*What a strange day!* Thought Mei as she drove back to her apartment building.
*First, I'm assigned my first real crime case and then I get asked out without even realizing it. How the hell did any of that happen? On the same day as well.*
The detective stopped at a red light right before she heard her phone buzz. She took her cell out of her bag and checked her messages. Her eyes lit up and a cheerful smile appeared across her face as she read a text that she had just received from her boyfriend.
John: I miss you. Please come back to my place
*Aww! He wants me to come over.* Mei responded to his message, *On my way.*
She hit send and put it back into her bag. The light turned green and the detective continued to drive, this time she made a turn in order to head to John's home. About ten minutes later, the detective parked her car outside of the building and walked over to the entrance. She entered and took the elevator to John's floor.
*He'll be so excited to see me!* Thought Mei with a big smile plastered across her face, *I can't wait to tell him about my day.*
A few seconds later, the elevator doors slid open and Mei swiftly walked out before heading down the hall. She peered around, searching for John's apartment. Once she found it, she stopped in front of the door and reached into her bag. She pulled out a compact mirror and used it to make sure that she looked presentable.
*I look like such a mess.* Thought the detective as she checked her coffee stained teeth and pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, *Hopefully, he'll understand.*
She put the mirror back into her bag before she took a deep breath to calm herself down, *Don't seem too anxious, Mei. Remember, John doesn't like it when you get super emotional.*
Once she was able to ease her excitement, the detective finally knocked on the door. Within a second, she heard the door unlock and the knob began to turn.
*Calm down, Mei.* She thought to herself, *Calm down. It's just John. You two have been dating for almost a year now. You should be used to this by now.*
The door slowly opened and Mei's smile quickly faded away as she realized that the person answering the door wasn't her boyfriend.
"Hello!" Greeted the brunette woman, wearing an ankle length, baby blue nightgown with a black robe, "May I help you?" She smiled kindly.
"Is this the residence of John Dever?" Asked Mei, sounding very composed, yet feeling very confused.
The caucasian woman nodded, "Yes, it is. Why did you ask?"
Mei, without a second thought, reached to her belt and pulled out her badge before presenting it to her, "I'm Detective Mei Li. I'm here to ask Mr. Dever a few questions."
The woman's eyes widened in shock, "What happened?" She sounded very concerned, "Did my Johnny do something wrong?"
*Her Johnny?* Wondered the detective, feeling extremely suspicious.
Mei shook her head as she clipped her badge back onto her belt, "No, don't worry. He's not in trouble. I just wanted to ask a few residents some questions about an ongoing case."
"Oh? Is this for the Don Muller case?"
Without any hesitation, Mei nodded, "Yes, it's for Mr. Muller's case." She reached into her bag before she pulled out a pen and a notepad, "By the way, where did you hear about his case from?"
"I started working at Pegson's not too long ago. I'm on their HR team and that's the first thing they brought up after I was hired." Explained the woman. "Oh, sorry I forgot to introduce myself." She held out her hand, "I'm Abby Hoster … Well …" She peered to the side, smirking, before she looked back at the detective, "Soon to be Abby Dever!" She announced in a cheerful tone.
*ABBY DEVER?!* Mei nearly panicked inside but was still able to keep her cool as she shook the woman's hand. She peered down and saw the shiny engagement ring on Abby's finger.
She looked up at her, "You're engaged to Mr. Dever?" She asked curiously.
Abby nodded, "Mhm! We've been together for nearly ten years." She let go of Mei's hand and held her hands up in a surrendering motion, "I know, I know! It's been almost a decade since we started dating and he *just recently* asked me to move in before putting a ring on me. But men are weird like that, you know? Especially someone like John. He just loves to take his time with these sorts of things." She giggled.
*Ten years … They've been together for ten years?* Mei felt very shocked and disheartened as she slowly began to process all of this new information.
*All this time, Henry thought that John had someone on the side and he was right. But … I'm not the one being cheated on … Abby is.*
She paused for a moment as she realized something, *Wait a minute! I've been to John's place before but I've never seen her around. How did she end up getting here just now if they've been together for that long?*
"I hope you don't mind me asking but when did you get here?" Asked Mei, "I've been talking to other residents and they've all stated that Mr. Dever lives alone."
"Yeah, that's because I just moved in over the weekend. I had a lot of stuff and I feel kind of bad now because John had to cancel his plans with friends just to help me get settled in." Explained Abby.
*That … How … How could he?!* Mei continued to stay calm and collected.
"So where were you before working at Pegson's?" The detective attempted to stay on topic.
"Before this, I was living in Seattle and at a law firm."
"How long have you been living in Seattle for?"
"My entire life. I went to school there and attended college there too. After that, I moved in with my best friend from high school. Her dad ran the law firm and she helped me get a job there." She explained in a joyous tone.
"Why didn't you just move in with Mr. Dever instead of her?" Asked Mei, curiously.
"I wanted to but he got a job here in LA. We decided that a long distance relationship wouldn't be so bad as long as we stayed together in the end. Besides, I've always wanted to live with my high school best friend. It's something we've dreamed about ever since we were in third grade."
*Damn, she seems really … Happy. I'm not sure if I can break the news to her.* Thought Mei, feeling even more down than she was prior.