The next morning, I got a call from Sage. Apparently, she had found all the information she could. I told Isa, and we both got ready to go.

"So you'll try to be nicer this time?" Isa asks as we walk out the door.

"Yes," I reply, sighing inwardly. I promised Isa, but I really didn't want to. What has Sage done to earn my kindness? Oh wait. Now I realize. She might actually help find my parent's murderer.

We walk in silence, me, contemplating the most painful way to kill the killer, and Isa, well, I didn't know what Isa was thinking.

"Are you okay?" She asks suddenly.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, I mean like, deeper than the surface. You've spent so long looking for your parent's killer, it's given you a drive. So how are you feeling about finding who did it?"

I thought about it. "I know this revenge is bitter and petty, and it's not going to make me feel better, but it's doing the justice that the police couldn't do."

Isa nods. "I respect that, but bitter revenge never ends well."

"How do you know?"

"Books, movies, and anime."

"You watch anime?" I ask, surprised.

"Well, I did. And more and more, you remind me of Ciel Phantomhive."

"Who now?"

"He's the main character of the anime called Back Butler. His parents were murdered and he even sold his soul to a demon for revenge."

"Well," I mutter to myself, "I kind of did."

Isa must have heard me though, because she looks up at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like I told you before, Ced found me wandering on my own, and trained me. I'm basically indebted to him, because without him I'd be dead or worse."

Isa shakes her head. "I don't think he sees it that way."

"He does. I'm indebted to him, but at the same time he protects me, and in return, I do odd jobs for him sometimes."

"Well, it does matter now," Isa pints out, "Because we're here."

We walk to the apartment, and Sage lets us in. She's wearing a tank top and leggings today, and I can see a tattoo on her shoulder, a rose with thorns all along its stem.

"Okay. So I have some bad news," she says as she leads us to her computers. I raise an eyebrow. This doesn't sound good.

She shows me a document on Word. It has a photo and a few paragraphs of text. "Nothing, not even police files or gang records, has much. The only thing I could find was a fingerprint. The problem is, the fingerprint wasn't in the police database."

I groan. "The police here are shit."

Sage nods. "At least, to us, they are. They really don't do their job. I found an article about your family. The headline read FAMILY OF FOUR MURDERED. The police statement read that three members were found, and that the other bodies were dumped. Honestly, I could do a better job."

I grimace. I know there are many good police officers, but seriously, apparently they didn't get assigned to my family's case.

"Okay, well, can I have any information you have?" I ask. Isa elbows me. "Please."

Sage holds out a USB. "Everything I found is here. After so much research, I'm actually invested in this case. Call me if you need any more help. It won't be free of course, next time, but I'll give you a discount," she says, smiling slightly.

"Thanks," I say, meaning it. "You've been really helpful."

As soon as we're out of earshot, Isa grins at me. "I told you being nice would help!"

"And you were right, kid."

"I'M NOT A KID!"

I roll my eyes. "Okay, okay fine. You're not a kid."