Detective Ava Locke 0.5-Vanished by Clara Lewis (reader novel txt) 📗

“This isn’t an execution,” Ava hissed as she passed them.

By the time they had reached the office doors, Ava nudged Carl to knock on it. Sighing deeply, Carl raised his knuckles and rapped.

“Come in.”

Chapter 2

Chief directed them to the seat located directly in front of his desk. They were undeniably comfortable, but Ava couldn’t help but notice how much lower they were in comparison to Chief’s own seat. She stifled a laugh as she realized that this was most probably part of his fear factor. While he berated you, he’d also be looking down on you.

“Is there something wrong, sir?” Carl asked.

Chief said nothing. Instead, he retrieved a file from his drawer and slid it across his desk. Carl picked it up and read through it. He winced. He then handed it over to Ava who read through the details herself.

“Someone’s been kidnapping girls. We don’t know where they take them or what they do to them. We don’t have much on this, and that is our biggest problem.”

Ava frowned at the file in her hands.

“This isn’t in our jurisdiction.”

Chief nodded.

“It will be a collaboration with another precinct. They lost girls too.”

Carl and Ava nodded.

“This person is a ticking bomb,” Chief continued. “Who knows when they’ll snap?”

This case was more dangerous than the previous one. It wasn’t just a simple bust and chase. There were too many unknown factors.  There was no way Carl could explain this to his wife without her growing overly concerned for his safety.

Ava caught his eye, and they both shared a concerned look. She weighed the file in her hands while he stared at the floor.

“There’s nothing in the file. Were there no other witnesses? Someone must have seen something.”

Chief sighed and crossed his arms.

“The only person who 'saw' something was a drunk. The man couldn’t even see straight when he came running to a policeman at the park.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“When he wasn’t throwing up, he was rambling on and on about how one night he heard a struggle. He apparently saw someone manhandle a young girl into his truck. We checked the cameras on-site and there was nothing.”

That can’t just be it. Ava was disappointed. This source was unreliable, but it was the only one they had. Ava sighed and got up. She patted Carl on the back, who still had his eyes trained on the floor.

“We’ll get right to it, Chief.”

She nodded at Carl and he got up.

The moment they were out of the office, Ava stormed to her desk and threw the file onto its surface. Carl followed soon after and offered her a cup of coffee. Ava accepted the cup willingly.

“I hate to say it but I’m not really up for this case,” she complained.

Carl raised his eyebrows, unable to believe what she was saying. Ava caught his judgmental look and pointed at another file on her desk.

“Who’d you switch with?”

Ava pointed at Murphy who was clearly asleep at his own desk. How he didn’t get caught was simply beyond Ava’s understanding.

Carl shrugged and took a seat at his own desk which was across from Ava’s. He booted his computer up and grabbed the case file from her. For a few minutes, Carl looked from the screen to the file repeatedly. Eventually, he dropped his pen and sighed loudly.

“Where are we even going to start?” he asked, exasperated.

Ava got up and put her jacket on. She tapped Carl’s shoulder and indicated to the exit.

On their way out, Carl asked, “Where are we going?”

Ava smiled.

“We’re going to find a drunk.”

It wasn’t difficult to find the man. He was waiting by Ava’s car by the time she reached it in the parking lot. Looking at his bloodshot eyes, Ava could tell that he wasn’t sober today either. He struggled to keep standing and leaned heavily on her car. He was shifty with the way he was constantly looking around. It made Ava just as suspicious of her surroundings.

Carl stepped in front of Ava and put his hand out to protect her. Ava gently pushed his aside.

“I got this,” she whispered.

Carl looked doubtful, but he lowered his hand and let Ava go ahead.

“You got something for me?”

The man looked around him, his eyes darting to the shadows in the parking lot. Was he on the run from someone?

“They won’t believe me,” he said in a whisper.

Ava had to lean closer to hear him properly.

“Who won’t?” she asked.

The man motioned for her to come closer, and Ava did, doing her best to hold her breath. The man stank to high heaven.

“You have to find the girl. She didn’t want to go with him, but he hit her.”

The man covered his face with his hands.

“She wouldn’t move,” he whispered.

“Who hit her?” Ava pressed.

The man started to shake. He refused to meet her eyes but rather, kept on looking over her shoulder. Carl stepped closer and he flinched. Ava put her hand out to stop Carl from approaching.

Ava grabbed the man by the shoulders and tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey, you can trust me,” she said softly.

The man shook his head violently.

“I-I can’t. He’ll hurt me.”

He roughly pushed Ava away and she stumbled back. Carl grunted and moved forward, but Ava reassured him that she was fine.

“What’s your name?” she suddenly asked.

The man looked confused for a moment. He tilted his head at her, his expression a mixture of suspicion and surprise.

“I just don’t want to keep referring to you as 'the drunk man' I met on the street.”

The man gave a light chuckle and said his name.

“Cassius. That’s a nice name,” Ava said with a smile. “How about we go eat