Chapter 4

Walking back inside, Kazimir cleans the table off before putting the extra breakfast inside a storage bowl and placing it into the refrigerator.

He then changes into his uniform, grabbing his backpack and keys, locking his apartment door.

The walk to school was the same as usual, quiet and peaceful; until his friend Liyusk came along.

"Morning, man!"

"Hey, Liyusk. You seem a bit happier today."

"I am! You'll never believe what happened last night!"

"Uh, you got a girlfriend?"

"Nah, hopefully one day though. Anyway, I got a letter from a basketball organization overseas! Almost 40 teams are keeping an eye on me!"

Taking the letter from his pocket, he shows Kazimir who reads it.

"This shit is too exciting! I stayed up until three in the morning calling my family about it!"

"Congratulations, Liyusk." Kazimir replies, handing him the letter back. "I know how much you worked for it, so you deserve it."

"Thanks, man!"

He sticks the letter back into his pocket.

"Enough about me. How're you and Khristina fairing?"

"We're coming along; slowly but surely. She can be quiet at times but she's usually pretty outgoing most days."

Liyusk laughs, putting his hands behind his head.

"Sounds like a typical kid. Also here's a bit of advice; if she shows signs of sadness, it's better to confront it and tell her something comforting than to just change the subject."

Kazimir frowns, thinking back on Khristina's mood change at breakfast .

"I wish I would've known that earlier."

Liyusk smiles, patting his friend's back.

"Yeah, I know comforting people isn't really your strong suit, so I thought that'd help."

"Thank you." Kazimir replies.

"No problem! But, uh, I hope you can help me in return with the algebra exam later on today."

Kazimir chuckles.

"Of course."

--- 1:20 P.M. ---

Getting up from his seat, Kazimir quickly walks out of the university building, halting a taxi.

"Where to?" The driver asks as the young man closes the door.

"Rosefield Shopping Mall."

Upon arriving, he hands the man the travel fare and steps out, walking inside the huge building.

Walking into a toy store, he notices Pierre standing off to the side, shopping bags surrounding him, while the two girls picked up various dolls that they wanted.

Kazimir walks over to his co-worker, who looks up from his phone.

"About time you showed up."

"How was the movie?" the young man asks, putting his bag down.

Pierre shrugs.

"I fell asleep on it and some lady woke me up saying the girls kept talking throughout it, so I just took them here for pizza and to shop around."

He puts his phone in his pocket and stretches.

"I even learned something new today. Girls are expensive as shit."

The two men watch as the two girls show each other the rare dolls.

"Hey, you two ready to go yet?" Pierre calls over.

Khristina turns to him and smiles.

"No!"

She picks up a doll dressed as a prince and runs over to Kazimir.

"Look, Mr. Kazimir! This one is handsome just like you!"

Kazimir lets out a small laugh, taking the doll from Khristina and looks down at it.

"It looks a bit like me, I guess."

He hands it back to her and she walks over to Pierre, putting it in his hands.

"We need to get that one for Mr. Kazimir!"

Khristina runs back over, helping her friend pick up the rest of the dolls that they wanted.

"And these too!"

The two girls put three more dolls into the man's arms and he sighs.

"Alright, I'll go check it out and then we can leave."

The three watch as Pierre walks over to the cash register, ringing the items up.

"So where're we going next, Mr. Kazimir?" Khristina asks, swinging her shy friend's hand.

"Well, you both are coming with Pierre and I to work. There's a little play area for kids where you two can enjoy your new toys."

"Yay!" The two girls shout in happiness.

Walking back over, Pierre shoves the shopping bags into Kazimir's hands before picking up the rest of the bags he had set on the floor.

"Thank you, Mr. Pierre!" Khristina says, hugging him followed by her friend.

He smiles and shakes his head.

"No problem, girlies."

The four walk out of the building and to Pierre's car, where he quickly puts the bags in the trunk.

Getting in the driver's seat, he starts the car and speeds off towards the law enforcement station.

Quickly parking, the four step out, Kazimir and Pierre grabbing the bags while the younger girls ran ahead.

Looking down at a luxury brand named bag, Kazimir makes a concerned face.

"How much did this all cost?"

"$6,409."

"How'd you even afford it?"

Pierre sighs.

"By taking out my savings, how else?"

Walking into the building, the two men lead the girls to the playroom, setting the bags down.

"Now, listen up. We won't be here at the station, so if you need someone, go across from this room and in it is Mr. Uzini. He's a nice man, for the most part." Pierre explains.

"Okay! Bye, have fun!" Khristina says.

"Goodbye! Return safe!" The more introverted girl adds.

"We will, goodbye." Kazimir replies, waving at the two.

Getting back into the car, the two men head downtown to where Khristina once lived.

