a hand and then raised his gun. "NYPD! Is anyone in here?"

He signalled for Magnus to stay out in the hall before making a quick sweep of the apartment. Once he was done, he let Magnus inside.

"Apartment's all clear. No one's here," he whispered.

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Of course there's no one here, dummy. I live alone. Unless you count Chairman Meow."

"Chairman Meow? Is that your cat?" Alec froze when he stepped in a piece of broken glass. Looking down at the floor, he noticed a broken picture frame under his boots.

Along with everything else in the apartment.

"Home sweet home. Welcome to casa de Magnus. Me casa et su casa. It's not exactly at its prime but trust me. It's not always this messy."

Alec put his gun back in his holster. "Christ, Magnus. Were you robbed?" He looked around the room. There were no bedrooms, aside from a large door off to the far end which led to the bathroom, and Magnus' bed was (or should've been) leaning up against the far wall on the left, overlooking the city. His kitchen was also a mess but looked to be quite spacious. The large flat screen that looked like it used to be on the wall was now on the floor, screen cracked in half.

"I guess you could say that. Yeah, I was definitely robbed. But nothing was taken. Nothing important, anyway.."

Alec picked up a lamp off the floor. "So someone came in here, wrecked the place for a good time, then left again? Why not take something? Like the tv? That expensive microwave over there?"

Magnus was quiet for a moment. "They were looking for something."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Something they obviously couldn't find, so they trashed the place. I pay sixteen hundred a month for this space. Given to me cheap by a friend of mine. Now it's completely wrecked....."

Magnus slumped down onto his mattress, which was in a heap on the floor near the window. Frowning, Alec grabbed a toppled over stool and sat down on top of it. "Who do you think could've done this? Do you have any enemies?"

Magnus barked a laugh at this. "Where do I start? When you con people for a living, the list of enemies you make is never ending. Everyone wants revenge on the man who conned them of their money and were too stupid to fall for his words."

Alec shrugged, considering this to be true. "But who's at the top of the list? I can search the criminal database back at the precinct to see if there's a match. We could scope him out. Question him."

"Not him. Her."

"Huh?"

Magnus sighed. "It wasn't a him who trashed my home. It was a her. I know who did it. I just don't want her getting into more trouble than she's already in."