Chapter 68: The culprit.
Chapter 68: The culprit.
The cops arrived shortly and started off by trying to get the fingerprint of the culprit from the rope, but they couldn’t find any fingerprints on it.
This gave the cops the idea that this culprit was more experienced than they had imagined. They also kicked off with interrogating the guests in the house one after the other.
Amelia and James sat in the living room, waiting and wishing for their nightmare to end once and for all. Amelia rested her head on James’ chest and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t stop sobbing and soon, tears refused to flow out of her eyes. James’ eyeballs had also turned red too as he kept trying to act strong for Amelia.
As the cops finished with everyone and took down answers to the questions they asked them, they began to let them go, but they told them they could be called upon anytime and they had to respond.
They called Amelia closer to ask her some questions too, and James went to them with her.
“Mr and Mrs. Parker, can you please tell me if you suspect anybody capable of doing this? Maybe anyone that has threatened you before.”
“Amelia, do you suspect anyone?” James asked in a whisper to Amelia’s ears and she slightly shook her head.
“I can’t even think straight right now.” She mumbled her response.
“We need your help if you want us to get your child as soon as possible. According to the look of things, this person was fully aware of the party and even the arrangements because, it was around the time the speech was going on the kidnap happened. This culprit is also aware of how your house is structured and how to get by it without being noticed.”
Listening to the cops speak, Amelia broke into tears again. She felt hurt and betrayed by whosoever this culprit could be.
“Sir, I do have a lot of suspects in my head as we speak. Can I tell you their names?” He asked, and the cop opened his small notebook and bounced his head.
“The first person on my mind is Elena. My wife’s twin sister.”
“And why is that?” The cop furrowed his brows as he inquired.
“She hated us so much until recently, when my wife gave birth. She turned a new leaf all of sudden, apologized to my wife and began to take care of Alice for her. I find this really suspicious.”
“And when did she come to apologize and turn a new leaf?”
“About one month and a half ago, the very day my wife put to bed.”
The cop nodded again and began to take notes in his notebook.
“We have interrogated her alongside the other people, but we would have to call her in again once we are done here. Who else do you have in mind?”
“Hudson Cooper.”
“Hudson Cooper, he said Amelia is his adoptive cousin.”
“That is true, sir, but that isn’t the only thing. He has always been obsessed with my wife’s body. He has almost raped her twice, and he just got back from the prison a few days back.”
“And then he is here again.”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
“Exactly. I tried confronting him, and he and his sister told me he was here to apologize to my wife. I didn’t want to create a scene on her big day so I kept quiet and watched him instead.”
“Hmmm. We’ll call him in for interrogation again. Who else do you suspect, Mr. James?”
James’ mind quickly wandered off, he thought back to the time before the party, he tried remembering if any other person acted off, but he couldn’t find anyone.
“That’s all for now. I’ll update you if I remember or notice anything.”
“No problem, Mr. James. We’ll solely take it up from here.” The cop answered, and James bobbed.
“Thank you so much. Please do everything and anything possible to find my daughter as soon as possible. She is just a month and days old, and she is already going through all this evil already.”
“We understand you, Mr. James. We promise to do everything possible to apprehend him or her that did this evil.”
“Sir, we found something in the footage from behind the house.” Another cop said, carrying a PC in his hand. He dropped the PC in front of the cop that questioned James and played the footage.
“The camera had been tampered with before the incident. The camera was turned to the other side, away from the window. It couldn’t catch what was happening, but…”
The cop leaned closer and fast forwarded the video. “It caught the back of this culprit when he was on his way out of the compound.”
The image of the person in the video couldn’t help them know if it was a man or woman. The person was dressed in all black and all of his or her body was covered.
He pointed to the screen and said; “that is the baby at the suspect’s back.”
“So he or she passed the back of the house out?” James intervened, and the cop nodded.
“There is a gate that leads outside from the back. As seen in the footage, the suspect doesn’t struggle with the gate before walking out. Do you leave this gate open?”
“No, I don’t. It is always locked and the key is always with me.”
“Can you give us this key?? I’d love to see it.”
