5 - WEDDING
chapter four

Disclaimer: not mine.
a/n: so after what feels like forever, here's the next chap, guys. I hope you enjoy it and thank you, again, so much for your kind words and encouragement!

Pierre leads them to the front door of the main building and gestures at it. 'This happened.'

Camille puts down the kits and takes a closer look. The door is ajar and a chunk is missing from the yellow wooden frame. 'The lock was torn off,' she remarks. 'Hardly professional.'

'Neither is that,' Richard adds, nodding at the smashed security camera lying on the ground nearby. Camille opens one of the kits, grabs two pairs of latex gloves, and offers one pair to Richard.

He takes it and turns to the chef. 'Have you been inside?'

Pierre hesitates a bit. It's never a good sign. 'Yes.' Richard frowns as he starts to pull one glove on and Pierre looks at Camille. 'I know I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. But-'

'Have you touched anything?' Richard interrupts, drawing the Frenchman's attention back to himself.

'I pushed the freezer door shut. That's all.'

'So the intruder left it open,' Camille says.

Pierre nods. 'Both the front and the freezer door were open when I arrived.'

'You were the first one here?' Richard asks.

'Yes. I came in early today to make some preparations.'

'Early as in...?'

'Around 8 o'clock.'

'And what's missing?' Camille asks.

'Well, I only took a quick glance around but it looked like several containers had been taken from the freezer.'

'And what was inside them?' Richard inquires.

'Lobster, I think. And er... sea urchin.'

Richard lets out a small chuckle but his lingering smile is instantly erased when his eyes meet Camille's disapproving gaze. He clears his throat and looks at Pierre. 'How... terrible,' he says, squinting in the bright light, then glances back at Camille. She meets his semi-veiled sarcasm with a silent eye roll.

'I know this doesn't sound much to you, Inspector, but even one stolen container is a huge loss for me. It's very difficult to get quality product for a reasonable price these days.'

Richard snaps the other glove on, then offers a sarcasm-free nod. 'I see.' He turns to Camille. 'Well, let's go and have a look inside.'

Camille opens the door and something occurs to her. 'So the alarm didn't go off?'

Pierre shakes his head and sighs. 'One of my staff closed up yesterday. He was in a hurry and forgot to activate it. The cameras were on, though.'

'Did they catch anything?' Richard asks.

'The one outside didn't pick up much before it was knocked off. The indoor one records to a separate hard drive. The DVR is inside but it's not hooked up to a monitor and I didn't want to touch anything else,' Pierre says pointedly, 'so I haven't checked that one yet.'

'All right,' Richard says. Camille gives him a prompting look. 'Thank you,' he squeezes out but Camille is still staring at him. He isn't sure what else she wants him to say. 'We'll do our best...' He hesitates. '... Pierre,' he adds somewhat awkwardly, then steps inside. Pierre throws a confused look at Camille. She smiles with sympathy and pats the chef on the arm. 'Just wait outside, okay?'

'Sure.'

She steps in, closes the door and joins Richard. He's staring up at the corner to her left with a slight frown on his face. 'What is it?' she asks, then turns to follow his gaze.

'That camera.' She looks at it. 'It's still up and in one piece.'

'Unlike the other one outside,' she remarks.

He looks at her. 'Strange, don't you think?' He turns around, his eyes sweeping their surroundings. Every surface has been wiped clean. Pots and pans hang in a neat row from shiny steel hooks - well-organised and easy to reach. 'Why leave this intact but destroy the other ?' he wonders aloud, briefly staring at his distorted reflection in a sauté pan.

Camille pulls a drawer open and peeks inside. 'Maybe he didn't know about it,' she offers.

'Maybe,' he says and opens a cupboard, then closes it with a quiet hmm.

'It looks like the thief made a beeline for the freezer,' she assesses.

Hands clasped behind his back, Richard nods. 'I agree.'

She spots something on the floor and crouches down to inspect it.

'What's that?' he asks.

'Not sure,' she replies and gently scoops up some of the reddish residue with her fingertip. 'Looks like... clay, I think.'

Richard steps closer and crouches down next to her.

'It's a bit odd, right?' she asks.

'You mean in an otherwise spotless kitchen in the middle of a sandy beach?' She gives him a look. 'Yes, it is odd indeed,' he quickly agrees and hands her an evidence bag.

