Chapter 292: Investigation (2) 

[Edward POV]

Chloe slumped over the table, her head drooping low as she rested heavily on her crossed arms, a faint snore escaping her lips. The sun slowly crept over the horizon, brightening the living room inside the seaside villa.

Suddenly, a tall stack of case files was slammed onto the table where Chloe was sleeping. She jolted awake, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun, but then she froze as she recognized me.

I rolled my eyes as I pressed the papers down with my right hand. "What are you going to do, shoot me?" My left hand held a can of Red Bull—something that made me talk twice as fast as usual.

Chloe blinked, befuddled, and calmed herself down. Moving her hand away from her gun holster, she asked, "When did I fall asleep?"

"Around the third case file. So, about six hours ago. It goes smoother without you bothering me every two minutes, I even managed to solve seven more."

Chloe widened her eyes. "You solved seven cold cases in one night?"

I waved my hand dismissively with my right hand while taking a sip of the Red Bull with the other. "No, only three. Then I got bored looking at a case from 1999, so I called your captain last night and asked him to assign you new cases. After my twentieth call of the night, he relented and let me take a look at all the ongoing investigations."

I flipped through the stacks of papers, explaining each one. "Murder, murder, murder, assault, robbery, robbery, and lastly, a pervert. Now, I need you to go and arrest all of them. I can't claim that I solved all of this before you did."

Chloe was speechless for a moment as she scanned the case files. I cracked open another can of Red Bull and added, "I went through everything in the cold case box, but it'll take time to solve them, so I set them aside for now. I have a bet to win, you see."

Once the perpetrators were arrested, only then could I log the case in for the bet. Otherwise, I would've won tonight cause based on the value of cases we settled on, I had solved 24 cases tonight. Misdemeanors count as 1 case, felonies as 3 cases, and serial offenses as 10 cases.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that ridiculous bet."

I wagged my finger at her while taking a sip. "It's not ridiculous. This means that when they write their wedding vows later on, they'll have to acknowledge my contribution and put my name in there."

"You seem so sure that they will end up together," Chloe said, a hint of awe and disbelief in her voice.

I chuckled. "Isn't that obvious? Alright, chop chop! These criminals won't arrest themselves. By the way, where is your partner? How come I've never seen him?"

Chloe sighed in exasperation. "I work alone."

I hummed in objection. "Hmm, no, you shouldn't work alone. It's dangerous, and you definitely need a partner. But I also know your reputation at the station, so let me call you some backups."

"No need—" Before she could finish, I pressed my finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh, don't fight it, baby. There's only one way this thing is going to work. It's either you go with your partner or the other uniformed officers, or you go with me. Which one do you want to pick?"

I had recently grown to hate the trope of cops working alone because their superiors deemed them 'loose cannons' or 'mad dogs.' In movies, it seemed cool; in real life, it was just stupid—not to mention life-threatening.

Chloe slapped my hand away, grimacing as she warned me, "Don't ever do that again."

Without missing a beat, I called the police captain, whose number I had on speed dial. "Sup, Captain?"

"It's 6 in the morning! Please don't—"

I ignored him and continued, "I've solved every case you gave me last night."

"...What?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "Those cases I just gave you four hours ago?"

"Yeah. Anyway, the judge said, 'It'll be Chloe's arrest,' so give her a task force." I said this casually.

Even Chloe looked incredulous at my statement.

"We can't just—"

"You know it's going crazy right now about women's rights on social media. Imagine the backlash when people find out there's a police detective being sidelined by her captain just because she wants to ensure equal treatment. Can your department take that heat?"

"Is that a threat?" he asked, trying to sound tough, but his voice faltered at the end.

I chuckled. "Threat? No, it's not a threat. It's just a concern. I'm worried about the police department, that's all."

The captain was silent for a moment before he made a decision. "Alright. She can have her own team. Not a task force."

"Thanks. So she'll bring the cases to the police station, and her team needs to be ready by then. I can't legally work on a case without her supervising me, but screw that. Ah, that serial arsonist case looks interesting. Give me a copy of the case. Bye~"

I hung up the call before the captain could get a word in. After tossing all the cases to Chloe, I said, "Remember, do not do it alone. Alright, look at me, being all fatherly. Did you have a daddy issue perchance? Would this be turning you on—"

She turned around and stomped away. I chuckled and waved goodbye to her before heading out for a run by the sea.

