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

“Don’t you have a bed at home?” Ava asked incredulously.

Murphy didn’t respond. It wasn’t like him to be so early and this was the second day she encountered him at the office at this time. Ava observed him and noted his rumpled clothes, presumably the same as the ones he wore yesterday. He looked worn-out with his week-old scruff and the dark circles under his eyes.

“Hey, you okay man?” Ava asked, concerned.

Murphy opened one eye and shooed her away.

“I’m trying to sleep, woman. Don’t bother me.”

With a roll of her eyes, Ava shook her head and focused on the victims' files, over and over again, eager to find a detail she may have missed when she skimmed through them the first time. Despite how painstakingly slow she read the information for what seemed to be the seventh time, she still found nothing. There was no connection between these girls other than the fact they were runaways.

They didn’t live in the same area, and they never went to the same schools. Ava even went so far as to dig into the backgrounds of each girl. Nothing. There was no way their friends or families, if they had any, were connected to each other.

Frustrated, Ava huffed angrily at her desk. She was getting nowhere.

“I need a break,” she whispered to herself.

Maybe she could talk to Cassius again.

Ava pushed back abruptly, causing the chair to scrape across the floor with a loud screech. Murphy looked up from his arms, annoyed. Ava raised her hands up in apology as she grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair.

“Where are you going?” Murphy asked, drowsy.

“Somewhere. I’m bored,” Ava replied.

It didn’t take long to find Cassius. Ava wrapped her jacket around her tighter as she walked through the park, stopping people, and asking them if they had seen Cassius. She didn’t even have to describe him much. Many in the park already knew the guy, and soon enough, Ava was standing at the foot of the bench where he lay, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“Sorry, old man,” she whispered as she lifted her boot and gently pushed Cassius’s leg.

Cassius snored loudly and turned over. Ava would have found the situation a little funny if it weren’t for the pained sound that accompanied his movements. It was concerning.

Ava dropped to her knees and observed Cassius closely. She brought her head closer to his chest. He was still asleep, but this time she heard how labored his breaths were. Ava placed a palm on his shoulder and shook him gently. He turned and opened his eyes wearily, and Ava scowled when she saw the bruise around his left eye.

“Hey, Cassius, wake up. Please,” she pleaded.

When she took her hand away from his shoulder, she noticed that it had stained red. Ava sucked in a breath and took her phone out cursing when the blood, slippery, impeded her calling emergency services. When she had finally succeeded, she threw her phone aside and got back to Cassius’s side. He was fully awake now, and at the sight of Ava, he whimpered and tried to get away.

“No, no, please. Please, I just want to help.”

Ava raised her hands, proof that she intended no harm. Cassius looked around him as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes and finish him off.

“Look at me. I can help.”

Cassius was still suspicious, but he allowed Ava to remove the blanket covering his body. Ava brought a hand to cover her mouth when she saw the array of bruises that were spread across Cassius’s torso. On his shoulder was a deep cut.

“Who did this to you?” she whispered.

“I can’t tell you,” Cassius mumbled.

Ava understood. While she would have been perfectly fine with just getting a detective to find the person responsible for beating up an old man in a park, something about the way Cassius reacted made her connect his case with that of the missing girls.

His actions resembled that of the day when he came to the station to tell her something. Sure, it may have been a coincidence, but someone was intent on keeping this man quiet.

Ava settled to just sitting next to Cassius in silence. When she heard the ambulance sirens, she was relieved. Cassius put a hand on her forearm.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Ava placed her hand on top of his. Paramedics surrounded them and began treating his immediate wound. She took that opportunity to lean into Cassius’s ear.

“We’ll keep you safe,” she whispered.

Ava didn’t miss the light of hope flicker in the old man’s eyes. She patted his hand one more time and moved to get up.

Cassius pulled on her forearm and she sat back down.

“Gas station. Just outside town. That’s where I saw her.”

Ava smiled at him. She held his hand for a few moments, expressing her gratitude before she hurried back to the station, or more specifically, Chief’s office.

Ava had the sense to look guilty when she realized she had intruded on an important call. Chief had been reassuring the FBI agents that they would have the files they needed for the case when they arrived.

Chief looked up sharply when he heard Ava barge in, his eyebrow raising when he saw the blood all over her clothes. He replied to the person on the other end of the line as he lifted his hand and gestured to Ava as if to say, “Do you have any idea what you look like right now?”

Ava looked away shyly but made no move to leave. She stood, rooted in her spot, determined to talk to Chief. When he ended his call, he eyed her bloody clothes, his hand gesturing to her as if to say, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“The blood’s not mine, but first I’ll need