Don't Tempt Me

            “Taking a side case for pay? What, are you two going freelance on me now?!” Commissioner Compton shouted in fury. Detective-Inspector Nels, with a bruised face from the punch he had received the previous night, stood closer to his raging boss, standing in front of Detective-Sergeant Pudget, who was quietly cowering behind the younger yet taller man.

            “No, sir, that’s not it.” Nels responded casually.

            “Isn’t it? If it isn’t that, would you perhaps care to lighten me on what it actually is?”

            Nels bent his right knee, allowing himself to slant somewhat.
           “She came to us and practically begged for help.” He admit. “I felt inclined to help her, seeing as that is my job.”

            “Your job is not to take random cases, Detective-Inspector! You take cases that I assign you to!” The commissioner argued.

            “I know. But I took Miss Gentry’s case out of the kindness of my heart.”

            Pudget stood relatively still, watching Nels calmly defend himself from the wrath of Commissioner Compton. The detective-sergeant felt a certain distaste toward their boss, as Compton had opted to promote Nels to detective-inspector instead of him. It made no sense to the plump man, because Nels had apparently always been notorious for doing whatever he pleased, be it disobeying orders to get further in a case or taking cases that he wasn’t actually permitted to take. Of course, thinking about those reasons, Pudget then felt like a hypocrite, since he too was now guilty of the same deeds.

            “Detective-Inspector Nels, you need to start behaving. Just because I promoted you doesn’t mean you can do whatever you’d like.”

            “Behave? Me? Why, Commissioner Compton, I would never!”

            Defeated, Compton sighed. “I’ll let it slide this time. But don’t you dare accept another case without at least consulting me first, alright?”

            Nels nodded. “It’s a deal.”

            Together, Nels and Pudget left the commissioner’s office, at which point the inspector snarled and roughly placed his dark-green fedora onto his head.
           “That prick has the nerve to scold me for trying to help someone in need after I just killed a boy? God forbid I try to make things right.”

            “You handled it pretty well in there.”

            “If you were watching my hands, you would’ve noticed how I hard I was resisting the urge to strangle him.”

            The two were on their way out of the office when suddenly the secretary at the front desk, a Miss Allison Hendrix, called out.

            “Detective-Inspector!” She hollered.

            Nels sighed before pivoting around and marching back, Pudget following not far behind.
           “Yes, Allison?”

            Allison pushed a loose strand of blond hair back behind her ear. The girl was yet another that had seemingly fallen for Nels, but Pudget didn’t mind in this case, since Allison was a bit too much of a bimbo for his liking.

            “Um, Miss Gentry came back while you were talking to Commissioner Compton.” Hendrix announced. “She told me to give you this.” Meekly, the skinny girl handed Nels a pink envelope.

            Not saying a word, Nels opened the envelope right there. Pudget stood on his toes to peek at the paper within over Nels’ shoulder.

            “Dear Alexander,

            “You are hereby cordially invited to watch me perform at”

            That was all Pudget was able to read before Nels crumpled the paper and shoved it into his coat pocket.

            “Wh�"Nels�"”

            “I’m too tired to deal with a woman right now.” Nels responded, earning himself a brief nervous glance from Allison.

            Pudget raised a brow. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

            “Besides, she called me Alexander.” With his point apparently made somehow, Nels turned and continued walking out, leaving Pudget standing there in confusion.

            “But… B-but that’s your name!”

            “I hate the name Alexander. Why do you think I introduce myself as Alex?” Nels asked without turning to face his partner.

            Pudget stayed still, the gears in his head turning. Carmilla requesting to see Nels was unplanned, but also, he decided, rather useful.
           “Nels, hold on a minute.”

            With an audible sigh, Nels stopped walking, but still didn’t turn.

            “You should go to her. Not even Hell knows wrath like that of a woman wronged.”

            “I’m not going alone, that’s for sure.” Was Nels’ only reply.

            As much as Pudget wanted to see Carmilla again, he shook his head. “I think you’d better. That seems to be what she wants.”

            Nels shook his head. “You’re coming with me.”

            “I’m not, Nels. I’ll stay back and try to gather some more clues if I can.”

            The Detective-Inspector stood still, tapping his foot against the floor with his hands shoved into his pockets.

            “Fine. But I’m not going to enjoy it.”

            “Fair enough, Inspector.”

---

 

            That evening, Carmilla Gentry stood on a platform in a local tavern in a long, silky red dress. It was hard to get up and perform during such a rough time, with her son being missing and all, but she decided she would dedicate her voice to her lost child that night.

            With some paid performers behind her starting on the instruments, she began to sing. Her voice came out smooth, as always. With her sensual brown eyes, she scanned the crowd of people at the bar until her eyes caught.

            Sitting at a table close to one of the walls was a black-haired man with sharp cheekbones. He had a dark green coat draped over the back of his chair, and on the table in front of him was a matching fedora. He was watching her, but once he noticed she was staring at him, he averted his eyes and began staring at the floor under his table.

            Knowing that she had just laid eyes on Detective-Inspector Nels, Carmilla took the microphone with her as she elegantly stepped off of the platform. She continued to sing as she slowly began to strut toward him; her voice was softer now, and as she walked by other tables, she grazed her gloved fingers across them gently.

            Nels didn’t raise his head again until he felt Carmilla place her hand on his left shoulder. Following the command given by a gentle shove on said spot, he swivelled his body to face her. Still singing, the woman leaned close to Nels, who appeared to be struggling to keep his poker face.

            When an instrumental break began, Carmilla placed the microphone down on the table.

            “I must warn you, Miss Gentry, not to bait me like this.” Nels whispered, his voice dripping with hesitance and… something else. “For I am a man, and if I were to desire something, I fear I may stop at absolutely nothing short of manslaughter to get it.”

            Carmilla gripped the straps of Nels’ red suspenders. “I like to take risks.” She said, and then she was swept off of her feet by an embrace and a kiss on the lips that she couldn’t resist.