Eden awoke to the blaring of the alarm clock and the shrill ringing of the phone. It was as if the two machines were in cahoots, working together to destroy her blissful slumber. She tried to ignore them, but they were relentless.
"Babe, please turn off the alarm," she said, but there was no response.
As she tried to curl up with her sleeping partner, she realized that he was strangely soft and cold to the touch. Something was off. She slowly opened her eyes, only to realize that she had been cuddling a pillow instead of a person.
As she sat up, the sunlight streaming through the window hit her eyes. She blinked a few times, letting the image before her come into focus. The window was open, and there was no sign of her partner.
She wasn't surprised. He had a habit of disappearing after sex, and he had clearly taken the window as his escape route this time.
As she reached for her phone, she saw that her boss had called 15 times. He must have been trying to reach her for quite some time. She took a deep breath and braced herself for the inevitable confrontation. She knew her boss would be furious that she had missed his calls.
She opened the phone and checked her voicemail, hoping for a clue as to what this was all about,but there was none.
As she climbed out of bed, she greeted her stuffed animal, "Good morning, Chu Chu." It was a silly little ritual, but it always brought a smile to her face.
She hurried to the bathroom, eager to take a shower and get ready for the day ahead. But as she stood under the warm water, her mind was still racing. She was nervous about facing her boss, and she kept replaying the events of the previous night in her head.
Under the warm spray of the shower, she closed her eyes and let the water wash away her thoughts. But as she stood there, the memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She remembered the way Lowell's body had felt against hers, the way his hands had roamed over her skin. And then, she remembered the look in his eyes, the moment before they kissed. It was a moment she had played over and over in her head, and now it was haunting her again.
But as she relieved that moment, something else came to the surface.
It had all happened so quickly. The pack had surrounded her, and they had all seemed so sure that she was their Luna. She hadn't been prepared for that, and when they had tried to force her to accept their claim, she had felt panic rising in her chest. So she had done the only thing she could think of - she had shifted and ran away.
But on her way home, something strange had happened. She had felt a power rising within her, something she had never experienced before. And then, she blacked out.
Eden tried to make sense of what had happened, but the pieces of the puzzle were missing. It was like trying to put together a picture with half the pieces gone. How could she have gone from the woods to the bed? And why was Lowell pretending that nothing had happened?
The water continued to cascade down her body, but she barely felt it. Her mind was consumed by questions, and she felt a rising sense of panic. She tried to take a deep breath, but it was like her lungs were filled with lead.
The questions swirled in her head, making her feel disoriented and confused. She couldn't make sense of what had happened. How had she gotten home from the woods? How had she ended up on the bed? And why was Lowell acting like nothing had happened?
As she stood under the water, she tried to focus on her breathing. She inhaled slowly, letting the air fill her lungs and calm her nerves. She tried to force herself to relax, but her mind was racing, her heart pounding in her chest.
She tried happy thoughts, but none of that worked.
She remembered one last thing:she was late!
She sprinted from the bathroom, into the sitting room.
Rushed to where her uniform was, but it wasn't there.
She searched around the corners of the house, but found nothing.
She looked up and saw her uniform, Ironed.
She needed no soothsayer to tell her it was Lowell.
She quickly applied her skincare products and pulled on her uniform. As she ran to the kitchen, she grabbed her revolver and took a few quick bites of the food that Lowell had prepared. She didn't even care how it tasted - she had to get to work!
She grabbed her bag and ran out the door, heading to her car. But as she turned the key in the ignition, she realized something was missing.
Her heart sank as she realized what she'd forgotten - her belt! She rushed back into the house and spotted it hanging on the back of the dining room chair. She quickly strapped it on and checked her phone, which was buzzing nonstop with missed calls and texts. She took a deep breath and headed back to her car. She was already running late - she didn't have time to check her messages.
She reached her work place to see that everywhere was scattered.
We lost six workers last night, where were you, Eden? " a voice spoke behind her.
Her heart pounded heavily, it could only be one person that could sound like that— her boss.
Whenever he called her by that name, she knew she had screwed up.
She slowly turned to face her boss.
What happened here, sir? " her voice trembling.
