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VALENCIA NOIR II


ACT I

Summertime in Los Angeles is a constant reminder of how this city sits on the border between Heaven and Hell. The heat that collects in the sidewalks and melts bike tires, the stench of rotting garbage left to cook in the sun for days on end, traffic jams so long and loud that they could be seen and heard from another state…the time it takes for people to switch from irritable to homicidal as they’re forced to experience such assaults to the senses. Year after year those trapped in Hell do whatever they can to escape such seasonal agony while those in Heaven plunge themselves deeper and deeper into their distractions, barely feeling the full sting of summer. Like any other season, summer is one of mixed emotions-anger and joy. The crime rate in Los Angeles rises every day with the thermometer as the strongest of emotions and thoughts are brought to a boil.

But sometimes there are those who can act and still be cold on the inside. The individuals who have been numb for years, who feel nothing but the ice in their souls… The catalysis of chaos that summer introduces into the citizens of Los Angeles doesn’t affect these frozen souls but the city can always find a way. It has to make everyone listen to its melodies and dance on that line to watch where the people will fall. During any other time of the year, the pressure from this invisible force on these frozen hearts may not have affected them so…but when combined with the pressures of summer…the ice that has formed in their veins begins to melt…and the madness that was the source of their coldness begins to show…and threatens to explode…

The half moon continued to hang in the early July morning sky like a paper cut out, the sun barely beginning to appear over the horizon in a sliver of crate paper orange. The heat and the light of the sun started to chase out the night from streets and alleyways with steady strides. The grays of Lower L.A. began to wake up and react to the growing heat of the new day. It wouldn’t be long before the streets would start to swelter and the tones would begin to melt. With the kind of summer’s day that was appearing over the horizon, even the buildings would be sweating later on. Such a building-to name an example-was a square, squat little building that sat on a street corner. This building resembled an old bulldog and would look like an overheated bulldog in no time. But it was the awakening citizens of L.A. that the summer’s day would hit the hardest. The residents of the old bulldog building-Dexter McBane and Tyler Levion-were such citizens.

Sunlight was spilling into one of the rooms on the second floor through the blinds and printing a stripped pattern on wood floor. The ceiling fan continued to spin as it did throughout the night before, circulating air made warm by the two individuals sleeping on the small fold up bed in the middle of the room. The smell of love and lust was as subtle as a faint perfume and kept alive from the previous night by the spinning of the fan above. In the corners of the room twirled loose down feathers of white and gray, the rest of the floor covered with discarded clothing from the two lovers in the bed. With the rising of the sun and the rise in the temperature of the room, it wasn’t long before the blond headed angel started to open his big blue eyes to the ceiling of his bedroom. And to the woman who was sleeping by his side in the fold of his wing. The red headed harpy Tayte Fallon-hair running free on the pillow in long streams of blood red, porcelain skin warm against his body, soft feathers brushing against his shoulders and his own wings…the tangle of the bed sheets had covered most of her form sometime during the night-but the image of Tayte unclothed and in her curvaceous glory was hot enough to sear itself into Dexter’s memory for the rest of his life.

The sight of his harpy lover sleeping peacefully in his embrace was enough to make the angel feel like the luckiest guy in the world and remember the circumstances in which they were able to meet. The Gilmead Murder-the murder of Valencia Race Track jockey Cyrus Gilmead. That was what first brought Tayte and Dexter into contact with each other-Dexter and his partner Tyler were hired to investigate the case by a family friend of the Fallons-Tristian Skyes-to prove that Tayte didn’t murder the jockey. Not only did the detectives prove that she didn’t do it but uncovered a major conspiracy that could have rewritten the entire system of power in the L.A. underworld and therefore, the control of L.A. itself. After clearing up some misunderstandings with the police, the angel and the werewolf’s careers as private investigators skyrocketed. The interview they gave to their merman friend Yang Tamagi from the L.A. Times when the case was over really helped with that. So beyond getting a lot more business from the rest of Los Angeles, Dexter and Tayte were able to get together and start dating.

