BBDW 24 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland

Section 22.3 (UNEDITED)

“- Detective Tim. Detective Jude, is he not in?”

The moment the voice from his memory rang from behind his back, Tim didn’t bother to stop his face from frowning. Forced to look back, the dark deciduous-haired detective snapped and answered.

"No, he’s not. He went out for lunch. And it’s ‘Timothy.’"

Without questions such as 'What do you want?' or ' Do you want me to tell you?', Tim turned his head again and focused on paperwork. A bitter smile came from his dry voice.

"You just seem to be on the wrong side of the fence."

"Didn't you cause that?" As he fixed his eyes on the monitor and threw the sentence curtly, the FBI agent who visited Jude a few days ago gave a shallow sigh. There was no sign of going back, and Tim slowly began to get irritated. When Tim decided to retort something, Jeffrey slowly sat down on an empty chair next to Tim – the one where Jude was originally sitting. You don’t even look 50 yet, are you senile? - When Tim turned to his face, Jeffrey smiled faintly with his sharp face.

"This is because it was so urgent, Jude may have been offended, but I didn't mean it."

"What's the point of hurrying? He doesn't seem to even commit murder these days."

"Don't say that you don't know. Just because he doesn't show up on the surface doesn't guarantee that he doesn't do anything. Also, an undetected serial killer is something that will undermine the prestige of the police. I don't want there to be idiots who praise and revere his abilities. Besides..."

Jeffrey stuck out his tongue for a moment and licked his dry lips. The light-coloured eyes glistened briefly in an unknown colour. As Tim questionably narrowed the middle of his eyebrows, Jeffrey hesitated and opened his mouth as if he was revealing his own disgrace.

"It's unbearably disgusting that he's…... mixed in with people with a calm face. I've seen Detective Jude's report... It's terrifying that a human being who can do such a thing to other humans just by interest is released into this society. If one has the mind to kill another person, we won't know how hard it is to prevent it unless we predict it in advance. I can't stand that….. there's a guy out there who calmly gets away scot free."

“……then try something else, don’t waste your time with Jude.”

"Detective Timothy, there's no end when they start to be obsessed with one thing, and usually when their crime is caught and a counsellor visits, they give a detailed account of their behaviour, unnecessarily, because they're the self-serving type. But it's special in this case; he's only allowed Detective Jude to talk to him. I can only think that something was going on."

“What are you talking about? That’s because Jude arrested him, there’s no other reason. You can’t believe there’s something, nonsense….!”

“Why didn’t Alvin Jones, then, allow you to talk?”

Beyond the thin gold frame, Jeffrey spat the sentence out, as he looked over as if he was judging the opponent, and Tim swallowed what he was about to shout, ‘Don’t say nonsense!’. His voice eased a little.

".......That's because... Jude handcuffed him........"

"Nonsense. Cuffing is just an ostensible and procedural act. Detective Jude and you went together to arrest Alvin Jones and save the woman. It doesn't matter who handcuffs him. The important thing is, who could have been more connected to his inner self--"

“Fine enough, if you don’t want me to shout like before.”

In a low voice holding back his anger, Tim growled. Jeffrey shut his mouth for a moment. Staring at the young detective’s burning eyes, he spoke as if he were luring a rabbit out of its burrow.

“Why are you so sensitive?”

“……what do you mean?”

"Why are you so sensitive about Detective Jude? Do you happen to know anything? Or just because you're worried?"

"That's enough. We've been together for five years and it’s no wonder we're close. Who would be happy to hear that their partner is being treated as an accomplice to a serial killer, and I've seen him being rolled around back and forth more than enough over the past few months."

“You’re close… so you know him well?”

“Of course.”

Tim cuts firmly. Jeffrey laughs in a low voice once. It was a laugh as if he had a child in front of him who is clueless about things, and Tim quickly became offended. There was a sudden chill in his voice.

“What’s funny?”

"No, how should I say it...... I wondered if you knew him well enough to say 'I know him well.'"

"What are you talking about? I know everything I would have known since I'd been with him for five years..."

"Then you know he's an orphan."

Tim shut his mouth in astonishment at the moment and looked around hurriedly. Is this guy crazy? I heard from Jude that he had no parents and grew up in an orphanage. But I didn't think this man in front of me would be senseless enough to say that out loud.

“Are you out of your mind? All of a sudden…….”

“You must know. So do you know he didn’t even blink an eye when he saw the body that was brutally stabbed to death at the first scene?”

“……Yes?”

Tim’s voice came out a little blank. Jude wasn’t surprised at all at the first crime scene? Of course, he’s calm about any scene now, but I thought he was immune because he kept watching it. Of course, he always said, “It’s not like I’ve seen it once or twice. What’s there to be surprised about?” But when he saw the body at the first crime scene, he doesn’t feel disturbed? Can there be anyone like that?

“…….That’s right……. It would have been only in front of others.”

“Really? The veteran detective he’s been working with that day remembers clearly that he’s never seen a rookie like him before. It’s up to you to believe or not.”

“……that……”

"And about him, do you know that he has no memories before the age of ten?"

At the moment, Tim was really, blank.

