Chloe weaved her way through the crowded party. There was a bittersweet feeling to this event since it was the wrap party to her latest tv show, "Love in the Apocalypse". The show had been as cheesy as the title but it had also been wildly popular, probably because the premise was so ridiculous that the audience ate up every scene.
"Chloe!" The redhead smiled at her co-star Chicago. He had played her on again off again love interest turned cannibal on the show but off screen they had become very good friends. "Come on, a few of us are doing one final toast to the show."
The actress rolled her eyes, "And how many final toasts have you given already?"
"Psth," Chicago handed her a shot. "Doesn't matter, after this we all go our separate ways. We need to enjoy this final night!" His voice grew progressively louder by the end until he was shouting to the crowd. The crowd cheered back, everyone tossing their glasses back and downing their drinks. Chloe just smiled and followed their example. It was after all the last time she'd be working with these crazy people.
But something Chicago said was eating at her. After this show was done she really didn't have much of a plan as to what came next. She had been acting since she was a little kid, always playing the good girl who was either the noble princess or just the love interest to the other lead. She'd been in sit-coms, TV dramas, even a supporting actress in a highly acclaimed bio-pick but her role had always stayed the same. Even in a show about post apocalypse survival she had really just been there to give the other characters motivation.
What she really wanted was a role with more action, but her bubbly personality meant she was usually typecasted into the happy cheerleader or the air headed sorority girl. She wanted to stretch her legs a bit as an actress. Maybe tomorrow she would call her agent, figure out what was next for her.
But right now, she had a party to attend to.
And party they did. It was almost four in the morning before Chloe managed to finally stumble away from her friends and into an Uber. She was going to miss those weirdos, this was the first job where she had actually managed to make some decent friends. People like Jessica and Ashley, who managed to make long work days bearable with their delicious baked goods and secret coffee mix. And Chicago, ever since the table read Chloe could tell that he would be an awesome costar. They had instant chemistry, falling into their roles easily and managing to bring some decent character interaction to an otherwise satirical show.
Of course there were rumors that she and Chicago were more than friends but other than a little flirting here and there those rumors were unfounded. Nope, Chloe was single and she was okay with that. Besides, celebrity dating was a whole other mess.
The Uber finally pulled up to her apartment building and because of the late hour she decided to splurge on the tip. The driver thanked her as she carefully got out of the car, she may have gone a little overboard on the techila. After stumbling inside she managed to make it to the elevator and successfully pushed the right number for her floor. Tumbling out into the hallway, she struggled to get her keys out of her clutch.
Only to see that her door was open.
Chloe stopped in her tracks, her mind quickly sobering as she heard someone moving around inside the apartment. Instead of her keys she pulled out her phone, dialing nine one one as fast as she could.
"Nine one one, what's your emergency?" The operator asked and Chloe briefly wondered how he could sound so calm.
"My door's been broken open and I think there's someone in my apartment." Chloe whispered into her phone.
"Alright miss, stay calm, I've alerted the police. Can you give me your name and location?"
"Chloe Beale, I'm at—" A loud crash came from inside the apartment followed by the door being ripped open. Chloe fell back as the intruder nearly barreled over her, only managing to stay on her feet because her back hit the wall. The elevator doors dinged and Chloe just managed to look up in time to see her assailant. There wasn't much since the top of his head was covered with a black beanie and he had a mask over his mouth.
But she could see his eyes, dark and angry as the elevator doors closed in front of him.
Captain Gail Abernathy tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator doors to open. She wasn't sure whether to be concerned or furious, this was the third time she'd been to the hospital for this particular detective this year and quite frankly she was tired of it. When the doors finally did open she strode out of the elevator with a purpose. Marching up to the nurses station she managed to ask where her detective was without too much of her irritation coming escaping. After getting directions she quickly made her way to the recovery room. Not even bothering to knock, the captain pushed through the doors.
"Mitchell! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Abernathy stared wide eyed at her detective who was struggling to slip her pants on over her hospital gown.
