Ema got up from bed feeling slightly disturbed, with only one thought in her mind.
Klavier's making out with his cousin. The fop's with…his cousin…
The thought had stuck with her throughout dinner with Lana yesterday, and she had even embarrassed herself during dinner about the subject. The memory was still imprinted in her mind and she shuttered at the remembrance.
"What would you like to drink ma'am?"
"Hi, I'd like a Coke and the Klavier's cous…I mean trout!"
Lana had noticed her distraction, and had offered her concern to her. Ema had vented with her older sister, changing minor details here and there, but Lana interrupted in the middle of her tale. "Ema," she said, "does it really matter who Mr. Gavin dates? As a friend or peer, it's nice to care for him and who he goes with, but it is his own life. Besides, I met Kianna a couple days ago. She seems like a lovely girl; well suited for Mr. Gavin."
"But, sis…" Ema had begun, suddenly ready to share Kianna's nickname. The waiter had then appeared with their dinner and Lana had professionally steered the topic towards her recent trial.
Ema sluggishly brushed her teeth, struggling to think of anything but how Klavier must have gotten the acclaimed bruise. Abruptly, she remembered something that made her shiver. The chauffer had driven her home under the guidance of the GPS system, with the address that Kianna had told him. How had Kianna known where she lived?
Don't be silly, Ema. Her cousin probably told her. Her…cousin…who's macking on her…
And it began all over again…
It was still in Ema's thoughts when she arrived at the crime scene later that day. Forensic scientists always did their magic beforehand, so the place was packed with officers and interns. Some of the good interns saw her, and called to her, waving frantically. Ema couldn't resist a smile, and she waved back before ducking under the crime scene tape.
The small house, in which the crime had taken place in, was incredibly cluttered, messier than Ema's tiny apartment in the city. Ema quietly absorbed her surroundings, taking in every detail of the house, before she slipped on gloves and began to snoop through the piles and boxes. Most held useless info, like take-out menus and random news clippings on job openings and garage sales.
Ema opened one of the drawers in the cramped white desk of the victim, and sorted through the various papers and receipts. When she finally got to the last drawer, she realized with fascination that it was locked. Typical, she thought and sighed.
"Fräulein Skye?" Ema jumped, and turned to see Kianna standing in the doorway, carrying a large bag of equipment. Dressed in a black skirt, white denim jacket, and a coral pink t-shirt, Kianna looked as if she belonged at a photo shoot rather than a crime scene. She smiled, setting the bag down on an empty space of the floor. "I know Klavier said bright and early, but I do not think he meant this early." she commented lightly.
Ema shrugged and turned back to the locked drawer. "I tend to be here a bit early," she replied, "so I can talk with the other detectives and scientists for updates and such. Besides, if I get here too late, the defense attorneys already get all the good evidence."
Kianna appeared at her side, bending down to look at the drawer. "Hmm…" she murmured thoughtfully. Reaching into her hair, Kianna produced a hairpin. "Do you think it will work, Fräulein Skye?" she asked, sticking it into the hole and twisting it in different directions.
"I don't think so. Most people here update their locks and make it so only their key can…" With a soft click, the drawer slid open. Ema gaped at it, looking back up towards Kianna, who chuckled.
"Not your ordinary hairpin." she explained, handing it to her to further examine. Ema pulled her own hairpin from her purse and compared them to one another. Kianna's had different ridges, and was twisted in such a way that made it a makeshift key. Ema handed it back wordlessly.
"Who gave it to you?"
"Kristoph Gavin, for my birthday last year. I never considered it a master key, but Klavier wanted me to give him everything Kristoph gave me, in case of drugs and such. He did not want me to keep it, but he has to admit it's quite useful every now and then…" Kianna smiled gently at the memory.
Ema focused back to the drawer, pulling out a few small rolls of cash and some old jewelry before getting to the juicy stuff. Producing a locked diary, she handed it to Kianna for opening and then pulled the rest of the drawer's contents out. A torn picture was at the bottom of the stack, and the only remaining part of it was of a smiling young woman at a picnic.
