Reveal The One True Desire

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The cool breeze that brushed past Lee's forearms was both coveted and welcome. The detective felt many nostalgic memories float into mind as his shoes met with dead leaves and twigs. Bittersweet, yet calming. It was nice to search in the forest, as it seemed familiar... emotionally relaxing. Or, slightly, at least. Letting his dark, almost black, eyes travel against the rays of the sun, Lee took a breath of the air. The forest was most definitely one of the detective's favorite safe-places. Was it possible that the child may be the same? Especially if he knew the trees and paths... it wouldn't be difficult to find a hiding place. Turning down a narrow, almost nonexistent, trail, Lee felt the hairs on his arms and neck stand on end. Almost like someone was watching him. Immediately, the detective paused, silence enveloping him entirely. The only sounds he could hear were those of bugs and nature's creatures moving about.

"Hello?" Lee asked, hearing his voice carry through the trees. Then, a rustle. Leaves. Slowly, he turned his eyes upward to see a shadow moving further into the branches of a tree a few feet away. Slowly tilting his head, the adrenaline started to pump in Lee's veins as he took small steps to the tree, pressing his hand on the bark as he looked up, squinting his eyes to see through the thin and thick branches. "It's alright... nobody will hurt you." the detective spoke calmly and softly, even though he wasn't sure what was in the tree. Then, more rustling. Suddenly, a small head started to move into the male's view, tiny eyes suddenly rising as well. A small sigh of relief escaped Lee's mouth before a ghost of a smile tugged at his lip.

"Mind if I join you?" Lee asked carefully, letting the very slight smile grow a bit as he glanced over the boy. He slowly watched as the child nodded before moving back out of sight. The detective slowly grabbed hold of the tree and started climbing up until he saw the boy. Moving to sit on the thickest branch near him, Lee sighed, turning to look through the leaves. "It's been a bit rough the past few days, hasn't it?" Lee asked carefully, his midnight eyes turning to the child. Using no words, he simply nodded a reply, looking as if to fight back tears. Lee felt a slight tug at his heart and felt his eyes soften. Slowly, the detective placed his hand against the child's head, carefully petting his hair as a more gentle expression took over his features.

"Even if you're hiding here, it gets scary, doesn't it?" Lee asked another question, keeping a gentle hand on the child's head. Another slow nod was the response he received. Nodding as well, the detective looked to see a large cut on the boy's foot. If he had been here for long, it would get infected. That wasn't good. "Why don't you come with me? I'll get you some food and we'll sort all of this out. I can help with your foot, too." Lee added, moving his gaze from the child's foot back to his face. The boy was crying now, and he was nodding more eagerly.

"Alright, hop on my back and we'll get you somewhere safe." Lee advised, turning on the branch carefully so the boy could make his way to him. At the feel of the weight on his back, Lee carefully scaled down the tree, balancing the newly added weight before moving his arms to hold the child's legs securely. At the feel of the child's arms around his neck, Lee frowned and felt something deep in his gut. Pity. Carefully, Lee looked down at his watch before seeing that he was about a minute or two late. Great, now he looked like a huge hypocrite. Lee pushed the thought away before he stepped onto the main trail, seeing Austin up ahead. He was sure that his white button-up was dirty, and his hair looked unkempt. It didn't matter though... as long as he had the child and knew he was safe, he could live with getting a little dirty.

"I know I'm late, but I found the kid. Like I thought, he was hiding in the trees." Lee spoke, slightly out of breath, but nonetheless with a tone of relief. He watched the other detective and noticed the papers in his hands. Slowly Lee bent down and let the kid down before turning around and picking him up properly. "So. What did you find?" he asked, feeling his detective mode start running as he moved to a large rock, sitting the child down on it. Slowly, he grabbed the boy's foot and looked over the cut, sizing it up before turning to look at Austin once more, his eyes filling with curiosity.
 
Austin Gallagher
"Congrats, bragging rights to you." Austin replied to the first comment, though it seemed his statement really held no venom behind it, as it was said in more of a distracted tone as he flipped through what he had. He continued doing so, before sparing a glance upwards at the two.

"And I don't know yet. I kind of just grabbed what I could without being pinned by the police squad and then went." He admitted, using a free hand to comb through his hair "Which was hard, so you know. Yes, I'm vying for a bit of appreciation. There was elaborate planning and mass destruction of a window. And...." he trailed off briefly, placing what he was holding down to go through the bag. Once he sat up again, he waved around a small medical kit "Found this, thought it would be useful. I'll get back to you one what I found in like, 5 minutes." He tossed the med-kit over, before picking up the pages once more and going back to what he was doing.

Which was bringing up a bunch of nothing. He wasn't too surprised; after all, he didn't really give a good look at what he took. He just took it and went. Sure, mail sometimes has stuff, but not really. What he really wanted was the parent's phones. Those weren't there anymore, of course. Police took them and went, and even if he wanted to get them, he probably wouldn't be able to. A bummer, for sure. Phones were more likely to have suspects on them then mail. Mail was boring.