Tayte shifted in her sleep, pressing herself closer against Dexter’s body and resting her face against his chest. Apparently the sheets weren’t tangled in a way that would keep the angel from…feeling…the harpy’s skin and…certain body parts…press up against his own bare body. Despite how early it was in the morning and how late those two had stayed up the previous evening, Dexter felt like he was suddenly wide awake. With the blood starting to gather in his cheeks and towards…other places…the angel felt like he needed to hit the bathroom suddenly. It was hard trying to leave the tiny bed without waking up his harpy lover-the two had been rather entangled in each other and the mattress was old and squeaky. It took a series of delicate movements and control best reserved for ballet dancers but Dexter was able get out of bed without waking up Tayte. He grabbed a pair of pants off of the floor and got dressed as he snuck out of his bedroom. The bathroom was a short trip down the hall-the entire second floor had to be rebuilt after the building was sent on fire in October so there were no squeaky floorboards or loud rattling pipes to wake anyone up. The trip did Dexter a lot of good once he stepped out of the little bathroom and feeling refreshed and like a lot of pressure had been taken off of his body. Stifling a yawn, the angel was ready to crawl back into bed with Tayte when he thought he smelled bacon. As he walked back to his room, the smell got stronger and he could hear it cooking in the kitchen downstairs. It was worth investigating to make sure no one had broken into their building for…whatever reason. The distance memory of being wanted for dead some months ago had not yet resurfaced as the angel took to the stairs with little caution.

The building was quiet and empty as Dexter walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. With the rebuilding and remodeling of their home some months ago, there was enough money left to convert one of their rooms into a simple kitchen. Sunlight was starting to pour in through the windows and bounce off of the metal surfaces in rays of orange and yellow. At the stove the angel saw his partner Tyler Levion. The sight of the werewolf with his wild white mane, wolf ears and matching tail…wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue boxers…was enough to give Dexter pause before he had to ask. “Ty…why are you cooking bacon at the crack of dawn in your underwear?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

The werewolf’s ears flicked in Dexter’s direction before he realized that his partner was awake and talking to him. “Because it’s too hot to cook bacon at the normal time…and I would be cooking naked if Tayte wasn’t staying over. Still too hot for pants, even at this hour…” Tyler was putting a lot of his focus into the bacon that was sizzling in the skillet.

“Well, I…guess I can appreciate the thought…try not to burn your chest with flying bacon grease.” Dexter tried not to think about Tayte walking in on Tyler naked in ANY situation. Instead, the angel decided to grab a drink from the fridge before going back up to bed. “We have any juice?”

“Top shelf, near the butter.” The werewolf was grabbing the bread that had just popped out of the toaster when he caught sight of Dexter leaning into the open fridge. If he didn’t move his wing in just the right way as he turned out of the fridge, Tyler would have missed the long, gagged, red streaks on his skin. “Good God man!”

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘What?!’ Look at your back!”

“You know I have a hard time looking-“Dexter felt Tyler spread his wings and move him in front of the window with his back towards the glass. He handed him the toaster (minus the toast) and had him angle it in just the right way. Using the reflection in the toaster to catch the reflection in the window, Dexter was able to see what Tyler saw-that his back was streaked red and covered with talon marks! “AH! Ah…oh…oh boy. That…Yeah, I can understand why you reacted the way you did.” How could the angel NOT have felt that while he was sleeping on his back?!

“Yeah, no s**t! It’s a wonder that Tayte didn’t break skin or pierce your spine! Of course…given what you were probably doing to her at the time, neither one of you would be likely to notice blood for a while.” The werewolf didn’t need to be looking at his partner to know that he would be bright red at that comment-from embarrassment, a touch of anger and a memory of the exact thing Tyler had described. The toaster went back on the counter with a slight slam and Tyler finished up his bacon. He was placing it on the toast to make a sandwich on the table and Dexter was getting a glass for his juice when…he decided it was a good time to tell him. “Since we’re sort of on the topic of Tayte…there’s something I got to tell you.”

Dexter stopped pouring halfway and looked at Tyler with a raised eyebrow. “Okay…” Even though they were dating, Tayte and Tyler…didn’t really have the best relationship with each other… In fact, there were times when Tayte downright hated his friend. Nearly losing your wing to a werewolf in the past could do that to a lot of people but all the same, it made things…sort of tense. Tyler was always a good sport about it (or could at least keep his mouth shut) but there were times when he had to put his foot down. The only reason the two hadn’t come to serious blows yet was because of the angel but…he was always careful about what they said around each other. He didn’t want to lose either one of them…

“Dex. You’re my friend and my partner. As both, I can say that I’m happy that you finally found a girl and you finally took the plunge.” Tyler started to explain as he put the finishing touches on his breakfast sandwich and stuck his skillet in the sink. “However...I can hear you two when you’re getting together. Like…really loud and clear.”