Pulling into a driveway, Pierre steps out, followed by Kazimir, both walking up to the front door.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

They both wait in the cold as the door slightly opens.

"Good afternoon. My name is Pierre Richano and I'm a detective from the Claiza City Special Forces Department. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

The door opens even wider, a young man with blonde hair and purplish eyes letting them inside.

"Make it speedy, I have a video game waiting."

"Can't promise you that." Pierre replies with a chuckle.

Taking out a voice recorder, he starts it and gives it to Kazimir to hold.

"Well first, what's your name?"

"Haruki. Haruki Feliano."

"Alright Mr. Feliano, I'm gonna ask you some questions about November 28th, the day that the airline company co-ceo and his wife were killed."

"Sure. Throw 'em at me."

"Between the time you woke up and 1:30 P.M., did you notice anything out of the ordinary happening in the neighborhood?" Pierre asks.

"No. Except this one ice cream van made its way here at around 11 A.M. I didn't see anyone go towards it, though."

"Okay, good. Now, from what we've heard from others who live in this neighborhood, the La'rines were a quiet but kind family. Is there anything that you noticed that might've been different?"

"No." Haruki replies, playing with his headphones.

"Did you notice any suspicious activity around their house in the past few days leading up to the murder?"

"I saw several drones flying above the house. That's all I can remember."

Pierre quickly writes the information down, looking back up.

"Did you notify them about the drones?"

"Nope. I assumed that little girl of theirs was the one controlling them."

"Okay. Final question. Did you have any type of relation to the La'rines, specifically Mr. La'rine?"

Haruki sighs.

"Only thing I had was that I flew on one of the planes, the second one that crashed about a year ago."

Pierre nods.

"Gotcha. Well Mr. Feliano, thank you for cooperating. You've been a great help."

"Yeah, no problem. Say, now that I think about, you kinda look familiar, Mr."

He looks up at Pierre and shrugs.

"I don't know. I'm probably mistaking you for someone else."

"Or you probably see me on the local news a lot."

Haruki nods.

"That too."

The two men walk out, hearing the door immediately shut behind them.

Getting into his car, Pierre chuckles.

"Do you know him?" Kazimir asks, handing him the voice recorder box.

"Ah, yep. Remember when he mentioned the plane crash?"

"Yes?"

"I was lead detective on that case." Pierre replies, sticking the small box inside his coat pocket. "Little bastard along with his cousin kept demanding I immediately find something out, even though I repeatedly told him it was gonna take some time."

He starts the car, backing out of the driveway.

"Eventually, I grew tired of hearing his whining and passed the case on to someone else. I tell you, the boy is an impatient little bastard."

"Sounds like you have much respect for him."

"Yeah, lots." The older male replies, sarcastically.

*BRRRRRNIIIIIGGGG!*

Picking up his phone, Pierre swipes the green call button, answering.

"We have an important briefing starting in fifteen. Make sure you're back here at the station by then."

Groaning, the tired detective responds.

"I'm deadass thirty minutes away, I'm not making it back in time. Just write down whatever I miss and I'll catch the rest when I come in."

"You either make it in fifteen or I'll find-

*CLICK!*

Putting his phone back down, Pierre sighs.

"Today's been one of those days. I'm a bit thirsty, what about you?"

"Shouldn't you be heading back to the station like your captain told you?" Kazimir asks.

Pierre laughs.

"Uzini is always threatening to fire someone, it's just how he operates. He never acts on it, though."

Pulling into a random fast food drive thru, he orders a soda for himself and a water for Kazimir.

"So how's school going for you?"

"Great."

"That sarcasm?" Pierre asks, handing the cashier a five dollar bill.

"Yeah."

Taking the drinks, he thanks her and hands Kazimir his cup.

"What about Khristina?"

"She's a humble girl. She even cooked breakfast this morning just to be nice."

"Awwww, ain't that cute. She must like you."

Going back onto the main road, Pierre practically runs red lights heading back to the station.

Pulling in, he gets out and Kazimir shakes his head.

"I'm never riding in a car with you again."

"Keep telling yourself that. On the other hand, we got two minutes to spare until this briefing starts."

The two men walk into the building and into a room where both rookie and professional detectives sat.

"I should let the girls know we're back." Kazimir says getting up, just as two other unknown men stepped into the room.

Pierre pulls him back down, Kazimir groaning.

"Attention!"

The room grows quiet as everyone turns their attention to the front to where Pierre's captain, Mr. Uzini, and the two unknown men stood.

"As you all may know, Claiza City is getting extremely busier by the day. The crime rate is rising, especially in illegal drug trafficking. So I have requested for two agents from the National Office to help along with the crime solving."

Stepping aside, he introduces the two men.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you all to meet Dayne and Caio Níserraté."