I had some excess energy to burn from the Red Bull, and I hadn't done any cardio in a while, so I put on my running shorts, a black tank top, running shoes, and a black cap. Wearing headphones, I started jogging through the neighborhood.

The neighborhood was gated, but that didn't stop some paparazzi from camping out where they could see my house from outside the gate. Some even broke through the gate occasionally, dealing with the legal repercussions afterward.

After running for a mile, I finally reached the beachfront near my neighborhood, where the morning sun glinted off the waves, creating a beautiful shimmer. The warm California sun rose higher, casting a golden hue over the sandy shore. The sound of waves crashing mixed with laughter and chatter as people jogged, walked their dogs, and set up for yoga classes on the beach. Surfers dotted the horizon, waiting for the perfect wave, while families spread out their blankets for a day of fun in the sun.

My breath was steady as I jogged alongside the beach, passing other runners and people enjoying the morning. The air was filled with the salty scent of the ocean, mingled with the aroma of fresh coffee from a nearby café.

Suddenly, I heard barking behind me. "Hmm?" I turned around and saw a golden retriever chasing after me, his tongue hanging out and tail wagging furiously.

Bursting into laughter, I stopped running and turned to the dog. He wagged his tail happily as he stopped in front of me. Crouching slightly, I started rubbing his face. "Why are you following me, big guy? Where is your owner?"

"Woof!" The dog barked, moving left and right anxiously, seemingly trying to complain to me about something. I checked his collar and figured out his name.

"Roxy!" I heard a woman's voice shouting from afar. She was running straight toward me as she spotted the dog. Surprisingly, it was someone I knew. 

Ashley Benson scolded the golden retriever as she hooked the leash back to his collar. "Please stop running away every time we get to the beach! I can't chase after you every single time," she exclaimed, visibly tired.

 Wearing a sports bra and tight jogger, she was planning to enjoy some time at a cafe nearby when her dog suddenly ran away. Her words made me snicker, catching her attention. She turned toward me, her face flushed with embarrassment, "Sorry for bothering you."

"No, no, it's fine, Roxy is quite cute." I waved my hand dismissively. "I should continue running if I want to keep my heart rate up. See you later, Ashley."

"Huh?" She looked confused at first, but then recognition clicked in as I pulled up my hat to show her my face. 

I resumed running while Ashley stood frozen. As I moved away, I heard her squeal in excitement. She squatted next to Roxy, "Baby, that's Edward! That hottie I told you about! I can't believe I met him here!"

She squealed again, rubbing Roxy's fur around his neck. "AHHH! What am I going to do, Roxy? Is this destiny or something? How can it be such a coincidence that the guy you were running toward is him?! Wait, should I invite him to get a some coffee with me at the cafe–"

The idea came too late, and I was already too far away. I continued running past the beachfront, making a circular turn to return back to my house, which made a girl who expected me to run back on the same path waited for my return for nothing. However, after 7 continuous miles, I finally had to stop to get a drink.

"Ah, damn cardio," I panted slightly before heading to a vending machine at a nearby park for some water. 

I stood beside a basketball court as I took my water break when suddenly the people inside noticed me. Most of the players were African American, and one of them recognized me.

It was a young college guy who pointed at me while holding a ball with his other hand. "Hey, you're the Newgate dude, right?"

"That's me," I replied casually with a polite smile. He brightened up and said, "Man, I didn't like you."

"That's a normal thing to say to someone," I mumbled. He snorted and replied, "Sorry, didn't mean it that way. I like you now, though, after the whole getting arrested thing."

One of the older men, bald with a thick beard, walked over and scolded the boy, "Man, if you want to talk, throw the ball."

"N****, that's that kid Newgate," the young man whispered to the older guy. "For real?" The older man turned to me, saying, "Boy, I didn't like you before."

I raised an eyebrow, slightly incredulous. The young man burst into laughter and clarified, "Before—before!"

The older guy continued, "Man, you punched the hell out of that dude. I swear I saw his teeth fly in that video. No one believes me, though."

I nodded in understanding. "His teeth did, in fact, fly."

Both of them erupted in laughter before the older one said, "You're quite cool. What do you say, we lack a player… You... wanna play ball?"

"Sure, if you don't mind losing to a white guy," I teased.

They both snorted in amusement, and the older one replied, "Alright, white boy. Let's see what you got. Don't cry to your girlfriend afterward when you fall on your face."