And he really didn't want to look through all of this shit here. The leaves, to be quite honest, were uncomfortable, and he felt ready to die of heat in his jacket, which he wasn't going to take off til he got to his office. However, if he just left without this guy, that wouldn't go over well. He certainly wasn't taking Lee to his office, and that was the only other option he could see besides this. So, he continued to breeze through the papers halfheartedly, telling himself he could get out of the icky leaves when he finished this.
 
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Lee rolled his eyes slightly before turning back to the boy's foot. It was a bit deep, but not deep enough to need stitches. Fortunately. The detective also listened silently to Austin before turning to him, eyes slightly widened at seeing the first aid kit tossed at him. Quickly, he grabbed it and put it next to the boy before grinning a bit.

"Ah, yes. I'm sure it's appreciated to have a broken window." Lee spoke sarcastically with a sigh before turning back to Austin, trailing his over him as he pressed his lips into a thin line. "However, at least you got things to look over. I guess this just proves that detectives do their work in different ways." the detective added. He sounded quite bored, but in reality, Lee was actually secretly relieved that he wasn't ditched again. Well... it wouldn't have mattered either way, but, well, a partner was better than nothing, right?

Lee turned his gaze back to the boy, who was watching him, tear trails drying on his face. Slowly, Lee smiled before lifting his hand to wipe the tears away. "Now now... there's no need to cry. We'll figure everything out, okay?" Lee spoke gently, his voice soft as he watched the small boy sniff, a small smile finally appearing on his face. The detective then turned to the first air kit and opened it, seeing many useful things inside. Grabbing three alcohol wipes, Lee started with one of them, gently wiping at the cut. He heard the boy whimper a bit and tense, causing Lee to look up.

"I'm sorry. I'll be as gentle as I can. It'll be done soon." the detective promised, gently petting the boy's head before returning to the cleaning. After all three of the pads were used, on and around the wound, Lee grabbed a long thin cotton strip and placed it on the wound. Afterward, he grabbed the gauze and wrapped it tight around the boy's foot, tucking the end so it would stay. "Alright. It's all done. Now... how about I take you to somebody who'll get you something to eat?" Lee asked, smiling a bit as he tilted his head slightly. The child quickly nodded and smiled, holding his arms out. A light blush tinted Lee's ears before he grabbed the child and adjusted the weight. Turning to Austin, he saw that the male was still looking through the papers. Deciding to give him more time to look over them, Lee carried the child to a female worker, explaining the situation before handing the child to her. He said goodbye to the boy before turning and heading back to Austin. A slight sigh left his lips before he found himself right behind Austin.

"Find anything?" Lee spoke as he crouched beside the other male, turning to glance at him before looking down at the papers. Mail? Well... it was a start at least. Turning once more to look at Austin, he saw the large jacket that the male was wearing and furrowed his eyes. It was hot outside, why was he wearing his jacket? Pressing his lips together, Lee slowly stood again, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It's getting pretty hot. We should head somewhere else, or else you're gonna pass out from heat stroke. Idiot." Lee more or less muttered the last part. It wasn't like he was worried about the jerk, but it would be a nuisance to have to deal with an unconscious person along with the case. At that moment, Lee felt his stomach rumble inaudibly, and pressed a hand against it, blinking. "Food. Let's look at this while we eat." Lee spoke, almost bored. There was no way he was going to admit he was hungry. He didn't want to give Austin anything to fault him on, considering that was the type of person he was.
 
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Austin Gallagher
"Hah, yea, heat stroke. Sure." Austin replied, waving a dismissive hand, though he was honestly glad the other had noticed that he was fucking dying of heat at the moment "I don't pass out from heat, trust me. I wear this jack 24/7, outdoors or indoors. Only time it's off is my office time." Of course, he would never admit he was dying of heat, because that would show weakness and Austin Gallagher was anything but weak.

That was a lie. He was actually pretty pathetic and petty, and he knew that, but he really preferred that no one else knew it or he would get a earful from them. Or looks. He wasn't sure which he disliked more. At the moment, he leaned towards looks, because he did like to know what people were thinking. Sure, words hurt, yadda yadda yadda, but looks were stressful. He probably sounded like a highschool girl having typical drama, but they did bother him.

It took him a moment to notice that Lee mentioned food, and he paused, blinking owlishly upwards, before scrambling to stuff papers into the bad that was most certainly not his "Shit, yea, I totally forgot about food. I haven't eaten all day." He said, though it was more to himself than to the other man. He pushed himself up, dusting his pants off and putting on his sunglasses, then shouldering the bag "I know some take out places. Unless you don't eat take out, in which case I don't know any places. I haven't had real food in forever. Like, ever since I moved back to this place, at least. So your on your own with finding a place, because again, I know jackshit on that."
 
