In the dimly lit room, Elizabeth wrestled with a restless night, her mind consumed by thoughts of the enigmatic stranger and the mysterious connections he had or how powerful he really was.
Exhaustion finally overcame her, and she drifted into a fitful slumber, only to be jolted awake by the persistent ringing of her phone on the bedside table. Her eyes, heavy with sleep, struggled to focus on the screen that displayed an unknown caller, but she picked up the phone, sensing it might be Noel on the other end.
Silently, she pressed the phone to her ear, anticipating the voice on the line. It was a voice she recognized well, that of Inspector Vans, though it carried an urgency that immediately stirred her concern.
"Miss Elizabeth, uhm...can you visit the station today?" Inspector Vans's words reached her ears, laden with a sense of urgency that sent shivers down her spine.
"Inspector Vans? Is there a problem? Is everything fine?" Her voice trembled with worry as she sought answers in the darkness of her room.
"Not really, Miss Elizabeth, but you really need to come over, we have good news." Inspector Vans's tone shifted, becoming cheerful, though it left Elizabeth with a sense of intrigue and a multitude of questions.
"I'll be there," she replied with a sense of determination, the call ending abruptly. The room remained shrouded in darkness, but it was evident from the pale light seeping through the curtains that the morning had already arrived, and Elizabeth knew she could make her way to the department at this hour.
With a mix of anticipation and trepidation, she opened the curtains, allowing the soft morning light to gently fill her room, the first ray of hope on a night that had been fraught with uncertainty. The anxiety that she felt throughout the night was lessened as soon as the morning sun hit her face.
She took a bath and dressed as normal as she could before leaving her apartment. Elizabeth refrained from taking cabs since anything could happen when she lowered her guard. The whole world felt dangerous but she could live in it as long as it was shrouded with the soft glow of sunlight everyday.
She soon reached the police department and entered, she ignored everyone else even the calls of officers and just walked straight into Inspector Vans' office.
"Is there a problem?" The young inspector who ushered her a sack letter a few days ago was sitting on the chair, she had his stoic face on as he stared firmly at her.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked out, there was no need to show him respect any longer since she was not an officer anymore.
She called on a sergeant and asked for Inspector Vans.
"Who are you?" The sergeant asked with an uncaring look and a slightly rude voice.
"Elizabeth…Elizabeth Brian." She answered, ignoring his attitude.
"You're Miss Elizabeth?" The sergeant's eyes widened and his rude gaze slowly turned into a polite one with a gentle smile, "Come this way, ma'am."
'What's with him?' Elizabeth asked herself internally, he switched expressions so fast that it would be hard to believe that he sounded rude a few seconds ago. Even with this thought, she quietly followed him, they finally got to the door of an office and he ushered her in.
Elizabeth walked into the office, it was more refined than the last one, the table was made from clean mahogany that reflected reflections, it was larger and much more beautiful than the other one, and what made it even more beautiful was that it wasn't occupied by a grumpy-looking inspector but by Inspector Vans.
He had a smile on his face and he stood up to greet her as soon as she walked in.
"Inspectors Vans." Elizabeth called with a smile in her face.
"I'll stop you right there, Inspector, it's Chief Inspector Vans now and welcome to the C.I.D, Inspector." He spread his arms and chuckled before clapping in amusement.
Elizabeth just stared at him without uttering a word, she could only hear whines in her ear now, it felt like a dream. She would have been happy if this news had come before she met Noel Cassius, but it felt strange hearing it now…it felt like it happened because of him.
"Why? I was even set off…I mean why was I suddenly called back and promoted?" She couldn't put her hands on what was going on and it felt terrible to be in the dark.
"Well, you were set off because you shot and killed an innocent person but after a little more investigation, we found out that he was involved in the killings and also, after an autopsy, it was confirmed that the bullet that penetrated his heart belonged to a rifle and not a handgun and the Alfonso Sanford, the priest shot the rifle. Your bullet was lodged in his right arm." Chief Inspector Vans carefully explained.
Elizabeth stared at him blankly without uttering a word, the suspicions she hid threatened to spill out, her blank stare was misinterpreted by Cheif Inspector Vans, "It's awesome, right? I was promoted and you too."
Elizabeth nodded to his words. Chief Inspector Vans stretched out his hand - a brand new barge rested on his palm, but she was not called to pick it up instead she was scared, everything just pointed towards the mysterious man.
With a shaky hand, she picked up the barge, the metal was cold but she felt like she was holding a scalding hot iron in her hand.
"Thank you." She breathed out these sad words that came from anywhere but her heart. She knew she was already tied in the moment she picked up the barge.
"But there's a problem." Chief Inspector Vans moved back to his chair and sat down.
"Please take a seat, Inspector Elizabeth." Chief Inspector Vans ushered her a seat, he intertwined his fingers and rested his hands on the table.
Elizabeth sat down, she hurriedly stuffed the barge into her pocket and stared at Chief Inspector Vans to hear what he has to say.
"I've told you the good news, now the bad news…Mr. Richard Moore actually escaped and we're searching everywhere for him." Chief Inspector Vans sighed and added, "Don't get me wrong tho, that's not why you were called back." He raised his hands to make it clear.
Elizabeth chuckled at his attempt to stop her from misunderstanding, "I understand you perfectly."
"So you, Inspector Dyson and I would be placed on the case, finding Richard Moore, finding any other cult town, and every other thing related to this particular case." Chief Inspector Vans relaxed on his seat.
Elizabeth nodded, she knew that her 'job' just began…