Take-Two [ Tragictrees & Annyeong Bunny ]

TragicTrees

TragicTrees

Matchmaker of Ants
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Changes all the time but I'm around more often than not
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  1. Intermediate
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Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
  4. Transgender
Genres
Scifi, Crime/detective, supernatural, apocalyptic, horror, magic realism, mystery, historical, Western(at points)
"You haven't told me how that random cat you took off the street is doing."

Austin Gallagher didn't have much family. His mother, who he had never met, died when he was younger, and by younger, the age was exactly 'just born'. She had been buried in a nearby cemetery, a place named North Gate, and at first, her grave was overrun by flowers. After a few years, though, only one bouquet appeared every year; her side of the family didn't feel the need to stick around, since they had never liked her husband, and they hadn't gone through the process of getting to know her son. Austin, of course, thought this was bullshit, considering that on his birthday, he made the effort to go to her grave to put down flowers, even though he had never met her. The least they could've done was kept in slight contact with him, but they didn't, and they likely wouldn't try to get in touch anytime soon.

His father didn't have many relatives on his side of the family, which just left him as Austin's sole source of family for a few years. Then, he got remarried, and for 4 years Austin had a mother, father, and a cousin who lived with them and who was the same age. Which, it was all great. He became a little more social, and things seemed to be looking looking up. Then, when he was 14, about 3 days after his birthday (and, by association, his mother's death), his father was stabbed to death in the middle of their kitchen, left to choke on his own blood.

Austin was the one to find his body. He wasn't all that well-adjusted after that, and the case was never solved and the file left to rot in the back of some old filing cabinet.

So, he, his cousin, and his stepmom moved away. Nothing really happened after that. They visited every year, on his birthday, and stayed for a week so he got the chance to place down flowers for both his parents on the appropriate day. Which was nice, if you didn't account for the fact that it would be nicer if they were both still alive. Not like he could change that, though.

When he turned 18, he decided to be a medical student. He went to college, and he absolutely loved it. He'd always loved anything medical, and had volunteered at hospitals and vet offices and wildlife rescues a lot. It wasn't surprising he was going for it as a career. He loved it, and he was good at it.

He dropped out when he was 25, and moved back to his childhood stomping grounds, using his fathers old office as a living space and a work space. He still had his stepmother and cousin to talk to, but not physically; they lived 3 hours away, and didn't have a lot of time to visit.

That didn't mean that he and Evelyn, his cousin, didn't spend almost every waking minute chatting with each other over text, call, email, or snapchat, though. This was one of those calls.

"Uh, actually- excuse you -her name is Muffin and she's the queen of my heart, so maybe think before you speak, you know?" He said, side-stepping around desks and people in the station as he made his way to the chief's office for a mystery meeting "She's doing great and she loves me. We're taking a trip to the vet tomorrow and then I'm going and getting one of those sexy cat trees for her."

"Please stop prefacing things that you think are cool with 'sexy'. Does your apartment building even allow cats?" The conversation fell quiet for a moment, before Evelyn sighed in a manner that could be considered 'tortured'. "You're so getting kicked out if they find her."

Austin decided not to mention that he didn't, in fact, live in an apartment, and his office certainly did allow cats, since he owned it. Evelyn didn't need to know that. "That's a big if. I'm great at hiding things from people." He said nonchalantly, stopping outside of the door to the chief's office "Look, I have to run, text me, love youuuuuu Lyn! Tell Oswin I said hi."

"Yea, okay. I'll tell my girlfriend that my idiot cousin says hi. Bye, Austin. Don't get kicked out of your swanky apartment." The line then went dead, and, after pocketing his phone and straightening his jacket, he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him and having a seat.

"Chief." He greeted with a nod, leaning back and stretching out comfortably "I'm assuming this is about a new case that I will, inevitably, rock? Absolutely shatter? Rule?" He flashed a grin, trying to cover up the fact he had no idea what this was about and he was, of course, anxious over that.

"In a way." Chief Haddocks said, rolling her eyes a bit at Austin's antics "Actually, it's about- oh. He's here. I'll just tell you both at the same time." The door opened, and the chief gestured to the man that came in "Lee, have a seat. Austin, meet your new partner on a robbery case. It isn't big, so don't whine."

Austin was quiet for a moment, studying the man from behind his shades, before turning to the chief once more with a forced smile "I thought we agreed that I didn't do partners. Or, like, at the very least, you warned me about when I do get one."

"I've tried warning you, and you always manage to track them down before the case and chase them off, Gallagher."

"Yea! Yea, that's like, sort of the point. You warn me, I warn them, they make the executive choice to leave then rather than do it later during the middle of a case. It's a courtesy I like to provide." He complained, hands moving as he spoke "Because some people just can't handle me. Because I'm just too great. It's a self-confidence thing."
 