“What?!” Hearing the werewolf say this almost caused Dexter to drop the carton and his glass. “N-No way! There’s no-I mean-the-the walls aren’t as thin as they used to be you know! There’s no way you can hear-us!”

“Yeah but even with the new walls I can still hear you two! The mice that used to live in the old ones humped quieter than you guys! I got snippets of disturbing conversations burned into my brain and the sound of the mattress squeaking really fast makes me uncomfortable now because of you!” Tyler had planned for the conversation to go in a way that wasn’t so…but he had been planning it for months now…and the stress of dealing with these factors for a long time led to a lot of pressure that just exploded as soon as he got started.

The angel was starting to burn red all the way up to his hairline as the werewolf described his problem in such…vivid details. He was at a loss for words for a bit, simply letting whatever his brain could come up with escape through his mouth in a stream of nonsense. Tyler took this babbling as a sign that he was starting to strike a point. “Well-Well-It’s-It’s not like you can’t change rooms when you-when I-You know what I mean! Change rooms!”

“I’ve tried, believe me! I can still hear you guys! I’ve tried every room on the second floor except for that one room at the end of the hall…and you know why no one can go in there.”

“Oh…right…” The room at the end of the hall was a development in their rebuilt home that would have to be discussed later. For now, Dexter was trying to get over the fact that Tyler had heard him and Tayte when they were…together. “I’ll…see what I can do about…padding the room or…something.”

“Please do and if you can, make it before your next date. I don’t mean to complain…but it’s just getting weird. No friend should ever know those kinds of details about another guy and his girl…”

“I would tell you the same if it were me hearing you and Lulu.” Dexter was secretly thanking God for it never happening (yet) as he returned the carton to the fridge.

“HA! If I can get so lucky…”

“I’m going back to bed. I’ll see you again in a few hours when we open up for work…”

“Yeah, go sleep with the beast. I’ll be up for a bit longer with my-BACON SANDWICH IS GONE!”

“What? Come on Ty, I just want to-hey, it is gone!” The empty plate sitting on the table was all the evidence needed.

“Where did it-oh, hell no!” With how sluggish both of their minds were at the current hour, it was easy to see how they could have missed Tayte sneaking behind their backs and helping herself to the sandwich as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Man, this thing is greasy…you couldn’t have drained the pan a little bit? Or maybe make the bacon crisper?” Despite her complaints, the harpy woman had no problems eating the breakfast Tyler had made. With her free hand she held the sheet from Dexter’s bed around her body, not really caring about the two different stares she was getting from the detectives-angry and…slightly aroused.

“Well, pardon me! I didn’t know I was cooking for others this morning.” Tyler growled slightly before going back to the fridge, tail swishing in agitation. “Now I need to make it again… Bacon isn’t cheap you know!”

“Uh-s-sorry if we woke you up, Tayte. Just…uh...well, checking in on things down here! You know, with the bacon smell and all!” Dexter intervened in order to keep the harpy’s attention off of the werewolf and therefore, prevent a fight from breaking out.

“Nothing you need to worry about, I barely heard a thing. But if I were to hear anything…I’d tell a certain someone that he can move out if the noise bothers him.” Because nothing would have pleased her more than having Dexter to herself-except maybe not having to deal with his roommate who leaves fur in the shower every time she’s over.

“Kiss my a** too, Tayte.”

“Tyler!”

“Come back up to bed. I can still get a few more hours of sleep in before I have to leave for work.” She ignored the werewolf in the fridge…for now. She always had to have the last word on him. But there was something she wanted even more. And her eyes conveyed these desires as she locked eyes with the tall angel. “Come back up to bed with me now and I may be able to spare some of that time sleeping doing something more enjoyable…”

Dexter was able to read Tayte’s eyes and their hidden message clearly. Even when she was tired, the red headed harpy was still able to cast a spell over him. The feathers in his wings ruffled slightly before he could give her an answer. “Uh…well…” He had to remember Tyler’s complaints from minutes ago…but it looked like the harpy wasn’t going to give up that easily as she stood against him, letting her body press against his as her head rested against his chest. The angel could see down her back, past those beautiful wings and to where the bed sheet had ended in a scooped shape at the base of her back…

“I’m still really sleepy, Dex…” Tayte was good at pushing Dexter’s buttons and she knew it.

