Chapter 24 Missing Daughter
"Where's Dione? Where's my baby Dione?"
After discovering her daughter's phone was turned off last night, Zola hadn't slept at all. Early this morning, she had urged her husband Indigo to get up and help find Dione. Unfortunately, Indigo had been preoccupied with work arrangements and documents that needed signing, which delayed their arrival at Oceanview University until now.
The police cars outside the dormitory gave Zola a foreboding feeling. When she saw the large amount of blood inside the room, she collapsed. "Dione! Dione, where are you? Answer me!"
Oliver stepped forward to manage the situation, intending to escort the couple to another room to wait. Indigo supported his weak-kneed wife, but when he saw Oliver, he looked surprised and extended his hand with unusual deference. "Mr. West, hello. I'm the CEO of Luxe Essentials Department Store. We met at a wine tasting event before—do you remember me?"
He had no patience for small talk at a time like this.
"Yes, I remember. Please take your wife somewhere to rest. We'll have some questions for you shortly," Oliver replied.
Indigo quickly agreed, but at that moment, Zola spotted Cathy, Eve, and Nancy. She rushed over and grabbed Cathy's hand. "Where's Dione? You all usually hang out together. Where has she gone?"
Cathy had been trying to figure out who Oliver was, and winced in pain as Zola suddenly grabbed her. She tried to shake the woman off. "I don't know! She moved off campus!"
Alison had been standing by the door when Zola rushed in and collided with her hard. Alison quickly steadied herself, and Oliver reached out to support her shoulder.
From an onlooker's perspective, it appeared as though Alison was half-leaning into Oliver's embrace.
Nancy was also curious about Oliver's identity and whispered to Lillian, "What does Oliver's family do? What's his relationship with that woman called Alison?"
Lillian responded with vague platitudes.
"Moved off campus? When?" Zola continued to press, her grip on Cathy's hand tightening.
Cathy struggled desperately. "Let go of me!"
Alison and Lillian separated them. Cathy's wrist was red and swollen. Her eyes flashed with intense displeasure. "Even if you are Dione's mother, you can't treat me like this!"
"Just tell me where Dione is!" Zola demanded.
Eve, unable to stand it anymore, shouted, "She's in love! She's living with her boyfriend off campus! Not at school!"
"Is Dione pregnant?" Alison interjected opportunely.
"Yes," Eve confirmed.
"That's impossible!" Zola refused to believe it.
"How many months pregnant is she?" Alison asked.
Nancy glared at her irritably. "Why do you keep asking about Dione? She's not even at school! We're the ones who've been shocked and traumatized here."
"When was the last time you contacted Dione?" Oliver asked.
Nancy's attitude toward him was markedly better than toward Alison. "I chatted with Dione on WhatsApp the day before yesterday, telling her about our exam schedule."
"I spoke with Dione on the phone about a week ago," Cathy said.
"I messaged her last night. I wanted to borrow a dress from her, but she didn't respond," Eve hesitated before asking softly, "Has something happened to Dione?"
"At present, Dione appears to be out of contact. If she can't be located within 48 hours, it will be classified as a missing person case," Oliver explained. Noticing the three girls exchanging glances, he didn't give them time to coordinate their stories. He efficiently arranged for the three girls and Dione's parents to be placed in four separate rooms for questioning.
"Will you handle Dione's parents and Eve?" Oliver asked Alison.
"I'd rather take the other two," Alison replied.
"Are you sure?" Oliver raised an eyebrow slightly, noting that both Cathy and Nancy had shown unfriendly attitudes toward Alison.
"No problem," Alison waved her hand dismissively and took her notebook to interview Cathy first.
"I'll just ask you a few simple questions. It won't take much of your time," Alison said, glancing at the empty table in front of Cathy. "Would you like some water?"
"No, thank you," Cathy subtly studied Alison. "That female officer earlier was very gentle. You seem quite different from her."
"Would you like me to call her in to accompany you?" Alison showed Cathy her ID badge. "I'm not a police officer. I'm a consulting psychological expert. In our profession, we're sometimes called human lie detectors. I can discern truth from falsehood with ease."
She had subtly put Cathy on notice, then softened her tone. "Don't worry, we'll find the perpetrator quickly."
Cathy's attitude softened slightly. "Ask your questions."
"What time did you go to sleep last night?"
"After one o'clock."
"Who went to sleep last?"
"I don't know. Probably Nancy."
"Did you hear any strange noises during the night?"
"No."
"Who got up first this morning?"
"I did!" Cathy's face paled as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. She would never forget the sticky feeling when she groggily touched blood on her hands.
Contrary to Cathy's expectations, Alison's questions were thorough. As she followed the line of questioning, Cathy found herself recalling more and more details.
After covering the night's events, they finally turned to questions about Dione.
"Who is Dione's boyfriend?" Alison noticed Cathy's defensiveness immediately increase.
"I'm not sure. We've never met him."
"How's the relationship between the four of you? Who is closest to Dione?" Alison asked.
"We get along well. No real conflicts," Cathy answered. "Eve is probably closer to her."
"How many months pregnant is she?"
"About seven or eight months."
"Last question," Alison looked directly into her eyes. "Someone poured blood to intimidate you all. Have you offended anyone? Who do you think might do something like this?"
Cathy shook her head nervously and fearfully. "We all have good relationships with others. I can't think of anyone we might have offended."
"Thank you for your cooperation. We've already spoken with your advisor. You can go home and rest for a few days."
Alison asked Nancy similar questions, receiving mostly identical answers. Interestingly, Nancy said Dione was closest to Cathy, while on Oliver's end, Eve claimed Dione was closest to Nancy.
All three believed the person closest to Dione wasn't themselves.
After all the interviews were completed, Vincent called with the autopsy results.
In the report photo, the infant lay curled on its side, its body—smaller than a forearm—resembling a crumpled, withered leaf.
"Deceased: Unnamed. Sex: Female. Age: Less than eight months. Cause of death: Premature birth. Based on the incision marks on the neck, the head was severed post-mortem."
Vincent took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure, but everyone could hear the anger in his voice.
The killer was truly brutal!
"The age matches the baby Dione was carrying," Alison looked at Oliver, who nodded, clearly having suspected this already. "We've already taken hair and nail samples from Dione's parents. Vincent, please run the DNA comparison as soon as possible."
"I will," Vincent replied.
That evening, the DNA test results confirmed that the headless infant was indeed Dione's child.