'So you are the good cops, huh?' said Henry as Ryan and Alan both of them entered the room .Ryan had a gloomy face while Alan looked determined and expressionless.

'You're right' said Alan and took the chair leaning back in a comfortable position resting his palm on the table .Ryan kept the bunch of files on the table ,the same one that Alicia bought just some minutes ago.

'So it's your turn now?' smiled Henry, he was certainly enjoying this thing even though he was injured.

'Sure.' Alan returned the smile 'I hope you don't let us down this time'

Henry looked away as if he hadn't heard anything and he was alone in the room.

Alan turned to Ryan and signalled him to start the interview. He liked to listen and observe ones reaction. Then he would later maybe take up the questions himself.

'Are you a rapper?' Ryan tried to set up a funny mood first as instructed by Alan.

'Oh, do I look like one?' he spread the smile to his whole face.

'Of course you do. I tell you, you will have a great career in your life if you take up rapping as your profession'

'Really?' Henry raised his eyebrows. 'Okay thanks for the suggestion, I'll surely think about it'

'Yes, that'll be great' said Alan now. 'What is your profession anyway?'

'I'm just a--.' Henry held the last word in his mouth but didn't say it.

'Yes?'

'I'm just a common man' Henry looked relieved.

'Well but you do look like someone special who can afford to stay at some of the most expensive hotels'

'Yes, I can. Do you have any problems with that?'

'Certainly not' said Ryan. 'But we need to ask you some serious questions, Henry'

'I will only say what I know .I'm not gonna say anything that ya'll want me to say'

'We want you to say the truth'

'And that's what I said all this time. I don't think there is anything more left for me to say'

'If nothing is left to say, then lets revise the previous questions again' said Ryan. 'Let's start with your source of income first'

'I don't have a source of income'

'Then how can you live your whole life in hotels, you must be paying something to them .That's what a common man would do' said Alan 'Or perhaps you have your own home, own income , but you're not willing to talk about it for some reason'

'That's not true .I'm willin' to talk about it'

'Okay?'

'My brother works somewhere and he wires me money. That's it'

'So you have a brother?'

'Yep'

'Where does your brother live?'

'I don't know'

'You don't know where your brother lives yet you're receiving money from him?'

'I am, is that a problem?'

'It is' snapped Alan.

'He doesn't live here'

'That's what we're asking about. Where does he live?

'UK'

'Britain?'

'Yes, now please don't ask for the exact place, that I can't say'

'Ok' said Ryan 'But what we'll ask about is your exact place at the moment'

'What do'ya mean?'

'The hotel you're living in now?'

'The name of it?'

'Yes, give us the hotel name'

'I don't remember it. I told ya' I don't have a great memory'

'Well then try to remember it'

'Is is important?'

'Yes'

'There is also something else that is important' said Alan.

'What is it?'

'How your fingerprints came to be in our Vic's car'

Ryan kept the picture of the black SUV back on the table. 'In case you don't remember what type of car it was' Ryan said in a quirky attitude.

Henry stared down and studied his leg wound.

'Look Henry' Alan now moved forward on the table keeping both his elbows on it and clasping his hands together. It was an old manner or better say a trick. When he was young the detectives used to do this when interviewing the suspect. It signals that 'Just answer whatever we're asking, it's damn important. And you deny anything; we kick your ass and send you to a shitty prison'. He used to wonder is it really going to work? But when he first tried this method with Alex by his side, it helped him to reason with the opposition and make him say everything that they wanted to hear. He used this method after a long time, although he wasn't very sure if this was going to work, as this particular suspect was really a jackass. Alan went on 'You don't have to hurry with your answers , just take your time, think about it, maybe we can also arrange for some cigars ,beverages or pizzas if you want. But the main thing is that when you talk, you say the truth. And we've all the time in the world to wait for it'.

Alan fell back instantly as if he just finished giving a political lecture in the white house. Henry glared at him trying to make out the exact meaning of his words. Then he moved forward and said 'What sort of shit am I in?'

'Serious shit' said Alan 'If you decide not to talk'

He looked down at the table for the third time now.