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"Good. Then I won't need to trouble myself." Lee retorted to Austin's dismissal to the heat stroke situation. Rolling his eyes, the detective turned to look in the trees once more, feeling his relaxed nature start to retreat at the thought of having to leave. Back to intense business. In Lee's mind, weakness was something he had to keep hidden at all times. He didn't need his enemies finding out how to take him down. At the sound of Austin's voice, Lee pulled from his thoughts and turned to the said male, watching him. That bag was definitely not his...

At the mention of not having any real food for a while, Lee slowly tilted his head a bit before narrowing his eyes slightly. How was that even healthy? It wasn't. Pressing his lips into a line, the detective slowly rolled his shoulders before sighing, taking a few steps out from the trail's opening. A place to eat. Over the past few years, Lee had gotten used to cooking his own meals, but he at least knew some... nutritional places to eat.

"There's a restaurant about fifteen minutes from here with decent food. I'm sure you won't complain, given that take-out is all you've been eating. The price is decent too." Lee spoke, nodding slightly before turning to look at Austin, as if contemplating something. Slowly, the detective reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, slipping the ring of the key chain over his middle finger.

"It would be easier if we took my car. That way we can at least mull over the evidence so far. That is, unless you want to keep being childish by avoiding me." a sigh escaped Lee's lips as he spoke, as usual. He knew it was a long shot to offer something like that, but he had to at least try and be a cooperative partner. Even if he really disliked having to sit in the same car as the other. Slowly, Lee turned on his heel and headed to his midnight black car, his head lowered slightly as the sun beat against his back. If Austin followed, he followed. Whether he did or not didn't matter to Lee, he just wanted to get something to eat.
 
Austin Gallagher
"I only avoid you because you won't break windows with me, darling." Austin replied, trailing after him "Besides, I didn't take a car since I don't have one, so it isn't like I'm leaving much behind here. You'll have to suffer through my presence since you offered now, woo hoo."

He hadn't bothered to get one. He simply walked everywhere. That was probably the healthiest thing in his life: How much he walked. Other than that, he was like a mixing bowl of every bad habit you could possibly imagine. Sure, he didn't drink(much), but he smoked when he could(it was to calm his nerves, and that was a good enough reason for him), he got the least amount of sleep he could without passing out, and he had take out every meal. There was more, a whole list could be compiled, but it was because he really didn't care about his health. Unless he got hurt or felt awful or something major like that, he avoided medicine and doctors as if they were the plague. He was also known to work while sick, and didn't really take days off unless he had to.

In that sense, he had a amazing work ethic. He lived at work- literally so -so it wasn't all that surprising that he did. But with his personality, it really didn't seem like he cared about doing his job. Based off of how he followed rules, or the lack thereof, most would probably put him down as a slacker. Which he wasn't, but he wouldn't tell anyone that. He liked people seeing that instead of a guy who worked 24/7 as a less funded batman. Sure, he would like to be taken seriously at points, but he wanted to cover up the whole 'I'm-trying-to-get-revenge' thing as much as he could, and humor and juvenile behavior was great for that.
 
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At the name 'darling', Lee set his jaw and turned a harsh glare in the direction of Austin. Perfect. Just lovely. He was seriously regretting the offer, but it was too late. The detective felt his chest rise and fall as a sigh escaped his lips before he sat in the driver's seat. Starting up the car, Lee waited for Austin to get in before slipping on his sunglasses that were hanging on his steering wheel. Pulling from the driveway, the detective drove down the street, keeping one hand on the wheel as he concentrated on the road ahead.

Lee stayed silent during the drive, but used his free hand to turn on the radio. The light beating of drums and the strumming of an acoustic guitar filled the car. It was much needed for the detective after working on the case... relaxing and peaceful. Or course, Lee liked many genres of music, as he wasn't narrow-minded, but after a stressful day of investigating gruesome crime scenes, light instrumentals seemed to work wonders.

After about fifteen minutes, a nice-sized Chinese restaurant came into view. After parking, Lee got out of the car and looked down at the front of his shirt. Frowning, he brushed the dirt off as best as he could... which didn't help much at all. Slowly, the male turned to Austin and crossed his arms across his chest. Looking from the restaurant back to the said detective, Lee narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If you make any jokes, I swear..." Lee warned lightly, pressing his lips into a thin line before turning and heading to the entrance. Many times before, Lee had been invited to company dinners at restaurants, and a few times it had been Chinese. He never heard the end of the jokes, and the fact that he was eating in a Chinese restaurant. A few even asked him if he preferred the food of his "home land", and if he could teach them Chinese. Offending? Yes, considering that he was Korean and not Chinese. However, he had to deal with it. Just the thought made Lee slightly bitter and defensive, but after all, what could he do? People were people.
 