"Oh hey captain." Beca tried for an innocent act since her pants weren't even on all the way. "Just going to sign out and head back to the precinct."
"The hell you are!" Gail put her hands on her hips and glared at the detective. "You just got shot for crying out loud!" She pointed to the bandage around Beca's thigh. "You're staying here."
"Come on cap. It's just a flesh wound." Beca tried to pull up her pants but winced when the material hit her injury. Still, she managed to get the jeans all the way on. "See, no problem."
Gail sighed as she placed hand to her forehead. "Dammit Beca, this is the third time you've been shot this year and it's barely June. How the hell am I supposed to explain this to internal affairs?"
"Tell them that if I hadn't gotten shot then my partner would have." Beca shrugged her shoulders. "How is Jesse anyway?"
"He's fine. A little pissed that his partner seems to have a death wish."
Beca rolled her eyes. "I do not have a death wish."
"That's not how I.A. sees it." Gail pulled over a chair and sat down. "I hate to do this but you're being reassigned."
"What!" Beca spun around only to regret it. She winced and gently rubbed her wound through her pants. "Why?"
Gail just raised an eyebrow.
"That's not fair." Beca said while pointing an angry finger at her boss. "I'm a cop. Getting shot is part of the job."
"Yes, but most cops try to stay clear of bullets," Abernathy leaned back in her seat. "While you seem to jump in front of them."
"I was protecting my partner!" Beca yelled. "I did what I had to."
"And usually you would be commended. But three times in one year?" Gail gave her a stern look. "Not to mention the other six in the five years since you made detective. The higher ups are starting to think you're a wildcard and a liability."
"I also have the highest case closer rate in the city." Beca shot back. She didn't like having to defend herself when all she was guilty of was doing her job.
"That's exactly why you're not being fired." Gail shot back before standing up. She pulled out a file from the bag she had brought along with her. "This is your new assignment."
Beca glared at the folder before snatching it out of Gail's hand. She read over the contents before throwing the file onto the bed. "Seriously? You want me to work a protective detail for some snobby actress?"
"And what's so wrong with that?" Gail asked even though she knew the answer.
"What's wrong is that I'm not a beat cop." Beca ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at it in a nervous habit. "This is the type of job you give newbies fresh from the academy. Not a seasoned detective who has better things to do. Besides, this isn't fair to Jesse. Why should he be taken off of his cases just to babysit?" Gail looked away and refused to meet Beca's eye line. "Gail?"
"Jesse's also been reassigned. He'll be training the new detective that just passed the exam." Gail could see the hurt form on Beca's face before it was replaced by anger.
"Was this his idea?" She asked.
"Not directly." Gail said cautiously. "After last night's incident I offered him a less…stressful assignment."
"Meaning what? That I'm too much to handle."
"Meaning that he wants to settle down some day with a wife and kids." Gail said. "Which is kinda hard when your partner is trying to channel Annie Oakley."
Beca's shoulders slumped, she had worked with Jesse for over a year and, unlike her, he wasn't married to the job. "Does that mean I'm getting a new partner?"
"Eventually yes." Gail said, glad that Beca seemed to have accepted the change rather easily. "But not until this," she gestured to the folder, "is resolved."
Beca looked down at the file again, opening it to the first paper with the name of the victim. "Who the heck is Chloe Beale?"
Chloe held her arms close to her body as she walked through her trashed apartment. After the incident last night she ended up staying with Jessica and Ashley so this was her first time seeing the carnage. The intruder had really done a number on her home, everything that had a place on a shelf had been knocked off. Anything in a drawer had been pulled out, and it appeared that some of her underwear was missing (eww.)
The couch was flipped over, her bed was a mess, the kitchen had been ransacked, basically anything she owned had been violated in some way. She had already spoken to a couple of police officers, giving her account of what happened and a list of what was missing. Apparently some hot shot detective was supposed to take over her case, or at least that's how the officers had made it sound.
