The Havenport Files: Book One

Day 3

We all follow the harbor's road until reaching its end, the same area the cameras showed the car falling into the waters; tire marks, more predominant than the others made by the worker's vehicles, stand out to my eyes; it is clear that the person turned the car on purpose so they could escape. Broken chain's pieces and the small metal pole only avoid the same fate as the car, being swallowed by the darkness of the waters, because of the other poles that stay intact and connected to it, which creates a sound every time a gasp of wind makes it hit the walls of the harbor.

Stepping forward to the edge of the road's end, a smile comes to me, as even in the darkness that might fool one or two people into believing the depths are unreachable, the rocks that are glued to this road, their formation, hold the car on its side, which I can only tell by the hint of its metal door open and sticking upwards from the dark.

I am glad that today isn't as cold as yesterday and so on, because my smile doesn't come from the fact that the tow truck can easily manage to retrieve it, but actually from the fact that it is within breathing distance; my thoughts are that if the killer had all the trouble to try disappearing with the car, then they were desperately trying to hide some important piece of evidence from us.

While I take off my boots and socks, putting them to the side, I make sure that the agent's focus is on the waters and not on me. "It is good that the killer really doesn't know anything about the city; the car won't take more than two hours to be retrieved, I think."

Properly folding my coat, I place it atop the boot, secure from any possible splash. To end my precautions, I put my gun, taser, phone, and wallet on the pile as well; it would be terrible to lose all of my things because of my next action. The cement against my soles is not one of the best feelings, especially considering that it is very rough, like walking on a box grater.

"Yes, indeed; I just hope for whatever might be in there to be recovered without any unrepairable damages." Agent Dalia comments before turning to me, already noticing the lack of my coat, and not after, my boots—my naked feet serve as enough warning for her to formulate what I'm planning on doing.

To her discontentment, I don't allow her room to speak; quickly, I turn to Agent Yui, who doesn't catch anything different and just looks at me with a grin. "Agent, what I'm about to ask you is very important, so listen closely. I have something to ask of you that I need you not to question; just do, okay?"

"Bad girl, I like it; just shoot it." The words leave the agent with an intrigued purr.

"I need you to push me into the water—"

Whoosh

...

Everything happens too fast, giving me only a brief glimpse of the agent's faces as it happens. Dalia widens her eyes and attempts to catch my hand without success; Colette stands there, immobile; even so, I manage to catch her stopping herself from doing anything by the way her hands untie from crossing against her chest before returning to where they were; and Yui just grins, amused by what I asked of them.

One thing I have to give the agent is their reflex time, and I guess their lack of common sense; if not for it, I'm sure they would not have done what I asked. My body fights the air as my weight brings me down into the cold, wet embrace of the water's bosom that once gets a hold of me, giving me all but a moment to suck up all the air I can before pulling me down.

Splash

There is a certain moment where it all becomes so peaceful; where my worries are washed away like sins as I float, where I stop thinking and all I can feel is a strange sense of peace—of belonging to the ocean—the feeling feels like it lasts an eternity, soothing me like a mother's embrace, but in reality, it is just a fleeting moment—a lie, one that I would love to believe, to grasp close to my heart even if for a moment more—that is clear the moment my body is hit fully by what situation I find myself in.

From outside, I imagine that it would be cold and that the waters would get to me before giving me the chance to adapt, but this is on another level; I can only compare it to getting into an ice bath in the winter.

My body finally is struck by the shock from the sudden immersion, making me almost involuntarily gasp and swallow a bunch of water, but biting my tongue I manage to hold the instinct at bay; next comes the very hard work of my heart to adjust my temperature, all in vain, as there isn't a way that it can keep all of me warm, and so I feel my extremities get tingly and cold.

The first few seconds are of pure agony, which to my luck lessen as I shift myself to the right position and get my eyes on my prize, which, as I saw from the edge of the road, really isn't lodged that deep. Using my feet and hands, I swim downwards, fighting the waters to move.

