Extra's Descent

Chapter 113: Problems Before the Festival [2]

Arriving at the location, several police officers stood on edge.

Police tapes were present and blocked the entrance, and there was a huge gaping hole that etched on the side of the building with debris scattered all over the ground.

The building was a warehouse that was situated by the pier.

"Let us through."

Raven instructed officers present. They were skeptical at first. Why are teenagers here?

But as soon as he flashed his Special Force badge, the officers' eyes widened in shock and gave way for Raven and his friends to pass.

"What's the situation?"

Brandon turned around and talked to the officer that seemed to be leading the case.

"Uhm…"

The officer seemed hesitant.

But that was when a man appeared. Shoving the other officers, he immediately appeared before Brandon.

The man spoke with an anxious tone.

"He's from the Locke Family."

"Oh, fuck. You mean that Locke Family?"

"Yes."

"Shit, okay."

The man then walked towards Brandon and introduced himself.

"Good morning, Sir Locke. I'm Lucas Lennon, a direct secretary to Quinella Food Corporation's CEO."

He extended his hand and gestured for a handshake in which Brandon took the offer.

The two shook hands at that.

"And this is?"

"Raven Blackheart. The Special Force Officer I mentioned."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Officer."

Raven and Lucas shook hands as well.

He then looked at the tall man with red hair. Brandon noticed it and introduced him as well.

"And this is Reinhard Van. He's just tagging along."

"Oh…"

Reinhard's brows slightly twitched but accepted Lucas' handshake.

With the introductions out of the table. The officer in charge of the case debriefed them on their findings.

There were only three things left at the scene.

A ragged ripped piece of cloth.

A small chunk of metal.

And a bandage.

Apparently, all of it was found outside.

Pinching his chin, Brandon turned to look at Raven who seemed to be pondering as well.

"What do you think, Raven?"

"Nothing yet. It's way too assorted."

"Same thoughts."

Brandon then turned his head to look at the officer.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"We have our speculations. But it's too soon to jump to conclusions."

"Right."

There were no other leads. The thieves were skilled enough to barely leave any traces.

The officers tried to peer for any fingerprints but ultimately found nothing in the end.

Massaging his temples, Brandon silently muttered to himself.

"...Should I do it then?"

Skill Weaver.

He was currently level seven with three slots to spare for Skill Weaver.

"But will it work…"

It was too much of a gamble.

He didn't want to waste any space for the future.

In the end, he decided to put it on hold for now.

Raven was here.

If he were to come up with something, then the slot for Skill Weaver would've been wasted.

"Right."

Turning his head, he looked at Raven who was crouching down with his eyes squinted.

Massaging his chin, Raven thoroughly scanned the surroundings.

His mouth then parted open and asked.

"Has the forensics found anything yet?"

"Not yet, Sir."

The officer informed him.

"But according to them, the results will come in five hours."

"Five hours, huh?"

"We still have to return to the Academy…"

Reinhard said as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah."

Raven nodded in response.

He then stood up and alternated his gaze between Brandon and the officer.

His gaze eventually landed on the officer and he pursed his lips.

"For now, let us jump to conclusions. I have some ideas in mind."

"..."

The officer seemed hesitant as his expressions contorted into one of worry.

Noticing it, Raven gave him a smile to ease the officer.

"Don't worry. I'm an Officer too. It'll all be under legal jurisdiction."

He wasn't.

To be precise, he was an officer–in–training.

But he didn't want the officer to know that.

"Pftt…"

A strange sound escaped Brandon's lips as his shoulders trembled.

Frowning, Raven shifted his gaze at Brandon.

"What…?"

"Nothing."

The officer then agreed to listen to Raven under the premise that he would handle things legally.

More or less, Brandon could summarize Raven's debrief.

Through Raven's speculations, there were several suspects in mind.

A rival company.

The delivery personnel.

An inside job by an employee.

An ex-employee with a grudge against the company.

