BURN THE TRUTH

Episode Six

"Sorry captain, I looked into what you requested and, unfortunately, there was no motive. Zero. Nothing implied that he is our killer. Doesn't make any sense" Clyde gave an account, walking alongside Velda as she proceeded to the elevator, and on reaching, pressed the button.

"Where could Carter be now?" She inquired as they both stepped into the elevator before she subsequently pressed the ground floor button, and with that, her hands were put back to their communal place before her.

"Working on the newest case, he had earlier left after a phone call" He informed.

The elevator swiped open and so the two earned their course into the hallway ushering out of the facility. "Okay, that would be it," She told Clyde "Do notify me once you locate him"

Eventually, they stepped out of the building, coming upon the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle morning breeze. Velda unexpectedly spotted Devyn's car as soon as they dragged through the parking lots. "Give me a second" She motioned at Clyde before sliding toward the direction of the gorgeous Vulcan.

"This would mark it the third time we do be meeting, Detective. And yet each time we happen to meet, I perceive this same look" Came forth Devyn's words upon Velda's arrival.

"What look?"

"You look at me as though you're straining to read me, although those displeasures offer the fact that you seem unable to" Devyn elucidated and seized a step away from his car, in other words, nearer to her.

"Well, you do seem to know quite a lot, Devyn" She let out and aimlessly looked away as though attempting to alter their conversation. She refocused though not particularly at him "Considering the work done on my car, I genuinely do wish to pay" Velda initiated sincerely except that Devyn went silent, his face displayed no exact emotion.

The corner of his mouth merely turned up "Then, see it as a friend supporting another friend, of course, that was what your daughter described of it. Perhaps that should decode the situation" His voice came off a bit disinterested, or conceivably she did perceive wrongly.

"Those were foremost the honest words of a kid. People don't just become friends out of the blue, that's only the thinking of an eight years old girl, and that, you shouldn't use" Velda objected firmly.

Again a corner of Devyn's mouth slightly lifted to form an acknowledgement smirk, which gradually turned into a smile, more like he had obtained what he wanted, yet his smile managed not to interfere with those unreadable eyes. And that got the detective a bit confused as to why he was smiling, illuminating that god face of his. And still, the smirk didn't look like it was gonna born anything pleasing.

Devyn to a step forward "Since you insist, Detective Velda" Her name came low and husky, and then he quelled to inspect her. His gaze was held completely captive by elegancy before him and this analysation from the intimidating man sent chills down the detective's spine and she unconsciously gulped. His fascinated stares were becoming inconceivable and Velda almost cursed out when he unintentionally took a step back.

"There are many ways to pay someone, right, detective?" His sudden voice ripped through the chilliness that had consumed her body, compelling them to boil rather alarming.

"Relatively, I comprehend that aspect, Devyn. Though what I seem not to quite understand, is why you want these to go a different direction" She collectively spoke narrowing her eyes at Devyn who merely leaned back against his car.

His gaze stood firmly right at her "Have dinner with me, Detective. That's all I'm asking" He unexpectedly let out causing the detective to almost choke on dry air.

She couldn't help but huff a slightly nervous laughter "What? Dine with you?" She let out. "Is that what all these were about?"

"Are you married?"

"What?"

"I said, are you married, Detective?" He repeated

Velda shot him a stare "No"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"No?" Her response came off more as a question instead of an answer.

"So what's the big deal? It's not a problem of your partner not wanting you to have dinner with a friend or the case of a nagging one, so what? What's stopping you? I do want to be a friend, just like Asteria mentioned-"

"No, you don't get to call her name or bring her into this discussion" Velda cut him off "And by the way, I'm frankly occupied with some case. So I don't think I got the time for one" She told him.

"That would not a problem to me. I can wait" He guaranteed.

Velda gazed confusedly at him as though that were the most ridiculous words he did just uttered. "Why do you truly desire to have dinner with me?" The question came out as serious as she had meant it to be.

"Being in your company. That's the value" he replied soothingly, his expression remaining nonetheless impassive. Velda opened her mouth to speak but came up with no word, her soul quickly and violently manifested itself and her buried anxiety knocked on the door.