"......what?"

"He was ten years old when he entered the orphanage, and he had no previous memory. Actually, he couldn't even check his personal details, he had no memory of himself, and he was underage. The teachers at the orphanage asked him several times, but he didn't remember anything before he came to the orphanage."

With a dazed face, Tim looked at Jeffrey, unable to think of any word to bring up. Although I thought he was a unique and unusual partner, I never expected this situation. Jeffrey said, a little sarcastically.

“Well, I guess you didn’t know. Have you been invited to his house these five years?”

"......home......?"

"No?"

The steel bar of the structure seemed to be creaking. Tim unwittingly raised his hand to the mouth.

For five years, what did I do with him? We ran around together to investigate the cases, drank or ate together, and talked about this and that. I spoke briefly about my family, and there have been a few times when Jude came to my house. But I’ve never been to his apartment. I had no business going over there.

Changing his attitude, Jeffrey drew his chair closer to Tim. His face was serious.

"I'm not directly suspicious of Detective Jude. But he's the only one who's most likely connected to Alvin Jones. While investigating Detective Jude, I also heard a child's testimony. About seven years ago, there was a girl who almost got robbed and was rescued by Detective Jude; do you know what she said?"

He didn’t feel like rehashing again, and Tim managed to shake his head weakly.

"She was scared. She said, somehow, it was like "somewhere was empty" inside Detective Jude. She said it was like he was missing something important. I don't have anything to say about a child, but I don't ignore their instincts."

“.......No way.......No.......”

"Detective Timothy, I understand how you feel for Detective Jude. I know it's hard to doubt if you've been together for five years. But I can't rule out the possibility that Alvin Jones might have contacted Detective Jude. So I want you to be tactile and keep an eye on him."

“Watch him…”

“There’s a possibility that he won’t tell you even if Alvin contacted him, so I want you to judge it well. Tell me immediately if you see any strange signs.”

Tell me immediately if you see any strange signs.

If this was the usual Tim, he would have reacted violently the moment he heard it. How can someone tell him to keep an eye on his partner and colleague, but so many words have stirred in his head fiercely. The words he just heard from Jeffrey were all mixed together and boiled.

Jeffrey was staring at Tim as tenaciously as he wanted him to answer. Should I nod my head? But the feeling of regret wouldn't go away, and Tim endured the small dizziness without answering.

“-Tim, I went out and bought everything you asked me to buy…… and got the same thing as mine……. Huh? You’re here again?”

The moment the familiar voice rang, Tim looked up. A blond detective with a plastic bag in one hand was looking at Jeffrey with slightly bigger eyes.

“Are you here to ask anything else?”

“No, I’m here for another business. Has anything happened since then?”

“Yes…..Oh, you’re leaving?”

Jeffrey stood up. Tim looking at Jude with stunned eyes turned his head toward Jeffrey as if they were burned. On his stark face, there was a smile plastered.

“Then, Detective Timothy. I want you to be smart.”

“……Ah…….”

Without even greeting goodbye, Jeffrey strode out. Tak. The door closed and Jude sat down with a puzzled look. The plastic bag on the desk smelled like a freshly made sandwich.

"What is it? Why is he here again?"

“.........”

"Tim?"

"Oh, uh, yeah."

Shocked, Tim looked back at his partner. A curious pair of eyes were looking at Tim. It was the usual look, and Tim was barely able to take his frozen mouth off.

“Nothing…..no, just a little.”

“……yes? Well, that’s fine.”

“Ju, Jude!”

With Jude's name was called out loud in the face, Tim regretted it a little. With bigger eyes than before, Jude stared back at him. He looked seriously concerned about his partner's mental state. The moment Tim thought he had to say anything, his mouth moved before his head.

"Can I come to your house today?"

“……uh?”

Jude, who was just taking out a sandwich, paused. Will I get rejected? Then what should I do? Is that rude? Amid countless questions and questions, Jude smiled with a slightly awkward face.

“Tim, I’m so scared of your face right now.”

“………. eh………”

“Yeah, well, I owe you a lot so far at your house, so it doesn’t matter. But why?”

“Oh, uh, I broke a water pipe in the house, and I got it repaired. Now that I’m going to stay at my parents’ house, it’s too far from work, so I think I’ll just stay outside for a day or two.”

“Hmm-huh. Wow. Why do you ask me with such a difficult face? By the way, can you stay at my house? It might be a tough house for you.”

“Why?”

"Why?"

"Your house is neat, like, um. It's nice. It's not old, and there's food in the fridge. It's not messy here and there. Can you clean up while you're here?"

At the playfully said words, Tim hesitated for a moment, and then laughed. Yeah, it's no big deal. Barely laughing at Jude, the young detective pulled out the sandwich his partner had bought. I just hadn't had the opportunity to go to Jude's house. He doesn't have a mother to cook and treat him to, a girlfriend or a younger brother to welcome him. So was Jeffrey's other words. Why would he say that he had no memory or that he was unperturbed at the first scene? I wouldn't have done this because I had nothing to do. This wasn’t intended to be hidden in particular......

With a slightly dubious gesture, Tim stripped the sandwich of its packaging.

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