"You killed her, Ms. Cosmos!" Lucy exclaimed triumphantly, pointing at the woman before her. The young lady flicked her raven black hair and gave an icy stare. She resembled a witch, with her dark dress reaching the floor and long finger nails painted black. "How dare you accuse me of murdering my own mother! So, I had a good motive. So what?" Ms. Cosmos snapped.
Lucy was confident that Celeste Cosmos was the culprit. And with Alfendi leaving this case for her to work out on her own, she had to impress him with her detective skills. Lucy knew a good motive wasn't enough proof. Alfendi had taught her that.
"Your fingerprints were all over the murder weapon, Ms. Cosmos," Lucy stated confidently.
Celeste growled, her hands balling into pale fists. "But I've used that telescope hundreds of times! Of course my fingerprints are on there!"
Lucy shook her head. "The victim cleans her telescope constantly, wiping all fingerprints off every morning. One of the other suspects told us that."
"Th-that's... She probably died before she cleaned the telescope!"
Oh, know when to give up!
It didn't really matter if Celeste would admit now, because she will after this particular piece of evidence. Lucy had been saving it to deliver the final blow. "The victim, Astral Cosmos, left a dying message," She declared with a grin.
"A...dying message?" Celeste said, her fingernails digging into her palms, almost puncturing them. "What dying message?"
Lucy presented a photograph of the victim grasping a globe showing all the constellations of the sky. Celeste snatched the photo out of Lucy's hands and studied it closely. The suspect handed it back, completely unimpressed. "What's that got to do with me?"
"Eh? You know what kind of globe this is, right?" The detective asked, Celeste shaking her head. "It's a celestial globe, Ms. Cosmos."
Celeste's eyes widened, and she gasped. "No! It can't be! Uh... Just because she's holding it doesn't mean it's a dying message!" The young lady cried, trying to squirm herself out of the situation.
"The victim wouldn't have went across the room to get this globe for nowt. It were even at the other side of the room!" Lucy's ear twitched and she pointed a finger at the trembling suspect. "All the evidence points to you! I'm 100% you're the killer, Ms. Celeste Cosmos!"
The metal door creaked open, and Alfendi walked in. "Well done, my dear Lucy. You have improved since last time. I'll take it from here." Lucy beamed, her cheeks turning deep red at the inspector's compliment. "Ta, Prof!" She said, her heart skipping a beat when she brushed past him, taking in his scent of bitter tea. She left the interrogation room, hoping that Alfendi didn't noticed her flushed face.
When was it when her heart began to skip beats and butterflies began to dance in her stomach? When was it when she fell in love with Alfendi? Even she doesn't know. She entered the Mystery Room, forever cluttered with papers, folders and yellowed boxes. She plopped down on the orange sofa chair, next to the window, and waited for Alfendi to return.
She began to hum a song and swing her legs, having nothing else to do. Maybe I should get Prof a cuppa while I'm waiting. With that, she stood up and was about to step out the door, until she heard Hilda and Alfendi talking in the corridor. Lucy left the door open a bit so she could eavesdrop. A good detective should strain her ears once in a while, shouldn't she? Lucy shut one eye and peered through the gap between the door and the wall. She saw the curvaceous blond and Alfendi facing each other, talking about something.
"I don't know, Al. I'm busy tomorrow." Hilda said.
"It's okay, Hilda. I understand," Alfendi replied, a sad smile on his face. Lucy wondered they said before that. She looked at Alfendi's disappointed face. It's like she turned him down on a date or something. Wait...is that what she did? Lucy asked herself, as Alfendi and Hilda went their separate ways. Lucy saw that Alfendi was approaching, and dashed back to the sofa chair, acting as if she was there the whole time.
The disheartened inspector sat down on his swivel chair at his desk, and sighed. Lucy wondered if he actually did ask Hilda on a date. If he did...doesn't that mean that they're together!? Lucy thought, a piece of her heart breaking away.
"So, what did you talk to Hilda about?" Lucy questioned, not realising that Alfendi wasn't listening. He seemed to be staring blankly at a spot on his desk. "Prof? Are you okay?" His assistant asked, waving a hand in front of his face. He blinked and looked at Lucy's worried face, which was too close for comfort. His eyes flicked away, cheeks turning bright pink. Lucy's heart sped up and she took a step back. "Ee, sorry, Prof."
"No, no. It's fine. What was your question?" Alfendi said, smiling to prove he was okay.
"What did you talk to Hilda about?" Lucy repeated.
"I asked if she could...um..." Alfendi began to blush, losing eye contact with Lucy. "...help me pick out flowers."
"For who?" Lucy asked eagerly. Alfendi didn't look at her, though she noticed his cheeks becoming a deeper red. "For...someone special." There was a long silence, before Lucy laughed so hard that her stomach began to hurt. Seeing the inspector blush uncontrollably was quite the sight, Lucy couldn't help but burst out laughing. And to think he was this sad about flowers.
Alfendi's hair turned to the familiar, devilish crimson, which only meant the arrival of Potty Prof. "Hey, shut up! If you don't stop laughing now, I'll cut off your tongue!"
