Veil of Crimson

Closer To The Finish Line

I shoot again, this time to make order. Surprisingly enough, it works. “Everyone keep calm, I’m Detective Elise Gauthier with the NOPD!” I shout out, making a silence fall upon the room. Maybe this wasn’t such a smart idea. “Freeze, Mr. Nunez!” I yell out and point my gun at the killer as I realize he’s still trying to go for it.

I widen my eyes as he’s already disappearing into the tunnel, but in the next moment, he’s suddenly being dragged back into the space by none other than LeBlanc. I stare at the scene in shock, Didi and Natalie arriving to the spot just a few moments too late. But I’m not talking about that.

LeBlanc was literally behind him. When did he surpass him? How did he … Didi already pulls out handcuffs from under her dress, while LeBlanc holds the guy in place, letting her handcuff him. “You’re under arrest, Mr. Nunez,” she informs him, her voice travelling to my ears faintly.

I lower the gun, watching LeBlanc, while still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to get the killer. I only pull myself together as he turns that blue-eyed gaze towards me. I shiver under the force that it hits me with, trying to mask it by strapping the gun back against my thigh.

They start heading towards me with the killer, and I force myself to get it together. Just breathe, Elise. You’re filled with adrenaline. You’ll be fine. You got the killer, that’s what matters. “We got the guy,” I let Michael and Jerry know on the other side.

As I stop talking, LeBlanc already uses the chance and stops by the table, reaching towards me with his arm. I don’t know what else to do but to place my hands on his shoulders and let him help me hop off the table.

Once I land safely on the ground, I step away like he just burned me and turn to the killer before I hear a single flirtatious remark coming from him. We get Nunez upstairs, where he’s already awaited by the other two officers, who then drag him into the van. Didi and Natalie follow along, while I stand there hesitantly.

“Are you coming?” Didi asks, and I find myself opening and closing my mouth, before turning to look over my shoulder. LeBlanc is standing there by the door, watching us in silence. Despite knowing that this is a bad idea, I decide to act against my good judgement.

“Yeah … I’ll come after you, take the guy into custody,” I answer her, once I turn my head back towards her. She stares at me for a moment, and I can almost see the wheels behind her eyes spinning, before she finally shrugs and smiles in response.

“Deal. We’ll be waiting for you, boss,” she tells me, winking at me before closing the side door. With that, they drive off, just down the street, while I turn around, not knowing how to address the matter.

LeBlanc stares at me silently, almost taking me by surprise. “What? No witty remark to pull out of your sleeve?” I hear myself saying before I’m able to think it through. He chuckles, shrugging in response but not saying anything else. So, I decide to act before I change my mind. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you my friends were cops,” I say.

I bite my lower lip, feeling a little ashamed that I lied to him like that. Even though he hasn’t given me a single reason to feel sorry for him. The guy drives me nuts. But still, as an officer of the law, I feel bad every time I lie to a citizen. It’s written in my internal code of honor, I guess.

He seems really amused by my words. He nods in understanding, having his arms crossed against his chest and leaning against the doorframe. “No offense, darling, but I can smell a cop from a mile away. It was obvious that they’re your colleagues,” he remarks, taking me aback.

I blink in surprise, then frown. “Seriously? You knew all along?” I grunt under my breath, his reaction frustrating me. It’s easier to feel bad when someone isn’t laughing in your face every time you open your mouth.

He chuckles, shrugging in response. “I’m highly observant. I’m not fooled by a wig and makeup. I know that young officer was with you when you questioned me,” he remarks. I force myself to hold back a comment that appears at the back of my mind. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad. I’m just glad that I managed to help you catch the bad guy after all,” he adds.

I stare at him for a moment longer, before deciding that I have more pressing matters to attend to than dealing with the mystery of Adrian LeBlanc. I can think about how he managed to help us do that at all sometime later.

“We’ll see about that. Good night, Mr. LeBlanc,” I tell him, before turning around and walking down the street to follow my colleagues.

“Good night, Detective! I hope we’re going to repeat this sometime soon!” he shouts after me, but I don’t respond. Yeah, hard pass on that. Hard pass.

As I get to the station, I rush to the room for questioning on our floor. I peek inside the door beside it first, to check if my colleagues are there. Michael, Jerry and Didi are all discussing something, while Natalie is sitting with the suspect in silence.

“Did you guys already begin?” I wonder as I pop my head in. Didi shakes her head in response and motions with her head through the glass.

“You go ahead, Natalie just went to get the files. She’s waiting for ya,” she lets me know. I nod in confirmation, feeling some sort of a thrill going through my veins.

Finally, a break in this case that means something. I’m almost excited about it. I really want to seal this investigation already. It’s my first one after all.