A DISTINCTIVE MARK
At the female hall….
Rita arrived in the room before Daisy and Samantha. A few minutes later, they walked in, but Rita remained silent. As they were unpacking their school bags, Daisy finally broke the silence and spoke.
"Rita what the hell is wrong with you???" Daisy asked
Rita still remained silent.
"I know I am not talking to a deaf person!" Daisy screamed.
Rita still said no word.
"Rita! Daisy is talking to you, wouldn't you care to reply?" Samantha said
Rita still remained silent, she sat on her reading chair and started writing in her journal, Daisy walked up to her, grabbed the journal from her and threw it away.
"Are you mad???!!!!" Rita screamed
"No, I'm not. I have been talking to you and you have been acting like you can't hear me, are you well?? Am I your mate?" Daisy said
"Daisy don't ever touch my journal again!" Rita said
"I will! And it will be right now" Daisy said
Daisy picked up the journal from the floor, and tore three pages away from it.
"Noooooooo!!!!!!" Rita screamed
"Daisy stop!!!" Samantha said in shock as she got up from her bed to collect the journal from her. As she was about to grab the journal from her, Daisy refused and tore another page again.
"Noooooo!!!!" Rita screamed, she moved to Daisy, slapped her and dragged her journal from her
"How dare you??!!!" Daisy screamed
Samantha watched in shock.
"How dare me???!! You tore my journal! My dad gave me this journal before he died!!" Rita said screaming
At this point, female students across the hall stepped out of their various rooms to witness what was going on, some started knocking on their door but Samantha refused to open.
"What's going on in there!!!" The students at the door said as they knocked.
"Your dad gave you the journal before he died??? What a shame! He couldn't even give you a better farewell gift, what would a journal do in your life! I mean, how are you in this school??? Because your deceased father was a poor man!" Daisy said
Rita, now trembling, took off her glasses and moved closer to Daisy again. Just as she was about to slap Daisy once more, Daisy blocked her and slapped her instead.
"Haaaa!!!" Rita screamed
Rita dragged Daisy's hair, Daisy did the same also and they started beating each other.
A few students had already called the dorm manager and some porters. They instructed everyone to return to their rooms, warning that anyone caught outside would face strict punishment. However, some students still peeked out by slightly opening their doors. The dorm manager and porters then approached Rita's room and knocked.
"Room 1467! Open the door!!" The porters screamed as they knocked while the dorm manager stood behind them.
Samantha still refused to open the door, she was busy trying to stop her two roommates from beating each other.
During the fight, Daisy rushed to her table, grabbed a pen, and stabbed Rita in the hand with it.
Rita screamed!!!!.
The dorm manager knew something bad had just happened so this time around, she pushed the porters away and knocked at the door loudly.
"Room 1467!!! Open this door! It won't be nice if I forcefully open it!!!!!" The dorm manager screamed as she banged at the door.
Samantha hearing the dorm manager's voice got frightened and opened the door immediately.
They entered and saw Rita crying with blood on her hand.
"The three of you, follow me!" The dorm manager said
As soon as they began following her, students started coming out from their rooms to watch as they passed by.
"She is going to punish us" Samantha whispered to her two roommates while trembling.
Her two roommates said no word to her.
They got to the dorm manager's office, the porters left the office to resume their duties.
"Samantha! You are the oldest in the room, why did you not stop them?!" The dorm manager asked as she sat down
"I tried to but they refused" Samantha replied, trembling
"Stopping them is coming down here to report to me!!!" The dorm manager screamed as she stood up from her chair.
The dorm manager, standing at six feet tall, is always dressed in a black suit with her hair neatly tied up. She's known for being very strict with her rules. If you're not in your room by curfew, you're in serious trouble. Every night, she conducts room checks to ensure no students are missing, and she is far from being kind or lenient.
"I'm sorry ma" Samantha said still trembling
"You are sorry??? Hahaha... Sorry???" The dorm manager asked
"I can explain the whole incident to you, it was a little argument, I never knew it would get serious" Samantha said
"Do you think I have time to listen to stories???.... Rita! Daisy! And Samantha! You fought last month and I told you that you have two more pardons. Now, with this present quarrel, you all now have one more pardon, I hope you know the punishment for this???" The dorm manager said as she asked
"Yes ma! We know" the three of them said trembling
"Good! This is your final chance, once you fight again, the last pardon exceeds, and the three of you will be suspended for three weeks from this school. When you are back, you will be joining the cleaners to clean everyday after class for a month... A word is enough for the wise" The dorm manager said
"Thank you ma" they said
"Rita! Go to the clinic right away, Samantha! Follow her! While Daisy should wait" The dorm manager said
Rita and Samantha left for the clinic while Daisy stood still at the front of the dorm manager.
