"What's this sudden fascination with a murder case?" Henri asked.
Isla remained silent. Her lips pursed in thought so deep that she was trying her best to tune out the man beside her.
"Would you really think that the local Sergeant or that the Scotland Yard would need help from a random 17-year old who suddenly injected herself into the case?"
Isla remained indifferent. No amount of disparagement from close friends to strangers would stop her from getting to the bottom of it. She also regretted the decision on sharing her theories with him.
"Isla, please. Think about it." Henri said. She followed the girl to her car and they were on their way to the Salisbury Police Service. Both of them were sitting in the backseat as Isla's personal driver was set on driving the route from the Academy. "Who would share details about their case files to a 17-year old girl?"
Isla sighed. Her patience or Henri's bothersome qualities seemingly has its limits. And here, she thought the only ones who could annoy her as much were Poppy and Harper. "Believe it or not, the only reason I do what I do is that I want peace and order in this academy."
Henri rolled his eyes. "For sure it is."
"As Student Council President, the Headmistress herself permitted me to oversee the investigation. You were there when that occurred, Henri. Or were you just busy being fussed over by Poppy?"
Henri scoffed. "Oh please, I turned Miss Anderson to the Deputy Headmistress. The point of being in the Student Council is to be the bridge between the faculty and staff and the students. We implement rules, govern and in return, give the students what they want. Heading over to the police isn't what the students want."
Isla frowned. As if the tall young man beside her was a puzzle that needs solving. "You witnessed what happened at the cafeteria after Amani pretty much escaped our clutches for questioning."
"Yes," Henri said tersely. "I was with you on the balcony. The Sergeant gained a stone and a quarter. His hairline is receding since last week we saw him."
"Then you should see my distress on how the authoritative figures treat one of our students poorly." The sight she had witnessed when the Salisbury Police was being rude to a minor Asian immigrant was burned into the back of her head, forgetting was impossible. "Your observations are slipping, Henri. He gained a stone and a half."
"I'm being courteous," Henri said.
"Either way," Isla hated it when they stray off topics. "The Headmistress herself agreed for the cops to interrogate Miss Lu when she was presented with the paperwork. She still has not conversed with her legal guardian when the Sergeant himself went rogue and treated a minor like a dangerous criminal. I'll see to it that the cops get sued for this."
Henri crossed his arms. "You know, you wouldn't be doing this if the Headmistress herself wasn't as old as my great-grandmother and wouldn't have asked you to manage it."
"Do not speak ill of the old, especially one like Headmistress Imogen Collins. There is a reason why she preferred not to handle anything with the cops."
"Is it because of the old fact that her father was an old bounty hunter pirate?"
"Yes, she preferred not to interfere for she wishes to avoid the unnecessary possibility that might shed light on her past issue. I know all about bad reputations, Henri. You must know that. After all the years she tried to cut apart herself from her father's evil doing, it will all be for naught if I don't help her."
"I see you speak from the heart. Do you see yourself growing up in similar situations as her?" Henri hinted at Isla's own issues but didn't push through. "Speaking of olden times, I read before that in Victorian times, attacking the police was a national pastime. Would you like to bring it back?"
"Once again, you and the point are always in parallel."
Henri laughed heartily. "Now don't put this the wrong way, Isla. I'm all for equality and against police brutality, but who is that student anyway? Word of the mouth tells us that Zac and his lackeys often bully her. And what does it say about the police? The fact that they are resorting to the victim of the bullies could only mean they are stuck!"
"Their incompetence couldn't be resolved to lashing out, but it's a place to start. No, I'm looking at the bigger picture. I'm doing something."
Henri snickered. "Would a 17-year old girl be allowed onto a killer's crime scene?"
Isla rolled her eyes this time. "As you so eloquently put, Henri, the police are resorting to interrogating the victim of the bullies which meant that they are stuck. And according to Amani's story, although illegally taken, it was credible. Her article said that the forensics found no DNA, no fingerprints, no witnesses, no broken windows or picked locks, nothing—nothing but the bodies of four teenage boys. I, for one, am convinced that whoever killed Kinsley killed his chums too."
