Fortune Favors The Bold

CHAPTER ONE: THE MURDER SCENE

Adonis stared malevolently at the small pocket-sized woman in front of him with a surge of disgust. When he’d first heard the name of Detective Petrov from the Seattle South Precinct, he’d assumed that it would be a man, a professional who would be both efficient and resilient.

Miss Alaya Petrov looked neither. Not even with her lips pursed in obvious dissatisfaction at his blunt words. An untidy nest of brown hair settled at the top of her head, like she hadn’t even bothered comb it. She was so short she barely measured up to his shoulders, but the most conspicuous feature about her was her mouth. Coupled with lush lips and a sexy mole at the bottom right corner, her mouth was begging to be kissed.

“Listen, Mr. Fortune,” she growled fiercely between gritted teeth. “I am here to do my job. Will you please step aside and allow me in?”

Adamantly, he crossed his arms over his chest, chin protruded to block her entrance. He wasn’t sure why he was behaving so childishly, maybe it was the grief which was finally driving him mad.

“I am not allowing a woman on this case. This is highly important to me and I won’t let anyone fluke this out!” he fumed angrily, the memory of his father’s corpse still flashing in his mind. He’d vomited all his lunch when he’d first caught sight of the dead body sprawled on his parent’s bed.

Adonis took a surprised step back when she practically flashed her police badge in his face. “You’re obstructing my way to justice. If you don’t move out of my way right now, I will arrest you,” she seethed furiously, her pale brown eyes flashing fire.

Adonis didn’t know who was more shocked at that spitfire’s outburst, him or the head servant Georgina who stood gaping at them with mouth hanging open. Nobody addressed Adonis with that much freedom, nobody dared to. He was the only son of the multi-billionaire Mason Fortune, the unique heir to the billions.

The one with the most obvious motive for the murder of his old man.

The thought left a scowl on his face. He knew enough of the world to understand that the other mediocre side would watch with glee at this inopportune opportunity to splash dirt about his family. Miss Petrov included.

Past experiences had proven time and again that a man in his position was not supposed to show any of his emotion. At the slightest glimpse of weakness, people would pounce on him like vultures at the first sight of fresh meat. He was not a born cynic - his jaundiced view of the world was built from the various circumstances.

Therefore his mistrust of that woman.

Besides, she was too pretty to be taken seriously as a homicide officer. Her hair was her best feature, the shock of dark ash brown would not have been so obvious had it not been for the very palpable silky and natural luster texture.

Pale brown eyes seemed plain enough but they had lit with an intense fire only minutes ago to give a glimpse of unmatched beauty. A mole rested millimeters from her lower lip drawing his attention to them once again.

Adonis’s mind screeched to a halt. Wooooah! Down boy! he scolded himself, finding his eyes inexorably checking for rings despite the dire warning. Not married, he noted with interest, but his mind stopped him once again from flirting.

Like it wasn’t bad enough for him to feel attracted to the woman under the circumstances? His father was dead for Chris’s sake, and here he was being sexually attracted to the very person who was going to dissect his private life.

“We’re waiting for the Deputy Sheriff,” he informed her adamantly, crossing his arms across his chest in a final gesture.

Her eyebrows shot to her hairline with that information. “John Shaw hasn’t arrived yet? I drove for two hours as soon as I heard the news,” she replied with perverse smugness which infuriated him even more.

“He’s on his way,” Adonis retorted stubbornly, still not moving from the door. One measuring glance towards the maid who’d accompanied Detective Petrov to the crime scene was enough to send the latter scurrying back down the hall.

Miss Petrov watched the scene silently, but her brown eyes gleamed with unspoken outrage. “Has anyone called for EMS?”

“No, there was no need,” he replied between gritted teeth. “He was already dead when he was found.”

The detective nodded, removing a notebook and stared jotting down some notes right in front of him.

“What are you doing?” he thundered angrily, peering down at her notes in incredulous rage. He had no idea why he was beyond himself with anger – it was like he could not control the emotion. He was so furious that his head was pounding with a droll sound inside, giving him the mother of a headache.

“Might as well start my job here since you won’t let me pass,” she pointed out patiently, like she was speaking to a child, and not a bright one at that. His jaw clenched as he didn’t appreciate her tone, but she went on like she hadn’t just insulted him.

“Who found the body?”

Incandescent fury took over at the impersonal question, and Adonis found his fingers flexing as he fought the urge to wrap them around that woman’s throat. How dared she? Every cell of his body revolted against her brazen attitude.

“The body as you put it is my father,” he delivered hoarsely, pain making his voice distorted and he winced at how it sounded. Pathetic and needy. Hell, he was not grieving – he hated the man.

Detective Petrov patted his arm like she would to a puppy, one she was not particularly fond of.

“It’s okay to mourn. But I am not your therapist. I am not here to deal with your loss or your pain. I came to do my job. Now, will you please step aside and allow me inside to investigate in the murder?”

