Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Song of the Phoenix ❯ Hold Your Arms Around Me ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: Chicago was a blast. So was everything else that kept me from writing ~_^. Luckily make-up work is finished, and fastpitch is over, too. I will be writing more now that I have extra time. Sorry for the delay.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

"Hold Your Arms Around Me"

Sally tapped a pencil against her chin, lost deeply in her thoughts. She was at home, seated at the same table her and Wufei had sat at those few nights ago, when she had told him of her past. This time, though, her heart wasn't filled with guilt and shame and anguish-emotions the past inevitably brought up. This time she was deep in concentration over the Sprague murder case, as it had been called.

Vivian Johnson had been murdered. Sally and Wufei had been granted the...pleasure of finding her body after receiving a mysterious phone call. And the word pleasure is used in utmost sarcasm. The murder of Vivian was in definite connection to the original murder of Jason Sprague. Vivian Johnson had called with information regarding the murderer...maybe even her murderer. That was a little freaky. This most likely means that Vivian has- well, had some connection to the murderer, or even the victim.

Sally picked up a manila file, opening the folder and skimming through some pages. It had broad and obscure information on Vivian. Any in-depth research would have to be received from the police headquarters, from in the computers. Heero Yuy was the one who designed the system, which was virtually impossible to hack into. Luckily, Sally had a password, since she would be conducting a huge portion of this investigation. Sally was powerless to stop the sigh that escaped her lips. Her hand listlessly massaged her pounding forehead.

"Well I guess I should compare Vivian Johnson's file with each of the Winner residents…" Sally whispered to herself, hoping when the words were spoken they would make more sense to her tired, muddled brain. "Since it's most likely someone who lives in the apartments…"

"Starting with Trowa and Catherine Bloom…"

Each of her searches turned up negative, and Sally was beginning to lose all hope of ever finding a connection. Her pessimism weighed heavily against her chest, and her stress was beginning to constrict her breathing, if only slightly. She pulled out the last file…this one labeled: Lester Johnson. The name caused her to pause.

"Johnson…" Her excitement grew, if only slightly. Johnson was a terribly common name…but she couldn't help but feel hope-little though it was. Two Johnson's in one case must mean something, right? Picking up the folders the Chinese investigator stood, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out her cell phone. Time to walk to the station and do a little in-depth research…and calling Wufei might be a wise idea, too.

Flipping off the lights, her apartment fell into a deep shadow. The streetlights outside lengthened the shadows. Turning away from the sight, Sally shut the door behind her, preparing for the long walk to the police station.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei ran his hands over a deep red book, worn smooth from its constant handling. A small gold band adorned the edging, giving the book elegance without being flowery. He flipped over the cover, eyes roaming over the Chinese characters as they had done a thousand times. He didn't need the book, for he had each entry memorized…engraved on his heart. Each entry was written in a strong, flowing script. Each entry had the same ending…always stopping with the name…

Meilan…

The entries weren't filled with flighty, emotional thoughts that normally befit a woman. The words appeared to be written for someone…for the entries were too concrete to simply be one's thoughts. And Wufei knew. He knew now that Meilan had always known she was going to die. She wrote the journal for him.

Each account in the book told of their time together. It was like she had poured her memory onto the pages for him. The book began just a week after their engagement, and ended just one night before her death. The cancer had taken her quickly; it had been in her system for a long time untreated. She was never treated is because no one ever knew of her sickness until her weak condition caused her hospitalization. And by then it was too late…

But Wufei knew. The first entry Meilan ever wrote revealed that she was aware of her illness. But she didn't do anything to stop it…she didn't do anything to help save herself. And after the funeral…her will was read. She had left all of her books to her fiancé, and after painful months of ignoring them Wufei had forced himself to go through the boxes of books.

It made him angry. She had allowed herself to die. She had left him behind! After the feeling of betrayal came the silent agonizing over his own self-worth. He wasn't important enough…Meilan wouldn't even live for him…

The book landed with a small sound on a coffee table. Wufei's hand lay positioned where he had released the book. The sharp ring of his telephone jerked him out of his dreary state. He grabbed the black phone off its cradle, answering tersely:

"Yeah?"