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Austin Gallagher
Austin raised an eyebrow at Lee, seeming a bit confused with the comment. Well, not seeming. He was completely confused, and felt that he was probably missing something here. "You might have to specify there, because while I'm a awesome comedian, I don't really see joke material around here. So either I'm going blind or there is literally nothing funny to say." He replied, shrugging.

Austin was really just psyched for food. Considering that he hadn't eaten all day, besides the donuts from earlier, he was kind of hungry. Donuts, no matter how good, could not sustain a living person. A shame, but something Austin had to deal with. Chinese food was good too, so he'd be fine. After all, even if he didn't like it, he was most likely only getting something small as to save money, so it wasn't like he'd be eating a mound of something he hated.

So he was content. Obviously Lee wasn't, but he didn't think that he could change that, even if he tried, so he just wouldn't. Besides, he figured once they got into whatever he had picked up, Lee would go into 'serious detective man' mode and shut down all emotions completely. He seemed to be that type of guy. Not that Austin was judging, of course. That was completely fine. It got things done, right? No matter how dull it was.

He continued to trail behind Lee, and as soon as they reached the entrance thought over what he had in his wallet. He could always check, sure, but that would require taking it out and physically going through it, with the possibility of losing some. So he wasn't going to. He was pretty sure he had 2 $20 in there, and that would be enough for whatever he got, but he also had to be sure to save some. Emergency cash was a must have, and so was just cash in general. So he was probably going to go for an appetizer and enjoy that til he got back to his office.
 
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Seeing that Austin didn't understand what he was talking about, Lee felt an inaudible sigh of relief escape his body, shaking his head at the male. "It's nothing. It's just something that happened before. At least that means you aren't as idiotic as them, otherwise you might have understood what I said." Lee spoke simply before heading inside. As usual, there were quite a few people, and that meant they could talk comfortably without having their words travel. The detective sat in a booth seat near the back of the restaurant, leaning his back against the cushion behind him. When the waiter asked for drinks, he asked for the warm jasmine and orange green tea.

It was the first. The first time he's actually been generous enough to take another detective for food. Well, at least that's what it looked like. Lee simply wanted to talk about the case and fill his stomach. Well, he never really got the chance to do something like 'discussing' a case with others. It had always been him and himself, not that it bothered him... too much.

"Alright. What things did you find after breaking and entering, hm?" Lee asked, his eyes lazy as he tilted his head, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly before crossing his arms. The detective was done trying to make Austin act like a decent detective. After all, the said male just had his own way of doing things, as much as Lee would rather not admit. But, at least he was useful and didn't ditch. He could have at least a little respect for the male then.

When the waitress returned with the drinks, Lee ordered a small plate of chow mein along with a platter of spring rolls. Looking at Austin, the detective trailed his eyes over him before sighing and turning his gaze away. Hesitating for a moment, he cleared his throat a bit before opening his mouth to speak. "Make sure to get something that's going to fill you up. This case is going to be long, so you'll need the energy. The spring rolls are for both of us, since I figured you might get something small." Lee drawled with a sigh, his tone almost bored in order to seem as if he could care less. Slowly, he picked up his cup of tea and sipped at it, keeping his gaze on the wall as he did so.
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin paused a moment, seeming surprised that Lee would even mention it, before simply sighing to himself and ordering the least expensive appetizer on the menu anyway, as to not keep the waitress waiting. Then, he turned back to Lee, leaning on the table with a shrug "I'm good with not having a lot to eat. I'll just eat a twinkie or something at my office later, not a huge deal." He replied, moving his water in front of him to have a sip, before going on "But let's get onto it. I have mail, bills in particular, photo album, stuff like that. What I don't have are cell phones, and I highly doubt I WILL get them, because everyone at the office hates me."

He tugged out the stack of papers and set it down on the table with a small yawn, and then leaned back in his seat "It's not much. Actually, it's literally nothing. Isn't much to say on the subject because the subject is nonexistent." He continued "You found more than I did. I stashed things and ran, as I usually do."

And that was mainly because he had no idea what the fuck he was doing. He never wanted to become a detective in the first place, after all, so he launched himself into this without any proper instruction on how to do the job. Which was a horrible idea, and he suffered the consequences, but it happened and he couldn't fix that now. Hell, he had wanted to become a doctor. A doctor! He took classes on pathology and shit, not how to dust for prints or murderers 101. So, yea. He was kind of just winging it at this point, and for that, it was going better than could be expected. He wasn't going to lie, that was fantastic, and he was grateful he had managed to come this far.
 
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Lee watched the waitress walk away before turning to look back at Austin. Noticing that his tea didn't have sugar, he grabbed two packs at once and ripped the tops before pouring them. While stirring the tea, the detective listened as Austin spoke, looking down at the mail, his eyes tracing over the sender addresses and such. Lee then glanced up at Austin as he drew his cup to his mouth, looking at the male over the rim. It was highly unlikely that everyone at the office hated him. At the most, he was pushy and very annoying, but not enough to be hated by the majority. Deciding to voice his thoughts, Lee took a quick sip before setting his cup back down. "Annoying, yes. But I don't think it's enough to have everyone hate you. You're not exactly the most tolerable person from the bunch, but not the worst." the detective said slowly, his voice in the usual low monotone as he spoke, eyes staring down at the steaming tea. "If anything, I can persuade them to get me the cell phones. It shouldn't be too difficult." Lee added with a sigh, glancing up at Austin as he did so.

