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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


After her conversation with Jade, Cassie went home. She looked around her apartment and shook her head. The place was still not feeling the way she wanted it. She threw her purse in a corner and walked to the open kitchen where she opened a bottle of wine and poured some into a glass. She then grabbed the phone out of its cradle and dialed the last number that called.

Cassie sat down on her couch with her glass of wine. She held the phone to her ear as she waited for someone to answer.

“This is Detective Parker.”

Cassie took a deep breath. “Detective Parker, this is Cassandra Mitchell, you left a message on my machine.”

“Yes, I did. Ms. Mitchell I called because we think we have a new lead regarding Christian’s case. As I said in the message I would appreciate it if we could find some time to talk through your original statement.” The detective said. 

“Detective Parker, I’ve been out of the country for a while and I’d like to have some time to just get settled in before trying delve into the past again. I told you everything I knew last year when we first met.” Cassie said.

“I’m sure, but I want to be thorough. Maybe there is something that you didn’t remember then, but has maybe come to the forefront of your mind recently.” Detective Parker probed.

“I really try not to think about it at all. Everything that happened, my relationship with Christian, it’s something I don’t think about. It’s something I’d rather forget.” Cassie said. She was lying. She thought about Christian a lot. More so now that she was home. And if she were truly honest with herself, she did not want to forget her relationship with Christian. Some of her best memories were of Christian and the things they did together. 

“Ms. Mitchell I understand. But it’s better to do this now and get it out of the way. We need your help to close this case.”

Cassie relented. “Alright. When do you want me to come in?”

“Are you free sometime tomorrow?” Detective Parker asked.

Cassie stayed on the line long enough to hash out details of the meeting. She then hung up and sent a text message to Jade, I set it up, talking with Det. Parker tomorrow.

The next morning Cassie got ready for her meeting with Detective Parker. She scheduled the meeting for the first thing on her schedule; Cassie wanted to get it over with. She hoped this would be the last time she was asked to come down to the station. After taking some time to pour coffee into a tumbler, Cassie walked out and locked up her apartment. She made her way onto the elevator and hoped she would be alone for the ride down. She was not so lucky. One of her neighbors was also heading out. 

“Good morning. We haven’t seen you around for a long time. I thought you’d moved out.” The woman said.

Cassie smiled politely. “I was away. Did some traveling.” 

“Oh that’s nice to here. Did you go with that nice looking young man who was always coming by?” 

With a smirk on her face, Cassie turned to the older woman. “No. He died before I left.” Cassie stated bluntly. 

The older woman was taken aback by the statement. For the rest of the ride down, she did not bother Cassie with anymore questions, which was the way Cassie preferred it. 

Before exiting the building, Cassie decided to check her mail.  On her way back out of the mailroom, she stopped briefly to talk with the security guard on duty. He was new; rather, he was new to Cassie. She felt the need to introduce herself. After her short conversation, Cassie finally made her way outside. There was no more stalling left for her to do. As much as she wanted to get the whole conversation out of the way, she really was not looking forward to speaking with Detective Parker. She was not sure she could be the type of help he needed or wanted. 

Cassie decided to take the subway rather than hail a taxi and walked the couple of blocks to the station. After a half-hour commute, and a three-block walk, Cassie stood in front of Detective Parker’s precinct. She took a deep breath and walked up the steps. 

Inside the building, people were bustling about in the hallway. There were officers both in uniform and in civilian clothing. Cassie looked around before setting her sights on an information desk that was really a high counter-top that seemed to wrap around and connect to the wall. It was new. A young officer sat behind it on the phone. Cassie placed her belongings on the high furniture and waited. She stared at the desk trying to process how someone would get behind it. She also wondered if anyone had suffered a breakdown from sitting behind it due to unknown claustrophobia. Really, she was bored and her mind was making up all sorts of random things to keep her occupied while she waited for the police officer to finish her conversation. While she was lost in thought, she did not notice a door behind the counter open and another officer step out. 

“Excuse me miss, but can I help you with something?” The new arrival asked. He was an older gentleman who fit all of the old cop stereotypes. He was short, portly and caucasian.

Cassie was startled out of her thoughts, “Yes, I have an appointment with Detective Parker. My name is Cassandra Mitchell.” 

“Sign-in here and I’ll escort you back.” The officer said.

“Thank-you Officer,” Cassie squinted her eyes to read the name tag, “Holt.”  After following Officer Holt’s instructions, Cassie met him at a door to the right of the information counter. 

“Right this way.” 

Cassie followed closely behind Officer Holt. In the bullpen, not too much had changed since the last time she was there. There were desks set up back-to-back throughout the large room. Some had officers sitting behind them, some had officers sitting on them, and some were empty. Officer Holt led her to one of the empty desks.

“I’ll get Parker for you. He should be by in a couple of minutes. Would you like some coffee?” Officer Holt asked

“No thank-you.” Cassie took out her phone and began going through the emails she had received in the hour since she last checked her phone. Most of them were coupons and deals for different department stores. A couple were from family members asking how her travels had been. And the last few were artists trying to reach out to her. They wanted her to work on songs for their next album.

“Ms. Mitchell. Thank you for coming in on such a short notice.” Detective Parker said sitting down across from Cassie. Unlike the officer who showed Cassie into the bullpen, Detective Parker was tall and muscular.

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.” Cassie said looking up from her mobile device. “You mentioned new leads.”