With another soft click, Kianna opened the diary turning towards the middle. "Fräulein Skye, listen to this: 'July 15th. I met a handsome man at Speed Dating. His name is Dane Jerus. He gave me his number and I really think we hit it off. He even invited me back to his house, but I couldn't because of work. He looked more disappointed than most men I've dated, but he told me that he wants to meet again.' Have you heard of this name before, Fräulein?"
"Not really," Ema admitted, "but it sounds suspicious. Maybe we should look him up in the central database."
Kianna nodded, and continued to skim through the book. She turned through a quarter of the book before stopping. "Oh mein Gott," she gasped, "this entry was written on September 21st. 'Dane almost died today in a car accident, and he was so shaken by it when he came home. He told me that in case he died, he doesn't want to leave me with nothing. Since he doesn't have any family, he claims he left everything to me. I was so touched that I agreed to leave everything to him as well. We're going to write the final will tomorrow.'" Kianna cast her indigo eyes to Ema. "What was the victim's time of death?"
Ema reached into her bag, pulling out the case file. "2300 hours, September 23." she read, and then, in sudden realization, she dropped the file to the ground. "You don't think…Dane Jerus did this?"
"We do not know this for a fact, but he seems like a suspicious character at the moment. I wonder…" Kianna twisted her body around to speak to one of the officers on the scene. "Officer, can you do me a favor and look up any car accidents on September 21st?"
"No problem, ma'am." the officer chirped, running off to do her bidding.
Ema snorted under her breath. None of the officers did her any favors without grumbling or asking for bribes. Kianna exchanged a knowing wink with her before straightening herself and brushing off her spotless skirt.
"Have you seen the rest of the house yet?"
"I want to," Ema sighed, "But the other detectives and officers aren't exactly finished, and I'm not really the highest ranked detective here so…" Kianna had begun to walk away, and Ema scrambled after her, slightly annoyed that she hadn't finished her sentence.
The two walked around the house, finally stopping in front of a door that was partially closed. Without hesitation, Kianna pushed it open and peeked inside. Ema peeked too and saw that the only two people on the scene was a familiar looking boy with spiky bangs and a girl in a magician's outfit.
Seeing no harm in entering, Ema pushed the door open further, causing it to make a loud noise as it banged into the wall behind it. The boy and girl jumped, and then both sighed with relief as they saw who it was. "Apollo, Trucy, what are you two doing here? No one's allowed in here until the forensics are finished, and as far as I know, they haven't even finished the kitchen yet."
"No one told us that we couldn't be in here," protested Trucy, "Besides, we need some evidence too!"
"They've already gotten a suspect in custody?"
"Yep. Supe Erscari, the next-door neighbor and apparent enemy of the victim. Mr. Erscari was the last person to see and speak with the victim, and he apparently…'threatened' her." Apollo replied sheepishly.
"Maybe you should move onto the living room," Kianna suggested, "There's quite a lot of evidence in there."
Trucy looked Kianna up and down before frowning slightly in frustration. "Have we met before?" she asked, crossing her left arm across her chest while putting her finger to her chin.
"This is Kianna Ziemlich," Ema explained, "my…partner."
Trucy breathed in sharply at the mention of her name, drawing her hands to her mouth. "You're Mr. Gavin's new girl…"
"Trucy! Let's go to the living room now, shall we?" Apollo grabbed Trucy's wrist and dragged her out of the room.
Kianna watched after them, and then let out a soft chuckle. "I do not see why you Americans assume such things, and then do not say it to my face." She turned back to Ema. "Shall we get to work?"
Thirty minutes later, Ema was confused. Although she hated to admit it, Kianna actually turned out to be a good partner. She was experienced in luminol and fingerprinting powder, and occasionally followed Ema's orders, adding her own personal touches that made the work easier to understand.
Something in Ema's head wanted to make Kianna a friend, maybe even a best friend, but another part of Ema's brain smothered the idea. This woman, Klavier's cousin for Pete's sake, was with the glimmerous fop, probably doing the nasty. Speaking of which…
"Kianna?"
"Yes, Fräulein Skye?"
