The Detectives' Story

II

July 7, 2013

2015 Hours

A door opened in the darkness of the quiet apartment. If the hallway light was on, barely anything could be distinguished in the apartment due to the placing of the light in the hallway. If the hallway light wasn't on, then everything would be pitch black due to the towering apartment complex next door. The view sucked, but the apartment itself was nice and cozy, and a good fit. The main living room consisted of a brown leather couch that was worn from being sat on over the years. The only expensive items in sight were the Samsung TV and the entertainment system it rested upon. Inside that entertainment system sat hundreds of Blu-Ray's and even more DVD's. An Xbox 360 was also hooked up to the TV, but there were barely any games. It looked like it wasn't used that much, as dust sat on it, and around it in piles.

The kitchen was a wreck. Spilled milk and eggs everywhere on the countertop. It was clear someone was trying to make something, but ended up giving up. The carton of milk laid open right next to a big pile of spilled sugar. If the mess was not present, the kitchen would look decent to a lot of people. Not great, but not bad either.

As the door slowly opened, a high-pitched creak resonated through the house as it was trying to wake everyone up. The soaking man behind the door stopped, as if not making any movement would reconcile for making a loud sound. The man then sighed to himself, and quickly opened the door all the way. It didn't make any more sound as it flung wide open. He then turned around and closed the door as quickly, shutting it as quietly as possible.

The man turned around, and stared at the blackness of his own apartment. A light from outside was cast into the apartment, and his face winced in the sudden harsh light. In this light, the qualities of his face was present. His face was soft and kind, but also weathered and tired. Despite the latter, he had a younger air to him, and he used that to his advantage to swoon over the ladies at bars from time to time. His brother was often jealous of him for his looks, but he kept telling his brother not to be. Sometimes the handsomeness of a man can be a curse. Of course, this man was Dan. The light passed, then came back around again. Dan looked over next door, and saw the lights coming from some apartment having a party. There was no sound, but he felt the faint vibrations of some bass. He quickly made his way to the window, and closed the curtains. He returned his focus back to the hallway, as it puzzled it him.

Since when did Chelsea sleep without the hallway light on? Dan thought. He was going to check on it when his phone rang.

"So tell me what you want, what you really really want," the Spice Girls sang from the busted speakers of Dan's cell phone.

"Shit!" Dan hoarsely whispered. He turned off the ringer quickly, not wanting to wake up his sleeping daughter in the house, and picked up the phone without checking the caller ID. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Hey Dan." A woman on the other side said with an ice cold tone. Dan covered the mouthpiece and silently cussed. He then put on a fake smile, and went towards the kitchen. He finally noticed the absence of a certain babysitter he hired, and deducted she left early. Paying her before the job was a mistake.

"Jasmine!" Dan exclaimed. Not too happy to talk to his ex, but it was less nerve-wracking talking to her without an attitude. "What's up, girl?"

"Chelsea called again to say goodnight," Jasmine said. Dan pinched his eyes with his fingers, and sighed. "Do you know why she did that?"

"Could it be because she misses you?" Dan asked. He knew it wasn't that easy. He walked into the kitchen, and noticed it was a huge mess. He stared at the big pile of everything. Dan was not going to hire Lilly as a babysitter again.