Feeling his heart begin to race again at the touch and the sleepy coos of the sheet draped goddess, the angel knew he couldn’t hold off for much longer. Looking at his partner in the fridge (leaning on top of the door and watching this with fascination), the angel was trying to think of a way to say “sorry” and “I’m going to go for it” before the werewolf waved him a head. “Ahhh…y-yeah…sure.” It was really…really embarrassing to be talking like that in front of a friend…but Tayte was…Tayte!

Watching the two winged creatures start to walk out of the kitchen hand in hand, Tyler set down the frozen bacon on the table and leaned on it. “Hey Tayte. Since you decided to help yourself to my breakfast, how about helping yourself to a few of these too?” And the werewolf presented the harpy woman with a particular clawed finger on his free hand.

“TYLER!” It was that sort of thing that made Dexter fear of a fight breaking out between his friend and his girlfriend and he was prepared to intervene. Tayte took no offense to this gesture though. In fact…she only smiled that smile that usually signaled that she was about to win in one of her favorite games.

“Huh, now that’s interesting…Dexter gave me that same finger last night on that very table.” And without another word, Tayte turned and left the kitchen…smirking as Tyler and Dexter both began reacting in their own appropriate ways. She wouldn’t see any of it…but the werewolf was screaming in disgust at the table, the fact that the bacon was resting on that table…and that he was resting his hand on the table! And Dexter…turned into a blubbering mass of embarrassed red goo trying to piece together either an explanation, a denial or…something to chastise Tayte all at a rather high octave…

“Tayte, how could you?!”

“Forget that! How could you-“

“I can explain!” And while thinking of an explanation…Dexter started to run for the stairs. “Tayte!”

“I EAT BREAKFAST ON THAT TABLE!!!” Tyler wasn’t about to let Dexter and Tayte escape so easily.

“I’M SORRY!”

“I HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN TO DO THAT WITH LULU YET!!!”

“…I’m not all that surprised, fuzz butt.” Again, Tayte with the last word and a smug look about achieving such.

“DIE, SUCCUBUS!!!”

“TY-WAIT! NOT ON THE STAIRS!” And Dexter-again-intervening between the two destructive forces with whatever means he had. And most of his means included intercepting intended attacks with his own body…which he did on the stairs with a nearly full grown werewolf. The results weren’t pretty.
It didn’t take long for the little bulldog building to become full of noise and arguing and just overall chaos. For everyone else that lived in this neighborhood…it was a rather normal thing to occur whenever Tayte decided to spend the night. And it usually happened in the mornings…another normal part of life in this particular neighborhood in Lower L.A.
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The hum of the ceiling fan and the smaller desk fans scattered throughout the office was the orchestra that accompanied the dancing shadows along the room in the late morning sun. The heat of summer was in full effect as Dexter and Tyler sat their desks, trying to get some relief from their many fans. The angel was trying to tend to some paperwork-sleeves rolled to his elbows, tie left untied and several shirt buttons left undone…and doing his best to ignore how Tyler was launching rubber bands at his head. But eventually, something needed to be said. “Would you knock it off!?” Dexter finally exclaimed, slamming his palms down on his desk as he stood to tell off his partner.

“Not until you learn your lesson!” The werewolf was leaning back in his chair the way he normally did, his tie hanging around his shoulders, shirt completely unbuttoned and torso exposed. Tyler was pulling another rubber band back on his thumb and preparing to release. “The communal areas are off limits!” With a snap the band went flying for the angel’s head…but Dexter dodged. Tyler began preparing another rubber band.

“Oh, please! If Tayte never said anything you would have never known! And since when do we have rules for…those sort of arrangements!?” Really, Dexter was still kind of mad and embarrassed at what the harpy said earlier that morning. Tayte got what she wanted but Dexter had to keep Tyler from body checking her down a flight of stairs…the angel had to take a lump or two for the noble gesture of protecting them both from each other. The harpy and the werewolf said they were sorry…but something would have to change soon. Tayte went to work after a few more hours in bed (the mood had been ruined so the pair had just slept) with a promise to make it up to him later. She never said how before she took off into the early morning sky from their stoop, taking with her the duffel that was used for work. The harpy liked getting to the studio first in the morning…

“I would have smelled something wrong with the table once the bacon smell cleared out!” Tyler challenged, pulling Dexter away from his thoughts. “And an arrangement like keeping the loving away from common areas should have been common sense!”

