Levi stared at the man sitting in front of him. Both of them were silent for a long time before Levi broke the silence, "I am so sorry for your loss," he struggled with his words, not being one to vocally express his feelings.

Mark only nodded in response, having heard that sentence too many times. He got up and left the room without saying another word. Levi didn't stop him.

Levi breathed in deeply before letting out a huge sigh and stretched, feeling his muscles relax just a little. Running a hand through his hair, he checked the time, almost 5 pm. It had been an excruciatingly long day.

The sky had gotten darker until the clouds were no longer visible, the snow coming down even harsher now. He could spot lightening much clearer now, the little branches of flashes clearly visible, the sound of thunder following after a few seconds. The storm had grown more intense, Levi could feel it by the way his body felt the low rumbling of thunder, more dangerous and intimidating now.

There's no way Matteo would be coming in today, he thought, almost pleased that he wouldn't have to deal with the detective today.

Levi stood and stretched once more, feeling his bones cracking and releasing pressure as he felt more at ease. Wanting nothing more but his wife's presence now, he made his way to their room. The investigation could wait, besides there wasn't much he could do without the autopsy results anyway.

Levi knocked before entering the room warily, not knowing what to expect. He could be greeted enthusiastically... or he could be greeted with a scolding. Trust Charlotte to keep him on his toes.

Charlotte looked up from her book to find her husband entering the room cautiously, he was smiling but she could sense the hesitation in his eyes. Charlotte fought to keep herself from laughing, such a brilliant detective and yet he couldn't predict her reaction.

Smirking, she raised her reading glasses to her head and extended her arm, catching his hand in her own. "Hey, how did it go?"

"Tiring, annoying, but I did manage to get some information," Levi said, his eyes closed as he lied down on the bed, giving his back some much-needed rest. Opening one eye, he looked at his wife and asked, "You're not mad?"

"No, why?" Charlotte replied, eyes twinkling.

"Oh, no reason."

"Tell me about all the interrogations, you know it helps you organize your thoughts," Charlotte said as she laid down next to Levi. He squeezed her hand as a silent thank you.

Taking a deep breath, Levi began, "Let's see now, oh, yes! I interviewed Anthony first. Good boy but very stubborn. Clearly shaken up, but he won't tell me what was wrong with Eric. From the little time I've spent studying Eric, he was jittery, like really jittery. I'm thinking something to do with anxiety. We'll know for sure when the autopsy results come in. I'm sure they will find traces of anti-anxiety drugs in his system."

"Anxiety? You sure he didn't just commit suicide?" Charlotte asked, her tone laced with concern and sympathy for the dead boy.

"I'm positive. I know I don't have concrete proof, but I have a very strong hunch."

"Did you figure out why Eric was suffering from anxiety?"

Levi shook his head slowly, eyebrows knitted together, "If I had the answer to that, then half of the mystery would already be solved... There are only two people who can help me with this, Anthony and the killer. Except if they are one and the same," he ended the sentence slowly as his mind explored different angles to approach this mystery.

Levi was lost in thought for a long time, a faraway look in his eyes. Charlotte waited patiently, eyes trained on her husband, enjoying watching him work that wonderful brain of his.

"You know, there is a puzzle surrounding each character," Levi said suddenly, "Emma and Carter have clear motives, Scarlett was very nervous, and Anthony..." he slowed down again, voice reducing to a whisper with each syllable of Anthony's name.

"Actually, I think Anthony deserves another visit," Levi said as he turned his head to look at Charlotte. "Do you mind?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

"No," said Charlotte, but her pout told the opposite. "You have 15 minutes though," she continued as she sat upright and picked her book again. "Your time starts now," Charlotte smirked, tapping her wrist with her forefinger.

Levi laughed quietly, "Yes ma'am," he said, getting up from the bed.

He was about to leave the room when through the open crack of his door, he saw Carter next to Eric's room. Immediately, Levi closed his door, leaving only little room to see what was happening. With bated breath, he stood silently in his room, eyes glued to Carter's every movement. Thank God our room is in the other wing and obstructed by the Christmas tree...

Levi saw Carter look to his left and then right, eyes frantic. Then biting his lower lip, he pushed the door to Eric's room and then entered, closing it softly behind him.

Levi would have thought nothing of it if Carter hadn't looked so suspicious. What do you need from a dead man's room, Carter? Levi asked himself. He contemplated going there to get the answer but stopped. It would have to wait. Closing the door silently, he turned towards Charlotte again.

"What?" she asked, eyebrows raised, eyes concerned.

"I just saw Carter go into Eric's room."

"So? Maybe he misses him or something. It's not odd to visit a dead person's room or belongings," Charlotte shrugged.

"Then why did he look so skeptical going in? He made sure nobody was there to witness..." Levi paused before continuing, "Don't you think that's the least bit suspicious?"

"Oh, yes... definitely," Charlotte said slowly, "So, what are you going to do now?" She asked, hoping he would get some rest because if he didn't, he'll drown himself in coffee, get hyped up and become even more intolerable to people. If that was possible.

"I think I'm going to take a nap, we didn't get to sleep the last night," Charlotte said as she got under the covers and made herself comfortable, knowing that it was hard for Levi to resist a sleepy atmosphere.

Levi stood at the foot of the bed, staring at his wife, debating if he should go talk to Anthony or just give his body the much-needed rest. Suddenly, he was aware of his aching back and the buzzing of his brain. It also didn't help that the bed looked too inviting to resist.