The sky outside of the airplane window seemed to be moving like molasses. It was a sight Lee had grown to disdain, as watching it was almost telling him "we're just taking our sweet ass time~". Moving his head from the window, the black haired detective slowly rolled his eyes closed and pressed his lips together in his signature scowl. He was leaving from Florence, Italy back to the U.S. It was a dirty case. One that for some reason had made him more anxious than anything. However, he didn't hesitate locating the serial killer, and then was immediately shoved onto an airplane.

It wasn't as if he disliked being moved from place to place. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He loved being able to keep moving, keeping his mind off of anything outside of his work. The more he worked, the more he could forget that he was a victim of some kind of childhood trauma. It was one of the things that constantly bugged him, and he came to the conclusion that most of his fears probably stemmed from that moment in time. Psychology definitely worked wonders...

Growing up, Lee vaguely remembered his 12th birthday, the dim lit room, a feeling of fear and anxiety, and his parents rushing to hold him, beams of light shooting in from a doorway. It was then that two of his friends had disappeared as well. Being a disoriented child at the time, Lee had no connection whatsoever, and ever since then, had all of his memories up to date. It was no secret, however, that Lee was affected by whatever this trauma was. He was neurotic about keeping his windows locked at night, not knowing why, and was very... very interested in studying Criminology. He was almost obsessed, and his parents saw that. They must have had some kind of grand thought that "our child is gone." Great, lovely. Lee then grew up being isolated and alienated without knowing why, shaping his adult personality.

Looking back to the vague memory of that day, Lee knew from his studies of Psychology that he was not treated correctly. He was one of the victims of a sort of malpractice, or lack thereof. He only remembered going to a therapist one of two times before his parents refused to take him anymore. What they didn't know, however, was that trauma, whether it is remembered or not, still impacts a child's life emotionally...

Lee was then pulled from his thoughts as he felt the plane slow to a halt. groaning, he pulled himself from his seat and grabbed his suitcase. As he walked into the airport, he tugged at the cuff of the arm pulling his suitcase, keeping cautious eyes open. Always cautious. Deepening his scowl, he slipped on his sunglasses and headed to the pick-up, where a driver was waiting for him. The ride was cold and silent, as per usual, and soon, he was at the department. Pulling his suitcase inside, he dropped it off at the front desk without so much as a hello, and walked to the meeting room where the Chief had told him to go when he arrived. Pulling the sunglasses off, he hung them on the chest of his shirt and opened the door.

Setting his jaw tightly, he felt his glare intensify as his eyes landed on a man wearing shades. We watched as a forced smile was turned to the chief, saying something about not having partners. Lee felt frustration bubble up in his chest and walked in, slamming the door shut. Walking to the other side of the table, he sat across from the man, last name Gallagher, and scowled at him.

"You act so high and mighty, and it's disgusting." Lee snarled, crossing his arms across his chest. If only looks could kill. He had nothing more to say to the man in front of him. Instead, he allowed his glare to linger on him before turning his gaze to the chief, his eyes looking the glare, instead being replaced with a look of boredom.

"So, what is it, Chief? You told me only minor details about a robbery case... and I can see why." Lee sighed, his eyes moving to look at the man again in disdain.
 
Ah, perfect. It was already off to a bad start. Not that Austin liked people disliking him; he didn't. Just because he preferred it didn't mean it was comfortable. It was just better that he didn't get used to people, because he got used to them, he started liking them, and he was awful when it came to keeping his distance from people he liked. So, this was good. If he had it his way, this....Lee would ask to be reassigned within the week. With that in mind, Austin flashed a lazy grin at the man, the sort that would be followed by a 'don't take it personally, but it's completely personal' if they weren't in the middle of another conversation.

"I'm a treasure to have around, but whatever you say." He said in response to the 'I can see why' comment, shrugging his shoulders a little "But I'd love to know what I'm getting into, too. I'm a little busy with that cold case." He didn't mention that it was his fathers, as he liked to put himself at a bit of a distance with it, and he certainly didn't want his new partner to know what he was talking about. "So if it's a big case, I don't really have the time for it."

The chief studied him for a moment, before nodding once "I'm aware, Gallagher. I'm not planning to waste your time." She began, before speaking to the both of them "A house on Lincoln Avenue was kind of broken into, and a TV was stolen, along with some jewelry."

"Kind of?"

"There was no sign of breaking and entering, but the items are missing, and some things in the house were broken. Just go figure it out, alright? And don't be insufferable, Gallagher." She gave him a hard look, one that a mother would give a mischievous child. In return, he smirked at her, looking as insufferable as he could manage.

"No promises. I'll try my best, but I'm a creature of habit." He stood up, straightening his jacket once more "And that habit is being insufferable, all the time." He glanced at Lee "Shall we, partner?"
 
