Chapter 5: The Girl on the Rooftop (5)
1847 Words
The breakfast Adrian brought was a luxurious meal, pre-packaged by a six-star hotel near the police department.
There were exactly five boxes for the five members of the team, no more, no less.
Alex didn’t pretend to be modest. He quickly grabbed his share, took a big bite of the sandwich stuffed with eggs and truffle mushrooms, then glanced at Adrian and gave a slight nod as a silent thank-you.
A few mouthfuls in, and the emptiness in his stomach, left over from the long night, was finally eased a little.
He tilted his head back and took two more gulps of “the fuel of the night shift,” then said to Adrian,
“Follow me.”
With that, he led Adrian through the workspace and stopped in front of an empty desk.
“This is your workstation.” Alex tapped lightly on the clean, organized surface. Next to it stood a brand-new file rack and a high-quality leather swivel chair.
Then, he pointed to the stack of documents on the desk.
“These are the case files for the school violence incident at Crownwood High School. There are also photos and video evidence. You can log into SCIU’s internal network to access them. Make sure not to leak anything outside.”
Adrian nodded and accepted the files, politely saying,
“Thank you.”
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on Adrian’s shoulder, making every strand of his golden hair shimmer as if glowing.
Alex leaned against the desk, staring absentmindedly at Adrian’s devilishly handsome face.
A moment later, he abruptly turned his head away, as if he’d just done something forbidden.
But only a few seconds passed before he couldn’t help sneaking another glance.
Adrian was focused on the documents in his hands, sitting upright and proper, not glancing around at all.
Alex assumed he wouldn’t notice that he was being watched. But just then, Adrian spoke:
“Good-looking, isn’t it?”
His eyes remained fixed on the stack of papers, as if he were casually asking something of little importance.
“What is?” Alex was momentarily confused.
Adrian replied in an even, unhurried tone,
“Whatever you’re looking at, I’m asking about that. So? Pretty stunning, isn’t it?”
Alex immediately realized he'd been caught red-handed staring. He cleared his throat to cover up the embarrassment, then tapped his finger lightly on Adrian’s desk as a reminder,
“Stay focused.”
With that, he turned and headed back to his office, his steps just a bit too brisk, like he couldn’t get away fast enough.
The corners of Adrian’s lips lifted ever so slightly, a tiny curve so subtle it would go unnoticed if one wasn’t looking closely.
His eyes, however, remained fixed on the pages in his hands.
He read through the case file in a flash, then logged into SCIU’s internal network to review the evidence they had gathered overnight.
The more he saw, the darker his expression became. Twenty minutes passed, and all the emotions stirring inside him escaped with a single sigh.
Before entering this place, he had vaguely overheard Lucy grumbling. It seemed the young suspect wasn’t being very cooperative with the police. Now, he really wanted to meet that girl.
Noticing how his colleagues had finished their breakfast at double the speed of an average person, Adrian got up and made his way to Alex’s office.
The SCIU office was designed with a modern, open-concept layout that prioritized practicality. The desks were arranged in two parallel rows with a wide aisle down the center, allowing the entire team to move around easily during group discussions.
Computers, documents, file folders, coffee mugs… everything was scattered in a way that seemed a bit messy, yet everyone had their own method of keeping their workspace within the bounds of “controlled chaos.”
The walls were covered with pinboards filled with crime scene photos, connection charts, and neon sticky notes, a chaotic language that had become the signature of a seasoned investigative team.
The office of captain Alex Rios sat tucked away in the far corner, like a quiet bird’s nest amid a noisy flock of crows. It had no door, only a dark wood frame polished to a soft sheen, just enough to mark the boundary between inside and out, while still maintaining a sense of connection with the rest of the team.
From Adrian’s perspective, an open workspace like this didn’t offer much in the way of privacy. But the members of SCIU were used to it, and in fact, had adapted remarkably well to this working style. Being a newcomer, he naturally had no intention of suggesting any changes.
He tapped lightly on the doorframe to announce his presence.
“Come in,” Alex said, not needing to guess who it was. Obviously, his other loud-mouthed teammates would have just shouted his name instead of making a polite gesture like Adrian’s knock.
When Adrian stepped into Alex’s “nest”, he saw him standing in front of the case board, a cup of coffee in hand that had gone cold at some point.
“I want to interrogate Vivian,” he said, getting straight to the point.
Alex didn’t need to think twice, he agreed immediately. He’d seen firsthand just how sharp the young man’s tongue could be yesterday.
Maybe this guy would be the one to put that annoying girl in her place.
