"Trust no one".
Anonymous.
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Third person P.O.V
When Asad regained consciousness, he found himself laying on a bed, he met Nafisa by the side who noticed he was wide awake and offered him water but he politely declined it.
He stood up to his feet and walked towards the window to see that the sun was no where to be seen and the ray of light had vanished. The sun had set and the moon was out, accompanied by the little stars in the sky.
"Asad.." Nafisa called out his name and he slowly turned and stared at her.
He seemed void at the moment, so empty and so lost but when she scrutinized into his eyes , she saw the pain and vulnerability and that only shattered her heart.
"Asad.." she called out once again and this time he looked down to his feet.
"In shã Allah (If Allah wills it) everything will be okay"... She gave him a faint smile.
He shoot his head negatively, side to side "No Nunu, do not tell me everything is going to be okay when you hid the truth from me. Umma was right , you are a bad person!" ...he stomped out of the room and rushed into the first room he saw.
His breathing got heavy and so did his heart so he sat down on the well furnished bed and started panting... unknownily obscurely.
Memories from the night before flashed through his eyes like it was on replay.
The way that man tore out his father's head , the way that man molested his mother and tortured her before killing her.
God!!! His mother was raped right before his very own eyes .
'The way their heads were placed on my laps '.... He thought as a lone tear escaped his left eye.
The memories just kept on taunting Asad so he decided to lay down and take deep breaths in and out but that only worsen everything.
Sweat filled his body and he started feeling like he was suffocating. He sat up straight again and after a few minutes he laid down once again.
He did not acknowledge when he embraced his pillow and let his tears run freely, soaking his pillow case.
'If only my mother was here she would have hugged me and told me to stop crying'...He thought as he cried harder.
'But she is not, she was tortured and killed in front of me'.... his thoughts pierced his heart and what he felt was unbearable.
Soon he dosed off with his heart heavy.
The following day......
Najib and Nafisa got ready as soon as possible, locked up and left the house. Najib dropped Nafisa off at their family house and he drove to the police station.
"Sir"... The police man there , shakes Najib's hand and gives Najib a sad smile.
"Any luck?" Najib asks.
The police man sigh and says no.
"It's been a day and you can't find a single evidence that could trace the culprit?" Najib impatiently questioned .
"Sorry sir , we tried our best but we can not perform any magic. You need to be patient. We called the Federal Inspector, he will be here in an hour time"...The police man said , not to sure when the federal Inspector was going to arrive, with that statement said the police man took his leave.
Najib sat on a chair that was close to him and dialed Jamil's number.
Jamil answered after the third ring and muttered a 'hello'.
"Where are you?"...Najib asked.
"In my house, a few personal things held me back"....Jamil stated.
"I just lost my brother and his wife and you are telling me you are being held back by personal things like relaxing right?"...Najib barked through the phone.
"Did they find the culprit?"... Jamil's voice instantly change.
Najib took a few breath in and then released it... "No, the Federal inspector is going to be here in an hour time , please try and be here before then" .
"Okay . Let me get ready" .... Jamil said and hung up.
'Let me check on my wife'.... Najib thought, he then dialed her number and she picked after the first ring.
"Hey my love"... he said in a calm manner but she remained silent.
"Nafisa" ..he called out but got no reply.
"Nafisa , what's wrong?" ...He asked, his tone slowly changing.
"Everything" ...she said , her voice brittle from crying.
"What happened? " He questioned, he was now worried.
"Your mother keeps on taunting me because I am fruitless and Asad ...Asad is still , he...he refused to eat or talk or even move , he seems so void and empty and everyone blames me for his state, they keep on saying had it been I told him that his parents are late this wouldn't have happened, they even said they won't allow me take care of Asad because I...I wou--"
"Shhhhh, it's okay. Don't swallow yourself just because of the situation. It's okay" Najib cuts her off and tries comforting her.
"But..." She said and she was cut off again.
"No buts, was it your wish for you to become Barren? Was it your doing?"...He asked her .
"No" ..was all she said and he continued.
"So why are you killing yourself for something you have no control over. Didn't we meet Asad unconscious with his parents heads on him, was it your fault?"...He asked again.
"No" was her reply.
"Then why are you taking their words to heart, I didn't give up on you just because you are barren neither did I add another wife nor companion despite the fact that my mother wanted me to , I didn't divorce you or treat you any different just because you are barren even though I am your husband so why are you letting them play around with your mind?".... He says.
Nafisa wanted to reply to his statement but he continued.
"Come on Nafisa , you are a strong woman . I have always known you to be one so don't let you guard down because of unnecessary drama and false accusations. I love you just the way you are and nothing nor no one will be able to change that." ... He stated.
"It's true, I love you too" she replies.
"My mother might not allow us keep Asad but I will find a way to change her mind , don't worry"... He assures her .
