"The witness, she's still at Vandhill, yes?" Inspector Vans asked, wearing a very and placing his handgun into its holster.
"Yes." Elizabeth nodded and stood up hurriedly.
"You've got a picture? Or anything for identification?"
"No, all I can say is that her name is Layla Louis and she's twenty-seven years old." Her voice dropped, she just figured out that she knew so little about her so-called friend and partner, but she couldn't say a word because she knew that Layla knew almost nothing about her.
"Not enough information but it'll do." Inspector Vans smiled and arranged the files on his desk inside the cupboard, before moving to leave the office.
Elizabeth followed immediately after him. It was already buzzing outside of the office and even more chaotic outside of the police department building.
A symphony of flashing red and blue lights painted the area in a pulsating rhythm. Seven police cars, sleek and black with their white doors and bold insignias, had converged like a well-orchestrated ballet. Officers moved with a sense of purpose, their uniforms sharply contrasted against the daylight. Sirens wailed loudly, blasting through Elizabeth's ears, echoing the urgency of the matter at hand.
"Sergeant Kyle, please take the young lady to a place she can rest, provide food for her too." Inspector Kyle called on a sergeant and ordered.
"Wait, what? What do you mean, I want to come with you." Elizabeth stressed with a sense of urgency, "My friend is out there."
"I understand you perfectly well, Miss, but in this case you're a victim…not an officer. And besides, you really need to rest." Inspector Vans tapped her shoulder before entering into a police car.
"How am I a victim? I clearly investigated and reported this case myself." Elizabeth retorted and tried to point out reasons to go, but Inspector Vans had already gotten into the car. The car started and moved, followed by all the other police cars.
"Come this way, Miss." The sergeant in charge of her smiled at her and led the way.
"..." She stared at the cars that were driving farther and farther away into the distance, leaving her standing alone, her lonely figure was an evidence of desperation and true loneliness.
She sighed and turned around, following the sergeant, who was in charge of her.
***
Elizabeth slowly opened her bloodshot eyes after a few hours of forced sleep, her heart was filled with worry so she couldn't get a proper rest.
She stood up and walked into the bathroom. Once she was done with her business, she placed her hands on the sink and stared at the reflection of her own self, staring back at her. Her brown hair was shaggy and her eyes looked lost. She chuckled at how just one case had wrecked her so much.
But she was still worried and scared, it had been three days since she last saw Inspector Vans or heard any news about the case, the police had locked her up in here and refused to answer any of her questions.
Immediately she left the bathroom, her door was pushed open with a loud bang. A female sergeant which she had gotten quite close to in the span of three days dashed inside the room with a wide smile on her face, "Elizabeth, Inspector Vans is back."
Elizabeth's eyes widened, she tied her hair into a bun and wiped her face with a towel before running out of the room.
She follows the female sergeant and is led to a room, an investigation room to be exact. The small room had only two chairs opposite each other and a table in between. The person sitting on one of the chairs turned around as soon as the door opened up and the familiar face made Elizabeth smile with relief.
"Layla." She called with a smile.
"Elizabeth!! You just suddenly disappeared without even informing me, some policemen from the department came right after and the whole town was in a state of chaos for three days!" Layla explained loudly without pausing for air, she then paused and continued, "I was worried but I'm glad you're okay."
"How did…"
"Uhm, the inspector sent for you, Elizabeth." The female sergeant opened the door slightly and peeked through the small gap, cutting off Elizabeth's words.
"I'll be back, Layla." Elizabeth held Layla's hand before leaving with the female sergeant.
She walked through the hallway with the Sergeant, the Sergeant left as soon as they got to the door of the office.
Elizabeth pushed the door open with a smile on her face but the smile faded when she saw the person on the inspector's seat. The man was younger than Inspector Vans, he was white with gelled black hair and a straight face.
"Please take a seat." The young inspector ushered with a stern look on his face, his gaze followed her every move until she sat down.
"I'd like to speak with Inspector Vans." She requested, clearly uncomfortable as it was.
"I'm sorry but that won't be possible, you'll have to make do with what you have." The young inspector said with a firm voice.
"Now, Miss Elizabeth…"
"Officer Brian." Elizabeth corrected before he could complete his words.
The young inspector scoffed and continued, "You shot and killed a local police chief."
"It was out of self defence." Elizabeth retorted.
"How can it be considered self defence when the one you were defending against had no weapon? Or was it just your impulse?" The young man had a calm look on his face as he asked those questions.
"He is one of the murderers, I have a witness, who happens to be a victim." Elizabeth showed no sign of backing down, her words were firm and solid…but there held no ground in front of an inspector.
"Hmn, by any chance, is Miss Layla Louis your…witness?" The young inspector spoke even slower this time.
"Yes." Elizabeth wasted no time in replying.
"Hmn." He nodded and flipped the file again, "And it says here that large amounts of some substances were found in Miss Layla Louis' blood…hard drugs in particular. How are we supposed to take the words of a person like that seriously?"
"Drugs?" Elizabeth asked in a low voice.
"Yes, drugs." The young inspector smiled before adding, "You did a commendable job, Officer Brian. Finding a whole town of cultists is truly commendable, but killing an innocent superior? That just doesn't seem right."
"He is not innocent." Elizabeth yelled, banging the table with her hands.
The young inspector merely flashed her a smile and said, "Hand over your badge, Miss Brian."
"What? This isn't true." Elizabeth panicked. She could literally see her world collapsing.
The young inspector's smile widened, a smile that didn't reach his black eyes.
'Maniac.' Was the only word in Elizabeth's head that she could use in describing the man before her.
"You should be glad that you're not getting arrested for murder, and you're not being charged either…we are just setting you off. Now, Miss Brian, hand over your badge." The young inspector spoke with a stern voice this time.
"Ha." Elizabeth scoffed. She took out the badge and stared at her life's effort with condemnation in her eyes.