At the Heart of Justice

Chapter 13: Ellipsis

Naomi rolled over in her bed for the hundredth time. Turning in early had seemed like such a good idea, but sleep was just not her friend tonight. She was wide awake.

It had been two days since Naomi had investigated Jasper Broussard's flat, and the police were still in search of him.

Naomi had spent those two days taking it a bit easier than usual and recovering from her injuries. The swelling on her face was nearly gone and the bruising had faded significantly. Nonetheless, the whole ordeal had managed to screw up her schedule and now, she couldn't sleep.

With a defeated sigh, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Maybe some hot tea would do her some good. She pulled a zip-up hoodie on over her tank top and made her way downstairs to the kitchen in her bare feet and blue plaid, cotton pajama pants with a ribbon-tie front.

Naomi could hear L's voice coming from the living room. "He must be on the phone," she thought.

She went ahead and put enough water in the kettle for both L and herself.

L continued speaking and, although she couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, Naomi noticed something different about the way he was talking. It was more... casual than usual. More lighthearted.

Naomi prepared the tea bags and poured the water over them once it boiled. She expertly carried both mugs in one hand by their handles and a sugar bowl in the other. Although she didn't take sugar in her tea, she knew full well how much would be added to the second cup.

She walked into the living room and saw that L was crouched at the desk. He appeared to be video chatting with... a bunch of kids?

This was new.

The children on the computer screen sat on the wooden floor of a large room with stained glass windows. There were around a dozen of them. One boy- a little older than the rest, about 13 or 14- stood against the wall eating a chocolate bar. He had straight, yellow-blond hair that hung down past his ears and he was wearing all black. Another boy, a little younger with thick, curly platinum-blond hair, knelt by himself behind the group of other children and played quietly with tinker toys. L seemed to be telling them all a story.

"...and that is why I'll never eat cauliflower," he finished. His voice held a hint of humor that Naomi was hearing for the first time. The children laughed as he concluded whatever it was he'd been telling them.

Naomi moved to stand beside his chair, careful to stay out of the webcam's frame. L seemed surprised to see her and pressed a button on the desktop microphone before him.

"I thought you'd gone to bed," he commented.

Before Naomi could answer, one of the children- a small girl with pigtails- asked, "So, do you like other vegetables?"

L leaned into the mic again and pressed the button.

"Yes I do. A vegetable is defined as a plant or a part of a plant used for food. Given that definition, and the fact that chocolate comes from the cocoa bean plant, I can say that I do like other vegetables."

The children laughed together in amusement. Naomi noticed the blond boy against the wall grin broadly as he bit off another corner of his chocolate bar.

L switched off the microphone again. He looked at her and then at the teas in her hand. "Oh, thank you."

Naomi smiled as she set down the mugs and slid one toward L.

"What's all this?" she asked. Telling stories to children was very near the bottom of her list of things she would have put money on L doing. This was so... bizarre.