"Eden , you're really testing my patience. You've been late every day this week, and now you've completely disappeared. I can't keep up with this behavior! I'm going to have to transfer you to a different branch," he said, his voice rising in anger. His eyes were blazing with frustration, and his fists were clenched.
Eden stood there, frozen in fear. She didn't know what to say or do. She felt like she was on the verge of losing her job, and she didn't know how to make things right.
"Sir, please don't fire her," another voice spoke up from the crowd. Eden recognized the voice as Peter, one of her colleagues. He stepped forward and stood next to her boss.
"Miss cooper is our best detective. Without her, we'll be at a serious disadvantage in this investigation. If you transfer her, we'll all be at risk," Peter said, his voice firm but calm.
The boss looked at him for a moment, his face unreadable. Then, he turned back to Eden and said, "Fix your team!" before storming out of the room.
Eden let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"Thank you, Peter," she whispered, still in shock.
"Don't mention it," Peter replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "Let's get back to work. We have a lot to do."
Eden nodded, trying to shake off the lingering fear she felt. It was time to get back to the investigation, and she knew she had to be at the top of her game.
So, what caused the deaths of the six workers?" Eden asked, her voice thick with concern.
"It appears that they got into a fight with some thieves who were attempting to rob the bank of its funds, and they lost their lives in the process," Peter replied, his tone grave. "You missed all our calls. We thought something had happened to you."
Eden felt a lump in her throat as she processed the information. The thought of those men losing their lives was tragic, and she felt a sense of guilt that she hadn't been there to help.
Speaking of calls, I have to ask,who was it that answered my call last night? I'm sure it wasn't you." Peter's voice was tinged with suspicion.
Eden paused, unsure of how to respond. She hadn't wanted to lie to Peter, but she also couldn't tell him the truth.
"Eden!" her boss called out, his voice breaking through the silence like a knife. "I have an assignment for you. Get to my office now!"
Eden turned to look at Peter, her face a mixture of fear and panic. "I'm so sorry, Peter," she said. "I have to go. Can we talk about this later?"
Peter nodded, but his eyes were filled with doubt. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, and he knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he got to the bottom of it.
As Eden walked through the office door, she took a deep breath and tried to appear calm.
"You called for me, sir?" she said, doing her best to keep her voice steady.
Her boss looked up from his desk, a frown on his face. "We received an anonymous tip that someone named Larson Curt might be harboring badgers." He put extra emphasis on the plural. "I want you to look into it."
Eden's heart sank. This couldn't be right. There was no way someone could be keeping badgers in the city, right?
He took a sip of his coffee and continued.
"You'll be working with Weston and another detective on this case," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If you find anything suspicious, report it to headquarters immediately. Is that clear?"
She nodded her head.
She gathered the rest of the team, and with the help of the computer operator, they were able to locate Larson's address.
It was an unassuming house on a quiet street, but there was something about it that felt off. The curtains were drawn, and the lawn was overgrown. The windows were grimy and covered in cobwebs.
They knocked, but no one answered.
After several minutes of knocking, the door finally swung open, revealing a man with long, unkempt hair and a scraggly beard. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"What do you want?" he growled, his voice hoarse and deep.
The detectives were taken aback by his appearance, but they tried to maintain their composure. "We're with the police," one of them said. "We have a few questions for you about some badgers that were reported in the area."
"There are no badgers here," he spat, his voice full of anger. "Now get off my property, before I call the police."
The cops put their hands on the door, preventing him from slamming it shut. "We are the police," one of them said, their tone firm. "We're investigating a report of illegal animal possession, and we need to speak with you about it."
The man's eyes widened, and he took a step back. "I don't know anything about any animals," he said, his voice stiff .
"We need to search your apartment," Eden said, her voice steady and determined. "It's important for our investigation."
The man's eyes flashed with anger, and he sneered at her. "You don't have a search warrant, do you?" he growled. "Then get the hell out of here."
Eden looked to Weston, her face filled with frustration. They couldn't search the apartment without a warrant, and they didn't have one. Reluctantly, they turned and walked away. But as they did, Weston turned to the man and said, "We'll be back.
They rumbled off the road.