Chapter 2: Bad Liar

Despite my alarm clock being broken, I woke up at the same time as usual. A matter of habit I guess. I got up and took a shower before getting dressed. I added a red barrette to my hair because I love those... Not because I had to meet that Nick Wilde or anything.

I get in my car and drive towards the Coffee Latte. When I arrive, the bell over the door rings softly as i push it. Emily, one of the waitresses with whom I sympathized since i was a regular, gives me a wide smile that I return. Then my glance sweeps the room in search of someone who could be Nick Wilde. My glance stops on...

"Ed Sheeran ?!"

All eyes are on me at my shout. I clear my throat, embarrassed.

Dummy, dummy, dummy... was on repeat in my head as i walked towards the redhead still mortified. For some reason, I was sure it was him, Nick Wilde. Today he was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and blue jeans. It was awfully casual but it looked unnecessarily good on him.

I hate it.

I sat down with a fake semblance of calm in front of him and said :

"You are Nick Wilde, aren't you ?"

"Nice guess, I didn't expect you to be Lieutenant Harper..."

"I told you I was a cop." I gritted through my teeth.

"My bad, everyone makes mistakes, right ?" That shit-eating grin on his face showed me he wasn't sorry at all.

"Indeed... Now, let's talk about why I called you..." I wasn't here for this so I moved on with the subject.

"I'm all ears."

"I'd like you to help me with an investigation."

"And what's in it for me ?"

"Whatever you want... If it's money, no problem."

"Whatever i want, you say..." He put his crossed arms on the table, leaning on it. His index tapped his chin in a thinking manner.

I felt like i was going to regret my wording really soon.

"Yeah ? Name your price."

He seemed to think some more before leaning closer to me and saying with a smile that didn't tell me anything good :

"I don't want money. Be my girlfriend, Harper."

What...?!

"W-what ?" I spluttered.

"I said-"

"Yes, I heard you, but why- ?"

"I am bored, I guess."

Why did i even ask.

"Never mind, I can't."

"Why ? Are you taken ?"

"Isn't it obvious ? I can't date someone I barely know and have no feelings for."

Nick didn't answer. There was an awkward silence where I wondered if I should accept or not. I avoided looking him in the eye and kept my eyes fixed on the cup of iced tea I had ordered. My heart was racing. I didn't know what was making me feel that way, his request or the anticipation of his response. Yet the squeak of his chair made me look up. He had stood up. Seeing my puzzled look, he said in a friendly tone :

"If you can't accept my offer then I fear I can't answer yours."

Wait, don't tell me he's going to leave like that...

If I let him go, I'll be stuck against the wall and I'll never be able to solve the case in time. I have to put my pride aside for now. I hold him back by the side of his shirt and avoid meeting his eyes. I mumble to him, my face furious red :

"I accept your request..."

"What ? I didn't hear you." He says to me with a mischievous smile

"I accept to be your girlfriend !"

I can't believe i was doing this.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Judy..."

This manipulative bastard...

He sat back down and said :

"Now that the negotiations are over, I guess we can talk about this investigation."

"Not here, let's go to my office."

He nodded and we left the café. We head to the station and then to my office. I sit down in my chair and Nick sits in front of me. I spoke up once settled :

"Here, let me summarize the investigation for you. Samantha Miller, a college student and influencer on Instagram with a million of followers was found murdered. 2 months before her death, she was contacted by a certain secret admirer. It started with small messages and flowers but it quickly turned into harassment and then death threats. Her relatives insisted that she call the police but she told them that if she continued to ignore him he would eventually get tired of her. But of course it didn't stop, on the contrary, it became more serious."

"She should have taken that advice..." Nick noted with a serious face, probably the more I've seen of him so far.

"So this change in attitude made her paranoid and anxious. She refused to answer calls and go out. The weekend she died, her friends convinced her. They went to a nightclub. Their outing lasted until 3 a.m. Her best friend said the last time she saw her alive was... Ah, she got offered a ride home from a stranger because she was too drunk."

"Wait a second, you're telling me she let her stalked best friend get a ride from a stranger ?"

