Detectives and Secrets

Prologue

Carla walked over to her window, looking out at Star City. The city was buzzing with activity as usual. She smiled in fondness before walking back to lounge in her chair.

Looking over at the table in front of her, stacks of files littered the table and she thought back to the past few weeks. Crimes had happened a lot lately and she rarely had time to relax. She couldn't say she was complaining though as that was how she got her money as a detective. She wouldn't even be surprised if she had another crime waiting for her to solve today.

Just like she had expected, the bell at the door rang as the door opened, signaling a new customer. She almost couldn't keep the smile off her face. Even with the hectic weeks, nothing made her happier than solving cases... except maybe when she got a higher pay than usual for that case.

"What seems to be the problem, Mister?" Carla asked casually with a smile still present on her face, observing him as he came closer.

He appeared to be a middle-aged man, according to Carla's deduction. He had brown hair with equally brown eyes and a sharp jawline. He would have been a ladies' man when he was younger.

Detective Carla leaned back, crossing her legs as the man walked closer.

"Prototype high-tech gadgets were stolen," he informed briefly, sinking into the chair opposite her. He set a stack of files on the table between them.

"Oh! You mean the high-tech gadgets Mac. International was working on?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"How did you know?!" He exclaimed confused, immediately alert.

"You should calm down a bit, I am not your enemy here. After all, you are here because I am a detective so, of course, I would be able to figure it out," Carla said chuckling as he relaxed a bit.

"I understand but even enemies could disguise as a neutral person. If you want me to believe you, would you mind explaining how you figured that out?" He asked with a guarded but polite tone. After all, if she wasn't his enemy, she would deserve his respect for her correct deduction.

"It was easy to know you were part of Mac. International since your ID card was slightly showing in your pocket. I happen to have pretty good eyesight," she said tapping at the corner of her left eye as he looked down at his pocket which indeed had his card showing.

He nodded at her in understanding but still looked suspicious as he gestured for her to continue.

"Also, only three organizations are working on new gadgets recently and Mac. International is the only one who has completed their prototype according to my sources. Trust me, my sources are never wrong," she said with a cold glint in her eyes at the last sentence. She then smiled as the coldness disappeared and she dropped a pen on the table.

He nodded as respect filled his eyes. He seemed to have realized that she deduced most of that from the four words he uttered when he entered.

"Now, what do you want me to do for you, Mr. Clegg?" She asked smoothly as she faced him.

He didn't even bother to ask how she knew his name and went straight to business.

"We need you to find the culprit and get the gadgets back. We can settle with you just finding the culprit and leaving the rest to us, but take note that if you also get the gadgets back, your payment will be higher," he said with a tempting smile.