Grabbing at the mail, the detective slowly read each address, stashing them into the back of his mind in case he needed it for later. At Austin's comment about it being useless evidence, or something along those lines, Lee slowly sighed, pushing the mail back to the other, letting his eyes narrow slightly as he looked over him. If anything, it seemed as if Austin wasn't too confident in himself. It wouldn't have bothered Lee, except for the fact that he had to work with him. In order to feel relaxed with sharing information and evidence, he needed to have a confident partner. Slowly, Lee pressed his forearms on the tabletop, grabbing his cup with both hands before leaning toward Austin slightly, his eyes still narrowed.

"I'm only saying this once, so listen up." the detective paused, his expression serious and slightly blank, jaw set. "Any information is evidence. It doesn't matter what shape or form: mail, fingerprints, hair particles, etc. If you want to solve this case, you need to be confident in what you find, otherwise the others, myself included, won't be able to rest easy. I may have found the child, but when it comes to evidence, he might not be able to tell us what we need to know. Especially if he was too panicked to memorize anything about the killer." Lee spoke slowly and intensely, his eyes never leaving Austin as he was talking. After he was finished, he slowly sat back up and sighed, turning his eyes to the rest of the restaurant as he took a long drink of his tea. Years ago, Lee had a lack in confidence when it came to figuring out how to solve cases. However, he had a mentor in Korea that told him the exact same words, minus the words about the kid, that he had told Austin.

Soon enough, the food arrived, and Lee could've grinned in relief, but managed to keep an almost solemn and bored look. Slowly, he took the chopsticks into his hand and started to eat, keeping his eyes on his plate. It had been a while since he had spoke like that to another partner. If he could remember, it was around the first few years of detective work that he worked with anyone. Quite a while ago, but practice with being alone proved that Lee was fairly capable of being alone...
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin raised an eyebrow at Lee, before smiling a bit "Aw, you're so sweet. Be still, my beating heart." He said, and, after what seemed to be a hesitant pause, he continued with "On a serious note, it's literally nothing. I didn't pick this up and look it over and think 'connections' before putting it in my bag. It's just a bunch of papers from desks around the house. Not being under confident or anything here. If you can find stuff in that junk, kudos to you. I'm not the best with reading material anyway." He chuckled a bit to himself, stretching his arms "Give me a giant gash and I can stitch that right up. Physical stuff and putting evidence that was found together? Sure! Papers? Not my gig."

He stirred his water with his straw a bit, sipping some before continuing to talk "Moving to your previous statement: God, do they hate me. My own fault, of course. I've gotten in the way of quite a few investigations, stolen a bit of thunder. They also think I'm mental to coming back to this town, so I suppose that just feeds the distrust here. So if they would sooner smash those cells than let me get a good look." He shrugged once more, nonchalantly "You, however, are like the risen Jesus or something. They adore you, holy cow. So yea, they'll probably give over the phones to you. Which will be good, considering phone calls and texts are huge on cases."

Austin never expected to hear something even vaguely kind from the other man. That was surprising. He would have expected something along the lines of 'Suck it up', but it appeared his expectations were completely wrong. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Probably good, but the sarcastic comment that he himself had added on might send them back to 'I want you to be the next murder case' territory.
 
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Once again, the sarcasm made Lee glare slightly at Austin, but he kept his mouth closed as he listened. It was the most he heard Austin talk since they started working together, other than the time he stormed into the planning room to disrupt his presentation. The thought made Lee slowly tense his jaw before moving his food around his plate. The conversation they were having was getting deeper than he actually expected, and he didn't necessarily know what to say next. At the most, he had a five minute conversation about investigative theories, but that was the longest he's ever spoken with someone. Lee slowly licked at his lips when the other male finished talking, taking another small bite of food. After a few moments of silence, Lee lifted his gaze to Austin once more.

"Like I said, at least you're somewhat useful. Be it gathering random papers or sewing wounds. Anything is going to be needed on this case, considering what's happened so far. The killer's still out there too." Lee said, taking a sip of his tea before sighing. "And as for the unnecessary attention, I find it rather annoying. I hate when people dote and make things easier for me. Honestly, if I were to compare it, I'd rather be stuck with you than to be in that police department. It's funny seeing how many people can change when a so-called 'professional' steps in the building." Lee gave a humorless scoff before taking another bite of his food. However, as he was chewing, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Quickly swallowing, the detective pulled his phone out and answered.