"She must have been drunk as well at the time so I don't think she was in the state of mind to make rational decisions." I shrugged.

"Okay what happened then ?"

"The next day, she went to check on Samantha to see if she was okay. She found the door open, and when she went into her room, she discovered Samantha murdered and raped. On the wall, written in red: "I warned you"."

"How did she die ?"

"She died 9 hours before the body was found. Intracranial hemorrhage due to head trauma. The killer hit her head several times on the floor. The rape is postmortem."

I couldn't help but make a face at my last sentence. How much insanity does it take to go down on a dead body.

"I believe we are dealing with a psychopath... This kind of violence is often the cause of a mental problem." Nick stated, fingers tapping the table.

"It could also be a motive for revenge. The lengthy preparation may also suggest that the killer knew Samantha."

"Psychopaths plan their murders for a long time too. It can take months or even a year. They want everything to be perfect. And as you noticed, this murder was." He argued.

I sighed, Nick was very persuasive but he was there for this reason so I decided to trust him on this one

"Well, let's say you're right-"

"if the killer knew Samantha was going out that night, he was watching her discreetly, right ?'

"We didn't find any cameras in her apartment..."

"It didn't occur to you that he was watching her while hiding around ?"

"Of course. I did interview her neighbors, but none of them said they saw anyone suspicious in the days leading up to the murder."

Nick seemed to think for a moment. While he was deep in thought, I took the opportunity to observe him more closely. This impression of déjà vu always intrigues me. His dishevelled red hair was falling on his forehead. This neglected air was cute...

He should make an effort to fix it...

He gets up and tells me:

"We're going to go interview the neighbors."

"What ? I already told you that-"

"Trust me. And then we have nothing to lose, right ?"

Yes, time, i almost told him. I sigh and say instead :

"Alright, let's go."

We leave the office and the post office. When we arrive at my car, he shouts:

"I'm driving !"

"Do as you please."

A few hours later, we arrive in Samantha's neighborhood. We get out of the car as Nick asks me :

"Which house is Samantha's ?"

"Just this one."

With a nod, I show him a fairly simple house. It looked like all the others, but it will probably remain uninhabited for a long time. I doubt anyone will want to live there for a while. Leaning against the car, he asked :

"Who lives in the one on the left ?"

"Hm... A single mother, she has two 5 year old twins."

"On the right ?"

"An old lady who lives alone. Why are you asking me these questions ?"

"I wanted to know who I was going to interview and the old lady seemed like the perfect candidate."

I tilted my head to the side to show him my incomprehension, he smiled before explaining kindly :

"Well, the single mother probably doesn't have time to observe since her children are taking all her attention, so she probably wouldn't have noticed a suspicious individual. While this old lady lives alone so she doesn't have many distractions. Those open shutters and curtains show that she often looks out onto the street."

"So if there's anyone who noticed the killer, it was her." I completed as everything made sense.

"That's right." Nick smiled.

I admit that he deserves his detective job. I smile and go knock on Mrs. Madison's door. After a moment she opens. She flashes a beaming smile when she sees me and says :

"Oh hello, Miss Harper ? What can I do for you ?"

"Hello, we'd like to ask you a few more questions about Samantha's case. If you don't mind ?"

"Of course not, please come in."

We go inside and sit in the pastel-colored living room.

"Would you like some tea ?"

"It's nice of you but don't bother for us. We won't stay long."

She nodded and sat down opposite us. Nick spoke up.

"Mrs. Madison, had you noticed anyone suspicious hanging around in the days before Samantha Miller's murder ?"

"Suspicious man...?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember anything. "Come to think of it- ! There was a mystery man who rented a room in the house across the street. He never came out. As I recall, he checked in a week before Samantha died and checked out the next day."

"Why didn't you tell us the first time we asked ?" I ask her, abit frustrated for having missed such an important information.

"It's not the first time Mike has rented out one of his rooms to a strange person. In fact, that's why he's not really appreciated here. So I didn't think much of it at first."

"Thank you, Mrs. Madison, you've really helped us. Now we'd better go..."