"What a way to greet your partner." Was the teasing reply. Wufei couldn't stop a wry smirk from appearing on his features, but he chose to disregard the comment.

"What is it, Sally?" He could almost hear her smile through the phone.

"Well, I think I finally found a connection in the Sprague case. I'm heading to the police station now." Her voice was slightly distorted from the thin static from her cell phone.

"Specifics?" he prodded, feeling slightly guilty at his doubt. She really was working hard, but this case was simply hopeless.

"Lester Johnson was one of the Winner Apartment's residents. Vivian Johnson was the woman we found murdered in her house."

Wufei's voice held a note of warning. "Sally…"

"I know, I know," she interrupted. "I shouldn't be getting my hopes up. But it's the first shred of a connection I've found all day, so I might as well follow it up. That's why I'm heading to the station to do some more extensive research."

"The station's closed."

"I have a key."

Wufei tried to come up with another argument, but simply decided against it. He let out a barely audible sigh. "Fine, I'll meet you down there in fifteen minutes."

"Too late, I'm already there." This time Wufei's sigh was painfully audible.

"Fine, but I'll be down there in fifteen."

"Okay. 'Bye, Wufei!"

"'Bye." Wufei replaced the phone on its cradle, standing and stretching lithely. His realistic attitude refused to allow him to hope for a connection with Vivian and Lester, but his partner had sounded so optimistic, and he desperately wanted to trust in her intuition. He reached over and grabbed his coat, pulling it over his arms. The door closed behind him with a click as he took off after his partner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A young man with sandy brown hair stepped out of the shadows he had been hiding in. His eyes followed the tawny-haired woman as she continued on her way to the police station. His lips curled upward, just detectable in the pale streetlight. She knew his secret.

He couldn't afford anyone to know his secret.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingers curling around a switchblade.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sally fired up the computer, hearing the monitor hum as it began to load. She had left the employee door to the police station open because she found it doubtful Wufei had a key, since he only recently joined their squad. She reached beside her and turned on a desk lamp, which helped to cancel out the computer's bright screen. She brought up the search database, fingers flying over the keys as she punched in the password.

"Vivian Johnson…" she murmured to herself, watching as the woman's picture and a short biography of information pop-up. Her eyes scanned down the page. "Relatives…mother-deceased, father-deceased, brother-living." Sally paused, letting this juicy tidbit soak into her hopes. She clicked on the link marked "brother," which brought up a new window. What popped up to greet her was a picture that she immediately found familiar. It was a young man with sandy brown hair and dark gray eyes.

The title of the page read: "Lester Johnson."

Sally clapped her hands together, letting out a whispered "aha!" A soft sound at the doorway broke her out of her happy discovery. She remembered her partner had yet to show up, and called out to him:

"Wufei, come here! You should really see this…"

A voice sneered in reply, "Oh he'll be here. Too bad you won't." Terrified smoky blue eyes looked up, taking in the form of a very familiar man.

"Johnson…" His gaze was predatory, and the lamplight gleamed against the blade he held. Sally stood up quickly, backing away until she felt the wall hinder her movements. The crazed murderer was blocking her way towards the door, and the only window in the room was on one of the walls perpendicular to the door. She would never make it before him.

Lester adopted an air of mock sadness. "Now, you know why I have to do this. It's your own fault, you know." Sally grasped the office chair that she had been seated in. She tried to control the trembling shaking her body. He stepped out of the doorway, walking towards her. She prepared herself to fling the chair at him and make a run for it when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Sally?" the voice called, and Sally broke her gaze away and watched the doorway as Wufei appeared.

"Wu-" she was cut off as Lester sprung, pushing through the office chair and slamming her up against the wall, pressing the knife to her throat warningly. He turned to the shocked investigator in the doorway.

"Take one move-either away or forward-and I swear to God I'll slit her throat," the sandy-haired murderer growled, eyes flashing to where Wufei stood stock-still. Sally could feel the itching of blood sliding down her throat where the blade was pressed harshly, and she knew without a doubt that he wasn't bluffing.