At the man across from him... Austin, Lee had to bite his tongue in order to keep vile words from being shot from his mouth. Instead, he clasped his hands together and set his jaw, looking at the table. Here it was, just like all of the times before. Right off of the bat, he was knocked for just being there, trying to start a new case. It happened every time, and by now, Lee was beginning to get used to it. He disregarded the conversation between Austin and the Chief, already in an even more sour mood than before... and that was saying something. He listened in on the case details and before and Chief finished speaking, stood from his chair.

"No signs of break in, stolen items, no murder.... could have been a family friend, or someone the family knew." Lee muttered under his breath for his ears only and pulled out his phone, writing down the thought into his memos. For the most part, at least starting on the case dulled his extreme frustrations, and he nearly shut out the prick in front of him. Tucking his phone into his back pocket, he looked at Austin with dull, bored eyes, and sighed lightly. It took everything he had not to smother the man with his own jacket. Instead, Lee glared slightly and looked at the Chief.

"Great job with this one, Chief... he's just as great as everyone else in this shit hole." Lee spoke calmly and rolled his eyes as he pulled at one of his cuffs. "Let's go before I'm forced to open a new case..." Lee seethed icily, moving to leave the room.
 
"You're fun." Austin commented dryly, following behind Lee, keeping a good distance behind him "And you have a lovely opinion of everyone in the precinct too. Has anyone ever told you you have an issue with grouping everyone together? Calling this place a shithole right in front of the chief, that's bold. Must be pretty indispensable to do that." He paused, before shrugging his shoulders, before moving past Lee, careful not to touch him "You'll be rid of me soon. Reassignment requests are granted all the time when I'm involved. Just fill out a slip, make a complaint, all that."

He fell silent, then, taking out his phone and looking up the address. Anything Lee said reply, if he did speak up, would be ignored; he had work to do. That work, namely, was finding out who lived in the home. If it wasn't broken into, either the person was already in the house, or had a key. He wasn't about to discuss any of this with his current partner- who would be gone soon, he was sure -unless he brought it up himself. He had a feeling he wouldn't. They seemed to be at odds with one another equally.

Not unusual. Austin was at odds with almost everyone. The office was alright, people liked him well enough, he was just a god-awful partner. It was on purpose. He didn't like talking through his process to people; he got a lot of useless questions and a lot of misunderstandings. It was easier to just work on his own. Skip to the end. He was pretty sure the chief got it, to a point; she was lenient with partner reassignment when he harassed people to the point of asking, and they always asked. The longest someone had lasted was 2 weeks, and he had been impressed with that.

He scanned his phone. 3 people lived there, not married. Didn't seem to be related either. College friends, maybe. He'd probably need to bring that up when he was questioning witnesses, which was the last thing he planned to do. He never liked that bit; some people could get a bit stingy in the middle of an investigation of their house.

He flicked his phone off, shoving it in his jacket pocket as he reached the car, patting the top of it and looking at Lee "You want to drive, or me? I really don't care, so up to you, I guess. The car is your oyster, sir."
 
Lee stopped listening to the man beside him long ago. His brain was stirring and his brow furrowed in thought. There was so much to do that he had no intent on responding to Austin. He didn't even want to waste his breath when the other had shut him down without even trying to work with the partnership. Not that he cared, of course. He was used to going solo, and it seemed to him that Austin was as well, based off of his slight profiling moments before. He sure had the nerve to assume that Lee himself was going to be the one dropping the partnership.

Ever since that day long ago, Lee had been pulled into Criminology and thinking through the minds of criminals. If anything, this was the type of occupation Lee had dreamed of since he could remember. Austin had to be a conceited bastard to think he would just throw away the one thing that made him feel like himself.

Feeling his stomach drop at the thought of his unknown memories, Lee softened his brow and slowed, not even aware of Austin continuing ahead without him. His brain strained slightly and he held the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he continued walking outside.

"Why is it so distracting? I can't focus if I keep thinking about this." Lee scolded himself in his usual icy tone, his features scrunching in annoyance. The one thing he hated more than people was having his work interrupted. Coming back to his senses, his brain then continued to imagine the robbery and how it was acted out. Theories were tossed around, and he had barely heard Austin's offer. Without answering, so as to not disrupt his thought flow, he waved off Austin's offer and didn't hesitate on walking to the passenger side. "There were only a few things that were stolen... if it was a robbery, then the thief would have grabbed at anything that even seemed valuable..." Lee thought out loud, closing his eyes and absorbing into the deep hole that was his mind.
 
Austin got into the car, turning it on. He waited a moment, before sighing and rolling his eyes. He'd play nice, for the moment, so that they wouldn't kill each other in the car. Besides, they might be able to work it out between the time they started driving and the time they got there. Well, if Lee could even understand him, that was. They seemed to be in two different ballparks in terms of how they acted, and he was sure that carried over to process.

