Nico POV
" I hate him so much. I really do."
" I'm so sorry." Reyna started to massage my shoulders. I kind of liked it. " Um, who do you hate again?" I had forgotten that Reyna didn't know anything about my father.
I came up with something real quick," My boss, he's determined to work me to death."
" What? He made you take on another shift?"
" Yeah, but with no extra pay. He said that I had to do it or I would be fired, something about the economy being bad and it's affecting his business."
" Oh, maybe you should start looking for another job."
Ha, she's so cute." If I were to find another job they would probably pay me even less and make me work in even worse conditions."
" Well-," she was cut off by her cell phone ringing. She picked it up and murmured a few words that didn't strike any interest. After a few minutes she said," Um, sorry babe, Percy located the victim's family and we have to talk to them."
" Who's Percy?" I've never heard her say anything about a Percy.
She started to put her coat on," My partner." She paused with a smirk on her face," Why?"
I already knew where this was going. " I was just wondering."
" Right," she made sure to be very sarcastic. She probably thought I was jealous or something. Why would I be jealous of some random guy who is more than likely uglier than me riding around with my girlfriend all day?
Unless, he's actually better looking than I am and Reyna has a thing for him. That wouldn't be good.
" I'll see you later, babe." She gave me a kiss and closed the door.
" Is he better looking than me? " I was so caught up in the thought that I said it out loud.
Reyna POV
Percy was waiting outside for me in his car.
" When did you move?"
I closed the car door," I didn't. This is my boyfriend's place."
He smiled," Well, bravo! You got yourself a little boyfriend." I knew where this was going.
" Yes I do. Now, let's drop the subject and just brief me."
He made a face," Well, someone's pushy now that they've got a boyfriend. Anyways, we're going to see the victim's mother, she said that the girlfriend would be there too."
" We are so sorry to inform you that...," this part is always hard," that your son is dead."
Ms. Beckondorf just sat there with her mouth open, shock evident on her face.
His girlfriend was shaking her head," No. No, that can't be true!" Tears were running down her face.
I gave Percy a look and he took over. His voice was soft," Ladies, we really need your help so we can find the killer. When was the last time you've saw him?"
" He lived here with Selina and I. He had left for work yesterday night."
" Jot this down, Rey," I took out my notebook,"What time?"
Charles' girlfriend, Selina, spoke up. " He usually leaves for work around 10 pm."
" Did you notice anything strange about him?"
She shook her head," He was the same as usual. He kissed me goodbye and left."
" How did he get to work?"
" He got together with a few other workers and they decided to carpool."
Well, this should be interesting. " Can you identify the workers?"
" I need it to be total and complete." We were back at the station and Perce was making what seemed to be important calls.
" You calling for reports on the suspects ?"
He hung the phone up," No, I was ordering a mocha latte. I hate it when they put 50 percent skim milk and then 30 percent almond milk and then 20 percent goat milk in my drink."
I stopped shuffling through papers on my desk and just stared at him.
" What?" He picked up the phone again," You want me to order you one?"
" No, I'm fine." Every time I start to think well of him he finds a way to screw it up. "Anyways, I got the files on Charles' associates." I threw them on Percy's desk.
He took each file and quickly flipped through them. " Micheal Trevors, Ron Times, Raj Alphun, and Adam Lumar. Really weird names."
" Yeah."
He looked up at me. " You know what I'm about to say, right?"
" Yeah. Give me the watered down version."
" You know me well," he nodded his head.
" They all work in the labor section at the Olympian Institute. They all have criminal records ranging from grand theft auto to drug smuggling. Except for Micheal Trevors, he's only been in for unpaid parking tickets."
Percy closed his eyes and nodded his head, he looked as though he was working out our next move.
After a while I couldn't wait any longer," So? What's next?"
He put both of his feet on his desk and leaned back in his chair," We wait."
" For?"
" You'll see."
" Where were you on the night Charles Beckondorf was murdered?"
" I was at home." Lumar slowly crossed his arms over his chest.
I raised my eyebrow," Are you sure about that?"
" Yeah, I'm sure."
I looked down at a witness statement," Your mother says something different. Would you like to hear it?"
He didn't answer, they never do.
I started to read," My son left the house at around nine for work. He carpools with some of the men he works with."
Still, he said nothing. The report I read was completely false, and yet Lumar was sweating like a hooker in church.
" The coroner said Charles Beckondorf was killed between twelve to one o'clock at night. You were one of the last people to see him. If you don't want to go to jail you have to give me something."
Adam Lumar cleared his throat. " I left my ma's house at nine- thirty. I'm the one with the car so I have to drive around and pick everyone up."
" Names?"
" Micheal Trevors, Ron Times, and Raj Alphun."
" Do you know what they do after work?"
Lumar shrugged," They just go to the Richardson's bar across the street from the company warehouse. That's all I know."
I wrote that down," Ok get back to the story."
"I picked everyone up and we went to work but when we got there Beckondorf said that he had to use the bathroom."
" Did you see him after that?"
He shook his head," Nope, I just assumed he was trying to skip out on work."
We had no evidence for this case against him, not even an alibi.
I stood up and reached for my cuffs," Alright, your under arrest."
" For what? I told you everything I know! Plus, I didn't do anything illegal."
" You know Eddie Rez?"
A " oh crap " look came across his face and he shook his head.
" Well, he knows you and he says that you and him go way back on dealing narcotics far and wide."
I walked back to the office after handing Lumar off to some uniforms. Percy was waiting there.
" What did you find out ? "
I sat down at my desk," The last time he saw Beckondorf was when he had to use the bathroom. "
" He's lying. "
" How do you know ? "
He shrugged," Beckondorf was broke and didn't have a college degree. More than likely he was the only one bringing in real money for the three of them. "
" What does that have to do with anything ? "
" If he needed the money really bad, which he did, he wouldn't run off to the bathroom right when work started. If he had his own car he probably would've been there early so he could get a promotion or a raise. You know, get on the boss' good side. " Man, Percy may not seem like it but he's pretty smart.
" How do you know all this ? "
" OK, Reyna. He may turn hostile at any moment, are you sure you want to go in. " Percy and I was outside Richardsons' Bar, which is where Micheal Trevors is based on the tracking device Percy put on him.
" How did you get the device on him ? "
" I had to bring him in because he wasn't paying his parking tickets, again. "
That had to be the most ridiculous things I ever heard. " Why ?"
He just shrugged," Why not ? "
" That's illegal. "
Percy sighed," OK, he looked dangerous and I wanted to keep an eye on him. That's only if anyone asks. "
" Someone who gets called in for unpaid parking tickets is dangerous ? "
" All criminals are violent. Even that jay-walker old lady we caught last week. "
We had stopped to get some coffee when we saw this sweet old lady jay-walking. "Give her a break, she was blind! "
" She was able to see my private part when she tried to grab it ! "
Percy keeps insisting that the old lady would flirt with him when I wasn't looking. "Whatever you say. " I opened my car door," I'm about to go in. "
" Let the force be with you, young grasshopper! "