He threw the ball at me, and I caught it easily. The older one—Dan—and the younger one, Chris, played on the opposite team. The match was intense, and they weren't going easy on me at all—which was a good thing.

As I caught the ball, I dribbled it before jumping to the net and dunking it inside.

"OH DAMN!" Dan shouted in frustration, sweat pouring down his face. I high-fived my teammates and laughed at him, which only fueled his annoyance and determination for the next point.

The back-and-forth continued for a while, but eventually, the older guys couldn't keep playing any longer. Only Chris and I remained standing, while the others slumped on the ground, groaning and whining about how their bodies didn't work as they used to, or how they would've buried us in the match.

"Ah, you're a terrifying white dude. You should try out for the NBA," Dan said teasingly.

I scoffed and replied, "I'm already busy enough as it is." I checked my watch and exclaimed, "Ah, I should run back now."

Chris asked, "You coming again tomorrow?"

"I will if I have the time. Here, take my number and give me yours." I exchanged contact information with him. Before I left, I turned to Chris and Dan and asked, "I'm confused about something. Why did you suddenly like me now? Is it only because I punched that guy?"

Chris shook his head and teased, "Nah, it's because you have a mugshot now."

Dan snickered and asked, "You want me to be real?"

"Yes, please," I replied without hesitation.

Dan smiled and said, "It's because you take responsibility for your actions. Honestly, when I saw the news, I thought, 'Ah, another celebrity above the law.' When you're someone who gets hassled by the fuzz just for walking down the street to your nephew's house, I didn't really have a strong opinion on your kind of people. I have a Phd you know, but somehow, they still looked at me like I'm some sort of threat."

I nodded in understanding and let him continue. 

"But then the news broke out about why you did that. It impressed me that you're standing up for yourself. I didn't really like you back then, but when I found out you refused to settle with that ass—prick and even went to court yourself? Man! I thought you were a rockstar."

A lot of people shared the same sentiment as him. For the majority of the male population, I was no longer seen as that 'teen heartthrob'. It made a lot of people who hate me for nothing become a fan of mine after the incident. 

"I kinda am, a little bit," I interjected with a coy smile.

Dan grimaced, "Don't."

I laughed awkwardly, which made him burst into laughter. He patted my back roughly and said, "I'm just kidding. I like your music."

Chris exposed Dan, "He likes your girlfriend's music better. He thought we won't notice it, but he will listen to Taylor S. everytime–"

Before Chris could finish, Dan covered his mouth. With an anxious face, he told me, "You should go back now, aren't you late?"

"He will even sing along to 'You Belong With Me!' and he knows every word!" Chris exposed his Uncle.

"I will beat your ass!" Dan warned Chris who ran away from him quickly. 

"Ah, thank you guys! This has been fun." I wore my earphones again and told them, "If I have some time to play, I will make sure to text you guys."

Then, I left the basketball court. After 20 more minutes of running, I finally returned to my house. 

"Should I sleep or continue working on the cases? Hmmm…. I guess I should sleep for a bit." I walked to the couch from the front door, and immediately activated the [rest skill], making myself fall to sleep before my body even hit the couch cushions. 

…

[General POV] 

Brooklyn, 99th Police Precinct

"You're not assigning us more cases? But why? I need that to win the bet!" Jake argued with Captain Holt while inside the captain's office. Amy, Boyle, Rosa, and Terry stood by Jake's side, all of them having been called into the office.

Holt explained in his usual monotone voice, "Do you know what will happen if you win the bet?"

Jake interjected hurriedly, a huge grin on his face. "There's no 'if,' Captain. I, Jake Peralta, the most brilliant detective in this building, will definitely win."

"That's quite a big talk from someone who struggled to keep up with my points," Amy said with a slight smirk. Jake turned to her and replied, "I know you're excited about going on a date with me, Amy, but be professional. We're in front of the captain."

"I wasn't—" Amy widened her eyes and stammered. Captain Holt raised his hand and interrupted, "Enough. I don't have time for this childish game you all made with a literal child. You are not to continue with this bet."

Boyle asked, "What's the concern, Captain? Why are you so against it?"

Holt explained, "Because the outcome will surely raise potential bribery concerns about our department. Police departments have strict policies regarding gifts and donations."

Holt stood up and continued, "It may require a formal review process to determine if the donation aligns with departmental guidelines and ethical standards. In this case, I do not think tricking an adolescent into buying our department's new luxury vehicle is ethical."

"Wait, so you want us to stop this bet because you think we might win, not because you think we'll lose?" Terry asked, a mix of confusion and admiration in his tone.