"Lee? Hey, we need you and Austin out here pronto. We just got called for another murder case about thirty minutes from the last location. I'll text the address to you." the voice spoke quickly, Lee's eyes widening slightly before he spoke, telling the male on the other end that they'd be there shortly. Hanging up the phone, Lee quickly stood up, putting his phone away before looking at Austin.

"There's been another murder case, and they need us at the scene. Let's hurry." Lee spoke quickly, pulling out his wallet and placing down about forty dollars in total. Much more than he would have paid for, but he figured the waitress could keep the rest as a tip. Quickly, Lee ran out to his car, waiting for Austin before heading to the scene.
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin quickly gathered up the papers and stumbled out after Lee. Today was FULL of surprises, wasn't it? "Holy shit, you're kidding, right? Another?" He responded as he quickly got in the car, adjusting his glasses as he did "Just flay me over a goddamn campfire. 2 murders, 2 days, and I don't think I'm even getting paid. Nice."

He buckled the seat belt hastily, wondering what had brought the sudden murder streak on. Sure, it was only two, but two was still big when it came to death. Usually there were break ins and robberies, maybe a few stalkers, but that was it. The reason he was so bored all the time was because there wasn't anything going on. Now things were just thrown at them and he had double the work load. He wouldn't be sleeping for the next few nights, he guessed.

Which wasn't completely unusual, but he did hate not sleeping and living off of twinkies. Twinkies weren't even that good or healthy, they were just convenient. He tried for places like McDonalds whenever he could, but when he couldn't, it was back to 'Austin's Stash of Really Bad Foods' for the day. Which reminded him that he needed to restock that. However, now was not the time nor the place. He could worry about food supplies later.
 
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At Austin's comment, Lee spared a glance before daringly stepping on the speed a bit faster. Ironically, speeding wasn't unheard of when it came to sudden cases for the detective. After all, it was one of the ways he could get to the scene before all the rest of the investigators could rush in and put their hands on things. In about twenty minutes, Lee parked and quickly got out of the car. The house looked... trashed. Windows were broken and the door looked busted in, as if they were trying to make it obvious that they were entering the house. With a light jog, Lee made it to the house, seeing that only a few paroling officers stood outside the house. Shining his I.D, Lee stepped inside.

"Well. It's fair to say that it was a forced entry and murder." Lee said, his eyes traveling over the living room. The bodies weren't anywhere in sight, which led the detective to believe that they were in their rooms. Turning to Austin, Lee pulled a pair of latex gloves over his hands before tossing a pair to him. "Check the master bedroom and look over the bodies. See if there's any deep knife wounds, and check the skin. Tell me what you find in about ten minutes." Lee spoke quickly before turning on his heel and heading into one of the smaller bedrooms. Inside, he found a young boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, sitting in his computer chair, head on his desk. Lifeless.

Closing the door behind him, Lee slowly made his way to the body and pressed his hand against the nape of the boy's neck. It was still slightly warm, so it couldn't have been long since he was killed. Carefully, Lee lifted the boy's upper body and pulled it back against the back of the computer chair, watching as his head fell back, limp. Lee set his jaw as he saw a deep gash running along the boy's throat. His blood had already started drying against his shirt and on the computer screen in front of him. Swallowing, the detective gently wiped a bit of loose wet blood from around the wound to see the slice. Smooth. The cut was smooth, and not ragged. Did that mean the murders were purely coincidental? It couldn't be. The previous murder was all over the news, so any smart murderer would wait. Unless... it really was a different killer.

Furrowing his brow, Lee turned the boy's head slowly, as if to see if any other wound was inflicted. Then, his eyes caught a wound on the back of the boy's head. "So... the murderer attempted to kill the boy by hitting his head. But, after finding out he was still alive, he sliced his throat." Lee speculated out loud before slowly laying the boy's head back on the desk. The pool of blood on the desk started dying the latex gloves and ran down to Lee's left forearm a bit, causing him to cringe before stepping out the room. There, he waited for Austin while peeling the gloves off.
 
Austin Gallagher
Bodies weren't things that creeped Austin out. He had seem many a body, so it just became normal. So he was completely fine when he first walked in the room, putting on the gloves and silently complaining to himself about how awful they felt. He checked the bodies, a father and mother still in bed with their throats slit. He checked under the bed. He checked in the closet, and under the desk, and in the dresser. The point he started to freak out was in the bathroom.

Let it be said that he was normally very levelheaded with the type of thing he found. After all, murder messages left on bathroom mirror? Cliche, overused, expected. Fine, even, because it just meant more clues for him and the force. So when he first walked into the bathroom and saw a magazine-letter note taped to the mirror, he even giggled- not that he'd admit to it -to himself at it, because it was totally straight out of some shitty cop movie. Using the gloves, he carefully took it off the mirror to have a look at it.

