Chapter 23

"They're adorable, aren't they?" Elaine beamed as soon as I shut the door to my borrowed room.

"Who?"

"Harlequin and Diane!"

"Oh." I blinked, trying to figure out where exactly she was going with this. "Yeah, I suppose they are." I agreed without needing much thought on the subject. They were certainly the cutesy couple. More PDA than normal, but cute nonetheless.

"It made me really happy to hear that they finally started dating." The blonde walked towards my dresser, making herself at home as she dug around for a uniform. "Harlequin needs her a lot more than he thinks he does."

From what I could tell, the ginger seemed very aware of that fact. But her words and the exchanges I'd been witness to made it clear just how much of a rich history there was between everyone here. Meliodas was a slave driver when it came to King - it was clear he needed his skills, but he also played the role of big brother. To both siblings it seemed. The sin boss acted more like a loving uncle to Elaine than he did acquaintance.

Something in their shared history had brought them all together in this dysfunctional family sort of way. I just wish I knew what it was...

"You're a lot more open than your brother." The thought slipped past my lips. I mentally cringed, preparing myself for some kind of backlash.

Elaine paused for a moment in her digging. Then she laughed. "I would think so! We did grow up differently."

"You didn't grow up together?" My brows knitted together.

"Ah, I didn't mean it like that." She quickly shook her head. "We did grow up together. Just… Harlequin… he took care of me." Her expression became unreadable as she disregarded her search for a uniform, looking me up and down. Her honey eyes settled on mine, a small smile on her lips. "He raised me."

I nibbled at my lip, anxious, but curious all the same. "What about your parents?"

"Not a clue." She shrugged and turned back around. "Never knew them."

Never? The word echoed in my mind.

"It's alright though. It used to bother me when I was younger, seeing the other kids with their parents. But when I'd ask Harlequin about it he'd… he'd get this… look and… well I just stopped asking after awhile."

"That… that's so…"

"It's not." Elaine interrupted with a smile before I got any further. "He did everything he could for me and then some. Of course I'd change some things if I could but… he tired. I know that now and I just wish that I… that I could repay that somehow, you know?"

It was like a lightbulb sprang to life in my head. She'd just handed me the perfect opportunity to get two of the Sins out of the bar.

"Why not offer them the night off?"

"Huh?"

"King and Diane." I clarified as I tried to put my words out there correctly. "Diane had mentioned not having a date night in a long time. And I'm sure King would appreciate one too."

Elaine perked and nodded her head eagerly. "Yeah! That would be perfect! But…" she deflated slightly, "what about Meliodas?"

"I'm sure he won't mind." My thoughts raced trying to find a reason why. "He does owe King at least a night off for all the work he's done this week. And you're here to help cover the workload tonight."

The other woman hummed, thinking over my words and nodding to herself. "Yeah," Elaine mumbled, "yeah that could work."

We changed without much else said.

By the time we returned to the main floor, customers were already seated. Hours go by and it has to be almost five before I see King and Diane sneaking away up the stairs. Their body language told me all I needed to know. They had gotten the night off.

Two down, I thought to myself as I walked into the empty kitchen hiding a victorious smile, two more to go. Because I wasn't really worried about Elaine. If anything, she'd probably take Ban off my hands for me by the end of the night.

Leaving only Meliodas.

"You know that you're not the boss, right?"

Speak of the devil…

I forced myself to relax as I realized Meliodas had snuck up behind me. And his tone could only mean one thing. Elaine told him the whole thing had been my idea. Damnit. I had hoped she'd keep that bit of information to herself.

Seemed her brother wasn't the only blabbermouth. Probably a family trait.

His voice had been soft. Challenging, but not cold. His mood hadn't shifted dramatically despite the domineering tone he gave me.

"I figured they could use the night off," I replied smoothly, continuing my search for a new order pad in the cabinet against the wall. "One of them did have a fairly rough week."

The pointed look I shot over my shoulder did nothing to the blonde.

He studied me, features giving nothing away to the inner workings of his mind. Finally, he shrugged. "That's fair. Though," he took a step closer and leaned in, face inches apart from my own and sporting narrowed eyes and what could only be described as a devious grin, "I'd appreciate it if you'd talk with me first before giving one of my workers the night off."

