BURN THE TRUTH

Episode Five

"There you are. You sure earned a grandiloquent ride today, with one handsome Mr Same fellow from the coffee shop?" Clyde let out the moment Velda stepped into their office.

"And what's your explanation for desiring to cease the life out of my cell phone with your calls?" She put forward a questioning stare and then swiftly moved past.

"Oh, come on, you should learn how to relish jokes," He tells her amusingly before his face finally settled. Following behind "By the way, Asteria is with Frida, she would keep her busy till we are back" Clyde informed and swiftly seized his jacket that hung over his seat.

The case regarding the unknown sniper had been resulting in multiple dead ends no matter the criteria Velda employs. More like a ghost operation as Luisa had defined it and that had compelled the tenacious Velda to be morsel paranoid lately. Though she did conceal her concerns from her teammates, believing it only a weight of time until she do figure out the person behind the shadiness.

"Victim's name is Andrew Dan, 29, works in a bar on the next street and goes by the name Anto. The time of death was eighteen hours ago, but apparently, he's been missing for almost four days" Carter illustrates being located next to the deceased who was tied to a wooden chair and shirtless. They were at a hidden street corner which doesn't appear like anyone's been there in over a month.

"Carter, we know the cause of death?" Velda inquired slipping on the gloves that has been past her.

"Oh, that. Our victim got a few broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and possible cranial bleeding, he was stabbed in the thigh, which would all totally suck. And yet, this dude asphyxiated"

"He was choked with papers? Or wrung on the neck?" Velda inquired, slightly confused as her hazel eyes drifted from the victim's mouth to the bruises around his neck.

"No. More like an orchard" Carter pointed out "We're gonna have to cut him open to get the rest. And that's really messed up"

"Why not just kill the guy? Why all the pomp and circumstances?" Clyde mumbled

"It's like the killer is evidently dispatching a message. They definitely tortured the hell out of the young man" Velda utters moving closer to the victim, her eyes unrelenting searching the base around. "It appears that our killer has a warehouse because they certainly didn't accomplish the whole torturing here. It must have taken place somewhere else. Regarding the noise, the poor fellow must have evoked during these entire circumcisions, and to talk of not having sizably blood here" She veered around to front the others while on her last sentence.

"You are coming with me, Clyde" She informed adamantly stepping away from the deceased "Carter, you check what you can convey on the victim from the med team" She mandated and commenced, walking out of the crime setting with Clyde.

It was already late by the time she stumbled into the office building and met Frida by her desk "Where's Asteria?" She whispered kicking back both palms on the lady's desk.

"Your office" She immediately returned, though again, she pulled back Velda's attention "And again, your car was brought in, here is the key" She brought up picking up its key from a receptacle on her desk and then passed it to the detective.

"Thank you" And hurriedly she commenced, striding towards her office. Through the see-through glass, she could glimpse the weary face of the young girl as she seated, her little face was obviously quite not welcoming and so Velda began once she barged into her office.

"I know what you're thinking, sweetheart. But hear me out, I was working on a case that went long and I'm really sorry. I promise you I will make it up to you, okay?" She negotiated.

"How?" Asteria pouted, both hands folded furiously against her slank chest. Her seethed eyes pierced right back at Velda ready to make demands.

"Will make you your favourite macaroon cookies. How is that?" She beamed hoping that would relax the younger.

Asteria gave her a quizzical look "You're lucky I like you"

Her cute words brought a smile to flicker onto Velda's tired face. "Okay, let's get going" She urged and scrambled to pick up her backpack from a desk at the corner before they exited the office.

***

The room was bleak, cold and completely dark, only having a slight reflection of light as the door wasn't firmly closed. It was quiet and sombre in there and the alone young boy felt a chill of darkness engulfing him and he could feel nothing but blind terror, the young male seemed to be about fourteen and was in a quite spacious closet. It wasn't long before a few inaudible chats waffled from a distance and gradually, slowly became a bit audible.

He quietly began to tiptoe towards the closet door to get proper knowledge of what could be going on in the room and winced as the footboard slightly creaked beneath his feet. He stood rooted to the spot, paralyzed by fear before he summoned the courage to make another step towards the closet door until he got to it.

He stretched his eyes through the tiny space, his eyes barely trained on the figures before the sound of the gunshot almost tour out his heart.

