The Clash, Book One

Chapter 38: One Little Tear, Part E

An elevator opened to reveal Detective Rogers. He made his way across the dimly lit room to a locked door.

He glanced over at the keypad for a few moments before an idea struck him. He pulled the fire alarm, and the ringing echoed throughout the space.

The keypad then beeped, which opened the door. Rogers walked inside, and he immediately made his way over to a table with various objects strewn about.

He soon found an evidence bag with a hook inside; he studied it for a moment before he tossed it aside.

Rogers then noticed a file on an adjacent table, and he picked it up. The file had a picture of Victoria Belfry paper clipped to the front of it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a metal box; he opened it to reveal other files.

He pulled out a file on Ivy and flipped through it before he looked through the other tanned folders, finding files on the man he believed had a connection to Eloise, one on himself, as well as one on Sabine.

"What are you doing, Weaver?" Rogers wondered aloud, his partner's actions making less and less sense.

Rogers decided to follow his instincts and question Sabine. He found her at she and Jacinda's food truck, as she carried a tote full of supplies.

" "Rollin' Bayou." Look at that," he began, causing Sabine to look at him and smile. She placed the tote down before he commented, "The little lady's, uh, prettied up since her impound days," and he couldn't help but smile.

"Yep, she's nearly ready for the big ball," Sabine proudly told him, glancing back at the yellow and blue truck. She then focused back on the detective and asked, "So, did you just come here to compliment my work?"

His smile faltered as explained, "Not just. Uh, I have to follow up on the Cluck's fire," as he pulled a notepad from his back pocket.

"That's weird. Detective Weaver followed up the other day," Sabine commented, her arms crossed over her chest.

"We're working different shifts. I don't want to bother him on his day off. Maybe you can just fill me in on what you told him," Rogers said, as he opened the notepad.

Gesturing with her hand, she began, "He told me about the alley door that was jimmied with a knife. I don't know. He said they found it in a dumpster. He asked me if I recognized it."

"Did you?" the detective then interjected.

"No. Believe me, I would remember a knife like that," Sabine continued before he asked, "Can you describe it?"

"Actually, I'll do you one better," she said before she closed the distance between them and took the notebook from him. She then began drawing as she explained, "If I'm gonna be honest, it didn't exactly feel like the ideal item to jimmy a door with. It was more like a -- something out of a Tim Burton movie."

She then handed the notepad back to Rogers, and her illustration revealed a wavy knife. She then finished, "Detective Weaver practically shoved it into my hands. He kept asking if I felt anything."

Sabine then glanced back at the picture and curiously questioned, "What's this all about, anyway?"

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out," Rogers told her, determination etched across his features and in his tone.

Weaver pulled his car to a stop, and the engine turned off. He and Victoria made their way inside a building that read "MAUSOLEUM" and featured a gated entrance.