"Wait a minute." She jumped up like she was hit by a bolt of lightning. She seemed to have an idea. Melinda was startled.
"Call boss." She pressed a button on her earpiece.
"It's Lisa." After a while, she introduced herself. She was trembling with anticipation and biting her lip.
"I need your help." She said. She was desperate.
"My assistant and I might have murdered Steve." She finished her sentence with pauses. She seemed hesitant and frightened.
She listened to other side.
"Thank you. Thank you so…" She smiled for the first time. The call was disconnected. She sighed heavily and sat on the couch. It seemed like she was waiting for someone. They did not speak with each other for a long time. Melinda was still staring at Lisa.
"Ting." Lisa quickly checked her inbox. She had received a contact number. Without wasting a moment, she dialed the number. She looked hopeful.
"Hello. This is Lisa."
She listened to the person on the other side for a while.
"Okay. We will do that. T- Thank you." She said and disconnected the call.
"Let's go." She said to Melinda. They both cleaned themselves up in the bathroom and then left the office. Lisa locked the door and approached the elevator. Melinda followed. Elevator was already there. The got in and stood impatiently.
"Who is Boss?" Melinda broke the silence. Lisa was startled. Its like she had forgotten about Melinda.
"I will tell you some other day. For now, remember! You know nothing about Steve. You came her to help me out and deliver some food. You did what you came for and now we are leaving. Understood?" Lisa finished in an aristocratic tone.
"But. What about Steve?" Melinda was confused.
"I said forget about Steve. Let me handle it." Lisa scolded her.
Melinda sighed and nodded in agreement.
Tragedy was averted to some other family.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26th December 2050
Detective Hernandez Alvera was one of the top officers of NSA. He was a tall and handsome man. He was 37 years old man with sharp and intuitive mind. He worked in the crimes unit and mostly covered serious felonies but given the current circumstances he had been allocated some burglary cases as well.
He was in-charge of the murder case of Senator Donald James Appleton. His murder was proving to be a real puzzler. He had recently received the forensics report. According to the report, the ammo found did not match the ballistics found in the body and blood of Senator. The ballistics found could be traced back to Pakistan's SRHataf303Ex. The news was kept from media and public. Pakistan Army had been contacted for the details.
On the other hand, Detective was looking actively for the old man that disappeared from the crime scene. Detective was sure that he was the one who replaced the original ammo with fake.
The other case Detective pursued was a gang of burglars on loose. These burglars had broken into five houses in last couple of days and stole a combined sum of more than 250,000 US Dollars. These burglars broke in the houses in posh areas only. The houses with the most advanced security systems installed. They not only entered the houses without raising any alarms but also did not leave any traces behind.
But today's case proved to be the strangest of all. It was a case of missing Journalist Steve Marvin Bowell.
Steve was last seen going in his office building on the eve of Christmas and never came out. The Building Security, in order to evacuate the building, checked his office and it was locked. After knocking and calling him multiple times, they opened the main door to his office with master key.
Steve was not in his office. Security searched the whole building, but Steve was nowhere to be found. The CCTV footage suggested that Steve entered his office but never came out. It was a puzzle they could not solve. Next morning, they reported him missing and called his family as well.
Detective had collected the CCTV footage and sent it to the forensics to check whether the CCTV footage was tampered with or not. He was an experienced detective and to him the footage looked untouched. A man goes in the office and does not come out. It looked like main plot of some fantasy sci-fi novel.
Detective had just met Lisa, Steve's fellow journalist, who was also present in the building when Steve went there. Lisa refused meeting him. CCTV footage also suggested that they never met. He was now going to meet Lisa's assistant Melinda.
He reached her house. She welcomed him and they sat in the living room.
"Are you alright?" Detective asked. She looked pale, sick, and distant.
"N- Ye – No. Actually, I might have drunk a bit more yesterday. Now it is getting back at me." Melinda tried to smile. She seemed confused to detective. It seemed like she was trying to hide something.
"Well. I can come later if you want." Detective was looking at her intently.
"No. It's alright. I am feeling pretty well right now." She smiled again.
"Well then, I have a few questions for you. Do you mind?" Detective took out his pen and Notebook.
"Please…" Melinda sat attentively.
"Why did you go to office on your day off." Detective asked.
"I went to drop some coffee and donuts. Lisa was working alone, I just wanted to cheer her up." Melinda confidently said.
"Did you see Steve there?"
"No."
He asked some other relevant questions.
"Do you know what happened to Steve? Detective asked.
"Yes. Lisa called me soon after you left there. She told me about his disappearance. His family must be worried sick." Melinda looked a little shook up. She was constantly staring at her feet.
Detective found this interesting.
"I thought you would be happy." He was observing Melinda. She looked shocked.
"I mean… given your history with him, isn't it a relief." Detective shot in the dark.
"NO. How could you think like that? Do you think I am that inhuman?" Melinda screamed. She seemed upset. Melinda's mother ran.
"I- I am sorry. I did not mean to offend you." Detective quickly backed off.
"If you don't have further questions, I would like you leave." She was angry at detective. It seemed like Melinda was having a panic attack.
"Please don't bother. I will see myself out." Detective said and walked out the front door.
"She may not be involved directly but she definitely knows something." He whistled with excitement.