Pak!

Slap!

Scratch!

The fight was still ongoing at this point. These young men and women were the profligate children of their respective families.

Unlike the actual heirs who held their parent’s expectations, they really didn’t have that much concern about things. They would do whatever they wanted, knowing their families would cover for them.

This was the first time everyone got pulled into such a fight though, and they did not realize that someone was making sure it happened.

Naia watched everything, specifically the woman from before, who now looked a bit confused, as if wondering why the job hadn’t finished yet. Naia saw the woman’s eyes searching for Carina’s, though the latter had only just managed to escape from Joana’s claws to give her any attention.

There were a few people livestreaming now. A bystander at the side also saw that the person who fell was no longer getting up.

"Hey! Someone’s down! STOP!"

When he pointed this out, several other people went to look and realized there was indeed someone on the ground. People were too engrossed in the ’main’ fight to see it.

The air stood still, and those nearby immediately knelt down and turned him around, only to see the bloody scene.

"KYAAAA!"

"HELPPP!"

"D-DEAD! DEAAD!!" Another shrieked, as if no one could see it. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A second later, they heard the blaring sound of sirens. It hadn’t even been a minute since the discovery, so it was likely that someone had already called the officers when they saw a tense gathering forming at a parking lot.

Naia wanted to slip away, but then the speaker from the police cars bellowed so loudly that it felt like they were targeting every one of them. "EVERYONE IN THE SCENE, FREEZE!"

Naia wanted to teleport, not wanting to get involved, but she remembered that a number of CCTVs were around. There were not many and a bit far away, but while it would not see a rock suddenly appearing under someone’s feet, it would still detect a whole person.

Unexpectedly, the familiar detective arrived, looking imposing and handsome as ever.

"..."

Darn, are detectives and captains part of the first responders now?

She misunderstood this time. Luke just happened to be handling a case a few blocks away when their radio called for people to check out an area. Since he was already there, he went to take a look as well.

Anyway, Naia tried to remain low-key, her head down, so even if the police questioned them, it wouldn’t necessarily be him.

Sadly, she hoped for too much. As soon as he reached the area, he narrowed his eyes on her. He recognized her the moment his eyes passed over her.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed like every time they met, there were dead bodies involved.

If Naia could hear his thoughts, she’d be defensive like a triggered kitten.

Misunderstanding!!

Big misunderstanding!!

...

Everyone there was asked to come to the police station to make statements this time. There were too many of them, but fortunately, this area was near two stations, though naturally in opposite directions.

In brawls, it was not uncommon to divide them into two. It could be the stations’ capacity limit (i.e. not enough holding cells or interrogation rooms), or it could be to keep ’rival’ groups apart. They could also be divided according to their role, i.e. the aggressors were separated from the witnesses.

As luck would have it, it was the last one, so she did not have to encounter Carina or any of her cronies. Her eyes did pass over their current state. Interestingly, Blaine had it the worst with a large bump on his face. Carina now had a bald spot.

Of course, the initiator, Joana, wasn’t unscathed. Her face had several scratches and bruises on it, too, but she had a defiant air around her, as if the betrayal only made her stronger. Good for her.

Everyone’s ID was recorded, and Naia immediately felt awkward.

She slowly backed away, delaying the inevitable, until she bumped into a big mountain, her head bumping on his chest.

Sigh.

"...Detective," she said, donning an awkward smile, standing properly and maintaining distance. "Fancy meeting you here."

...

Everyone was taken to the police station to make statements, and they were mostly pretty consistent. Naia’s statement happened to be one of the more interesting ones.

"I was really just watching the excitement!"

The report was consistent...except she noticed a lot more details than others. In fact, Luke noticed something else, and it was unrelated to the case.

For example, her van was exactly in a blind spot. However, he saw staff members from various places come into that area, some of whom were following Naia.

It was difficult to make precise estimates, but judging by the volume of the delivery, her van wouldn’t be able to fit all of that.

It was one mystery after another.

He gave her a deep look but did not point anything out.

"Watching shows and disregarding other things is not a good habit," Luke said, advising her very seriously. "Especially when you keep getting caught."

He was so serious that it made her want to laugh, and she did. "I promise not to get caught again, detective."

Unknownst to her, her chime-like laugh, followed by her lovely voice, made his ears warm.

"Oh, and, detective," she paused, sending him a look. "You might want to investigate the dead guy’s connection with either one of the couple.

"I am not 100% sure, but I think he was targeting the fiance."

Luke’s expression turned solemn and he nodded, before excusing himself.

Naia felt smug. See? Her tea-loving personality isn’t useless!

..

Naia was released after a few more statements. She didn’t go to her van—she went to the old house.

Sure, she just got out of the police station. That certainly wasn’t stopping her from committing a few more crimes~

Besides, from another point of view, she was just taking back what was hers!