Ryan was becoming more impatient, he was not sure if Alan's method was going to work or not. He never tried this himself, and probably never will in future.

Alan sat back and looked ahead at the walls as if he was enjoying terrific natural scenery. He didn't bother to ask Henry any further questions, he totally sat back and waited.

Then Henry said at last, 'I can't say how you got my fingerprints on the car you're showin' '

'You can't say?' asked Ryan suspiciously.

'I mean I don't know, then how can I say?'

Alan nodded as if he understood what Henry actually meant.

Ryan raised his voice a little 'Just admit it that you were in the car'

'How did you find me?' Henry asked back to him.

'Nice tattoo Henry' admired Ryan.

'Oh really?'

'Yep, that's how we found you'

Henry frowned and thought about why on earth did he make this tattoo in the first place.

'We are waiting Henry' said Alan. He was aware that time was passing away.

'Does your brother have a contact number?' said Ryan.

'Maybe'

'You don't know it, right?'

'Nope'

'You have became quite predictable, I see'

'I like being predictable, it makes it easy for others to understand me'

'I hope so' said Alan.

'What's his name?' asked Ryan.

'Whose?'

'Your brother, the one in UK'

'Ronald'

'Ronald Roberts?'

'Yes'

'Thank you for the least information you gave us' said Alan 'We'll see'

Alicia was ready, as soon as she heard the name she strolled towards the nearest servers and started connecting the servers to the computers in order to get an ID on this man Ronald Roberts, if this man ever existed.

She entered the name and browsed the whole database while the remaining portion at the end was still loading. She checked all the names starting with an 'R' and scrolled it down looking at the pictures and faces. At the end, she narrowed it down to two persons.

Kevin was there too, behind her, checking the pictures and the names in their database.

'Okay so I got two Ronald Roberts here' said Alicia after making sure she wasn't missing out anything.

'Well...'

'I don't know if anyone of these dudes might be his brother'

'I would prefer the black one as he is himself black'

'Good idea, still we've to be certain about it'

'One minute' Kevin asked Alicia to wait and he went inside the interrogation.

'So you're back, eh?' Henry laughed seeing him.

Kevin ignored him and said to Ryan softly. 'Outside, for a minute'

Ryan and nodded and followed him out.

'Found something?' asked Ryan.

'We did' said Alicia 'More than one actually'

Ryan stood behind Alicia and looked at the screen.

'Ronald Roberts' Ryan repeated.

'Yeah, we got two Ronald Roberts here, so which one do you think is our guy?'

'Not sure' said Ryan. 'We got to check on them both. Do we have an ID on them?'

'Trying to get one'

'Okay just inform us when you get a hit' said Ryan and went back to the interrogation.

'You look quite confident detective' said Henry as Ryan took his seat.

Ryan stared away promising to himself that his attitude or behaviour would not irritate him.

Ryan poked behind Alan and made a sign with his hand by which Alan understood something .He stood up and very silently said 'What?'

'We got something' he said softly just like Alan did.

Alan nodded.

'You might wanna come out first'

'Yes?' Alan spoke more freely as they came out of the room as the suspect could not see them or hear them.

'We got two hits' Ryan informed him.

'About what?'

'Ronald Roberts'

'Is this name valid?'

'Perhaps'

'Okay let's see' Alan moved towards Alicia, which made her a little uneasy.

Alicia showed him both the names and the pictures as he looked at them and the information available .He could not make out if it was the right man or not.

'Only two?' said Alan. 'Good'

'So which one do you think is the one?' asked Ryan.

'We should check on both of them, I guess'

'Is he willing to say anything more?'

'Not really. And what's the use? He will probably make a story even if he says something. We're not getting the truth anyway'

'Do we have a location of the man?' asked Ryan.

'No, but I'm trying to track the remaining bio-data and other details, it's still in process' replied Alicia.

'And I don't think there's any need to question him again as of now, because I'm sure he'll not answer anything more. So we better not waste our energy on him' said Alan.