"Okay Najib and thank you".... She says.
"For??".... He questions.
"For everything"....she says .
"Don't worry Nafisa , I would do an-" Najib was interrupted by a police officer.
"Sir, the federal Inspector is here".... He says.
"Okay I am coming" ...Najib says and turns his attention back to his wife... "I have to go , I will come over to the family house as soon I am done okay" he says but didn't give her time to reply
"I love you... bye".... he says and cuts the call .
He hears the sound of someone clapping and swiftly turn to see who was there.
"Jamil???"... He says , obviously shocked.
"The speech you gave your wife is making me emotional"... Jamil feigns sadness.
"Haha very funny"...Najib says sarcastically.
"You know , my wife comforts me not the other way around"... Jamil says .
"That's nice"... Najib says , showing lack of interest in the conversation.
"How long have you been here and eavesdropping on my conversation with my wife?"... Najib knitted his eyebrows together.
"Not for long , lover boy".... Jamil wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
"Good morning sir, I am inspector Fahad . I work for the F.B.I "... he starts off , bringing both Najib and Jamil's attention to him. "Here is my batch and identification card"... he brings it out and shows them.
"As soon as I heard your case , I immediately offer to take the case and I ensure you we will get to the bottom of this and find Justice for your brother and his wife"... he says sincerely.
"Thank you sir"....Najib says.
"Shall we?"... Inspector Fahad asks amd gestured towards the door.
Jamil and Najib nodded.
"Let's go to my office"... Inspector Fahad says as they walk through the station.
Some police and staff saw them pass by and greeted them while other staff glared at them , thinking they were criminals.
The trio entered inspector Fahad's office and inspector Fahad took his seat then gestured for Najib and Jamil to take their seats opposite him.
"What is your name sir?"... Inspector Fahad asked when they had taken their seats, he was not specific about who should answer the question though. He just asked in general.
"My name is Najib Hafeez "... was all Najib said and inspector Fahad nodded.
Inspector Fahad then pulled out a pen and a mini notebook and wrote down something before he spoke again.
"What about you?"... He asked Jamil who was deep in thought.
"Sir"... Inspector Fahad rose his voice bringing Jamil out of his thoughts.
"What's your name?"... He asked Jamil in a stern manner .
"Jamil...Jamil Mubarak"... he said and inspector Fahad stared at him before nodding.
"Tell me, how are you related to the murdered victim Najib".... Inspector Fahad started his interrogations as he wrote in his mini notebook.
"Sir, he is my brother , my younger brother but also my immediate brother as well"... Najib answered.
'The only brother I had'... Najib said to himself.
"Okay ...How did you get to know that your brother is dead and when did you find out? At what time and venue where you in?"... Inspector Fahad asked.
"I was getting ready to retire for the night along with my wife, in my house , that's when I received a call from Jamil"... he gestured his body language towards Jamil then continued. "He called me and informed me that he just found my brother dead with his head cut off , along with his wife's head and they were both placed on their son's thighs".
Inspector Fahad pictured the incident for a moment and shook his head sadly.
"Jamil, how are you related to the murdered victims?"...he then asked.
"They are my neighbors sir and we all grew up together, so we are very good family friends"... Jamil said trying not to get emotional.
"How did you find out they were murdered and where did you find them?"... Inspector Fahad questioned as he continued writing in his mini notebook.
"Sir , earlier in the day before the murder scene took place , my wife , kids and I where at their place . When we left later in the evening, my clumsy wife realized she forgot her phone there which lead to an argument, after arguing, we got into a fight and I decided to go and get back her phone, on my way I met the door opened and light coming from their door. I stepped in only for me to find them dead"... Jamil said as a tear escaped from his eye. He made emphasis on the way he said dead.
Inspector Fahad nodded as he listened to Jamil.
"Sir it was very hard to digest all this, I mean how can my neighbor just be murdered ". Jamil said .
"From the looks of things, it's a homicidal case" . Inspector Fahad says as he stops writing on his mini notebook.
"Let's go the where the murder scene took place" ...Inspector Fahad says as he stands to his feet.
The trio left the police station and soon they were in Suhail's house.
They all walked in expecting to see clues and traces of evidence that could lead them to the culprit but everywhere and everything was as clean and clear as ever . Their heads were no where to be seen and there was no single trace of evidence in the house, all though the house looked slightly empty which means a robbery took place earlier.
"How?"... was all Najib managed to say.
"Where is his T.V ? Did they come back and steal some things?"...Jamil asked.
"Of course they did. Would the house be this empty if they didn't? I am even the one to be asking you"...Najib huffed.
"Why did they clean all the blood , I thought you said no one entered"...Najib got annoyed.
"How am I suppose to know when someone enters , am I the guard of this house?"... Jamil questions.
