2 Chapter 2: Investigation

"Wait… alone? I'm sorry to say this, detective, but this is one of the stupidest things I've heard!" Scarlet couldn't help but slam her hands on the desk as she exclaimed.

"Well, isn't it my job to investigate? I still have my radio if I need backup. And relax; some officers were patrolling the area earlier. It's impossible for our mysterious murderer to be there."

"*Sigh*okay, stay safe, and don't do anything stupid," Scarlet said as she calmed down and leaned her back against the chair.

Caspian simply nodded as he said, "Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Also, here's my number. Contact me if you find out anything new."

Caspian then waved his hand as he left the room.

He then went to his office to grab a few things. As he grabbed his coat and wore it, he holstered his Glock 22 properly on his chest, left the department, and immediately drove his car towards the abandoned hospital.

As he arrived, he parked his car somewhere near the building so he could easily access it if things got awry. Caspian then entered the building while the hair on his body stood up. "This place gives me the creeps."

He turned on his flashlight and warily walked through the hospital hallway, attentive to everything he saw.

The eerie quietness and dark atmosphere were enough to give anyone the shivers.

Caspian carefully looked at every nook and cranny of the place. Afraid that he was going to miss a major clue.

As he gazed around, he saw various paintings on the walls. Caspian knew those were done by vandals, so he couldn't help but whisper, "I don't get people. Why would they even want to visit a creepy, abandoned hospital."

Seeing that there was nothing important on the ground floor, he decided to go up. Fortunately, this place was quite small and only had four floors.

After a long hour of investigating this place, Caspian found nothing relating to the murder incident. "I came here for nothing, didn't I…."

As he was about to leave, his phone suddenly rang, slightly scaring him. He pulled out the phone and saw that it was Abby.

Caspian answered the call and said, "Hello, Abby?"

"Why the hell did you go alone?!" Abby said with a worried voice.

"It's fine; it's my job to investigate."

"You should've at least brought me with you! *Sigh*did you at least find something related to the case?" Abby asked.

"Unfortunately, there was not a single clue about the murder. Didn't you say there was a witness? I think we should contact her tomorrow."

"That's unfortunate. I'm glad you're safe, though. And we should definitely pay the witness a visit."

Caspian was starting to walk toward the exit to get to his car and leave this creepy place, but he suddenly heard a slight thump within the vicinity, causing him to unholster his gun immediately.

"Abby, I might have to call you back."

Before Abby could reply, Caspian ended the call. He flashed his flashlight toward the spot where he heard the noise, but his flashlight suddenly got hit by something, and the LED broke, causing it to turn off.

"The fuck…." Since the flashlight was no longer useful, he dropped it and held his gun with both hands.

While staring at the dark hallway, he saw a shadowy figure move. Caspian then shouted, "Freeze! Hands in the air! I'm with the police!"

He then heard a small voice saying, "Damn, his senses are keen!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Another voice whispered as the first voice simply laughed silently.

The figure moved again, and Caspian warned them one more time, "If you move again, I will not hesitate to shoot!"

"What a bluff." the second voice said.

The figure once more moved, causing Caspian to pull the trigger, hitting the figure immediately.

"Haha! He actually shot you!" the first voice laughed as if not caring about their companion.

"Fuck!"

"I warned you, if you don't come with me, I will do it again!"

"We are wasting time! Let's go!" A new voice whispered.

As Caspian was about to shoot again, he was suddenly kicked in the leg, and he fell. His head hit the floor, causing him to black out for a second.

The figures suddenly vanished in thin air. Although Caspian didn't see much as it was dark and his flashlight was broken, he knew that they were no longer there.

He had a gash on his forearm as he fell on broken glass, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

As he stood up, he wiped the blood on his arm. After trying to discern his surroundings, he saw that the figures were no longer there. He couldn't help but say, "What the fuck…? Although I blacked out for a second… they wouldn't be that fast. There weren't even any footsteps too…."

He felt like he was dreaming, so he lightly slapped his cheeks. "I must've been too tired…."

His phone rang again, and he immediately answered since he knew it was Abby. "Why did you suddenly end the call?"

"I thought I saw something. I must be hallucinating."

"Did you overwork yourself again? Go home and rest. I'm sure you need it." Abby said with a concerned voice.

"Yeah… hey, can you get some people to patrol this area? It seems suspicious. There are also traces of vandalism here. It seems people think that this place is a tourist spot."