Inside Interrogation Room 2, the air was stifling and heavy.
Vivian sat on the metal chair, arms folded across her chest, back leaning against the chairrest, her expression dark and clearly irritated.
It was obvious that being brought to the police station early in the morning had caught her off guard. It didn’t scare her, in fact, it only seemed to make her more agitated.
Adrian pushed the door open and stepped in, silently observing Vivian.
Her appearance was fairly ordinary: a round face, wide forehead, slightly low nose bridge, and full lips. All features that made up a face one could easily pass by in a school hallway without remembering. Not pretty, not ugly, nothing remarkable.
From head to toe, the only striking thing about Vivian was her eyes, bright and carrying a hint of sharp intelligence.
Vivian had always excelled academically, consistently ranking first in her grade every term. That is, until Natalie transferred in.
Natalie, despite being an orphan with a humble background, was beautiful, and on top of that, her academic performance far surpassed Vivian’s.
Faced with such an exceptional classmate, Vivian couldn’t help but feel that aside from her family background, she had nothing that could compare.
That insecurity became the seed of jealousy. And when jealousy finds strong backing, it begins to grow into something far darker.
Adrian placed a cup of bubble tea in front of Vivian, offering her a gentle smile and a nod before circling around to his seat and sitting down.
Faced with a man that handsome, Vivian instinctively lowered her head to adjust her clothes.
That’s when she realized she was still wearing the same pajamas from the night before, and couldn’t help but silently curse the police for bringing her in like this.
Adrian pretended not to notice her small movements. He took a sip of coffee from his own cup, then put on his headphones and opened his phone to watch a recap of a football game, as if he had no intention whatsoever of engaging with the person sitting across from him.
Fifteen minutes passed in silence, the only sound in the interrogation room being the occasional voice of a football commentator leaking from Adrian’s headphones.
Inside the one-way observation room, the SCIU team frowned as they watched the two sitting silently on the other side of the glass.
“What is Adrian doing? Why isn’t he interrogating that girl already?” Lucy couldn’t help blurting out.
Alex raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. “Give it a second. It’s coming.”
Sure enough, not long after, something finally stirred inside the interrogation room.
Vivian had been closely observing Adrian, his face, build, outfit, accessories, even down to the cufflinks on his sleeves.
Her conclusion: this man’s elegance was built on money.
A tailored suit made of fine material, perfectly fitted to his body. A gleaming limited-edition watch. Cufflinks, tie pin, everything screamed luxury.
Clearly, these weren’t things a regular cop could afford.
She was curious about who the man sitting across from her really was. But he had shown no intention of speaking to her at all.
Watching how annoyed the other officers had gotten when she ignored them had been fun.
But being the one ignored, now that was a completely different matter.
Vivian grew irritated. Her eyes wandered, looking for something to criticize.
They landed on the cup of bubble tea in front of her. She curled her lip and finally spoke,
“Making me drink this sickly sweet stuff first thing in the morning. I seriously question whether any of you cops have common sense.”
At that moment, Adrian finally looked up from his phone. He stared blankly for a few seconds, as if processing what Vivian had just said, before replying,
“Sorry, I thought girls your age all liked this kind of thing.”
His voice was soft, carrying just the right amount of concern, enough to make the listener unconsciously lower their guard.
When Adrian said nothing more and went right back to watching his game, Vivian grew a bit annoyed, but her curiosity only deepened.
And where there’s a first time, there’s always a second. Vivian asked again,
“Aren’t you going to interrogate me?”
“No need,” Adrian replied. “We already have plenty of witnesses and evidence. You’re underage. Your statement is just for reference.
The others questioned you because it’s part of protocol, but honestly, this step isn’t that important.
Just sit back and relax. When the time’s up, someone will escort you out.”
Vivian knew that already, but hearing someone else say it made her uncomfortable.
It felt like she had no value at all. Like she was the kind of person whose presence didn’t matter, someone easily overlooked.
After years of being the “princess” of Crownwood, always at the center of attention, what Vivian hated most was being treated as insignificant.
She said,
“Why isn’t it necessary? I know a lot, you know. Don’t you want to ask me anything?”
There was a hint of challenge in her expression, almost like she was daring Adrian to “go ahead, interrogate me.”
Vivian was smart, not someone who could be provoked so easily.
The only reason she spoke so freely was because, just as Adrian had said, the case already had sufficient evidence and witness statements.
Whether she gave a testimony or not wouldn’t significantly affect the final outcome.
And as a minor, even if she were held legally responsible, the punishment wouldn’t be too severe.
It wasn’t something worth worrying about.
- Writer