Rebellion coursed through me at his expression. "I'll think about it." I responded curtly, maybe even playfully so to not anger him further. "Someone should look out for their well being." I couldn't help but try to rub dirt in the wound. To imply that he didn't care - to make him flinch for once.

Meliodas chuckled, to my irritation, matching me play for play. "That's funny, coming from you." An amused smile spread across his lips as he leaned back, hands pushing into his pockets, eyes continuing to narrow on me like a challenge.

A challenge I was more than ready to take on before we heard, "Would you two get out of my kitchen?" Ban huffed from the doorway, cutting off my sharp reply. His crimson gaze eyed the two of us critically.

And I finally realized just how close Meliodas really was; then how cold it suddenly became when he moved away before I did.

I didn't even catch the retort he threw at Ban as he went back out to the tavern. I was too distracted by the strange flutter my heart was doing at the image of him next to me.

"Hey."

Ban's voice cut through my daydream, and I turned to look at him expectantly.

"Out." He gestured to the door, like he meant business this time.

I rolled my eyes as I finally pulled a fresh pad from the supplies and pushed my way back out to the crowds.

"Taking out the trash!"

The night couldn't have gone more according to plan. After Ban finished closing down the kitchen and we were left with only stragglers in the bar, he and Elaine disappeared, saying something about spending time at the university before they had left.

"Need some help?" Meliodas called back to me from the tavern as he finished tallying the cash from the service. We were the only ones left. This couldn't have gone more perfectly.

"I'm alright. Ban took most of it out earlier."

"Alright!" He called back, and that was it. No fuss. No questions. It finally felt like I was getting somewhere.

More importantly though, I had a package waiting for me.

I hefted the trash bag and pushed my way out the back door, making sure to swing the black bag hard enough that it would clear the trash bin wall. Once I heard the thud inside, I was home free. Now all I had to do was find the package.

The back alley was dark and quiet, save the occasional sound of cars passing on the main road, making it easy for me to check for any onlookers. But it quickly became apparent that I was actually alone for once. Good.

Quickly, I dropped to my knees, ignoring the smell coming from the trash bin as I fished under it. If Gil had gotten my message, then there was bound to be a - There!

My hand grazed crisp paper, and I pulled a hefty manilla envelope out in front of me. It was labeled in one corner with my initials.

I knew I could count on you, Gil. I smiled, wrapping the parcel in my arms and quickly climbing to my feet and going back inside.

The next problem was how I was going to get it past Meliodas.

I glanced around the kitchen, finding a basket of clean, unfolded towels sitting on one of the metal counters. Perfect.

The envelop hid perfectly under the towels, and I quickly exited the kitchen with the basket tucked under my arm. "I'm going to finish folding these towels and then I'll be heading to bed." I said resolute, passing Meliodas without so much as a glance, and trying to ignore the heat I felt under my skin as I felt him watching me.

"Wait."

Fuck…

I turned back to look at him expectantly - doing my best not to seem guilty.

"You know you don't have to do that, right? I think you've covered enough for today. Diane can handle that in the morning." He said, offering me a raised brow and a knowing grin.

There was a rush of relief at not being caught, but I couldn't let my guard down yet.

"I don't mind," I started, but find myself thinking better of sounding too compliant. I've never been especially eager to pull my weight. He might think it suspicious. "I mean, I told Diane I'd handle closing tonight so she could go out. I'd hate to go back on that. Besides, they're just towels."

He watched me for a long moment, but eventually nodded, "I suppose you've got a point. Thanks for doing that. I'm sure Diane appreciates it." He finished, going back to wiping down a mug.

And there's that pang of guilt again. I quickly swallowed it. "Yeah. No problem." Was all I could reply before I try and scamper off.

"Elizabeth?"

DAMNIT! STOP TOYING WITH ME!

I paused just before the hall that would lead me to the stairs, choosing not to turn back this time.

"Sleep tight." He said, and I can hear the grin on his lips. After a breath, I'm able to look back at him over my shoulder.

It was difficult, looking back at him and remembering his closeness earlier and seeing that easy-going smile on his face now. But, somehow, I managed a smile of my own, "You too. Goodnight."

All at once, I felt like the worst human being on earth and victorious. Meliodas was a criminal. I shouldn't feel the regret I did for lying to him, but I had to know! I had to solve this case despite him.

I just wish it didn't make me feel like a total scumbag.

