Skyfall

As Aerabella left Liam’s room she was confronted once again by the handsome bastard himself. He looked at her for a long time before she finally spoke.

“What is it Payne?” She growled when he wouldn’t move or take his hypnotic eyes off her.

“You should really conduct yourself in a more professional manner.” He said coldly. “I wouldn’t want all your evidence to get thrown out.”

“Maybe you would, maybe you did it.” She snapped. Liam narrowed his eyes and backed her against door, pressing his fit body against hers as he slammed his hands on either side of her.

“I would never do something like this.”

“Then stop acting so suspicious.” She growled getting in his face. They glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before a small cough broke their staring contest. They both looked over to see Samantha, the small CSI looking at the two of them.

“Am I interrupting something?” She squeaked.

“Yeah, a shitty interrogation.” Liam snapped before pushing himself off the door and away from Aerabella. She quickly moved out of the way so Liam could go back into his room, glaring at the door even after he shut it.

“Asshole.” She muttered.

“I heard that!” He hollered through the door. She rolled her eyes before briskly walking over to Samantha who was flushing.

“Did I miss something?” She asked, taking the confrontation the wrong way.

“No.” Aerabella said quickly, wanting to forget the handsome boy.

“So, are any of the guys, I don’t know, jumping out at you or something?”

“Not really. Zayn’s a pig, Louis is nervous about everything, Harry seems alright, Niall’s a wreck, and Liam is a fucking asshole.” She grumbled the last bit and Samantha pressed her lips together. It took a lot for someone to get on Aerabella’s nerves like that. This Liam guy must be a real pain.

“Well, I was just going to tell you that we moved the body down to the lab along with the evidence. Captain Ross is going to keep it there and grant you full lab access since you’re working for us.”

“Is he allowed to do that?”

“Not really.” She muttered, pushing her glasses up even further on her small, button nose. “But he figures this might be one of those cases that can come down to one fingerprint, so he wants you to have everything at your disposal.” Aerabella simply nodded.

“Well, I’m going to go run the guy’s alibis. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, goodnight Aerabella.” She smiled slightly at the tiny brunette.

“Goodnight.”

She quickly left the mousey brunette behind as she made her way quickly down the stairs to the front desk. The blonde at the front desk was all but popping out of her blouse, obviously disappointed to see a cop and not the boys of One Direction. She pouted as Aerabella leaned on the front desk.

“I need to see your manager.” She said quickly. The blonde scrunched up her nose at the pretty brunette. Why was she allowed onto their floor? What was so special about her?

“He went home.” She said, her sentence clipped.

“Well tell him to call me at this number first thing tomorrow, it’s urgent.” The blonde smirked and pulled the card out from between Aerabella’s fingers. As the tired looking brunette walked away the blonde looked at the card and pouted again. She had been hoping for something juicy, but all it said was



The blonde rolled her eyes before tearing the card in half and tossing it into the garbage, grinning wickedly. “Oops.” She said. She’d be damned if she let her beautiful boys be shipped off to prison. Especially not by that bitch. She unbuttoned her blouse one more and leaned against the counter, praying that one of them would forget their keycard again.

Aerabella ran her fingers through her short layered hair before collapsing onto her bed. She laced her fingers behind her head, thinking about that girl in the hotel room and her five suspects.

Sure, Zayn was a pig and he seemed far too calm, but that didn’t necessarily make him a killer. She would, however, have to eventually get his alibi and scowled at the thought of having to be alone with him again. Besides, he seemed like the kind of guy who’d hire someone to kill a girl so he didn’t get blood all over his clothes. But the way he’d so confidently shrugged off the death was bugging her.

Louis was nervous about everything, and that made Aerabella bite her lip. The way he had watched her every move so intently made her wonder if he had something to hide. She knew it had been smart to be nice and befriend him. It would make him trust her more and hopefully give up whatever he was holding back. But his alibi of taking a nap was fishy at best, she’d have to keep her eye on him.

Harry seemed innocent enough. The phone story was a stretch, but she knew that it was easy to forget something in a taxi. But for a young guy like him to not notice right away? It was strange, that was for sure. His movie alibi would be easy enough to prove or disprove when she spoke to the manager tomorrow, so for now she would have to just assume he might have done it.

Poor Niall had been a complete disaster, she’d never seen anyone that shaken up over a crime scene before that didn’t know the victim. She bit her lip, maybe Niall had known her, maybe they were fucking or something and he’d left to go to the show and when he came back she was dead? She sighed, that idea was all fine and dandy, but the victim had been outside before she was killed, so that wasn’t it. She assumed that maybe Niall was just one of those emotional people and dismissed it.

Then there was Liam. She wanted to punch someone at just the thought of that idiot. I mean, who spoke to an investigator like that? She didn’t need this shit clouding her judgment. She pressed her hands to her face and groaned. His alibi sounded good enough in theory until something hit her.

There were no waitresses at Dick’s.

She shot up, running over the last time she’d been there. You just walked up to the counter and ordered, there were definitely no waitresses in that place. She would have normally written it off as a simple mistake, but not this. Not with the way he’d been so sure about a waitress remembering him. She felt her blood boiling at the memory of him getting furious for her even thinking he might have done it. He was her prime suspect right now, and with that she could go to bed.