Or an opportunistic thieving group.

But the fifth suspect seemed less likely.

Which is why they narrowed it down to the other three suspects.

"I see. A rival company was one of our suspects as well."

The officer informed as he took in all of Raven's words.

"But then again, we couldn't jump to conclusions. With so many food companies and lacking evidence, we can't even request for a search warrant."

"Right, I don't blame you."

Raven nodded.

"Which is why you officers will handle things under legal procedures. We'll handle the other aspects."

"But you said it will all be under leg—"

"Legally."

Raven decisively cut him off.

He then walked towards Lucas and met his gaze.

"Could you narrow down any rival companies...? Along with a list of the employees the company fired from the start of its operations until now. Give us the documents about the delivery details as well."

"Uh… That would be a bit…"

But noticing Raven's serious gaze, Lucas eventually relented.

"...Alright, I can do that."

"Okay."

Raven nodded and alternated his gaze between Reinhard and Brandon.

He pursed his lips to say,

"Let's go back to the Academy. There's nothing we can do for now."

"Right."

"Yeah."

The two nodded and were about to leave before Raven turned back around slightly and imparted his words.

"Call the Special Force once you guys find anything out. Just tell them you want to speak to Raven Blackheart."

He specifically emphasized 'Special Force' for them to take him seriously.

That being said, the three left and returned to the Academy shortly after.

*

"I bet one gold coin it's that sketchy secretary."

Reinhard grumbled.

"Right, what makes you think so?"

Raven skeptically raised his brow.

Reinhard continued with his conjecture.

"I mean, things always end up that way in detective movies. It's always the person you least expect."

"But he's the first person you're suspecting though?"

"Yeah, but…"

"We'll find out the truth eventually, Reinhard."

Brandon patted Reinhard's shoulder and consoled him.

He then looked at Raven while they continued to roam around the Academy halls.

"You think it's the secretary too, right?"

"Yeah."

Reinhard blinked and alternated his gaze between the two. What the hell man?

Clearing his throat, Raven spoke up.

"Once you mentioned that I was the Special Force officer, it was subtle, but his brows twitched slightly."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"When I debriefed them about the suspects in mind, I purposely said 'inside job' in the middle just to see how he would react to each of the suspects I listed down."

Pausing for a while, Raven let out a smile and continued.

"There were no reactions to the first two suspects. But as soon as I said 'inside job', his eyes darted around slightly. It was subtle. But I was able to notice it though."

"Same. He was also silent the entire time. And that last bit where he seemed to hesitate when you asked him to provide you details about the case."

"Mhm, I did that on purpose just to see how he would react."

"..."

Once again, Reinhard blinked and alternated his gaze between the two.

His mouth contorted to an 'o' shape before he eventually snapped out of it.

Pursing his lips he spoke with a slightly raised tone.

"What the hell… I noticed the last bit. But doesn't that mean you two were already suspecting him from the start?"

Brandon and Raven blinked as they looked at each other.

Eventually, their gaze landed on the dumbfounded Reinhard as they spoke in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah?"

They spoke in unison.

"...Why?"

"...Why, huh?"

Raven pinched his chin and looked at Brandon who looked back at him.

"Care to do the honors?"

"Sure."

Brandon nodded and looked back at Reinhard.

"...What about his watch?"

"It's hard to notice. But there's a missing piece on the bracelet strap."

"A missing—Wait."

"Yeah."

Reinhard massaged his chin and pondered hard.

As soon as he finally made the connection his eyes lit up and looked at Raven and Brandon.

He then spoke up as the realization dawned upon him.

"You mean that small chunk of metal…"

"Yup, it oddly looked like the bracelet strap of his watch. The size fits as well."

Reinhard's eyes widened as Brandon finished his sentence for him.

Reinhard then rubbed his shoulder as he spoke under his breath.

"Chills... Literal chills..."

He finished his comments and cursed under his breath.

"...You two are fucking crazy."