Lucy hugged her stomach, chortling even harder as she imagined Alfendi dancing around in a meadow full of daisies, picking up one and putting it in his hair, every pirouette he did. She knew that he meant picking flowers at a flower shop, but who can stop Lucy's imagination?
Eventually, the young detective stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "Sorry, Prof."
Alfendi switched back to his placid state and smirked. "Don't tell me you thought I was asking her on a date. We're not romantically involved, remember?"
Lucy nodded and let out a relieved, internal sigh.
Suddenly there was a crash of thunder, making Lucy squeal. She ran to the window and looked out. The evening sky was pillowed with dark grey clouds, rain sheeting down from them. There was a flash of lightning in the distance, followed by loud rumbling thunder. Lucy took a quick glance at the clock, and realised she has to go home now. She frowned, knowing she has to walk through the storm. She looked back at Alfendi, who was looking at the clock on the wall across his desk. "Uh... I have to go ho-"
"You're not going out in that storm, Lucy." Alfendi cut in. "I'm not letting you. Stay here for a bit."
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. She has walked through storms worse than this. She's pretty confident she can handle it. "It's fine, Prof. My house isn't far away. Besides, you've let me walk through storms worse than this," Lucy said as she reached for her umbrella. She said goodbye, and left the room.
Lucy pushed open the large glass doors, and walked down the stairs leading up to Scotland Yard. She opened up her umbrella, then suddenly someone grabbed her arm. She whirled around, and locked eyes with none other than Alfendi. His face was so close to hers, she could've accidentally kissed him. "Prof!" The blushing assistant exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm walking you home. I don't want you to be struck by lightning," he answered with a smile, making Lucy's heart race. "You shouldn't be using this umbrella. It will attract the lightning."
Lucy quickly closed the umbrella and threw it on the ground, not wanting to have anything to do with it. Thunder rumbled through the evening sky, flashes of light surrounding them. "Then do I just walk through the rain?"
"We can walk under my lab coat," He said, taking his white laboratory coat and holding it over their heads. They had to walk shoulder to shoulder, so both of them would stay dry. Only after a few steps on the footpath, Alfendi's coat was already drenched. They began to walk faster, Lucy screaming every time there was a crash of thunder.
"Would you shut up!? It's just thunder, woman!" Potty Prof shouted. "You're going to rupture my eardrum!"
Look who's talking...
Lucy turned away and gazed at the footpath. A few meters away, she spotted a large puddle, the reflection of streetlights shimmering on it. As they approached it, Alfendi walked around it, though Lucy ran from under the coat to the puddle. Alfendi stopped and watched her walk into it, and kick the rain collected in it. It made him smile, seeing how childish she was. She continued walking in the pouring rain, spinning around and catching droplets of rain on her tongue. Alfendi walked beside the young detective, noticing her clothes were soaking wet, and her orange hat was slumping on her head. "Come back here, Lucy!" Alfendi commanded, and Lucy obeyed. "Why did you do that? You can get sick or get hyperthermia."
Lucy's clothes stuck to her skin, and if felt like a layer of frost was covering her. Though she simply giggled and beamed, trying to ignore the coldness. "Ever since I were little, I loved rain. I ran through rain all the time and jumped in puddles. I got sick a few times, but it's like I'm immune to them now."
"I don't think that's possible."
Lucy shrugged and looked straight ahead. "Oh! We're at my house, now!" She cried, pointing to a red bricked flat, flowerbeds full of drenched tulips lining the front. She pulled out a set of keys from her jacket pocket and unlocked the wooden door. She turned the knob and opened it, the door creaming loudly as she did. "Do you want to come in?" Lucy asked, leaving the door wide open for Alfendi. He shook his head, Lucy's heart sinking. "I should get home as well."
Lucy looked up at the sky, not one flash of lightning in sight. "I think it's safe to use an umbrella. Here," Lucy reached from behind the door and handed a large blue umbrella to Alfendi.
The inspector took the umbrella and opened it, letting his soaked coat hang over his shoulder. He plucked one of the tulips from the flowerbed and gave it to a confused Lucy, who hesitantly accepted it. He smiled and lightly kissed Lucy on the cheek. She gasped, her face turning bright red. "Thank you, my dear Lucy," Alfendi said, struggling to stop blushing.
"Prof...why did you just..." Lucy muttered, lost for words. If her heart sunk before, her heart is flying now, fluttering around as if it's weightless.
"You're the special someone," He sheepishly said.
"You're my special someone," Lucy replied in the same shy way.
Alfendi beamed and walked off, waving his hand. Lucy waved back, even though he wouldn't have seen. She shut the door and stood there, frozen, touching the spot on her cheek where he kissed her. After a few minutes, she squealed, dancing around her tidy home. "He actually kissed me, and this time it weren't a dream!" She exclaimed gleefully, waving her arms in the air. "Eeee! He loves me! I'm his special someone."
This is the best day of my life!
Please tell me how I can improve my writing. Thanks!