"999, what's your emergency?"

"I'd like to report a murder", replied a soft female voice with no emotions.

"Is the victim still breathing or show any signs of being alive?"

"No. He's been dead for half an hour."

"Is the aggressor still there?"

"Yes."

"Police are on the way. Please, stay away from that person and look for shelter. Help will get there at any minute. Stay calm. We'll take it from here... Miss? Miss?"

***

I entered the office with a cup of coffee in my hand. The last case was hard and had kept me awake for a few days. But even so, I couldn't rest at home knowing people out there needed my help. So, there I was.

The typical noise of the crowded place was almost revitalizing.

"What's new?", I asked Paul as I approached my desk. He was hanging up the phone on the desk in front of me.

"Murder."

"Victim?"

"Male in his forties. He was stabbed twice, his throat was slit. He drowned in his blood", Paul grabbed some papers the way he usually does when something about a case just doesn't fit right for him.

"Any suspect?"

He sighed. "The daughter claims she killed him. She even described the whole process", I saw him put down the papers before he continued. "That man had a long record for domestic violence, drug possession, and robbery."

"Then we can assume she just acted in self-defense", I grabbed the folder that was on top of my desk and checked on the details of the case.

"The thing is... she's trying to get a sentence. Every time we try to mention something about helping her, she comes up with comments that could send her long-term to jail."

"Domestic violence victims tend to act like that when violence fucks up their heads. They believe it was actually their fault, and that they're the bad people there. Did Cheung already talk to her?"

"Yeah. He said we need to give her a little time since she's in shock and could get violent if we try to break the fake reality she's in."

I laid my papers back on my desk and started walking towards the cell. I could feel Paul following my steps clearly concerned about my next move.

I found her walking in circles, somewhat slowly dancing while softly singing a song. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. It was like the melody was hypnotic. She stopped for a second and looked at me expressionless. The look in her eyes was so profound.

She looked away and continued her task while I tried to understand why I suddenly felt so attracted to the dangerous halo surrounding her.

"Don't get too involved. We still cannot discard her as a suspect", I heard Paul saying, and it brought me out of my absorption.

"She looks too young."

"She's your same age."

"Where's Wong!", Chief shouted from his office door. I blinked and turned to him.

"Here I am, Chief. I just got here", I glanced at her one last time and then walked towards my boss.

***

Humidity got into my nostrils making it hard to breathe normally. That along with dust was giving a putrid, hurtful taste to my throat.

"This is officially the worst closet we've been in", I heard Paul complain, and I laughed.

"Well, now we can confirm the profile Cheung had for the victim", I put a latex glove on and grabbed a jar from a shelf. It was filled with white powder. "I can bet my life this is cocaine. That man was no victim", I opened the jar and tasted a bit of the powder. "Cocaine. A good one."

"Remind me again, why are we checking the closet? The crime happened in the living room", I saw my partner making a disgusted face.

"I have a feeling there's something here that can be useful. You said the wife disappeared a few months ago."

"That's what the file said."

"Something doesn't fit right. He wouldn't have left her go that easily."

"There are some women who get to escape successfully."

"Not without their kids. Now give me a hand", I moved a foldable table aside to expose a big trunk in the corner. There was a fetid smell coming out from there, but almost immediately vanished in the air. There were some boxes stacked on top of it. I passed them to Paul to clear the area.

"You know, kiddo, there's a time in our careers when we need to take work out of our priorities and settle down. You've been working non-stop since you graduated from the academy. It's pretty incredible all you've achieved in such a short time, but don't you ever think about having a family? Maybe spending some time with your parents and brother? Staying away from your family is the worst thing a cop could do. It kills the bond."

"It's hard to have a family when you know there's people out there who've lost theirs in the hands of gangsters, or who've been looking for their beloved one for years. It's hard to handle. I can't be with my brother and forget somebody's kid is lost or look at my mom and avoid the thought of a wife whose husband was killed. Dad says it has to be with the duty, so I let it be."

"I get the point, but you're pushing aside what you should be caring about the most."

"Hand me that lever", I pointed at the tool next to him once the boxes were removed. I had a bad feeling.

Paul handed me the lever and helped me put pressure on it once I set it in place. The trunk yielded, and the fetid smell got intense. More dust flew in the air, as if it had been trapped in there for a long time.

We covered our mouths with our jackets and pulled the cover. A skeleton wearing an old light blue dress came into our sight. The same soft melody I heard from the girl came to my head and put me in the same hypnotic state as before.

I could hear the slight voice from my partner behind me, but I couldn't understand a word he was saying. He was probably calling for reinforcements.

My eyes were stuck on the skeleton. It looked like it was trying to move, as if it had come back to life the moment we opened the trunk and was fighting against the rigidity of its bones to stand up and grab my hand.

It slowly turned its head towards me, and the melody in my head was replaced by whispers asking me for help. I slowly raised my hand to touch it.

"Guess you were right", my partner said putting his hand on my shoulder, breaking the hypnotic moment. "I'm so sorry for the girl."

I blinked rapidly and the whispers disappeared. The skeleton was in the same position we found it in a few moments ago. "Me too", I replied.