"I have a working theory. Or, well, less of a working theory and more of a logic theory. I mean....it's a theory." He said after he pulled onto the road, tapping his hands on the wheel to some invisible beat that only he could hear, soft enough to try and not annoy Lee, but still present to keep himself occupied. "3 people live in the house. Not married or related. People get into fights." He began, before backtracking "No breaking and entering, probably had a key or was let in. If I was pissed off at a housemate, I'd steal their stuff. Not that I have. But, anyway, you take their tanta's pearls, TV for good measure to make it look like a legit robbery, smash a few plates to make it look like a violent robbery, bada bing, bada boom, no one has to know, and your housemate is rightfully shamed for...whatever. I mean, why not take the plates, if you're going to take the time to smash them? Seems dumb to just toss around grandma's fine china and cause a ruckus if you don't have to."

There was a lull in his talking, before he quickly backtracked completely "Actually, nevermind. Stupid theory, forget I mentioned it." Abort mission, he should've never started talking like a normal human person "Maybe they left a window open or something. Forgetfulness is the bane of house-owner's existences." He fell silent, pursing his lips. He wouldn't be surprised if the other wasn't listening, and if he was listening, he wouldn't be surprised if he was berated for his dumbass theory. It wasn't like he went to college for this sort of thing. The only reason he knew a little of anything was because he used to ask his dad to show him how to do things. When trying to puzzle things out, he tried to think how he would act if he were in the situation.

It didn't always work. He survived off of dumb luck, and dumb luck alone. He stopped his tapping, gripping the wheel. He hated being in an enclosed space with a stranger. It'd be over in a few minutes, but all the same.
 
Theories.... theories were tricky. They had to be logical, have a beginning, middle, and end that made sense, and take into account the people present. Lee paused his thinking as Austin finally seemed to voice his own. Opening his eyes, he trained his calculating gaze on the said man. He watched him carefully and tapped his phone against his mouth, thinking about it. Theories were also that: theories. It was just reasoning to something in order to make up for not having answers right away. Turning to look ahead through the window, Lee felt his eyes narrow in concentration. While having to work with the childish man next to him, he had to admit that it took some balls to introduce a new theory, especially to someone who you already don't like.

"The point of having a theory is to take it with stride. To sell it." Lee kept his gaze trained on the road ahead. He didn't feel like complimenting the man, but if they wanted to get this case figured out, he had to put in his own thoughts as well. "Look. There's no wrong theory, so don't take it back so easily. Detectives only grow by the work they put in. You kind of have a good thing going with that." Lee spoke without warmth in his voice, but tried to get his point across nonetheless.

"If we go by your theory, then it would make sense for there to be an acquaintance or friend-like intrusion. Like the case said, there was no forced entry, and if there was a window left open, it wouldn't make sense that there were broken plates in the kitchen. Why would they sneak in through the window, only to make a lot of noise breaking the plates?" Lee asked the question rhetorically as he turned to glance at Austin, wondering if he was paying attention.

"Also, the point in your theory about them breaking the plates to make it seem more vicious could be plausible. However, what if there was some kind of struggle in the kitchen and the victim isn't telling the whole story? And also, why would there only be a bit of jewelry and a T.V. was stolen? It could have been malicious overall..." Lee then started to trail off as he became more immersed in the theory he was starting to create, mixing his and Austin's. "Honestly. If we're going to work with each other, we both have to be confident enough in ourselves, even if we might be wrong. It's part of the job." Lee sighed as he closed his eyes once more. Having never worked with partners this long before, it was definitely more of a challenge. A challenge he was sure he wouldn't have to take on, but then again, there they were.
 
"Yea, well, bullshit precinct, yea? Be right or don't voice it." Austin shrugged, rolling his shoulders when he stopped at a light, fingers going back to drumming against the wheel. "Let's say for a moment there's a struggle. Okay. Brings up two questions. 1, why would the victim not say anything, and then allow an investigation to happen? Like, 'oh, what a sexy little secret, I got smashed into a wall or whatever'. Why wouldn't the plates be cleaned p if they wanted to keep that from the police? 2, why wasn't anything else misplaced? Like, if you throw me around a kitchen, something else has to crash other than plates."

He began driving again, mulling it over. a moment. He was glad he had his glasses on; his dad used to mention about eyes being the window to the soul, and he didn't want to test that. "Alright, let's set a hypothetical scene. 3 people in the house, so 1, 2, and 3. 1 and 2 get into a fight. 1 decides 'fuck that guy', and knows that 2 has important jewelry around the house, from family or something. People pass down jewelry, right? That's totally a thing. So, 1 waits for 2 to leave, then takes the jewelry. But, wait, if the jewelry is missing, and nothing else is, 2 will know that someone who had an idea where the jewelry was took it, and that just leaves 2 people. So, take the TV, smash the plates, make it look like a crime scene from a TV show. 'Cept, they don't take into account how the criminal would get it, because who would really notice, right? Stash the jewelry, toss the TV, leave the plates on the floor, leave the house. The prints will just come up as people who live in the house, no biggie. 1 comes home, calls police, police come, investigation happens. Where does that leave 3?"