"Don't you live in the neighborhood?"... Najib fires back.
Inspector Fahad cautiously watched them and used the opportunity to check all around the house.
He checked the kitchen , living room , dinning area and the small library there but there no hope, the only thing he noticed is that somethings were not where they were suppose to be.
'How can a kitchen have no fridge, freezer or even a gas cooker.' he thought.
'None of them mentioned any robbery but from the looks of things a robbery took place here '.... Inspector Fahad said as he went up the stairs he saw.
He checked the rooms there but still nothing, most things were taken out of the room.
His eyes caught something, it was like the air conditioner had been removed from a portion of the wall and right there on the floor was a frame.
He slowly wore his white hand gloves that was in his pocket and picked up the frame.
He examined it well for almost 3 minutes and slowly nodded to himself, it was a broken frame with a family photo. A man , woman and a small gleeful boy.
'The man looks like Najib but a younger version'... Inspector Fahad thought .
The frame was no only broken but it had traces of blood on it.
Inspector Fahad took a transparent case and placed the broken frame it in.
'That's a start' .... He thought and brought out his phone. He dialed a number which was answered after the first ring.
"Sir"... Inspector Fahad said.
"Forensic Detector, how is it going" ... the person said through the line.
"I found some exhibit that can be used as evidence to help find the culprit"... Inspector Fahad said as he took a right turn and saw something that made his Jaw drop.
It was a big portrait of the same family but this time the man's head was cut off and an 'X' was drawn around his body while a heart was drawn on his wife .
"Are you still there?" A voice said through the line.
"Sorry , I will get back to you" Inspector Fahad says and cuts the call.
He went closer to the portrait and saw many more pictures there and some writing on the wall saying 'f**k Suhail'.
He took many shots of the writing and the portrait he saw . He then found a squeezed paper by the edge of the bed.
He picked up the squeezed paper and gently opened it, it was a loan transaction. On it was written that Suhail gave out a loan of one million naira (#1,000,000) last week to a friend.
It was strange that the friend name was cancelled so that you could not find who Suhail gave a loan to.
"Another exhibit" Inspector Fahad carefully placed it in the transparent case and just then Najib and Jamil walked in.
"Any clue Inspector?"... Jamil asked with a glimpse of hope in his eyes.
"Sadly no"... Inspector Fahad says.
'You can't trust anyone'... Inspector Fahad said within himself.
"Since nothing, let's go " Jamil said and they all vacated the house.
"I will get back to you as soon as possible" Inspector Fahad says and enters his car, he turns on the ignition of the car and drives off.
"I pray we catch this heartless person soon" Najib says to Jamil.
"Same here my brother" Jamil replies.
"Well , see you. I am off to the family house"... Najib says and entered his own car. He also drove off and Jamil went back home.
"Any luck".... Jamil's wife ,Habiba asked and Jamil rotates his head in a negative manner indicating no.
"Why are people so wicked" Jamil said and walked in.
"Don't worry , everything will be okay" Habiba assured him.
***
Third person P.O.V
He sat on the chair , reading the headline of the news and nod his head slowly, impressed with what had happened.
"Good"... he said as he read through the newspapers.
"I hope you did not kill the boy?"... He asked as he stared at the men he hired.
"No sir , we didn't". ... Their leader replied.
"Did you rape Aneesa?"... He asked.
"Trust me boss, she was a masterpiece"... The leader of the gang chuckled.
"Did Asad see the way his parents were being tortured?"... Big boss questioned.
"Of course, he kept on screaming at every action we took" .... their leader said.
"And we went back and stole some things"... the leader of the gang says.
"What?".... Big boss rose from his seat.
"Why, who sent you?"... Big boss hisses as he sits back.
"Sorry"... the leader of the gang apologizes but shows no sign of remorse.
"Whatever....now take this"... Big boss says , he then brings out a bundle of minted money... It's #500,000 (five hundred thousand naira) you better leave before you get caught. Now leave my office"... he dismissed them and they walked away.
'I have finally gotten rid of Aneesa and Suhail'... Big boss smiled with victory.
'Let me call their family before I look suspicious'... he thought as he brought out his phone and dialed Umma's number.
She picked as the first ring and said Salam (a way of greeting)
"Wasalam (a way of responding to such greeting.. usually done by Muslims) Umma , Suhail.....Aneesa , they are gone. I am so sorry for your lost . It's not our doing it's God's doing, we love them but God loves them more"... Big boss says as he tries to sound sympathetic.
Before he could finish his small speech about death, Umma burst into tears.
"Oh no .. please don't cry mother"... he says with an evil smirk on his face.
"I will be on way to the family house , give me 30 minutes" He says and hangs up.
'Nothing could feel better than this'.. He chuckles as he takes his leave from the office.