"I came to turn myself in."
"Turn yourself in, for what?"
"I'm responsible for Joana's kidnap."
June's parents were shocked by her statement but it was nothing new to the policemen around. They could do nothing but watch in utter perplexion as she was taken immediately to the interrogation room for questioning.
"So," The police officer sitting opposite her began as he held his hands together. "I guess what happened is that you planned your sister's kidnap because of some grudge, or perhaps that boy... And now you're feeling guilty so you chose to turn yourself in."
"No, that's not it." June replied.
"It's not?" The man asked with a bit of skepticism. "So what is it then?"
June decided to start from the very beginning, from the time when they became friends with Joana and how they attended the party, and how they started playing the game.
"So you expect me to believe that this kidnap is a direct result of a game?" The police officer asked after June took a brief pause to see if he was following.
"At first, it all started as a silly game. We were just having fun, fantasizing about those we wanted dead, and how we'd do it... I swear it was all a joke until--"
"Until what?" The officer at the other end of the room asked.
"Until they started dying for real!"
"That's impossible!"
"We all thought so too, but two people are dead now and it was exactly the same way we said they would."
The officer tried to speak but couldn't find any words to express what was going through his mind at that point. What was she saying? This can't be true.
"You don't believe me? Go and ask about Sylvester and Raymond from your fellow officers, they'll tell you that Sylvester died from a slit throat while Raymond died from drowning."
The officer gulped.
"I-I'll be right back." He said as he walked out of the room.
"Where are you going? My sister is in danger, we have to find her now!"
The officer stopped then threw a glance at her.
"Just stay here and wait." He said before jerking the door open and walking out.
Gladys and Gabriel were outside the door with another police officer waiting for him.
"So what did my daughter say? Did she tell you where her sister is?" Gladys asked in tears.
"How much were you able to hear?" The officer asked.
"Nothing sir," Gabriel replied. "So what does she say?"
"I can't say right now, I can barely wrap my head around anything right now... All I can say is that this isn't just some kidnapping case, it is way bigger than that and it is tied to two other bigger cases." He looked over to his partner. "Where the hell is James?"
** ** **
Officer James sat on his chair going over some papers while his partner, Officer Ade was distracting him with a story of how his children had finished the chicken stew his wife made before they both came back from work.
"So what did you do to them?" James asked with a smirk on his face.
"Absolutely nothing, Kemi begged me to leave them because they are still small."
"I knew it!" James chuckled. "You talk tough at work but when you get home, it's your wife that controls you."
Ade frowned.
"That's not the point here. What I'm saying is she is too soft on the children. It's a recipe to get them spoilt I tell you."
"Well that my friend, is your problem." James said as he flipped the pages over. "We've got a job here to do."
"Isn't that the case about that body we found in the woods?" Ade asked him as he stared down at James. "Why are you still stressing yourself over this thing, the woman doesn't want to go after it again."
"I know you are going to beat me for this," James said. "But I can't close it yet. There are still some unanswered questions."
"Like?"
"From what Maryam told me--"
"Oh, so you call her by her first name. How sweet." Ade teased.
"Stay focused dumbass!... As I was saying, she told me that Sylvester was a bus driver meaning he could have been famous among the hoodlums and probably knew a gang or two. One could say he pissed a gang off and they decided to waste him. But why would a gang kill someone and then go all the way to hide the body in the forest? I mean, we get cases of deaths as results of gang fights or grudges and they are always open, sometimes even in broad daylight."
"Hmmm," Ade said after considering James' words. "You're right, someone else went through all that trouble. But who?"
"That's what I can't answer. And who was the girl that called me that night about the body? We need answers guy."
"Then today is your lucky day." Officer Simon, the police officer who had been interrogating June said as he walked up to them.
"What do you mean?" Officer James asked.
"Just come with me."
James and Ade although confused, decided to follow Officer Simon to the interrogation room.
"Do you remember this girl?" Simon asked James as they peeked through the transparent glass at the top of the door.
"Yeah, she came with her friends to support another girl that was arrested for murder." James' eyes widened. It was the same day he interrogated Maryam's daughter.
"Well these are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chike."
James nodded to them in response to their greeting.
"Their other daughter was kidnapped this morning and she claims she is responsible."
"So?" Ade asked. "Is that why you called us here?"
"Calm down. Wait till you hear what she says first."
Simon opened the door and signaled with a nod that they should come in.
June didn't seem to flinch as she saw the two other policemen walk in but that was because her fear made her numb and almost unable to move her body. What if after all these they still didn't believe her? She managed to clench her fists as Officer Simon spoke.
"June, remember what you told me before? Tell these two men exactly the same thing."