Case Closed

“Finally,” came a second voice, sharp and laced with exasperation.

Katie Lawrence stepped out from the shadows, arms crossed, the faint orange glow of the streetlamp catching in her dark eyes. Her smirk widened as she approached the frozen figure slumped in the front seat.

“I thought she’d never stop blabbering like an idiot,” she said, her voice low and mocking as she leaned in to get a closer look at Delilah. “God, the way she kept monologuing in her car, like she was narrating her own little documentary.”

Mark, still standing by the window, gave a sideways glance before speaking the command aloud. “Time stop. Katie, start.”

With those words, Katie blinked, jerking slightly, before grinning as the world remained still around her.

He turned his attention back to Delilah, reached for the door handle, and opened it with care. Her frozen body barely shifted as he slid his arms under hers and guided her out of the seat. Delilah’s limbs remained rigid, her expression locked in wide-eyed shock as he maneuvered her onto the hood of her own car. Since she’d already been in a sitting position, it didn’t take much to perch her upright.

Mark tilted his head slightly, examining her like a sculpture.

“She wasn’t as tough as I thought she’d be,” he muttered. “Kind of disappointing, honestly.”

Katie walked up beside him and rolled her eyes. “They never are. Big talkers, all of them. Still, I got to admit, actually seeing her, she looks hot.”

Mark chuckled. “Yeah. She really does.”

Katie crouched, adjusting Delilah’s legs with practiced ease, while Mark straightened her shoulders and arms. It wasn’t their first time handling a frozen body, and it showed in their coordination. They moved quickly, efficiently—almost like stagehands setting up a mannequin.

“We’ll get her back to your place,” Katie said, brushing a lock of Delilah’s hair away from her cheek. “Once she’s secure, we tear her stuff apart. She has to have notes, files, something hidden away.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Mark said, gripping Delilah under the arms. “Let’s move.”

Together, they lifted the immobilized redhead between them like a piece of furniture—her body stiff, unyielding, yet still somehow graceful. Her frozen features stared blankly ahead as they carried her down the empty street, the night air cool and silent, cloaking them in secrecy.

They moved without speaking, the two of them perfectly in sync as they made their way toward the Donovan house.