The Man Who Found The Dead Man (Part 1)

The following morning, Olivia had settled herself for a goal. After spending the rest of her day off yesterday getting crazy all over her boards, she knew she had to talk to someone.

No. Not Matthew because Matthew has been with her until he deemed it was already time to pull her out of the hellhole she dug for herself and take her home. And when he says home, he means his pad. Because until now he could barely call Olivia's apartment home, to him, it was hell.

Matthew has been helpful to Olivia during those times but most of the time, he was a distraction. What she needs is someone that could give her details…facts. And she knew exactly where to get that…or rather, whom to get that.

Olivia entered the bustling police station. It was still early in the morning yet it looks like the station has already been busy for a couple of hours. She saw three men with their hands cuffed behind them and were being dragged by a pair of police officers inside. There was a man sitting on a bench black and blue. His eyes were closed as he leaned his head on the wall snoring. By the stench smell coming from the man, Olivia could tell that he was drunk and had been into a bar fight last night.

Olivia ignored the catcalling coming from a handcuffed man who was sitting on another bench waiting to be taken to his cell as she walked toward the door that would lead her to her destination.

As soon as she entered, though it was busy, she thought that the situation inside was better than the outside. She looked around searching for a particular woman in uniform until she spotted three cubicles of her own arguing with a man wearing the same uniform.

Olivia walked toward the policewoman. She noticed the policewoman started to get pissed at the man she was talking to. She spat a few words at him and then she walked away carrying a blue folder toward her own cubicle with a scowl on her face.

Though Olivia knew that Megan was in a bad mood, she knew that it was just temporary. And besides, she is used to Megan's grumpy mood. So, she plastered a smile on her face and walked toward Megan's cubicle.

"Good morning, Meg!" Olivia greeted her in a lively tone as soon as she reached her cubicle. At the same time, she placed a steaming cup of coffee and a donut on her desk.

Without looking up, Megan took the cup of coffee and drank from it as if she badly needed that to liven her mood. Then she closed her eyes as if calming herself before she put down the coffee on the table and slowly looked up to the angel who brought her coffee.

Though Megan's face was dull, Olivia knew that at least, the coffee she brought lessened her grumpy mood. She smiled as she waited for Megan to say something. "I know what you are here for but I am sorry to say, I am not the one handling that case," Megan finally said, and then she reached out for the small paper bag beside the coffee and used her finger to check what was inside.

Olivia's smile twitched a little bit. "Yeah, I know. But…" Her voice trailed off. She knew that Megan was not the one handling Franklin Amudsen's suicide case yet she still came to her. She continued in a much lower voice, "I was hoping you could give me information about that case," She said, giving Megan a mischievous grin.

Megan looked away from the donut and flatly said, "It was a suicide," Then she opened the blue folder that she placed on her desk. Once she saw what was inside, she frowned and gathered the folder, the coffee, and the bag with a donut in it before she stood up from her desk preparing to leave.

"Yes. But, do you think there is foul play? I mean, in your professional opinion…or maybe, personal opinion," Olivia said as she followed Megan in quick steps.

Megan continued to walk out of the station as she said, "I haven't got the chance to dig for the possibility of foul play. In every case, there is that probability that there is foul play but the evidence pointing that it was a suicide outweighs it," She stopped at one of the tables near the entrance of the station and signed on a notebook there before she took the few steps of stairs outside. Olivia is hot on her tail.

"But why did it take weeks for the rangers to find his body?" Olivia who finally caught up to Megan asked as she walked beside her without bothering to ask where the policewoman was going.

"There is a new ranger's cabin built and the rangers prefer that as it was bigger and complete with supplies," Megan replied then she brought the coffee to her lips. Although he already had coffee earlier upon waking up, she still drank Olivia's coffee because aside from the fact that she needed it, she doesn't want to waste it. And she hates her coffee turning cold.

"What did he use?" Olivia asked.

Megan halted in her steps. She frowned as if she suddenly didn't know what Olivia was talking about. She turned her head to her and asked, "What?"

"To hang himself," Olivia said in a matter-fact tone.

"A rope," Megan replied in the same tone, and then she continued walking towards the parking lot where the patrol cars were parked.

"Did he bring the rope with him?" Olivia asked. She obviously doesn't want to give up easily, hoping that she could get a little hint that there was foul play in Amudsen's death.

"No. The rope was in the cabin. Apparently, Amudsen was in hiding because as you could see, he was on the run. He has been hiding in the mountain and found that cabin. It appears he stayed there for a few nights before he killed himself," Megan said as she looked around until her eyes landed on a group of men wearing police uniforms. Olivia looked in that direction and noticed that the group of police officers looked young. Probably new officers.

Olivia looked back at Megan and heard her whistling. The group of policemen looks in their direction. One of them raised his hand and then nodded his head. It appears that he was the one that Megan was calling.

Olivia ignored it and continued following Megan. She asked, "Who first found the body?"

"A mountaineer," Megan simply replied.

"Did you Id'd him?"

"Yes and he was an innocent mountaineer," Megan answered.

A glint of excitement appeared in Olivia's eyes. "Can I have his name and contact number?"

Megan suddenly halted in her steps. She was standing beside a patrol car as she turned her body to face Olivia. "I thought you were working on…" her voice trailed off as she looked around them. When she noticed that the young policeman that she called earlier was already walking towards them but out of earshot from them, she looked back at Olivia and continued, "Latimer's case?"

Olivia bit her lower lip and nodded her head. "Yeah. Until I heard about Amudsen's death. I could spare one or two hours for this. I just can't let it pass," Her eyes looked determined and Megan could see that.

Megan sighed and shook her head. "Does Matthew know about this?" She asked as she opened the door of the patrol car beside them.

"Yeah. Actually, he is with me," Olivia nodded her head and smiled. Then she turned her head to look in the direction of rows of cars. One of the cars that are parked is her car which was driven by Matthew.

Olivia saw Matthew sitting on the hood of her car. When he noticed that she was looking in his direction, he waved a hand at her.

Megan saw Matthew and rolled her eyes. "At least he is looking after you," She said and then turned to face the patrol car. She placed the bag with the donut and the blue folder on the dashboard of the car but kept the cup of coffee to herself.

Megan closed the car again and leaned on it before she asked, "Have you talked about this to Bardwell?"

Olivia stood beside Megan and leaned her back on the patrol car. She sighed with frustration and said, "She won't allow me to talk about it,"

"Simply because it is none of your business," Megan said, glancing at Olivia. "Who in their right state of mind would put themselves in danger by hunting a criminal story?" She said.

"Vigilantes, Meg," Olivia corrected her. "And to answer your question…me,"

Megan shook her head and drank her coffee. "You are crazy,"

Olivia pursed her lips. "You know me, Meg. If something is bothering me, I would go crazy if I didn't do anything about it,"

"That is why you are crazy,"

Olivia doesn't have anything to say to that because she thought that Megan was right. She could have chosen a safe story to chase. Maybe an entertainment or sports story but she chose something dangerous. She was even after a story that Bardwell is not asking of her. But a safe story is a dull story and it is not for her. She preferred something that would make her brain work out. Something that would make her adrenaline run wild.

And though she admittedly knew that it was dangerous, she cannot seem to stop herself from doing it.