CRIME BOOK 101

Burned

Sam was still sitting in his office. It was eight in the evening, and he hadn’t moved yet. Looks like he had to work late for their ongoing cases which keep coming.

He raised his head when he saw Dakota appear at the door.

“Dax, aren’t you going home?” Dakota walked closer, observing several photos that Sam and the team had arranged on the whiteboard in front of the desk. He stood there for a while, just watching intently, his brow furrowed.

He just keeps being calm and quiet, as he used to be, just observing with forehead furrowed deeply, sometimes Sam has a little doubt does this young man heard him or not.

Sam got up from his desk, pulled out the drawer to take out something out. He was carrying a clear plastic bag with a letter that Dakota had received. “Do you recognize this handwriting? This letter is really addressed to you. I’m worried that people might still be following your every move; you need to be careful, Dax.” said Sam.

Dakota glanced at the plastic bag with the paper in Sam’s hand, the letter smelling faintly, with a light pink background and beautifully crafted handwriting in the center.

“We found this in the very bottom of the box and haven't sent it to the lab because Aris just found this not long ago. It is almost hidden” said Sam..

“Nowadays, not many people use handwriting, so I rarely see anyone around me writing,” Dakota said.

"It smelled, I can't described this, check this out" Sam pulled out the letter and handed it to Dakota, who examined it more closely. For a moment, Dakota read the letter carefully, his eyes shifting behind his rimless glasses, which still showed his large, elongated eyes. But after a while, he felt a burning sensation in his hand, hot and starting to sting. 

“Ach,” he tossed the paper from his hand, and in an instant, the surface of his fingers turned red, as if burned, the pain hitting him immediately. 

“Dax, what’s wrong?” Sam’s eyes widened as he saw the surface of Dax’s right palm looking blistered, quickly pulling Dakota’s hand closer to the sink. 

“What happened, Dax? How did it get like this?” Dakota held back the pain; somehow, the injury had suddenly appeared right after he touched the letter, a piece of paper that was now lying on the floor. 

***

Nearest clinic.

Sam sat next to Dakota, watching a young female doctor wrapping Dakota’s blistered palm.

"Don't forget to take your medicine to avoid infection; the wound is quite serious, so don't take it lightly," said the young doctor after finishing the examination of Dakota's head, checking other parts of his body and face, worried about missing something. She brushed Dakota's hair off his forehead and felt his temperature. "You're not running a fever; that's a good sign." 

Dakota slightly recoiled from the doctor's touch, and Sam, sitting next to him, seemed to understand why the young man looked so uncomfortable around the doctor. They have a not quite good history.

"Heh, how can a dangerous chemical powder be in that paper without anyone knowing, I should have known this and checked it at the lab before handed to you. This meant the attack is targeting you" Sam grumbled. Usually he has never done this before, checking the evidence before it being tested by the lab, but somehow the letter makes him curious.

The young doctor sat down, reaching for Dakota's hand, but once again, Dakota pulled his hand away, his expression cold, as if he didn't want to meet her gaze at all. Dakota grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and prepared to leave. 

"Come on Sam, give me a ride home"

Sam quickly followed him, and in no time, the young professor was heading for the door. "Hey, Dax, wait up!" 

The young doctor, Katrin, held Sam's arm before he could walk away. "Sam, don't forget the medicine. Make sure Dakota takes it, okay?" 

Sam nodded, "Yeah, of course. Bye, Doc." He jogged through the door where Dakota had just disappeared. "Hey, Dax, wait for me, this guy!" 

Sam caught up with Dakota, helping him down the lobby stairs toward the parking area. "Hey, hold on a second." 

Dakota brushed Sam's hand away, glaring at him. "Sam, don't overdo it. I’m fine" 

Sam grabs Dax's hand tried to support him. 

"Doctor Danes said the medicine might contain a sedative, so I'm worried you might suddenly collapse. Why are you so cold towards her? You won't even let her touch you." 

By the last step, Dakota stopped, admitting that the painkillers were starting to kick in, and his vision was getting heavy. Sam stepped closer and supported him; this time, Dax couldn't refuse. "Come on, I'll take you home. You're so stubborn."

"Heh, Katrin, she's the one who said didn't want to get involved in anything with me, she was the one who avoided me, Sam," Dakota's words started to ramble, especially when they reached the soft seat of Sam's car, and he immediately fell asleep.  

"Hey, you're both the same,"

Sam reached out his hand to pull the seat belt for Dakota, his face when he was sleeping was indeed so cute. Sam put the neck pillow to support the young professor's head so he wouldn't have any neck pain when he woke up later.

Sam grumbled as he started his vehicle, taking them out of the hospital parking area.

“This brat”

***

The rain was pouring heavily, leaving quite a few puddles along the roadside. The streetlights only provided a limited view of the surrounding area, the road already deserted by pedestrians due to the late hour.  

A cold body lay sprawled on the sidewalk, a young man with a wound in his abdomen that continued to bleed even after he had stopped breathing. Dakota stood not far from him, his entire body soaked from the rain, shivering so much he could barely move. His right hand clutched his left arm, where the sleeve of his white shirt was stained red from the blood flowing from his wound, which showed no signs of stopping.  

A young girl sitting huddled not far in front of the corpse, the young girl still holding a long bloody kitchen knife in her trembling hands.  She couldn't move, frozen in place, unable to do anything after she had plunged the knife with all her strength into the young man's abdomen, who now lay stiff in front of her.  

Only murmurs could be heard, the girl with shoulder-length curly hair seemed in shock, the knife she dropped almost washed clean by the rain.  

"No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me," she stammered, her eyes wide as she stared at the lifeless body in front of her. She pulled her legs in, sitting curled up, unable to cry, as if all her tears had lost their meaning amidst the relentless rain.  

The sound of sirens soon echoed in the area. Several officers quickly approached, passing Dakota and heading straight for the girl, restraining her.

"Dax" Sam appeared among the arriving police, checking on Dakota, who stood frozen in place, unable to said anything.  

"Dax, Dakota!" he shouted, snapping Dakota back to reality, who then collapsed limply into his arms.  

"Dax!"