FOUR YEARS LATER
Louisa's p.o.v;
I let out a yawn as I leaned back in my seat while looking at the report which I was holding in my hand.
Raphael, "What is that?"
"Autopsy report of my case I've been handling."
"Why are you staring at it for so long? Where did you get stuck?"
I sat straight and placed the report on the table saying, "It was mentioned that colourless liquid was found in the victim's body in an antifreeze system. When I gave it to the lab, they said it was ethylene glycol which poisoned her to death. I've investigated her parents, friends and her ex-boyfriends but they didn't have anything against her to poison her. I'm thinking about other possibilities for her cause of death."
"I can't believe you are stuck in a case. Aren't you smarter than all of us here?"
"You don't have to say it like that. I'm like everyone else too."
"Didn't you say she went to a bar before going home. Did you check the place? Since you said the poison was found in an antifreeze state. There's a possibility that someone from the bar poisoned her, right?"
I stood up from my place and said, "I've already looked into the footage. Okay, I'll go check the bar again."
"Where's my coffee?"
"Get it by yourself."
"Even though we're friends, don't forget that you're still working under me."
I placed the coffee on his table and said, "It's your coffee, Sir. If you may, I'll continue with my investigation, Sir." And walked out of the police station.
Three years ago, I moved to Rio de Janeiro where my parents live. I continued and finished my studies under the faculty of philosophy, science and literature. After graduating, I moved out of the house again and joined a well-known company and got a desk job with decent money, which I dreamed of since childhood. As days passed by, I realised desk jobs weren't meant for me. I quit my job and looked for jobs again. I didn't feel satisfied with any of the jobs I got after that. I remembered what Ace said to me. To get a job in detective, police or forensic.
Out of luck, I got a job in a police station. In the beginning, I only did parking duties since I was a newbie. After solving a missing case, the higher officials included me in their investigation, and soon they gave me individual cases to solve.
After a year, I got transferred to Sao Paulo where I thought I should never visit. Since I got to work along with Raphael, I let go of some thoughts. The work kept me occupied which stopped me from thinking about other things.
The case I'm working on currently is, A homicide. A seventeen year old girl named Sophia was found dead in her apartment without any forcible entry and blood traces. The body didn't face any physical trauma or strangulation either. With the evidence found at the crime scene, I investigated her friends and I came to know that she went to a nightclub before this incident took place. I looked through the surveillance footage but didn't see any suspicious activity so I got confused who might be the one who wanted to poison her. Not her parents, she hadn't talked with them for a week. Not her friends, they're still in shock hearing about her friend's death. After I finished investigating the people she knew, I didn't get any leads. Except for this club. Like Raphael said, whoever poisoned her must be in that club that day with her.
After twenty minutes, I reached the club, even though it's 2 in the afternoon. There's still people here sipping their drinks from their glasses. Don't they go home?
The bartender asked, "Shall I pour you a drink, mam?"
"No need. Can I take a look at the footage from that day again?"
"Yes, mam. Come with me."
The bartender took me to the manager's room and showed me the footage and showed me the video clip which I had already seen. There's nothing in it.
"Where's your manager?"
"He went to meet someone, mam. Should I inform that you're here?"
"Don't."
When i tried to walk out of the club, i saw the free wifi sign and had a thought in my head.
"What's the wifi password?" I asked the bartender.
After he gave the password, I linked my phone to WiFi and took a seat in the bar. I hacked into the bar surveillance camera and checked the day where my victim, Sophia was finally seen. I was surprised.
I called out, "Can i have one vodka?"
The bartender nodded and took a glass from the rack behind him and poured the drink. He walked to me with a glass of vodka and placed it on the table in front of me and left.
I took the glass and sipped on the drink while looking at him. Everytime he served, he took glasses from behind the rack. Then why did he serve drinks to Sophia in the glass he took from under the stand?
I took a look at the footage I retrieved which was deleted by someone. In that clip, the glass already had ice in it when he took it from under the table. Ice? Poison found in antifreeze State? The ice melted and the poison spreaded in Sophia's body. The bartender it is.
I paid for the drink and said to the bartender, "So it's you."
He got nervous and started to sweat. When he tried to run, i tapped the stand with my gun saying, "Don't you know that i have a gun with me? If you don't, take a look at this. Do you want me to use this on you or are you willing to come with me?"
After a while,
At the police station,
Elisa, "Congratulations on finishing the case in three days, Louisa."
I nodded and thanked her.
Gabriel, "Do you want us to become jobless by finishing all the cases by yourself?"
I laughed at him and said, "It was just an homicide. Girl poisoned. The guy got caught. It was a small case compared to those you're handling."