James bounced his head and slowly got Amelia’s head off his chest. “Baby, I’ll be back very soon, okay? Please wait here.”
James hurried out of the living room and headed to his room to get the key.
“Mrs. Amelia, I heard about the case between you and your father and uncle. Do you think they could have something to do with this?”
“But they are in prison.”
“They were imprisoned weeks ago. Did they know about this party?” He asked, and Amelia bobbed.
“The party was announced before they were imprisoned.”
“Okay, Ma’am. With the look of things, this suspect in the footage may not be someone you know. He or she may be sent by someone who knows you and this house very well. If you have anyone in mind, no matter where or who they are, please let us know.”
Amelia nodded and lowered her head in sadness again. ‘What did I ever do to deserve this? When I thought everything was going the way I have always wanted, this happened. When will I ever have the peace of mind I crave?’ Amelia questioned herself.
“Sir… the key. The key is gone!” James exclaimed as he ran into the living room. “I can’t find it in the drawer where I kept it!” He added in terror.
“More evidence to show that the person behind this is someone you know very well and Vice Versa.”
“What are we going to do now??! This is very dangerous! We are now at risk ourselves.”
“Two policemen will be assigned to watch over your house until this case is solved. And please list out those people closest to you that visited this house days and weeks before this party.”
“Why?? Why me??” Amelia weakly cried in frustration.
“We’ll find Alice, baby. I’ll do everything to make sure she comes back home to us.”
***
Getting to the house that was sited in the middle of nowhere. He loosened the wrapper he tied around his chest and slowly carried the baby from his back.
He laid her on the bed and smiled brightly as he stared at her beautiful, sleeping face. He pulled the mask off his face and threw it on the bed.
He pulled out his phone and made a phone call. He paced in front of the bed, waiting for someone to answer the phone.
Soon, the call was answered.
“I am back at the house. I need you to come over so that I can leave here as soon as possible.”
He hung up the call and sat next to the baby, still staring at her.
“You’re surrounded by evil people, baby girl. It’s such a pity.” He picked up the water bottle on the bedside table and drank some water.
He laid next to the baby and closed his eyes to rest a little.
After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the door. He pulled out his pistol from the back of his trouser and lifted it. He picked his mask and wore it.
He slowly approached the main door and peeped out of the peephole to check who it was.
When he saw he was at the door, he lowered his gun and unlocked the door. He opened the door and let him walk in.
“What took you so long to respond?” HE asked.
“I just kidnapped a baby. Don’t you think I need to be very careful?” The masked guy asked, and they both walked to where the baby laid.
“What next?” The masked guy further asked.
“Your work is done.” HE answered.
“I know. But what are you going to do to a baby? She is too young to go through all these.”
“Are you going to shut up or you want me to do that for you?” HE asked, pulling out his gun and pointing it at him.
“Sorry. Can I be on my way now? My work is done.” The masked guy uttered and picked up his bag. He walked out of the house and never looked back.
HE sat next to the baby and beamed widely.
“You’re just as beautiful as your mother. You don’t deserve a father like James. I would be a better father and husband to you and your mother.”
HE heaved a sigh and removed the jacket he wore. “I’m sorry things have to go this way, Amelia. I’m doing this for you and your baby. I’ll take good care of both of you.”
HE walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. HE pulled out the baby food and feeder he had bought.
‘I’ll prepare this for you before you wake up so that you don’t have to go hungry. I hope you can manage this until I get your mother here to breastfeed you.’ HE looked at baby Alice as he thought.
Suddenly, his phone began to ring. He answered the phone after seeing the caller and put the phone on speaker.
“How is she?”
“She’s still sleeping, Ma’am. I’ll prepare her food now.”
“Good. Make sure you strictly follow our plan. You mess up and you’re on your own, okay?”
“Got it. Keep your side of the deal too.”
“Got it. Don’t call me, okay?! The cops are everywhere here! I’ll call you when I’m chanced.”
She hung up immediately she finished talking, and HE heaved a loud sigh and went on his YouTube account to watch how to prepare the baby’s food.