The day was Tuesday. Exactly two weeks and a day after the incident at the field was reported to her department. Detective Kamala Veronica tipped her coffee cup to her mouth and sipped while driving to the department.
After spending the whole night watching the video footage from the CCTV cameras from the stadium, she still found no clue. To make things worse, the coffee wasn't having any effect on her drowsiness. And the idea that she was going back to the case made her groan like she was in pain. She hated case that made feel like she was already in a dead end even before starting.
To be fair, there was nothing substantial with the evidence they had gathered. Except for the fact that something was telling her the security guard was somehow involved. The problem was, she couldn't figure out how he fit into her theory.
Besides, most of the evidence and his story of what had transpired that night corroborated.
So it was either her instincts were wrong and he was Innocent or he wasn't. And her instincts were never wrong.
One of the cameras that had been taken as evidence showed the two students running away from the the scene of the crime. But the video quality and poor lighting of the area made it difficult to identify the faces of the students.
The second camera was the one that actually proved that the security guard was in his station as at the time the incident happened.
The week before, the identity of the victim had been identified. And the family have been asking the department to find the culprits involved. That in turn has made her congruously pester her on how long she was taking to solve the case.
When she finally reached the station, Veronica went straight to the interrogation room without stopping at her own office.
Dressed in a silvery colored blazers, there was no way you could tell that she was a police officer without the badge.
Two men were in the room. One wad sitting, while the other way standing at a corner.
"Morning, Detective." the man standing greeted with a quick salute. He was wearing the county police department uniform.
Veronica nodded back, " Sergeant, good morning. I will take it from here Thank you." she said to the sergeant who then walked out of the room.
When the door closed behind him, Veronica turned to the man sitting. Her lips lifted with a brief smile. " Good morning, Mr Owen. How was your night?,"
" Fine. Thank you." Owen replied. But his face didn't show any sign of pleasure.
" Do you want anything. More coffee?, " Veronica offered. Something told her the man wasn't pleased that he had been brought in early I'm the morning.
" No, ma'am. Thanks I am fine. I just want to get over with this. I have a full day ahead of me. And I need to get started before it gets late."
" Yeah, So do we " Veronica nodded her head three times, " Alright. I am sure you have been briefed on what you are here for. We want you to check out some of the likely suspects. They are all students from North Sandy highschool who have been linked to one misdemeanor or the other. You just have to check if any of them have any similarity with the students you saw."
" Okay. I can do that."
" Good," Veronica turned and reached for a microphone on the desk, " Alright, bring in the first group." she spoke to the microphone.
Then the door on the other side of the one way mirror opened producing six of teenagers.
Detective Veronica glanced at Owen, " Alright, Mr Owen. I going to direct them to turn to the left and then to the right. You just check whether you recognise any of them."
" Yeah, sure." Owen nodded.
As Veronica directed them, the students did. When she asked Owen if he saw anything, Owen shook his head. So Veronica reached for the microphone again pressed the button, " Bring in the next group."
Another set of teenagers entered the other room and Owen was asked to check again.
This time, he pointed at two students. A boy and a girl. Just like what the video footage showed.
" Those two?," Veronica looked at him, " How sure are you?,"
" Well, not very such. It was dark, you know. But I would say like sixty percent. "
Veronica pressed the button again, " Okay. Number four and six please wait behind. The rest of you can go. Thanks for cooperation. " she spoke through the microphone to the teenager in the other room. Then she turned Owen, " That's helpful, Mr Owen." her lips curved with a fake smile, " Your contribution is really. Thank you very much."
" It's no problem. Anything I can do to help. "
" I will let you go now." Veronica extended her hand and shook hands with him. Then he left the room.
The moment Owen disappeared through the door, her smile varnished. Her suspicion about the man was true. He was involved with the murder.
Now her only hope was to find the actual that were in the video. Not these actors she had just shown Owen.
She pulled out her cellphone and began watching the footage again. When it reached the part where the two teenagers were running, she saw something she had not noticed before.
Something that made her jump to her feet.