When Alex entered his room and locked his door. He let out a weary sigh.
SIGH
"I didn't think that he would persistently follow me to my home." he muttered, as he checked outside through the windows creak..
'Still, it means that I am digging in the right direction,' he thought as he clenched his fist in determination.
"But it doesn't matter, I haven't delved deep into the case yet, so they won't approach me anytime soon." Alex concluded as he sat at the desk beside his bed.
He reviewed his findings for a while, -The tutor gave an important clue. If she runs off at the same time every day, that gives us a few possibilities. He pondered.
Alex then took a notepad and began scribbling all the possibilities that could explain Bella's behavior.
"Hmm, The possibilities are either she is calling someone, doing something in secret or hiding something." Alex muttered as he noted them down.
"But there is nothing in her room, or what police have taken, that would make her suspicious," he mused.
SIGH
"I guess I will get my answers when I go to school tomorrow," he concluded. But a perverted smile blossomed on his face as he uttered,
"I should take Cassandra with me, I can score more brownie points from her tomorrow."
He took out his mobile phone and messaged Cassandra: "Do you want to come with me to school tomorrow?"
Cassandra: "Yes."
Alex nodded in satisfaction at Cassandra's reply and turned the lights off and went to bed.
The next day, Alex went to Cassandra's house early in the morning. However, much to his disappointment, Cassandra had already taken a bath and was ready.
They both then drove to Bella's school and arrived in an hour. They got out of the car and started walking in. The school was modern, with all kinds of facilities available to the students. Surely this school was started for the rich, Alex could see students gathering near a cafe` and chatting.
Alex observed Cassandra walking and noticed that she was walking nervously, she was gripping her handbag so hard that her hands had gotten white, and was also glancing around. He got near her and took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, We will get through this together." His voice, leaving no room for doubt.
Cassandra nodded meekly in reply, her face flushed in embarrassment but didn't pull her hand away.
'This is comforting. How long has it been since someone comforted me like this?' ' She thought a small smile appeared on her face, but the smile didn't last long as her daughter . An image flashed in her mind.
'Where are you Bella? Mama's worried about you.' Cassandra's eyes began to moisten as she thought about her daughter's whereabouts.
Watching this, Alex squeezed her hand even more tightly but didn't utter a word.
'Even his silence is comforting' Cassandra thought as she found solace in Alex's silence.
Alex approached the front desk, his jaw set in a determined line. "Hello, I'm Detective Alex Woods," he said, his voice firm. He gestured towards Cassandra. "This is Ms. Cassandra Harrington, mother of Bella Harrington. We're here to see the principal regarding her daughter's disappearance."
The woman at the front desk raised an eyebrow at Alex. Still, she nodded at him and picked up the phone and dialed the principal.
After a few rings, "Sir, Cassandra Harrington, mother of Bella Harrington, is here to see you with a detective named Alex woods."
"Yes sir." She then hung up the phone and looked at both of them, "You can go in."
They both walked to the office room and knocked on the door.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Enter" a voice came from behind the door, filled with authority.
They both entered the office and looked at the principal. He was an old man who was in his 60s with a white beard and a bald head. He was wearing a blue suit with his desk neatly organized and various trophies and medals adorning the walls of the office.
"Miss Cassandra, It's nice to meet you again, come sit." The principal said with a warm smile as he gestured for them to sit.
They both sat in their seats and looked at the principal, the principal, however, looked at Alex with a scrutinising gaze as he leaned against his chair and said, "You must be the detective, so tell me what can I do for you?" he asked in all seriousness.
'This old man is experienced,' he thought as he met the principal's gaze confidently.
"Thank you for meeting us, Mr. Principal, we wish to meet Bella's classmates and her homeroom teacher to see if we can find some clues.."
The principal gazed at Alex for a while before nodding his head and calling the front desk through his phone.
"Sir?" the lady from the entrance asked.
"Call in Ms.Bella's homeroom teacher, and also bring in her friends that she usually hangs out with."
"Yes, sir"
"It will take a few minutes for them to come. Until then Mr.Alex why don't you tell me some of the past cases you've solved." The principal asked intrigued by Alex
Cassandra also leaned closer to Alex, seemingly eager to listen to his history. A part of him hoped to understand him better.
'Hmmm, This old man might underestimate me if I tell him that this is my first case…' Alex pondered.
He then looked at the principal and said, "Sorry, I have taken an oath of confidentiality about my clients cases and its details unless it is to the police."
Both the principal and Cassandra felt disappointed that Alex could not tell his past cases.
'Maybe he will tell me if I ask him when we are alone.' Cassandra questioned herself, believing that she and Alex were close. 'We are close right?' she asked herself as looked at her hand with a smile.
After a few minutes of awkward silence a knock was heard on the door.
"Enter" The principal said, A group of teenagers and a woman in her mid thirties then entered the room.
"Good morning sir." They greeted the principal.
"Everyone, This here is Alex Woods, a detective. He is here to ask you some questions about Bella Harrington." He said as he gestured them to Alex.
Alex looked at them and said, "Hello, everyone, I will not take too much of your time and will finish it quickly."
He then looked at the home room teacher and asked, "Miss, Have you seen anything odd about Bella's behavior in the past?"
However, the homeroom teacher shook her head and said, "I don't think I have seen anything odd in her behavior in the recent past, Bella is a bright girl and always scored top marks in the exams and she always maintained a smile on her face."
At the mention of her daughter Cassandra's face welled up in tears and a nostalgic smile bloomed on her face as she remembered her daughter .
Alex nodded at the teacher's response, he then turned to the teenagers and asked the same thing to them. "Have you noticed anything different about Bella's behavior like suddenly rushing out at 6 o'clock in the evening, anything like that?"
One of the teenagers raised her hand and looked at Alex, seeking permission to speak. Alex nodded looking at her.
"She did that when she was with me as well. We were once walking home together after school, but around 5:50 in the evening, she rushed to her house running saying that she had something important to do."
"Did you ask her why?" Asked Alex.
However the girl shook her head in denial and said, "I didn't think much of it."
Alex then looked at the rest and asked,"Have any of you noticed anything odd about her?"
One of the other girls raised her hand and said, "I have seen her talk to a boy in the time period that you've mentioned."
"What were they talking about?" Questioned Alex.
"The boy proposed to Bella but she rejected him." said the girl flatly.
"Do you know why she rejected him?" Alex inquired.
The girl shook her head in denial and said, "He was not the first one to propose to Bella, so we didn't care much about it."
Alex nodded at her and asked,"How many boys proposed to Bella?"
"Around 10, but 4 of them were persistent in pursuing her and would ask her out whenever possible." The girl replied.
"Does the boy you said belong to the 4 of them?" Alex said.
The girl nodded at him in agreement.
Alex then turned towards the principal and said, "Can we meet those 4 boys?"
The principal thought about it for a while, his expression a little hesitant but still nodded his head and turned to the girl and asked, "What are their names?"
"Aiden, Carter, Maxwell and Brentt."
The principal then took the phone and dialed the front desk lady, "Bring in Aiden, Carter, Maxwell and Brent. Yes they are in the same class." The principal said while he looked at the girl. To which the girl nodded.
A few minutes later the phone rang, the principal answered the call, "Yes"; "Really?"; "Very well." he hung up.
The principal's face was now frowning heavily as he contemplated something deeply.
Alex, looking at the principal, asked, "What happened?"
The principal however did not answer Alex immediately and still brooded over the things he heard over the phone.
After a while, he slowly looked at Alex, his expression heavy, like some weights have been put on his shoulder, "Those 4 boys, who pursued Bella persistently, were also missing since the same day Bella went missing."