❝Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will come after you. But it's the monsters you ran from who come.❞
☒
In which an accidental murder leads to accidental discoveries that should've stayed in the dark.
The small town of East Vienna is h...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DETECTIVE KNOWLES WAS in a world where one either lived with dead bodies or broken hearts. As he examined the young man sitting across him, Knowles couldn't help but have a poor grip on his denial. No matter what, everyone had a bit of both.
Taedyn's eyes drooped from the top and seemed to have no focus and his arms were folded as if they were holding themselves. The muscles of his jaw were clenched like he had to keep himself from saying something. Knowles registered every detail, from Taedyn trying to slouch in a stiff chair and avoid eye contact to Aiden fumbling with his thumbs awkwardly, as noted from his peripheral vision.
"Aiden?" Knowles kept his line of sight to the one who was supposed to be interrogated. He held up two fingers to beckon Aiden to come closer. Aiden stopped balancing on the heels of his feet and snapped himself to attention. Using the palm of his hand to cup the side of his face, Knowles uttered under his breath, "Get the autopsy report for me."
Back when he was a fresh-faced investigator who just bought a rack for his keys and stopped eating from plastic plates, he asked if he ever needed to delegate a menial task or request for a file. Commanding others emerged as a habit out of necessity. It was like asking someone for money; they weren't just going to hand over something they value unless they could be convinced to do so. It seemed impossible until one realizes one can just get results by demanding for money.
The same process worked for suspects and potential felons, except they were the ones who literally demanded for money sometimes. They value their incentive a great deal, but they weigh their life more. Eventually, Knowles learned that even though people did bad things for different reasons, they all weren't emotionally and psychologically stable. It was the detective's job to be assertive and stable.
With that thought in mind, Knowles began.
"Are you feeling stable?"
Taedyn peered up at him and Knowles tried not to stare at the pink line trailing from below his right earlobe to the edge of his chin. He simply nodded and returned back to sulking, pretending like Knowles wasn't even there. The ease at which he slipped away from physical existence was an alarm.
"How about you tell me with your words on how you're really feeling?"
"I feel like shit. Thanks for asking, Knowles," he said absently. He emphasized on the profanity, hinting of strong feelings hidden under his skin. Ignoring the odd bumps and scratches that were never classified to a cause, Knowles leaned forward on his chair and rested his entwined fingers on the table.
The closeness wasn't tense like it had been with Kiera. After all, Knowles and Taedyn had been through this process several times to the extent they had a tacit agreement where Taedyn didn't need to be cuffed while he was in the station.
"How's your sister?' Knowles cautiously questioned, hoping he hadn't reached the borders of sentimental capacity.
"She is how she wants to be." His head slightly shook with each word he muttered.
