The Criminal's Lover

EPISODE 1

001 CRIME

London, United Kingdom. December 03, 2018

Criminal Investigation Department, Hammersmith Police Station

It was yet another dull day inside the Criminal Investigation Department of Hammersmith Police Station. You can hear a little talk from my colleagues about the cases they have, and there are still some colleagues who can't sit at their table and keep going back and forth in our boss's office and back to their cubicle to check what they're reading or checking. There are also soft sounds coming from their radio to give them a signal of what's going on in the area. or if there is an important message for them.

I said dull day but it's clearly a busy day for them and not for me.

People around this department are tall guys or guys with an aura that you would automatically salute if you saw them. They are men who yell for superiority and authority, a group of clever people with great abilities. They're the best detectives in the United Kingdom. And I'm just a newbie with just five feet and five inches tall, who can't even scare a cat with my baby-face look. Being the only girl in this field where you normally see boys just wouldn't let you run away from the mischievous behavior.

Yes, they're not treating me as one of them, but only a kid who's not going to do anything but act pretty. That's how they see me; they're always forgetting that I graduated from the Police Academy as one of the best students with great skills. They just don't see the value of my existence here.

I let out a sigh and I just tried to concentrate on watching TV where the popular young reporter Pamahres is reporting another crime. The crime has taken place across this city and the criminal is still missing. They have a suspect, but their evidence is not that strong.

It's about an 18-year-old kid who unexpectedly vanished four days ago. One of the suspects is the neighbor of the guy, he's said to be the last person to be with the missing teenager, so he's instantly accused of being the one who's possibly hiding the teenager. They're also investigating the neighbor of the kid and searching around his house. That's what the detective in charge of the case which is also my colleague said on the television.

That's not strong evidence and they should know that.

I was focused on watching and trying to solve the case even with only small details when Van suddenly taps my shoulder. "Hey," he said in a small voice. I looked at him and then cock my head on the other side. He's is the nicest detective here and fortunately, he doesn't treat me like I am not worthy of my title and job.

When I got here, he was the first one to approach me and offer friendship to me. Whenever he felt like someone is trying to disregard my skills, he would always butt in and try to defend me even though they wouldn't really bother to listen to him and his opinion about me. But that's okay because I know that someone is still believing in me and my skills.

"What is it?" I asked

"I am going out for a lunch, do you want to come?" Don't get him wrong, he is not hitting on me or has a crush on me. He already has a girlfriend and I even know her personally. Being friends with her girlfriend is actually one of the reasons why he's nice to me.

"Sure," I said and smiled at him. He smiled back before saying "Let's go!"

I don't know if I should be thankful that I am just going to work to sit all day and probably just accept a few "favors" from my colleagues when they need some small help like identifying a suspect or buying coffee for them and I'm still earning money or get mad at it because it's freaking boring already!

I mean, isn't it funny that you get to have money by just sitting around? No! It's not funny at all. I came here to become a detective and not just sit around.

Ever since I was young, I already dream of becoming a detective. That is why I strive hard to become one even though the training is really hard for a girl like me. But because I am determined to become one, I did it and graduated with Latin honor.

"Stop being depressed about it, I know your time will come soon and they will start appreciating you." That's what Van said to me and I kept repeating that to myself as I walk my way back to my apartment. I live alone but my parents never forget to call just to ask about my whereabouts. They are very supportive of my profession, particularly the fact that my father used to be one of the greatest detectives of his day. He had to retire because of his disease.

While I'm on my way home, I happened to bump into Carl. He's my neighbor, a college student with a very good-looking face that always captures the heart of young girls even the old ones.

"Hey!" I called him when I noticed that he seems to be nervous as he kept on looking around. I saw that he got surprised when he saw me but then felt relieved when maybe realized that it's just me.

"Detective Mayari!" I don't know why he sounded so scared when he called my name.

"Are you okay?" I asked him and went close to him to check if he is sick or something. I am close to this guy because he also wants to become a detective like me someday.

"It's just that..." then he stopped and looked around again, "...can we just talk inside your apartment?" his face tells me there's something wrong, so I nodded quickly and squeezed his hand as we made our way to my apartment. He began to calm down when I let him inside.

"What is wrong, Carl?" I asked him in a small voice.

"It's just weird because I think my Chemistry professor is following me," he said before heaving a sigh. "She kept on asking me in class about weird things." I can sense the disgust in his face as he said that, his teacher is kind of creepy.

