Broken

Chapter 34

Zane

I take a deep breath as I stand in front of the door. I have been dreading this moment ever since I got the case. Being called in by the chief can only mean one this for me right now.

She doubts I can handle this case and plans to hand it over to someone else.

I place my hand on the cold doorknob and turn it, opening the door. A wave of soothing warm air hits me. The cozy aura of the room never fails to ease the tension a little.

I see the heaters are finally fixed.

Stepping inside, I spot the chief, in a navy blue suit, sitting at her desk looking at some documents. Her dark hair tied into a ponytail rests gently on her right shoulder.

"Sit," says the woman with serious dark eyes without looking up from the papers.

I make my way towards an empty chair across the desk, which is covered with many documents. I glance at the wall to my left which is obscured by her numerous certificates and achievements.

Greta Michelles, before becoming chief, was a very determined and hardworking officer. Her earnest dedication to her work has resulted in her achieving this position. Her defining trait is her strong sense of justice.

Which is why I can tell by her expression that she's getting impatient that the criminal is still on the loose.

"I can tell you already know why I've called you." She says closing the document and placing it on top of the document on her desk.

"Yes, ma'am, I know. But I would also like to inform you that we've recently made good progress. It's only a matter of time before-"

"Zane!" She stops me abruptly and then continues "Yes, I know you've talked to a lot of media outlets and had them ask the people about any sightings of the disguised criminal and you're now awaiting results from the surveillance camera footages but...I've noticed something about you that seems strange."

As she looks at me with her cold eyes, I feel like if she stared any harder, she'll know the truth. The room suddenly feels like it's getting warmer.

"I don't understand what you mean. Strange how? Didn't you call me here because you want to hand over the case to someone else?" I ask her curiously.

She places her hand on the desk and taps her fingers.

"Hear me out first. Over the past few years, I've always seen how good you are at your job. Any task I assign to you, you show determination, quick progress and accomplish it in no time. This is the first I'm detecting a change in you regarding this particular case. You've dealt with serial killers before and I understand it's not an easy job. Solving a case may take days, weeks or in some cases depending upon how influential the victim's family is months. But there's something else that's going to be a problem."

What's she getting at? I know she's sharp but could it be possible that I've been unintentionally acting suspicious lately.

"Umm...what are you trying to get at?" I ask humbly.

"You're lacking the motivation to catch this killer. It's like...you don't want to. The way you throw yourself at any opportunity to prove your skills, there's none of that here." She says and stands up from her chair.

As she makes her way to the water dispenser on top of a shelf, I feel myself getting agitated.

"With all due respect chief, my partners and I have been working tirelessly to solve this case. Even now we've been making progress and have gotten even closer to catching the killer. So you're sadly mistaken if you think the progress is slow because I've been slacking off."