"Klavier has this kinda ugly bruise on his neck. Do you know where it came from?" The words came out blunter than Ema wanted them to be, but she turned to see Kianna's reaction.
The woman tossed her hair behind one shoulder, securing it in place with her key-hairpin. "Sorry, Fräulein, I wish I could help you there." she replied, shrugging modestly. Her words, lies in Ema's mind, flowed quickly off her tongue and made it seem like the truth. "Half the time I do not know what he gets all his bruises and scratches…Did you ask Klavier yourself?"
"Ask me what?"
Klavier was leaning in the doorframe, sunglasses perched on the top of his head. His hair was tousled, suggesting he had just arrived on his motorcycle, and Ema saw that the hickey on his neck was now a darker purple with red rimming the edges. It seemed almost fainter, but after years of being an investigator, Ema saw the light layer of makeup used to cover it up and make it seem like a weird blemish.
"Nothing, Mr. Gavin," Ema replied, tucking the last of the fingerprinting sheets into the case folder, "We were just chatting."
Exchanging a look with Kianna, Klavier shrugged. "Okay then…By the way, Kianna, one of the officers wishes to speak with you. Something about car accidents?"
"Fräulein Skye, do you mind going? I'm nearly done with this sample and I'll finish the file too if you want."
Ema examined her own sheet and Kianna's just-as-good, nearly completed one. She did hate filing… "Sure, I'll go."
Kianna smiled at her again, and Ema returned it with honeyed sweetness. As she walked away, she heard Klavier offer to help Kianna and Kianna's denying of his request. Closing the door behind her, she heard Klavier blow something and Kianna squeal with disapproval. "The fingerprinting powder! Fräulein Skye is going to kill you!"
Honey, you have no idea.
Halfway towards the central database van, full of computers that had every bit of information imaginable, Ema realized that she shouldn't had left Kianna and Klavier alone. In a crime scene. With her science equipment. Hickey.
Ema spun around, ready to charge back towards the bedroom. Instead, she bumped into someone, causing her bag and his folder to drop to the ground, spilling its contents. "Oh my God, I am so sorry!" Ema shrieked as she bent to pick up her items.
"It's fine; I should have been watching where I was going."
Ema blinked. The voice was gorgeous, rich and harmonic to her ears, heavily coated by a British accent. She looked up and nearly dropped all of the items she had been picking up. A slim face half-covered with dark brown curls, the man blinked back at her with gray-blue eyes, smiling to reveal a warm, friendly smile. He looked like he could be a model for a magazine and with a smile and figure like that, Ema wondered what he was doing in this particular department.
"You're Ema Skye, right?" the man asked, tucking the lasts of his papers into the budging folder.
"Yep, that's me." Ema replied, smiling slightly flirtatiously, "And you are…?"
"Adonis Thanatos," he replied, holding out a hand for her to shake, "I'm one of the new assistants to Mr. Gavin."
"Oh really?" The fop's assistant, huh? "I didn't know Mr. Gavin needed another group of assistants."
Adonis shrugged. "The last five he had touched his guitars and he fired them, so I guess I'm part of the new batch. Anyways, Mr. Gavin wants me to tell you that quote, 'Take a break as soon as you're done in the central database van; Kianna and I will clean everything up.' He also adds that he'll give you back your stuff later, back at the station, and he specifically requests that you do not enter the room at any time."
Why would he say that? Unless…Ewww, at the crime scene?! Ema thought, assuming the worst.
Her facial expression must have been devastating, for Adonis smiled sympathetically. "If you want, I could keep you company during the break.
Mr. Gavin is very lenient with assistant breaks, so I can take it now. Do you like Starbucks?"
Angels began to sing hallelujah in Ema's head. A total hottie was asking to spend the afternoon with her. Plus, he was Klavier's assistant. Schemes began to form in Ema's mind. You want to date your cousin, fop, then go ahead. I just snagged your assistant.
"Starbucks sounds great."
And the tide has turned.
Klavier & Kianna VS Ema & Adonis
Just for fun, you can go look up what Adonis Thanatos means. It'll give you further understanding of what's to come.
By the way, just for fun, how do you think Klavier got the hickey/bruise?