And that's the point he started completely not liking it and wishing that Lee had sent him into another BETTER room. Mostly because the first words he noticed involved his name, and that was never a good sign, because while it could've been a coincidence it most likely wasn't. In this case, it definitely wasn't, because there were too many similarities to make it one. At that point, he was a little freaked out. He only got more freaked out when he read the note.

'Hello, detectives! Two murder, two days, too much fun <3 And this is just the start! You'll all be too busy chasing your tails to be able to catch more, so it's five down and so many more to go! Remember- I'm a family guy.

From,
me

P.S Say hi to daddy dearest for me, Austin! It's been so long since we've talked; he doesn't seem to be able to hold up proper conversation anymore! Oh, and your new friend, too. Mr. Lee is a exciting addition!'

And it was then he felt like he was going to throw up. Yea, sure, he had become a detective for the whole revenge thing, but he wasn't expecting THIS to happen. As much as he'd like to put the note down and forget about it, he did have to bring it to Lee for evidence, which was unfortunate. After that, though, he was hightailing it out of there as quick as he could. Too much for one day, he had to think. And he really, really, REALLY did not want to talk to Lee about this. So he'd deliver the note and that'd be it.

He stepped out of the room, peeling off one latex glove while the other stayed on to hold the note. After taking a moment to compose himself, and a moment to be thankful for his sunglasses, he walked over to Lee. "Hey. 2 parents, slit throats in bed and all that. Clean cut. Nothing too exciting that I could see, found this note in the bathroom. I'm jus' gonna head back to my office, though, so ask one of the other people for my number so you can tell me anything else you find." He said a bit hastily, shoving the note lightly at Lee, before turning and making his way to the door "Later. I'll look over the papers and stuff more and all that. Don't worry, I'm not taking off work."
 
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Lee's eyes were slightly widened at Austin's sudden rush towards him, talking hastily before showing a note into his hands. He opened his mouth to say something, but the detective had already disappeared. Lee slowly let his mouth close before he stepped away from the other investigators who started arriving. Shutting himself in the bathroom, the detective read of the note and felt his jaw tighten. "What the hell...?" the words escaped Lee's lips in a slight whisper, letting his eyes trace over the words on the note for a second time. Chills ran down the male's spine, and he looked up. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt like he definitely wasn't alone.

Slowly, Lee folded the note and stuck it in his back pocket, slowly edging his way to the bathroom closet. His breathing was calm and collected despite the jumbled nerves he felt in his gut. With slightly shaky hands, Lee placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted it, licking his lips slowly. Opening the door, Lee looked inside and sighed when he saw nothing inside. He was about to turn and leave when all of a sudden something jumped out, causing the male to jump and gasp, falling back onto the tile floor.

"Ah, Jesus!" Lee gasped, feeling the air leave his lungs as his back hit against the tub. On the floor was what looked like an evil clown from a jack-in-the-box, and Lee swallowed, his eyes wide as he looked at it. He heard knocking on the door, asking if he was alright. Lee quickly stood up and brushed himself off before telling them he was fine, keeping his eyes on the doll. Making his way to it, he slowly looked inside the closet and saw wires. Booby trap. Of course, just freaking lovely. Perfect. Lee felt his lip twitch slightly in frustration before he grabbed the doll and left the bathroom. Every time he got scared like that, Lee was angry and bitter. He hated it when people scared him. He quickly got Austin's number from another investigator and stepped outside, feeling another round of after-chills roll over his spine. Just lovely.

"Didn't find anything else. I swear when I get my hands on this murderer, he'll hate life. I'll make him regret putting that freaking clown doll in the bathroom closet." the detective paused, looking at his screen as he wondered what to type next. "And I won't tell anyone about the note. Since he knows both of us, we need to keep the others from knowing about it. I think he might be watching me now, either that or I'm still freaking paranoid. Either way, just chill out for a while and let me know when you want to keep investigating." Lee quickly texted Austin before putting his phone away, crossing his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes. He needed to be careful... especially since the murderer seemed to know the both of them.
 
Austin Gallagher
Austin had walked home- office, home, office, home, same damn thing to be quite honest -as fast as he could, which was rather quick considering how close the crime was to it. That didn't make him relax any more than he currently was, which was not relaxed at all. Stiffly, he shoved the key into the key hole and unlocked the door, before going in and shutting it once more. Then he locked all the locks, closed all the blinds, and sat on the old couch that resided against one of the walls of the room, opposite to a simple wooden desk and office chair.

The room was a mess. It always was. One wall was adorned with a cork board, covered in various pictures and notices, disorganized as you could get. His desk held a open laptop and many papers, along with a cold coffee cup sitting near the corner. The pen holder was empty, as it's contents were around the room, and boxes littered the floor. Near the couch was a small mini-fridge and cabinet, both of which held any and all food, the only thing near organized in the area. All in all, it was a horrible office, and a horrible living situation, not that he cared much. Or at all, for that matter. It worked for him, and that was that.

