poison & wine |detective loki| COMPLETE

six.

David and you pulled up to a small home that the man from the vigil supposedly lived in. Jill, from the Value Mall, called Loki after he had shown up again, buying children’s clothes yet again. She relayed the license plate number to David, who was able to track him down in minutes with the help of dispatch.

Loki knocked on the door three times and then stood back to wait, quickly glancing at you and nodding reassuringly. The door handle turned, the door moving only as far as to show the man from the vigil’s face as Loki and you held your badges up.

The man was dressed in a khaki-colored button-up with a tie, seemingly put together, yet his eyes held a frantic look. Like a caged animal, unable to escape the confinement of a maze. 

Loki plastered a fake smile onto his face as the man nervously looked between the two of you, “Mornin’.”

A long pause occurred as the man, Bob Taylor, turned his gaze to you, eyes traveling down your body slowly. Loki clearing his throat loudly caused the man’s eyes to dart away from you and back to Loki.

“Why’d you run away from me the other night, man?’ The man looked Loki up and down nervously before shaking his head, “I’ve never seen you before. Are you sure you have the right house?”

You stepped closer to the door, a smile plastered to your face, “You been doing some shopping at the Value Mall lately?”

The man’s eyes widened microscopically before he turned his expression neutral,” Yeah. Why, is it a crime to shop there?” He motions at Loki’s buttoned shirt and coat, “I can’t afford to buy suits from Brooks Brothers.” 

“You bought children’s clothes.” Loki pulled a smile onto his face as he spoke to Taylor, whose face had gone pale at the mention of children’s clothes. Loki’s face quickly went dark and stoic again. You each held your own version of this man in your head, he was the only suspect you had that made the most sense at this point in time. 

“Did I? I must have been in a hurry.” The man’s eyes darted nervously between you and David, eyes staying longer on you than Loki.

“Do you have children?” You and Loki already knew the answer.

The man shook his head slowly, eyes darting to the ground, “No...I don’t have…”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Loki position his foot against the door as Bob braced against it, failing to close it as Loki barged his way in. The man went flying back as Loki took hold of him and threw him against a wall, the awful crack of a broken nose filling the air. You shut the door behind you as Loki shoved the man against the ground and cuffed him.

You drew your gun from your hip to provide cover as Loki cuffed the man and then drew his weapon, “You move and I’ll put a bullet through your fucking head.”

You averted your gaze from Loki holding Bob Taylor down and took notice of your surroundings. Mazes were drawn all over every square inch of the walls and doors. What the fuck?

Your nose picked up on a horrible stench from the kitchen. Your stomach was doing flips and your brain was screaming at you, please don’t be those girls.

You slowly advanced towards the flies buzzing in the kitchen with your gun drawn as Loki called in for back up behind you, “This is 13-40 and 13-43. I need an additional unit for search. 437 Carrol Street. Possible kidnapping victims on the premises.”

The walls were the same in this kitchen, mazes everywhere. Piles of empty plastic bags were on the kitchen table. You walked further into the kitchen to find a pig’s head in the sink with a wig on it, flies hoarding around it, and its foul odor.