'Yeah that douche is just playin' with us' said Kevin.

'That's what I'm saying' said Alan in a much calmer tone. 'He is just playing with us. So if we need any more information about anything, we'd have to find it ourselves, so we should not expect any help from him'

'But what if both the names are fake?' asked Ryan. 'If the name he gave us is not a real name? Then what? More time will get wasted'

'Yeah it'll be' said Alan 'But we don't have a choice. We will just have to pursue the leads we have at present, unless we hit a dead end. Anyway, I also noticed something else'

'What is it?' Ryan's voice was eager.

'I noticed some dark patch in his pants.'

'Dark patch?'

'Yeah, looked like some sort of lubricant....' said Alan and thought for other options. 'Petrol is also considerable. But I'm sure it got to be some car lubricant'

'Then maybe he works in a car manufacturing factory?'

'Or even a garage'

'But what if' Alicia started showing other reasons 'he visited a garage for some reasons and from there somehow he got the stain?'

'Tell me something' Alan said softly. 'But first apply your brains. Why would he visit a car manufacturing company or a garage if he doesn't have a car himself?'

'Unless he works there itself' completed Ryan as Alicia was quiet.

'True, but how about a bike?' Kevin said.

'Bike maybe. But you can get a bike from anywhere' said Ryan. 'But we can consider that'

'Okay, do you wanna wait or take another shot at him?' asked Kevin.

'I don't think it's worth it' said Alan. 'He promised himself for some reason that he's not gonna say anything true and that's what he will do anyway.'

'There must be something going on with him' said Ryan staring at the computer.

'With him?' asked Alicia.

'Yeah, something is wrong' he said 'If you look at the proceedings carefully then you'll see that there are thousands of things involving Henry which are suspicious'

'Like what?' asked Kevin.

'Like what?' Ryan repeated making a face as if 'How can you even say that?'

'Why did he run away the first time we talked to him' said Ryan 'When he understood we're cops, he tried to escape, and panic? Not a great reason. And you see he'll not say why or when he was in our Vic's car'

'Yes they are some quite suspicious points' Alan agreed.

'He must be guilty about something' said Kevin 'Maybe murder, maybe something else. We just have to find that out'

'Whatever it is, we will surely find that out' said Alan and sat across the computer screen so that he could see from there. The screen showed a buffer sign, it means its loading and the loading was only thirty percent complete.

'How much more time is needed?' he asked Alicia.

Alicia kept one of the hands on the mouse moving it sideways. 'It will not take more than twenty minutes, Mr. Smith'

Kevin glanced inside and said 'Just look at his face.' He growled. 'I could just punch him and smack his head against the wall'

'Anybody would have wanted to do that' approved Ryan.

'Be careful, he's quite strong and he might even be our killer. So you don't wanna hurt him just like that. We should keep him in one piece.' Alan declared.

'Who the fuck cares' said Kevin and turned his back from to room.

Ryan looked at his watch again and saw it was already 3 pm. 'Guys anybody hungry here? 'cause I'm starving'

They soon realised they haven't ate anything till the bed tea, or a cup of coffee maybe. No breakfast, nothing. Now even the lunch time was over.

'Who's up for some food?' asked Ryan.

'Uh...I'm in' said Kevin.

'All right. I'm famished' said Alan.

'Alicia, what about you?' asked Ryan. 'You wanna join us?'

'No, I will pass. I have some food with me'

'Okay then, just give me a message when you get the location' said Ryan.

Alicia nodded.

'Let's go' said Kevin and reached for the half open elevator door.

NINETEEN

As they stepped outside some dry winds and an unimaginable heat greeted them. People walking in the streets had handkerchief over their mouths to save themselves from the dusty hot winds and the germs that were in it.

They quickly wore their shades, which helped to reflect the light and protect their eyes.

'Terrible heat' said Kevin.

Ryan took his car and drove it to the East 20th street. The road was clear and it was near the department so it didn't take much time.

'Gramercy Tavern? It's a luxurious restaurant' said Alan. 'You could have chosen something less specious'

'There's not much restaurant near here' said Ryan.

