Tell Me You Love Me

CHAPTER 1

Seattle, Washington DC.

At two o'clock in the morning, the police officers on night watch were excited because one of them received an anonymous report that there had just been a single accident in the Metro tunnel. The reporter said that the car was traveling at high speed and lost balance when it almost reached the mouth of the tunnel.

The officers on duty that night were Noel Simons and his partner, Smith Carter. The anonymous complainant said that the driver probably needed help immediately as he saw the front of the car starting to burn. But when questioned about identity, the call was abruptly disconnected.

To make sure for themselves, Noel and Smith immediately ran to the patrol car parked in the front yard of the police station. Noel told his partner to call an ambulance in case what the reporter said was something serious.

Not to be dismissive, but lately the Seattle Police Department has been getting a lot of prank calls from unknown numbers and false reports that cause trouble for officers. But it never hurts to be on the lookout, does it?

Noel Simons has been a special detective under the Seattle Police Department for the past three years. He joined and was paired with Smith in the serious crimes division.

After traveling for 30 minutes, they finally arrived at the scene. Even from five meters away, the two cops could already see the extent of the damage caused by the accident.

Noel immediately pulled over and darted down quickly. He then gave orders for Smith to immediately take out a light fire extinguisher in the trunk of the car to put out the fire on the front of the car while Noel checked on the driver's condition.

Smith hurriedly sprayed the fire extinguisher in his grip onto the front of the car, minimizing the explosion that might occur there. After the white foam had successfully extinguished the fire, which had not yet spread to the central area of the car, Smith went straight to Noel.

Noel seemed to be having difficulty trying to rescue the driver who was trapped inside the car because the door was stuck. "The door can't be opened from the outside," he said as he continued to try to pull the door.

Smith realized that he was still holding a fire extinguisher in his hand. "How about this?" he said, lifting the red object into the air. Showing it to Noel. "There's no harm in trying, is there?"

Noel nodded and took a few steps back from his position before Smith finally hit the car window with the heavy object. The glass shattered instantly, luckily not hitting the driver inside. "It worked."

The 29-year-old detective then took over and immediately opened the door from the inside through the window that Smith had managed to break earlier. Noel found the male driver in an unconscious state. His head was pressed against the steering wheel while his face was facing the door. From the man's left temple, blood flowed and fell in a pool under his feet.

"Is he dead?" asked Smith uncertainly.

"Let's check." Noel pulled out a latex glove from the pocket of his brown leather jacket and put it on to check the pulse in the man's neck. "No pulse detected," he informed.

The athletic detective leaned toward the face to confirm the breath coming from the driver's nose.

"How?" asked Smith curiously.

Noel stepped back from his position and turned around. He shook his head when his eyes met Smith's. "He's not breathing," he said as he removed his latex gloves and tucked them back into his jacket pocket. "Her body temperature is relatively normal, it seems she died a few minutes before we arrived. The rigidity of his extremities also shows the same signs."

Smith threw the light fire extinguisher in his hand in a random direction and let out a long breath. "Damn, we're too late. What now?"

Noel cast his eyes around and could find nothing but darkness and the howling of dogs in the distance. "You call the field forensics officer and I'll check the surroundings while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. You've already contacted them, right?"

Smith nodded and said, "They'll be here soon."

"Alright."

While Smith contacted his other police colleagues and the forensics team, Noel was busy observing the position of the driver who was found in a terrible state. His brown eyes, which were as dark as oak trees in the fall, now turned to the road beneath the white Toyota Camry, examining it carefully before drawing a conclusion.

"Noel, I've contacted them," Smith informed him. He then walked over to his partner and joined Noel in looking at the body inside the car. "The driver's condition is terrible."

Noel pulled his gaze from the tires on the modern-style alloy wheels to Smith.

"Look, he's got both legs and his stomach wedged in there." Smith shuddered in horror. "He must have suffered a lot in his last moments of death."

Noel muttered in agreement and folded his arms across his chest. "How did the witness just walk away when he saw the accident instead of giving him emergency help?"

"The anonymous reporter is suspicious," Smith added. "He hung up when we asked about his identity."

Noel agreed with what Smith had just said and nodded. "Can you get the identity of the reporter for me? We need to check it out first."

