V7S1- A Story Not Meant To Be Told- 40's Noir with a Twist

Chapter 11- Bittersweet

Kay with this one we're kinda jumping right into the thick of it- we could've had them going around the office a bit but I didn't write it in 'order' and actually got the 1st part last and I was already well past the 10k mark so we kinda just have to go for it...think we're okay limiting the filler...yeah?

Warning...likely tears ahead...possibly a lot of tears...sorry...

(Oh come on I told you this verse was gonna be a bit darker and it's a murder case- we knew from the start this case wasn't exactly gonna be all puppies and rainbows)

{*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*}*-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-*-Alec-*{*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*}

"And then this i-"

"Hey...whose office is this?" Simon interrupted, gesturing towards the French doors on the right hand side of the hall, moving closer, peering through the glass panels in interest.

Albert blinked, head tilting curiously, coming to a stop next to Simon.

"That's Paul's office. Paul Barrington. He's my P.A. and my campaign manager for the upcoming bid. He was actually at the gala too."

Simon glanced over, catching Alec's eye gesturing in.

"Every other room in the building we've seen has grey carpet, why does this one have green?"

Albert shrugged.

"Actually all of them had the forest green originally, we've been updating the offices for weeks, this is just the last one on the list for the redo. It takes a couple days to move everything out and install the carpet though, with us preparing for the bid Paul hasn't been able or willing to find the time to clear out. Said that can wait until there's less to do. Why does the carpet color matter?"

Alec hesitated glancing apologetically over at Albert.

"The M.E. found dark green fibers on Eugene...said it was likely from a car's upholstery or a carpet."

Albert, blinked, shaking his head faintly.

"I- but...you're not thinking he's involved are you? It couldn't be Paul. He's known the family for years- he grew up next door to us. He and Eugene were best friends growing up. They had a bit of a falling out, drifted apart, developed different interests but I couldn't believe he'd have anything to do with it. Paul is practically part of the family. He couldn't-I couldn't imagine him...he wouldn't..."

Simon moved forward.

"We're not guessing anything sir...it's just something we've been keeping an eye out for. I do think we should probably take a look around though. Like Alec said we're just taking this one step at a time; we're looking for solid proof. Just at a glance it kind of looks like it could be similar...

Is it okay if we go in and look?"

He begin to nod but faltered, giving a slight shrug.

"Yes it is...or it would be...but he always locks his office. I don't have a key. I can call him to unlock it b-"

Alec shook his head.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, not till we really know where we stand here. You own the building, it's your property, will you grant us permission to look around?"