Lights Will Guide You Home

Claire

There was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I called out.

I was in my office at Braveheart. I had spent most of my day at Watson Enterprises, catching up on all the work I'd missed out on. Once I was satisfied I had done enough for a day, I spent an hour with Michael. I then decided to drop by Braveheart and check up on things.

The door opened and Detective Swann walked in, looking exceptionally good in a black shirt. He was actually quite handsome. His cropped black hair and the perpetual serious look in his eyes gave him an assuring air of maturity. That coupled with his athletic frame definitely meant he received a lot of attention from women.

"I knew you'd be here."

I smiled. "Was it of any help?" As he moved closer, my hopes dropped. Joseph looked exceptionally sombre.

He sat down across me. "They've deserted the area." He sounded exhausted.

The previous night, after Michael had told me his story, I convinced him to let me tell Joseph. He was really scared at first but after a lot of coaxing and reassuring, he finally agreed. Once Michael had fallen asleep, I called him and relayed all the information I had gotten. The next morning – that was this morning – Swann and his team went to East Sargent Street, where Michael and his uncle had lived.

"They've stripped the place bare. We didn't find a thing. They must've figured Michael would eventually crack." I could see he was really frustrated and worn out. "I can't believe we got nothing out of this!"

I tried to cheer him up. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure something else will come up soon."

"Yeah, we're going back to the house tomorrow to look around again. You know what's even more pissing off? Everyone in the neighbourhood absolutely refuses to talk! He must've scared them all into shutting up! The amount of influence this guy seems to have, I think he's pretty big on the scene. I can't believe none of us had caught wind of him until now. God, I really want to get hold of this son of a bitch!!" he brought his fist down on my desk in exasperation, making Elvis' fishbowl rattle.

I had always assumed Joseph would be the kind of man who kept his cool. I had never seen him so worked up. I understood his anger though. I felt the same way too, to some extent. I really wanted the guy responsible for ruining Michael's childhood to be caught so he could get what he deserved.

"Hey, you've been trying your hardest, right," I said to him soothingly. "You'll find a new lead soon enough – I think you're pretty awesome at what you do." I gave him a warm smile, hoping it would cheer him up. "You just need to relax for a bit, you've had a trying day."

"Thanks." He smiled at me gratefully. "You actually helped. I think I'll go chill around for a bit..." he looked at me and for a second, it seemed like there was an awkward pause. He got up and made for the door. He opened it and turned back, his eyes meeting mine. It randomly felt like he wanted to say something, but all he settled on was a "...have a nice evening, Miss Watson."

"You too!" I said back, cheerfully.

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