The Missing Necklace (on editing/revision)

Chapter 4: The Scene of the Crime

We got to the front door of the club with just a few minutes to spare from closing time. The traffic was horrible, we took longer than expected, but at least the staff would stay around for a bit after seven to clean up. Korra opened the door for me, gesturing inside; following me in once I set foot into the place.

"Oh! Hey Asami!" Bolin chirped from the bar giving me his signature wide grin. His eyes trailed from me to Korra, who was taking her fedora off. "Hi, Asami's friend." I giggled at this and we both made our way to the bar. "What are you doing here? It's your day off."

"We are here to investigate the theft of Asami's necklace." Korra told him, taking the seat next to mine. She placed the fedora on the table, along with her notepad and I found myself staring at it. I'm really curious about her notes on it... I might even ask her about them. "We were hoping to speak to you and Opal. I decided to leave you for last, to not interview you in the workplace." Bolin's grin had now fallen into a small frown, nodding at Korra's words slowly.

"Of course, I always clean up the work area before closing time so I am free. Opal is going to take a few minutes to finish her duties. If you give me around five minutes to gather my things, I'll meet you in the back alley next to the service door."

"Thank you, we will be waiting," Korra told him, gathering her things from the table and getting up on her feet. She looked at both of us in thought. "Although, I prefer to go check the changing room while we wait." I nodded at this and was about to reply when Bolin caught my attention.

"Asami" He fully turned to me. "I didn't know the necklace was stolen...I thought you had only lost it."

"I thought so too on Friday, but I noticed struggle in my safe on Saturday morning. I think I was beyond tired to notice the details. That night was rough." I got up from my seat and motioned to Korra. "That's why I called her. If it was stolen there's still some chance to get it back."

"I'm sure you will get it back. I'd love to help with whatever you need. Let me go gather my things and tell Opal you are both here." He gave me a light shoulder squeeze and went off to do as he had told us.

I motioned to Korra to follow me and made my way to the back hallway where the changing rooms and Kuvira's office are. The first room to the right is mine with the tall wooden door, with my name engraved on a plaque in the center of it. I reached into my purse to pull out my set of keys, unlocked the door, and swung it open. The room was simple really, or at least I thought it was. There was a vanity against the left wall that had all my makeup and unimportant jewelry on it, a sofa in the wall opposite to it, a wall mirror, and the room divider that I used for changing. There was a wardrobe next to it with doors with locks, which is where I kept my books, notes, and most importantly the safe on shelves. I let Korra step into the room first and let her scan her eyes through it. I walked past her and pointed to the wooden wardrobe doors.

"This is the first thing I noticed on Saturday morning." I pointed to the scratches on the wooden door around the locks. I unlocked and opened them to reveal the contents inside. Korra poked her head around my shoulder and looked at all the books in surprise, before turning a focused gaze to the safe. She bent slightly and ran her fingers around the edge of it where the deep marks started. "I then noticed that the lock was a bit... loose." I handed her the key to open it, which she gladly took from my hand.

"I won't find something I don't want to see in here, right?" She grinned, inserting the key and lightly twisting it to the right causing an odd click.

"Like what?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"I don't know. The head of a dead body?" She turned her head to look up at me. Her hair fell on her face but I could see the smirk appearing on her lips. "Toys, perhaps?" My eyes widened in embarrassment and horror at this last guess. How dare she go there? My face slowly fell into a flustered scowl.

"Just open the damn safe and refrain from making such jokes." I crossed my arms across my chest. I tried to keep my composure, but hearing her giggle while working the lock of the safe made me burst out laughing as well. "I didn't know you felt comfortable with me enough to make.. those jokes." She opened the safe and straightened up, looking at me.

"Oh me neither. Truth be told, I kind of regretted it after I said it." She chuckled and just like that her face turned serious. "The lock wasn't broken, but it is loose as you said. Ready to listen to my hypothesis?" I nodded. "I believe the thief was either a rookie or in a hurry. They successfully picked the locks of the wardrobe but struggled with the safe; since it is harder to pick. So they jammed the tools in, tried to work it around, got frustrated, and tried to break the safe open with some tool; which could've caused the deep marks. Then they resorted to try and pick again, making the lock lose enough for them to open the safe, take the necklace and be able to close it. Now the marks on the door were a sloppy successful attempt at locking the shelf."

I stared at Korra in awe after hearing her well-structured hypothesis. My lips fell apart slightly, looking for the words to say; but I was too stunned at this woman's intelligence. It was certainly attractive. I saw her close the safe, lock it and proceed to do the safe with the wardrobe; handing back my key once she was done. "So, what are we looking for then? A rookie or an inpatient adept?"

She looked deep in thought before replying. "Honestly both, though, with Eska's testimony of the guy with the tattoo, we might be looking for a skilled inpatient thief." I was about to ask her something else, but Bolin popped his head through my door to tell us he was done. Both Korra and I nodded, and made our way with him to the service door and out to the back alley. It was already dark when we stepped out and the cold weather of the city was unmerciful. Every breath we took caused a slight white cloud that quickly dispersed in the air. Bolin leaned against the wall next to the door, with both of us in front of him.

"Opal will be here shortly, she's just finishing some stuff." Korra nodded and pulled out her notepad and pen once again as I crossed my arms against my chest. "Truth be told" He started "I don't remember much about that night, I should probably stop drinking on the job. But I did notice a fellow walking around a few times close by the hall during Kya's and Asami's duo. After Kya left the stage and joined me at the bar, I didn't notice him again I think." Bolin furrowed his eyebrows deep in thought and Korra was writing down what he had said.

"Did you notice any distinctive marks on his neck?" Korra asked him. "A neck tattoo, perhaps?"

"Oh no, I didn't pay much attention to those details. The back and forth of the customers was driving me a bit nuts." He rubbed the back on his neck and looked at me with apologizing eyes. "I'm so sorry Asami, I wish I could help out more." I shook my head and reached for his hand.

"Bolin, what you just told us is helping us enough." I told him, squeezing it. Korra agreed and was about to say something when a rattle and cursing made us snap our heads to the right. A tall man emerged from behind the dumpster, kicking a bag of trash off his feet. He was cursing out the rats when he suddenly remembered where he was and stared back at us with wide eyes. Without wasting any more time, he turned around and sprinted down the alley; Korra following in pursuit. Wait... Korra was doing what? Before I could even react, I heard the sound of two bodies colliding with each other and then a hard thud against the floor; followed by the two of them groaning. Bolin and I quickly made our way to them. I helped Korra get on her feet and Bolin picked up the man, holding him to keep him from running. Korra led out a deep angry sigh, fixed her clothing, then turned back to the man. He was tall, with dark hair and a mark poked out from his collar. Korra noticed this too because she quickly reached up and pulled the collar of his shirt back to expose a tattoo on his neck. Ah, so it really was a dragon tattoo.

I took a step backward to admire the man before me, before landing on his deep amber eyes. I gasped in both surprise and confusion at him, his eyes boring into mine.

"Mako?"