He took off his jacket and placed it over the arm of the couch, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. His sunglasses were tossed carelessly aside, and, afterwards, he sunk back into the couch and let out a deep breath, scratching at his arms and the various scars from various situations that littered them. After taking a moment to try and ease up, he dragged over some files to look through, deciding that he wasn't going to sit idle for long.

It was only after about 10 minutes that he realized he should check his phone. He slid it out from his pocket, and, sure enough, he had missed a message. He immediately got to typing back a reply to Lee.

'i'm investigating. just in my office. so, yea' he sent, and decided after that to add on 'also, slow down there cowboy, what the fuck do you mean there's a clown?? the dude set up a clown?? that's serious planning. anywho i'll leave you to whatever you're doing now. tata.'
 
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At feeling his phone vibrate once more, Lee pulled it from his pocket, looking over the message. Slowly moving his jaw side to side, the detective put his phone back in his pocket, feeling an intense drowsiness wash over him. It had been quite a few nights he hadn't been able to sleep. Three? Or was it four? Lee shook his head a bit to push the feeling away, gently pinching the bridge of his nose. Not now. He couldn't sleep now. He needed to get back home and put a few things together. Bidding goodbye to the other investigators, Lee made his way to his car and sat inside, letting his head lean back against the seat, his eyes staring straight at the roof of the car. After quite a few moments like that, the male sat properly before starting up his car and driving to his flat.

Once he arrived, Lee walked inside the building and got in the elevator, riding up to the top floor. Once he exited, he went to his flat and unlocked the door before stepping inside, letting out an audible sigh at the safe feeling he got form being alone. Heading to the kitchen, Lee opened the fridge, revealing rows of water bottles, along with large pitchers if he ever ran out. Grabbing a bottle, he quickly opened it and took a long sip from it. It was getting more and more intense... the case was. Lee was sure it wasn't just a 'normal case'. Why would the murderer know about him and Austin? Racking his brain, the detective stepped into his evidence room.

Inside... well, it could easily be seen as a detective's heaven. Many tools and forensic equipment laid along tables and in drawers, neatly organized. There were about two or three white boards filled with information and pictures, maps that held possible locations for past murders. Immediately, Lee felt a calm wave wash over him as the door closed behind him. There, he could do his job the way he wanted, and nobody would be there to bother him. The only lights in the room were desk lamps located on his desk and by one of the main white boards.

Lee walked up to the white board with the large map of the city on it and grabbed his red marker. Quickly, he circled both areas were the families were killed before stepping back and looking at the map. They were so close together, but the families were killed by different methods. Unless the person was trying to switch up their technique, then it would mean two separate people were doing the killing. The scene of the recent death replayed in Lee's head, creating a possible theory for how things went down. Unlike the first case, the house was almost demolished, and the residents were killed in their designated rooms. So... was it all set up? Or...

Another scene started up in Lee's head, and he pressed the bottom of the marker against his mouth, letting it roll like a movie. The killer went undetected at first... so as not to disturb the family members. However, it seemed like the killer wasn't acquainted with the family, otherwise they all would have been found dead in the living room. Why would the parents be found dead in their bed otherwise? As for the son... the killer got rid of him first. He went into the room, unaware of there being a son, and hit him upside the head in order to keep him quiet. However, since the boy was still alive, he didn't want to risk getting caught, so he slit his throat. After the risk was taken care of, the killer then killed the parents while they slept. That would explain why it looked as if there was no struggle. Then, after murdering the family, he wrecked the house in order to pull the attention to the situation. Most likely to get the attention of the police.

After putting the possible theory together, Lee made his way to another white board and erased the information from a past case. Quickly, he wrote down the hints and details for the case in the empty space beside the past one with the kid in the woods. Unfortunately, for the newer case, there were no reported witnesses, which meant there really was none, or they were threatened to keep their mouths shut. Slowly, Lee moved to his armchair and sat down, letting his mind elaborate on the possible ideas for a bit longer.
 
Austin Gallagher
It had been a day since the letter and Austin had, admittedly, fallen asleep on his couch while reading over evidence. He was amazed he was even able to sleep at all, considering the circumstances, but he figured that it must of been because he was just so tired. He was also pretty damn hungry, considering he hadn't gotten to eat what he had bought when he was with Lee the previous day. In a rather sluggish and grumpy manner, he rose from his seat and walked over to his fridge, bending down and opening it to get some food. Unfortunately, there was none.

After a bit of struggling to put on shoes and jacket, he was out the door and on the street, heading over to the nearest grocery to get some junk food and possibly a bottle of alcohol that wasn't TOO heavy. He really didn't want to go out in the first place, to be honest, and that showed. His hair was messily sticking up everywhere, his glasses were askew, and his clothes were sort of crumpled. He would much rather be back in the office again, but hunger won out over that. So he was just going to get supplies as quickly as possible, and then he would head out, hopefully avoiding any and all encounters with the police force. He really didn't want to deal with them at the moment.
 
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