Jade froze, seeing Rufus Scrimgeour stand up to greet her. She looked back at Marshall and Thatcher who stood there with their hands folded behind their backs.
'What is the Minister of Magic doing here?' Jade thought.
"You must be wondering why the Minister of Magic is here." Marshall said.
"Or more importantly why you were called down here." Rufus said.
"It would be nice to hear some answers." Jade nodded.
"We know you're a wizard, Jade." Marshall said.
"A witch actually." Thatcher said, narrowing her eyes at Jade.
"Anyways…" Marshall went on, ignoring Thatcher. "The reason why you have been called down here was because someone found an unidentified body or shall I say body pieces at the King's Cross station." Marshall said.
"Platform 9 ¾?" Jade asked, seeing them look surprised.
"Yes…that's right. How did you know that?" the Prime Minister asked. Jade turned around, seeing that the minister looked much different in person than on television.
"Oh…just a wild guess, really. If the Minister of Magic was here, there must be some concern with the only magical transit in King's cross." Jade said.
"I told you she was good." Marshall said with a grin.
"It's just logical reasoning, that's it." Jade said uncomfortably.
"Well no need to act so modest about it. We only bought you down here because you were a witch." Thatcher said quickly.
Jade nodded immediately. "You're absolutely right." Jade said.
"Now, now Inspector. That's not the only reason why she was called down here. She has the credibility and a very unique perspective on a lot of our cases." Marshall said, trying to ease Thatcher down. He turned to the ministers and smiled. "Almost all of our big cases were won by Miss Lovegood. She is one of the biggest reasons why we have convicted so many criminals in the last four years." Marshall said.
Jade looked at Thatcher, starting to see wisps of heat start to come out from her eyes and nostrils. For some reason, Thatcher didn't like her, especially from the day Jade had joined. As much as Jade tried to act normal or friendly towards Thatcher, it would be as if she rubbed her the wrong way. Marshall adding in his thoughts and praises about Jade never helped much either, it only worsened the tension. Most women didn't like Jade who was thrown off and confused. To her, women were very complex creatures but Jade gave them credit for being highly intuitive because they seemed to see her for who she really was; fake.
"Well we hope you can prove it. Platform 9 ¾ has been secured and preserved for your forensic team to move in and investigate. We can't take all day so we need to get there as soon as possible." Rufus Scrimgeour said, getting up.
"We need to keep this case on a low profile. If the word gets out that there is a magical world, there will be chaos. That's why we're restricting this to few select people. Utilize your team well Lieutenant." The prime minister said, buttoning his jacket.
"Understood sir." Marshall said.
Both of the ministers left and Jade stood there, giving a reassuring smile to Marshall and Thatcher.
"Gather your forensic team Miss Lovegood. You have approximately ten minutes to choose who to share this case with." Marshall said.
"Really? Me?" Jade asked.
"Walter what does she know about assembling a team?" Thatcher asked.
"Regina." Marshall said all traces of sincerity and patience gone. "Both Ministers requested Jade for this case. Now we will do whatever is needed to be done to make Jade feel as comfortable possible to work efficiently. If you or anyone else has an objection, please feel free to remove yourself from this case. Is that understood?" Marshall asked.
Thatcher was white lipped and Jade looked at her from Marshall.
"Very." Thatcher said. She left the office, slamming the door behind her.
"Don't mind Inspector Thatcher. She can be too straightforward sometimes." Marshall said, touching Jade's shoulder.
Jade looked down to his hand, seeing him rub her shoulder. She didn't know if she should have been disgusted or comforted, either way, it was unsettling. Not only was Marshall her boss, he was as old as her father.
"I don't mind Inspector Thatcher…but I should be getting back to the lab. Lots of decisions to be made." Jade said, stepping away from Lieutenant Marshall.
"Remember, ten minutes. Make your picks strong." He said, seeing Jade nod.
Jade quickly left the office and darted for the laboratory where Liam and Corey looked into the microscope, guffawing.
"That one looks an uncircumcised penis." Corey said. Liam made a face at Corey.
"Jesus Corey, you're fucking nasty." Liam said.