"I do let you know what I think about this" She finally managed to say and instantly retreated.

"Interesting" Devyn mumbled as he watched the detective walk through the lots and off his sight and so he turned and pulled open his car door before slumping behind the steering wheel.

She pulled out her cell phone which had earlier vibrated and immediately rang Carter's line as he was the caller "Captain, I think we might have a case here" Carter spoke from the other side as soon as Velda slumped into her car.

"How serious?"

"Not positive. Sending you the location now. Will head there first" He told and hung up. Soon a message notification popped up on Velda's phone. She passed the phone to Clyde and initiate the car before pulling out of the space.

It was a rare trip outside the city. They arrived barely in time with Carter a few distances from the edge of a cliff where a twenty-five-year male sat gazing into the endless landscape. The said male nervously sat up the moment they stepped out of their car. His sleeping eyes were so drained from exhaustion, he took his time to veer around, and in his hand, was a crumpled sheet of paper. Velda and Clyde retained a well amount of distance between them and the male, regardless, Carter was only a few lengths from him. Velda endeavoured to take a step from her initial spot and was suddenly staring at the wrong end of a gun. In a split second, her brain was hyper-focused on the gun. It was very likely that in that split second her brain didn't recall any details that were irrelevant to her survival as it automatically reacted to the life-threatening situation.

THE PREVIOUS DAY

"Captain" Carter called walking into Velda's office, she lifted her head from the computer to look over at the incoming young male. Carter pulled a chair from a corner and instantly seated before extending the file he had arrived with.

"This is all I got about the victim, Andrew Dan, 29. He had been prone to violence to many assault charges in the past. Most females in the bar talked about his s****l assault on a few ladies in the past and one of them, Emily Cornor, committed suicide a year ago, on March 23. Said to have jumped off a cliff" He spun a page and pulled out some photos.

"Remember the victim was also choked with many papers, those, after being extracted from the victim turn out to be pages from a girl's diary note. And after the cross-examination, it turns out that the pages belong to the diary of Emily Cornor. The one who had jumped off a cliff"

Carter shifted and then clicked on Velda's computer "Here it shows that Emily Cornor, lived eighteen years of her life in the ———————— with no family, though she moved out at eighteen. She reported being a victim of r**e at Hilltop police station at the age of nineteen, yet went back to retrieve her statements, saying it was all made up, unfortunately, she committed suicide two years after"

"Who is close enough to have her diary after her death?" Velda asked eyes roaming through the screen.

"Traced her social media account and got a hold of a male. At the moment, Louisa is running a background check on him"

Velda zoomed in on the photo of the said male, and after a few seconds of staring, she took the hard copy photo of the deceased, her mouth twitching up as she chewed her inner skin. "As far as I'm concerned, this hideous wanker got exactly what he deserved" She hissed.

2 HOURS BEFORE

Carter parked in front of the property where the said fellow was reckoned to be living. He knocked multiple times at the door but received no response. Looking around the neighbourhood he spotted an elderly male who stood in front of his car bonnet, busy with a mechanical problem.

And so, Carter walked up to the man "Good afternoon, Sir" He greeted except the man glanced at him. "Could you know where the male that lives there is?" Carter asked and pointed at the door he had just stepped away from.

"You're his friend?" The man brought up, giving him a peculiar stare "Recently, he doesn't return all day. You kids of this time, you hardly stay home" He remarked and turned to resume walking to his car.

"Thank you, sir," Carter said and turned to take off although stopped "Sorry, you know if he maybe owns any car?" He turned to ask

"Red old truck" the man confirmed and Carter hurriedly shoved his phone from his pocket.

"Sorry to bother but is this the vehicle?" He appealed showing the phone screen to the man who immediately nodded in reply. "Thank you, sir" Carter reiterated and started up, walking to his car. "Hello, Louisa. Need your help. Help me track down the red truck from Emily Cornor's f*******: account. Okay, thank you. Sure"

"Hey captain, I think we might have a case here" He pulled open his car door "Not positive. Sending you the location now. Will head there first" He informed and sank into his car seat. It was an alarming situation as it is the exact same location Emily Cornor had committed suicide a year ago.