They entered the restaurant and the first thing that they felt relieved about was that the AC was on and it was cool. They even considered at that moment, not coming out ever again.

There were also delicious dishes all around with smells that were enchanting.

They took the corner table near the window and sat down. They chose it because it was near to the door and they could certainly rush outside if they need to. The other people stared at them awkwardly as they were in their suits and normal people thought they must be some agents.

Kevin drank the completely cold water bottle that was kept on every table with some stylish spoons, napkins and other things.

Alan looked at the menu card and found that most of the dishes were costly.

Alan gave the menu card to Ryan as he ordered some Cheese kielbasa, Rye Spaetzle and Sauerkraut .Kevin also ordered some mushroom lasagne with spinach and pine nuts. It was an inappropriate dish for someone who would go out running in the sun again. But still they wanted to do justice to their taste buds.

The waiter brought the dishes soon and asked them. 'Anything for dessert, Sir?'

'No, this would be more than enough. Thank you' said Ryan as the waiter went away. He took a bite soon and said 'It's good isn't it?'

Kevin took off the sunglasses and said 'Yeah'

Alan didn't eat much, he looked outside and at others and just ate two spoonfuls of Rye spaetzle and the pine nuts. He didn't want to stuff himself up with these foods, it will be really unhealthy.

'Can I taste the mushroom a little?' asked Kevin.

'Sure, I'm already full. I'm not sure how we will eat the remaining foods.'

'Too good. If you're full then give it to me'

'Who says I will not give you. Take the cheese'

They ate as they have never eaten before.

Alan was not interested in foods. He said 'We better hurry okay? We got to find our man'

'Right. Just wait. Alicia will inform us soon' said Ryan with his half mouth, full of cheese and lasagne.

'Great, then'

'Are you feeling tired, Kevin?' asked Ryan.

'Why do you ask?'

'You look tired'

'Man, isn't it natural?'

'Hey Mr. Smith' said Ryan suddenly.

'It's just Alan' he corrected again.

'Okay, tell us a little about yourself'

'What should I say?'

'Your past life?'

'My past life?

'Yeah'

'I don't live in past anymore'

'Still?'

'My past was with precinct and my present too' said Alan. 'So there's not much to say about it'

'Okay' said Ryan. 'What did you use to do before you joined the precinct?'

'Nothing'

'Nothing?'

'Yeah, just a jobless teenager'

'Oh...Then you started serving in the homicide, right?'

'No, as a junior officer at the 28th precinct'

'What about you?'

'I was a patrol cop' replied Ryan.

'Me too' Said Kevin gleefully. 'We're both partners from the school till now...'

'I see' Alan was uninterested in this conversation .There was much more important things to discuss about.

'But we haven't heard much of you, Alan?' Ryan said his name for the first time in correct manner.

'Because it's just two years that you are serving in the detective squad'

'Well' said Ryan taking another mouthful of lasagne 'How many years did you serve the homicide squad?'

'Can't conclude the exact number, really' said Alan 'fifteen maybe, if you exclude the last two years'

'That's what Henderson said. 15' replied Kevin. 'That's a long time'

'Yeah, and I'm still here'

'But you don't look too old to me?' said Ryan and looked at his face awkwardly. 'What's your age? 35?'

'Soon to be 40 actually' said Alan and started stirring his coffee with the red coloured straw that he just found.

'Quite a senior, I see'

'No, I'm no senior. Think me as a friend' said Alan.

'Yeah, ok. And we've only heard good things about you from Henderson' Kevin stated.

'He has a tendency to exaggerate things'

'That's not true and you know it' Ryan chuckled.

'No, it's true'

'Okay...and.' Kevin started to say something but forgot midway.

'And?'

'Yeah..and who was your partner that time ?'

'Well there was one. It was Alex. Others had formed another team in this department only. But officially I only had one partner'

'Where is this Alex now?' asked Ryan. 'Transferred to another precinct?'

'Not precinct, but transferred to a prison actually. He murdered someone two years ago and that was the last case we worked on, before I went to Washington to help out the FBI'

'Oh, Christ' Ryan exclaimed to himself.