As she bags a sample, he catches a whiff of a faint scent. He starts sniffing, trying to identify it and its possible source. Ever so discreetly he leans closer to her but she catches him in the act. 'What are you doing?'

He recoils. 'Nothing.'

She rises to her feet and so does he. 'Did you smell me?'

'No. Yes. I er... I thought it was you.'

She furrows her brow. 'What was me?'

'Can't you smell it?'

She sniffs the air a few times. 'Yeah. It smells like...' She's trying to place the scent. 'Like sandalwood.' She glances back at him. 'It's definitely not me. I'm allergic to it.'

He regards her for a moment, then raises an eyebrow. 'Duly noted,' he says. There's something odd in his tone and she fights back the sudden urge to smile. It took one crime scene but their tense mood is finally shifting.

He steps closer to the walk-in freezer. The scent is somewhat stronger there. He pulls its steel door open. Icy air rushes out and engulfs him instantly. 'Oh dear lord,' he moans with pleasure, soaking up the cold with closed eyes. Camille grins, watching him. 'Should I leave you two alone?'

'Yes, please.'

She shakes her head, chuckling quietly. 'I'll go and check the footage from the DVR.'

'Mm-hmm.'

She starts towards the door, then turns around and studies him for a long, silent moment. 'Richard?'

He doesn't immediately react and she prepares herself for another push. Another sir to you. Then:

'Yes, Camille?' he asks, eyes still closed, riding an icy high but listening.

'I'm sorry... about earlier. About what I said.'

His eyes blink open but he doesn't look at her. His head bows. He stares at the floor, then something inside him gives way and the words "me too" slip out - they are mashed in a sigh but she hears him loud and clear.

And then there's silence.

But no longer the uncomfortable sort.

He notices something and crouches down, his gloved hand sliding down the side of the door as if he were caressing it. She's pretty sure he is. He's probably already named that freezer. 'I'll need the camera and another bag,' he says without looking at her.

She nods. 'Yes, sir.' But it's a different kind of sir - it mingles with fresh hope and a warm smile.

She steps out to get the camera from the kit. Pierre is further away, talking with his staff members but when he sees Camille, he hurries up to her. 'Have you found anything?'

'No. Not much, not yet.'

He sighs.

'But maybe the indoor camera caught something. Where do you keep the DVR?'

'In a lock box in the cupboard by the order wheel,' he answers and watches her rummaging in the kit. 'Is everything okay?'

She looks up at him, eyebrows drawn together in amused confusion. 'You mean aside from the break-in?'

'I mean you looked a bit upset earlier.'

She shakes her head with a small smile, then nods towards inside. 'Occupational hazard.'

Pierre tilts his head. 'Do you want me to talk to him?' he teases her.

'No, I do not,' she says, straightening up and pointing at him with a gloved finger.

Almost as if on cue, Richard steps out. 'The camera?' Camille hands it to him and he steps back inside, only to step out again to grab the evidence bag from her hand. 'Thank you,' he says, then hurries back.

Pierre looks at Camille. 'What?' she asks with a small shrug.

'He is a very charming man.'

She crosses her arms . 'Actually, he is in his own way.'

Pierre gives her a knowing look. 'On pardonne tant que l'on aime.'

Camille lets out a half-annoyed, half-amused snort, then sidesteps the subject altogether. 'So lock box in the cupboard by the order wheel?'

Pierre nods. 'That's right,' he confirms, then gives her the key.

When she steps back inside, she sees Richard kneeling at the freezer's door. 'Have you found something?'

'It looks like a piece of a banknote,' he says as he carefully bags it, then gets to his feet and looks at the containers. 'Does Pierre keep money in the freezer by any chance?'

She steps to the order wheel. 'You'll have to ask him but I doubt it.' She opens the cupboard and surveys the cluttered mess.

Richard reluctantly closes the freezer door, then walks up to her. 'What are you looking for?'

'A DVR in a lock box,' she says but still can't find it.

'Check the top panel,' he suggests, pocketing the evidence bag.

She reaches up and feels the box. It is indeed held to the underside of the cupboard's top panel with thick hook-and-loop straps.

She looks at him. He shrugs. 'People never look up.'

She unfastens the straps and pulls out the steel box. The cables slide out immediately. She frowns and puts the box on the counter, then unlocks its front panel. Her eyebrows go up and she glances at Richard.

The DVR is missing.

TBC