Once I was upstairs, I closed and locked my bedroom door behind me. I didn't want anyone to walk in on me snooping. I put the basket on my bed, but before I could dig out the file; I chose to fold the towels. In case anyone came looking for them. It took me less than ten minutes, but by the time I was done, my patience was at its limit.

I inspected the envelope which was bursting at the seams, and once I tore it open and spilled its contents, I grinned. Everything I asked for was here. There was a small prepaid phone on top of the pile; nothing glamorous. Just small enough that I'd be able to hide it and use it as needed.

Next, there was a pile of papers fastened together with the picture I had given to Margaret under a paperclip. These must have been Liz's files.

I felt a rush of excitement as I started thumbing through pages.

Only to find that excitement met with confusion.

"These are… police reports." I mumbled to myself, finding a full case report and reading the notes. Flipping to the next page, I found myself losing all of my previous excitement all together as I'm finally face-to-face with cold hard fact: the whole next three pages were a coroner's report.

And Liz's death certificate.

My hand faltered, head and heart both hesitant to continue.

It was a strange feeling, to be dreading the very answers I was so excited for just ten minutes before. It certainly made it hard to read the quickly scribbled notes by the coroner - a Dr. Hendrickson. I knew the name. I'd dealt with him a couple times, especially involving my current case. He seemed a good enough guy from what I could tell during my limited encounters with him - if not a bit creepy at times.

"Damnit…" I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of dread seep into my hands, as if her records themselves were made of lead.

It made sense. It really did. Logically, I knew this was a possibility, but to confirm it, was something else entirely. Like I was intruding.

But I couldn't think like that right now. I forced myself to take a breath before flipping back through the police report. "Decedent was found in an abandoned shipyard along the bay." I read, tapping into my skills as a detective to detach, "Strange place to find a-" I flipped back a couple of pages to find her service records attached as well. They only offered me more confusion. "Decorated soldier." I finished, staring back at her picture; studying every detail of her face and the warmth she shared with the happier Meliodas posed next to her.

I scrolled through her military file; it read like a boring paperback novel. By all accounts, she was the ideal soldier. No issues with fellow soldiers, commendations from superiors, smart, not a day of sick leave taken. She seemed… perfect.

Maybe that was the problem.

I moved back to the coroner's report, taking care to examine the attached pictures with each note. Decedent had been found relatively quickly. Rigor mortis had set in throughout the body, so she'd been dead between six and eight hours.

Official cause of death: overdose.

"Overdose? Seriously?" I whispered, checking the noted dark bruises associated with injections to the arm. I'm not sure why it surprised me - most of the cases I'd dealt with where the family claimed the deceased were saints - the problem was drugs.

She just didn't look the type. But I guess, neither did the others.

Most telling though, was the drug she'd overdosed on: XGEN. That drug again… But what did it have to do with everything the sins were doing? So far I'd learned quite a bit about corporate and political corruption and this company funding them all, but nothing seemed to tie back to this drug. Not yet at least.

I thumbed through a couple more pages before a report caught my attention. The original officer had begun looking into someone he'd annotated as "BF" in the notes as a suspect. BF… boyfriend? He'd been looking at Meliodas.

"That's weird," I mumbled as I continued scanning. "The coroner's report didn't leave any room to suggest there had been foul play. If it was an overdose why were they investigating him?"

There had to be something that made them think he could be involved.

I flipped the page and found one more note around the "BF" and how he'd been brought in for questioning, but nothing else. The case had been closed not long after that. The final call being accidental death.

This whole thing was just one big mystery wrapped in another. It gave me more insight into the woman pictured with Meliodas. But it made me question his motives all the more. He'd promised to help me dismantle those responsible for XGEN. Did that mean this is what led him to start the sins? The death of his old flame? To find the people responsible for providing the drugs that killed this woman? Was that really all this was?

Even I flinched at how callous that thought made me seem. All this was… love made people do crazy things all the time. Pain, anger, and hatred made them do worse. In this case, Meliodas' pain and wrath had presumably put three officers in the hospital. I recognized one of the names of the officers listed on the case as being one of the men.

What on earth made you so angry that you would hurt others?

My heart jumped into my throat as a sudden round of knocks came on my door, followed by "Elizabeth? You still up?"

