Giana looked at her watch; it was almost 2 am. She had been waiting in the alley for inspector Hash to arrive for the past fifteen minutes. She guessed that he didn't want her to be accompanied by Riccard only because of how rude Riccard had previously been to him. A couple more minutes passed. All the noise had died down and the lights were being switched-off. The crickets screeched and insects crawled out of the crevices. Fog accumulated on the glass panes. An owl perched on a street lamp pecked at a free wire hanging from it. 

Giana's eyes fell upon the blood stained area of the wall. A murderer had snatched someone's life right there. She was caught in the mess of it all, but as compared to the family of the deceased, her pain was only a tiny speck. A shiver ran down her spine as she imagined what it would've been like if she was the one to be murdered. Would this other Giana have attempted to fight for her justice, or would she have run away? However, in the current reality, the universe had kept her alive and brought her here. She had been chosen to bring justice to the dead Giana. The Guardians, or whoever they were, could wait. The only priority right now was the dead Giana Hades. 

'So you did come down alone Giana?' Inspector Hash stepped out of his car and approached her. 'Why, don't you trust your... whoever Riccard is to you. He seems to be a really close acquaintance of yours.' 

'Fiance. Of course I trust him. You were the one who wanted me to come alone, so I just assumed it was because you were annoyed by his behaviour before.' Giana stated. 

'So I was right, you do have a weakness. You trust people too easily.' Hash stepped closer to Giana, his tall body towering over her petite built. His attempt at intimidating her into only speaking the truth seemed to be working as he watched the resolve in Giana's eyes slowly trickle away. 

'Are we here to play mind games? If yes, I don't think I am up for one right now. I have a splitting headache.' Giana took a step back and leaned against the wall. 

'I am not the one playing the game here. Your fiance is.' Hash shrugged. 

'What do you mean?' Giana asked, puzzled. 

'First answer my question. Why did you decide to come stay here?'

'Oh, just like that. For a...'

'No,' Hash interrupted, 'no stories. I want the truth. Tell me what you are hiding before it's too late,'

'A le... letter.' Giana fumbled. 'I swear I don't know where it came from. It was in my backyard and I picked it up, texted on this number and now I am stuck here. And I find out that a girl has been killed. And I have no clue why I am here.' Giana burst into tears and plopped down on her knees. 

'And why did you hide that from me all this while?' Hash inquired. 

She sat sobbing on the concrete, clutching her hair in her hands. 'I... I didn't know what to do. I thought telling you about it would make things even more complicated. Everything is just a big mess.' She sniffled. 

Hash sat down beside her. 'And that's precisely why I'm here to help you. I understand you are a little overwhelmed Giana, but life isn't that hopeless. Stay strong, help yourself and before you know you'll cross the river safely.'

'Aren't you ever overwhelmed? You might be having several cases of this kind.' Giana whispered through her sobs.

'Of course I do, but crying has never gotten me anywhere. Only a composed mind can help you come out of your misery.' Hash said softly.

'You are right. I should... I should think logically and I'll find a way.' Giana wiped her cheeks and stood up. 'Thank you inspector.' She smiled.

'Ok now ma'am,' Hash said while getting up and dusting his pants, 'back to the business. Will you please show me the letter?'

Giana pulled it out of her pocket and handed it over to Hash. He looked through it carefully and snapped a picture of it for future reference.

'I am assuming you used a spare number to text these people back. Well now you will continue using it to communicate with them; the only change is that my team will monitor all future activity on this phone. Additonally, I have a few documents to show you.' Hash retrieved a bunch of papers from his diary. 

Giana flipped through the pages and suddenly halted. She squinted to make sure that she was reading the right thing. 'Oh crap!' She exclaimed. 'Wait... even Simon said he recognised Riccard's voice.'

'Mhm... and the man was right. The two have indeed spoken before. And the reason is simple.'

'Are you sure there isn't another Riccard?'

'No. It's your fiance, and as these papers clearly indicate he owns condo 311 here. At first I had my doubts too, but Simon's reaction to hearing his name and then these documents that I managed to trace, both confirmed my suspicions.'

'So Simon hasn't just spoken to him, but he also knows that the condo is Riccard's?'

'Yes, exactly that. In fact, the only time the two spoke was when Riccard called Simon up a few days back to inform him that there would soon be visitors at 311.'

'So are you trying to say that this letter is from Riccard too. And... and he's the Guardian?' Giana trembled. 

'No, I don't have enough proof to conclude whether or not the letter came from him but maybe, just maybe, he does have something to do with it. Probably that's why he was getting so impatient during our conversation.'

Giana's expression blanked out. It looked like as if all the blood had been sucked out of her. She couldn't fathom why Riccard would commit such a vile crime and trick her into getting involved in it. Either way, she was determined to look for an answer. Her heart believed that Riccard was innocent but her mind knew that the only logical way forward was to keep her emotions aside. She must do what it takes to capture the sinner. Her dad and her Oma had taught her the importance of justice. She would fall in her eyes and theirs if she failed to deliver it. 

Hash spotted the renewed determination on Giana's face. The pink rushed back to her cheeks and her tired eyes glinted. 'What can I do inspector?' She asked eagerly.

'Be my eyes but stay by your fiance's side. If you spot anything fishy, inform me immediately. If he tries to hurt you, you know who to call. Just remember that you can't let him know a thing about our deal because if he is indeed at fault, you are the only way to catch him.'

'I do get you inspector Hash, anything else?'

'This case might be a high profile one. The only missing person in this area is a Judge's daughter. She has been gone ever since the murder was committed and we still haven't been able to trace her. Although we don't have the dead body yet to confirm anything, the central forces will be joining us in the search for it; just in case the victim actually turns out to be her.'

'Oh God, this is getting very complex now. Poor girl.' Giana shook her head.

'But beware.' Hash warned.

'What do you mean?'

'We haven't found any unaccounted deaths in Italy, which means an even higher probability that the victim is the Judge's daughter, and her name isn't Giana. Also, there isn't any other Giana Hades staying in the country presently. One passed away last year, and two more are currently travelling which leaves just one, you and you are alive. Now, this means that our assumption that some Giana Hades was killed was wrong. This is important because the only evidence apart from the knife at the crime scene was a piece of paper with your name written on it. So, if no Giana Hades was killed... then Giana Hades is herself the one who killed.'

'Wha- what are you saying? I would never do that! I thought you were here to help me find a way out of the mess.' Giana was aghast.

'Yes, of course. You are indeed innocent until proven guilty. I am afraid though that there is no way out. Only a way through, if you stay calm and pursue it.' Hash replied.

'I don't get you.'

'The central forces will trace you in no time. Your fiance owns the place where the crime took place. Your name was found in the crime scene and as I just explained, you are the most likely one to be involved, that too as the criminal here. Your story of this letter will be rejected as an attempt to derail the case and you'll be hanged for murder. So, the only way to save yourself is to find the true killer.' 

A cold breeze hit Giana and she shivered. Her eyes shut tight and that's when she realized that she was involved in things that could cost her her life. Now all she could do was try to outrun them.