He parked the car outside the house, shutting it off, and leaning his arm on the headrest and turning to face Lee "And that's all I got, hotshot. I have to go talk to whoever's running forensics. Doubt you want to. Catch me if you need me." Then, cutting the civil conversation short, obviously not wanting to continue it but not pronouncing why, he slipped out of the car and shut the door, walking towards the house. He straightened his jacket- again, it was a nervous habit that everyone thought was just a tic -and then ducked under the tape, heading inside. He figured Lee would find his own way in.
 
Lee simply sat and listened the entire time Austin spoke. It was no surprise that the said male was trying to get under his skin while also talking about the case. Instead of retorting the theory Austin was throwing at him, Lee simply took it into his mind and tried working it with the theory he was already creating. Where, indeed, was three? The third resident of the home? Surely the police would have questioned everyone living at the residence, so he would have to get the records from some of the other policemen later.

As the car slowed to a stop, Lee glared at Austin's attitude and continued to sit in the car as the man left. At least it was finally quiet. The question of how this could have went down... it was still odd that the thief would break the dishes instead of just flipping furniture and pulling out drawers like a typical robbery. It was definitely a case of malice.

Stepping out of the car, Lee brushed down the front of his black button-up, and walked to the back of the house. He did better investigating crime scenes alone, and he often liked to follow behind the crime scene investigators in order to find any small thing they might have missed. The only noises were his feet on dead leaves and the muted voices from inside the house. Taking off his sunglasses, he pulled a latex glove from his pocket, snapping it on quickly.

Eagerly, his eyes scanned the outside of the window, as well as the grass beneath it. He also backtracked to the corner of the house, keeping trained eyes on the paint. Nothing. Smirking, Lee let out an amused chuckle. He always loved difficult cases when it came to finding evidence. It made him work harder. Pulling himself deep into thought, he scanned the edge of the roof and mumbled his theories out loud, his midnight eyes carefully searching. Walking by the window, he glanced at it and paused. Narrowing his eyes in slight confusion, he saw what looked like discolored specks against the glass. From the inside. Lee's adrenaline increased as his excitement increased. Jogging to the front of the house, he showed his I.D. and made quick strides to the kitchen. There were a few investigators still taking pictures, and Lee made his way straight to the window. Leaning close, he used one of his gloved fingers to wipe at one of the larger specks.

As he expected... it wasn't dust. The streak left on his stark white latex glove was dark brown with red undertones. Dried blood. While it was true about what Austin said about the DNA, that it would be one of the three residents, it could give clue to where the third person was... if it was his DNA, that is. Calling one of the investigators over, he pointed it out to him and watched as the DNA was taken on a swab and placed in an evidence bag. It wasn't a big piece of evidence, but hopefully it was something. His brain churned as to why there was blood on the window.... and so, he made his way to the broken plates.

"Malicious indeed..." Lee whispered with a slight smirk as he crouched to the broken plate pieces.
 
"Austin."

"Neil."

The orange-haired forensics investigator huffed, crossing his arms and eyeing Austin with an unamused look. "Figures they would place you here. Break in and all. You would know a thing or two about those, right? Considering how many times you have broken in on an investigation that wasn't yours." The comment was ended pointedly with a glare. Austin shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"Still mad about the nursing home situation? Told you, I didn't know that room had anyone in it. I didn't give the guy a heart attack. Besides, watching me climb up a building was probably entertainment." He replied, shooting a couple of finger guns at the unimpressed man in front of him "Oh, relax, Neil. I'm here on business. Proper business. Business I was given. With a partner!"

"Oh, god bless whoever has to deal with you."

"He was blessed. With me. As a partner. Until he backs out, that is. Until then, he's off doing his thing, I'm doing mine, and I'd love if you'd serenade me with whatever information you have. Sing it to me, Neil. Tell me about those finger prints and how none of them were from people not living in this house. I want to hear all about it."

Neil sighed, stripping his gloves to solely, it seemed, pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration "And what if I told you there were finger prints from someone else? What then?"

"I'd be inevitably sad and fall back to a bottle just like one of those noir detectives, but let's both be honest with one another here, you aren't going to tell me that because it isn't true. Yes or no?" Austin asked, raising both eyebrows and grinning, already knowing he had 'won' this particular battle from the look on the forensic scientist's face.

"...Yes."

"Cool, cool. Anything else?"

"No."

"You're the best." Austin pretended to swoon momentarily, before dusting himself off and giving a thumbs up "Thanks. Have fun doing whatever else you were doing. I have some people to find." He saluted, a final gesture, backing up from the other, before bounding off to the rooms of the owners of the house. No one else was down there, and technically, it wasn't part of the crime scene, but he was going to check it out anyway.
 
