❝ It moves quickly in
a blink of an eye, keep staring—
otherwise you're gonna miss the chance. ❞
. . .
The sun is weathering out with its uttermost blessings today; which helps to give a light to enlighten the darkness — today it's been a burn on the back side.
"Right, forth the back— Hi! I'm new here," a tanky tanned skin girl chimes.
"Oh!" the other girl adds.
"Will you like to go with me to the lakeside?"
*
It's been a day full of exhaustion. Natalie couldn't pinpoint when the daylight was turning off & dusky night had come into the form. In her defence, her work is like that— demands every attention. A cup of ice tea would be nice but for now all she wants is sleep. Sauntering towards her bedroom, she put all the lights of her house off.
Just when a blissful slumber was making its way, Natalie's phone perked up. She lazily took her phone from the bedside table. Flashing on a black screen, "Xavier," is daunting with bold letters. What on the earth, he is calling now— Natalie thought. If he's calling right at this hour, there must be some emergency.
"Hello," she picked up the phone & said. Before she can ask about his unlikely call on damn hour— Xavier's voice started up.
"Natalie, it's an emergency. Come to the office basement urgently. There's another case," he cut the line without giving her much explanation.
Psst— he could've said more specifically. But typical Xavier, Natalie muses. She grabs her cardigan, hits off on the road. The fall is weathering now, chilling air is engulfing the whole city in the early morning.
She pulled her car to the sidewalk, and there's a rustic farmhouse. Anyone looking outside will deduce it as an old house like those ancient mariner. But this is kind of the place they actually need. She enters, quickly alluding her way in the corner wall. With the touch of her fingertips, the wall is spinning & leads through a dark room.
Natalie would have freaked out if it were her first time but ironically she was numb at her first time. She flashed her phone's dim light; there's a staircase. And she starts to descend.
And the bright room is there in the end. "Cool," she thought. Xavier is already there. He's fumbling with some pictures on the wooden desk. There's a green flipping table. Circling many articles, some rough handwritten notes, and some pictures of younger girls are patched there. They would be hardly 6 or 7 years old.
It's not hard to come to the conclusion that Xavier is working on another case but what's so urgent that he compelled her to come at this hour.
"Earth to Xavier," Natalie waves at him— and this has definitely put him on track now, "What couldn't wait til' the morning?" She asked.
"There's another murder case, this time a girl named Danielle got missing from the central park two days ago, she was found dead on the roadside today around 11 pm," he replied again focusing hard on the pictures.
Natalie nodded, absorbing the details, this is a similar case now. It's been happening the same for the past month. Younger girls are missing, and found dead after two days. More like the cases are interlinked.
"You reckon, this is the same person doing all murder," Natalie asks— at the same time trying to look on the pictures. "I'm hundred percent sure, it's the same person. They have an odd link, they're attacking the kids, from the public place. I would say; quite a sly move," he conjured.
"You mean, because it's easy to make the kids fall in a trap," she deduced.
"Kind of, however there's no sign of chemical reactions on the body in the post-mortem. So, either way this person is alluring the kids; or the kids already know them," he finished for her.
"Police can't do anything here," it's more like a statement than a question now for Natalie. This person is more cunning than they thought they ought to be. That's why this case was passed on to the detective; explaining why Natalie is included here.
"You didn't call the other teammates," Natalie confronted him. He shakes head in a negative way, of course he wouldn't. He would only dared to wake her up; his other teammates are too precious. Workaholics.
"So what now— are we gonna sit here? And wait for the murderer to make their next move? We don't even know if it's a one person or a whole gang," Natalie asks him absentmindedly. Looking at the pictures now, old memories are rushing now. She shakes her head, "focus, focus— it's work time, no emotional outrun," she chanted in her mind.
"No, there's a plan actually. This murderer is choosing parks for abduction. So, I am concisely alarmed that their next move will be on the park, in the area of 34/765; down besides the supermarket. And they're choosing to be more like reserved children. We just have to keep an eye on the children: who are quite silent," he replied while pinning the pictures on the green table now.
*
Off to work now, they arrange their plan systemically. Their other teammates: Shaley, Wes, Anderson are acting like normal people; strolling in the park. Eyes are perked up, looking keenly everywhere. And Xavier is in his hoodie, pretending to read a paper. Natalie, however, is sauntering towards the paddle board now. She's looking sort of normal, maybe it's been long— she has tried to be in a public place without flinching. Ever since that day. It's better to be engrossed in paperworks, it helps her to forget the reality at least momentarily.
