Abra collected the wallet from Sheriff Barry's hands and had a closer look once again.

"You know this guy?", Barry asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Maybe", she replied, handing the wallet back to him. "Excuse me for a moment." Abra stepped out of the crime scene and called Mabel.

"Good morning. This is Abra speaking."

There were a few seconds of silence. "Hello, Abra, what's happening? Should I come over to the house now?"

"No. What is Lucas' last name?"

"What happened? Have you found him? Is he dead?", Mabel asked. She was sounding very scared over the phone.

"Nothing happened, Mabel. I am just going through some things, and I need Lucas' last name."

"Lucas Emiliano."

"Mabel, I need you to tell me the truth. This is really important", Abra said. She could tell Mabel was lying.

"I'm.. I am sorry. Lucas Mateo is his name."

"Thank you. We will meet at the Icehouse by 11 a.m. Please be there on time."

Mabel was relieved that it was not Mabel's boyfriend that was lying dead, but she sensed that there might be more trouble than it looks, and Mabel happened to be one of her suspects. Abra wondered why Mabel had to lie about Lucas' name.

When Sheriff Barry was done talking to others at the crime scene, Abra walked up to him. "I need your help."

"Don't you think you've gotten enough of my help?"

"I need to go to the reportersspace."

Barry laughed shortly. "You don't have the legal authority to go in there."

"I know that already. That's where you come in."

"Ha. No."

"Please."

"What do you want there?"

"It's confidential."

Barry rubbed his head for a moment, thinking about the best reply to give to Abra. He knew she would not back down.

"Here's the thing, Miss Abra. I would be helping you today, and you would help me too. After going to the reporters space, we would go to my office. There is something important I need to discuss with you."

***

Abra got the necessary information she needed from the reporters space with ease because she was with Sheriff Barry.

When they were done, he took her to his office. There was a guy in the office already; he was sitting with his legs crossed on the table, and he was busy on his phone.

"Charles, what are you looking for in my office?"

The guy immediately put his legs down and stood up. "Hey dad. I was just getting some personal space in your office. You know my work place has too many nosy people, and you know it's way cooler in here."

Charles was a really handsome guy, and Abra could not help but notice that.

"I know you're lying, Charles. You came here to drink my liquor and forget about your life problems for a while. I need you to get out of my office now, please. I have a guest, as you can see."

"Hello. You look pretty familiar", Charles said to Abra, stretching his hands out for a handshake and ignoring his dad. Abra shook his hand but did not recognize him from anywhere.

"My name is Abra. I don't think we've met before."

"Oh Abra. The popular detective."

Abra tried not to look too shocked. She did not know she had become that popular. The city was truly small. "I'm Charles. Barry's son."

"Leave her alone. Get back to your office", Barry said loudly, but Charles ignored him again. Instead, he smiled and looked deep into Abra's eyes, making her feel like she was melting.

"I would love to talk to you later if that's fine with you."

"Uhm, it's okay", Abra replied. She did not understand why this handsome guy she had never seen in her life before was able to leave her speechless. She has not seen any guy attractive enough to make her feel this way since she started dating Zach. But now, all of a sudden, she felt like Charles was the most handsome guy to ever live on planet Earth.

"Let me get your number then."

When he was done collecting her number, he winked at her and said, "I would see you around, pretty eyes."

Abra subconsciously touched her glasses. She never once thought her eyes were pretty, even though Zach had told her countless times that they were cute. She thought that he was just trying to be nice to her. But now, another person who also happens to be a total stranger and a son to the Sheriff she did not fancy called her eyes pretty, and she felt beautiful.

She managed to resist the urge to smile and took a seat opposite Sheriff Barry.

"So what do you want to tell me? I have something important to do soon. So please make it quick."

"Abra, I fear whatever problem we are having in the city right now is a serious one."

"You mean the deaths."

"Yes. No one has been able to figure out what's going on. The detectives are trying, but there are no leads. About four people have died between the space of last night and now. It's becoming alarming. It seems the causes of deaths are similar. The chopping of parts of the body and—"

"Yeah, I know that. You don't have to over-emphasize it."

"It seems like all these people were killed by a psycho or worse. It's terrible. The last body was found while we were at the Reportersspace."

"Obviously. It's likely to be a psychopath killing out of hatred, revenge, or something. But why are you giving me all these details? It's unlike you. So what do you want?"

"I know you are working on a murder case, and you are good at your findings."

"I don't know the type of case I am working on yet. But yes, it could be linked to what is happening in the city."

"Yes exactly. Please, I need any updates you find if they perhaps link to these murder cases."

"More like a serial killer case", Abra said. "Anyways, what's in it for me? I have to know what I am going to benefit from if I'm going to be feeding you any information."

Barry rubbed his forehead again. Abra was a tough one to deal with every time.

He was about to reply when his phone rang, and a few seconds after he picked up the call, his face went red. When he was done with the call, he said to Abra, "Two people have been reported missing, and that is not the most disturbing part."

Once he said that, messages dropped on his phone, making it vibrate.