The Storm

Deal

The crime scene or perhaps it was more just a scene of interest lay inside a ring of badly drawn yellow caution tape. From afar there didn't seem to be much and it was definitely not guarded which was odd. Thalia had always thought that in cases like these security was the most important part. Maybe that was why nothing was ever solved around here. It was why Bianca's death was just written off as an unfortunate accident.
The autumn air was cool enough so that the two girls' breath fogged in front of them. It was eerie in the cool darkness, but it was enticing too.

"You said you wanted to catch Octavian in his lies. Figure out what crazy shit is going on in this town. Well this is where we start." Reyna said her hands tucked in her jean pockets to preserve some warmth.

"Right. Let's go." Thalia nodded ducking under the caution tape. The husk of the car looked fragile beneath the light of their phone flashlights. It had really been scorched.

"Should we split up and cover the zone?" Reyna asked.

"I don't feel comfortable considering everything going on. I'm sticking with you." Thalia inched towards Reyna. The two walked hesitantly towards the charred husk of the car.

"This seems a bit excessive for a simple engine malfunction." Reyna noted spotting different car parts littered across the ground.

"I mean if it reached the gas it could have exploded." Thalia shrugged. "Here."

Thalia found a nearby stick and headed towards the car using it as a lever to shift aside the blackened car hood.

"Thalia don't tamper with the evidence!" Reyna whispered violently.

"Oh come on they clearly don't care or we'd have been caught by now. Besides they can blame it on a wild animal." Thalia said looking inside the car where once glistening parts of the engine seemed to be covered in only powder. She studied the interior carefully.

"See anything? You probably know more about this than I do." Reyna admitted looking over Thalia's shoulder.

"Well it does look like the battery sparked and the fire started here but the gas is at the back and a fire at the front of the car should be pretty noticeable. She should have stopped." Thalia said taking a step back to observe the skeleton like vehicle.

"You're right, that is weird." Reyna frowned shining her light around curiously. Thalia knelt on the ground and slipped out of her jacket.

"Here hold this for a second." Reyna took the piece of fabric and slipped it on as she was cold. Thalia crawled on her stomach until she was beneath the car and rotated onto her back. She shone her phone light around the belly of the car in search of further information.

"The brakes look in tact." Thalia called. "Axel is good. But...what the heck? "

"What is it?" Reyna asked her interest piquing.

"There's a clock here. Jammed into the hood area. It's like a pocket watch or something." Thalia wiggled back out from under the car and stood up holding up a broken pocket watch. The glass was shattered and the hands were frozen in place.

"Let me see." Thalia tossed the object to Reyna. She caught it easily and turned the device over in her hands examining the back. It seemed to be rather expensive and hardy as it had survived the explosion of the car. "We should hang onto it. They clearly didn't know it was there."

"Good idea." Thalia nodded. "We should look for other things."

Reyna tucked the object into her pocket and turned in a circle examining the ground this time. She paced about as did Thalia a few steps away. At first she figured they'd found the only odd thing there was until she discovered the husk of a phone tucked away just outside the caution tape. The hard drive seemed to be okay.