"Oh God, Isla, please disengage right now." Henri pleaded. "If you think there's a serial killer on the loose, as you are always right, please disengage."
"One killed himself by drinking cyanide, two killed themselves by jumping off a building, and one killed himself by stabbing." Isla recited perfectly, ignoring Henri's attempts to inject some sense into her.
"Isla, any criminal profiling school reject knows this. Murderers constantly return to the scene of the crime and try to get themselves closer to the police to get to know the case. And it's exactly what you're doing! The delusional Sergeant might think it's you!"
"You should check yourself with a therapist; I think paranoia has gotten into you." Isla scoffed. "And please, you may try your best to persuade me to leave, but I will not be bothered by meaningless prattle. And besides, I wouldn't have to visit a crime scene. My position as Student Council President doesn't allow me to access investigation files, but a certain connection I have could be my pass."
Henri raised a quirky eyebrow, left in the dark to wonder what Isla might have meant.
* * *
"I was hoping you'd come." Sergeant Kinsley said over the phone. "We need a new eye here. It's the same deal as before— untraceable murders. It's frustrating." He slammed the table, creating a huge noise. "Yes! I do think the suicides are murders! The boys aren't in a cult to suddenly agree to a mass suicide!"
There was a pause from him, indicating that the other side is talking.
"Oh, what do you know," Henri said, standing beside Isla. "He is calling in the Yard."
Isla rolled her eyes at another joke from her companion.
"Oh, you would?" Sergeant Kinsley asked. "Thank you, Chief Inspector. Thank you!" He punched the telephone back to his table before returning to the people at the door of his office.
Isla was aware of Henri's heart beating out a mad tune of panic as they waited for the Sergeant to bellow out and demand to know who they were.
"Students? Can I help you?"
"It would please us immensely if you would allow us to watch the interrogation," Isla said straight to the point without even sitting on the chairs provided for guests, omitting some key points that won't let them thrown away by the door. "I am Isla Cecil and this is Henri De Ferrers, despite our family names, we are here on account of the Headmistress of Fortuna Academy."
"Are you both legal?" It was a simple question that Isla knew was going to throw her off as most adults use to justify their actions of wanting to dismiss children.
"You should be about receiving her message now." Isla simply said. Henri gave her another narrow look, continuing to wonder.
As if on cue, a short ringtone was heard from the Sergeant's phone. He fished for it in his pocket and was genuinely startled when he read the message from an unknown number. His forehead creased after and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, you should watch from outside." He stood up and walked through the middle of the two teenagers and turned left to the interrogation room.
"What message was that?" Henri asked.
"From my connection," Isla smirked, then staring at her phone to check the time. "Come on, come on! I don't have all day!" the Sergeant barked.
Isla and Henri followed the Sergeant towards the interrogation room when someone came rushing in. It was the gloomy laidback gothic girl Miss Lu was with earlier in the cafeteria.
One of the constables on duty seemed to have gotten a message to control the number of students storming inside. Both Isla and Henri were permissible to enter due to Headmistress Collins's plea in her paperwork.
"State your business, kid!"
"I'd like to see my friend please, I'm Alessandra Adams. She's being held inside, I need to be with her."
"I'm sorry miss, but you have no right to get inside. She's being interrogated for murder, you are neither her family nor her lawyer, so skedaddle or wait out here!"
"WHAT?"
Isla and Henri paid her no mind as they had been asked to watch in behind the glass of an interrogation session. And that meant observing in the other room while the Sergeant tried to get answers out of a girl they believed responsible for the death of his son and his friends which only made it look like a mass suicide.
Isla stared at the Asian girl once more. When she saw her face for the first time, hours ago, Isla was stunned. The girl was brash and loud, her loyalty to her friend was indescribable. The way her piercing cinnamon-brown eyes glared at the Sergeant who hurt her friend was of a warrior Amazon, ready to do battle with the glare of her eyes.
Yet above anything else, the girl was a troublemaker. She could tell just as much. Looking through her file, Isla instantly knew that the Professors all have a hard time dealing with her. From disastrous science projects, failing marks on quizzes, and even clumsiness that would often topple people on her way like a stack of dominoes.