A knock at the door caused Chloe to jump a little. She turned around to see a rather short woman with a very grumpy expression on her face standing in the doorway. On the woman's belt was a shiny gold badge that Chloe could just make out under her blazer.
"If you're done staring then maybe we could get to business." The woman entered the apartment while Chloe tried to recover. "I'm Detective Mitchell, I'll be handling this case." There wasn't even an offer to shake hands, the detective just walked right past Chloe while looking around the room.
"Um, high. I'm Chloe–"
"Chloe Beale. I know." The detective started working her way around the apartment, barely giving the living room a glance before heading into the kitchen.
Chloe followed after her, feeling a little lost at the bluntness of the detective. "Are you a fan or something?"
"Of what?" Beca opened the refrigerator, barely even addressing the other woman as her eyes roamed over the contents of the fridge.
"Of…me?" Chloe cringed internally at how conceited that sounded. "Of my work as an actress?"
"Nope." Beca stood back up, turning to face the redhead with an unimpressed look.
"Then how do–"
"How do I know who you are?" Beca held up a manila folder with Chloe's name on the tab. "You don't think they send us to crime scenes empty handed, do you?
"I well–"
"Miss Beale, this process would go a lot faster if you just let me do my job. I promise I'll be out of your hair as quickly as possible." Beca left the kitchen and headed to the hallway, leaving Chloe to chase after her. For someone with such short legs the detective sure could move.
Beca entered the bedroom, her eyes scanning over the mess in an instant. The room, along with the rest of the apartment, was very nice. Given that the owner was a semi-successful actress, that shouldn't have been surprising. It also wasn't overly extravagant, a bit too brightly colored maybe but there wasn't anything like a framed portrait of Miss Beale above the bed.
Clothes and other miscellaneous items were strewn across the floor. The mattress had been flipped over, drawers pulled out of their cupboards and there was even a crack in the window where something had hit it. At first glance the room appeared to be in a state of complete chaos, the result of some lunatic completely violating the place.
But something was off, something about the room was tripping Beca's instincts. It was almost too disorganized. She heard Chloe walk into the room, a quiet sigh coming from the actress as she saw her home in such disarray.
"Was anything taken?" Beca asked as she started working her way around the room. "Jewelry, trinkets, anything like that?"
Chloe shook her head. "No. Nothing really valuable. There were some clothing items missing but the safe wasn't even touched." She walked over to her closet where there was a small safe tucked away in the corner. "That's where I keep my more valuable stuff, along with a few legal documents."
"Do you mind opening it for me?" Beca stood back as Chloe obliged, punching in a six digit code into the number pad. The safe popped open but it didn't look like anything was out of place.
"Everything's here that's supposed to be." Chloe stood back up to look at the detective. "Do you think I have some crazy stalker or something? I mean, who else would do something like this."
"Maybe." Beca turned and was about to leave when something else caught her eye. She walked over to the bookshelf against the far wall. It was strangely in order in a room full of disorder. She approached the bookshelf, scanning over its contents with a critical eye to see if anything was out of place. Beca was surprised to find a wide variety of books, ranging from sappy romance novels to Shakespeare. There was even a condensed version of War and Peace sitting on the top shelf, in the original Russian if the title was anything to go by.
It was an impressive display to say the least, something Beca did not expect. She figured that Miss Beale was like every other actress, a ditsy attention whore that definitely couldn't read. "Have you noticed anyone following you recently?"
Chloe shook her head. "Not that I've noticed. But that'd be hard to tell since I usually get recognized when I go out."
"Hmm," Beca kept scanning the shelves, something was wrong here. She wiggled a couple books back and forth on the third shelf. The other three shelves were tightly packed, holding as many books as could fit in the space but this shelf seemed to have extra room. She pulled a few books from their spots and was rewarded with a small thunk.
"What was that?" Chloe moved to stand directly behind the detective, looking over the shorter woman's shoulder.
"That, Miss Beale." Beca held up the small lipstick camera for the redhead to inspect. "Is a lead."