In the midst of the many.... many shattered pieces of porcelain and glass, Lee had a large task at hand. There had to have been a reason that there was dried blood on the window. While picking at large chunks, Lee heard someone clear their throat behind him. Without bothering to turn and acknowledge the person behind him, Lee picked at another piece of porcelain, inspecting it closely.

"Speak. If it's not important, go away. I'm in the middle of something."

"Detective Lee, um..." the person hesitated, his voice catching as if wondering how to respond. Realizing that this needed to be taken care of, Lee turned and stood, finally facing once of the younger investigators.

"Yes? If you don't hurry, I'm ignoring you." he spoke coldly, lifting an eyebrow. The young investigator handed a paper to Lee and averted his gaze to the ceiling, seemingly intimidated.

"I-It's the DNA results for the blood on the window. It belongs to a girl named Alice Beechstone. She's one of the residents that lives here, who the owner of the house claims wasn't home on the day of the robbery." the investigator became slightly more confident as he spoke about the evidence, which was slightly amusing to Lee. He nodded in slight appreciation, looking over the paper.

"Good work..." Lee paused and glanced at the boy, raising an eyebrow.

"Eric." the boy piped up, and smiled proudly. Lee nodded and turned back to the glass and heard the boy walk off. Focusing back on the littered glass, he felt part of the theory come together. He was sure he was correct on it. However, he needed the evidence to prove it. Moving the glass around, he searched and searched until he came to a shattered plate three feet from the window. There, he found the gem he was looking for. A grin of success pulled his features and he found a few penny-sized pieces of porcelain with the same dried blood. Barely visible. After a few more minutes of looking, he found about seven chunks of glass with the blood. Standing, he called over one of the investigators and had them bag the evidence. Calling yet another investigator over, Lee proceeded to tell her about what he deemed happened in the kitchen.

"One of the residents, Alice Beechstone, had been gone somewhere when the direct owner of the house left. However, she came back to the residence, finished with her outdoor activities, possibly earlier than expected, and ran into the thief. She was in the kitchen, probably where she saw him, and flung the plates in his direction in order to harm him. However, one of the plates, most likely already cracked, snapped in her hand as she attempted to throw it, slicing her hand. At the pain, she would have threw the plate down and flung her hand upward instinctively, sending some of the blood against the window. With Alice being distracted, that would have given the thief plenty of time to run out of the door. Because she was hurt, Alice more than likely went to an emergency center to get her hand taken care of.... and I think that's where our number three is."
 
Alright, maybe he wasn't looking for someone. Austin had just said that because he needed an out from the conversation, even though it wasn't getting anywhere anyway, and going into someone's room without asking is more understandable if you were looking for them. To be fair, he was looking for something. It just happened to be less along the lines of evidence and more along the lines of stolen goods. If he was right- which, it was likely he wasn't -there would be some jewelry lying around somewhere. Of course, it was possible there wouldn't be anything. He was just counting on his luck to get him through this.

He slipped into a bedroom, shutting the door behind him. This was one of the two rooms that hadn't had something missing, other than the bathroom, which he wasn't going to dig around in unless he needed to. He opened up some drawers shifting through them, before moving to the closet and going through that. Nothing. He scowled; it had to be difficult. Of course. It wasn't like 1 wanted this to be found. He moved to the bed, checking under the pillow, before crouching down to check under it. He was about to get back up and call it quits when he noticed a glint, and took a moment longer to squint at it, before grinning. Bingo.

He burst out into the main room, ignoring the looks from his boisterous entrance, and cornered Niel immediately, making impatient grabby hands at him. "Gloves. Dude, I need gloves, like right now. Very important, you'll see in a minute." As soon as they were offered to him, he snagged them with a quick "Thanks!", And pulled them on as he darted off. There was no time for formalities. Maybe he'd say thank you properly later. Now wasn't the time. He ducked down grabbing the clear bag that had been tucked between boards, before bursting back out into the main, connected rooms, practically out of breath with a dopey grin on his face as he presented his findings.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and all others, may I present to you...." He hoisted the bag upward so the light glinted off of its contents "Lucky number 2's jewelry! Safe, sound, and still in the house."
 
Right as Lee finished up his deductions on his part, he turned to see Austin... or, rather, he heard his loud mouth before he saw him. Grabbing the bag of his own evidence, he walked with the other investigators who all gathered in the living room. Clearing his throat lightly to direct the attention to him as well, Lee lifted the bag and motioned to it with his head, a bored look on his face.

"Since we've found all we need to find, all that's left to do is make the arrest. Since that's the police's job, we'll leave it to you." Lee turned and handed his bag of bloodied glass to the chief investigator, both nodding to each other in appreciation. While Lee hated people, he had respect for those in higher authority in the police force. Turning to Austin, he gave a slight nod, his lips pressed into a thin line. It was the closest to a 'good job' as he'd get, but where it was due, it was due. Whether he despised the guy or not.