The girl was breathtakingly unique-looking. Isla wasn't sure if she was pretty or not but the girl's flowing dark hair falling just above her petite waist. Isla found herself speechless by an Eastern beauty for the first time in a long time.
The Sergeant slowly stood up and walked around the table, standing behind the Asian girl. "Are you ready to talk yet?" he asked, leaning down close to her.
Miss Lu huffed but said nothing. She was beside her guardian, Professor Marie, and an incompetent lawyer named Eric McQuaid. He was a huge man with unusual gray pallor and whitish hair. He was fiddling with his phone, trying to be calm about the whole ordeal.
Isla scoffed at the incompetence of the law's budget for a public attorney.
"Are we sure she can speak English?" a gruff-looking plain-clothed Detective asked the Sergeant. He wasn't necessarily superior to the Sergeants, but he's a part of the Criminal Investigative Division.
Sergeant Kinsley glanced at the Asian girl before replying. "She knows how to withstand the silence."
"S-she does have the right to remain silent." Eric McQuaid started, raising his hand like a school kid in class.
"Then talk on her behalf! We already gave you hours to debrief her case." The Sergeant's growl shook the low esteemed lawyer, making himself seem busy staring at documents at his disposal.
Of course, it had been more of a staring contest in the last couple of hours. Both the accused and the detective refused to say anything to each other.
It was silent for several more seconds before the Sergeant grabbing Miss Lu around the neck and slammed her head down on the table with a scream. "Talk!" he demanded.
Everyone jumped at the sudden change of tactical behavior and with little time to process what occurred, no one moved.
"What's the matter with you?" the Sergeant asked, as he began to reach for his baton. "Why are you sitting so quiet, so scared looking? Afraid to crack under pain?"
"What the bloody hell?" Henri gasped. "Isn't that illegal?"
Isla ignored him for good reason. There were too many things happening at once, Isla's heart hammered in her chest, as she stood there helpless for there was nothing else she could do. She hated being weak, so Isla immediately took the first initiative. She knocked on the glass that separated them, positively getting the men's attention.
"Quick! Call some officers to restrain him." Isla ordered her companion.
"Officers help! He's gone mad!" Henri followed Isla's initiative and went to look for the Constables from across the hall.
"What are you doing?" the Professor yelled as she pushed the Sergeant away from the girl.
Isla took note of the strength the Asian Professor had on her. She might not look like it, but the fact that she was able to do that meant that underneath all those clothing was a strong and fit woman—or a lucky rush of adrenaline.
Everyone was afraid for a second that Sergeant Kinsley had lost his mind. He scared them; their haunted faces eventually wore off. The detective and the lawyer who froze at the sight finally got Isla's message and tackled him. Just in time for Henri and some guards to arrive and quickly opened the door to help deal with the damage.
"Evonnie, are you okay?" The professor caressed the girl's face. "You're bleeding!"
The girl whimpered. She had a blackened eye from that one vicious attack. Blood spilled from her nose, but still, she had a huge smile on. She gave one thumbs-up, unable to speak.
Isla winced when she saw a dent in the table. This was not normal—at all.
Henri heroically arrived with two Constables and Miss Adams. The imminent threat of a lunatic Sergeant was deemed more important than controlling a stray student out of the vicinity or perhaps the girl used the confusion to get in.
Miss Adams gasped at the sight of her friend. "Evonnie!"
The Constables unlocked the door for him and his companion to help. The girl was also ready to sprint inside when Isla grabbed her hand. She turned around to look at Isla ferociously, giving Isla sudden chills.
"You could get hurt too," Isla stated.
The grayish pale girl gritted her teeth but stayed still. Isla found herself intrigued by the girl's oddity before shifting her attention back inside. It took four capable men inside to contain the sudden berserker who was frothing at the mouth.
Everyone in the vicinity stared at the Sergeant. He was straight-backed, glancing around now and then in panic. His arms were handcuffed behind him, ensuring that he wouldn't attack anyone.
In a loud, firm voice that punctuated through, he stated. "I told you she did it!"