"I know you know the meaning of assault so I'm not going to explain but I want you to be careful because if it was a knife you were holding, you would have stabbed her... Be careful" the dorm manager said
"Thank you ma" Daisy said
"So this is your punishment, starting from today till next week, you have to join the kitchen in washing the plates" The dorm manager said
"What??!!... What about Rita's punishment?" Daisy asked
"She is the victim here so get out of my office and start your new job without salary!" The dorm manager said
Daisy stepped out angrily and went to the kitchen.
*****!*****!*****!*****!*****!****!** The Next Day...
A Law Enforcement Agency office....
Criminal investigation department (CID)
"Shine! Boss said we should be in his office right now!" Isaac said
Shine stood up from her seat, she packed her hair properly, wore her ID card around her neck and followed Isaac.
They climbed the elevator and started talking;
"I can't believe I will be working on the killer's case, when I saw my letter this morning... I was scared" Isaac said laughing
"Isaac, you can't keep doing this, this is a serious case, we have been assigned to find the killer, we have to be very serious, no time to laugh" Shine said
The elevator stopped, they came out of it and walked to Mr Jailer's office, their boss. They entered the office and saw Mr Jailer going through files while on his table.
"Good morning Mr Jailer" they said
Mr Jailer lifted his head up.
"Sit" Mr Jailer said
They both sat.
Mr Jailer gave them two copies of a picture to go through.
"This happened at the front of the supermarket in Walls town.. Ter Steet around 2:00am this morning" Mr Jailer said
Shine and Isaac stared at the picture.
"The killer kills leaving a distinctive mark on the victim's body" Mr Jailer said
"Yes, I can see the cross arrow mark on the victim's arm with a small letter K beside the victim on the floor" Shine said
"Yeah, the killer's name is K" Mr Jailer said, "This is the case you have been assigned to carry out, the aim is to find the killer, he has killed multiple detectives that were assigned this case and he has killed over 60 people so far. Can you handle the case? Your promotion is sure if you can... So can you?" Mr Jailer asked
Isaac trembled as he looked at the picture
"Yes, we can" Shine replied courageously
Isaac looked at her in shock
"Okay good! You both should go the scene where the victim got murdered and also visit the hospital where they took the victim to, you have to check the body" Mr Jailer said
"Thank you sir" they said
"Now! Leave and start your work, use the office car, my assistant will give you the key" Mr Jailer said
"Okay sir" they said and left.
Outside the office, they entered the car and Isaac started driving while Shine was going through some papers and pictures.
"This killer leaves a cross arrow mark on his victim's body, there must be a reason behind it" Shine said
"That is crazy... I think he is a psychopath" Isaac said
"Think??? He is a psychopath! And I'm going to catch him!" Shine said
"Hmmnn... I hope so " Isaac said
They focused on what they were doing, after a few minutes, they got to the supermarket.
They stepped out of the car and noticed a few police officers and photographers, while some people stood at a distance, observing.
A police officer approached them.
"From the law agency?" The police officer asked
"Yes, I am Detective Shine" Shine replied
"Shine??? Like that's your name?" The police officer asked
"Yes, but don't worry you're not the first person to be astonished by my pretty name" Shine said
"Hmmnn... Okayy" the police officer said as he brought out his hand to shake Shine
"I'm sorry but I don't do handshakes" Shine said
Isaac laughed.
"Hmmnn... I'm detective Isaac" Isaac said as he brought his hand to shake the police officer instead.
"So how did this happen?" Shine asked the police officer.
"The street heard a gunshot around 2:00am and we got a call from our station, we got to the scene around 2:20am and saw a man lying lifeless with a cross arrow mark on his arm and a small letter k, he was shot in the head and stabbed on his face, I couldn't look at his face, it was so severe" the police officer said
"Hmmnn... By 2:00am the supermarket is closed so what was the man doing around that time?" Shine asked
"That is what we are trying to figure out" the police officer said
"Did he bring a car or a bicycle?" Shine asked
"He came with a power bike" the police officer replied
"K must have invited him to come" Shine said
"Invited him? How?" Isaac and the police officer asked curiously
"Why would a man leave his house around 2:00am... Okay let's say he left his house around 1:30am and got here around 1:45am and the killer came around 1:50am, they had a short conversation and he shot him by 2:00am" Shine said
"But if what you are saying might be true, why did he listen to K and came out of his house around 2:00am?" Isaac asked
"Maybe because K persuaded him to come, maybe he gave him a reason he couldn't turn down or threatened him" The police officer replied
"Good! You are with me!" Shine said to the police officer, "Did you at all find his phone??"
