"Good afternoon, ma." Officer Gabriel greeted Mrs. Miller, the principal.
"Good afternoon, Officer Gabriel. It was nice meeting you again. Thanks for the other day. I appreciate. What brings you here?" Mrs. Miller asked.
"Is Parker Anna in school today?" He asked her.
"Is there any problem?" She asked.
"Not at all. There is a case we are investigating, and we'll need her for a few questions." He explained.
"Okay. Let me check the attendance. Hmm. She is not in school today. Also two of her classmates, Asher and Tara. Why aren't they in school?" She asked curiously.
"Well, I'm interested in Anna's absence. Could you put a call through to her parents asking why she isn't in school?" Officer Gabriel said
"Sure, I can, but I don't think it will be successful. Her mom is a very busy person and rarely picks up random calls, especially on irrelevant matters like this." Mrs. Miller explained.
"I think we should get her whereabouts from her friends." She continued.
"That's a good idea." He said.
She picked up her cell phone and dialed the class monitor's number.
"Hello, Miss Bridget. Could you please send Amelia and Priscilla to my office? Thanks." She said so and ended the call.
In less than two minutes, there was a knock on the door, and Amelia and Priscilla walked in.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Miller." They both greeted
"Good afternoon, scholars. Have you heard from Anna today? Why isn't she in school?" she asked them.
"We called her this morning. She said her mother asked her to stay back at home." Amelia replied.
"Do you know why her mother said so?" Mrs. Miller asked.
"No, ma." Amelia replied back.
"Do you know her house's address?" Officer Gabriel asked.
"Sure. It's No. 33, St. Timothy Street." Priscilla replied to him.
"Thanks alot. You can leave." Officer Gabriel said
"When you get to your class room, call me Bella, Ashley, Benedicta, and Dennis." Mrs. Miller said as they were leaving.
"Thanks, Mrs. Miller. I appreciate." Officer Gabriel said as he stood up to take his leave.
"You are welcome. Officer Gabriel, are you sure everything is fine? Has Anna done anything wrong? If she has, I'll advise you to take things easy. Her mom is a powerful and popular woman. I think if you need Anna, you should get her mom's consent first." Mrs. Miller advised
"Sure, Mrs. Miller. I'll stick to your advice. Goodbye." He said that and left her office.
As he left, all four—Bella, Benedicta, Ashley, and Dennis—walked into the office. Before entering the office, Officer Gabriel warned them not to disclose what was happening to her.
"Do you all know anything about Asher and Tara's absence?" Mrs. Miller asked.
"Tara's mom isn't feeling well; that's why she isn't in school, and Asher's mom decided to also stay with Tara's mom, and Asher decided to stay with Tara." Benedicta explained in one breath.
Mrs. Miller looked at her, amused.
"What a rap, Benedicta. Do you rap? I think you'd be good in that field." Mrs. Miller said
"Anyway, thanks for the information. I only wanted to know if they were both fine. You can go back to your class," she continued.
They walked out of the office.
"Nice one on that, Benedicta. Honestly, I didn't know what to say to Mrs. Miller if she asked me." Dennis said.
"We can't let her know what's going on. Not anyone. We have to do as we were instructed by Officer Gabriel." Ashley said.
"I pray the assassin is found soon." Benedicta said.
"And I pray Pinky is safe." Bella said, almost crying.
"Why keep this a secret anyway?" Dennis asked.
"For safety purposes. The assassin is still unknown. Anybody could be the assassin, and disclosing information anyhow could make matters worse." Ashley explained.
"That's true." Dennis said.
"We should also be careful of how we talk. There will be no more discussion about this topic until after school hours. The walls have ears, you know. Ashley warned them, and they went into the classroom.
**********************************************
"Good afternoon, Miss." Sergeant Courtney greeted her.
"Good afternoon. How can I help you?" Anna asked.
"Are you Parker Anna?" She asked.
"Yes, I am. Any problems?" Anna replied.
"Not at all. Your attention is needed in our station for a few questions." Sergeant Courtney said:
"I'm sorry, but for what exactly? I can't leave this house and follow you. My mom is not home. You'll have to go and come back. Okay?" Anna said it rudely.
"I'm sorry, miss. But you will have to come with us now. Your mom can come and join you at the station." Sergeant Courtney barked back at her.
"What offense have I committed? Tell me?" Anna asked angrily.
"Attempted murder, Anna!" Sergeant Courtney said that and dragged her along with her into the van, and they drove off. When they arrived at the station, Anna became violent and scattered the offices of the stations, pouring out documents on the floor, destroying laptops, and even throwing items at sergeants.
"Get me out of here. I need to talk to my mom. This is child abuse." Anna rants as she scatters the station.
"Would you stop this, Anna? Be grateful we didn't handcuff you like a criminal before coming here." Sergeant Courtney said at the top of her voice,
"I'll have you all sued in court. You are depriving me of my rights. I never attempted to kill anyone." Anna said, shouting.
Two sergeants grabbed hold of her, handcuffed her, and took her into a cell.
"You'll have to remain here till you are calm and ready for questioning." A sergeant said as he was locking the gates of the Cell.
"I need to talk to my mother. You can't treat me this way, you imbeciles. I'm not a criminal." Anna shouted as she cried. She cried for a very long time and soon fell asleep.
After the office was arranged, Dr. Stella was called. She didn't answer the call at the first four attempts, but she did answer the fifth one.
"Good evening, please. I'm kind of busy right now. Could you stop disturbing me for now? I'll get back to you later." Dr. Stella said
"No later, Mrs. Parker. Your daughter is at the police station, and she seeks your attention." Officer Nelson said
"What! What is she doing there? I demand she be freed right now. I'll come to the station to resolve everything." Dr. Stella said, panicking.
"Well, unless you come here, your daughter can't be released." Officer Nelson said
"Who are you? Do you know who I am? I asked that my daughter be freed immediately, and you are giving me conditions? Where did you get the guts from?" Dr. Stella raged at Officer Nelson.
Goodbye, Mrs. Parker. Be expecting you." Officer Nelson said this and hung up the phone.
"Who's this man? How dare he hang up the call on me? I'll show him the stuff I'm made of today." Dr. Stella said, and she grabbed her coat and stormed out of her office in rage.