The Detective Bureau, interrogation room.
August Toca was handcuffed to the interrogation chair.
Little Black chuckled, "Mr. Vampire, do you like it here?"
August glared at Little Black, "I don't want to talk to a liar."
"Hehe..." Little Black snickered.
Luke asked, "August, do you know why you were arrested?"
"I... I sort of know. That night I had a bit to drink and wanted to pull a prank, but it went too far."
"The night of June 1st."
Luke twirled his pen out of habit, "You call that a little prank?"
"I admit it went too far. I'm willing to compensate and apologize to her face to face, hoping to get her forgiveness."
Luke pulled out a photo of Nicole, "Are you referring to her?"
"Yes, I feel very sorry."
"What did you do to her?"
"I bit her, scared her to death. I didn't expect it to be like that, the fangs were too sharp, and the atmosphere made it too easy to feel like a real vampire.
If you had been to that bar, you'd understand."
"Did you bite anyone else?"
"No, that was the first time that night. To be honest, it didn't feel good at all, it was crazy. I feel so sorry for that woman, how is she now?"
Luke countered, "Didn't you look at your arrest warrant?"
August glared at Little Black, "I was also scared by a black... vampire at the time. I wasn't paying attention to much else."
Little Black said, "You were about to say 'nigger,' weren't you?"
"No, black vampire." August looked a bit guilty, "I don't want to talk about this anymore.
What am I charged with, involuntary manslaughter?"
Luke didn't answer but asked instead, "You first describe how the crime was committed."
August was startled and seemed to sense something was off, "What am I charged with? If you don't tell me, I won't say either."
"Intentional homicide."
"What? You're not kidding, right? How could I kill someone? I just bit her once, the wound wasn't deep at all. How could she possibly have died?"
Luke said, "She was scared to death."
"OMG, are you kidding me? How can someone be scared to death?"
Little Black said, "It's past nine now. Instead of lying in a comfortable bed sleeping, we're here joking around with you, a fake vampire. Do you think that's possible?"
"OMG, OMG, how could this be? She wasn't dead at the time, she just passed out." August kept shaking his head.
Little Black corrected, "You thought she was scared unconscious, but she was actually scared to death."
"No, people can't be scared to death. I won't believe it. Don't try to frame me." August's emotions grew increasingly agitated.
Luke took out a photo of Nicole after her death, "Take a look for yourself, see if we're lying to you."
August glanced at it and his face showed terror, "No no no, how could this be.
She just passed out, she wasn't dead at all.
Someone must have killed her after I left.
It has to be, someone's framing me!"
Luke asked, going with the flow, "Who's framing you?"
August's voice trembled, "I don't know, but there has to be someone, I couldn't possibly kill anyone!"
Luke said, "Based on the existing evidence, the victim was indeed scared to death by you.
If you think someone's framing you, then provide the evidence."
"I don't know, I'm not a cop. Isn't it your duty as police to investigate? Why do I have to provide evidence?
You can't do this to me." August took deep breaths, as if he remembered something, "Is the victim really dead?"
"Since she's dead and can't speak, how can you prove it was me who scared her to death?" As August spoke, he became more confident, "You've got it wrong, I'm not the killer, it was just a little prank."
"You're right, it was indeed just a little prank. It's just that your little prank happened to be recorded." Luke then took out a still from a video of August committing the act and placed it in front of him.
"OMG..." Upon seeing the video, August froze again, his expression a complex mix of terror, astonishment, and confusion.
"Bang" The door to the interrogation room closed.
Little Black complained, "Who's going to bother calling a lawyer for him now? It's already 10 PM.
Are we supposed to stay with him all night?
I swear, he's the killer."
Luke patted his shoulder, "Go get some sleep.
Let's nail him once the dental impression results come in tomorrow morning."
"Good idea." Little Black smiled, his eyes gleaming, "By the way, can I stay over at your place tonight?"
Luke laughed, "My bed is too hard, you won't be used to it."
What a joke, he wasn't about to take in a man.
The Detective Bureau, lounge.
Little Black yawned and slowly sat up from the sofa, "Damn sofa, slept horribly."
Last night, Little Black didn't go home and slept in the lounge instead.
The sofa was soft, but he was not accustomed to sleeping on it.
He tossed and turned until the wee hours of the morning before falling asleep.
Little Black left the lounge, Raymond and the deputy chief were already there.
"Guys, good morning." Little Black greeted them and headed for the restroom to freshen up.
The deputy frowned, "Why are you coming out of the lounge? You didn't go home."