Chapter 5 Suicide
Lina's POV
It was a cold Monday morning and the sun was barely out.
Staring at me is a thick pile of folders, photographs and reports from the missing children's case.
The office was chill and quiet, except for the background voices muffling during conversations.
Father Eron sat across from me, scanning through a folder.
“You think all the children had the same connection to Nore's disappearance?” I asked, glancing over the top of the file.
“Revelations don't lie, especially when it comes from God. So I think they’re all interconnected. I don’t know how, but I believe I’m meant to be part of this.” Father Eron responded, he seemed calm but definitely certain.
I didn't say a word again, I only nodded my head and continued going through the files on my desk.
“Hey, Lina, can I go through these papers?” Father Eron asked, while pointing over to the stack of newspapers on the table just next to mine.
“Sure, you can!” I answered flatly.
Father Eron was about to stand up and go for the newspapers when I called him back;
“Look, we're in this together, and as long as I'm concerned I now share this space with you, okay? So please feel free to make use of this space, you're free to go through anything here. Discreet documents are not kept here, so every other thing here can be accessed, as long as it'll aid our investigation.” I explained with a gentle yet firm smile on my face.
“Thank you, detective.” Father Eron muttered and walked over to the stacks of newspapers on the opposite desk.
It's still surprising how quick it was for me to convince Father Eron to join me in my investigation. I remembered two days ago when I was at his church to hear what he had to say, he claimed ‘Lucifer was back'. However, I just couldn't understand what he meant by that, so I immediately asked him to join me in my search, he didn't fight it, he simply said “God has already called me into this, so I'm taking up the mission of God immediately.”
Well, that was the last thing he said to me that day and BOOM, I got to the office this morning only to find Father Eron waiting at my desk already—he really is an obedient servant of God. That's all I can say.
Father Eron leaned over to the desk just next to mine, his eyes narrowing at the pile of newspapers arranged roughly at the edge of the drawer, dust was beginning to hide at the corners of the papers, it was as if no one had touched them in days.
“You might want to see this, Detective,” he suddenly said from across, his voice strangely urgent and flat.
“What is it?” I murmured without glancing up to look at him.
Then he pulled out a newspaper from the stack and read it while he hesitantly brought it to me.
I glanced at him and I immediately read the expression on his face—he looked like someone who just saw something his eyes couldn't pretend not to have seen.
He passed the newspaper over to me and I grabbed it with urgency, but my eyes soon slammed wide open in surprise.
“A MOTHER ATTEMPTS SUICIDE AFTER DAUGHTER GOES MISSING,” I screamed the headline out.
I immediately jolted up from my seat, causing my chair to make a loud creaky noise.
My eyes instantly darted to the date the papers were released. They were released last week, that means it was the first case from last week, that's Etak, the first girl who went missing on Monday.
“The papers were released last week, I pulled them out from underneath the stack here.” Father Eron explained while pointing smoothly at the newspapers next to him.
I didn't say a word, I simply nodded my head at him.
“How did I miss this?” I whispered to myself.
My hands began to tremble as I hurriedly folded the paper underneath my sleeves
My eyes darted towards my Senior Detective’s office, then I leaned forward towards Father Eron and whispered to him;
“Hide it, now. I need you to get rid of this particular paper!” I murmured into his ears, suspiciously acting weird.
“Why?” Eron asked surprisingly.
“If the senior detective sees this, if he sees how bad the situation is getting, he might dissolve our entire department.” I explained, my eyes were still darting towards Rashon's office, hoping he wouldn't step out anytime soon.
Father Eron didn't argue or ask any more questions, he simply obeyed. He quietly collected the paper from me, then he walked out of the office like every normal person.
A few seconds later, he walked back into the room empty handed, the papers were gone.
“Done!” He whispered and headed back to the stack of newspapers.
I didn't say a word, I lifted my finger up and gave him a thumbs up.
I immediately grabbed my keys and prepared to leave.
“Are you heading somewhere?” He asked.
I didn't respond immediately, I rose abruptly from my chair, still glancing towards the senior detective's office. I just wanted to sneak out for a while. I don't have to explain every bit of my whereabouts to him.
“Umm…yh! I need to talk to the victim's parents. Possibly, she might be in the hospital since it's attempted suicide” I muttered, while I scrambled through my desk, searching for my pen.
Eron immediately stood from where he was sitting, “Would you like me to come with you?” He asked.
“No,” I said immediately. “Actually…I need you to stay here.” I added.
“She's not in the hospital!” Eron muttered.
“What?” I choked .
“The government stepped in, so she was sent to a rehabilitation center for proper recovery. She’s trying to take her life, they sent her there to keep a close watch.” Eron explained.
I didn't believe him at first. I was surprised how he managed to know about this.
“How…how did you know that?” I stuttered.
“I read it in the papers.” He replied flatly.
“You mean you read all of these in just a few minutes?” I asked surprisingly.
Eron nodded his head as if it was nothing.
“Damn, he's a fast reader!” I thought.
I must have selected the right team member, I guess. I bet Father Eron will be of great help.
Without saying a word again, I turned to walk away but I paused just at the door, turning back at Eron.
“Actually, I've a task for you.” I muttered from a close distance.
“Go ahead, detective.” He said, glancing up at me.
“You’ve got a talent, Eron. So I'll need you to go through the rest of the newspapers. Keep checking them, you might find something we might have missed.” I instructed.
He nodded. “I’ll get right on it.” He responded dutifully as he returned back to his desk to claim his tasks.
“God, guide us through this darkness.” Eron whispered as he began flipping through the pages.
I wondered why he said that. Well, I don't know.
I'm not a fan of worship, but I can tell that I might really have missed some important things in life.
I stepped out of the station and rushed to my car.
I claimed the driver's seat and zoomed off immediately, reflecting on how on earth I managed to miss the newspaper.
Every morning, the newspaper gets delivered to the station and it is my duty to always read them to gain insights on some particular matters.
I always check the papers every morning. But lately...I’ve barely had time to breathe, not to talk of reading the goddamn papers.
The cases of the missing children have taken over my time.
My grip tightened on the steering as I sped through the highway.
I pulled into the parking space at the rehab center as my eyes were focused on the big monument signage written in bold just at the entrance of the rehab center.