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

some breakfast, and you can tell me everything?”

Cassius looked up, and before he could reply, a voice interrupted them.

“Is there a problem here?”

At the sight of Murphy and Carl standing by the entrance of the station, Ava glared at Carl.

“Had to call Murphy, I was getting worried,” Carl explained.

“I said I could handle it,” she grumbled.

She waved Murphy away and turned to Cassius or, at least, where Cassius was. He sobered up quickly with how fast he tried to get away. She turned to follow him but decided against it. There was no way he was going to talk now. Ava slapped her leg, frustrated at the turn of events.

“I will talk to this man, believe me,” she promised.

However, she wasn’t happy with Carl interrupting her little moment with Cassius. He quietly sat down across from her as she made notes and emphasized on how irritated she was, with each stab her fingers made on the keyboard.

Suddenly Ava slammed her hands on the table, startling Carl who seemed to be on his fourth cup of coffee. He waited patiently for her to speak.

“I have an idea.”

Carl nodded for her to continue.

“Let’s get the evidence ourselves.”

Carl sat still and remained quiet. When it became clear that Ava wasn’t going to add anything after her statement, his expression became confused.

“We’ll do that, how?”

“I go undercover. I just need Cassius to tell me where he saw this girl get abducted.”

“I can list all the reasons why that’s a bad idea, and I’d run out of fingers to count them on,” Carl said, deadpan.

Ava wasn’t listening. She had already gotten up and was on her way to Chief’s office. Before she could march in and present her idea, Carl grabbed her arm.

“Do you have any better ideas, Carl? These girls are on borrowed time.”

Carl’s disapproving glance softened a little and his hold on her arm loosened. Eventually, Ava pulled her arm away from him and knocked on the door. She noticed that Carl lingered by the door. It wasn’t that he doubted her, it was more like he struggled with the idea of sending Ava into a dangerous situation willingly. If Ava were to tell him that the decision to go ahead with the plan was hers to make, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would agree with her. Ava walked into the office, alone.

Chief looked up with surprise and checked his watch.

“That was quick,” he said.

Ava shrugged.

“You know me,” she said, an arrogant smile ghosting on her lips.

The truth was that she was terrified. Every other case she had ever worked on had always been a team operation. In this instance, she would have to do the majority of the work alone.

The moment the idea had crossed her mind, she knew. Ava realized she had to act on it before she could dismiss it as an idea that was too risky and too stupid to try. She saw no other way to get information.

Chief wanted results. Anyone who had been in his office were presented with an array of medals and certificates dedicated to the station. Chief wanted to keep his police station at the top, and as a result, he pushed his detectives to be faster and to work harder.

However, he was a man who took good care of his officers. The moment he heard Ava’s idea, he dismissed it.

“No.”

That was all he said.

As stubborn as he was, Ava was going to show him that she was just as obstinate.

“Sir, I am a trained officer. If anything, I already have an advantage over the girls who were taken.”

“How do you know that this fun idea of yours won’t end up with us fishing you out of a ditch?”

Ouch.

“These girls don’t have much time. Now, I like to keep positive and think that they’re still alive, but we are going to need a little more proof, aren’t we?”

Ava left the question hanging in the air.

Chief crossed his arms and stared at the wall behind her. Carl shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the silence had become unbearable.

“Chief?”

He held a finger up to keep her quiet. Ava nodded meekly and sat back down.

As she looked out of the office windows, she saw a few officers pass by. Many of them made eye contact with her, took in the tense state of everybody in the office, and offered her an empathetic smile.

“No.” Chief finally said.

Ava shook her head in disbelief.

“But Chief—”she implored.

Chief stared her down.

“Look, I know what you’re capable of. You’re one of the best—that’s a given—but that’s just one of the reasons why I refuse to let you go through with this plan.”

“Mind telling me the other reasons?” Ava gritted through her teeth.

“It’s not up to you to decide whether they’re worthy reasons or not,” Chief replied coldly, frowning at Ava’s show of disrespect.

The phone on Chief’s desk suddenly began to ring. It happened to ease the tension in the room, and while Chief answered it with a stern greeting, Ava couldn’t leave until she had been dismissed. She waited in her seat, with her arms crossed and the gears in her mind turning. She has to convince Chief of her plan.

The conversation seemed to go on forever. At one point Chief let out a sigh that sounded almost relieved. He met her eyes and pointed at the door, a clear sign that he was done with their conversation. With a pinched expression, Ava shoved her chair back and made her way to the door.

Before she could turn the doorknob to leave the office, Chief called her back.

“Yes Chief?” Ava replied, her tone hopeful.

“You’re off the case.”

Ava stood by the door, dumbfounded. Without so