Tell Me Who You Are

CHAPTER 1

Seattle, Washington DC.

At two o'clock in the morning, the police officers on night watch were excited because one of them received an anonymous report that there had just been a single accident in the Metro tunnel. The reporter said that the car was traveling at high speed and lost balance when it almost reached the mouth of the tunnel.

The officers on duty that night were Noel Simons and his partner, Smith Carter. The anonymous complainant said that the driver probably needed help immediately as he saw the front of the car starting to burn. But when questioned about identity, the call was abruptly disconnected.

To make sure for themselves, Noel and Smith immediately ran to the patrol car parked in the front yard of the police station. Noel told his partner to call an ambulance in case what the reporter said was something serious.

Not to be dismissive, but lately the Seattle Police Department has been getting a lot of prank calls from unknown numbers and false reports that cause trouble for officers. But it never hurts to be on the lookout, does it?

Noel Simons has been a special detective under the Seattle Police Department for the past three years. He joined and was paired with Smith in the serious crimes division.

After traveling for 30 minutes, they finally arrived at the scene. Even from five meters away, the two cops could already see the extent of the damage caused by the accident.

Noel immediately pulled over and darted down quickly. He then gave orders for Smith to immediately take out a light fire extinguisher in the trunk of the car to put out the fire on the front of the car while Noel checked on the driver's condition.

Smith hurriedly sprayed the fire extinguisher in his grip onto the front of the car, minimizing the explosion that might occur there. After the white foam had successfully extinguished the fire, which had not yet spread to the central area of the car, Smith went straight to Noel.

Noel seemed to be having difficulty trying to rescue the driver who was trapped inside the car because the door was stuck. "The door can't be opened from the outside," he said as he continued to try to pull the door.

Smith realized that he was still holding a fire extinguisher in his hand. "How about this?" he said, lifting the red object into the air. Showing it to Noel. "There's no harm in trying, is there?"

Noel nodded and took a few steps back from his position before Smith finally hit the car window with the heavy object. The glass shattered instantly, luckily not hitting the driver inside. "It worked."

The 29-year-old detective then took over and immediately opened the door from the inside through the window that Smith had managed to break earlier. Noel found the male driver in an unconscious state. His head was pressed against the steering wheel while his face was facing the door. From the man's left temple, blood flowed and fell in a pool under his feet.

"Is he dead?" asked Smith uncertainly.

"Let's check." Noel pulled out a latex glove from the pocket of his brown leather jacket and put it on to check the pulse in the man's neck. "No pulse detected," he informed.

The athletic detective leaned toward the face to confirm the breath coming from the driver's nose.

"How?" asked Smith curiously.

Noel stepped back from his position and turned around. He shook his head when his eyes met Smith's. "He's not breathing," he said as he removed his latex gloves and tucked them back into his jacket pocket. "Her body temperature is relatively normal, it seems she died a few minutes before we arrived. The rigidity of his extremities also shows the same signs."

Smith threw the light fire extinguisher in his hand in a random direction and let out a long breath. "Damn, we're too late. What now?"

Noel cast his eyes around and could find nothing but darkness and the howling of dogs in the distance. "You call the field forensics officer and I'll check the surroundings while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. You've already contacted them, right?"