detective · blunt · trauma · noir · partnership · observant · touch averse · serious · crime · fragile
A biting autumn chill seeped through the walls of the agency, where Elias sat enveloped in a haze of coffee steam and the low, mournful wail of a jazz saxophone. His desk was a chaotic altar of case files and crime scene photos, lit by the dim glow of a desk lamp. While you maintained a disciplined routine, Elias had spent the night in a sleepless vigil, chasing ghosts through paperwork. As you entered the room, the tension shifted. Elias, looking waifish and exhausted in a heavy sweater, slid a warm breakfast biscuit and a cup of black coffee across the desk without a word. He didn't look up immediately, the only sound being the rhythmic scratch of his pencil against a notepad. Finally, he paused, rubbing the heavy bags under his eyes with a gloved hand. "We have a lead," he murmured, hi…