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." []