“Yes. The gun that killed Christian had other homicides tied to it.” 

“I know. It was one of the things you told me last year. You said that wasn’t much of a lead though since you didn’t have the gun in police custody.” Cassie noted. 

“Well, now we do. There was another homicide. We actually have a suspect in custody too. He was arrested during a traffic stop a few nights ago.”

“Really, you arrested him because a break light was out or something like that?” Cassie asked in disbelief. She did not think a career criminal would be stupid enough to get caught during a traffic stop. 

“It happens sometimes.”

“Do you think it’s the same guy that killed Christian?” Cassie asked wondering if her nightmare was coming to an end.

“We believe so. He’s lawyered up, but we are hoping he can give us more information on Milo. The gun was linked to more than just Christian’s murder, and we’re trying to work it all out now.”

“So why am I here?” Cassie asked. She felt like this was beginning to waste her time.

“I wanted to go over your statement from last year. I just want to see if maybe there’s something you remember now that you’ve had some distance from the event.” Detective Parker said. 

Cassie nodded her head in understanding.

“So, let’s start with the night of Christian’s murder. You said he came to your apartment?” Detective Parker questioned. He was looking at a file.

“Yes. He came over to my apartment building. I had to go downstairs and let him in.”

“You mentioned he was covered in blood.” Detective Parker said. He looked up from the file.

“Yeah, I asked him if he was hurt and he said no. The blood wasn’t his. I got mad at him. He had lied to me about his job. I thought he had stopped. He said he had stopped.” Cassie said. She was lost in her memory. Talking about the night before Christian died, brought all of the feelings she had been trying to avoid back in full force. Time had not helped at all. 

Cassie sat quietly for a while not saying anything.

“You said after you argued he left?” Detective Parker jarred Cassie out of her thoughts.

“No, yes. I assumed he did. I left him sitting in my living room. He wasn’t there when I woke up the next morning.” Cassie said.

“You also mentioned that you suspected Christian was a hired gun, and that he worked for Milo.”

“That’s correct. I met Milo once. He had dinner with us. After that, Christian was a little more protective than usual.”

“And that’s all that is left here in the file.” Detective Parker said. He turned to a new blank sheet of paper and had his pen ready for any new details Cassie might recall. “Is there anything else you want to add.”

“No. I have nothing more to say. Christian never said much about his work and I never asked. So I don’t know anything more than what you already know. Just like I said on the phone yesterday. What I told you last year is all the information I have.” Cassie said. She was frustrated. The detective made her come down to the station and relive moments she deliberately chose not to think about on a regular basis. 

“Thank you Cassie, for coming down.” Detective Parker stood up and Cassie followed suit. “If you remember anything, please give me a call.” He handed her a business card with his name and number.

“Right.” Cassie said. She left the station and headed home. 

 

 

 

******

Luke sat in his office poring over numerous documents for a new case. There was a knock on the door. He looked up from what he was doing. An older gentleman in his seventies opened Luke’s door and stepped in. 

“That’s what I like about you Luke, you still like to do things the old fashioned way.” 

Luke laughed, “Not everything Henry. But when it comes to these types of documents, printing and highlighting by hand are a must. What can I do for you?”

Henry walked into Luke’s office. He picked up a few trinkets before setting them back down in their place. Luke followed Henry with his eyes. He was curious as to why one of the senior partners with a controlling stake in the firm was in his office. He knew that the partners were considering promotions; and he knew that his name was in the running. But it was an unspoken rule at their firm, you don’t ask questions about promotions. You cannot look too eager.

“As you know, the partners are already considering end-of-year promotions.” Henry sat in one of the two chairs placed in front of Luke’s desk. “And I’m sure you are also aware that your name is on the short list.”

“I guessed as much. Didn’t want to say anything though.” Luke said. Another thing the partners seemed to admire was honesty. They did not appreciate false humility.

“You work hard and you’re one of the best lawyers here. You come in early, stay late and take some of the cases no one wants. You are also able to bring in new clients. We have a new client on our hands and we want you to be his handler. He’s one of the wealthiest men in the city.”

“Really?” Luke said.

“We want our best on this Luke; and you are our best. I’m going to be honest with you Luke, he’s run into some legal problems in the past and was unsatisfied with his representation. While his previous lawyers were a competent bunch, this guy thought they failed to represent him the way he needed.”

“What’s his name?” Luke asked.

“Benjamin Miller.” Henry said. “He’s in real-estate and owns several buildings throughout the state.” Henry said. “He’s set up an appointment next week. He wants to meet the team.”

“Henry, can I ask you a question?” 

“What is it son?”

“Why me? My specialty is international law. It sounds like his business is pretty local.” Luke said.

“I think it’d be good for you to have a few more local clients on your roster. That way you can cut down on some of that travel you do so much of now. It’s good for us because we’d rather have you stateside then jetting off to other countries for clients. Also, he’s looking into business prospects outside of the country.”

“I see.”

“Good. I expect great things from you on this one Luke.” Henry said standing up. “If you play your cards right, you could be a partner sooner than you know it. I’ll see you around.”

Henry left Luke in his office to think about his new client. Luke was not surprised the partners wanted to give him an important client. He knew that was coming. What he was surprised by was the client himself. Mr. Miller did not seem to be within Luke’s specialty. But he had to trust the higher-ups knew what they were doing. He would not have been put on the account if there was not a reason. 












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.