“Okay, that’s it You want to go, let’s go! I got a new special in knuckle sandwiches!”

“Bring it! I had my breakfast stolen by your girl so I’m plenty hungry!” The spell of summer madness was ready to drive the two detectives into a big argument before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. The pair snapped out of their confrontational mindset and returned to their desks, eager to continue once they were alone again. “Come on in, Sveta! We’re decent.”

“I’m sorry…it sounded like you two were in the middle of something…but, maybe I should have interrupted sooner given what I was hearing…” The brown haired homunculus started to tiptoe into the room, a cautious look about her as she weighed if her presence was welcomed or not.

Seeing their sweet natured assistant and her concern over them had its usual calming effect on both of the sleuths and reminded them of how they normally behave. “Ahhh…sorry, Sveta. Tyler and I just sort of had a…interesting morning before you showed up. Plus the heat is already starting to make us both testy.” Dexter apologized, casting a glance over at Tyler as he settled back into his chair. He looked sorry as well. “Nothing you need to worry about. So, what’s the case load look like for today?”

Sveta smiled softly before adjusting the stack of papers in her arms. She started to separate the pile between the desks based on the exact nature of the requests, taking a moment to flick a bead of sweat off of her brow. The poor homunculus looked like she was trying to deal with the heat as best as she could. Her skirt was shorter and looser than normal, her blouse was made of a thinner material and she had to skip on the pantyhose today. For anyone else, the outfit would have been appropriate for summer but the girl was…better built than most so there was a struggle to maintain some decency that came with her living with nuns. Fidgeting with her skirt line to hike it down her legs more, Sveta could feel some sweat starting to slide down between her breasts alongside her cross. She hoped that the boys wouldn’t notice it, even with a few extra buttons on her blouse left undone that day. “A majority of these cases are the latest in missing persons from Lower L.A…I had the families of these people provide me with every detail I could think of that would help you two begin looking for them. The police are prepared to provide you with any details that they may have if anyone has a criminal record...I already glanced through most of the paperwork and it appears that a lot of these people have never done anything illegal…but you two should probably try for yourselves anyway.”

“…just about every summer people go missing.” Tyler sighed while picking up a folder. Dexter felt about the same way-it was a shame for a lot of reasons as he grabbed a file of his own. Sveta had to agree…and was happy that neither one of them noticed her looking like an under dressed, sweaty mess.

“Thanks, Sveta. We’ll get started on these right away.”

“Wait! Before you do, I have one case that was requested to be your top priority!”

“Which one?” What could have been more important than several missing people?

“The one in the blue folder! Top of the pile in the ‘Theft’ requests. It sounded like an urgent matter when the woman called me last night.”

Dexter picked up the folder and flipped it open. Skimming over the better parts of the papers inside, the case didn’t sound urgent until the name of the potential client popped up. “Arazia…Scavera?”

“Scavera…isn’t she famous?” Tyler reached over to look the file over himself.

“Yes! She’s a world famous opera star and musician! She’s from a long line of Italian musical geniuses! I almost didn’t believe that it was her calling until I remembered that she would be in L.A. for the summer festivals!” Sveta exclaimed happily. The homunculus appeared to be something of a fan. “Anyway, Arazia wouldn’t tell me the exact nature of what was stolen from her. Just that it was important to get it back right away and for it to be kept a secret from the public. Also, she wanted to meet you two in person.”

“Did she happen to say when she wanted to meet? We’re going to be busy with these missing person cases.”

“She wanted to have you meet her for brunch today at a restaurant. I have the address here and the meeting is in two hours.”

“…kind of a pushy one to just make a meeting with someone and expect them to show up without hearing anything from them.” Tyler observed with Dexter nodding in agreement.

“Will you meet her though? I know you’re going to be busy but it sounded like she really needed the help.”

The detectives needed a moment to decide and to see just how many missing people they had to look for. On the one hand, they could never really turn down a case, it was bad for business. But on the other, missing people always held a sort of priority with them over missing or stolen property. Beyond factoring in the possibility that lives could have been at stake, there were also personal reasons for this system of assigning priority to their cases. The reason stemmed from a previous case, a long time ago… After several quiet moments of looking over the files, Dexter and Tyler had come to a conclusion without having to say anything. “Alright, I guess we’re both in.”