"And why do you think she's following you?" I immediately asked him as I let him sit down on my couch. I remained standing as I listened carefully to him. Normally, girls are the ones who are going through this and I know boys are going through this kind of problem, too. He's probably stressed out because he doesn't have someone to talk about his creepy professor, as no one would ever care to believe him, and they'd just laugh at him if he informed them about it.

"I don't know..." he paused then purses his lips a bit “Maybe she has a crush on me?" he still tries to joke around even though I could see that he is really bothered by what his professor been doing to him.

What he said is not actually impossible, just like what I said, Carl is a good-looking student. His professor may have really developed a crush on him. She's an adult already and she should know that she's messing up with her student. That's illegal and Carl's parents can sue her if she's proven guilty with her actions.

"I can go and talk to your professor," I said to cheer him up.

I know that his parents are always busy and they probably won't even bother to come to Carl's university to help him out.

"Wouldn't that be funny? My friends would laugh at me and call me gay," he laughed at me, but I could feel the tension in his voice. And I knew it, he really doesn't have anyone he can talk about this except for me who he knew that wouldn't judge him.

"It's actually very alarming, Carl..." I said to him

"And she's forty," he continued which made me gasp.

Jesus Christ! I was actually thinking that maybe she's in her 20's or early 30's but she's already forty years old and still trying to hit on an eighteen-year-old guy. She's disgusting!

"I'll walk you home," I suggested before picking up my coat to wear it again. He looks at me with relief in his eyes before he slowly nodded. The corner of his lips lifted a bit for a smile as if he was happy to know that I am here for him. "I will visit your university tomorrow to talk to your professor. Your friends or classmates don't have to know about my visit." Then I pat his head lightly making him giggle.

"Thank you, Detective Mayari! You are the best,"

I accompanied Carl to go to their house that night. He also told me a lot of stories about that Professor and everything he said are enough for me to really suspect her actions.

It would be better if I could talk to her immediately before she does anything unpleasant to Carl. What if he'd sexually harass him? It can cause trauma to the kid and I won't let that happen.

"Are you sure you're going?" Van asked me while I'm fixing my things so I can go pay a visit to Carl's Chemistry Professor.

"Why not? She's making her student feel uncomfortable and Carl doesn't have the parents to talk to her." I said before putting my gun on my back.

"You're not his guardian," he looks at me worriedly making me frown at him a little.

"I don't have to be his guardian to be worried about him," I snickered.

He raised his hands as a sign of defeat "Fine, fine... if she refused to talk to you, don't get depressed about it." Then he chuckled at me making me shook my head at him. I showed him my badge and shrug my shoulders. "Oh no!" he looks stressed when he realized what I am trying to say which made me laugh.

"I guess I can finally use my job being a detective, huh?" then I giggled at him making him facepalm. It was fun having Van to guide me. But today is the only day that I can use my being the detective as an excuse to get my way to ask the professor.

"Take care, Mayari!" Van waved both hands to me as I leave our department and some of our colleagues laughed at his childishness.

"We searched inside the neighbor's house already, we even check all the places he went to and he's clean." I heard Michael say, the detective in charge of the missing teenager's case. He raised his hand to greet me when he saw me, and I just smiled at him.

I got to Carl's university easily because I have my car with me. The guard immediately asked me about my concerns and I told him that I just need to speak to Professor Victoria, Carl's Chemistry Professor, and he let me in.

I went straight to the Faculty Room to find a professor named Victoria Williams. It is not difficult to find the location of the Faculty Room because there's signage.

"Good morning, ma'am. How may I help you?" a small girl whom I think is also a professor here asked me when she saw me looking around.

I smiled at her "I'm Detective Mayari Taylor and I'm searching for Professor Victoria Williams, is she here?" she looks uneasy when she heard what I just said. She looks inside the faculty room before looking back at me.

"Did she cause trouble?" she asked me in a small voice making my eyebrow rose a little.

"I just need to talk to her, ma'am. Why?"

"Oh," she paused then let out a small laugh before she shook her head. "It's just weird that a Detective wants to talk to her when she's actually a very nice person."

I nodded my head at her. "So... is she here?" I continued

"Ah, yeah! Let me just call her for a second," then she turns her back to go inside the faculty to call Professor Victoria Williams.

