"It's at the next left," the boy stated, glancing out the window of the car. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he had decided to help anyways. The man who gave him the note did mention that Lightman might ask a few questions, including the place where he had received the letter. In order to fully follow the man's orders, he was to comply with those questions and answer them correctly.

Following the boy's directions, Cal took a left into the parking lot of a worn-down restaurant. "We have to park here and walk the rest of the way," the boy said, anxiously unbuckling his seatbelt. Cal seamlessly pulled into one of the many empty parking spaces. Surrounding the restaurant were various buildings-shops, small buisnesses-all seeming even more isolated and run-down than the restaurant. The three got out of the car. Beside the faint sound of music playing inside the restaurant, the place was eerily quiet.

"During the day, it's practically a ghost town here," the boy started, his voice cutting through the silence, "but at night it gets way more crowded."

"I'm sure it does," Cal responded absentmindedly, taking in his surroundings. He could see a few people lingering outside the shops, but other than that, it was completely deserted. "Now why don't you show us where you got the letter, yeah?"

"Okay, okay. It's this way." The boy started to head towards the other shops, and Cal and Gillian followed close behind. The two could see why the boy's parents didn't want him hanging around in this area. With the lack of people and security, it wouldn't be hard to get away with anything, and the buildings didn't offer anything of good quality, especially for a teenager. Bars, shops with cracked windows, dark alleys...it wasn't the type of place most people would want to return to, and it certainly wasn't kid-friendly.

The boy continued down the sidewalk, slightly ahead of Cal and Gillian. He was beginning to slow down his pace; it was getting harder to distinguish the places from the previous night. While the boy tried to recall the exact location, Cal turned his gaze from the surrounding buildings to take a glance at Gillian. Maybe she was right about following the letter. Maybe she wasn't. Either way, Cal would've wanted to discover the truth behind it. That's how he was. With people, he would always bluntly point out their lies to get the answer he was looking for. For the truth behind the deception. He'd do that with almost everyone he met. Everyone except her. With her, he'd let her secrets continue, despite how much it would pain him. That was their rule.

"Hey, I met him right over here." The boy suddenly pointed to an empty alleyway between two small shops. Cal cautiously walked forward with Gillian close behind him. He didn't know what to be expecting; the letter didn't specify what was supposed to be waiting for them. The boy, curious, caught up with the pair.

The nauseating smell hit them before they found the source of it. Lying facedown beside a dumpster, was a lifeless body. The crimson color of blood was splattered across the man's white shirt. Without a doubt, his death was caused by a bullet.

"Oh, shit...the man who gave me that letter last night killed him, didn't he?" the boy asked, his voice high. Cal and Gillian caught each other's gaze, both thinking the same thing:

Whoever wrote that note, they weren't joking around.

-.-.-.-

"C'mon, Cal," Gillian pleaded as Cal placed his phone back into his pocket. They stood outside the empty coffee shop right next to the alley. "You called Reynolds, now let's go."

"Alright, love," Cal replied, knowing she was right. There was nothing else they could do. "Where did the kid go?" The two both glanced around, but the boy was no longer sitting on the bench that they had left him at.

"He was right there a few minutes ago," Gillian said, the worry evident in her voice.

"He was hiding something, that one."

"You don't think that the...the person who murdered that guy back there did something to him, do you?"

"Nah, the boy looked like he wanted to get away." Gillian nodded, unconvinced. "I wouldn't worry about him, love. He didn't seem to be telling the truth about everything, did he?"

With that, the two headed back towards the parking lot in front of the restaurant. The strange chain of shops somehow seemed even more secluded as they neared their destination; the meager amount of people who had strolled along the beaten down shops all seemed to have disappeared.

As Cal and Gillian reached the car, they instantly became aware of a fracture in the windshield. A small, gaping hole cluttered the driver's side of the window, and, after closer inspection, Cal noticed a fist-sized object slovenly positioned on the seat. After exchanging a look with Gillian, Cal walked over to the side of the car and opened the door.

"Cal..." Gillian watched as he pulled a rock out from the seat. A rolled up piece of paper was carefully attached to the rock, and Cal warily unfolded it. Another note was carefully printed inside:

Lightman, you didn't get there quick enough! What a pleasant surprise, wasn't it, to find that innocent man there? Shame, though, I didn't kill him myself. I would've loved to see the life fly out of his eyes! I wonder if he had a family? Oh well, I don't care either way. Don't you have a daughter yourself, Lightman? I wonder where she is right now? I would love to meet her sometime.

Cal handed Gillian the note as he frantically whipped out his cell phone. Gillian glanced up at him, worried, as she read the last line of the note. Cal quickly entered Emily's speed dial, hoping to hear her voice answer the phone.

-.-.-.-

Disclaimer: I don't own Lie to Me or any of it's characters. What a surprise...

Author's Note: Sorry it tooks a while to write this. I think I'm finally getting back in the habit of writing, so hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. I would hate to leave you with a cliffhanger. :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story! You help motivate me to continue writing this. :)

Now that everything is sort of set up, I can write more Callian-focused in the future chapters. :D