'So that was your last case?'

'Yes, and this is the first case after I came back'

'What happened, that you had to fly to Washington?' asked Ryan.

'Well some agents were getting murdered and they both somehow had a connection with the precinct. That's why they wanted a detective from the precinct itself who knows the matters more than them, or at least the NYPD side. And when they chose the 13th precinct for unknown reasons, the DA and the chief, Henderson, everyone had only one person in their mind. Henderson sent me there; the case was a complicated one. But I solved it anyway with the help of a FBI member and then the FBI asked me to join their squad. I thought about it and I did join, but I felt it was better back here. Quiet cosy and confusing murders, it was easy, a lot easy, I liked this kind of stuff, and I'm not getting any younger, am I? So I resigned and came back here, again'

'Hmm' Ryan muttered visualizing the pictures in his head. 'Tough work'

'But the federal jobs were supposed to be full of action and interesting' said Kevin.

'Action - yes, interesting? Not so much'

'I see'

'Well so you both are working for the last two years, and what about Alicia? Her background?'

'Same as ours' Said Ryan wiping his mouth with the paper napkin 'a common patrol cop to a detective. Maybe she also served as a lieutenant in the middle, I'm not so sure about it'

'I was here for 15 years at a stretch and everything was just the same' said Alan. 'But see, I was out for only 2 years and now everything is changed. Terrific!'

'Well what about your family?'

'I don't have one'

'Orphan?'

'Yes, had a far away uncle but lost touch with him .Not sure where is he now'

'Is he in the city?' asked Ryan.

'I don't know. Maybe. Maybe somewhere else. Or maybe dead'

'Don't you feel lonely?'

'I like being lonely' said Alan 'You don't always get much time be yourself. If you do get some, then never miss it out. And also you're only mature when you start enjoying your own company'

'That's right, too' agreed Ryan.

'So anyway, I think we should be focused on our present case than our past life' said Alan at last.

'Yes, you're right'

'So what do you think about this particular case, which you got, so suddenly?' asked Kevin.

'What's there to think?' Alan looked outside and the waiter presented them with the bill. 'We should just go on with it now, and see where it leads eventually'

'But it's all blank ahead'

'I know' Said Alan. 'First we need to solve the mystery about this tattooed dude'

'Yes, well what do you think about him?'

'There's nothing to think' Kevin answered in place of Alan. 'Henry is a bloody liar and no one can deny that' said an animated Kevin.

'But he said the truth about his brother. The name Ronald Roberts seems to be a valid one'

'That's not yet proved, that this is valid' said Kevin. 'It might as well be some random name that he gave us'

'We'll see'

'And you're right Kevin' Alan backed him. 'He is a bloody liar. But there got be a reason behind all this'

'No reason. There is 90% chance that he killed someone and doesn't wanna let it out' said Kevin.

'We don't know anything regarding his background' said Alan. 'We will have to get everything we can and then see if he has got the quality of a killer or not'

'Yeah' said Ryan looking at the bill and counting the money he had with him, thankfully. 'You know what? I don't understand why do people lie. Look at me, I haven't ever lied in my life, except when necessary'

'Huh' Alan nearly laughed 'You think, why people lie, I mean seriously? Thinking why people lie to you because you don't lie to people is like standing in front of African lion and wondering why would the lion eat you, 'cause you don't eat a lion'

'Not at least if it's a lion. Man, I'll never be able to digest the mane' said Kevin.

They made a nice laugh, which made other's head turn towards them.

Ryan's mobile buzzed, he quickly wiped his hands and tried to receive it. But it was not a call, it was a message .Ryan stopped the laugh and said 'Okay guys just got a SMS from Alicia.'

'Go ahead'

'She got the place, where to find both of them. I mean both the locations'

'One is in the 59th west end Ave and the other one is somewhere in the Amsterdam Avenue'

'Good' Alan stood up. 'Kevin, you take Alicia and check out the Amsterdam one, I will see the west end side.'