Corey looked up, seeing Jade walk in. "Hey Jade, want to play? We're looking at different types of bacteria and telling each other what they look like. Loser pays for a lap dance." Corey said, seeing Jade look through the blinds.
"I'm not sure I want to play that game." Jade said.
"Whoa, what happened with the big P.M. meeting? Why did they call you in?" Liam asked, getting up from his seat.
"Lieutenant wants me to assemble a team to take down to King's Cross. Both Ministers want to keep this case as quiet as possible." Jade said, looking at Thatcher who furiously flipped through a few files.
"That's easy; your first pick is going to be me." Corey said, sitting back and unwrapping a chocolate bar.
"Why the hell would she pick you?" Liam asked.
"Actually I wouldn't be able to do all the lab work myself. Corey and I are the only forensic technicians in this department." Jade said.
"And officers? What did they say about that?" Liam asked frantically.
"So far, it's the Lieutenant and Inspector Thatcher. I don't know who else to pick." Jade said, finally looking back at Corey and Liam.
"Jade, you have to pick me. I swear I will do anything you want me to. I'll hold interviews and just what the fuck ever you want me to do. Please Jade this is my one way ticket out of this fucked up and tight shit uniform!" Liam breathed.
"How bad do you want it?" Corey asked, wagging his eyebrows.
"Just don't try to hug or kiss me." Jade said.
Liam's mouth dropped open and he stared at Jade.
"Are you fucking serious?" Liam asked and Jade nodded.
"Quite serious. No hugging or kissing." Jade said.
"No! I meant having me on this case? You want me on this case?" he asked.
"Why not?" Jade shrugged.
"Sweet motherfuckers of Ireland! I've got me first case!" Liam screeched, jumping up. Jade took a step back and Corey wheeled himself back from Liam who started to jump up and down, ecstatic. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I could fucking kiss you right now but you warned me!" Liam said to Jade who gave him a nervous smile.
"Thank Merlin I did." She said.
The door knocked and Jade opened it to see Lieutenant Marshall standing there with Inspector Thatcher behind him.
"Have you come to a decision Jade?" Marshall asked. Jade nodded, turning towards Corey and Liam.
"I'm taking Johnson and Wallace along." Jade said. Marshall and Thatcher raised their eyebrows at the mention of Liam.
"Are you certain with your…choices?" Marshall asked.
"Pinky? You're taking Pinky for this case? Fuck me." Thatcher said, rolling her eyes. Liam's smile vanished and he shrunk back.
"Actually I chose Liam because he has more years of experience handling witnesses and bringing in informants than any of the officers in our department." Jade said.
"Are you kidding me? We all can gather witnesses and confidential informants. What makes Pinky so special?" Thatcher countered, eyeing Liam dangerously who by this point was completely demoralized.
"Officer Wallace." Jade said, staring at Thatcher for a few seconds before continuing. "Officer Wallace has personal access to the authorized security videos at King's Cross. Which would take us a few weeks from acquiring the tapes because of all the unnecessary paperwork. Officer Wallace's Uncle handles the security footage and who knows; we could probably get a face by today and have a conviction by the end of this week. The faster this case ends, the happier the Ministers will be." Jade said, looking at Marshall who beamed.
"I love the way you think Lovegood! We're happy to have you on board Officer Wallace!" he said, clapping Liam's shoulder.
"T-Thank you Lieutenant." Liam stammered. Marshall nodded and left with Thatcher in disbelief.
"Thatcher's got a steel bullet up her butt." Corey said getting up.
"Did you see her face? Like she just found out someone pissed on her grave." Liam said.
"You better be careful. She's going to take you down with any excuse she can think of." Jade said. Liam wrapped his arms around Jade, hugging her tightly. Jade responded by standing there rigidly, not knowing how to return the hug.
"I know you don't like the whole hugging thing but…" Liam said, swallowing his emotions. "You really stood up for me. You're like my best fucking friend…thank you." he said, seeing Jade nod. He was genuine and so were his emotions. If he were to cry in front of her, she wouldn't know what to do but thankfully he didn't. He sucked everything up and smiled at Jade who couldn't feel anything to share the happiness with Liam.
"We have to go…the Ministers are waiting for us there." Jade said.
"I call shotgun!" Corey jumped, shrugging off of his lab coat.