Dead Breath. Melody Jade Allen

She said and again, she received no answer. Mireya wearily lowered her head and hit the wall with her palm. “If you don’t want to see me, you could tell me about it face to face. This is so stupid”, she snorted, “Goodbye, Leandra”, Mireya pressed the elevator button and after leaving the hotel, she disappeared into the night city…

      … The Sun’s rays passed through the window, burning her face … Mireya opened her eyes. Being in her downtown skyscraper apartment, she tried to remember how and when she got home, but the last thing she remembered was walking into the hotel’s elevator after she visited Leandra. There was nothing more. She got up and looked around – three empty cups of coffee from a local coffee shop were on the coffee table next to her open laptop; the check next to them showed she had bought a refreshing drink within half an hour while she arrived at the hotel. How could she forget about this?

      Mireya checked her laptop – she sent the archives of her work, which Rick asked, also she started working on a new project, but she didn’t remember at all how she did all of this, there was just a blackout. It dawned on her… Leandra. Leandra gave her water; she probably mixed some kind of a sleeping pill with a side effect. At least it was the only one explanation.

      The sound of her cell phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts. She took it out of her jacket pocket and looked at the display. “Leandra Calling”. Right now, she had no desire to talk to her, but she wanted an answer to the main question – why did she come back? But there was no point in talking about it on the phone, and after giving herself a few minutes to recover, Mireya took her backpack and jacket and left the house.

      After taking a taxi, she returned to the hotel where Leandra was staying in. Passing the reception and tourists with a large number of suitcases, she entered the familiar elevator, smelling a slight smell of tobacco in it. The door opened, she went out and froze… The door to Leandra’s room was open, several police officers were working inside and two others were standing outside, not letting in strangers. What the hell happened here?

      Under the cold gaze of these two officers, she looked inside and saw a girl she knew. “Adrianna?”

      Adrianna Hale was a detective and Mireya’s and friend for quite some time – their fathers were investigators for the Chicago Police Force until their families moved to Los Angeles. But the presence of Adrianna made Mireya feel trembling in her body and growing excitement – Detective Hale was investigating the murders.

      Hearing Mireya’s voice, Adrianna turned around and having said something to her colleagues, she approached her. “Mireya? You already know?”

      “What about?” Mireya involuntarily took a step back.

      “Let’s step away, okay?” Adrianna put her hand on Mireya’s shoulder, and they walked to the window at the end of the corridor.

      Adrianna tried to find words. “I’m sorry to say that. I don’t know if you were still friends. But it’s always hard to lose someone who was your friend once. Mireya…” She slowed down. “Leandra was killed last night.”

      Mireya froze. But she did not feel the expected shock, but still tears dripped down from her eyes. “How did it happen?”

      “Someone strangled her.” Adrianna answered. “Our people are checking her room, but… All the fingerprints were deliberately erased, so the killer obviously tried to cover up the tracks.”

      “Wait…” Mireya raised her hand. “Someone called me from her cell phone this morning. I thought she wanted to talk, and I came here. I didn’t know that she…”

      “Her cell was stolen, but we will try to track where the incoming call came from.” Adrianna said. “Tell me, when did she return?”

      Adrianna knew Leandra from the beginning of her friendship with Mireya, but they almost didn’t communicate with each other – different interests, different opinions, and even a mutual friend couldn’t make them at least “just friends”.

      “She said she came back yesterday.” Mireya answered. “Can you check it out?”

      “Of course we can. So, she called you?”

      “Yes, she did. It was too sudden.” Mireya chuckled. “After so much time, our conversation took only a few minutes and now… I didn’t even ask why she came and…” Mireya felt the current pass through her body. “I left her room when we talked, and she just locked the door.”

      Adrianna raised her eyebrows inquiringly.

      “Well, it was strange of her.” Mireya looked along the corridor. “What if her killer was there when I was outside? I could stop this one?”

      “Or this one would have killed both of you. All right, listen to me…” Adrianna took Mireya by the shoulders. “Theoretically, you are the last one who saw her alive. And sorry, that makes you a suspect. You need to go with me to the station; our people have already checked the video surveillance cameras. Mireya, the time of Leandra’s death coincides with the time of your visit. I’m afraid you need a lawyer.”

      ***

      Arriving at the police station, Mireya passed through a typical working chaos – the detectives’ desks were clogged with documents, phone calls did not ever stop, the sweet smell of their favourite donuts and coffee spread, it seemed throughout the building. Adrianna led her to the interrogation room, where there was a silver table and two chairs, also cameras and microphones that recorded everything was happening in it.

      “Is it all so bad?” Mireya asked, sitting down at the table.

      Adrianna sat down in front of her, opening a folder for entries. “That’s what we have – you left Leandra’s room, the time of your departure coincides with the approximate time of her death. After you left, someone left her room, but a couple of hours after she left, and it wasn’t Leandra because the door was opened with an electronic key, but someone hacked it to open it; the sensor still worked. So Leandra wasn’t alone there. The cameras were turned off when that unknown came out and left the hotel.”

      “The police think it was me?”

      “Listen. In her hotel room, all fingerprints were erased, except from a glass of water – there are yours and Leandra’s on it. Yes, the detectives believe you could leave after you committed the murder, but then you came back to cover up the tracks and therefore found a way to turn off the cameras.”

      Mireya chuckled. “So I did not turn off the camera before committing the murder and just so quietly left the body of the murdered friend? But then I came back and… Heck! I decided to cover up the tracks, hiding myself. God, that sounds stupid!”

      “Maybe it does.” Adrianna wrote something down. “We checked her calls out. Leandra called only you while being in Los Angeles. You were the last one to see her… except her real killer. And there are your fingerprints. But Mireya…” Adrianna leaned back. “All of this is not enough to charge. We need a motive and a weapon of murder.”

      Mireya shrugged her shoulders. “We did not communicate for several months, I had no offense – I knew her nature. I was surprised, but not overwhelmed by her decision to suddenly move to Las Vegas, so I probably did not have a motive?”

      “Probably you don’t?” Adrianna agreed.

      “Okay, what about a weapon of murder?”

      “It was a denim belt.” Adrianna said after a short pause.

      “A denim belt?” Mireya repeated. “Well, that’s very original. So, am I the main suspect now?”

      “That’s partly.” Adrianna smiled sympathetically. “Do not leave the country until the end of the investigation.”

      “The country? Wow. I thought, usually the police order not to leave the city limits. Why there are such privileges for me?”

      “We are going to Las Vegas.”

      Chapter 2

      The bright lights of Las Vegas night greeted them.

      Mireya and Adrianna left the airport and were sitting in the backseat