Later that day, when Lucy was relaxing in her apartment, she got a call from her best friend.
"So, how is it going?"
"It's fine, Levy. You never really think about the awful things people can do until you see them in person." Lucy sighed and took a sip of her tea.
"Yeah. Are you guys working a case?" Levy sounded genuinely interested, something Lucy still had to get used to after growing up with her father's indifference.
"Yeah. A girl named Melanie Adams was murdered. She was at the book signing."
"Oh! I remember her! She walked away with your book like she was going to put it on an altar and worship it." Levy chuckled.
Lucy smiled. Levy always seemed to know what to say when Lucy was feeling down.
"She was very excited. Those are the fans I really love. Excited but not over the top."
"I know you do, Lu. Listen, I gotta get going. Juvia is getting home late from the aquarium and I told her I would make her some dinner."
"Alright. I love you Lev! Goodnight!"
"Love you too, Lu. Night!"
Lucy put her phone down on the coffee table and sighed. She tried to go over the details about the crime scene that might be important to finding the killer. Why clean the asphalt? It didn't make any sense. Anything left there by a car could have easily been left by any car. Maybe Natus was right and the killer cleaned it for Melanie. It made Lucy shiver just thinking about it. Perhaps whatever the killer used to do the cleaning would give them a clue.
Lucy sighed again. It was too late at night to be thinking about this. Standing up, Lucy headed into her room, collapsing on her bed after placing her cup on her nightstand. Hopefully a good night's rest would be of more use than thinking.
Lucy was awakened the next morning by banging, clanging and cursing. Upon recognizing the voice, Lucy sighed.
"Michelle, stop trying to make breakfast! You'll ruin my kitchen!"
Her only response was a startled shriek and then a resounding clang.
Lucy chuckled to herself as she climbed out of her comfortable bed. Her little sister was the clumsiest human on the planet. She was also the luckiest, however, because despite all her mishaps, Michelle never got hurt.
As Lucy walked into the kitchen, she was relieved to see that Michelle had not succeeded in actually mixing anything together. The only thing on Lucy's counters were her pots and pans, some of which Lucy knew had been at the very back of her cabinets.
Michelle's head popped up from the other side of the island. "Lucy! Good morning!"
Lucy couldn't help but smile at her sister's chipper attitude. "Good morning, Goof."
The nickname had been something Lucy had called Michelle since Michelle could walk. Michelle was always tripping over her own feet, reminding Lucy of Goofy the Disney character, with his two left feet. Since then, Lucy had always called her little sister Goof.
Michelle pouted. "I wanted to make you breakfast in bed before you go save the world."
Lucy laughed. "I am certainly not saving the world. Just helping the police catch bad guys. And besides, you couldn't cook to save your life. That's why it's a good thing you have Josh."
Josh was Michelle's fiance. They had started dating their senior year of highschool, but he had just proposed last year, on Michelle's 20th birthday. Lucy was beyond excited for the wedding, but her sister had yet to even pick a date.
Michelle smiled. "And I'm damn lucky. Anyway, I really did want to see you before you went to the station."
Lucy struck a pose. "Well, you're looking at me right now."
Michelle tried to keep it in, but failed and doubled over in laughter. Lucy smiled a little wider. She loved seeing her loved ones smile. However, when Lucy got a look at the clock, she blanched.
"Shit! I have to be at the station in 15 minutes!" Lucy shouted as she turned to run back to her room and throw on some clothes.
When she ran back out, she was met with Michelle holding two to-go coffee cups.
"One for you, one for that detective fellow you're partnered with. They're both black, since you're a weirdo and I don't know what he likes."
Lucy sighed in relief and gave Michelle a grateful smile and a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best. I'll see you later. You and Josh should come over for dinner!"
With that, Lucy dashed out the door.
Luckily, Lucy arrived at the station two minutes before 7:30, when she had promised to be there. She walked in, immediately spotting Natsu at his desk and making a beeline towards him.
"Good morning, Natsu!" Lucy chirped as she set his coffee in front of him.
He eyed it carefully. "What is that?"
Lucy made a face at him. "Coffee? My sister made it for you this morning. I think it's her way of saying thank you for protecting me."
Natsu looked at Lucy then back at the coffee. "What's in it?"
"She told me it was black. She doesn't kno-"
Before she could finish, Natsu had picked up the cup and taken a big gulp. He pulled the cup away from his lips and sighed contentedly. "Good stuff."
Lucy shrugged. "It's the only thing she can make without the threat of the house burning down."
Natsu chuckled and then looked back at Lucy. "Good morning to you too, by the way. Thanks for the coffee. I needed that."
Lucy beamed and then hopped up to sit on top of Natsu's desk. "So, any progress with the case?"
Natsu nodded and pointed at the open file in front of him. "Turns out that she has a boyfriend. She lives with him, but he's not listed on the lease. The parking spot we found her in is reserved for him, because he's some big wig's son. I think that's why it was cleaned. To keep him from being linked to her."
Lucy scoffed. "Idiot. What's his name?"
"Hugh Parks."
"Sounds like a jackass."
Natsu smiled at her. "Probably. His dad is the CEO of Parks Railways."
Lucy's mouth fell open. She recognized that name as one of her father's business partners. "You're kidding."
Natsu furrowed his brow at her. "No. Why? Is this another thing about this case that you know?"
"Actually, yeah. Jonathan Parks is one of my dad's business partners. He used to come to my dad's mansion for dinner sometimes."
"I'm sorry, did you just say mansion?" Gray asked as he sat down at his desk.
Lucy nodded and scowled. "Yes. My father is Jude Heartfilia, owner of the Heartfilia Corporation. But I don't want to talk about that. I hate him."
"Okay, okay." Gray put his hands up in surrender. "You were saying?"
"Right. I can get you in to talk to Mr. Parks about Hugh without any hassle."
Natsu sat forward. "You can?"
Lucy nodded. "Just let me make a call."