We leave the house after saying goodbye to Mrs. Madison. We walk across the driveway and I ring the doorbell of Mike Turner, the owner of the guest house. When he opens the door, he doesn't seem too thrilled to see me.

Always the grouch, this one...

"Lieutenant Harper, I thought I'd answered all your questions."

"It seems we have one more..." Not that happy to have to deal with him either.

He grunts before letting us through. Arrived in the lounge improvised in reception, his daughter, Daisy comes to greet us.

"I would like you to hurry up and ask your questions, if you don't mind."

I frown at his hurry. Nick speaks up with an annoyed tone.

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"We heard you rented a room to a man during the week before Samantha died."

Daisy confirmed.

"Yes, that's right."

"Did you see his face ?"

"No, he was wearing a cap with a visor that hid his face. But he looked like a middle-aged man, I think in his thirties or forties."

"He must have filled out some form, right ?"

Nick addressed Daisy specifically and ignored Mike completely.

"Yes like everyone else, let me show you."

Daisy went to the drawer to get an agenda but after looking for the client list, she paled immediately.

"Dad ? Why is it empty ?" She returned it to show it to us. When I looked at it, I said with a surprised face :

"Wait a second, there's only a signature !"

"He didn't want to fill out the form so I managed to convince him to sign." Turner shrugged.

I said to him a little annoyed :

"Do you realize that you rented a room to a potential murderer without asking about him ? You put yourself and your daughter in danger."

"I didn't care as long as I got paid, okay ?"

I gasped in disbelief as i was really holding back from yelling at him...

"Can you give me the page so I can look it up in the database ?" I end up asking Daisy.

"Sure..." She said

She tore the page like it's plain sight disgusted her and gave it to us under the disapproving stare of her father. After we finish, we leave the house. I sat in the passenger seat, deeply relieved to have made some progress in the investigation.

"Don't get too excited, that signature could be fake." Nick's voice ruins it all.

"Don't spoil my enthusiasm..."

"I'm just warning you. By the way, don't I deserve a reward ?"

"Why ? Do you think you're a dog ?"

He laughed before answering me:

"Very funny... But I'm serious, Judy."

"Well, what do you want ?"

"Dinner with me and a kiss."

He's not serious, is he ? If he thinks I'm going to kiss him...

"For the dinner I'll agree, but for the kiss you can always dream..."

"We'll see about that, Judy...."

Oh he pisses me off so bad.

He starts the car and we head back to the station. In the elevator, I say to Nick :

"I have to stop by the IT department to drop off the signature."

"Okay I have to go see an acquaintance anyway."

I nod before we part ways as i get off the cabin first.

I walk over to Jake's office, our head IT guy.

"Hi, Jake !"

"Hi, Judy. What can I do for you ?"

"Can you look up the owner of this signature in the database ?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Cool, I'll come by and get the results tomorrow."

After that, I'm going back to my office. Nick is not here yet. Even if I wonder who is that acquaintance he was talking about or if i know them, I try to not think about it.

I take the opportunity to start my report. When Nick arrived a few moments later, I didn't even notice him. He sat down in front of me without saying anything. After a moment of silence only filled by the rapid sounds of my fingers on the keys, Nick asked me :

"Do you ever rest ?"

"I will when this is all over."

"It's pretty boring..."

"Too bad for you."

I hear him laugh and then stand up. I kept my eyes on the screen, trying to ignore his presence because I wanted to finish this report as soon as possible. I felt his hands on my shoulders. I asked him a little nervously :

"W-what are you doing ?"

"Don't pay attention..."

How could I ignore him now that I felt his breath against my neck ?

My movements decreased considerably. Intoxicated by his close scent and his hands that gently massaged my shoulders, I dared to close my eyes... And I regretted it. He used one of his hands to turn off my computer.

Damn it, I didn't save anything !

"Nick- !"

"You're not gonna start all over again, are you ? So you can come with me."

If he wasn't so damn tall like a tree, I'd seriously consider fighting him right this instant.

