Mika Stines took a step back upon hearing her name. Her face paled in comparison to her clothes as she stumbled upon her words.
Was she scared of Jayus? I turned my head to the unsuspecting man in front of me, only for Jayus to already be sitting back on his chair, arms crossed over his chest without an issue. Mike Stines cleared her throat.
"Hello detectives," She smiled, as if all that jitter and flash of panic a second ago was never there, "It's nice to see you both again. Will that be all?"
"Yeah, that's all. Thank you," I watched her walk away back to the counter before making her way to the back to the kitchen and disappear out of sight. As soon as Jayus and I were left alone again, I checked his face for any reaction. A suspicion, an irked brow, anything. But I was left confused when he continued to sit back and relax as he drank half the cup of the water that was handed to us.
"Don't you think something's off?" I asked when a moment passed with no words exchanged between us. Jayus gave me a glance before he downed his entire glass and refilled it. "About what?"
"About Mika Stines," I said in a hushed tone. "There's something off about the way she reacted when she saw us earlier," The slight panic, the sudden change in demeanour, back at home, I was always good at reading people, it's one of the many tricks you learn when you spend so much of your time being surrounded by people. However, Jayus didn't seem to share my sentiments.
"Don't think too deep into it, we get that reaction all the time. You have to admit, you were really scary during interrogation," Jayus said. As a matter of fact. But why does it seem like I'm such a bad guy in these stories?!
"Was I really that terrifying?" I asked, out the corner of my eye, I could faintly see Mika Stines lurking behind the counter as she stole quick glances at us.
Jayus merely shrugged his shoulders as he took out his notebook, "It is what it is. You can't change that about yourself," He said before mindlessly tapping on a page in his notebooks.
"I'm serious! Just what did I do during the interrogation that was so bad!?" I asked. A desperate plea to Jayus to unravel whatever hellish atrocities this Isolde has done to warrant such bone crushing reactions. There was no way this pretty face could be so terrifying.
"Remember last time we met Fin Keinsley? Yeah, if he knew about our unexpected visits then I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually trying to avoid you." Jayus said as he downed the rest of his glass before filling it again from the pitcher Mika Stines left behind.
A file was dropped in front of the two detectives as they stood in front of the pres in an office room with little to no space for sitting aside from the singular chair behind the desk across from them. The room itself was a mess to begin with but with the sudden random kidnappings and three missing person reports, Adelai couldn't find the time to sort these documents spilling from drawers and lying on the floor.
"What...exactly is all this?" Isolde managed to utter out as curious and tired eyes beckoned for the man in front of them to give them a clear explanation. Jayus took in the file that was laid before them in his hands, a short, white folder, just like the other case file's handed to them whenever an investigation needed to be done.
"Recently, a body had been found at the Creek side of the outer part of town. Anisa Fields, from one of the very recent missing person cases from two days ago. She's been recently discovered by town kids and reported almost immediately. Now we have to find out what happened to her," Adelai explained. His turquoise eyes were sharper than they usually were, with dark rims under his eyes, he almost looked like a blonde sloth disguised as a princess. A weirdly vivid image popping in Isolde's head.
"You two already know the drill. I still have a lot of work to do with these files of missing reports, come back to me when you have some findings."
At that time, a series of abduction and kidnappings had been rampant in town, it caused a huge distress over the people. Anisa Fields was one who openly pursued what she wanted. An out-going and friendly girl adored by everyone. Almost every person whom Jayus and Isolde interrogated had something nice to say about her. Even Lous Darwin and Mika Stines. That was until they first met Fin Keinsley.
"Score!" A bellowing roar echoed through the sports field as Fin kicked the ball into the goal. His friends hovered and cheered around him as soon as the ball hit the net, and soon the game had neared its end.
One member in particular, perhaps a close friend, came to his side in a hurry. From afar, Jayus could clearly tell this friend had said something in particular to Fin Keinsley because his eyes immediately turned attention to their direction. Seeing detectives out of the blue is one thing but Fin Keinsley seemed to steel himself as the two detectives wandered closer to him.
"If it has anything to do with Caesar guy, I already told him I wasn't fooling around with his grandma!" were the first words he had uttered to them.
This earned a few odd looks from his teammates as they all unanimously took a step away from him, yet even with the slight change in the atmosphere, Fin Keinsley remained fuming and cautious at the two detectives.
Isolde watched with confusion as Jayus shrug off the weird statement before introducing both their identities to the young man as if a weird string of words had never been uttered. Isolde believed they warranted more reaction than just a shrug.
"Mr. Keinsley, we're not here about your affairs. I'm Jayus, a detective currently investigating a case with my partner. We actually want to have a bit of a chat with you, we advice we should take this some place else." Jayus said, as he took out his badge as proof. It's glistening bronze insignia only made the mood of the atmosphere heavier as the soccer boys around started speculating amongst themselves about this situation.
Fin Keinsley picked up on the atmosphere too. It seems now his little situation with Caesar-Guy was nothing more than just a pebble stuck in his shoe. His brow arched in mild curiosity. What did they want from him? The number of minor crimes he committed couldn't be counted with both hands, so finding out which one of them is finally getting him the punishment he deserves was impossible. With those curious thoughts in mind, Fin could only let out a smug laugh. All shred of doubt flooded away as he stood head to toe with the detective.
Whatever they wanted couldn't have been that serious. So what was all this fuss about?
"If you need anything from me, then you can just ask me right here. Let's not waste each other's precious time, detectives," That overtly arrogant stance he took shocked his entire team, even Isolde seemed taken aback by his ignorance.
"And if you want my autograph, then I guess I can give you one too," He smirked. A snort of a laugh slipping through dry lips as he glanced at the crew behind him. Feeling his gaze, the rest of the team followed through and all chimed in with laughter.
"Alright," Jayus merely replied. Compared to Isolde's twitching brow, he seemed to hold the most composure in this entire crowd. "I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your relations with Anisa Fields."
That name seemed to drop a landmine on Fin Keinsley as the curious sounds echoed from his team members. Purple eyes squinted at that, and Jayus raised a brow. It seems Fin Keinsley's confession and rejection from Anisa Fields was no secret.
"Wait!" Fin Keinsley interrupted with alarm. "Wait... Let's talk somewhere else."
As we stood by the fences of the small soccer field, Fin Keinsley's entire team had grown out of their curiosity and began to start another game by themselves. Fin looked distraught as rough hands ruffled through his sweaty hair in deep frustration.
"Alright, what is it that you want to know?" Fin asked, a bubble of irritation finally popping from his confident facade.
"Well, Mr. Keinsley, it seems you haven't heard of the news yet. We are sorry to be the ones to inform you this but unfortunately, Anisa Fields has passed away...." Jayus spoke softly as Isolde stood behind him. At those words, Fin Keinsley fell silent. Jayus had expected that. Most people who would receive such devastating news often didn't know how to react. As he tapped his pen on the small note pad he had carried, he allowed Fin a minute to grieve when he felt Isolde nudge him from behind. The look on her face was cold. A silent sign of annoyance seeped through those eyes as she glared at Fin Keinsley. Confused, Jayus wondered what she could be looking at. When he turned to face Fin Keinsley, it finally clicked.
Fin Keinsley was indifferent, a sort of bored look on his face as he stuffed his hands into his shorts. He shrugged, "So? What's that got to do with me?"