"I should agree on that part. I'm going bald for every case I handle whereas you're handling it in a calm way."
"Jokes apart. Congratulations for solving the case."
"Thank you, Gabrielle."
"It's Gabriel."
"Okay, Gabrielle."
While I was making fun of him, the chief called out my name. His name is Gustavo, as his name suggests, he's the team leader for us. Raphael, Gabriel, Elisa, Maria, Ana, Jose, Filipe, Eduardo and me.
I'm not close to everyone in the team yet except Raphael, Gabriel and Elisa. As far as I know, Maria and Jose studied at the same college and ended up here as their dream job. Ana and Filipe were transferred from somewhere to here like me. Eduardo was already here when I came here.
"Louisa!"
"Sir."
"What are you thinking in your head which made you stop from hearing what i was saying?"
"Nothing, sir."
"Then tell me what I was saying."
"You asked me to take part in the case Gabriel in which Gabriel was working, sir."
"Get back to your desk."
"Yes, Sir."
I let out a sigh when I sat at my desk.
Raphael patted on my back saying, "Congratulations for solving the case, Louisa."
"It was because of you, i solved it. I went to the club again and looked at the footage, there was nothing and i found the deleted clip and caught the bartender. If it wasn't you, I wouldn't be able to finish the case."
"How did you get the deleted footage?"
Louisa! Why did you blurt it out like that?
"I got it from a reliable source."
After he gave a nod, i continued, "The happiness didn't last for a minute when the chief assigned me to another case."
"What is it?"
"I don't know the details. But I knew it was the case which gave a headache to Gabriel."
"Good luck with getting a headache."
"Why did you say it like that?"
He gave a smile and said, "Don't worry, you will solve it in the end somehow." And went back to his work.
I remembered what Bernie said to me about Raphael that he may not be looking at me as his friend. But he was wrong. It's been a year since I started working with him. He still talks to me as a friend and takes care of me well. If he wanted to be more than friends with me, he would have told me about it because he's a straight forward like me.
Why did I remember that shitty guy! Idiot Bernie! While I was in Rio, he came often to visit me with his girlfriend and sometimes alone. But when I came back to Sao Paulo, he stopped speaking with me like before. Even thinking about him, I feel like getting a headache. I'm not going to think about him again!
"Louisa!"
When I took a look, it was Gabriel. He signalled me to come to his desk.
Raphael laughed in little and said, "All the best working with him."
I let out a sigh and walked to Gabriel cabin.
The reason why Raphael laughed at me was, we'll get a headache not because of the case but because of Gabriel. He's a workaholic to the point he won't even let his partners have a peaceful sleep until the case is solved. Why did the chief send me to him? Is it my punishment for sleeping during his meetings?
When i got to Gabriel's desk, he was talking to Eduardo. I asked Gabriel, "What did you call me for?"
"Didn't chief informed you that he put you with me?"
"Yeah, he did."
"Then, why didn't you come report me?"
"I'm sorry, Sir."
"Take a seat."
When i seated beside him, he said, "In this case, Eduardo will be joining us too. From now on, we three are going to investigate this together. Did you get me?"
"Yes, Sir."
Since I haven't worked along with Eduardo before, I don't know how he is with the cases. But I heard that he solved many cases on his own.
Gabriel explained us about the case, "Listen to me, two days ago, i got a information that there's a new drug in market which is going to be transported to nearby country in week. Using this source, i found the possibility places where they are trying to transport it. Now, we have to find the people who are involved in this to get them arrested." "Louisa, this is the drug name I got. Investigate about his drug and find if you find any important leads." He turned to Eduardo and said, "While Louisa was looking into the drugs, you have to investigate every harbours to know the transportation of the goods." "Now, you two can leave."
I let out a sigh when he parted the job like women's job and men's job. Does he think i don't have enough strength to look after the harbour by giving me a desk job? That's why i work alone. When it comes to team, the way they divide the job gets me mad.
Rapahy asked me, "What happened? Why the long face?"
I showed the paper and said, "He gave me a desk job again." I let out a sigh and continued, "Did I ask for a team? Why did the chief put me in the team? I hate it. I feel like when will this case get over and get relieved from the team already."
"You like it when you're working with me. I thought you liked working as a team."
"I'm okay if it's you. You don't give me headaches and push me to the deadline like there is one. When we worked together, it was fun too."
He patted me while saying, "Then finish the case quickly and get it over with."
"Yes! That's exactly what I'm doing now. I'm going to finish this case somehow and will escape Gabriel's leash quickly."
When I looked at the name of the drug which Gabriel gave me, G- 25 drug. Why do I feel like I've heard this before?