NO BODY, NO CRIME

Chapter 2

"Okay fine!" Liam retaliated. "I have been with Sophia for precisely nine months now!"

"And you found lying a good idea," Louis muttered as he collected all the proof he had presented of Liam and Sophia's long relationship from the table.

"I.. I was nervous.." Liam admitted.

"This does bring you to a bad light Mr. Payne," Louis warned. "Your role here is done but don't do anything suspicious."

"Detective, I may not have loved Gemma, but she was my wife," Liam said in a serious tone and Louis scoffed.

"Do you have any idea how fishy that sounds? That's like the perfect motive."

"What I mean is," Liam sighed, "I spent five good years with her before I found comfort in someone else, I never hated her. I could never think of hurting her."

"And replacing her with another woman wouldn't hurt her?" Louis snapped and Liam flopped down on his seat.

"Detective, what are you aiming at?"

"It is clear you were slowly replacing her with Ms. Smith. Giving her access to you accounts, your house, everything were steady moves. Your wife finding out wasn't your plan. The moment she decides to confront you, she vanishes into thin air? Isn't that suspicious?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Are you indicating that I've committed some crime?"

"Yes, I am," Louis answered, bluntly. "But at what level? Is she alive, Mr. Payne?"

"I don't know, I have told you that before," Liam stayed firm on his statement. 

"Finding someone live is not too difficult, because hiding the living is hard."

"So, we're assuming she's dead?" Liam shot his shot, face neutral.

"How else hasn't a person surfaced in three months?" Louis quirked his eyebrows.

"You can't prove she's dead. Have you found her body even?" Liam asked, a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

Louis looked down. He couldn't help but agree he had a point. This case wasn't a murder yet because there was no body.

"Exactly, detective. No body, no crime," Liam looked Louis straight into the eye and Louis glared back.

"I know you are confident in your skin and that you know what I am getting at. I'm sure you've planned it perfectly, but when I crack this, Mr. Payne, it's over for you," Louis warned him. "And when I get to you, which I will, no lawyer, no wealth, no law will be able to save you. Gemma Styles will get justice!" Louis stormed out of the interrogation room and Zayn ran out of the next room, from where he was watching. 

"Lou?" he called but Louis didn't stop.

"Louis, stop." It wasn't Zayn this time. It was Captain Higgins and Louis' morale didn't let him disobey a superior officer.

They caught up with him and sighed. "You got very passionate Tomlinson," Higgins said as he put a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he said, clearly not meaning it.

"Don't be. I bloody loved it."

"What?!" Louis and Zayn said in unison.

"Yes," Higgins said with conviction. "You promised a supposedly dead woman's justice in their and I want you to fulfil that."

"I will, Sir, I will," Louis promised, convincingly and Higgins let go of him.

"We need to keep an eye on Payne," Zayn said.