"No, we didn't... K must have taken it" the police officer replied
"The only reason K must have taken his phone is because they must have been exchanging texts" Shine said
"Hmmnn... That's true" Isaac said
"Cctv?" Shine asked
"All destroyed" the police officer replied
"Does he have a family or anybody?" Shine asked
"No, he lived alone but I will give you his address" the police officer said
"Thanks, what's your name though?" Shine asked
"My name is Officer Matt" the police officer said
"Okay that's nice, we will be leaving now, we have to visit the hospital to see his body" Shine said
"Okay" Matt said
Isaac and Shine left for the hospital.
They drove to the hospital and met the doctor, who led them to the victim's body. They found his lifeless body lying on a table and the doctor stepped out to give them privacy. They moved closer to the body, and upon seeing his face, Isaac became frightened and ran off to vomit while Shine remained staring at the body. Isaac returned a few minutes later.
"Who is the animal that did this to a human being???" Isaac asked trembling
"K... K is the animal and I am going to do anything to find him!" Shine said, assuring herself
****!*****!*****!****!*****!*****!**** Same day... in the evening...
At the dorm....
Rita was in the room with Samantha on their separate bed when Daisy suddenly barged in.
"Daisy!!! Where have you been??" Samantha asked as she stood up from her bed
"Aren't you aware I was punished by the dorm manager because I stabbed Rita with a pen yesterday?" Daisy said
"Oh my goodness... You didn't tell me yesterday...What was your punishment?" Samantha asked
"To wash dirty plates in the kitchen till next week" Daisy replied
"Oh my goodness... I'm so sorry" Samantha said
"I wouldn't have been bothered but Rita didn't get punished too" Daisy said
"Why should I be punished when I'm the victim here" Rita said gently on her bed
"Oh shut up! You are always playing victim role... When your dad was murdered few months ago, it was this same victim role you were playing!!! Like suck it up!! I am not the cause of your predicaments! I didn't send K to kill your father!!!" Daisy said
Immediately, Rita got up from her bed and said; "I would have slapped you but we have just one more chance left"
Daisy slapped her, "I just slapped you so retaliate!!! You need to be punished too!!!!"
The girls from the opposite room came out of their room and said;
"If you guys in room 1467 don't stop shouting, we are going to report you to the dorm manager, this is your last warning!"
Instantly they said that, they returned to their room.
"Please, I'm sure you heard them, let us not put ourselves into trouble" Samantha pleaded
"Daisy, I hope life becomes miserable for you" Rita said as she stepped out of the room with her book.
Rita headed straight to the school, the hostel curfew is by 11pm and the time now 9pm, she made her way to a classroom and began studying. After 30 minutes, she suddenly heard someone whistling.
Around 10:30pm, a female student, Mary, hurried to the school after she realized she had forgotten her assignment in class and wanted to pick it up before curfew. When she entered the classroom, she noticed a person's figure sitting at the back of the class. She couldn't clearly make out who it was because the class room light was turned off.
"Hey! You there! You have to hurry, it's 10:35 already!!" Mary said as she headed to her desk at the front and brought out her mini torchlight.
She found her assignment with her torchlight and was about leaving when she noticed the person she had spoken to didn't respond or stand up to leave too.
"Are you aware that our dorm manager is crazy???" Mary asked the person
When the person still didn't respond, Mary got frustrated and marched to the back where the person was seated. As soon as she shined her torchlight, she screamed, and the torch slipped from her hand.
The securities upon hearing this, ran to the direction where the scream came from.
Mary who had started shivering and trembling kept looking at this dead body on the seat whose eyes were staring at her.
The securities entered, switched on the class light and got frightened upon seeing Rita's face.
They rushed to her and saw how her face has been horribly stabbed, they checked her arm and saw a cross arrow mark, and a small letter k on her laps.
"Call the ambulance, call the police officer and call the chief security officer" One of the securities said to his colleagues and few ran outside immediately to make calls
Mary who still staring at Rita's body, stood frozen. After a few minutes, she fainted, and a security guard quickly rushed over, carrying her to the clinic.