Different from a pool, the difficulty to move is at least two times harder. My hands get a hold of the car's door and keep me from floating up as the quantity of air in my chest is still greater than the water's pressure.

I first look inside at the front seats, trying really hard to find something—burger wrappers, a bottle of whisky—but nothing that really helps me. On the back seats, too, there is not a single item, neither floating nor resting.

For a moment I start to think that this was a very bad idea and that I allowed the heat of the moment to get to me, a heat that would be very appreciated right now. Now wanting to get to the surface empty-handed, I check the compartments of the car, first the cup holder, which is empty, then the visor for any documents, and lastly, I check the glove box.

The make the damn thing open is a pain, not because it is locked, that's for sure, but still, something must have jammed the thing on the fall; in the end, using my feet against the closed door, the compartment opens suddenly, and I'm let to float backward, hitting my head against the ceiling and losing some of my air in an exhale before I have the chance to redirect my body to the right angle so I can see what I got.

A flip phone, very similar to the one the daughter had, shows itself to me.

Time runs short, my air supply starts to run out, and a throbbing starts to grow in my head; the pressure makes me feel like my head will explode the more I stay, so instinctively I grab my finding and kick the closed door so I'm pushed out of the car.

Staring up, the sunlight reflexes on the water, its beams diverging in all directions, but its source staying in one place, like it is waiting for me, guiding me; of course, to not disappoint my favorite medium-sized star, I swim up against the clock as parts of my vision darken, as my muscles weaken, and as my life slips away.

Tick, tack, the clock goes on, and with it all my time; slipping away like grains of sand in an hourglass.

The three agents stare down at the waters as the detective swims downward, out of view into the shadowed embrace of the cold mirror, where the light finds trouble illuminating far.

Agent Dalia, who tried to catch Olivia's hand before she fell, kneels down and gazes at the water, trying to find more of her, any sign, yet, in the end, she finds only her own gray irises starting back.

Colette, growling in anger, turns in the direction of the other agent, who still holds a grin on their lips as the woman disappears.

"Hey, before anyone says anything, she asked me not to think, so I didn't; how could I imagine she would be crazy enough to go after the car?" Yui comments, holding their end to defend themselves. "Still, kinda cool of her; goes to show that she does have balls."

Except, the anger from the agent is not focused on them but instead on a scent of blood that reaches her sensitive nose, still hot, from a small animal, likely a rat; her eyes dart to the direction it comes from, prompting the apologizing agent to, with a curious face, do the same.

There, atop the same warehouse they were a moment ago, a gangly figure, wearing a cloak to protect its skin from its arch nemesis, the sun, stares down at the agents; on its face is an expression not easy to spot, so the agents are only able to see what they imagine is a smile because of the exposed, sharp fangs that stand proudly, waiting to get stuck in someone's neck, that someone being clear as day, as the fact that the figure was spot doesn't sink in their mind for a long moment.

Once it notices that their cover is blown, the figure jumps away incredibly fast to the forest and runs away.

"He was watching us; his scent is becoming harder to detect." Colette, spitting on the cement floor, holds herself from going after the man and only returning with his head in hand, as she knows not to underestimate a target, especially after the punch he managed to land on her jaw.

"Shit, the guy doesn't know what no means; I'll have to teach him later, with my fists." Laughing, Yui turns to Colette, who focuses past the words from the agent, ignoring the unnecessary comments—something that makes them sigh and get somewhat serious. "He is surely growing courageous; I mean, he isn't afraid of us one bit, and that says much after what we did with his face. That means he probably will try his luck again."

"Yes, even so, we can't take that to heart yet." Agent Dalia stops looking for a sign of life from the detective and gets back to her feet. "For good measure, we need to stay beside the detective for as long as we can manage today; at night we can come up with a plan to deal with the threat. We need Julia to find the detective's address; we can't risk him capturing her."

"Okay, whatever you think is best, boss; I'll message JB after we are in an area with a better signal."

