"You both were fabulous out there. I just got a call from the chief, saying he is pleased to give us a bonus" said Marcus very happy holding a cup of coffee in his hand "Especially you merry!" "Thank you, boss, I'll keep doing my best," Merry said with a bright smile, proud of the outcome. James was sitting at his desk, facing the roof with a handkerchief covering his eyes, and Ben was eating some Ramon on his desk. "If we keep solving the cases this quickly, we will be tier S in no time," Ben said with a satisfied smirk, clearly pleased with their quick progress. James got his head straight removing the handkerchief from his eyes "Did I just hear you say, tiers?" "Oh, we forgot to tell you about it, it's a tiering system set a few years ago to keep things competitive between all the teams, there are a total of six tiers, ranking from the bottom as tier E, D, C, B, A and at the top tier S, the system management team gives points according to the worth of the case, the more the point the higher the tier, tier S got the most salary and they work on cases which are most complex and serial killers involved," ben explained "That's something my type," said James with a smirk on his face "Guess what, I don't care about money but I wanna be at the top of the hierarchy here" His eyes gleamed with ambition as he leaned back, clearly already picturing himself in Tier S. Merry glanced at James, noticing the bright sparkle in his eyes. She gave a small smile, thinking to herself, 'I bet he already is picturing himself at the top at this very moment' "So what tier are you guys?" James asked, his curiosity piqued. "We're currently Tier D," Marcus replied, anticipating James's next question. "I know you're wondering how that's possible since I've been here for almost eight years. Let me clarify that I was on a different team before, but they kicked me off after I got injured. Took a while to rebuild after that." James studied Marcus closely, sensing something more saddening "Something feels off, my hunch says there is someone important to you in that team you got kicked from, your eyes were sad when you mentioned it" Marcus paused for a moment but said nothing, just giving James a faint nod as if acknowledging the weight of his words. James stood up from his chair 'He was feeling sad' and he thought 'time to change the topic I can figure out his situation later' James turned to Marcus and said, "Since there is a ranking system, it is time for me to close cases and make it to tier S and look down on people for fun" 'This jerk will never change' Merry thought, rolling her eyes at James's overconfidence, but a small smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth despite herself. "Oh yeah, I got something for you both," Marcus said, quickly masking his earlier sadness and returning to his authoritative tone "There was a murder today in a nearby location almost 15 minutes away from here, you both can take up on it,"
James took his car to the location, merry this time didn't complain since she knew that Marcus would scold her if she resisted again. while heading out for the location during the drive James out of curiosity asked Merry "Mind telling me the story behind Marcus getting kicked out?"
looking out the window, a flicker of sadness crossed her face, she said "he never told me, nor Ben. but whatever it is, that story is the reason for him to work overtime"
James didn't say anything knowing it was not the right time to discuss it
They soon reached the crime scene, pulling up to a quiet neighbourhood. Two-story home with dark shutters framing the windows. a garden full of colourful flowers, An officer approached them as they stepped out of the car. "Thanks for coming detectives," he said. "We've got a murder here, the victim was found this morning in the living room. The victim's name is Derek Walsh, 35 years old, a well-known financial consultant, he has lived alone since his divorce about a year ago" Looks like a home invasion, but something feels off. No signs of forced entry and the house wasn't ransacked. You might want to take a closer look."
Merry started to look around the house if she could find any clue, while James stood there looking at the dead body 'wearing a nice suit, basically dressed for a meeting or party, with one stab in the chest, and no sign of robbery or anything took off his house, everything seems on place, which means either the killer only wanted to kill him or he took important papers which Derek showed him on meetup'
curious James headed straight to the kitchen, and opened the fridge 'an old fashioned expensive wine, meaning he was gonna meet someone either close to him or a rich businessman who would boost his career'
Merry, on the other hand, found nothing inside which was worth it for the case to proceed as the house was just as it was, James went out of the house and started to look around if he could find anything the culprit left by mistake 'officer told they didn't saw any car in cameras, No sign of car footprints explains that, which means the killer got here by walking, I doubt any businessman would walk to meet any financial consultant, that strengthens the close person theory' concluding his theory James got inside and asked the officer "who was the last person Derek called?" His tone sharp
"it was an old client, we contacted him, and he's got a solid alibi" the officer said
"Second last?" James inquired
Looking at the report the officer said "Apparently he only called that one client that day"
"Alright, last question, can you give me the details of the person who reported this murder" James asked
"Sure" the officer replied "It's a woman, named Fenna Miles, living two houses apart, house No: Y-12, we don't know much about her this is all we got"
"Thank you, very much for your help," said James with a nod.
James and Merry left the scene and got into the car. As they settled in, Merry turned to him and asked, "So, who's the killer?"
James replied "You think I'm a magician or something? I don't just know who the killer is every time."
merry with a smirk on her face "How disappointing thought you were supposed to be gifted? guess I was wrong"
James just ignoring her little teasing said "I am hungry, I am going to a restaurant if you wanna come, sure, if not I'll drop you off anywhere you feel like"
looking out the window with her folded arms Merry replied "I would rather starve than eat with you"
"Well then I am dropping you off I got no time for your little games," said James
'He is a Heartless jerk' merry, glancing at him from the corner of her eye "Fine, I'll come with you. But don't expect me to enjoy your company"
James stopped the car at a nearby expensive restaurant, The valet took the car as they stepped out and entered through the grand entrance. merry eyes just looking around the beauty as she had never been to such an expensive one ever before that she could remember. They were seated at a table by the window, the view overlooking the city skyline.
a waiter in a crisp uniform comes by the table and asks "what would you like to order, sir"
Without hesitation, James looked at the menu briefly and gave his order, choosing one of the more expensive items. Meanwhile, Merry scans the menu, her eyes widening at the shockingly high prices. She hesitated for a moment, then leaned in slightly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Are you… going to pay for this? I forgot my wallet." she asked a hint of doubt in her tone.
"Absolutely…No," James replied, a mischievous smirk on his face.