?HIS BALLERINA?
THEME: {What the heart sees}
✍️Written By Precious Pinky✍️
? Chapter Thirty-Two ?
~’Have we met before?’~
?ACE?
“What are you doing?” Ace asked, sitting down beside Paulo.
“Just surveying. What about you?”
“I don’t know.” Ace shrugged. He turned to the barman. “Can you get me a shot? my usual?”
“Sure sir.”
Paulo glared at him. “You need to stop drinking, you know that right?”
“I can’t.” He sighed. “What have you been so busy with?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You barely have time for my case, why is that?” The barman returned with Ace’s shot and handed it over to him. “Hmm.” He collects the glas-sand downed the whole content. “One more.”
“If you get drunk, I’m going to abandon you here.” Paulo warned. “And yeah, I’m kinda busy with a new case.” He paused. “Her case is as complicated as yours and she also reminds me so much of you.”
“What?”
“She is bossy, looking for the murderer of her aunt and parents, rude and disrespectful but the only different between you both is that, she smiles a lot.” Paulo said, smiling.
Ace frown de-epened. “When did you start working for her?”
“Just last week or so.”
The barman returned with the shot and tossed it over to Ace. He downed the whole content in one shot again.
“Is that your excuse for not handling my case?” He asked, rudely.
“I’m handling both, trust me.” Paulo stood up to his feet. “I should go to the station now.”
“Are you running away?”
Paulo smirked. “You wish. And will you stop drinking? It’s pretty harmful to the health.” With that said he walked out of the club.
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?PAULO?
“Hey.” Paulo greeted Liam as he walked inside the station.
“Hey. What are you doing here this late?” Liam asked, with a brow raised questioningly.
Paulo sat down at his desk with a shrug of his shoulder. “I just needed an escape.” He replied, taking out a file and opening throu-ghthe pages. “What are you still doing here?” He backfired the question.
“I’m on night duty.” That was Liam respond. “Well, I’m kinda glad you are here anyway. It was very boring with just me and Kat.”
Paulo looked around. “Where is she?”
“She went to get something to eat, I guess.” Liam responded. He stared down at the files on Paulo’s grip. “The case?”
“What case?”
“The princess’s case.”
He nodded his head. “Yup. It’s very complicated, actually.”
“Just like his?”
“His, you mean Ace?”
“Yeah.”
Paulo nodded his head once again, dropping the file on the table and picking up another different one. “I haven’t gotten close enough.”
“In whose case?”
“Both.”
Liam sighed. “You know you need help.”
“Do you want to help me then?”
Liam chuckles. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea but that wasn’t what I meant.” He paused. “This case will be very difficult for you because it was a case of years ago, you were still a kid when this case began and ended.”
“I know. But I can’t stop. It’s my friend’s father we are talking about here and this man wasn’t just my friend’s father but was also like a father to me. Honestly,” He let out a de-ep breath. “I became a detective because of the case.”
“Really?”
“Really. And I’m not going to stop now until I find the fu-cking murderer and make he or she pay dearly for their sin.” He said with full determination.
“Not bad.” Liam stood up to his feet and went closer to Paulo. “Let me help you.”
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Paulo said, using Liam’s word against him. Liam laughed quietly but still awaited Paulo’s reply. “Why do you want to help?”
Liam shrugged. “At first, I thought you were doing this case because of the money… but turns out to be it wasn’t for a selfish reason but for something more. Although I know you could lose your job because of this case but it’s worth it. I want to help and that’s because I admire you, your courage and your selflessness. To be a better detective like you then I have to act like you.”
“Was that a compliment?” Paulo joked, smiling.
Liam rolled his eyes, shaking his head while laughing. “Maybe.”
Paul stood up to his feet and patted Liam on his shoulder with a wide grin on his face. “Thank you.”
Liam narrowed his eyes at him. “Is that a yes?”
“Of course. I really need a-ssistance actually. It won’t be a bad idea to recruit one who is willing to be of help.”
“Do you mind if I join the crew?” They heard a feminine voice say from behind. They turned around to find Kat walking towards them with a smile on her pretty shaped face. “I want to help also, detective Paulo.” She said.
“You too?”
“Yes. A detective is meant to bring in justice to the country and protect the citizens from murderers. I want to be such detective. And besides I’m working under you, remember?”
Paulo laughed. “Alright then. But,” His face turned all serious now. “I hope you guys are fully aware that this investigation could cause you your job?”
Both Liam and Kat glance at each other, smiling before turning back to Paulo. “A detective risk their lives for the citizens so tell me, why can’t they risk their job as well?” It was Liam who spoke first.
“We are ready.” Kat added.
******
“So wait, you think her personal maid could be involve in the crime?” Kat asked, taking a bite of the pizza she had gone to buy.