"I think I'll sleep too. I've been up since 3 am and my brain is literally vibrating from thinking too much and lack of sleep," Levi said as he faceplanted on his pillow and adjusted the blanket, all thoughts of Anthony or the murder pushed back to his mind.

Charlotte secretly smiled when within just 2 minutes, he was out cold, snoring quietly. Such a child.

***

Somewhere in the middle of the night...

"How did you know it was me?"

"I didn't... but I do now."

"Did you tell anybody?"

Silence fell between the two of them, a single word piercing it.

"No."

"I'd appreciate you keeping it that way."

The person paused, quietly staring into the eyes of another, not believing they were having this conversation. They couldn't help but ask...

"Why?" The person whispered.

"It was a necessary evil." came a cold and calculated reply, eyes void of any emotion.

The other person sighed, trying their best to wrap their head around the whole situation. Trying their best to seem unaffected by it, to come off as cool and collected as possible, especially if they wanted to live.

Still, it was hard to digest that they were talking about the murder... with the murderer itself.

***

"Levi! Get up, for God's sake!" Charlotte shook him more violently than the last time, is he dead, she thought as she poked on his nose. Hard. That seemed to have worked as Levi groaned, stretching out his limbs as he did so.

"What's your problem?" he mumbled in his pillow and brought the blanket up to cover his face against the harsh lighting coming from the windows.

Wait, lighting?

Levi shot up straight, his hair all mussed up, "What time is it?"

"10 am, genius."

"What? I slept for 14 hours?!"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Don't you roll your big Brown beautiful eyes at me," Levi smiled lazily.

Charlotte cracked a smile at that, "Get up already, Detective Matteo will be here soon with the autopsy result!" she said excitedly.

"Aren't you a little too happy about receiving them?" Levi narrowed his eyes.

"If it's someone like Detective Matteo bringing them in..." She said with a shrug of her delicate shoulders, sighing dreamily.

Despite his annoyance with Matteo, Levi knew he was a handsome man. Tall, well built and a deep authoritative voice. Still, he couldn't help but scowl at the fact that Charlotte found him attractive. First, I have to share a case with him and now my wife likes him too? Levi's scowl deepened.

Charlotte watched as the emotions play across Levi's face, enjoying every moment of it. Good thing her husband didn't know what a great actress she was, she thought as she smiled fondly at him.

"Do be quick, I don't want to be late to greet him!" She called out to his back as he retreated in the washroom, snickering quietly.

***

"Detective," Levi greeted Matteo, extending his arm to shake his hand.

"Levi," Matteo addressed him, not even making eye contact as he shook Levi's hand, a little too firmly. It also didn't go unnoticed by Levi that Matteo hadn't addressed him as he should have.

"Do you have the results or is this visit of yours as useless are you are?" Levi asked, not even hiding the smirk that played across his lips.

They were all in the common room again, sitting where the fireplace was situated. The fire in the hearth burned furiously, crackling wildly as flew sparks flew here and there, just like the fire in Matteo's eyes when he heard Levi speak that sentence.

Matteo closed his eyes briefly, trying to harness all the calm energy he had. Opening his eyes again, he said, "I do have it."

Still looking at Levi, he extended his right hand where an officer promptly placed a crisp folder without needing a verbal command.

"He died of-"

"Shush..." Levi hushed Matteo as he studied the contents of the file, going through everything carefully until he reached the part which was the most relevant to the case.

"The medical examiner's comment says he died of a drug overdose and ruled it off as a suicide," Levi said, eyebrows pulled together as he looked at Matteo.

Scarlett gasped as she clutched Emma's hand. Levi turned to look and found four shocked faces staring at him. They all exchanged a look with one another at the new information.

Matteo, however, was completely invested in Levi and gave no heed to the group. "You were wrong about it being a murder," he smirked at him, a satisfied look on his face.

"The type of drug that's mentioned is Benzodiazepine. It's used for treating anxiety," Levi stated calmly.

"I know."

Eric was taking medicines for anxiety... since when?!

They're definitely going to suspect me now.

Shit, shit, shit, they're going to think I did it!

Damn it, just calm down... there is no way they can know it's you.

The friend's heart rate had picked up, each for a different reason as they fought to calm themselves down. Unconsciously, they all held hands now, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

"It's confirmed," Levi said after much thought.

"What is?" It was Matteo's turn to frown now.

"That the morgue is just as incompetent as you are," Levi smiled mockingly at him. Behind him, he heard his wife suppress a laugh.

"Excuse me?" Matteo gnashed his teeth, wanting nothing more than to wrap his hands around his neck and squeeze the arrogance out of him.

"Tell me, how do you solve murders? I'm honestly, genuinely, curious," Levi tilted his head as he asked, his eyes conveying that the nature of the question was anything but genuine.

"How dare you talk-"

"Oh, sorry," Levi held out his finger to silence him, "The answer will have to wait, unfortunately," he dramatically sulked. "Right now, I have much, much more pressing matters at hand."

Anthony's breath hitched in his throat as Levi turned to face him, slowly assessing his reaction.

"Anthony, I believe we have important things to discuss," Levi said, "Care to join me for brunch, again?" he smiled knowingly.

***

Hey guys! Since it's the holiday season, I thought why not upload an extra chapter this week! Thank you all for reading, I really hope you enjoy it!

Do vote if you like it, and I'm always down to hear your feedback so never hesitate to drop me a message!

Happy holidays! :D