🦋 Chapter Twelve 🦋
(The Police Station)
The moment the car was parked, both men climbed out of the vehicle, lost in their own thoughts.
"Why do you think the chief is calling for our presence this time?"
Jack murmured, a bit frightened at the thought, though he kept a straight expression.
"Not for any promotion that I know of,"
Paul commented from the side, only to receive a disapproving look, which he ignored.
"You know what I'm saying is nothing but the truth. If he truly was a chief, then maybe we would have enough funds to clean up this place."
Both their eyes wandered around the old building, which felt more like an abandoned morgue than a police station. With old, spoiled cars by the side of the parking lot and spilled oil on the ground, Paul could only shake his head in disappointment.
"I doubt he will,"
Jack murmured heavily, but still moved forward, followed by Paul with mixed feelings.
(Inside the Building)
The moment they walked in, their eyes fell on two of their newest recruits.
"Sir!"
Both stood up from their posts, saluting Paul and Jack, who chuckled at their new, crisp uniforms.
"No need to be formal. By the way, do you happen to know when the chief will be coming?"
Jack asked jokingly, only to receive a "no" from both.
That wasn't much of a surprise to Paul and Jack, who understood they would be the ones waiting.
"Good job,"
Paul commented as he walked past them into the main office alongside Jack, noticing their smiles at the compliment.
"Kids,"
Paul murmured with a smile, remembering how naive and carefree he had been when he was new.
"Trust me, within a week or two, they'll regret being posted here,"
Jack added, standing in front of his desk. Paul nodded, looking around the small but wide office—just enough for eight people.
"I doubt the chief will be here anytime soon,"
Jack said, taking his seat as he studied the new files on his desk. Paul frowned.
"These are new files. What happened to the ones we left?"
He checked again, but found nothing.
"What's going on? Did someone take the files or what?"
Jack asked angrily, grinding his teeth as he checked his laptop—only to discover his backup files had been deleted.
"The only ones here were the new recruits,"
Jack muttered, eyes locked on the entrance.
"Victor! Peter!"
He called out.
"Yes, sir!"
They rushed in.
"When Paul and I were out, did anyone come in here?"
Jack asked strictly.
"Well, sir… the chief's people came today,"
Victor said nervously.
"What time?"
"About three hours ago," Peter replied.
"Why didn't you stop them?"
Paul asked calmly.
"We tried, sir… but they called the chief. He threatened to fire us if we didn't let them through,"
Victor explained, head lowered.
"What exactly did they take?"
Paul asked, frustrated.
"Not much… just some files,"
Peter said, before adding proudly,
"But we didn't let them take everything."
Victor retrieved two rough files from an old desk drawer and handed them to Jack.
After scanning them, Jack passed them to Paul, who read through them before slamming them on the desk.
"You both go back to your post."
They obeyed immediately.
"It seems we won't be seeing him after all,"
Paul muttered.
"If he wanted us to drop the case, he should've said so. But coming here to erase everything we worked for… that's too far,"
Jack said.
"We don't have time to dwell on that. This time, we finish this case,"
Paul stated firmly.
"But where do we start? All the evidence is gone—even these files are useless,"
Jack sighed.
Before he could continue, Paul's phone rang.
"Answer it,"
Jack urged.
Paul checked the caller ID—it was Mia.
🦋 Chapter Thirteen 🦋
6:58 PM
🌹 The Ward 🌹
At the hospital, Mia frowned at Moses, who stood boldly with a mocking smile.
"Moses, I think it's better you cooperate with us,"
she said strictly.
"Aren't you tired of following me around?"
he replied with a hiss.
"It's our duty to protect both you and the victim,"
she said.
"I doubt your service is needed. Your job is to protect Leo, not me,"
he shot back.
"Even if we don't want to, we're bound to follow orders,"
she replied firmly.
Moses rolled his eyes, gripping his phone.
"Who were you talking to earlier?"
Mia asked suspiciously.
"Show us—for protocol reasons."
"Are you accusing me of being a suspect?"
he asked coldly.
"Of course not," she smirked.
Moses suddenly tossed his phone to her.
"Go ahead—check."
She unlocked it—only to find it was locked.
"Is this a joke?"
"Not at all,"
he replied calmly, before explaining the legal implications of searching his phone.
Mia clenched her jaw and handed it back.
"At least answer the question."
"No one. Just a voicemail to a client."
Just then—
"Sir, are these people bothering you?"
Precious asked, stepping in.
Moses looked surprised.
"Precious, you're here?"
She nodded, holding a bag.
"I brought food."
His stomach growled, making her laugh.
"Sir… I need to tell you something."
She hesitated, then confessed everything about her ex-boyfriend William.
Moses listened carefully.
"Have you told the police?"
"No… but I think I should now."
Moses shook his head.
"This feels off. The culprit might be trying to shift blame."
Precious frowned.
"You're right… even the security cameras weren't working that day."
Moses nodded.
"If we rush, we might miss something bigger."
"So William isn't the culprit?"
"I'm not sure. But I want to talk to him."
"You mean threaten him?"
She asked nervously.
Moses chuckled.
"I'll just talk."
After a pause, she whispered—
"Thank you."
Moses looked confused.
"For what?"
"For saving us."
He sighed.
"I should be the one apologizing."
They both fell silent.
"I'll make sure the culprit is caught,"
he said.
She nodded.
"I'll send you William's number later."
"Alright."
"I should go. Leo's mom must be waiting."
She turned, then glanced back at Moses as he walked away slowly, holding the cooler.
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