A/N: Lines just indicate the passage of time in this chapter, not a flashback or anything

Shattered

By: Abellen

Chapter Six: Findings

I rolled over in bed, still caught halfway between sleep and wakefulness. A dream swam in front of my eyes, tattered and unclear. It was already fading away with the dim morning light. I opened my eyes and tried to remember it, but all I could think of was the soft, warm feeling of a girl's lips against my own, and a pair of bright green eyes, smiling up at me. I groaned and glanced at the clock on my bedside table. I hadn't got to sleep until early morning, and my eyes still felt gritty and tired.

With a sigh I rolled out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. I took my glasses off and left my pajama bottoms on the floor before I stepped under the spray of the shower. Washing my hair wasn't an issue since my scalp was shaved clean, but the warm water woke me up and scattered the last shreds of sleep away. It was only a matter of minutes before I was clean, dry and dressed. I brushed my teeth and eyed up my reflection, grimacing slightly. Ingrid's pale skin showed up every sleep deprived shadow, but the color of my own did me some favors. Unfortunately there were still traces of shadows under my eyes and I knew that they wouldn't escape my partner's notice.

I toyed with the idea of walking her to school, as well as back to her house, but decided against it. I could meet her halfway. At least, I could if I hurried. I rushed downstairs and scooped my homework into my bag. My dad was sitting at the kitchen table, slurping coffee as though it were the elixir of life. His eyes followed me around as I got my stuff together.

'Don't forget breakfast, Cornelius,' he reminded me in his stern, gentle voice. 'Your brain needs food, you know?'

I grabbed an apple out of the bowl as Mom handed me a steaming hot croissant.

'Take care, Cornelius,' she shouted after me. 'Have a good day!'

With a hasty goodbye I aimed for the door, and smiled as my Dad's voice reached my ears.

'He gets his dedication from you, Marie.'

'And his good looks from you, dear.'

The door closed behind me and I glanced at my watch. With any luck Ingrid was running a few minutes late. The wind was gentle, but bitterly cold and I wished I'd worn more than a t-shirt as I chewed on the croissant. The first dead leaves of fall rattled along the sidewalk and crunched beneath my hurrying feet. Rounding the corner a few streets away from school I smiled at what I saw. Ingrid was leaning against the slim, metal pole of a stop sign, rummaging in her bag for something. Her hair swung against her jaw before she pulled some gloves from her bag and slipped them onto her slim hands.

She caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye and smiled as I approached. 'Bad night?' she asked quietly, a small frown wrinkling her forehead.

'I just couldn't sleep. It happens sometimes.' I smiled, hoping that she wouldn't ask too many questions. Instead she just pursed her lips and walked along by my side.

'I'm going to class today,' she said softly. 'I know the Principal and the doctor said I shouldn't but I can't sit around and do nothing.' She bit her lip, as though she was waiting for me to disagree with her decision.

'It'll keep you out of trouble, I suppose.' I grinned as she rolled her eyes and smiled in response.

'I think I'll interview some potential suspects today. If nothing else it'll eliminate them from the case,' she added.

'I'm going to check on Harris, and make sure he's settling in okay.'

She raised her eyes to mine, and I saw every emotion reflected in the green irises. There was fear and anger, and something else, something much softer. 'Why do I get the feeling you won't be giving him a friendly X middle school welcome?'

'I'm just going to keep an eye on him. Even if he's not mixed up in all this, wouldn't you feel safer if you knew for sure?'

'Of course, but he might not even know I go to this school. Why draw his attention to me?' She had wrapped her arms around her waist defensively and her shoulders were hunched. 'I know you'll do whatever you want, Fillmore, but please be careful. Just because he normally picks on girls doesn't mean he won't throw a punch at you if you push his buttons.'

'I didn't know you cared, Third.'

'I always care, Fillmore.'

She climbed the steps in front of me while I mulled over her words, and tried to keep my eyes off of her. There had been other girls who caught my eye in the past, but they'd never commanded my attention as powerfully as Ingrid did. They'd always turned out to be more interested in having a boyfriend, than the boyfriend himself.

'Hey, Ingrid!'

I looked up and narrowed my eyes when I saw Monaco waving from his locker. He was grinning inanely , oblivious to the purple haired girl at his shoulder, who was curling her top lip in a sneer of annoyance. She glared daggers at Ingrid, who paid her no attention whatsoever as she greeted Tony.

'I'll be at the office in a second.'

'Sure.' I rolled my eyes to myself and carried on down the corridor. Before I turned the corner I looked back and grimaced. Their heads were bent together over the math equation he had left behind the day before. He seemed to be paying more attention to Ingrid's face than the math problem and I stamped down hard on the jealousy I felt.