"Yes, Detective," Smith said firmly. "You know who he is, by the way, don't you?"

"Who is it?" she asked indifferently.

"Jesus!" Smith tapped his forehead lightly. "I forgot you just moved to Seattle last weekend. No wonder you didn't recognize that guy's face right away."

Noel's brown irises glanced around. Seemingly searching for something again. "I don't care who he is now, but what about the ambulance and the field forensics team? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Smith gave a short mutter and also looked around. The streets around the tunnel were quite deserted. Ever since they arrived there, not a single vehicle had passed by. "The hospital is not too far from the tunnel. I think they'll be here soon."

The 176cm tall man then walked around the victim's car and started taking pictures of some parts of the car as evidence. "By the way, this man is Louis Harrison. One of the most influential people in this town."

Instead of listening to Smith's ramblings with focus, Noel chose to walk forward to examine the car's engine. Through the cracks in the dented hood, he could still find a little residual smoke coming out of the engine. "Is that so?"

"Yes...," Smith walked to the side of the car and captured the scene with his camera. "As the CEO and heir apparent of the New Diamond Group, he is very well known for his good image here. I'm sure the news of this accident will definitely be trending number one on internet search sites."

Noel nodded his head and looked at Smith now. "The news about this man will probably be the headline of the entire media because this isn't an accident."

Smith's forehead was deeply furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think, Smith?" Noel pointed at the man from where he was standing now with a serious look. "That man... someone just killed him." []

CHAPTER 2

Metro Tunnel, Seattle City.

The scene of the crime.

The detective with a thin beard that covered his entire chin returned his attention to the machine before his eyes. The smoke from the fire was still there. He looked carefully at the engine components of the best-selling car in America in the 1997-2000s. "The sparks don't seem to have come from a hard impact," Noel said. "Looking at the dented front end, doesn't it look like this car was run over by a big truck instead of hitting the road divider in the tunnel?"

Smith, who had just finished taking a few pictures with his cell phone camera, walked over to his colleague and joined him in taking a look at the machine in front of him. "What do you think happened?"

"Brake failure, but the fire didn't come from here." Noel touched the edge of the car and sniffed the scent. "There was gasoline left on the outside of the car, but why didn't it fall onto the road?"

That's right, Smith thought. As he photographed the rest of the car for evidence, the man who was one year younger than Noel found no damage other than on the front of the car. He then grinned enthusiastically and raised his camera into the air excitedly. "I'll take a picture of this one," he said with initiative.

Smith immediately took out his cellphone and returned to photographing the remnants of gasoline on the side of the car as well as the condition of the tires and the road around the white Toyota Camry.

Noel then checked the watch on his left arm. "It's been thirty minutes since the mysterious call. The caller must know something."

"But isn't it too soon to conclude it as a murder case now, Detective?" Smith scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. "He's a little... famous. I mean, really famous in this town," he explained in a nervous voice, worried that Noel would be angry with him.

"If he really is that good, assuming now might not be the right choice."

Smith breathed a sigh of relief as it turned out that Noel was not an easily offended colleague. He then smiled proudly and tucked his phone into his pants pocket. "That's what I wanted to tell you, Detective."

Noel put both hands in his pants pockets while looking at Smith. "By the way, is this guy really rich? Usually, wealth always follows one's fame, right?"

"As a CEO and sole heir of a diamond company, how can he be called poor?" Smith chuckled. "Gosh, he's really rich and has everything. I even envy her."

"If he has a big business, he must also have bigger enemies. It's all about the money," Noel said. He shrugged and closed the hood using his latex gloves. "Don't release this case to the media, we have to get the autopsy results first. So, make sure you get both. The identity of the complainant and the forensic results of this man."

Smith nodded obediently. "Yes, Detective. I'll contact the victim's family immediately."

After a few minutes, an ambulance arrived and several medical teams rushed down to evacuate the victim's body. Assisted by two police officers who also arrived a few minutes later, the victim, suspected to be Louis Harrison, was transferred to a body bag that had been prepared for an autopsy for investigation purposes. Once completed, a police line was set up to protect the scene. Perhaps this was indeed a murder case and the culprit could have left evidence around.

