Threads of Sin ~ When The Rain Stops

Chapter 1 - Spirited Away

CHRIS GRAVES

The police office is strangely noisy at the moment. A few chats and radio contacts, footsteps and computer keyboard sounds made the whole building alive. Chris slowly walked into the police department hallway, holding the blue folder that contains the initial investigation of his sister's disappearance. He slowly opened the folder and turned to page one. The report mainly contains their leads to the last place Inna was seen, a few friends she might have been with and any information, even trivial. He took a deep breath before he went out the office. He doesn't even know where to start. He is clueless what could the words on Inna's notebook mean. He decided to contact Inna's class teacher to receive Inna's notebook. The note has been kept by the teacher and is waiting for any family member to claim it. As he exited the front door of the building, the sky started to darken and signaling that any minute from now, the rain would fall. He quickly reached for his car key in the left pocket of his coat and rushed to his red colored Volkswagen. His destination: Inna's school.

It was a one hour ride from the police office to Patterson High. The school was built during the 1980s through the effort of their visionary mayor. Some parts of the school are starting to gather vines on the wall that indicates its old age. The window style and the school bell is also recognizable to be an older design. The rain started to weaken when he arrived. He parked his car on the school's gate and checked everything before he left it. A large brume covered the road, but somehow did not affect Chris in his eagerness to meet his sister's class teacher.

Chris went straightly to the school's fourth floor, to the faculty room where Regina Halseizz, Inna's teacher is working. He climbed the stairs quickly, not because he is agitated to see the notebook but because he doesn't have enough time. He climbed the stairs quickly as he could while he observes the place. It's a police detective habit that has been implanted in him since he started his job.

"Found it." he said, standing in front of the faculty door. He knocked a few times before the class teacher took notice and welcomed him inside. Upon asking what he is there for, he quickly stated his wants. Regina offered him a seat in front of the faculty table on the left side of the office. Decorated with different old paintings and framed cross stitches, one could say the faculty teachers had a queer taste for design. The tables had a good varnish, the surface is covered by glass, where family pictures and a few important letters are pressed and layered below it.

"Sit down, detective," she offered and sat on her chair, facing him. Chris sat down, eager to discuss the matter.

"Ms. Halseizz, I know you're already informed why I'm here."

Regina smiled and flicked her right hands on the surface end of the table and pulled the pocket drawer of the table. She reached for the pink notebook and placed it on the table.

"Here's the notebook, Detective Graves. She wrote the note on the last page." she explained and handed him the pink notebook. Chris turned the notebook on the page and like what the teacher said, the note says the same.

Chris shook his head, puzzled. He does not have an inkling of an idea what the note meant. He never had the time to speak with her often. He usually leaves their house early and come home late. Inna was always so considerate of his passion in his job and always said that she understands why he comes home late. It's for the people of Patterson City. That's the words she uses when he apologizes.

"I don't know what she means by this."

Regina looked at him intently in his eyes and turned a glance on the note for a quick second and returned her sight to his.

"Do you think it is a message? Inna likes mystery novels a lot. She's into codes, puzzles and detectives. I always had the hunch that it is some kind of a code you need to decipher," she said, remembering how Inna used to tell she loves mystery stories.