"Haha, I'll get it done. Get some rest." Abby said softly. Caspian then ended the call after saying goodbye and headed home, dead tired.

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As Caspian arrived at his home, he yawned and slumped on his sofa. "Ah, shit… I forgot to clean this place."

The apartment was a big apartment that Caspian managed to rent after his promotion to Detective 3.

"Ah, I still have to treat this wound." Caspian stood up, disinfected his wound, and wrapped it with a bandage. He yawned once more as he removed his coat and immediately headed to bed.

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In some kind of office appeared four figures. They simply sat down on the sofa lazily as they looked at the person sitting on the office chair.

The person on the chair then said, "It seems our target has finally reached this place."

"Yeah, he's a crafty one, always escaping despite the odds." one of the figures said.

"Well, you must capture him this time, dead or alive," the person sitting on the chair said in a threatening voice.

"We guarantee that we will, Captain." another one of the figures said.

"*Sigh*, I was hoping that we could capture him before law enforcement could get wind of our target."

"Wait… are they holding a case of one of his murders?"

"Yes. I will have to send you to Haverfall. You will be working with one of my companions there."

"He already arrived there…? If they find out—" One of the figures said in concern, but the person on the chair simply beckoned them to shush.

"Ah shit, the day I never wanted to come finally arrived. We have to work with another dumbass." A figure who was smoking a cigarette said.

"Keep your mouth shut, please," the person who was sitting on the chair said. "The dumbass you are referring to is your senior."

"Haha, what did I tell you about being grumpy just because you got shot?" one of the figures laughed loudly.

"I didn't expect him to shoot. It surprised me. Some people actually have the guts to do what they say."

"Enough; I'll also give you a folder containing information about my son. He's a detective. Get accustomed to his behavior and make sure that HE is not involved in the case, and DO NOT expose your identity, you understand? I don't want him to get involved in our mess."

"Okay, Captain."

The person sitting on the chair then gave the figures a manila folder, and one of them grabbed it.

As they opened the folder and saw the picture, one of the figures laughed loudly. "Hahahaha! Isn't he the one—"

"For fuck's sake."

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An alarm rang out in Caspian's apartment, waking him up. His eyes were still drowsy, but he stood up. "I forgot to change my clothes."

He just stretched his body as he removed his shirt, which showed his jacked torso. He then performed a couple of exercises before he headed to the shower.

After a while, he got dressed, drank some coffee, and left his apartment. Caspian then said, "I'll clean my place up later."

Caspian then drove his car towards the police station, stopping by Bailey's bakery to get some coffee and pastry. Of course, he paid for it despite Bailey trying to give it to him for free.

As he arrived at the station, he saw one officer who was sitting around, lounging, and playing games on his phone… Caspian was gonna ignore it, but he suddenly heard moaning.

"Officer, what are you doing?"

The officer who was playing 'games' jumped up from surprise as he closed his phone. "Uhh, nothing, detective."

"Didn't seem like a 'nothing' to me. Give me the phone, and I'll give it back to you later as punishment."

"Alright…. *Sigh* I just had the urge to ***watch that shit*** during work." the officer whispered as he gave up his phone.

Caspian grabbed the phone and headed toward his office while fiddling with it.

As he sat down on his chair, he looked at the stacked paper, and he couldn't help but say, "More paperwork…? Should I just burn this…?"

Caspian had already drunk all of the coffee that he got, so he brewed another one. After he got his second cup of coffee for the day, he started doing his work.

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About midday, he finally wrapped things up and, once more, another shot towards the drawer as he threw the paperwork in there.

Suddenly, Abby peeked at the door and looked at Caspian. Of course, with his keen senses, Caspian immediately noticed her, so he beckoned her to come in.

With a smile on her face, she approached Caspian and sat on his desk. "Hey, wanna go get some drinks later?"

"Yes, please. *Sigh* I wanna drown myself with booze," Caspian said with a tired voice.

"Just kidding, I don't have money!"

"Fuck you."

Abby simply laughed as she sat on the sofa. But after that, she donned a poker face while standing up properly, "Detective, shouldn't we go and visit the witness now?"

"I haven't even had lunch yet."

"Lunch can wait, sir."

"Alright, fine, miss two-face." Caspian scratched his neck as he said that.

He then stood up and got ready to leave with Abby, but suddenly someone knocked on his door.

"Having fun?"