❝ Politician's wife murdered, and he's the lead suspect?❞
❝ Ian Banks arrested for the murder of his wife!❞
❝ Harry Styles does police work to defend his friend, and assumed fiance's-mistress.❞
He was seated on the conference table in Katherine's office, all papers, pictures, and clues spread in front of him. His glasses rested between his hair, and he had thrown the cigarette away, replacing it with a toothpick that he found in his own desk. He seemed so focused, that he almost forgot about her presence.
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" Mr. Styles?"
" Hmm."
" What did Mr. Payne tell you when you were outside?" A frown creased his forehead, as he lifted his eyes off the sprawled papers to meet her own.
" I just thought - I - since you told me to work on this case with you, then I should.. know, and I - I didn't mean to-"
" Alright. Listen, Miss Montgomery, I don't normally work on my cases with anyone. I am not used to having partners or colleagues or anything that falls under that category. So sometimes, I will forget to share what I have with you, and I'll need you to remind me. Whenever you sense that I'm keeping something to myself that you have the right to know, ask me, remind me that you are in this as well, alright?" She hadn't expected the calmness with which he spoke. It was odd, how he willingly let her in. He held her gaze, and she realized that he was waiting for a response. So she nodded, slightly out of breath.
" Good. Now, come here, I need to show you something." He refocused upon a single paper, that seemed to have his handwriting on it. She hesitantly approached, but no proximity was close enough. Not until their shoulders slightly brushed, and his lengthy hair tickled her cheeks, and he made no effort to flinch away.
" Liam and I share a bit of history. We were in college together, as you probably know by now, and then he went into the political sector because his entire family had always been part of that. Then, one day, rumors began to spread of him sleeping around with someone. Said someone, happened to be my girlfriend at the time." She gasped, her eyes leaving that paper, to fully take him in. He seemed completely unfazed by the information he had shared with her.
" I cleaned up his mess, advised her to go public and deny all the rumors, organized a conference and invited him to join me, and since then, we had been closer than ever. I think he feels like he owes me in a way, I don't really know. So, that's why he told me that Ian's wife had recently lost a baby. They didn't even have the time to announce it, before she had woken up, bleeding, and the doctors said she miscarried. Liam told me that Ian blamed her, we don't know the reason, but a few days before the murder, he moved out."
" So that means that he couldn't have been there to kill her?"
" We don't know that, Miss Montgomery. The security cameras shut down, for exactly 22 minutes, and when they worked again, she was dead, and Ian was sleeping in his bed."
" But I thought he moved out."
" He did."
" Then how was he in their bed?"
" That's what we need to find out. Did he forgive her and move back in? Was he drugged and put there to complete the scenario for the murder? Did they try to kill him too, and somehow, left him passed out?"
" And who would do that to him?"
" Ah, now, that's a perfectly constructed question, Miss Montgomery." He smiled briefly at her, but his smile had always been so demanding, so captivating, that she couldn't help but smile back.
" Can I ask you a question, Mr. Styles?"
" As long as it's as well put as your last."
" What happened between you and your girlfriend at the time?"
" I went home one day, packed my things, and left. And she never tried contacting me since."
" So you believe that she slept with Lia - Mr. Payne?"
" I believe that she slept with someone, whether it was Liam or not, doesn't really matter. You see, as soon as you let the uncertainty in, there's no way a relationship could still work. As simple as that; I didn't trust her anymore."
" But you trust him."
" Is that a statement, or a question, Miss Montgomery?" He smiled knowingly at her.
" I can never be certain of much when it involves you, Mr. Styles."
" I'm a journalist, I have to be ambiguous. I should read, but never be read. I should never allow myself to be completely understood, or I'll lose the mystery to myself. And really, what else is there to someone, other than a little bit of mystery?"
She couldn't help but think that he was the most unsolved mystery she had ever encountered. And maybe she'd never understand him, maybe he'd never make sense to her, or even to himself, but God, would she love to spend her time trying to piece him together.
" Is that a rhetorical question, or a real question?" She chose to question, earning an amused chuckle from his side.
" Think about it, Miss Montgomery."
And she would. About it. And him. And all that was in between.