'Can I come along?' asked Ryan.

'Sure'

TWENTY

Ryan kicked the clutch and pulled the gear down to the third, he pushed the button, and the car came back to life. He used the handbrake for some unknown reasons then raced passed the Third Avenue before dropping Kevin at the precinct. Alicia was on the street too, Kevin took another cop car and left through the other way.

Ryan took the Madison Avenue shortcut, although this was a busy street, you would not be able to move your car on a working day, but today's heat kept everyone in, so the street was empty.

'How much time it's gonna take from here?' asked Alan.

'Not more than 45 minutes, or we can even make it in an hour' said Ryan as he pushed the gear to the second level.

The streets, mainly all the streets were deserted except a few people or cars. The heat was unbearable for everyone. After a few minutes, Ryan took the straight 11th Avenue and passed the Manhattan Automobile Company.

It took another ten minutes to search for the exact place in the 641 W 59th Street.

As they entered the street they parked the car in a shade as the tall and wide buildings on both the sides have blocked out the sun and the direct rays .On the right hand side, a string of luxury busses were parked .They came out and looked around.

'Are you sure this is the place?' Alan asked scanning the area with naked eye. There were also more buses and trucks parked on the other side of a netted area .A bridge could also be seen far ahead .They found a large building in front of them with a sign hanging that says 'PARK open 24 hours.'

'Well this is the place, or that's what the address says' said Ryan after a long time as he was busy checking the street.

They chose the netted area where the cars were parked inside. The nets were tall and rusty and it was recommended not to enter .They pushed the narrow cage kind of gate and entered anyway. Here, there were some normal cars and some huge trucks, oil tankers, so and so. They walked a little more inside and understood that there was not much houses or residential complexes available here, this place was mainly for car shelter and grooming.

They moved again, passing a line of small trucks, they easily found a garage at the end with a man working on a car.

'The dude looks familiar' uttered Ryan.

This man was also black, had a lot of tattoos in his body, wore a white vest and a gold chain and had solid arms and the biceps were just perfect. His face was shaved and had a spiky hairstyle with plain hair at the edges.

He was working on a car, it was a ford. He was trying to do something with the engine and the headlights with some fancy instruments that he had. The car was crumbled, maybe it was new before and it faced an accident or something like that which made the car like this. Even there was no air in the tires.

He looked up and saw two of them standing and watching him work, so he left the screwdriver on the roof of the car and stood up straight to face them.

'Who the hell're you?' he said with an uncommon accent.

Alan offered him the badge, then said 'Ronald Roberts?'

'Oh man, not again' he became disappointed and looked away then again turned back to them and said 'Yeah yeah, that's me'

'You know this guy?' Ryan showed him Henry Roberts's picture.

He said 'Yeah, sure I know him' waiting for the cops to ask him something more.

'Right, and his relation with you?'

'He's my brother' said Roberts then added 'But let's just be clear about this, what're we actually talklin' about here?'

'Your brother had been involved in a murder' said Alan. 'And we're investigating the case'

Ronald was surprised to hear this. 'What do you mean he's involved in a murder? Man, this is a total mistake, he'll never kill anyone. Where is he now?'

'In the precinct itself' said Ryan. 'When we caught him, he tried to flee, but still we got hold of him somehow, but the problem is that he's not willing to talk and we're also on a very short time.'

'So what do want me to do?'

'Nothing'

'Nothing?'

'Yeah, nothing. Just some answers' said Alan. 'Starting with where you both live? Is this where you both live?' he pointed at the garage. The garage also had two more cars in it, and a lot of mechanical instruments. The place was dusty and dirty, black oil, petrol, more lubricants were lying all around and the whole place smelled of burned charcoal. And all the other cars were broken or half open, it only had a Porsche which was still new and looked unused.

'Yes this's where we live' he replied.

'Henry also lives here?'

'Yes'

'But you don't have any bedrooms here' said Ryan.

'There is a small room which we rented just some yards away from here, that's where we live'

'So this is what you do professionally?'