"You don't have enough evidence to support that!" Eric McQuaid yelled. The poor and tensed lawyer for Miss Lu unexpectedly gained the bravery to stand up and defend his client. "You didn't have the right to detain her, and I'd appreciate it if you stop harassing my client! You are abusing your authority. I can help her sue you for kidnapping!"
"No!" his voice broke. "It was clearly her. She is lying to you! If you don't serve justice for my son! Then I will!" That inhuman quality, plus the cold force of this appalling threat, convinced the rest of the people, as it did with Isla, that he meant exactly what he said.
Sergeant Kinsley doesn't really need any other weapon to show that he was fierce and fearsome, but he was able to break through the handcuffs by sheer force, his veins popping and his muscles strained.
"You really should have confiscated my weapons." He reached for his auto knife and with quick reflexes, threw it at Eric McQuaid who stood protectively in front of the Asian girl right between the eyes, similar to a young David who slingshot a rock to a Giant's forehead.
It was a quick death. Eric McQuaid hadn't had the chance to scream for help.
"OH CRAP!" The Detective yelled as they watched his body fall to the cold ground.
"SHIT!" One of the Constables pointed his gun at him and nearly pressed down on the trigger. Too late to recognize that it was a bad idea to open fire in an enclosed space. He, however, tried to intimidate and review their options, but it made things even worse.
It was a bad move; even Isla can tell that.
"Point that at him." The other Constable quickly reached for another melee weapon. They were clearly underprepared for an attack without the use of guns. He fumbled on his combat blade before pointing the pointy edge at him. "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!"
He saw the Sergeant grab a chair, waving it around to strike the Constables in his proximity. Pain surged through the Constables' bodies as their bloody screams filled the room. They both crashed right for the ground.
Henri yelped at the impact as if it was him who got hit.
The ground lightly trembled beneath the sounds of giant footsteps the Sergeant made when he walked his way towards where the accused and her guardian were. It was somehow impossible for a huge-bellied Constable to do those feats but the fact that he's on an anger strike, it was close to possible.
"KINSLEY!" The sole detective in the room decided to play hero and injected himself between the Sergeant the teenage girl and proceeded to talk to him. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU? Let's talk about this, mate. This won't do justice to your son at all."
It was futile for he was greeted with a chair to his face.
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. When the men in the room were nothing but rag dolls, Sergeant Kinsley glared hard at his target, clutching hard on the chair's legs.
With one final heave he aimed the hunk of metal towards the teenager he was raging after.
Professor Marie fashioned a dart from her pockets—a questionable piece that Isla would ask some time later—and shot it at the madman.
The effect was instantaneous. Sergeant Kinsley blinked a few times before staring at the dark that prickled his skin before collapsing to the ground. Isla presumed that the dart was laced with a tranquilizer.
Professor Marie hurriedly grabbed the Asian girl and dashed through the opened door, pleading at Isla and the rest. "Quick, bring her somewhere safe with you and call in for reinforcements!"
Isla caught the Asian girl who held her face in pain.
"Aw..." she mumbled, the whole body in pain from the beating, and Isla had by now able to tell she had broken skin on her lips. She stared up at Isla, her vision was losing focus. "Wow, you're so pretty."
The shorter girl leaned against Isla for support, leaving Isla unknowing how to reply.
"And what are you doing here, Alessandra?" Professor Marie barked at the third girl.
"I... I was worried."
"What about you?" Henri asked. Isla's focus shifted to the task at hand.
"As you can see, I am perfectly capable of handling him." Professor Marie said, completely dismissing them. "And besides, I have to see if everyone else is okay."
The duo nodded and started a head start to safety.
Isla took one last look back at the scene and wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her. For she was certain that the supposed knocked out man stood up with a snarl, his eyes rolling upwards. He was already holding out a gun, and noticeably without a silencer.
Professor Marie managed to save her eardrums by heading out of the room and locking the door before the Sergeant pointed the gun at his forehead and shot himself.
A/N
The new chapter's arrived on time! Yay! Did you guys see that coming? If you did, why? If you didn't, tell me why not?