Knowing that Noell was the one leading the evacuation, a doctor from the field medical team approached him as soon as the body was loaded into the ambulance. He was Dr. William, at least that's what the nameplate on his shirt said. A lanky man with a thin black mustache above his grayish lips. From the frown lines on his face, Dr. William was probably in his late forties.

"Are you the detective in charge of this case?" he asked politely to which Noel nodded in agreement. "I'm William."

"Noel." Noel and the doctor shook hands before returning to the conversation. "So how was it, Doc? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Judging from the body temperature, skin discoloration and rigidity of the victim's body, we suspect that he died about thirty minutes ago." William's black eyes stared at the ambulance door that had just closed. "But, there's something odd here."

Noel's brows furrowed. "What is it, Doc?"

The man in his medical coat turned to Noel. "If we're not mistaken, the victim has a head wound and several bruises on her face." The doctor with thin frown lines on his face then mumbled before continuing, "But the head wound on the victim, which is visible from the outside, is not in the position it should be. She... appeared to have been beaten before she died. That's just a guess, we still have to wait for the autopsy results to come out."

Noel took a breath and nodded in understanding. "I'll make sure we get permission for an autopsy from the family as soon as possible," she said matter-of-factly. "When the autopsy results are out, let us know immediately."

"Sure."

The doctor was about to leave the scene when Noel ran to hold him back. "Wait, Doc!"

"Yes, Detective?"

"Promise not to release the autopsy results to the press before you give them to me." Their eyes met and the meaningful look was immediately understood by the doctor who nodded quickly. "Thank you, Doc."

And the doctor left with the body of the victim along with the rest of the medical team in an ambulance. The two police officers, meanwhile, stood guard around the victim's car and secured the scene.

Everything went normally for a while, until Smith - who came out of nowhere - suddenly appeared with a panicked face.

"Noel!" His voice was panting while his face was pale and looked exhausted. In his panic, he even called his partner's name informally. "There's bad news!"

"What is it now?" asked Noel curiously.

"Sorry, one second." Smith tried to stabilize his labored breathing first before finally continuing, "News of this accident is suddenly all over the internet, Detective!"

Smith pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket and showed Noel the internet news article on his phone screen.

"What?!" Noel's brown irises rounded in disbelief as the article about the accident actually made its way onto the timeline. A furor had just broken out in cyberspace. "How could that be? We've only just arrived at the scene."

"I don't know."

Noel squinted suspiciously at his partner and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's just me and you here. You didn't betray me by sending those pictures you took to the media, did you?"

Smith was stunned. He gave a short snort and folded his arms across his chest. "You suspect me now? Unfortunately, I really didn't, Partner." He emphasized the word 'partner' as a form of sarcasm for Noel who didn't believe him. But it seemed his partner really didn't care.

Noel let out a long sigh and looked at Smith straight on. "Someone must have planned the whole thing." []

CHAPTER 3

First Step Hospital, Seattle.

The news of Louis Harrison's death that spread through social media pages became the most talked about topic in the city of Seattle at this time. Reporters flocked to the scene of the crime to get exclusive pictures that were nothing but aimed at reaping the coffers of money from this big moment. Some media were even willing to come to the location since six in the morning and jostle with other reporters just to broadcast the news live.

This commotion then prompted Noel as the detective leading the investigation to add field personnel to secure the evidence (the victim's car) which would only be moved in the next hour. Meanwhile, he and his partner, Smith, focused on continuing the autopsy process that had previously been approved by the victim's parents.

That morning at six o'clock, Noel was ready in an all-black shirt and suit, along with Smith, who was wearing a matching color.

Noel and Smith immediately met with the head of the forensic team that the Harrison family had specifically asked to handle the autopsy of Louis' body in the case of his accident last night. They said Louis' parents chose the best and most expensive forensic team the city of Seattle had to do such a big thing.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, a thin man with a thin mustache and his medical coat came out of the autopsy room with a female nurse. His familiar face made Noel pull the corners of her lips up. "Dr. William?" Noel approached him and greeted him politely. "Are you the team leader of this case?"

William gave the code for the nurse to leave them and after the woman left, the tall doctor returned Noel's smile. "Nice to see you again, Detective," he said kindly.

"By the way, this is my colleague Smith." William and Smith shook hands cordially. "So, you're the best doctor in this city of Seattle, Doctor?"

William smiled once again. "Would you like to hear the autopsy results from me?"