'Yes, we both work and fix cars for a livin' '

'I see' Alan changed the topic. 'So how is Henry as a man?'

Ryan suddenly interjected. 'Because we think he's just great at lying, he said you live in UK and he doesn't know you'

'I don't know what made him say this, but all in all he's a good man'

'Any reason why he would want to kill someone?'

'Look man I told you, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure that he ain't goin' to kill anyone'

'You see, he's just another Henry' Ryan said silently to Alan.

'No I don't think he would kill anyone' the man repeated again.

'Was he all okay this few days?' asked Alan.

'What do you mean okay?'

'Was he irritated all the time, or disappointed maybe, or feeling guilty about anything? Anything like this?'

'None of it' said Ronald 'He was all okay and fine. I don't see any reason about why he would go murdering someone'

'Then why is he lying to us?' asked Ryan.

'How would I know?' said Ronald. 'Ask him. I have no idea about this. But you should leave as soon as possible; I'm having trouble at work'

'Sure, as soon as everything gets sorted out'

'You're making a mistake' said Ronald again.

'Okay tell me Ronald, where were you between 3 to 4 am Monday morning?' asked Alan.

'We're working that night, here'

'You also work at night?'

'Yeah, well not everyday .But we do work when the pressure is more'

'I see'

Alan turned to Ryan and said 'Let's go Ryan.'

They, without saying anything more left him there standing awkwardly looking at their backs and still thinking what was all this really about.

They came out of the netted area and moved outside on the street near the parking lot. The street was full of shadows but still it was hot. Only standing there could drain all your energy. The sky was turning violet and the sunrays were slanted but still it had enough power in it.

They walked to their car and Alan stood there balancing himself, relaxing on the cool wind that suddenly started blowing.

He also looked tired; his long white face now had some droplets of sweat. Ryan stood beside him thinking about what they should do next.

'Now what?' asked Ryan as Alan kept looking at the cemented street.

Alan turned to him. 'I don't think there is much we can do now'

'So what should we do next?'

'Get anything we can on this to guy' said Alan looking up at the sky, 'And I don't quite believe this Ronald guy too'

'Yes, maybe he's also lying' Ryan suggested.

'Not maybe. He certainly is' Alan persisted on this 'Henry was certainly not with him that Monday morning, he was somewhere else, and the main thing is that he entered our vic's car, so they were certainly not working here that day. The fingerprints were fresh, so it was in that very night that he entered the car, and later you all found the body.

'Right'

'And the other thing, you saw when I showed him my badge, the way he reacted, like 'Oh man not again' now what is that supposed to mean, there's certainly something going on here'

'Right' Ryan said again failing to find the right word here.

Ryan's phone rang and he received it and said 'Raglan...yeah...we got the man, yes the right one...we'll talk at the precinct...okay'

'Alicia didn't get the original Ronald Roberts' said Ryan.

'Naturally' said Alan. 'Okay' he pulled opened the door of the car. 'Let's go then'

Ryan sat on the driver's seat and Alan took the opposite one, Ryan took the west 49th street and zoomed away.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, they were back at the police building. They parked their car on the street and they both went inside.

They found it was crowded now, the ground floor, there was also a constant buzzing sound going on in the background.

The receptionist was also back and she was talking to someone, as the landline phone was stuck in her ear.

The other cops were all busy talking to each other, sometimes it was about important things, sometimes not, and talking with the phones, checking documents and everything. They headed straight for the elevator.

They reached their floor and found Alicia staring at the white board as always, and Kevin looking at the ceiling and day dreaming, maybe.

'Hey what's up?' Ryan said as he took the water bottle.

'That's what I should ask you' said Alicia 'what did you find?'

'Nothing important actually' said Ryan 'Ronald denied the fact that Henry can be a murderer and said they were both working together that night'

'I see, except the lies, now the only thing that remains is why Henry went inside the Vic's car' Alicia said to herself.

'Where do they work?' asked Kevin.

'In a filthy garage' Answered Ryan. 'They own the garage and they fix cars'

'Right' said Alan.

'So what should we do now?'