Then, at the realization that he had officially finished a case with a partner who didn't bail, Lee blinked a few times in slight surprise. It was a first for him. He didn't feel particularly happy or sad about it, just that it happened. Peeling the latex glove from his hand, he walked to drop it in the waste basket in the kitchen.

"I guess there really is a first for everything." Lee spoke in a bored tone, tugging at his right cuff before returning to the large group in the living room. So many people made him groan inwardly and he made a bee-line straight to the front door. Large groups made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and he figured while the others finish up the report, adding to his, he'd wait outside where he could finally breathe.
 
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Austin haphazardly tossed the bag to Neil as he made his way out, not saying any more than he had to in this situation. He had enough of the crime scene; it wasn't that interesting, especially since they'd solved it. He liked things with a bit more action. Gun fights, chases, that sort of thing. That was exciting; it gave him a thrill. He weaved through the crowd, humming softly to himself as he did, careful not to brush shoulders with anyone. When he was outside, he took a deep breath, then let it out, before slipping his phone from his pocket.

Text From: Austin
To: EVIE <3!
so i guess i solved a case w a partner lmao. i mean we basically solved it in the car but u kno. still impressive. still hasn't beat the watson record though :) so i still am the Worst(TM)

Text From: EVIE <3!
To: Austin
Do you want, like, a gold star??? Buddy thats your job oh my gooooood

Text From: Austin
To: EVIE <3!
thanks cuz, lov u too

He put his phone away, sticking his hands in his pockets as he went down the steps and to the car, opening the drivers side and getting in. Now that the case was done, he supposed he really didn't have to say anything annoying; they wouldn't be paired together anyway. So, he didn't. He just stretched out, buckling his seatbelt afterwards, and letting himself glance over to Lee to see if he was doing the same. Once they were both settled, he started the engine.
 
Once buckled in the car, Lee was grateful that the case was over. It was relatively boring, and he just wanted to get what he loved most: murder cases. They were so technical, and finding out who the murderer is would always be more satisfying than any other case. He lightly tapped his fingers against his leg and stared outside of the window. His mind was buzzing at what needed to be done next, or what needed to be solved. He figured, however, that he would be given some time to rest up since he hadn't had any rest since getting off of the plane. Sometimes, exhaustion and jet-lag won over eagerness, unfortunately.

Feeling his phone buzzing, he pulled it out to see who was calling him. 'Mom'. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he swiped to reject the call without hesitation. After their falling-out after graduating high school, he barely kept in touch, and figured they'd live swimmingly without having to hear from him. At least, that's the impression they gave him before he left for college. He made sure to go to a far out-of-state college just for that reason.

Lee was way too caught in his thoughts to talk to Austin, and he was thankful he didn't. While the case was solved, he couldn't see himself being thankful to him... it just wasn't in his nature, what could he say? It was just great.
 
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As soon as the car was parked, Austin was out. He didn't bother checking in with the chief; he figured she'd hear it from Lee, and if he wasn't there, that would push that it was best not to stick him with partners. He didn't even have to amp up the annoyances this time around; the guy just didn't like him naturally. So, he figured he'd have the next case alone. It was back to being lone detective. Which wasn't bad; it was interesting to bounce ideas off of someone, but overall boring. Besides, he didn't need more people in his life that were close to him, and in his mind, partners ought to be close if they work together.

The walk back to the office- which also doubled as his home -didn't take long, after he stopped by a pet store. He pushed open the door, and made a little clicking noise to get the attention of his cat, dropping his bags and, after placing his sunglasses in his pocket, hanging up his coat. When Muffin walked over, he grinned, picking her up gently.

"Hey there, princess." He cooed softly, kicking the door shut with his foot "Did you miss me? I got you some toys and food, after working with a sexy mean detective. That's right, I was forced to work with someone." He held her for a moment longer, before setting her down on the couch. Well, time to get to work. There was no rest for the wicked.

----
​
He had been getting a lot of looks when he entered the office, and it made him uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. There was some whispering as well, and he assumed it was about him, considering how singled out he felt. He knew he had another briefing with the chief, but that wasn't new. The only new thing was that he had finished a case with someone. He wasn't sure why they'd be jumping on that bandwagon now, however. It was done, and it wasn't that impressive in the first place.

Austin was startled as a hand clapped his shoulder, and he found Neil at his side, grinning widely in a manner that suggested that he'd one-upped the detective in some way. "Great job, champ. I've heard that you've become a team player." He said, obviously attempting to get on Austin's nerves "Have fun in the briefing. I heard the chief is pleased with you."

Oh. Oh no.

Austin didn't bother answering, rushing to the chief's office and practically bursting there. The chief sat there, eyebrow raised, and then, near her, already seated....