"Even though they're staying cautious, Xavier is looking stiff; even under the paperwork: a morose actually. God knows why, what made him like this," she thought. Maybe everyone has their own secret box where they jumble them in order to function without emotions. He was right, emotions will outrun you in this job. You've to feel nothing actually. But— easier than done.
God forbids — what is actually going through victim parents who knows, but some pang feeling; one is something absolutely familiar with Natalie. The sun is peeking at her eyes now, she squinted her eyes through the heat burns. In the corner of the eye, she sees two girls are talking with each other. The first girl with tanky skin shakes hands with a white girl— that white girl was sitting on a paddle sometime before. They're talking; Natalie can sense by seeing— their lips are moving in a synchrony.
She rubbed her eyes now, since it's quite burning. When she looks there, they're gone. What! Where can they disappear suddenly? It's like— in a blink of an eye, something has absorbed them. She looks around frantically here & there. No, they're not here. The other kids are playing with each other now.
"Oh gosh— is it. . . . ? Of course, it's the damn murderer. They have abducted their prey. But why the two kids? How did they manage to swift them so casually and so easily."
For a moment, Natalie's mind has gone blank. Xav- Xavier! Yeah, Xavier, she gotta tell him.
After running towards the bushes, she is half panting and "XaviertheygotthekidsIdon'tknowhowbuttheydisappearedsuddenly," she said in one breath.
"Calm down, take deep breaths!" He said to her sternly. She did explain everything to him. If Natalie's theory is right, then there's a possibility of another murder. What's worse— that they can't track the location as well. They opt to see the CCTV footage of supermarket's. Since it's the nearest shop, from the park. But it went in vain, there's no sight of these two kids; mentioned by Natalie.
They can't do anything but wait now. Shame that the kidnapper had easily escaped even under the keen observation. This is more dangerous than they thought. Something is definitely missing, but what— Natalie couldn't fathom.
*
Sure, after two days they found the body on the roadside again. But surprisingly one— the white girl, with brown hair. "Where's the tanky girl?" Natalie thought. Sure, the murderer won't leave one kid in the house, other for murdering, right? It's the same case, that kid died out of breat— her clothes are wet. It has been a significant mark, the victims don't have any marks of weapons on their body; like scratching or slit.
They've decided to put a trap this time, sure it's dangerous— Natalie wasn't standing with this happening but at last she couldn't stay above Xavier. Shaley's distant relative's daughter aka Gabriel is playing along with the kids here. Everything is in motion now, the clouds are escaping, beneath the heavy flow of wind today.
Xavier is off rader now; he didn't quite explain why— so only Shaley & Natalie are put to observe now. Although two officers are also there in disguise if they see something unusual. It's not something later, the little clouds are taking place in the ground slowly; the tiny drops of water are filling the muddy grass into wet. Parents & kids are running towards trees, some under the bushes, some towards their vehicle.
Natalie is looking for Shaley's relative, just then her shoes are getting stuffed with water muds. She tries to fix her shoes, then she sees Gabriel is with the tanky girl. Before she can go over there to see what they're talking; the tanky girl locked eyes with Natalie, in the flicking of seconds— she pushed Gabriel in the mud, sprinting away. Before thinking twice, Natalie started to run after her.
The drizzling turns into cats & dogs now. The roads are getting slippery, making it twice harder for Natalie. Even though the girl isn't more than ten; she seems to have calculative ways. She's swinging, turning her ways towards the down alley.
Natalie isn't far from her, but it's looking like before Natalie could grab her arm; she gives a hard blow with her elbow in Natalie's rib.
Natalie groans in pain, she hardly catches her breath; notices around —that girl is nowhere. Instead she symbolises some wires in the corner, they're flaring with some flames & some pieces of mirrors are scattered in the other corner. Suddenly the tanky girl appears in front of her.
"Who are you?" Natalie asks her.
But the girl stays silent, and suddenly she attacks Natalie— but Natalie is quicker than she thought to be. Natalie ducked her head, dodged her punch & twisted her arm behind her back.
"Tell me, who the heck are you? What's your connection with the murderer? I know you certainly know something," Natalie practically barks at her.
The girl is quick, she snatched her arm & pushed Natalie in the corner of electrical wires, and with the glass piece, she cut one of the wires; put it on her side. Since it was raining before, the place has become dampy. Suddenly there's a blast.
****
to be continued in the next chapter. . .