I carried on walking to the office, deciding that she could catch up when she was done. She hadn't seemed to affected by Tony's open admiration, but for someone so intelligent Ingrid could be pretty oblivious sometimes. Maybe she just didn't notice the fact that he was practically drooling over her.

I opened the office door and greeted Anza and Danny. Anza was sipping something out of a Starbuck's cup and Danny was slumped in his chair, eyes half closed.

'Fillmore, you look terrible.'

'Thanks, Danny. You don't look so hot either.'

'All night horror movie marathon. What's your excuse?'

'I just couldn't sleep.'

Anza tipped some of his brew into the mug and handed it to me. It was the color of tar and bitter as anything, but the coffee made me feel slightly more human.

'Hey, man. Can you do me a favor?'

'Sure, Fillmore. What is it?'

'I need to talk to Harris. Can you find out where he's going to be at lunch?'

Anza peered at my face, no doubt trying to work out my motives. 'Only if you let me be there when you talk to him.'

'Why?'

'Because Ingrid's my friend too, and you never know when an extra pair of fists could come in useful.' He waited until I agreed before starting a search on the computer to see if Harris had joined up to any lunch-time activities.

'Looks like he's going in heavily for sports. This lunch he'll be at football practice. Then there's boxing after school, followed by an evening of ice hockey.' Anza's lips twisted in distaste

'He's chosen sports that require brute force. Why do I get a bad feeling about this?'

Anza hit print and drummed his fingers against the desk. 'We shouldn't show this to Ingrid. It'll just freak her out.'

I gave a non-committal reply as I picked up the document and read it through.

I glanced up as Tehama and Ingrid walked through the door, chatting quietly. I folded up the paper and slipped it into my pocket. Anza was right, there was no need to put Ingrid more on edge than she already was. I finished the coffee and listened with half an ear to the girls' conversation, stiffening as I heard Tehama's word.

'I mean, he was checking you out. He couldn't take his eyes off your butt. I wish people paid that much attention to my behind!' Karen was saying, her voice becoming wistful as she finished her sentence.

'I think you imagined it, Karen. I don't think he could ever be more than friends with someone who is more intelligent than him.'

I smiled at Ingrid's tone. She didn't sound even remotely interested to know that Tony had been checking her out. My smile vanished when I saw the amused looks I was getting from Anza and Danny. I scowled at them and stared sightlessly at the file on the table as Karen continued.

'Maybe he's looking for a challenge. I can't seem him being satisfied with some vapid airhead, can you?'

'Maybe not, but if you think he's so good looking maybe you should ask him out.'

I looked up sharply as Anza made a strangled sound and stared fixedly at the computer screen. I risked a glance at the two girls. Tehama was regarding Anza with blatant bewilderment and Ingrid's lips were curved in a devilish grin. She caught my eye and gave me a tiny wink before she picked up her books and departed, shouting a calm, 'See you later!' as she walked away.

Anza met me on the playing field for lunch. He was munching on a sandwich thoughtfully as he approached, huddling in his coat to ward off the chill. I'd been waiting a few minutes and had already decided that Harris was trouble. Three years ago he might have just been a big bully, but now he was the broadest quarterback on the team. The coach had pointed him out as he pummeled a team mate into the ground with a sickening thud. With every tackle the coach grinned further. 'That's it, Harris! You've got the killer instinct! Use it!'

'Is that him?' Anza asked quietly as another player was forced to eat dirt. 'Man, Fillmore. If he hit Ingrid now he'd kill her.'

'He nearly did last time. I read the file. He broke her ribs.'

'Did Vallejo say you could read that?' When I didn't reply he finished his sandwich and sighed. 'Well, let's make this quick. What kind of thing are we going to ask him?'

'Where he was on Monday night, and Wednesday morning at around eleven.' I replied.

'Should we mention Ingrid?'

'Not unless we have to.'

The coach blew his whistle and beckoned Harris over. He pulled off his helmet and found the pair of us with his eyes. Sweat plastered his dark hair to his forehead, and although there was a smile on his lips his gaze was almost murderous.

He walked over, wiping his face with a towel as he did so. He stopped short of us and looked the pair of us over. 'What do you want?'

'Are you Mike Harris?' Anza asked, notebook and pencil in hand.

'Yeah, who's asking?'

'We're officers Anza and Fillmore,' he jerked his pencil in my direction. 'We'd just like to ask where you were between three and six o' clock on Monday afternoon?'