Detective Lee. Which meant they were teaming up again. Which meant that the Watson record would soon be broken, if this kept up. He shut the door behind him, slowly sinking into a seat, choosing not to say anything. He was sure that the chief, at least, knew exactly what he was thinking, and knew how unhappy he was with the predicament.

"Austin. So happy you joined us--"

"2 minutes and 23 seconds late. Yea. I know. What's going on?"

"Another case for you two, since you got through the first without killing one another." That was a grievous misinterpretation, but Austin didn't comment upon it. "A robbery, again. This time from a museum. There was a broken window, but no alarms were tripped. A spear was stolen from one of the storage areas; it was going to be put on exhibit in a few days."
 
Lee walked into the Chief's office early. He had gotten a text at around 5 and had trouble sleeping, so he figured he'd have better chances with getting the next case over with. There was no detail to the briefing, only that he needed to show up by a certain time. He had pulled on a grey dress shirt this time, with the usual rest of his attire, and drove to the station. Once arriving, he was greeted by colleagues as he walked by, all busy with their own things to stop and get him to chat. Thank god. That was the last thing he needed. However, he did notice that eyes had been on him a lot more that morning than usually. Furrowing his brow slightly, he pushed the thought away and made his way into the Chief's office.

And, then there they were... Lee felt his features fall into a blazing glare. Detective Austin had just busted his way through the door before looking directly at him. It wasn't as if Lee wasn't surprised by it either. He had never been told to work on a case with the same person in a row, usually because his partners would complain and manage to get out of it.

However, Lee was thankful that Austin managed to keep his mouth shut about the new ordeal. Yeah, he looked pretty pissed, but honestly, so was Lee. Unfortunately, he was beginning to feel like this pair-up was going to be inevitable. Especially with the fact that Lee never gave up cases, no matter what the situation. Rolling his eyes, he turned to look at the Chief, crossing one leg over the other, sitting up straighter in order to focus on the briefing.

"Alright, Chief. You obviously had this all planned. What is it this time?" Lee spoke as he exhaled, bored with the whole situation. He was sure it wasn't something as big as murder, so he felt a bit bummed by it, but was ready to focus nonetheless.
 
"Not my fault you two work well together, detective." The chief replied casually, before taking out a file, opening it and pushing it towards the two. Inside was a picture of what was stolen, which seemed to be a stone spear, in good shape for being hundreds of years old. There were also pictures of a shattered window in what appeared to be a staff room, and a box that seemed to be pried open by a crowbar laying off to the side of the image. "Here it is. The spear is gone, and since it's the centerpiece of the new exhibit, they'd really love if you two could figure out where it went. As I said, no alarms were tripped. Forensics is on the scene already--"

"Wait, forensics on scene? Neil wasn't there." Austin perked up, leaning forwards with a frown of confusion, his annoyance momentarily forgotten "He's outside. Literally just talked to him."

"Not our forensics. Another group also has authority over the case, so they've sent their people. That means if you pester them, they might have a lower tolerance for....well. You." She said plainly, rolling her eyes "Because some people haven't gotten used to your bullshit. It takes time. So act professional. I'm only putting you on this case because Detective Lee is with you. Hop to it, you two."

Austin sighed, before grabbing the file, heading out the door as he looked through it. Honestly, this was bullshit. He heard a "Heard you got tamed, Gallagher!", and put his middle finger up in the direction of the shout, not bothering to look up. He h ad a feeling this wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Great.
 
Lee furrowed his brow at the details of the case. No alarms were tripped? How was that possible in the museum? His mind started rolling through any and all possibilities on why that would happen, and ultimately ended up missing the rest of the conversation between the Chief and Austin. His fist pressed against his mouth, which was pulled in a concentrated scowl, his eyes moving to the floor. However, he did catch the small bit about a different forensics team being on scene... just perfect. As if it couldn't get any more difficult.

Being someone who typically followed behind the forensics team to find what they would miss, Lee knew he would have to be more cautious about doing it this time. This new forensics team might have stricter regulations against outside detectives trying to scavenge for evidence. Lee then looked to Austin and dropped his hand from his mouth, releasing a sigh as he straightened his back. It would be difficult for both of them, then, as he knew Austin's searching was typically border-line illegal, from what he had heard.

Soon enough, Austin had started to head out of the room, and Lee nodded to the Chief, heading out to follow the said male. Finally catching up to him, Lee felt his lip twitch in slight irritation at having to be stuck with the same person. After a few more moments of walking, he pressed his lip into a line and cleared his throat loudly before turning and grabbing the file from Austin. God, it was so annoying having a stingy partner, and he had a feeling that Austin wouldn't have filled him in unless he read it himself.

"Sorry, but you're taking too long." Lee drew out the sentence as he opened the file, looking at it's contents.
 
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