'Get everything you can on this man Henry Roberts'

'You got it' Kevin said and became busy with the computers, while Ryan walked over to the window and started calling someone from his mobile.

'They both doesn't seem like a clean man to me' said Alan. 'There got to be a reason behind all this'

Alicia understood what Alan means, so he ushered Kevin and said 'Check their criminal records, see if you can find anything'

'On it' Kevin nodded as he started securing the pages with a password.

'So now what, Mr. Smith' Alicia turned to the tall man. She then sat on the chair. She wore tight jeans, white shirt and a black jacket over it. Her face was still red but her hair was fresh, as if she just came out of a shower.

'Now we wait for more information' said Alan. 'What else do you wanna do?'

'Why don't we go down and see what our guest in doing in the interrogation' said Alicia. She was smart, Alan understood, and she was right. Other than wasting time just like this, they could always go to the interrogation and question their suspect, thus utilising their time.

'Okay' said Alan. They took the stairs without waiting for the elevator and went to the 1st floor.

Luke was also there. When he saw them coming he said 'Your suspect is okay'

'Why should he not be okay?' asked Alan.

'I don't know. Kevin asked me to keep an eye on him, that's why I said'

'Ok, good. We'll take over' said Alicia.

Luke smiled. 'So Mr. Smith is your new partner?'

'Not really' blushed Alicia 'We're rather working as a team'.

Luke gave another silly smile and left, as they both entered the interrogation.

Henry looked comfortable now, leaning on the chair and resting one leg above the other.

When he saw them enter he laughed out 'Oh, helloo....long time , huh ?'

'We were busy'

'Yeah yeah yeah...I know that shit'

'What?'

'Actin' like you're busy' he said in a carefree attitude.

'You should behave yourself you know.' Said Alan. 'If you behave like a badass in front of a bad cop, you'll certainly get busted'

'Whatever .I can manage it man' said Henry 'So you were busy...where you did go?'

'UK'

'UK?'

'Yeah, to talk with your brother there' said Alan.

Henry's smile vanished as he sat upright. 'Wait what?'

'And he said he wants you there soon. He's facing some problems in work' added Alicia.

'Where did you find him?'

'The place where you both live, in a nasty garage'

'Why were you lying about all this, Henry?' asked Alicia.

Henry asked back 'But what did he say?'

'Nothing really'

'Oh..thank god'

'So you were lying all along'

'When did I lie?'

'You said he lived in UK'

'Yeah, that I said because you guys were disturbing me. I didn't mean to say that'

'Really?' Alan said 'If you had said everything all along then we would not have cared to call your brother'

'Whatever' Henry became uninterested. 'Now that you talked with him, what do you want?'

'Now we wait and hold you unless we get some concrete information about what were you doing in our victim's car that night'

'And if you still wish to talk then we'll think about leaving you early' said Alicia.

'So you guys still believe I was there in that car?'

'Yes, we do. Because you were certainly in the car. And the next moment we find our man's dead body. So don't you think you're playing it all too dangerously?'

'No I don't. Because I know I didn't murder anyone, and that's it'

Alicia's voice grew cold and hard for ever. 'Henry I swear I will find the underlying cause of the case and don't think you are gonna get away this time. I will find everything out and will arrest you for the slightest mistake you ever made in your life'

Henry leaned back again. 'You can try'. He was damn sure that he would be able to walk out of this, eventually.

Alan whispered to her. 'This is not working'

'We have to release him unless we get something'

'I know, I hope Kevin finds something'

'Now what're you both talking about?' Henry asked trying to break their conversation.

'So your brother said that you don't live in a hotel but you both live together' said Alan.

'So you 'ave got everything about me' said Henry. 'Now that you know everything why don't you leave me now and save some time of yours'

'Not so fast punk' replied Alan. 'We don't know everything. We don't know why you killed the man .You tell that to me, and I will leave you right now'

They passed the next minutes sometimes talking sometimes looking at each other, other times trying to read the minds until when Ryan entered the room and whispered to them 'Alan ,Alicia, you got to see this' and signalled them to come out.