Redamancy | ᴶᵃᵏᵉ ᴾᵉʳᵃˡᵗᵃ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

Him and I (3)

11:56
Apartment 384,
Eighth Floor

~Y/n POV~

Peralta and I arrived at the victim's apartment. We investigated the apartment and collected any evidence we could discover.

Dayana Haddock was murdered last night in her apartment on the eighth floor. Crime scene investigators swept the area and found no murder weapon or sign of forced entry. She lived alone with her turtle, Shelby. All CCTV footage on that floor has been wiped the neighbours do not recall seeing anyone suspicious entering or leaving the building. Peralta and I set off and collected any evidence we could find, luckily, we managed to find torn fabric that had been snagged on the balcony's fence.

Not only that, but the ripped fabric also indicates that the perp had to have either used the balcony to enter the apartment or use the balcony to flee. We scoured through the remainder of the apartment, and other than the blood smeared across the kitchen from the crime itself, nothing stood out.

Futile in our attempt to uncover a lead, we agreed to do door duty, starting on the right-hand side, working our way to the left. We began at Apartment 378. "NYPD Open up" instructed Peralta. "Door duty sucks..." I heard him breathe out under his breath.

"Oh, uuh hey man" a young man answered the door, "how can I help you?" I proceeded to brief him on the situation and inquired him if he had witnessed anything unusual recently. "Not that I think of... wait! I do remember one thing, about a week maybe just more than that, I remember hearing a man yelling down the corridor. And I got super pissed 'cause I was in the middle of a gaming tournament. So I went to see what was going on and I saw Dayana arguing with some man. I asked her about it that following week and she didn't say who he was, only that she didn't want to talk about him." We thanked him for his assistance and continued to approach 879...

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14:22
The 99th Precinct

I was seated at my desk, leisurely flipping through case files in the hopes of finding something fresh. Door duty didn't provide much information only that our victim, Dayana, seemed to quarrel with a mysterious man. We talked with the victim's family, and none of them knew who that man may be because she hasn't been in a relationship for years, and most of her closest friends are women. So, that brings me to now, where I'm mindlessly flipping and re-flipping through this thin case file in hopes for inspiration.

Alas, there was nothing that sprang to mind. The same old facts kept circling in my head, teasing me for not having the answer. We still didn't have a list of everyone who had access to the security cameras, which was a pain. Security Cameras! That could be something...

Even if the perp wasn't recognized entering or leaving the building by anyone, there is a possibility that he or she could've been caught by local CCTV cameras. We just need access to the system to make sure.

The lift dings and the silver doors glide open, revealing a dejected Detective Peralta. He walks over to me, grumpily, and sits in the chair next to my desk.

"So, the landlord gave me a list, only him, his wife and the security guard that stands at the door all day has access to the security cameras in the building." He sighs, knowing that the lack of evidence flowing our way means that the case is on the brink of becoming a cold case.

"How about we check out the local CCTV around the area? If the security guard had access to it, we can see if he leaves his post at all. It may seem hopeless but it's the best we've got. We could also question the landlord and his wife, just to be safe." Peralta's eyes shine with happiness and hope. Hope that this case will lead somewhere.

Peralta leads me to the surveillance room, there, we have access to all the security cameras in the Brooklyn area. After speeding through hours of footage in a matter of minutes, we notice that the security guard leaves his post at 10:41 pm, despite his shift ending at 11:30 pm. Peralta and I exchange a broad smirk as we turn to look at each other at the same time. We have a potential lead.

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16:38
The 99th Precinct

With a defeated sign, Peralta and I sink into our office chairs, hoping that the warn down leather would swallow us whole. Turns out the security guard had diarrhoea, and the landlord, Kennith Wallis, and his wife, Michaela Wallis, had solid alibis. Kennith was out drinking with his friends while Michaela was caring for Kennith's elderly grandmother. This is leading nowhere.

"Peralta, L/n. There's this old lady here to see you. Something about a woman named Dayana?" Jeffords announced, before resuming to eat his strawberry yoghurt at his desk. Behind him sat a timid looking old lady, who stood at a fraction of Jeffords' height. Her curly white hair seemed frazzled and unkept. She wore a white dress with small lilac flowers dotted along with the fabric along with a matching lilac cardigan. Her slippers skidded and glides across the floor with each small step she took.

"How may we help you, ma'am? Here take a seat" I gentility guide the elderly towards the chair next to my desk, as Peralta came up and leaned against my desk the other side of me.

"So I was talking with my granddaughter, Sarah, and it turns out that her son had an affair and now his wife found out, she got really mad, that's why I think she did it." The lady explained slowly. Peralta and I looked towards each other, silently asking if we knew what the lady was talking about. We were just as puzzled as each other.

"Sorry, ma'am but, who are you talking about? Who did what?" Peralta questioned the elderly calmly.

The lady began to chuckle warmly. "Oh, I'm so sorry dearies. Sarah, my daughter, is the mother of Kennith Wallis. Now he was the one having an affair with that poor woman who was murdered! What was her name... oh forgive me, my brain isn't what it used to be... Dayana?" Peralta and I gasped and I turned toward Peralta, who mirrored the wide grin that was displayed on my face.

"So you're the elderly grandmother that Michaela Wallis was supposed to visiting the night of the murder!" I exclaimed happily.

The grandmother hummed in acknowledgement, "except that witch never showed." She let out an annoyed 'humph'. We thanked her for her help, and let her know that she saved the day, literally.

Peralta and I went on to arrest and interrogate Michaela. Turns out her husband has been cheating on her for years, and once she found out who with, she snapped. The mystery man was now identified as the landlord, and our perp has been caught and convicted with a fully signed confession. The ripped price of the fabric matched perfectly with some jeans Michaela wore that night. Peralta had then invited me to drink with him at a bar named 'Shaw's' that the squad frequently visited. Happily, I agreed.

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20:29
Shaw's Bar

"Thank you for your help today Peralta" I beamed at the detective beside me, siping at my F/dr.

"Oh please, you did like 90% of the work. If anything I should be thanking you!" Peralta exclaimed hysterically. We laughed and talked for hours, the time passing us by. "You have a beautiful smile, L/n" Peralta commented out of the blue, his eyes beamed at me while staring at me full of fondness.

"I- thank you, Peralta. You're beautiful too! I- I mean you have a beautiful smile. Not that you're not beautiful, because you are- wait, I mean..." Peralta began to chuckle at my awkwardness, while the heat began to spread across my face. I'm not used to getting compliments from people, I'm especially not used to people complimenting you so smoothly mid-conversation!

"Thank you, and for the record, you're beautiful too. Oh and L/n?" I nodded in response, scared that my mouth will begin to ramble and embarrass myself further. "Call me Jake." I smile warmly up at him, thankful that he wasn't completely weirded out by me.

"Jake, call me Y/n" He then smiled brightly at me, for a while, I forgot the world around us existed. At that moment, it was Him and I, as I seemed to get lost in those chocolate eyes.