Cases Uncovered

36 | Meretricious

"Meretricious... and a Happy New Year."

- Sherlock and D.I. Lestrade

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Chapter 36:
Meretricious

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ZANE

Ma'am Elizabeth.

Any luck? I need a report before the end of the day or at least tomorrow morning.

I glanced at my phone and saw a new message notification from Raine's sister. The name popped up as I unlocked the screen.

"It's your sister," I told her. "She says a report is needed at least tomorrow morning."

Raine slipped into the vehicle, glancing at her phone. "It's half past six, Zane," she murmured as she settled into her seat. "We haven't even eaten yet."

"What if what she's asking us to look for is really important?"

She fixed her gaze on me, her fists clenched as she said, "Just come with me until I come up with a proper plan."

I caught a fleeting shadow in her eyes, a secret she seemed to guard closely. My curiosity was bubbling up, but I held back, reminding myself that our limited connection didn't warrant my probing.

I climbed back into Ron's car with her. In the rearview mirror, I saw Inspector George's blue car tailing us closely.

"...currently in a comatose state..." I heard a female reporter say on the car radio.

"It must be them. They probably did it so the hostages couldn't speak," I remarked.

"I lost that game," Raine said, staring blankly out the window. "But I solved his riddle before his time ran out. He silenced the man on purpose to keep him from talking about him."

"I thought he might be the kidnapper," I said.

"No, Zane. The kidnapper is much worse than him. He's been planning this from the start," she replied.

Those words clicked like puzzle pieces in my mind. It hit me: the kidnapper had planned everything, maybe even plotting my role in Raine's life.

For that matter, the kidnapper probably knows my entire life as well as Raine's!

As I turned my attention back to my companion, the flood of thoughts and uncertainties kept pushing at the edges of my mind. My heart pounded in my chest, and my palms grew slick with sweat as the familiar tide of anxiety swept over me.

"Any suggestion of what we might do to solve your sister's case as well?" I asked, trying to calm myself up.

"Uh... Just to remind you two, Zane isn't allowed inside the headquarters because of his possible connection to the kidnapper," Ron said, his attention divided as he fiddled with the radio.

I wasn't permitted to enter. Instead, I remained in the car, scrolling through social media in an attempt to soothe my nerves.

After aimlessly browsing the internet for a while, I found myself absorbed in the comic series I had been following, losing track of time as I scrolled through the pages on my screen.