“Depending on what Miss Scavera says she lost, we may be able to find it fast and get back to these cases.” Dexter said as he got up from his desk and went for the hat rack. “Come on, Ty. We better motor! It’s only going to get hotter so let’s get to the restaurant before then!”

“The place better be air conditioned! And she better be okay with buying us something to eat while we talk shop!”

“Tyler, you need to button your shirt and fix your tie! The restaurant is in Upper L.A. and very high end.” Sveta was smiling though as she played mother to the werewolf and fixed his clothes. “I have the address written down on the inside of the folder. Use it for your notes and everything, Dexter! Make sure you try and arrive early so you can meet her at the table if she already has one reserved. Just…do whatever it is you normally do and you’ll be fine!”

The angel found a reason to laugh as Tyler claimed his hat and loosened his tie for a more casual look. “You’re more nervous than we are about meeting this girl! It’s not like we haven’t met famous people before.” But that didn’t stop Sveta from adjusting Dexter’s tie next as he and Tyler tried to get through the door. “We’ll make sure we do everything we normally do right…and maybe sneak you an autograph while we’re at it.”

“’To my biggest fan and the world’s best secretary, Sveta Simon.’ And we’ll make sure she signs it with her real name! No ‘John Hancock’ or “Seymour Butts’!”

“You really don’t need to do that…but thank you if you do!” Sveta sounded positively thrilled by the idea of the boys getting her an autograph. But if it meant making Miss Scavera mad and hurting their chances… “Maybe not! Not-Not until later…oh dear…”

The detectives were at the door when they both thought of something. “While we’re gone you can use our office, Sveta. It’s better ventilated than out here.” While they didn’t notice a lot of things about their assistant that morning, they did notice a bit of sweat around her underarms. Everything else went over their heads in a subconscious act of devotion to the women in their lives.

“Thank you, Dexter! Thank you Tyler! I have plans with Saria later for lunch so I’ll make sure everything is turned off and locked up before I go out!”

“Good, because you want to stay away from the table in the kitch-AAHH!” Tyler didn’t have a chance to finish before he felt the angel grabbed a hold of his ear and started to pull him along.

“Bye Sveta!” Dexter held onto Tyler’s ear and continued to pull him out of the office, down the stairs and out of the building. He ignored his protests and the steady stream of ‘Ow’s’ until they were outside. Sveta would no doubt be very confused but the angel didn’t want to think of how to explain it to her…he had high beliefs that he would burst into the flames for trying to tell the story to that sweet girl. “Are you going to tell everyone about that?!” Dexter let the werewolf go once they were on the street.

“Only people who have to be in contact with that defiled piece of furniture! You know if Sveta ate at that table as it is now we’d both go up in flames!” It was still amazing how in sync some of their thoughts could be at times. With a huff and puff, Tyler adjusted his hat to his head and looked to his partner. “Okay, which way are we going?”

Dexter scowled a little before he looked at the address Sveta had given him in the folder. “The restaurant is called ‘Moon Cove’… it’s that place that overlooks the plaza full of nothing but giant water fountains.”

“Oh yeah! Cyrus mentioned it once after that one date he had with Asthore.”

“Right…I hope this doesn’t take long. We really do need to get on those missing people files…”

“I know…and we will. We always get to it!”

“Better get moving then before the rubbers in our shoes start melting to the pavement.” Being a pair of gumshoes without a car was no way to live...but until their next big pay day, the detectives had to alternate between walking and sharing a flight. Today, they had to walk and maybe hop a bus or two. If anything, they were hoping for a quick and easy job with the supposed opera star that would lead to the down payment of a car. The things they could dream of as they walked to their meeting...

It was a relatively ordinary sounding case-something that would have taken maybe a day or two of checking out pawn shops for any items matching the client’s description of the missing goods. It was how these kinds of cases usually ended. Sometimes these things just solved themselves with a good cleaning of the dresser drawers and people finding it in new places. Other times there was just nothing that could be done. But without knowing anything, we were jumping to conclusions. We were already thinking of getting down to a business we had reasons for being invested in. People couldn’t be replaced like certain objects. I guess that proves that Tyler and I were still green in a way. We were placing more value in one kind of case over another when they should have been treated with the same amount of interest. We needed to keep objective. The funny part was that the city would find a way to correct us of this behavior. With the rising of the sun and the build-up of the heat, all of the components would soon be brought together and brought to their ignition point. But for now, they were separate…but still highly explosive.