He wasn’t sure who was more shocked by her impersonal attitude. She didn’t strike him as a cold b***h, and instant regret which flashed in her eyes only confirmed his theory. However, her words struck home more than he cared to admit, and he silently stepped aside to allow her passage.

His whole body went rigid when she quickly put her foot inside the room like she couldn’t wait to get this started. For her, he guessed it was just a case, something to solve until she moved on to another puzzle. For him, it was a life-altering event.

He sighed and followed her closely inside.

If she noticed his close proximity or was hindered by it, she didn’t protest and kept on pretending that it was not bothering her. Detective Petrov was also unfazed by the lone figure inside the room who sat looking out of the window still trying to process the shock.

Adonis watched as the detective pulled a pair of plastic gloves from her suitcase and wore them while eying the murder scene.

To say that it was dramatic would be an understatement. Mason Fortune, the first son to the Fortune’s fifth generation, loved the notion of eccentricity while he lived. To live up to his reputation, his death a.k.a murder was no less.

The dead body was lying on his one point six million dollars floating bed, blood splattered in opulent display, splashing against the white in stark contrast. The face was hidden because the body was lying with the head buried in the mattress. Nobody had deigned moved him or touched anything inside the room. Not because they cared about the dead man, but they all feared to leave fingerprints on the body which would incriminate them to the murder.

Adonis shook his head to focus on the woman. There was no point going back, he had to move forward. They all had to move forward.

“Who found the body?” she repeated, her hands working quickly on her notepad as she jotted several observations down.

He indicated to the other occupant in the room. “My mother.”

Nora Fortune didn’t even react when hearing her name, the latter continued to stare out the window in an immobile way. Adonis was spooked by his mother’s inability to move; it’s been hours since she’d been latched inside the room.

Without hesitation, Adonis leapt towards his mother and placed his hand gently on either side of her shoulder. “Mother, the detective is here.”

That seemed to jerk his mother out of her stupor, and she turned slowly towards the woman who was now removing her Canon rebel digital camera to photograph the scene in the entirety.

“Detective Petrov at your service ma’am,” she drawled, jumping away from the blood to meet them at the secluded corner. “Tell me, have you touched the body at all?” she queried in an impersonal tone, but the way her eyes wandered back to the crime scene was telling.

“No,” Adonis replied sharply, intervening before his mother could speak. What was that darn woman getting at? Of course, they all knew that they shouldn’t be contaminating a murder scene, so they had taken the utmost precautions to stay away from the body.

Another arch of her eyebrows but she remained silent as she caught her lower lips between her teeth and began munching on it. A bout of potent lust caught Adonis so fast that his hands dropped from his mother’s shoulders like a bombshell. What was wrong with him? It was definitely not the moment for him to feel attraction for a woman he hated for God’s sake. His father’s body was lying miles away right now with the possibility of having been sla*ghtered!

With a brisk nod, the detective went back to the body, which she turned back to face towards them. There was a sharp intake of breath which Adonis reckoned came from his mother as they all surveyed the corpse.

The vertical distribution of blood at the front of the neck indicated clearly that the cause of death was cutthroat. The mattress was deeply soaked with blood, and his father’s face was white. It looked like he’d bled to death.

A feeling of nausea mounted inside his chest and he fought for control. His mother let out a pained whimper and buried her face against his thighs, and he grabbed her for support. Nobody should witness one of their family’s body so brutally slain.

Adonis was still trying to come to terms with everything. It was still early morning which explained the absence of the Sheriff. The servants had called the local police as soon as they’d heard the shriek of their mistress. He hadn’t expected Alaya Petrov so soon – the woman must have flown in here.

There had been such a pandemonium last night, and this morning was even worse. Everyone had rushed inside to catch a glimpse of the latest sensation. Adonis had been too shocked to react with his usual presence of mind.

Thankfully, Benjamin Foster, the son of his father’s secretary had been careful not to allow anyone inside to meddle with the clues.

“When was Mr. Fortune last seen alive?” the detective asked after a long period of time during which she was busy safeguarding piece of evidence, taking samples and incessant snapshots.

“He was seen by all of us for dinner last night,” Adonis replied while his mother started to sob uncontrollably. He wasn’t going to give her details; she would find out the truth soon enough anyway.

“According to the obvious, the murder was committed last night. Who was in the house yesterday?”

Adonis gritted his teeth, unclenching his fist as he revealed. “There was a family dinner last night. All members of the Fortune family were present without exception. But nobody from the family would commit such an atrocious crime,” he felt bound to defend his turf.

That was when she looked up at him with cold measuring eyes, which caused every cell of his skin to pucker. “Let’s leave it up to me to decide, shall we?” she asked acridly. In the meantime, can you draw me a list of suspects please? Make sure you include everyone with access to the house since last night, servants included.”