All Chapters of Hellbound: The Last Tribute: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

“Detective Grayson.” A man in his late twenties wearing a Class A uniform approached me as soon as I strolled inside the station the next day. “Yes, officer...” I replied, straightening my posture. “Miller.” He offered his hand while his umber eyes raked my appearance. I know I look a lot younger than my age. Mom told me to tie my hair in a neat ponytail - which I did - to add maturity to my appearance. I don’t think it’s working, though, since Officer Miller is gazing at me with wonder - wondering if I’m old enough to have a driving license. My brows shoot up questioningly when he blatantly glides his eyes over my body, probably pondering if I’m wearing thongs or boy shorts under my dark jeans. I’m used to police officers like him - the kind that drives my patience

The investigation on Rivera’s death forced me to endure Paul’s presence. I hated how he acts as though nothing has changed between us. I was tempted to request Chief Perez to hand over this case to another detective, save myself a lot of pain at seeing him on an everyday basis, but my pride won’t let me. This is my case, and he’s the one crossing over my jurisdiction. Plus, he was the one who cheated on me, not the other way around. He should feel uncomfortable and not me.While waiting for the coroner and crime lab’s report, Paul and I are interviewing the people who saw the body first, all five of them. A group of young campers coming down from the mountains were first insight. They called it in the moment they saw the body and everyone had their alibis checked out.Corina, a twenty-three-year-old hairstylist, was the last on our

The numbers ten and thirty were displayed on the screen of my phone attached to the car phone mount, The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil croons on a low volume by the speaker. It was drizzling rain when I left Coffee Hut, but the weather had been kinder as soon as I exited the freeway.Because the road was wet with rain and my tires hadn’t been exactly in good condition, I was driving at a snail’s pace. At this rate, I will reach the Vitale estate before midnight, hopefully. The constant uphill and the lack of street lights, or any source of light for that matter, made this trip somewhat melancholic.All my GMC’s headlight spots through the curves of the taxing road were tree after tree. It’s like driving through endless darkness. If the town proper was quiet, this place was eerie.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Eloisa’s voice echoed from the open screen of my laptop.I should’ve known that telling her about Eli’s invitation was a mistake. The moment I hit the send button on my reply to her question on what I’m doing tonight, f’acetime won’t stop notifying me about her call. I gave in and answered her call, already dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks.The clothes I was wearing were very unflattering, and it looked as though I was going to interview a suspect rather than going to dinner with that gorgeous Italian. It’s one thing I have to be sure of - if he’s Italian - but the accent gives it away already.“What?” I said exasperated. Even with my side facing Eloisa while I check if I tucked in the dress shirt

If anyone would tell me how deranged I became, I wouldn’t argue with them.The hypothetical question-and-answer Elijah and I had were certainly not intended to produce a hypothesis. He asked. I answered, less the hypothetical words.I sighed, hands trembling while I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering how I even thought that this place was bigger for one person in the first place.Elijah, peering at my endless stack of books on the shelf, made the living area look smaller than it actually is. He blends in perfectly on the beach-inspired decoration I managed to put up little by little.I’ve always wanted to live close to the beach. That’s the reason for the white and blue drapes around the apartment. The dark bl