'Ice hockey match at the stadium.'

'And between ten and twelve on Wednesday morning?'

'In English and science classes. What's this about?'

'Can anyone verify your presence at the hockey match?'

'Of course!' His eyes narrowed cruelly and his voice became a growl. 'That bitch Third set you on me, didn't she? Her lies got me kicked out of every school I've been to for the past three years.' He shook his head and turned his back. 'You can tell her that she's not pinning any more crap on me.'

'So you're saying she broke her own ribs?' They were the first words I had said, and Harris stiffened before turning and jabbing his finger painfully into my chest.

'She asked for it with those big green eyes of hers.' He licked his lips and hissed again, 'She asked for it.' He spun on his heel and marched away, back to where the team were waiting for him. He slammed his helmet onto his head and huddled down, effectively blocking us from his world.

Anza shuddered and swallowed as he put his pencil away. 'That was...' he paused, groping for the right word, 'disturbing. Sounds like he was kind of obsessed with her.'

'Bullies can get like that. Do me a favor and check out his alibis. If anything doesn't add up, tell me, and we'll take this to Folsom.'

'Gotcha. I'll let you know. Do you think it was him?'

I took a deep breath as I thought about Anza's question. Every instinct in me was screaming that he was trouble, but... 'No, at least, I don't think he's the ringleader of it. Ingrid was right the first time. Harris doesn't have the style to pull off this kind of thing. He's up front and in your face. Whoever's threatening the top students is playing mind games.'

'Probably not a physically strong individual then,' Anza muttered.

'Well, that might be where Harris comes in. He could be the physical backup.'

'Reinforcement.' Anza ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his watch. 'Has Ingrid had anymore phone calls, or anything?'

'No, it's gone quiet, but I don't think we'll have to wait long. Ingrid thinks it might be linked to the scholarship deal for the ten most intelligent students.'

'So why won't you have long to wait?'

'When money is involved, people get impatient. We just have to wait and see what their next move is.' I rubbed a hand up the back of my neck and grunted softly. 'I hate waiting.'

We were just walking back into the school when our radios crackled to life. Vallejo's voice emanated from the speaker, tinny and distressed. 'Officer in trouble. Everyone to the hallway outside the science rooms, now!'

We broke into a sprint, barging our way through the milling students. Shouts of annoyance fell on deaf ears as I jumped over two students carrying a disaster of paint and clay between them.

'Vallejo, who is it?' Anza gasped into the radio, dodging his way around a cart wheeling cheerleader.

'Is Fillmore with you?' Vallejo asked warily. Anza looked at me and almost collided with someone carrying a guitar.

'Yeah, why?'

'We might need him to pick up the pieces. Harris has found Ingrid.'

Anza swore. 'That was quick.'

I sped up, ignoring a stitch in my side as I dodged around the corner. Just one last hallway... I skidded past Monaco and bit my lip, praying that Ingrid was all right. The science corridor was normally quiet at this time of day, but I didn't pay attention to the silent air as I came to a stop. There was no sign of Ingrid or Harris, and for a moment I thought Vallejo had pulled some stupid stunt. Maybe it was a drill or something.

Then I saw something on the floor, glistening red, and a sweat broke out across my skin. I leaned closer and reached into my pocket for a tissue. Dipping a corner in I noticed that the fluid was slightly thicker than water. Someone was bleeding, and I'd bet a year's lunch money that it was Ingrid. I tried not to panic as a hundred terrible scenarios raced through my head. Anza had skidded around the corner and was already on his radio describing the situation to Vallejo. Danny and Tehama were approaching from the other end of the corridor, and all three stopped to pay attention as I spoke.

'Karen, take this back to the office and see if it's blood. Danny and Anza, see if you can find Harris. He might have Ingrid with him.'

The radios crackled as Vallejo spoke, 'Do as he says, everyone. This is your operation, Fillmore.'

'Thanks, man.'

'What about you?' Karen asked as she took the tissue.

'I'll search this corridor. They might still be here somewhere.'

'Okay, good luck. Radio us as soon as you know anything,' Anza said, 'and check in every ten minutes. If you don't we'll assume Harris has got you too and come looking.'

I nodded in agreement and set off down the corridor, my eyes on the floor for clues. I crushed my panic and ignored my fear. This was business, and I couldn't let emotion get in the way. If Ingrid was here, with or without Harris, I'd find her.

Failure wasn't an option.

End Of Chapter Six

A/N: As always, thank you to all my reviewers, who make me feel special :) So what happened between Ingrid and Harris? Find out in the next chapter which will either be posted on Thursday, or Sunday.