I refrained from cursing out loud as I shoved Liz's files back into the folder and rushed to hide it under my mattress and shoved the little disposable phone into my bra. "Y-yeah! One sec!" I called back, finding myself frantically looking around and then reaching for the closest book and going to the door.

"What's up?" I asked a little more breathy than I would have preferred upon opening to the patient Meliodas in the hall.

He peered in at me curiously, "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

My cheeks heated unprovoked and I waved the book at him, "Oh no, just reading. You startled me is all."

He hummed with a nod as he took in the book. But that curious look only deepened as a grin accompanied it, "Her Last Vow?" He read aloud, and I find myself flushing completely. "I didn't take you for the romance type." He observed, and I hate how that cocky look in his eyes reminded me of a few of our more heated encounters.

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for trashy romance novels." I was going to pay for that comment later, I just knew it…

"Duly noted." He responded, and I already regretted this entire exchange. "Well, I came to see if you wanted to go out." His easy tone and relaxed posture told me I wasn't in trouble. But something else had me on edge.

One of these days I'd learn not to give him so many of my reactions. Tonight was not one of them, though, as my face took the hue of the crimson book cover in my hand. "Out? Like… out, out?"

His brow quirked, "Yes, out." He confirmed confidently.

I swallowed, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights, my voice growing higher in pitch, "Out… A-as in… a date, out?"

Meliodas' brows shot up and that damnable grin took on a new brilliance, "If that's what you'd like to call it, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

You're a fuckin moron, Elizabeth…

"N-no! That-that's not… I didn't mean-" I stuttered incoherently, hoping that something, anything would put me out of my misery.

No such luck as the blonde began chuckling at my expense, "Sure you didn't." He mocked with a crooked grin. I fought the urge to throw a fist at him, knowing how well that's worked for me before.

"What did you mean, then?" I asked quickly, crossing my arms and trying not to play into his little games.

He leaned on my door frame, hands tucked into his pockets as he watched me with that smile as he said, "I'm going out to do something potentially illegal."

I don't know what it was - maybe the devilish twinkle in his dark emerald eyes, or the charming cock-sided grin he gave me; but I felt a new kind of heat climb up my body as he finished with, "Thought you might want to tag along."

It was the kind of fire that I would assume a heroine from a trashy romance novel like Her Last Vow might describe when faced with an adventure with the intended love interest. Which was definitely strange - because this wasn't a trashy romance novel and Meliodas was, for all intents and purposes, a gangster, and not a love interest. By any means.

But it was there. A fire building in the pit of my stomach that made me forget the files I had hidden under my bed and the embarrassment I'd felt moments before. A sensation that made me grin back at him and say:

"You're on."

Dom: *Looks intently at a jumbled, knotted mess of ribbon wrapped around a small gift (and herself). She's somehow used an entire spool despite the fact that the box she's attempting to decorate is no bigger than a softball*

Luv: *walks into room sipping coffee. Tilts her head curiously at Dom's predicament. Opens her mouth then shuts it, shaking her head and sitting on the nearby couch.*

Dom: I don't know what happened. One minute it was easy sailing, the next I was sinking fast. And now I've become one with the present wrapping.

Luv: Some might call that an impressive feat. *sips more coffee and stares at all the ribbon* Not sure that's what I'd call it, but it sure is something.

Dom: Have I found my calling? Was this what I was destined to become? Has my life been leading up to this one moment where I am now but a fantastical adornment made for the sole purpose of beautifying a gift for someone to gleefully tear away on Christmas day?!

Luv: ….. Someone's feeling poetic today.

Dom: I was going more for existential crisis, but whatevs. *Tears herself and the box out of an entirely unnecessary amount of ribbon*

Luv: *blinks and opens mouth to say something and decides against it. again.* Well, suppose I should go on and give that preview. Next time on Don't Trust Me: Potentially illegal indeed! Elizabeth is about to get a taste of what really makes the sins a feared gang. But, when a young man comes calling for help, will she and Meliodas find the next clue to their shared goals?

Dom: *Pulls out a brand new spool of ribbon, a devious smile on her lips as she begins wrapping the present once more* I WILL BEAUTIFY THIS GIFT IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!

Luv: You totally got this! *opens a book and continues to drink her coffee* See you guys next chapter! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Dom: *Mumbles a Merry Christmas because she is now wrapped in the ribbon like a mummy*