Devyn jerked up and his eyes immediately snapped open, panting in the dimly lit room, covered in a cold sweat, shaking, heart frantically pounding against its rib cage. He looked around the room suspiciously and paranoid that the horror may have followed him there. He pulled off the duvet and stood up cautiously before stumbling to his bathroom. Unhurriedly, Devyn looked into the mirror, cautiously, as if not sure of what he would see. The sunlight poured through the window, washing away the vestiges of the horror, leaving him relieved to return to his mundane existence.

At the long last, he shimmied out of his clothing, stepped into the shower and subsequently pressed a button on the wall, and in the square of a black marble rock against the roof, the shower water runs free and easy. It came down as perfect rain, warm and steady, awakening his skin in all the right way.

He eventually walked out of his room which was a colour combination of black and grey. He began making his way down the stairs shirtless and in loose black pants. He walked over to the stylish kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Every single article in sight seemed to fall under the shades of black and grey respectively.

He sipped his coffee. Three milk, two sugars. Letting the liquid linger in his mouth, he savoured its taste. It was sweet in the beginning but as it went down it turned sour.

Devyn's cell phone began to vibrate in a distance and he majestically made his way to the coffee table in the living room and grabbed it off the table with a slight clack. He stared at the line for a fleeting moment before he swiped, placing the phone against his ear. "Devyn speaking" Voice modulated. He turned and began making his way back to his island.

"Good morning Devyn, this is Detective Velda. I apologize for not calling, I know it's been almost four days today, work kind of took over" Devyn simply attended to the soft-spoken voice from the other end, though his countenance never altered.

"Oh. Detective. You finally called, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to call. It's a relief you did, that shows your car was fixed"

"Yes, it was. Just about to make use of it once again and remembered I haven't thanked you" There was a bit of silence as if she was mulling over her next utterances "Uhm... how much do I owe you?" Velda appealed, her voice sounded a little condescending.

"Why do you presume that you owe me?" The words hauled no identified sentiment. Though might be described as Alien, or rather Vulcan.

The subtle sound of the car door being shut pierced through "Well, you aided with the repairing of my car and I never paid for any of that, and I don't feel comfortable owning something to a stra- I mean owing a person" It was rather unusual that the now called stranger could sense the detective mentally cursing herself for her choice of words, yet strangely it fetched a smirk onto his lips.

"A stranger?" He sipped his coffee "Then let's get acquainted, Detective" Devyn suggested, his voice a bit husky.

"I-"

"I will see you later" Devyn interjected, giving no room for replies as he instantly hung up. He placed his cell phone on the island and walked to the large windows with his coffee mug clung to his left finger. "Hello, Adira. Unfurl the curtains" Devyn instructed, and gradually the broad curtain before he was dragged open revealing the autumnal sunrise when the window eventually outspread, the breeze that plays in both up-tempo gusts and gentle lulls rustled its way into the house, along with it, carried the aroma of the landscape.

Thereon, the front door of Devyn's house uncloses subsequently following a brief announcement by an electronic programmer. Unveiling a youthful female with a sculptured figure which was twine-thin. Her waist was tapered. And her blonde tousled beach babe lob expertly rounded off her burnished complexion. She wasn't much tall, perhaps 5.4 feet.

She plopped her bag on the black leather cushion before earning her way through an aisle to an exceptionally immense indoor gym. Brightened by the exquisite sunrise that seeped through the gigantic glass window that shrouded the entire front wall. And on the treadmill is the sole being of Devyn, thrusting with the rhythm of it. The sunlight flows, glowing ochrous hues onto his sweaty chiselled muscles.

"Oh, well" Casey conveyed, making her presence known to the man. Devyn turn. Yet proceeded with his movement.

"Don't" He let out, focusing on the window ahead.

Casey moved from her position "But I haven't precisely uttered a word" She defended and then paused. "Though I would have appreciated it if you get busy with something else, you know"

"Did you get the stuff I requested of?" Devyn threw in, slicing her off her purposeful conversation.

"Just as you requested" She returned and then smirked, seeming to have come up with a nice recovery. "Milo let out something about a... Detective?" Her smirk grew. A set of dazzling, angel-white teeth gleamed as she blew gently on her carmine-red fingernails.

"It's nothing"

Her countenance thrived into an amused yet pleased expression. She had a bouncy personality "Hmm, so there is" And her sugary voice was pleasuring. "Oh, come on. It's like a dream come through" Her bouncy personality

Devyn deactivated the treadmill, more like he wasn't set to attend to her. "I suppose it's time to take a shower" He announced getting off the device. "I will be with you shortly" He whispered and went by her.

"That's a bad habit you got there, Devyn"