Just as he said that, the waitress returned with a check and one plate of a small chocolate cake. "On the house," she said with a wink. "Northerner's ain't superstitious, but legend has it that whoever shares the cake with Mama's special recipe ends up together."
Nyir smirked, shaking her head. "Thanks," she said simply, glancing at Alex to see what he thought about it.
"I'm plenty superstitious." Alex commented, reaching for the check and pushing the cake to Nyir first. "In which case, Nyir can eat half and we'll find a puppy to feed the other half too. Although chocolate isn't good for dogs, so that might not last long…" He trailed off as he dug some cash out of his wallet.
"Sounds perfect," Nyir agreed. She noticed him paying the check but didn't fight him on it since their jobs reimbursed them anyway. She dug into the cake, which was absolutely delicious. Sweets were her guilty pleasure.
Alex hid a smile when she started eating it, drinking the last of his coffee with a dramatic flourish.
Nyir finished the majority of the cake. "I feel greedy," she said, pushing the plate towards him. "I'm also not superstitious. Try some."
Alex raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and picked up his fork. He took a bite, chewing it thoroughly with a slight smile. "That's some excellent frosting, right there."
"I take back every negative thing I said about the south," Nyir agreed, smiling slightly. "They can cook."
"Truth." Alex said through a mouthful of cake, as he slid the receipt and bill over the counter with a grin.
She finished her coffee and wiped her mouth. "Ready to get back on the road?" she asked.
"Yup, ready when you are." He stood up and stretched, taking a deep breath.
Nyir stood and headed out of the restaurant after leaving a hefty tip for the waitress. "I'll drive the rest of the way," she offered, holding out her hands for the keys.
Alex raised an eyebrow for a second, but gave up quickly and handed them over. "I suppose, now that you've had your coffee…"
"Good, glad you're willing to be reasonable," she said smugly, getting in to the driver's seat. She drove for a few hours before they pulled up into the tiny town where they would be living for at least the next few days.
Alex got out and stretched on his way to the trunk. He grabbed the bags, slinging them around his shoulders. "You got the keys?"
"Yep," she replied, pocketing them and following him into the hotel. "We've still got a few hours if you want to go ahead and head to the latest crime scene after we check in."
"That is an excellent idea, and I will do that. You coming too?" He asked around the bags once they were through the doors.
"I'll stay out here, since we have a suite," she decided. "Just toss my stuff wherever." As he walked away, she strolled back outside into the parking lot, lighting a cigarette. It was a nasty habit that she'd tried to kick multiple times, but she'd never quite managed to give up completely. As she watched the smoke and embers blow in the wind, she heard a noise behind her. Turning around quickly, she narrowed her eyes to peer into the darkness.
There appeared to be no one there, but a folded slip of paper was on the ground just beneath her. Picking it up carefully, she read it: "DROP THE CASE." She dropped her cigarette and reached for her weapon, only to realize that she didn't have it. "Damn it," she mumbled.
Alex came back out through the doors, already in a good mood. "Ready to go?"
She whirled around to face him, startled, realizing after a moment that it was just her partner. She gave him a breathless smirk. "This case seems to be more exciting than I thought," she said, showing him the note. "We need to get this to a lab, though I doubt we'll find any DNA evidence."
Alex raised both eyebrows. "No kidding. I'm changing my bet to a week and a half." He pulled a plastic bag out and slid it inside, careful to only touch one corner. "We'll call up the local police in the morning. No point ruining their night."
"Most of our cases have been duds on the supernatural front," Nyir said slowly, still on high alert. "But whoever dropped the note was fast and silent. Do you believe in ghosts, Alex?" The last sentence was a real question, but there was a note of amusement in her voice.
Alex snorted. "Sure I do. The ghosts of tired, overworked, idiotic people's imaginations. Dust shining in a light? A ghost. A Kleenex on the ground? A ghost. Your neighbor's cat? A ghost. And I could go on."
Nyir laughed, nodding. "Good, then we're both skeptics." She gestured towards the car. "On to the newest crime scene?"
"If we weren't skeptics, we wouldn't do fun things. Onward!" He said with a smirk, taking long strides toward the car.
Since Nyir already had the keys, she decided to get into the driver's seat. After feeling slightly helpless without her weapon, it felt good to be back in control of the situation. She drove them to the most recent crime scene, where a body had been found merely a day ago near a lake by some campgrounds. Putting the car in park, she surveyed the area. It was a heavily wooded, swampy area with high humidity and multiple animal tracks.
(btw welcome back!!)
(Thanks!)
Alex jumped out of the car, frowning at the moisture in the air. "This is going to be an unpleasant investigation. I'm getting up early for donuts and coffee tomorrow morning." He muttered, making his way towards the crime scene and growling at the horde of mosquitoes swarming above them.
Nyir swatted away the swarming bugs. It was evening, so maybe that was why there were so many. Hopefully they would be less pesky by the next morning. They approached the scene. There was blood everywhere. "It looks like someone's arm was torn off," she joked, thumbing through the file which said that someone's arm had in fact been torn off.
Alex's eyebrows shifted up a notch. "So, we're dealing with someone who's rather vicious. Could it be a wild animal?" He glanced around, walking around to search for tufts of fur or tracks.
Nyir shook her head. "The marks don't look like claws or teeth, they're too clean. And there's no one set of definitive tracks leading to or from the scene."
