Trixie stepped through the portal she had conjured into the small cul-de-sac of houses. It was raining, the grey skies only serving to make the tired looking houses even more drab than they already were, and she hurried along the pavement to the cordon that had been set up around Barnabus' house. A tall wizard in a blue and white police uniform stopped her to check her badge before directing her to the small forensic tent that had been set up in the front garden of the three bedroom house, which, aside from the tent and the police car parked in the drive, looked perfectly normal.
She pushed aside the plastic sheet over the entrance of the tent and stepped inside. Given that Barnabus' body had already been collected and removed, all of the forensic equipment had already been dismantled and taken away. All that was left was a round table in the middle of the room and a few plastic chairs. A woman with dark hair and a sour expression sat at the table, flicking through a file whilst a pen scribbled away by itself at a separate stack of paperwork. Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had arrived before Jason had.
She cleared her throat to announce her arrival. "Detective?" she said.
The older woman looked up from her paperwork through a pair of thick glasses. "I thought there were two of you?" she said bluntly.
"Ah. My partner should be here any minute."
The woman tutted and gestured at the seat opposite her. "D.I. Chalk," she said without offering her hand.
"Agent Blackthorn," Trixie replied, smiling politely. She could already tell how this was going to go.
"Let me tell you this, Agent," Chalk said, putting just enough emphasis on Trixie's title to hammer home her annoyance. "I've worked plenty of murder cases before. I don't need the Agency looking over my shoulder every step of the way."
"Of course not," Trixie replied calmly. She had dealt with situations like this before. Local police were rarely thrilled when they found out the Agency had taken an interest in one of their cases. Many saw it as a challenge to their authority and without the proper handling the police could become as big a hurdle in the investigation as the solving of the case itself.
"I assure you, D.I. Chalk," Trixie continued, "I am not here to tell you how to do your job. The Agency simply believes that given the uncertain nature of the case that a second pair of eyes would be helpful."
Chalk grunted but her answer was cut off as Jason blundered into the tent, rain dripping from his nose.
"Sorry I'm late," he said cheerfully, striding towards the disgruntled looking D.I. Chalk to shake her hand. "Had to make a stop at the office!"
Trixie stared at her partner, her mouth dry and her stomach making knots of itself. It was the first time she had seen him since the day before when she had accidentally spiked his drink with a homemade love potion. Only, something had been wrong with her potion. Instead of falling madly in love with her he had become like an animal, binding her arms and legs with magic and fucking her brains out. Her wrists still ached from the ropes that had dug into her flesh and even her legs were a little wobbly still. She had no idea what had happened to him after he had left her in their office and despite calling him a dozen times he hadn't spoken to her since.
"I don't know what you two are hoping to get out of this," Chalk said. "My people have swept this place top to bottom and the only credible piece of evidence that we had has already been confiscated by the Agency."
"You're referring to the writing desk?" Jason asked.
"Yes, the bloody desk!" Chalk snapped. "You'll see. Everything else in that place is spotless otherwise!"
The desk had indeed proved useful to their investigation so far. It had been destroyed in whatever commotion had led to Barnabus' death but when they had magically reconstructed it, they had found a piece missing. It was their first and only clue to the old wizard's death and one that the local law enforcement had missed. She didn't think bringing that up with Chalk at this moment was the best idea. She glanced at Jason, hoping to get a read on his reaction to the situation and their eyes met briefly. She clenched her fists, colour rising in her cheeks but to her surprise he just winked at her, the same mischievous grin that he always wore plastered over his face.
"Let's get this over with," Chalk grunted, waving her wand at the stack of papers which promptly slid themselves off the table into her open briefcase. "I assume you have suits?"
Trixie nodded as she stood and withdrew her wand from the holster on her belt. She tapped the tip against her stomach and a protective paper suit including a mask and gloves formed over her clothes. She looked up to see the others doing the same before Chalk jerked her chin to the exit of the tent and led them across the garden and into the house.
The front door opened directly onto the staircase. A door to the left led through to a dining room and presumably a kitchen beyond whilst the living room was through to the right. They stepped into the living room which, as Chalk had said, was spotless. A leather sofa sat to left of the door whilst a pair of tartan armchairs were positioned in front of patio doors that led out to a back garden that was all grass. Paintings of old ships hung from the slightly faded magnolia walls and the remains of a fire were visible in the hearth. The only thing that seemed out of place was a patch on the wall to the left of the fireplace where the paint hadn't faded quite so much. Trixie guessed that had been where the desk had been.
"The victim was found here," Chalk said, indicating a spot on the floor in front of one of the chairs. "As I said, there's nothing else out of the ordinary."
"What's your theory, Detective?" Jason asked.
"He was old," Chalk said. "My guess is he had something stored in the desk that went off and his heart gave out from shock."
"You really think it's that simple?" Trixie asked.
"Yes," she snapped. "I've been doing this a long time, Agents. Sometimes you don't find anything because there is nothing else to find! Now, what else do you want to see? I have another case to be getting on with."
"We're quite happy looking around on our own, Detective," Jason said. He was still smiling but the humour had gone from his eyes. Trixie could imagine what he was thinking, mostly because it was probably the same as what she was thinking. Chalk had already made up her mind. She would be no further use to them.
Chalk raised her chin. "That's not protocol," she said.
"No, but no one has to know," Trixie said. "We'll check out with the cordon officer when we're done. As you say, you have more important things to be doing."
The detective chewed her lip as she glanced between the two agents before nodding tersely. "Fine. Just make sure you let them know when you're leaving."
"Of course," Trixie said, smiling sweetly as Chalk stormed out of the house.
They waited until they saw the light of her portal before looking at each other, Jason letting out a low whistle that turned into a grin.
"Well she was pleasant," he laughed.
"Yeah... A delight," Trixie replied. She looked her partner, shifting her feet uncertainly. Why was he acting so casual? Wasn't he feeling as confused as she was?
"Do you want to take upstairs?"
"Huh?" she said, her cheeks reddening again.
