It was late at night, and everything was quiet.
But Lulu Adams was unable to sleep, so she was curling into a ball by the window to stare at the stars outside.
Bzzt.
The phone she left by her feet was vibrating, and she picked it up.
“We need you at a crime scene, Lulu.”
“Alright,” she replied right away, while quickly composing herself.
She left as soon as she put on her clothes, and saw that Martin York was there too.
Frowning, she said, “Back on the job already? But you haven’t recovered.”
Lulu had come across workaholics like him.
In fact, the term workaholic might not be entirely accurate— it was almost a state of mind, a tenet!
For a man like Martin, closing cases was his life’s calling.
As for Lulu, a fulfilling job was good too, since she would be able to forget all the messy stuff in her head.
This time, the crime scene was a karaoke bar, where there was a woman killed in a private booth.
Lulu clasped her fingers over her nose by reflex when she saw the scene. She had seen much carnage, but this…
Lulu had come across workaholics like him.
The way the woman was butchered senselessly left Lulu flinching, even though she had seen her fair share of gore.
Still, she quickly composed herself and opened her equipment box, whipped out a pair of gloves, and began examining the victim: a young girl with a pretty face.
Initial examination suggests that she was tortured to death, though further investigation was needed for more details.
Lulu was not distressed or embarrassed to see the victim brutalized beyond description, but she instead calmly and thoroughly examined every part of the victim’s body, including the privates.
When she was done, she said, “Initial post-mortem suggests extensive damage to internal organs to be the cause of death. Most of the observable damage is in her womb.”
“Is there nothing else?” Martin asked.
“I took some samples to examine back at the lab. We might get something more conclusive there.”
“Good.”
“Captain, check this out,” an officer said, picking up a bloody beer bottle.
Martin glanced at it and said, “Bag it, tag it, and keep looking.”
After everyone gathered all the evidence they could, they stuffed the victim’s body into a body bag and took it away.
Martin left two officers on the scene to interrogate potential witnesses, while taking the bar owner and the person who called the cops back to the precinct for interrogation.
Someone joked on the way back “You didn’t even blink when you examined that body, Lulu. You really have a stout heart, huh?”
Everyone else were men—Lulu was a woman.
With the unspeakably gruesome death of the victim, anyone without mental fortitude would not be able to stay for long.
“Cut the crap,” Martin growled, shooting the officer a look. Focus on the task at hand, not at the pointless stuff.”
“Oh, right. Our dear captain, always watching out for the lady—”
Martin pulled the officer’s ear before he could finish. “Watch your mouth, or it’s the duct tape treatment.”
Lulu stayed silent, unable to chime in.
Moreover, she had just joined and was not that familiar with her colleagues.
She had even less reason to join in since it was a delicate issue.
Once they returned to the precinct, they each went about their tasks.
Lulu quickly took the samples she gathered to the lab as well, and
Martin followed her. “When would you have the result?”
“Soon. I’ll work overtime,” Lulu said.
“Thank you,” Martin said.
Lulu turned to glance at him. “I thought everyone else is working too, and aren’t you working overtime as well, while injured? You’re much more diligent than I am.”Martin was in his thirties, but quite good looking. He carried the air of someone straightlaced, and he also showed maturity and composure.
“So… About what Randy said,” he mentioned hesitantly. “He’s just joking.”
Lulu smiled. “I don’t mind it.”
“That said, you really are professional.”
This was the first time Lulu went to a crime scene since she started work here, and her performance was satisfactory for Martin.
With all the tests done and the results compiled by 7 AM, she brought everything to Martin, “Here, cap. The DNA and blood test results indicate that every drop of blood on the crime scene was the victim’s. There were probably three men who raped her before she died.”
Martin took the papers and scanned through them before putting them away. “Let’s have breakfast together. I’m buying.”
Lulu hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed to it. Diarmuid was worried after Abigail received that weird text, so he drove her to work the next morning.
As the car stopped steadily outside the front entrance of Hotmesh Research, he did not see anyone suspicious.
“You should go to work,” Abigail said. “I’ll be safe inside the building.”
Security would not let anyone go in as they like, but Diarmuid was still worried.
“I’ll walk you inside,” he said, and turned to Eagle. “Keep an eye on everything outside.”
“Yes, Mr. Althoff,” Eagle replied somberly.
With that Diarmuid headed up the stairs with Abigail when someone called out from behind.
“Are you Abigail Bernstein?”
“I’ll be safe inside the building.”
Diarmuid and Abigail turned simultaneously to find a blonde, fair- skinned foreign lady standing at the front door. She was young and beautiful, but Abigail was positive she did not know her.
“You are…?”
“Are you Abigail Bernstein?” the woman repeated—her pronunciation was so perfect that no one would think that she was a foreigner if they only heard her voice.
“Who are you?” Abigail refused to answer her again.
“I’m asking, are you Abigail Bernstein?” Lara was equally stubborn and imposing!
“I don’t know you,” Abigail replied, and took Diarmuid by the hand and started to leave.
Lara rushed toward them.
“Don’t you run away—”
Eagle caught her the instant she strode forward and she glared at him. “Let me go.”
There was no way Eagle would—instead, he shoved with just his wrist, bouncing her off.
Lara stumbled backwards and slipped, hitting the floor on her bottom.
She frowned in pain but got up, dusting herself.
“That was rude!” she snapped, pointing at Eagle and throwing the law in his face. “You’d better let me through, or I’m calling the cops because you just violated my personal rights!”
Eagle’s hawkish gaze remained placid.
That was when Diarmuid made his way towards them.
“Why are you looking for Abigail?”
Lara studied him from head to toe. “And who are you?”
“You don’t have to know.”
Having confirmation that Abigail did not know her, her sudden appearance was naturally an enigma.
Naturally, Lara was not going to play along. “Why should I tell you anything when you refuse to do so?”
Diarmuid raised a brow. “You can maintain your silence, but I can assure you that you won’t get to meet Abigail if you do.”
Lara stared at him for seconds before saying, “I’m Seth Hedge’s fiancee, and I heard that he got hurt because of her, so I want to have a word. I mean, did she have to go that far?”
Diarmuid actually appeared surprised, but remained quiet for a while. Soon, he told her, “Go on in.”
Lara did a double take. “Are you joking?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” Diarmuid replied.
Lara entered then, and she was actually unimpeded this time.
Diarmuid then told Eagle, “Follow her. Don’t let him near Abigail.”
“Yes, Mr. Althoff,” Eagle replied, and hurried inside, reaching
Abigail before Lara could.
Abigail was puzzled to see Eagle, but she soon noticed Lara arriving just as she was about to speak.
As Lara raised her hand, poised to strike, Eagle stood between them again and warned, “Try anything funny again and I’ll break that hand.”
His burly form and hawkish gaze intimidated Lara right then. She bit her lip and glared at Abigail as she demanded, “Why did you hurt Seth? You have no right!”
Abigail frowned. “Seth?”
“Yes! Seth Hedge, my fiance! You broke his leg, and he’s now bedridden. Or am I not supposed to take issue with that?”
Abigail was actually surprised by that, but she calmly retorted, “He deserved it. Why do you think I want him hurt, and not some random stranger?”
Before Lara could respond, Abigail continued, “Now, leave if you have nothing else to say. Don’t bother me while I’m at work.”
Lara was advancing on her again, but paused as Eagle moved between them again. “I have a question. Can you be honest?”
“What?”
“What?”
Abigail asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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