I ordered a male escort at a bar. Big chest, tight ass, the whole package. In the VIP room, I eyed his handsome face, feeling a little nervous. "So... uh... you wanna, like, do a little something to relax? I've got the good stuff." His expression shifted slightly. "You have stuff?" I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! What kind do you like? Strong? Or mild?" He took a deep breath. "Give me the strong stuff." "You got it." Five minutes later, I kicked the VIP room door open, excited—only to find a gun pressed against my forehead the next second. The escort stared at me, eyes dark. "Suspected possession of narcotics, caught red-handed. Anything you want to say?" I stood there, clutching my prized bottle of '82 Lafite, completely dumbfounded. "Ch-cheers?" 1 Silence. The room went dead silent. I stared at the gun. He stared at the wine. We both gritted our teeth in unison. After a solid ten seconds, he hissed through his teeth, "This is your 'good stuff'?" I looked at him, terrified and wronged. "Of course! It's an '82 Lafite! Do you know how much this costs?" His handsome face twisted. "Don't play dumb! What does wine have to do with 'strong' or 'mild'?" I felt even more wronged. "Officer, have you never had a drink? Alcohol has strength, right? What else has strength?" "Here, try it!" I pushed the bottle toward him. "I'm not lying! Just take a sip, Officer, you'll see!" "Behave!" He took a deep breath. "I ask, you answer. No nonsense." I nodded obediently. He stared me down. "Name, occupation, purpose here. Spill it!" I pouted. "Luna Evans. College grad. Came to order a guy for fun... seriously, Officer, I'm just a civilian! Maybe I come to bars a lot, but I'm not a criminal!" "Is that so..." He narrowed his eyes. "Since you're a regular, do you know if there's any other substance here besides alcohol? Something strong, abused, and addictive?" I thought for two seconds, then gasped. Actually... there was. 2 Outside, the bar was chaos. I led the "escort"—Officer Leo—carefully through the crowd toward the back. "Where are we going?" He frowned. "Don't try anything." "I wouldn't dare!" The gun pressed against my lower back was very convincing. "Officer, can you stop poking me? I'm scared it'll go off." Leo scoffed. "Behave and it won't." I shut up and kept walking. We bypassed the dance floor and went deep into the back corridor. At the end, I stopped in front of a black door. "This is it." Leo’s face was grim. He gestured with his chin. "Open it." "Okay." "Wait." He exhaled. "Forget it. Stand next to me. Since you reported this, I'll try to keep you safe if things go south." "Huh?" I scratched my head. "It shouldn't be... that dangerous, right?" Leo was insistent. "People who deal this stuff are ruthless. They don't care about human life." I immediately hid behind him. "You open it." Leo took a breath. The next second, he kicked the iron door open, gun raised. "Freeze—What the hell is this??" 3 What else could it be? The kitchen! I peeked out from behind him, relieved to see it empty. "See? Not dangerous. Not meal time, so no staff." Leo turned green. "Are you messing with me?!" "No! I'm not!" I waved my hands frantically. "Officer, you don't understand! This bar serves food, specifically spicy hot pot! And this hot pot... it's unreasonably good! Like, if you don't eat it for a day, you crave it. Two days, you go crazy. Three days, you're climbing the walls!" "So I suspect they put something in it! Maybe that illegal stuff you mentioned!" My suspicion wasn't baseless. My friend used to work here part-time and saw the chef adding unknown powder to the broth! I looked at Leo’s face. He looked sick. "Officer... did you order the hot pot too?" "I ordered you—" He closed his eyes, then opened them. "Fine. Search. Let's see what 'contraband' you find." I rubbed my hands together, eager. I lifted the lid of the nearest chest freezer— And froze. "Well? Find your special ingredient?" Leo sneered. "Tell me, what kind of harmful additive is it?" My hand shook. The lid slammed open, revealing the twisted, frozen human face inside. "Harmful additive... no..." "But there is... a body..." 4 Twenty minutes later, the dark bar was blazing with lights. Police sirens wailed outside. I sat in a booth, wrapped in Leo’s jacket, shaking like a leaf. "You okay?" Leo walked in, lips pressed into a thin line. "Sorry. Didn't expect that." I waved a weak hand. He put something on the table. Hot milk tea and pastries. "Sugar helps with shock," he muttered, rubbing his nose. "Apology for being rash earlier." I tried to stick the straw in, but my hands were trembling too hard to open the wrapper. Leo sighed, did it for me, and held the cup to my lips. "Drink." I took a sip. Another officer walked in. "Detective Thorne, you done?" So his name was Leo Thorne. Leo made sure I was holding the cup steady before turning. "What is it?" "Victim ID confirmed. It's the bar owner." "Primary crime scene is the kitchen. We found blood residue." I knew that face in the freezer. Hearing it confirmed made my stomach drop. Leo noticed. "Sick?" I bit my lip. "No. Just... I knew the owner pretty well." He patted my shoulder. The other officer spoke up. "Ms. Evans, can you elaborate on 'pretty well'?" Leo frowned. "Meaning?" The officer held up an evidence bag. "We found this red bracelet on the victim. Staff say the last time they saw it, it was on Ms. Evans." "Ms. Evans, care to explain why your property was on the dead body?" 5 WTF? That old guy stole my bracelet?? Wait. I touched my wrist. "My bracelet is right here!" Leo grabbed my wrist. "Let me see." Comparing the two, the difference was obvious. "Yours has a gold ingot charm. The victim's has a peach blossom," Leo noted. "Significance?" I looked closely. Same braiding style. "I got this at the temple uptown. I prayed for wealth. He probably prayed for love." "Wait," I frowned. "The owner has a girlfriend. Long-term. Why would he pray for love?" "Maybe they're a couple's set," Leo suggested. I shook my head. "No, these are wishing bracelets. Once the wish is granted, you take them off." Leo looked at my wrist again. "So your gold ingot..." I blushed. "Shut up!" Yeah, I hadn't gotten rich yet. Don't rub it in. Leo suppressed a smile and told the officer to contact the girlfriend. "Any other clues?" Leo asked. "There's no camera in the kitchen. The owner was a person of interest in our investigation. His death complicates things." "Person of interest?" I blinked. "Related to the illegal stuff?" Leo grunted. "Yes. So think. And stop talking about hot pot." I realized something weird. "The owner was a massive germaphobe." Leo paused. "And?" "So why die in the kitchen?" I asked. "Why would a germaphobe go into a greasy kitchen?" 6 As far as I knew, the owner never went back there. He stuck to his office or the bar. Leo was stumped too. Driving me home, he was still thinking. "Green light," I nudged him. He hit the gas. "Still thinking?" I yawned. "Work-life balance, Officer." He glanced at me. "What are you gonna do at home? Sleep?" "What else? It's almost dawn." He poked my side. "Don't sleep. Stay awake." "Hey!" I swatted his hand. "Don't sleep for eight hours after a shock. Bad for the nerves." "Really?" I blinked. "So what do I do?" I looked him up and down. "Need some stimulation to keep me awake, Officer~" His eyes darkened. "What kind of stimulation?" I looked at his chest. "Obviously—" My phone rang. Mood killer. Leo exhaled slowly. He answered his own phone. His face went serious. He spun the wheel and U-turned. "Where are we going?" He looked at me. "You wanted stimulation? Here it is." "We got a tip. Someone saw a suspect. The description... sounds a lot like you."
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