Touch in the Dark

The Ring Reveal

The next morning, I was sitting in bed, papers spread out around me as I tried to make sense of everything. My head was still throbbing from the night before, but I had to push through it. I couldn't let anything distract me.

No murder weapon. It wasn't possible.
There had to be some evidence, some DNA, anything.

I stared at the photos I'd taken during our search of the penthouse. Something about the scene didn't sit right with me. I looked over at each image, searching for anything that might have been overlooked.

And then, as if a light bulb went off in my mind, I noticed it. The fireplace.

In the photo, the fireplace appeared too clean, almost untouched. I recalled how messy the entire penthouse had been, like no one cared about it enough to clean it. But, the fireplace looked like it had been clean everyday.

Which would be odd unless they had something to hide.

I jumped out of bed and quickly dressed, grabbing my camera and notes. I headed back to Vincent's penthouse, determined to get another look at that fireplace. 

A police officer stopped me on the way," Sir, you're not allowed to go there."

"I'm with Officer Carter. I'm helping him with the case," I said, hoping my lie would be enough to get me inside. The officer gave me a skeptical look but nodded, stepping aside to let me in.

In your face, James.

I hurried back to the fireplace. I inspected it closely, running my fingers along the edges. Then I found it. A small latch, barely visible, but it was there.

I took a deep breath and pulled the latch. A hidden compartment popped open, revealing a small knife along with a ring. I picked it up, inspected them closely and pocketed the ring, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Officer!" I called out, trying to keep my voice steady. "I found something. Can we please get this to forensics?"

The officer approached, eyes widening as he saw what I was holding. "Sure thing, sir," he said, taking out an evidence bag. "I'll make sure it gets processed right away."

I carefully placed the knife into the bag, watching as the officer sealed it. The ring in my pocket felt like it was burning a hole. 

***

Entry #10

Ethan looked closely at the drawing on the small ring. He cross-checked the design with something on his computer and sighed when he found them to be matching. It was an intricate design, one he had seen before but hoped never to encounter again.

Now, he needed to find out how the fuck a mayor's son would be involved in the goddamed underworld.

***

I knocked lightly on James' door. He opened it, his hair slightly disheveled and eyes sleepy. "Marco?" he mumbled, clearly not expecting me.

"I found the murder weapon, sent it over to forensics. I'm sure you heard."

"Yeah, good job," he said, a faint smile forming but fading quickly when he saw my expression.

"I came here to tell you that I did it without your help. I did it without being rude to someone who was helping, and I did it just fine."

James' eyes widened slightly, taken aback by my words. "Marco, I—"

"No," I cut him off, my voice steady. "You don't get to brush this off. You don't get to be an asshole when I didn't even do anything. I needed to prove to myself that I could do this without you, and I did. I don't care what made you so pissed off but I am not a punching bag that you vent your anger on."

"I'm sorr-," I cut him off.

"Save it, that's all I came to say. Good day." I left without looking back. 

I needed to clear my head, to breathe. As I walked down the quiet street, I took the ring out and inspected it. The engraving on it clearly indicated that he was part of the underworld.

But how?

-------------------------------------------------------------

I just wanted to clarify that the entries are not a whole chapter from Marco's book. Those are just little snippets which I think are important for the book.

Thoughts?

🖤💋