They all sat on the floor in circle eating pizza and drinking soda as they discuss about the cases at hand.
“Yes.” Paulo responded, sipping from the can of soda.
“Why?” Liam was the one who asked now.
“I don’t know. There is just something about that girl…something strange.”
“But wasn’t she the same girl who asked you to help her princess?” Kat asked.
Paulo let out a sigh. “Yes. But that doesn’t justify anything.” He took out Ace’s case file and dropped it at the center of the circle along with Ballerina’s case file. “We are to solve each case.” He informed.
“Hmm. Concerning Ace’s case… i think I know someone we can ask for help.” Liam said.
“You think?” Kat questioned.
“I know.”
“Better. Use English properly, okay?”
“Just shut up.”
“Who?” Paulo asked.
“Mr Samuel James. He was the detective in charge of this case years ago before he resigned.”
“Mr Samuel James?”
“Yes. I know where he lives.”
“Good. I will go to him tomorrow while you,” He points at Kat. “I want you to keep a close watch on that Heather of a girl and you,” He points at Liam. “I want you to investigate on a missing docu-ment.”
“Missing docu-ment?”
Paulo brou-ght out his phone and scrolled throu-ghhis contact list, after sometime, he stopped at a particular number _the same number that had called him when he missed the docu-ment at Ace’s Café_
He told them everything regarding to the docu-ment without leaving out any information before calling out the unknown number to Liam.
Liam nodded his head as he glanced at the number he just saved on his contact list as ‘Mine’
Kat glanced at the word, shaking her head at his choice of word. “Mine?”
“My case.” Liam further explained what it meant.
“Not bad.”
Paulo stared between both of them, his eyes were narrowed.
“What?” They both asked in unison.
“No, nothing. But um, are you both going out?”
“I don’t get.” They stated at the same time.
“I mean, are you both dating?”
“Yuck.”
“Ohmygosh.”
“What the_”
“fu-ckshit.”
“NO fu-ckING WAY!” They both said at the top of their voices, glaring at Paulo.
Paulo pulled his hands on the air, laughing. “Hey, I was only just asking. No big deal.”
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?BALLERINA?
She pirouette with her hands on the air. She stopped twirling and stared ahead of the flowing waters.
It was different.
She could see them, she wasn’t just feeling them or hearing them now… she could actually see them now.
Her li-ps stretched into a smile as she slowly brou-ght down her hands and look up at the sky.
“Aunt, mom, dad, what do I do?” She asked out loud.
She sat down on the beach sand and hug-ged her knees against her chest. Darla, her pet dog and the only family she have and could probably only trust came closer to her.
Ballerina wrapped her arms around his fluffy body to provide each other with the warmth they both needed.
“Darla…what do I do?” She asked her but Darla was already fast asleep. “I’m confuse. Do you think Heather will betray me?” She dipped one of her hand into her pocket and took out the necklace she had picked up from her aunt’s room.
*Where did your necklace go?*
*I misplaced it somewhere around.*
Somewhere around….
*Do you really trust her?*
Does she?
*Don’t trust anybody, not even me.* Her aunt’s word Rochester in her head.
*Maybe when you start to trust me and doubt this maid of yours, you will be able to figure out this murderer in no time.*
She let out a de-ep sigh, looking around.
She wish she could see ‘him’ again. Maybe he will be able to advice her on what next to do because right now, she was very confuse.
As she was going to look back at the waters, her eyes caught up with something… No, someone.
She quickly stood up to her feet and looked at the person, who was already planning to leave.
“Who are you?” She yelled at the top of her voice, waking Darla in the process.
The person didn’t answer and was going to leave when Darla started barking, running towards the person.
Darla got closer and jumped right at the person, Ballerina rushed towards them, yelling at Darla to stop but the dog wouldn’t listen.
“DARLA, I SAID STOP!” She yelled louder this time around, ending the little commotion.
Darla came off the person and went to stand behind Ballerina.
“What the fu-ckwas that?” The manly voice yelled in annoyance, coming up to his feet and taking off the hoodie over his head.
Ballerina eyes went wide as she saw whose face it was. “Ace?”
“How the fu-ckdid you know my name? And wait, can you see me?”
“What?” How did he know she was blind before? Paulo couldn’t have told him, right? Or wait, could it be he’s the guy she’d been searching for? The guy who gave her a reason to leave?
If no, what was he doing here then and how does he know about her predicament of before?
“Listen, I don’t know what just happened but keep your dog to yourself.” As soon as he said that Darla barked at him, growling.
“She understands English so you can tell her yourself.” Ballerina said. “What are you doing here?” She asked him once again.
“To think. And besides this place isn’t for you.”
*What are you doing here?* She remember asking ‘him’.
*To think.* He had replied her back.
“Have we met before?” She suddenly asked him.
*
*
*
#To Be Continued