Noel looked at Smith before turning back to William and nodding. "Is there anything?"

"Louis suffered a drug overdose and bleeding on his head," William explained. "We found a high dose of sleeping pills in his blood and several bruises on his temple, cheek and lower jaw."

"Sorry to interrupt," Smith said. "Is it possible that the bruises on her face were caused by a blow? I mean, when we found her pinned down in the car, she had facial injuries where they shouldn't have been."

William then nodded. "From the scars, it looks like someone used a blunt object to beat him up."

Smith sighed harshly and said, "She was even molested before she was killed."

The doctor, who was estimated to be in his late 40s, nodded in agreement. "I almost forgot about her femur and leg that were broken by heavy objects." He then massaged his temples in disgust. "I didn't expect a conglomerate's son like him to die in such a miserable state. I didn't even know how to convey the autopsy results to Mr. Harrison in the first place."

Noel then returned the autopsy report to Dr. William. "Then how did the victim's family react after hearing all this, Doc?"

The lanky doctor continued, "Mrs. Harrison was devastated by all this, she cried hysterically and almost fainted." William shook his head in concern. "But Mr. Harrison said that he will be back here to see you. Maybe you guys will meet soon. By the way, is there anything else I can do for you, Detective?"

Noel shook his head and smiled politely. "I think that's enough, thank you for your time, Doctor. But, there's something I'd like to ask you before you leave."

William looked at Noel curiously.

"Did you notice any reporters overhearing our conversation last night?" Noel asked cautiously. He was trying to ask a question without making the doctor feel accused or anything. "They--yes, they suddenly gathered when the news hadn't been released yet."

The man in the white coat tapped Noel lightly on the shoulder and smiled. "I didn't tell anyone as I promised. Do you believe me?"

Making Noel scratch the nape of her neck awkwardly and nod politely. "I'm sorry. Once again, thank you."

"Of course. I'll be leaving now. If you need help, come to my office," she said as she ended their morning conversation with a soft smile on her gray lips.

"If it wasn't him, then was the accident really planned by someone?" asked Smith. "Even the culprit wanted to make a scene after killing his victim. That's outrageous."

A few minutes later, a portly man in a fancy black suit and gray striped tie came over to Noel and Smith. He was Matthew Harrison, the father of Louis Harrison who was the only victim in last night's accident.

Matthew seemed to be guarded by two bodyguards behind him as they faced off. "Detective Noel Simons?"

"Are you Mr. Harrison?" Matthew nodded and gave a small smile. "Nice to meet you. We're sorry to hear about your son's death, sir."

Matthew raised his hand in the air and waved it once. Instructing the two guards to leave immediately, leaving only the three of them in front of the autopsy room. "Thank you for your concern, but I am sorry that my wife has not been able to meet you." His voice was heavy and deep. "I will be holding a press conference to set the record straight on the rumors that have been circulating widely on the internet regarding my son's death."

"Then what about the investigation that--"

"I've made my decision," Matthew interrupted firmly. He read the puzzled expression on Noel's face and immediately said, "I will close this case as a simple accidental death, Detective."

"What?! But, how can that be?" Noel raised his voice. "Your son was clearly killed by abuse and premeditated murder. Someone has planned this incident and spread the news on the internet. Then, this is all you can do?!"

Matthew fixed his tie before looking at Smith and then at Noel in turn sadly. "I heard Louis was obviously taking a high dose of sleeping pills. How do I know he didn't try to kill himself instead of being killed by someone, Detective?" He sighed heavily before adding, "My son has probably been carrying a heavy burden all this time. He has become a leader at a young age and lost a lot of his time because he obeyed my requests. So, let's just end this case as a simple accidental death so that I can stop feeling guilty."

Noel spluttered. "How can you react this casually when your son died without justice in there?"

Smith whispered, "Noel, never mind."

"My mind is made up, Detective." Matthew looked at Noel straight on. "Thank you for finding my son and bringing him here.

"But, sir--"

"Uncle!"

A woman's voice suddenly came from the other direction and broke the heated atmosphere that had just occurred between the men. There were two people at the end of the corridor, running a little towards Matthew. The young woman in the knee-length black dress was Alexandra, while the thin man who looked loyal beside her was Charlie, his manager.

"Alexandra?" []