She quickly stripped as she made her way to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. She had just turned on the hot water when she heard a small giggle. She quickly hopped out and threw on her robe, walking into her bedroom. A small girl, no older than six, was sitting on her bed, swinging her legs back and forth. Aerabella swallowed nervously as she started towards the small girl, making sure to clear the rest of the room before going any closer. When Aerabella was maybe three feet away the girl stopped swinging her legs.

“Why did you let it happen Ella?” The small girl whispered. She turned and Aerabella saw the face that so perfectly matched her own. She felt tears sting her eyes and clenched her jaw as the little girl looked at her.

“I’m sorry Rickie.” She whispered. The little girl continued to look at her, her massive brown eyes clouded and not really seeing anything. The small girl turned away.

“You have to help this girl then, okay Ella?”

“I will Rickie.”

“Promise?” Aerabella felt a hot tear finally trickle down her face.

“Yeah, I promise.” With that Aerabella blinked and the little girl was alone, leaving the woman alone in her apartment once more. She swallowed again before closing her eyes and making her way back to the bathroom. But before she closed the door she stopped again.

“Rickie…” She whispered. “I’m sorry.” And then she closed the door.

The next morning Aerabella woke up bright and early, quickly getting dressed and making her way back to the hotel. She knew the manager should have called her by now and that blonde was going to have Hell to pay. She approached the front desk where and older man smiled at her.

“Hello.” She said. “I need to speak with your manager. The older man smiled.

“Well aren’t you in luck? I am the manager. I’m just waiting for Sidney to come in and then you and I can talk all you want.” She looked over the old man and smiled.

“So I assume you must have heard I was coming?” He shook his head. “Oh, I told that blonde last night to tell you, but she was too busy trying to seduce your customers.” The old man’s eyes grew huge.

“Excuse me?”

“Have the trash’s been taken out since last night?” Aerabella asked on a hunch.

“No, why?”

“Is there a card in there that says ‘Aerabella Haddock, P.I.’?” The old man ducked behind the counter before she heard him grumbling and smiled. If there was one person in Seattle you didn’t fuck with, it was Aerabella. The older man quickly popped up, calling a girl in the back to watch the front desk as he led Haddock back into his office.

“So, what did you need?”

“I need everything the boys have ordered from their rooms, no detail is too insignificant. I want their room service, pay per view orders, everything. The manager nodded, apologizing again as he ducked into his office.

“It might take about an hour.” He said sheepishly, but Aerabella smiled, dismissing the matter with a wave of her hand.

“That’s fine.” She promised. “There’s someone I need to talk to anyway.” She gave him another small nod before hopping into the elevator and making her way up to the boy’s rooms. She made her way down the hallway and bit back a smirk as she knocked on the door. There was a long grumble and some shuffling before a shirtless Liam Payne answered the door.

The moment he saw it was Aerabella a scowl took up his lovely face. “What the bloody hell do you want?”

“I need to talk to you. Is Niall in there?”

“No, he got another room.” The smirk on her face was making Liam a little nervous.

“Are you going to invite me in?” She asked.

“I’d rather not.”

“Well that’s too bad.” She said before walking right past him and into his room. He sighed, shutting the door and turning just in time to see the stunning brunette plop down on his bed, still grinning smugly at him.

“What?” He growled.

“What did you order at Dick’s?”

“I don’t know, a cheeseburger, fries and a soda I think.” She nodded.

“Sounds good.” She said, nodding. Her brown eyes shot back up to his. “How much was it?” He groaned.

“Three, four dollars. Like I said, I threw out the receipt.”

“Well we can look it up on your card.”

“Perfect, then why are you asking me?” He smile grew even wider as she got up, getting in his face again.

“You can’t pay on your card at Dick’s. They’re cash only. So now are you going to tell me where you really were yesterday?” Liam kept up his poker face, but Aerabella saw his hands slightly shaking before he hid them behind his back.

“I want my lawyer.”

“Please, I’m not arresting you. And that lawyering up thing is only for cops.” His eyes turned steely as he looked at her.

“Well then none of this is admissible in court.”

“You’re starting to sound more and more like a murderer Mister Payne.” She said, pressing her lips together. “Now are you going to tell me where you really were?” He looked at her for a long time before he grabbed her arms, smashing her mouth to his. She was stunned as he let go, pulling away. But then she smirked again.

“Practicing for prison?” His started getting fidgety, his plan had failed.

“I didn’t kill her.” He said quickly.

“Then why won’t you tell me where you were?”

“I can’t.”

“Then you’re going downtown.”

“Zayn didn’t have an alibi.” Liam hissed.

“He also didn’t lie to me.”

“Look, there’s got to be something I can do.” He whispered, stepping closer to her again and running his hand down her arm. She shuddered, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as his soft, perfect lips found hers again. She tried to resist, but couldn’t fight for long before she was kissing him back, and she was plopped down on the bed. His large hands found their way up her thighs, pulling her even closer to him. Her hands wrapped around his neck before running over his short, cropped hair.

