Soon, they maneuvered in front of the pharmacy store with a new name. Dan Pharmacy. Zeidan exhaled and looked at Lyne whose mouth had ice cream smeared all over her lips. He laughed before licking them all with his tongue.

"Hey. I didn't even know I had that all over my mouth."

"Don't worry. It's all clear."

They both got down the car and entered the store, their mind made up to work together as partners.

Lyne could see some random people, some with masks on, picking a bottle or more into a basket. She placed her hand in Zeidan's as they walked around the store. She was looking around the busy place.

"This place has changed so much." She could hear Zeidan say and she squeezed his hand softly, knowing his friend's death must have hit him hard.

"It's okay. We will find justice for her." He gave her a wry smile as they walked further down the store to the counter at the back. A short dark-haired woman looked up from her counter and as her eyes caught Zeidan, she paused. 

"Um...how...can I...are you here for..." She stuttered and Lyne was getting impatient as it was obvious that she was mesmerized by his beauty.

She cleared her throat at the counter woman who looked at her sternly but softened her face when Lyne showed her their locked hands. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm deeply sorry. What have you come here to do?"

"I'll like to see the new owner of this store," Zeidan said, his voice stern.

"Oh, right away." She turned to go but stopped and looked back at them with suspicious eyes.

"Who are you guys again?" 

"Friends of Samantha. The woman who owned this pharmacy before her demise."

"Oh, okay then." She disappeared and Zeidan exhaled. 

"Welcome, guys. Zeidan, my man. It's been a while." Lyne turned to see a man probably in his thirties. She leaned over to Zeidan whispering.

"This is your friend?"

"Dan is the new owner just like I thought. Dan is Samantha's younger brother."

"What?!" She whispered again, her eyes widened in shock. "How old then is Samantha?" 

"Fifty-two." His face held back a smile as he looked at Dan who walked down the stairs to come and meet him.

"Dan is forty-seven."

"Even older than I thought," Lyne muttered to herself as Dan got closer, offering her his hand for a handshake which she took hesitantly only for him to try to kiss them. His eyes teasing but much as she tried to release her hands, he squeezed harder and refused to let go. 

Zeidan pulled her hand out of his as politely as he could.

"Meet my wife, Dan." 

Immediately he dropped her hand which she rubbed against her jacket to clean the feel of his lips on her hand. He looked cute with his dark curls and lady-like grey eyes and round face. Cute is the accurate word to describe him but his attitude was sly and she could swear that he has lived most of his life on the streets.

"Forgive me, madame." Was that a Polish accent? "I wouldn't have thought Zeidan could have such a beautiful woman as you to be his wife. I mean he never had good taste when it comes to women..."

"Dan!" Zeidan snapped and glared at him. "Can we get to the main reason why we are here?"

"Oh, right." He chuckled. "Wouldn't want to be the reason for your broken marriage."

He turned towards the stairs where he had just gotten down from. "Let's talk in my office, shall we?" 

They entered a spacious room with sophisticated tastes in pieces of furniture. Lyne couldn't help but fake at them. Pharmacists must be making a hell of money in this part of the world to be able to afford this kind of furniture. 

"Shall I have your jacket?" She looked back at Dan and nodded as she slipped out of her leather jacket which he draped over a hanger at the entrance of the office. She immediately felt small and out of league between these two good-looking friends who are undeniably very rich. Not that her parents weren't wealthy. Being the Princess of the Wolverines was enough to earn billions but she had never been made to feel like an actual Princess. She felt Zeidan's arms around her waist pulling her to the guest chair, where they sat and Dan chose a seat opposite them. 

"So, what brought you here my friend? That doesn't mean I'm still not mad at you for not attending my sister's burial but anyway, let's talk."

"I'm sorry, Dan. I've just been caught up in some cases that couldn't be left unattended to." 

"Right, like your marriage. I'm sorry, man. I keep forgetting. I just didn't picture you as someone who can ever be a family man."

"Except I'm not here to announce my wedding but ask you some questions that might help your sister get justice and also help me." Zeidan cut in, his eyes fixed on Dan's face.

"I don't think it's necessary. I already gave all the justice-seeking to God and Miss Karma."

"you don't think someone killed her?" Lyne chipped in, her brows pulled together.

Dan looked at her, his face downcasted.

"I do know she was killed but what can I do? There has been no result since the cops started investigating."

"And what if you have a way of finding out?"

"I don't wanna think about it at all. Every time the police come back with futile results, it only breaks my heart. That mountain of hope that rises in my heart when the police call and how they crumble when they give me negative results. I don't want to feel that again." His voice was low and the pain was evident in them. Lyne immediately felt sorry for him.

"Relax, Dan," Zeidan assured. "We will help you find justice. Not just for you but my loved ones. My wife included." 

Lyne's heart somersaulted as he mentioned her as his wife again. She looked up at him.

"What if you assisting us will stop more people from dying?"

Dan stared into his eyes, face thoughtful.

"I don't know. I am never useful because I am not responsible."

"That isn't true, Dan." Lyne pushed. "If your sister had thought so, she wouldn't have handed the store down to you." 

He smiled at her. "Zeidan had chosen rightly when he married you. Tell me what you want."

Zeidan sat up and brought out a small jotter and pen from his back pocket.

"I have a few questions here that might help us."

"Shoot." 

"What did the police find strange on the day Samantha was found dead?" 

"Well," he sighed. "A footprint was found and they discovered it was a strange model that didn't come up on the data of all the shoe stores or companies in Los Angeles. They concluded that the shoe might be handmade and when they asked a local shoemaker down the street if he knew where the shoe was made, he mentioned something about mythical and ancestral. He was only speaking gibberish about vampires and nonsense." He rubbed his eyes as if tired.

Zeidan and Lyne exchanged glances. His face looked like he was saying he was right about who had killed her.

"Are you sure of what you're saying?" He asked Dan.

"Um...we were also able to decipher that the boot belonged to a female."

They both exchanged looks again as it was shocking to both of them. If it wasn't Wikh, then who was it?

"A female?"