Dropping a pile of folders onto the table in the conference room, Clary drew Detective Lightwood's and Detective Wayland's attention to her. She stood at the head of the table and looked at the two boys.
"Valentine Morgenstern has apparently risen from the dead," she started, "and Luke brought me onto this case to help you catch him."
Jace scoffed and glared at her. "And how, exactly, do you plan to do that, short stuff?"
Clary narrowed her eyes at him. "As I'm sure Luke already told you, I happen to know a lot about Morgenstern and his past criminal activities. Now, we're stuck working together so maybe you could try being less of a whiny asshole and let me help you catch this guy and hopefully save some lives."
"So," Alec spoke up before Jace could say anything else, "what can you tell us about Valentine?"
Clary smiled at Alec gratefully. "Before he 'died,' Valentine was the ring leader of a group of criminals named The Circle. It's my belief that this group still exists and Valentine has been leading them in secret since his death. The Circle's main focus has been on the trafficking and sale of illicit drugs. However, there have been some darker crimes committed including murder and human trafficking. The Circle has also been known to have partaken in a robbery or two."
"And what does any of this have to do with the murder of Jia Penhallow?" Jace asked.
"I was getting to that," Clary snapped as she picked up one of the folders. "It would be helpful if you could just sit there and shut up. Anyway, known members of The Circle before Valentine's death, and who I presume are still members, include Emil and Anson Pangborn, Stephen Herondale, Celine Montclaire, Samuel Blackwell, and Hodge Starkweather. These individuals have not yet been tied into our current case, but after some digging I found out that Jia Penhallow, was a former member of The Circle. She had left years before Valentine's death along with other members. It's my belief that Valentine may be targeting these individuals for whatever reason."
"Who else is on the list of former members?" Alec questioned.
"Jia's ex-husband Patrick Penhallow, Lucian Graymark, and Amatis Graymark. Now, three people might not seem like much to worry about, but we don't know who else Valentine might be targeting. It could be family members, friends, coworkers, or anyone who knows the targets."
"And what exactly do you propose we do?" Jace asked, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair.
Clary shrugged, gathering her papers and walking to the door. "That's your job. I'm just here to provide information."
She stepped out of the room and had started making her way down the hall when someone grabbed her arm. Turning around, she was surprised to find Alec standing behind her. Alec usually didn't talk to her, despite the fact that she was best friends with his sister. He generally kept to himself whenever she was around.
"Hey, I just want to apologize for him," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Clary smiled lightly. "There's no need to apologize. He's always been like this toward me. I'm pretty used to it by now.
"That doesn't matter, though, Clary. You're here to help us catch this maniac, and he shouldn't be acting this way towards you. Just don't let him push you around, okay?"
"When have I ever?" she asked, before turning and leaving
After leaving the station, Clary pulled out her phone and called Izzy to tell her about her new temporary job.
"How are you going to handle working with Jace and my brother?" Izzy asked, skeptical of how the arrangement would work out. "I mean, they're both really hard to work with. That's why they ended up as partners because nobody could stand working with them."
"I've been dealing with Jace for years, Izzy. It's nothing I haven't had to handle before. And Alec has actually been really nice so far. It'll all work out fine," Clary explained as she approached the door to her apartment. A frown formed on her face as she noticed the door was unlocked. Had she not locked it before leaving?
Izzy was still talking on the other end of the phone, but Clary wasn't paying attention as she slowly opened the door to her apartment. A gasp escaped her lips as she looked around at her now completely trashed apartment.
"Clary? What is it?" Izzy asked, concerned.
"I think someone might have broke in."
"What? Clary, get out and call the p-"
"Sorry, Iz, but I gotta go."
Clary ended the call and slid the phone into her pocket. She walked tentatively into her apartment, listening for anybody that might be in there. She looked around at the torn paintings and papers strewn all over the floor. Carefully, she checked every room in her apartment, making sure her intruder was not still there.
Once she was sure her apartment was empty, she sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh and put her head in her hands. Who would do this? It wasn't Valentine's style, so that was out of the question. Something caught her eye as she scanned her apartment again.
Slowly, she got up and walked over to the coffee table in the main room. Sitting on a pastry plate was a burning cigarette, lipstick staining the butt. Under the plate was a note. In beautiful cursive handwriting were the words Tread carefully, Clarissa. It was signed with the initials CB.
She had been right in assuming it hadn't been Valentine. It was far worse than that. Camille Belcourt, her father's mistress, had been in her apartment. Camille Belcourt knew where she lived and most likely knew Clary was helping the police with finding Valentine, and she was not pleased.
Clary remembered walking in on her father and Camille as they were undressing each other in her father's office one day. Camille had slapped her across the face for interrupting them. Then, she had grabbed Clary's face, her manicured nails digging into her cheeks, and threatened to do horrible things to Clary if she uttered a word about what she saw to anybody.
A knock came from the door, pulling Clary back to the present moment. She cautiously made her way to the door and looked through the peephole. Standing in the hallway was Jace, his hands shoved deep into his pockets and an impatient expression on his face. Alec stood close behind him, looking up and down the hall.
Clary opened the door just enough to show herself but not enough to show her apartment. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning on the doorframe.
"Izzy called us saying something about break in," Jace answered while trying to get a look inside the apartment.
Clary cursed under her breath. "Well, there's nothing to worry about. You guys came over here for no reason. Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to." She stepped back inside her apartment and went to close the door, but Jace jammed his foot in front of the door and prevented her from closing it.
"Not so fast, Clarissa." He forced the door open and moved past her into her apartment. He let out a low whistle as he looked around. "Looks like you really pissed someone off, Clare. Not that that surprises me."
"Jace," Alec warned as he stepped inside. He turned to Clary. "Do you have any idea who might have done this?"
Clary sighed and walked over to the coffee table to pick up the note. "Camille Belcourt." She handed the not over to Alec, who read it and then showed it to his partner.
"Wow. One day officially on the job and you're already getting threats." Jace looked at her suspiciously. "What are you hiding from us, Fray?"
"I'm not hiding anything," she answered a little too quickly.
"Okay. Sure." He turned his attention to Alec. "Why don't you call the crime scene analyst and see if we can get anything else out of here."
Alec nodded and pulled out his cell as he stepped back out into the hallway.
Jace stepped closer to Clary, stopping himself only about an inch away from her. He leaned down and put his mouth right next to ear. "Just know that I am going to find out whatever dirty little secret you're hiding, Clarissa," he whispered before following Alec out of the apartment.
I'm really sorry about the wait on this. I just started college almost 3000 miles away from home and I've been super busy. Thank my pro writing professor for giving us time to write in class, because that's when I did this.
Reviews are always appreciated.