3.
﹁
﹂
Lydia Hyo-Ji Choi was comfortably seated in front of the group's shared computer. She got a fairly early start to the day, just to get away from the distractions that would be arising as everyone gets up. While concentrating on her research with recent articles and news reports, she tucked her chin into the collar of her oversized, turtleneck sweater.
"Find anything interesting?" Hana asked from the couch. She was sitting upside-down with her legs resting on top of the couch's back. "Specific names of people I can go and interview?"
Lydia pursed her lips for a second while finishing up a news report. "I have the names of the victims and their parents." A notebook page was sitting on the desk next to the keyboard where Lydia jotted down brief information. She tapped her pencil against the paper while reciting it to Hana. "Over on Newton Street lives the parents of missing teen 'Lee Kyunmi.'"
Hana nodded. "Toss me that notebook."
Lydia did as Hana requested, spinning around on the swivel chair as she did. "Get a load of that."
"Interesting," Hana sighed as she scanned the page. "Claw marks along the side of the car. They think a wild animal deliberately shattered the window of the teen's car and dragged them into the woods."
"Obviously, this points a giant sign to werewolves." Lydia made a 'duh' face.
"Yeah, any average person would suspect that," Hana said with sarcasm. "Try explaining that to the police."
"Are you claiming that we're not normal?" Lydia questioned, also using sarcasm. She chuckled, pushing up her circle glasses.
"I know, shocker," Hana laughed.
Lydia stood up from the chair she was sitting in, stretching her arms up into the air. "I need to go feed my mini trash panda."
"Sounds good," Hana replied. "I should probably go see ChuChu and gather stuff for the interviews later today. Wanna come? I'll be heading out in about five minutes."
"Yeah, sure. Maybe Jaysi can watch Maple while we're out so he doesn't have to stay locked up."
Lydia left the room and made her way down a narrow hall. Her room was at the end partnered with Meng Jaysi, mostly because Lydia knew when to shut her mouth around Jaysi. That, and she had a soft spot for animals.
Lydia had a ferret named Maple that moved into their apartment along with her. Even though they were living together for hunting purposes, she couldn't just give away her beloved furry friend. Jaysi didn't seem to mind either. In fact, when Jaysi met Maple, it was one of the first times Lydia had ever seen her genuinely smile and laugh.
She gave a small knock to the door before cracking it open. "Hey, Moony, you up?" Moony was what Lydia nicknamed Jaysi to use as her code name.
Jaysi hummed her response, writing something in her notebook.
Maple pressed his nose against the bars of his cage with small chattering, excited to see his mom. Lydia usually let Maple run around for a couple hours in the day.
"How's my favorite mini trash panda?" Lydia cooed as she kneeled down next to the cage. "Are you hungry?"
"I already fed him," Jaysi confessed. Lydia gave her a cheeky smile, seeing Jaysi's soft side for animals. "He was being obnoxious, so I wanted to quiet him," she quickly added.
Lydia chuckled, opening the door to Maple's cage. "I'm sure that's all."
"Anyway, what's the update?" Jaysi closed the notebook and clicked her pen.
"Hana and I are about to head out, grab some gear from ChuChu, and then she is going to interview the family. Seems like we're on the right track for this case. Obviously werewolves are behind this."
Jaysi groaned and scrunched her nose in annoyance. "This town is littered with werewolves. It's almost every other case that a werewolf is behind."
Lydia stroked Maple as he climbed on her legs. "I know, right? We just have to take them down one-by-one." She stood up from the ground when Maple left her lap. "Can you watch Maple while I'm out?"
Jaysi nodded, watching the ferret bounce around. A smile hinted on her face. Lydia snickered and left the room.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
"What do you mean someone already took it?" Hana questioned ChuChu as he dried a glass behind the bar.
He shrugged and threw the towel over his shoulder. "Someone came in earlier asking for a fake FBI ID and badge. Someone I've known for a long time and can trust. I don't have anymore at the moment."
Hana put her hands on her head and walked off for a second before returning. "I have an interview with the victims family tonight," she whispered, keeping the mission a secret from the outside world. "How am I supposed to play the part without an ID and badge?"
"Why can't you reuse one from the past?" Lydia questioned.
ChuChu and Hana both laughed at the same time. "Lydia, this isn't time for jokes," Hana shook her head, trying to lose the smile. "I usually give them back to ChuChu anyway."
ChuChu slowly exhaled before going back to their conversation. "But I don't know what to tell you, Hana. You'll just have to figure something out." He snickered. "Like reuse an ID and badge."
The two laughed again. Lydia only glanced between them, utterly confused.
"ChuChu, I thought we had a partnership here," Hana became serious once again. "I didn't know you supplied other people with that kind of stuff."
"Usually I don't, but this person was in town and I hadn't seen him in years. I know that he knows what he's doing."
"Can you tell me?"
"That's private information."
Hana groaned and tilted her head to face the ceiling.
"Come on, Hana," Lydia put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's head back and come up with what we're going to do next."
"I heard it's werewolves," ChuChu put in.
"Yeah, we figured that out," Lydia replied.
ChuChu raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget the silver."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top