As their conversation comes to an end, the loud sound of someone gasping for air as they leave the waters makes them all turn to the source.

At last, succeeding in my ascent out of the depths, I find myself being able to open my mouth and not drinking half of the ocean's worth of water with my lungs; coughing, my throat hurts somewhat, but still, the flip phone in my hand makes it all so much worth.

For the first time since I started working on this case, I can say that I'm genuinely happy about the result of the investigation.

My eyes flicker from the rock wall of the road and the distance of a fall from it to where I am; there's no way to climb back up the walls, not without a rope; that is why they put a ladder on the side of the road, so if anyone was dumb enough to fall in, they could easily climb back up.

Swimming in the direction of the ladder that lies on the side of the road, I grip my hand around the metal rods that connect it and feel the wet, seaweed, and other sea life forms that are very slimy to the touch, something that makes it hard not to slip on it, so I reinforce my grip and start to climb up carefully.

When I peek my head up with a relieved exhale, leaving my relaxing body, I see the eyes of the three agents lingering on me.

"Are you alright, Detective? Did you swallow any water?" Dalia offers me her hand and pulls me up to my feet, away from the ladder; her hands touch me before inching away as she feels the coldness of my body at this moment. "Detective, you're freezing! Please put your coat back on." The woman bends down and grabs my coat, unfolding it and getting to my side so she can put it around my shoulder.

I smile at the woman, finding her worried face warming. "I'm fine; please don't worry so much; I didn't mean to scare anyone, so I'm really sorry for that."

"You don't need to apologize, Detective. I just hope that your actions harvested something good and that next time, you exercise patience; these waters could have swallowed you to the point we would not be able to do anything to help."

"I gotta say, Lia is right; don't you worry about apologizing; the view is doing enough of that." With a smug on their face, Yui crosses her arms and poses like a person at an art gallery, looking at something very nice and expensive; following their gaze, I see that my shirt is, at this moment, because of the water, leaving nothing to imagine as it glues to my skin. "I painted you as a sports bra girl; you know, because of you having to move around town and all, but I am a fan of the classic types as well."

"Yui, can you please try not to embarrass the detective; imagine yourself in her shoes for a moment." In an attempt to defend me, Dalia places her arm on her hips and scolds the agent, who in return only smiles and shrugs.

"Hey, if I were in her shoes, I would be very proud; just saying."

Sensing that if I just let these two continue, I'll stay here all day, I step forward, and instead of touching the woman's shoulder as I don't want to get her vest wet, I tap it lightly. "It's okay, I don't mind; I'm not sixteen anymore, so this type of stuff doesn't affect me."

I see the woman sighing and giving me a nod of her head. "Then I am glad, but please don't hold yourself back from telling us if anything bothers you."

"Sure, I will. Now, let's get to the important part. Look at this little baby I rescue from the car." Wriggling my hand, I put in full view my finding; it doesn't look so impressive now, especially as water seeps from the thing, but still, it remains important. "It seems our killer wanted this gone, or maybe it was just luck that this was in the car; in any case, I'm no expert, but I sure can dry this and put in a new battery to see if I manage to save it, and if not, I'll take it to an expert tomorrow."

"Nice work; I knew you were going to be a nice addition to the unit. Aces high." Approaching me with a hand held up, Yui prompts me to grin back as we slap hands; their slap is strong, to the point my palm reddens afterward.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves; we will have the time to commemorate after the threat is no more; still, I don't mind indulging a little in the moment as well." The woman, mimicking my action, taps my shoulder friendly. "Good work."

"And no words from Colie, how unexpected." Mockingly, the agent approaches Colette, who slaps their hand away as they make their way to wrap around her shoulder. "Still no fun, as always."

"'Fun' is not needed; the only important thought is the one involving completing the task at hand."

"Ugh, party killer."

Feeling a sneeze claw its way up my nose painfully, I shiver and hug my coat closer to my body; the sweet release from it doesn't come, only the itch that makes me frown.