Having no other choice, I accept. He opens the door of the office like the good "gentleman" that he is, I smile and we leave the station. I notice now how dark the sky was getting. We get into the car, his this time, and he starts the engine. I ask him :

"Where are we going ?"

"It's a surprise..."

Oh I liked surprises, but t i didn't know what kind i should expect coming from him. Like should I be worried ?

I try to be patient, something i was never truly good at frankly, and a few minutes later, we arrive in front of...
Wait a minute ? It's the fanciest restaurant in town, Crystal Palace.

I look at Nick who was getting out of the car, eyes wide. He says to me:

"Are you going to stay in the car all night ?"

I come to my senses and follow him out of the vehicle. We enter inside and a waiter comes to meet us.

I felt terribly underdressed for this place.

"Good evening, Mr. Wilde. It's a pleasure to see you again here."

He comes often too ?!

'Thank you Geoffrey."

"Looks like you're with company tonight. So that'll be a table for two..."

We were seated at a table set back from the others and near the window. Soft music served to relax the atmosphere. But I could not.

"I never thought I would dine in this restaurant one day..."

"This is your lucky day then."

"So you come here often ?"

"When i don't feel like cooking."

"Where do you get the money to pay for all this ?"

"I offer my services to billionaires most of the times. They may ask me to find confidential or compromising information about their rivals. Their wives may ask me to watch them to see if they have mistresses..."

"They must pay you a lot of money for this..."

"I offer my services to billionaires most of the times. They may ask me to find confidential or compromising information about their rivals. Their wives may ask me to watch them to see if they have mistresses..."

"So you really like this job ?"

"Yeah, it's interesting. I'm literally paid to find out people secrets, i could probably end the career of most of people in this room if i ever wanted too."

"Your power is too great for this world." I joke earning myself a amused chuckle from Nick.

We continued to talk the rest of the evening. It was 11:00 pm when we decided that our bellies were full enough and it was to go home. When Nick parked in front of my house, I was going to get out but the door was locked.

"Judy, did you forget something ?"

Shit, he didn't forget the kiss...

"I don't know what you're talking about." As always my first instinct is to act dumb.

"Don't bullshit me."

He approached me and I tried to pull away but was immediately stopped by the door. I was expecting him to kiss me right away but he leaned over me before whispering :

"Can I please kiss you ?"

My gaze fell from his eyes to his lips and i blushed. I should say no, but at the same, just a kiss wouldn't hurt. If that's what it takes to achieve my goal, then just a kiss is nothing.

His lips pressed softly on mine after i nodded and my body, tense as a bow, gradually relaxed. My hand clutching the door's handle moved to his arm, as i kissed back despite my earlier reservations. A burning heat slowly invaded me. Without realizing it, a moan escaped from my mouth.

"Mmmh~"

Nick pulled away from me in surprise, then laughed softly. I was horribly embarrassed...

What the hell was I thinking...?

His happy expression made my heart miss a beat. Feeling that the situation was getting dangerous.

"You've had your kiss now let me out." I say now eager to go bury myself in the thickest blanket i own and disappear.

"Aren't you going to invite me in ?" He tilted his head, smug ass smile still on his lips.

Lips i just kissed, oh my god...

What ? I realized what he just said.

"Invite you to my place ?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes."

"Um- I- I'm exhausted right now and the only thing I want right now is a good night's sleep and we-" I start spluttering, mind reeling faster than my mouth can filter.

I know my excuse is lame, but I'm not ready for that yet. Especially with someone I barely know-

"Oh my god, look at you freaking out. Aren't you cute uh ? Don't worry, I was just messing with you." Nick laughs as he unlock the door. "I'll pick you up tomorrow, since your car is still at the station."

"O- okay." I say, still stunned on the fact he called me cute.

I say goodbye to him before getting out of the car. I get inside and collapse on my couch right away, my nerves still on edge. Ten minutes I spent in the car with Nick were enough to drain me mentally. I couldn't imagine what the next few days were going to look like if this is only the first. I finally gather the strength to get up and take a shower before crashing down on my bed and passing out cold. 

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