One Lovely Night

Jeran Vincent was back from her long vacation to Manhattan when she was welcomed with a new case. Rather than being glad, she showed only one emotion --Sadness. She was exhausted from working all day and night solving the mysterious cases thrown her way. Though she may be the ace of the Kingslaiv Police Department, she wasn't so fond of her work and neither was she interested in her Life.

Day after day she would keep herself busy with works, sometimes to the extent that she would pass out from fatigue. A workaholic, you would say.

"Jeran, you look like a pale ghost lurking around the alley at midnight", commented her friend and coworker -- Scarlet Raychell. Finding the statement a little dry she added, " A 'Beautiful ' one, of course"

This time the latter faced her with a stern look and rolled her eyes. "Bet you just wanted to have some fun", she replied with coldness in her tone. Scarlet giggled and nod in agreement before slumping on her chair with a pout whilst playing with her fingers.

" Maybe if you wouldn't be so engrossed in your works we could have some fun! And besides, you just came back from your long vacation to an unknown island!", she complained about, making the young Detective turn and face her again but with a frown.

"Manhattan is not an unknown island, Idiot. Get yourself some Knowledge and stop whining like a five-year-old kid", Scarlet groaned and got up from her seat, stomping her feet as she approached the door but before she could open it there was a knock. It caught the attention of Jeran who said, " Come in" and waited for the person. Scarlet who was on her way out, stood and watched Eric Clemson with his usual smile and blonde hair. He greeted them and approached Jeran who was puzzled when he handed her a file.

"A new case for you and... Scarlet"

'A new case?' They both thought.

"What is this about?", asked Jeran as she flipped the cover and went through the data. " An unsolved murder case?", she looked at Eric with knitted brows. He nodded with a sigh and said, "It's about the incident where a businessman was murdered in his study room. Shot on the head four times with a shotgun"

Scarlet gasped when she heard the word 'shotgun'. She faced Eric with wide eyes as if asking him to continue but was interrupted by a cold looking Detective.

"So why is this file doing in my hand? Do the higher-ups want us to solve it for them? or is it just a drill as it's been weeks since we've returned to the station and haven't done much work", Eric just smiled at her and said nothing else because he knew it would need a lot of energy to start a conversation with someone like Jeran. She can be a little hard to tackle in a debate and Eric knew it very well of how much she was capable of making you realise that you're of the wrong opinion. It was true that it was a warm-up for them but the complexity of the incident had made them anxious to solve it by any means. The only available persons were Jeran and Scarlet, so they were chosen for this mystery.

" Wait for a second here. You're saying that he was shot in the head by a 'shotgun' and nobody heard a sound?? Are the family members deaf or something?", Eric chuckled and shook his head. "No, Detective. They didn't hear it but saw the body about 15 minutes after he was killed, by his brother"

The statement made Jeran paused for a moment and tossed the file to Scarlet who caught it with ease. She looked through the data and couldn't help but blink hard at the testimonies of the family members. Scarlet heaved a deep sigh and said, "This is all just mere words that have been practised and spit out. You can tell it just by reading this nonsense! What on earth is the Head of the Department doing!? Does he even know what this means?"

"By all means, it does seem a little off"

Scarlet rolled her eyes and slammed the file on the table causing the Blonde guy to flinch.

"Jeran Dear, this is all talks! The wife seems off. The whole family seems off! The world itself is off!"

"I'm afraid I can't comprehend your words, Scarlet. And as for now, we don't know what exactly happened to Mr Philip Malore. So, I want you to keep your temper in check and think about it more logically", Scarlet frowned upon hearing the cold words. She knew it was an easy case but if Jeran wasn't ready to disclose it like how she used to do then it was something big. Anyone could tell it was the wife, Lara Malore but why was Jeran so against the thought? And why was she not willing to let Scarlet do it in her way? or was it just a font to make it seem like a mystery?

" What do you know about the family?", Asked Jeran with authority in her voice. Eric nodded and replied in his sweet tone, "I don't know much about the family but from what I've heard it's a household completely different from the others. It is said that the victim was engaged in a scandal with one of the daughters of the Derion household. For years they've been partners in both business and personal affairs but after the Christmas Eve, the news that Philip and Fiona Derion were Involved in a love relationship leaked out causing the two families to discontinue their trades or partnerships. That's all I know about them, Detective"

Jeran noted down the information and closed her diary with a groan. "That's a lot of work to do. If the Derion and the Malore Nobles are rivals then it won't be a surprise to know anyone having any type of bloodlust against each other"

"But can you see what the wife has to say? She clearly said that it was for the best!"

"I know, and it does sound like forced marriage and all. You may be right about the whole wife's involvement since she stated those words. However, we can't be too certain knowing the fact that it was a murder. And whoever the culprit is, he or she won't say any sorts of words like that in their right mind.", She sighed. "Scarlet, I need your help to solve this case with me. Not with your judgements but with you're knowledge and skills"

Even though Jeran knew her friend wasn't playing around. But the way she spoke of the whole incident was making her feel anxious, she wasn't into it, at least not like how Jeran was. She wanted to have a logical conclusion to the topic. And to do that she needed Scarlet to concentrate and analyse the situation with her intelligence.

"Get ready we're meeting the family"