"This was good; we advanced the investigation a lot today; I have to remember to thank Alexandrina for the info. I think I need a change of clothes, to ones that aren't dripping, so I'll stop by my house; I'll just wait for Mel to come pick me up if you guys need to go somewhere."

"Oh, please, don't you worry; I can give you a ride to your house without a problem. It is the least I can do, considering I offered to bring you here." Dalia offers without losing a heartbeat.

"If that is the reason you don't need to worry, I mean, using your logic, you brought me here, and it would be a disrespect to get the seat of your car wet; I know the pain that is waiting for it to dry off the leather. Besides, I don't plan on going back to the station soon; I promised my sister to walk our dog as she has her hands full with the new patrol schedule."

The woman readies herself with a smile to, if I have to guess, say something along the lines of, 'Nonsense, a wet seat is no problem at all.' Except that, before she has a chance, Yui spawns from behind her like a shadow with the sincerest and widest grin I have ever seen on their face—sure a record even to themselves.

"You have a dog!?" They ask a little too loud like they are announcing to the whole harbor the fact. Suddenly, the agent turns to Dalia with what looks like the best puppy eyes they can make, pleading even before getting through the question part. "Boss, we can go with her, right? Think about it, we get to spend more time with our beloved detective, get to know her a little better—and her dog, of course, can't forget the dog—meanwhile, we use our free time, as sure, we have absolutely nothing else to do—if you say paperwork, I'll punch you—and yeah, it's a win-win situation; can't go wrong."

"Well, that is true. But this isn't our choice to make; if the detective would like to spend her free time in peace, then that is her right."

There's a moment where sadness befalls on Yui's face, something that reminds me of when Melissa used to be sad when we first joined the station, and she wanted to party and celebrate all the time, as I focused one hundred percent on the job—no such thing as free time for me; that was when she didn't make that face; she knew exactly how to push me into making some bad decisions. To my luck, those decisions were the best ones; they connected me with the city like never before—perhaps this is what I need to do—connect myself some more with the agents; it can't hurt to try.

"No, no; I think Yui is right." I let the words leave me, surprising both agents, but nothing from Colette, as she remains with an unreadable expression.

"You do?" Yui asks with the revival of the beam.

"Yeah, I don't see why not if you are all free; I don't hate spending time with you guys, and who knows how much time we have until the investigation is finished and we never see each other again. I'll bite this chance."

A rare scene, or so I suppose, is when I see Dalia laugh—she smiles a lot, but laughing, that is new; when she notices my puzzled expression, she simply turns to me and politely excuses herself.

"I apologize, it was out of my control; seeing Yui act this childish is, sometimes, too much to handle. And I couldn't help but notice you dropping the honorifics; I'm pleased to see we are becoming more of friends to you; feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken though."

Today is really an off day for me; something is just not right; first, Yui's flirts got me to blush so easily, and now I'm doing it again; the genuineness behind her words just strikes me right. I don't know; the only thing I know is that my gaze travels elsewhere as I rush the words out of me so no one notices.

"Then, what are we waiting for? If it isn't a problem to go now, of course." I say shyly, even though I make sure to try to sound less affected.

"All right, this is happening!" Jumping to my side, Yui pushes me forward as a way to make everyone hurry up. "One thing, do you mind if I park my bike in front of your place or in your garage? I don't want to go all the way back to park it on your station."

"Yes, it isn't a problem at all."

"Nice."

Just like that, we all get to the SUV, less Yui, who rushes to their bike and, instead of rushing away, waits to follow us; Colette, without a word, takes the backseat instead of the front one now, telling me that we will change seats without actually saying anything, so once I open the passenger door, I use my coat to sit on so I can avoid getting the seat wet and sit comfortably.

Soon enough, when everyone is ready, Dalia starts the car, and I'm facing the dirt road again, only this time, instead of looking at my hands, I look to her as I direct us on the right path. Through the side mirror, I manage to catch Robson waving me goodbye as he leans against the guardhouse, so I wave to him back before the harbor totally disappears from view.