“Ella…” She heard Rickie’s voice and shot up, knocking Liam off of her and glaring at him.

“That’s not going to work.” She snapped, her breathing a bit heavy. He smirked.

“It seemed to be working just fine.” He said, standing over her.

“Tell me where you were or I’m calling the police to take your sorry ass downtown.” She growled, leaping to her feet and getting back in his face. The smirk was replaced with a scowl.

“I don’t have to tell you anything! You’re not even a real cop!” Her eyes got sad for a moment before she spoke.

“I was.” Then she turned and walked briskly out the door. She pulled out her phone and told the police to come down and detain Liam and that she’d interview him again later that day. She then filled Ross in on everything she’d found out before making her way back down to the lobby.

As she went to the front desk she saw a police unit making their way up the stairs and nodded at them. She slowly reached up, touching her lips. Judging by what she knew about him, Liam wouldn’t go for the seduction card unless he was hiding something big. Like being the murderer. But this all seemed just a little too easy.

She fought back her racing mind as she saw the elevator open and Liam being escorted out in handcuffs. He looked over at her, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before Liam just shook his head. “You’re making a mistake!” He hollered across the lobby. He broke away from the officer holding him and ran over to her. “Every moment you’re focusing on me the real killer is out there.” He snapped. The officer quickly grabbed him again and started dragging his towards the car. “If anyone else dies their blood is on your hands Aerabella Haddock!” He roared.

Then he was gone.

Aerabella just shook her doubts from her brain. He was playing mind games and it wasn’t going to work on her. She ignored the stares she was getting as she made her way back towards the reception counter. The raven haired man looked at her with wide eyes, but she shrugged it off.

“I need to talk to your manager.” She said simply. He just nodded before disappearing into the back. She let out a long sigh before her phone buzzed. She quickly answered.

“This is Haddock.”

“We have a problem.” Ross said simply.

“Let me guess, he lawyered up.”

“No, there’s another girl, she’s missing.”

“When?” She asked, knowing the time she was snatched could shatter my entire case against Liam.

“The same night as our victim. They went to the concert together and neither one came home.”

“Shit.” Aerabella knew, as well as Ross did, that if they didn’t find her within the next thirty hours she was most likely done for. She ran one of her hands through her short hair. “Do me a favor, get me a picture of both girls for my interrogation with Liam.”

“Will do.”

“Hopefully he hasn’t already killed her.”

“Aerabella, did you ever consider maybe it wasn’t him?” Ross asked quietly, feeling like she was going off her distaste for Liam rather than facts.

“Well if that girl shows up dead I guess we’ll know for sure.” She said coldly before hanging up. It had to be Liam, she just knew it. The fact that he had so blatantly lied to her and wouldn’t even give her a second alibi? As the manager came out she groaned; his hands were empty.

“Miss Haddock, it won’t let me print the files-” He started.

“Just send them to this email address.” She said simply before scrawling down the SPD’s email. He nodded as she pushed herself off the counter. She figured she’d let Liam sweat enough as she started towards the door, but a voice stopped her.

“Elle!” She turned to see Louis running towards her, hair disheveled and his clothes hastily thrown on. She assumed the police had woken him up.

“Yes?”

“Where’s Liam?”

“He’s in a holding cell waiting for me to go interrogate him, why?” The boys bright blue eyes searched hers frantically.

“Do you really think he did it?”

“Well he lied to me about his alibi and didn’t give me his real one.”

“That’s not reason enough to-”

“I can detain him for seventy-two hours without cause.” She said. “If he’s innocent then that’s one boy off my list, so you better start figuring out exactly what you did that night.” Louis bit his lip.

“I just… I knew Liam could get a little angry at times, but I never thought he could…” He sighed, running his fingers through his messy hair.

“Has he ever attacked any of you?”

“Oh heavens no.” Louis said quickly. “He just gets really mad and will stomp once and be done.” Aerabella nodded.

“Well, I have to get downtown.” She said. “Try not to leave the hotel, alright Tomlinson?”

“Alright.” He said. She turned to leave again, but his voice stopped her once again. “Elle.” She turned back. “I think you’re a damn good detective.”

“Uh, thanks.” She said before turning and making her way to her car. She drove quickly to the station and made her way towards the interrogation room. Liam was handcuffed to his chair and she couldn’t help but grin. Handsome bastard deserved it. She stepped inside and sat across from him only to be met with a death glare.

“Get me the fuck out of here!” He snapped.

“Not until you tell me where you were.”

“I already told you, I can’t.”

“Is that why you tried to seduce me?”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” He snapped. “You wanted it, don’t act like you didn’t.”

“Now you’re sounding like a murderer and a rapist Mr. Payne.”

“I would never do that.”

“I’m not so sure.” She said coolly, looking at him. For being in handcuffs he seemed very calm, too calm. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Where were you yesterday at-” She was interrupted by the door being opened by Samantha. She looked sheepishly at Aerabella. “Samantha, I’m in the middle of an interrogation.”

“I know but trust me; you’re going to want to see this.” She handed the papers to Aerabella, who saw the highlighted section and groaned.

“Well shit.”