desertion

143

LYDIA

I barely had time to process the knock on the door before Officer Darden walked in, a young guy trailing behind him. The newcomer had dark, curly hair and a nervous but friendly smile. He held a notebook tucked under his arm, his eyes scanning the room before they landed on me.

"Lydia, this is Mason. He's starting today," Officer Darden said, motioning to him. "He's studying criminology, just like you."

Mason gave a small wave, his smile widening just a bit. "Hey."

"Hi," I replied, offering a polite smile in return.

Officer Darden gestured to the desk in the corner. "That'll be your spot, Mason. You two are going to be working on the same case, so consider yourselves partners for this one."

I nodded, glancing at Mason as he set his notebook and bag on the desk. It was strange having someone else here-I'd gotten used to working alone.

Darden turned back to me, his expression serious but kind. "Lydia, you've been here almost non-stop the last two days. You need to ease up, alright? You're no good to anyone if you're running on fumes."

"I'm fine," I said quickly, trying to sound convincing.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't push. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will."

Darden nodded once and left the room, leaving Mason and me alone.

There was a brief moment of silence before Mason cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's the case?"

I pushed the file across the desk toward him. "It's a murder. Pretty brutal. We're piecing things together, but it's slow going."

Mason flipped through the file, his face growing more serious with every page. "Yikes. Okay. Let's get to work."

It didn't take long for us to fall into a rhythm. At first, I kept my distance, focusing on my own notes while Mason reviewed the videos and documents. But soon, we started bouncing ideas off each other, pointing out details the other might've missed.

"I noticed the guy always wears gloves," Mason said, pausing the video on a frame that showed the suspect's hands. "Could be to avoid leaving fingerprints, but..."

"But what if it's more than that?" I finished, catching his train of thought.

"Exactly."

We both leaned in, dissecting every second of the footage. It wasn't long before we started chatting more casually, filling the quiet room with laughter and conversation. Mason was funny, quick-witted, and surprisingly easy to talk to.

"So, what got you into criminology?" he asked as we worked.

I hesitated, my pen tapping against the desk. "I just... I've always wanted to help people. And I've always been good at noticing things, you know? Details, patterns. It just felt like the right fit."

Mason nodded. "That's cool. I'm kind of the same. I've always been fascinated by how people think-what drives them to do what they do. And, yeah, helping people doesn't hurt either."

We shared a smile before diving back into the case. Hours passed without either of us noticing. We were so absorbed in the work, we didn't even realize when the department tried to pull the case from us.

"No way," Mason said firmly, crossing his arms as Officer Darden stood in the doorway. "We're close. You can't just take it now."

I nodded in agreement, my tone just as firm. "We've put too much time into this. We're not handing it over."

Darden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright, alright. But don't overdo it. And remember-you're a team. Work together."

After he left, Mason turned to me with a grin. "We make a pretty good team, huh?"

"Yeah," I admitted with a small smile. "We do."

By the time the clock hit midnight, we were knee-deep in new leads. Mason and I were both exhausted, but neither of us wanted to stop.

"We're getting close," Mason said, his voice filled with determination.

"Yeah," I agreed, my eyes scanning the notes in front of me. "We are."

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn't alone in this.