The hallway is quiet, and it's a lunch break, so perhaps most of them are in the cafeteria. I could see some of the students looking at me and probably wondering what I'm doing here. I looked down at my phone to see if Carl had been sending me a text today. He just said that his professor had kept touching him earlier that he felt uncomfortable.

I clicked my tongue and purses my lips a little.

"You're looking for me?" I got startled when a woman suddenly spoke beside me. When my eyes went to her, our eyes locked for a second but she immediately averted her eyes on me.

"Oh yeah..." I offered my hand to her for a handshake. "I'm Detective Mayari Taylor and I'm just here to talk about your student Carl Robinson." I tried to sound as intimidating as much as I could to show her superiority. She's older than me, and she might think I'm just going to be nice just because I'm younger.

She looks surprised at what I said that her upturned eyes grew big. She blinked at least ten times before looking away. "Are you his guardian?" she said in a calm voice before she began to look around. "Can we talk somewhere else because I think it's not nice for us to just stand here in the hallway?"

"I am not his guardian but the kid discussed to me the things you did that made him feel uncomfortable." I didn't even try to listen to her suggestion that we should talk somewhere else because I'm already too eager to talk to her.

"Detective, I prefer if we talk about it in private," she said. "She tried to smile at me, and I have no choice but to agree. We went to the Chemistry Lab together and she told me to sit in one of the chairs, and I did.

"I didn't know that my kindness made Carl uncomfortable," she let out a soft chuckle before tucking some strands of her on the back of her ears. She couldn't look straight into my eyes that she can't stop moving or playing with her fingers.

Kindness? I know Carl ever since he's in 3rd grade, he's a very sweet kid and I know that he doesn't get uncomfortable that easily. If this woman here made him feel that way then I don't think she's only showing him kindness.

"You cannot touch your student in a sensual manner and call that as kindness, ma'am," I said a little before my eyebrows rose. Based on how she's moving and acting right now I feel she's feeling guilty but still stubborn to admit it. In fact, she's sensible, as she's still able to form sentences to tell me in a very careful way.

The only problem is as a detective we need to keep our attention to every single detail. Just like how she plays with her fingers and couldn't stay still while I'm throwing her some questions. She's anxious about it.

"I didn't know you have such a dirty mind, Detective." She grinned at me. I blinked my eyes twice because of what she said to me.

"I'm sorry?" I said, raising my right brow.

"I feel offended by all your remarks to me, Detective Taylor. I guess I have to ask your chief regarding this."

And she surely had the audacity to report me to my superintendent that I am receiving scolding right now.

"You can't just go there and start asking her malicious questions!" he yelled at me, and I could see Van's concern in his eyes as he tried to cheer me up. I bit my lower lip, and I bowed my head. "This is the very reason why we don't really need you here!" I closed my eyes tightly and kept telling myself that he just said it out of anger, but I have to admit that it really hurts me.

"Go back to your cubicle and just sit the fuck up there, Detective Taylor. This is your first warning,"

"Yes, sir." I saluted at him and he just glared at me making me feel terrible to myself.

I went home that night still furious about the scolding that I received. I turned on the television and decided to just watch the news.

"The family of the missing teenager, Harold Sy, is willing to give rewards to the one who can find their son," Pamahres said on the TV as he stood there looking stunning while reporting.

So, they haven't found any trace of the kid yet? Hmm, I wonder what Michael's been doing about this case right now. Seems like Harold Sy is from a rich Chinese family around the city.

I should probably text Carl right now to apologize that I couldn't do anything about his professor.

Me:

Hey, Carl. I'm sorry for today, where are you? I'll treat you to some burgers.

It took him ten minutes before he replied to me.

Carl:

Sorry... I'm busy--- Detective Mayari...

I looked at the clock and realized that it's already eight in the evening. I picked up my coat and phone and immediately contacted Van for some information.

"Hello, Mayari!" He said softly on the other side, I could hear Zab, his girlfriend, calling him in the background.

"Can you find me the address of Victoria Williams?" I said as I walk my way towards my car, I feel very nervous right now that I couldn't think straight anymore.

"What? Isn't that the professor of your friend? Do you want to get scolding again from Chief?" I could feel the frustration in Van's voice but I am just too eager to find Carl right now.

Three dots, three dashes, and three dots. The morse code for SOS.

Carl is in danger.