Holt replied casually, "Yes. All of you are accomplished professionals. I expect you to act that way and not take advantage of others." Everyone exclaimed as they thought Holt was being sweet, all except Rosa.

Suddenly, Rosa received a text message while the others were snickering. She sighed and said to Holt, "Captain, while you were having your moment, that Newgate prick updated his case board."

Holt smirked. "See? It's now noon, and he only solved one case—" His smile froze when Rosa interjected, "He solved nine. The total value is twenty-four based on what we agreed on. He already won."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Jake whined in a high-pitched voice. "Amy only got eight! And she's the frontrunner out of all of us!" Boyle added.

"Nope. All the perps already confessed to their crimes. He won while we were arguing about professionalism. Good job, everyone." Rosa said curtly and sarcastically.

"Oh," Captain Holt exclaimed curtly, his expression shifting to one of humiliation. "I guess I was wrong."

With his hands on his hips, Jake turned to Holt, trying to contain his anger. "You think?"

Rosa suddenly received another text. She sighed and read it aloud. "Newgate said, 'Chloe only arrested four people, while the others were arrested by other detectives. He thought about it and decided to only submit those points.'"

"Is he pitying us?" Boyle asked, a hint of humiliation in his voice.

Terry sighed. "He might be trying to be kind and let us save face, but this feels worse than him already winning the bet!"

Holt suddenly said, "Then what are you waiting for? GO! Take as many cases as you want! You need to maintain the dignity of the police department and not let him win without giving him some competition!"

"Thanks, Captain," Jake said.

"No time for gratitude! GO AND SOLVE CASES!" Holt chased everyone out of his office. "GO, GO, GO!"

Jake stopped Boyle when they got outside of the office, "Boyle, I'm sorry that I'm asking you this, but I think the reason we are so late in solving the cases, is because all of us are working on our own. We should work with our partners if we want to win"

Boyle gasped and said, "You want to do it together? What happened to 'I'm a lone wolf'?"

Jake waved his hand dismissively and said, "Eh, I don't care about not being called that if I can win. Let's go. I already solved 4 more felonies, but I haven't arrested the perps yet because I want to stack them and win all at once."

Back to California, Edward stretched his arms in the air as he let out a huge yawn. He was at the movie set where he would record a short scene today. Pepper slapped his back and scolded him, "You have already won, why did you make things difficult for yourself?"

"Oww." Edward rubbed his sore bicep and replied, "It's too boring to win without any competitions. Besides, I have my eye on that serial arsonist case. I want to solve that one as the last case to win the bet."

Pepper scolded him again, "Why did you even decide to start the bet when you're busy enough as it is! You're making me worried sick! Take better care of yourself!"

"I will!...In about 5 years." Edward replied mischievously.

"What?!" Pepper retorted angrily. Edward ran away hurriedly before Pepper could get mad again. When he returned home, the case file for the serial arsonist case was already at his house, and on top of the case file was a note from Chloe telling him that he could work without her.

"I'm not going to wait anyway." Edward muttered before he opened the case files. "7 fires, all have the same MO, even clues and a calling card left behind by the perp. This sounds interesting."

Edward turned to the clues left behind by the perps with a face full of excitement. "The clues are written in hieroglyphs and ancient sanskrit? I need to decipher it to—"

Before Edward could even try to decipher the clues, Robin suddenly chimed in, "The culprit responsible for the recent fires is Emily Wallaby, 29 years old, daughter of Professor Walla Walla Wallaby who has a master's degree in Ancient Languages and Cultural Symbolism."

Robin pulled up the picture of the woman using the hologram projection, even her AI body appeared too, "Based on her GPS records, she was at all the places when the crime happened. I also found several internet searches in her laptop pertaining to methods of starting fires."

Flabbergasted, Edward widened his eyes and asked, "Robin!? What are you doing?!"

Robin was confused, "Solving cases sir. I wanted to lighten your load. You seem to be doing too much recently, and you need some rest."

"I— Wha– How– I–" Edward stammered for a while, he couldn't even respond properly to the situation. "I…Ugh!" He stood up from the chair and pouted. "I wanted to solve it by myself!" He whined and accidentally knocked on the cold cases box Chloe brought over last night.

"Ugh." He groaned again and went to pick up the cases from the floor when his eyes caught something strange. "Unsolved case…Serial Killer…Code- Tea Time Strangler?"