Bab 34: Welcome back 1
Rosa sipped the cup of expresso in front of her as she looked at her mother and sister.
''Are you eating well? You look so malnourished'' Gloria George asked. She was genuinely worried about Rosa, her daughter whom she hadn't seen for five years.
Rosa looked at her mother and noticed the wrinkles on her face. It seemed she had aged ten times more from the last time she saw her.
''En, I am eating well''
''Are you really not coming home with us?''
''I still have some things to sort out first. I will come after that, mom''
''I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said to you back then. I realised my actions were extreme after you left. I missed you big sis'' Kylie's tears fell uncontrollably.
''K, this is not about you. You are the most important people to me in the world. I do not hold anything against you. I just feel that; your lives will be more peaceful if I stay away for a while. K, I need you to take care of mom and be careful yourself. There are a lot of crimes happening lately, don't go home late, okay?''
''Rosa, at least tell me where you stay. Mom wants to prepare some food and bring to you''
''Okay, I will do that but, you have to promise me you won't think too much into my decisions. Just take it that I live far away. I promise after I settle everything, I will return home''
''Okay'' Gloria George touched and held her hands for a while. She had missed Rosa so much but she didn't want to inconvenience her, so she had to accept and respect her decisions.
''Sis, it's good to have you back. I will call you each day after school''
''Sure, do that''
…..
Rosa opened the door and changed into her slippers before going to the hall. she saw Carlos Ryan in the kitchen cooking while the table looked messy with papers scattered about.
''What are all these?'' she asked picking one of the papers to check.
''Go and change and come back. We have a lot of work to do tonight''
''What work?''
''Tracking down the copycat. I heard the case was given to you?''
''You really have ears everywhere'' Rosa said and went into her room.
She soon returned wearing a blue blouse and long pants. She sat down on the floor and picked some pictures on the table to look at.
''These are from the crime scene, right?''
''Yes. Look at them and tell me what you think?''
''You are really treating me like your assistant. Special Agent Ryan, I am a Prosecutor, okay?''
Looking at the pictures, Rosa sighed. ''why did this person do this to her? She seemed to be a lovely person the last time I saw her''
''Who do you think are the main suspects?''
''I looked into her at the office. She broke up with her boyfriend two months ago but he was still stalking her. She received a restraining order against him just last week. She had a new boyfriend who she met just a month ago, but he was out of apparently at the club when she was raped and then murdered. Right now, the person I suspect the most is her ex-boyfriend''
Carlos Ryan walked to her with two plates of pasta and placed them on the floor, sitting next to her.
''That's right. It is easy to suspect the ex-boyfriend but did you know that both had alibis?''
''They had alibis?'' she was surprised because she had asked Mr. Hanson to look into the ex-boyfriend and invite him for questioning the next day. ''How did you know they had alibis?''
''The police invited them to the station today. They gave quite clear descriptions of their whereabouts and when we contacted those places, we found out they were all true with their statements''
''Then, it means I have to start the investigation from scratch again? I can't believe I got knocked out even before starting'' Rosa sighed.
''Don't you find it strange?'' he lifted a report of their statements and handed to her, ''read their statements and tell me what you can find from them''
''Okay'' Rosa quickly scanned the two reports, studying them with a serious expression while Carlos Ryan ate his food, watching her. It still felt like a dream to him. Being next to her, solving cases with her. It was foreign yet pleasant. He felt peaceful in her presence.
''Have you found anything?'' he asked and Rosa shook her head. ''I must have gone stupid after not solving cases for so long, but, don't you find this statement strange?''
''Which one?''
''Her current boyfriend? From the report I gathered from her co-workers', they started dating only a month ago, but just after a few weeks of dating, he had already moved into her apartment, left most of his daily necessities there. They had a quarrel that night and he left the apartment and returned to see her dead. According to his statement, he went to the club after 8:00PM, and stayed until 4:00AM before he went back to the house. The autopsy report states that she was raped before murdered, and the time of death was 2:30AM. Something is missing in all of this''
''What do you think is missing?''
''His alibi. I feel that something isn't right about his alibi. At least, from this report, you could clearly see that the ex-boyfriend was home all day and only went out to receive food delivery. The hallway cameras caught him from the time he took the food to the time he went back inside. He didn't leave his house for even a minute. But, the current boyfriend, he could have left the club for a while and then return later or he might have made that alibi up''
''I like the way you think, but let's look at it this way too. She was his girlfriend, there was no need to rape her because they were staying in the same house, sex was mutual between them. They only had a misunderstanding which the boyfriend pointed out here that it was because of her co-worker whom she was having an ambiguous relationship with. He left the house to the club to calm himself down and after a few drinks with his friends, he passed out and they left him inside one of the rooms in the club, after he regained consciousness, he became worried about her and decided to go home immediately but found her dead upon arrival.
''Now, back to the statements given by the co-workers. When we checked her phone, the last person she called was Jude. Now, Jude is the one she was having an ambiguous relationship with. Jude left out the call she made to him that night which was around 1:30 AM. Why do you think he left out that part?''
''He could be the culprit or a witness''
''Good. So we just have to get Jude to confess and we will know where to go from there''
''Whoa, you are really smart. Everything just feels so easy after the deductions you made. I am impressed''
''Prosecutor Ann, you have to catch the criminal or else, this is just going to be one of many rape culture cases to come''
''Rape culture?''
''Yes, didn't you figure it out already before?''
''I'm hungry. All of this is draining the life out of me '' she picked the plate and placed it on her laps and started eating. It was a harmonious atmosphere between them as they both remained silent. Only the noise made from the cutlery could be heard.
Next Day. Muse café.
Rosa walked into the café and saw Jude at the counter, she removed her badge and showed it to him saying, ''can I have a word with you?''
''The police already questioned me, Prosecutor. I really don't know anything about this'' he started to defend himself.
''Do you want to come with me or do I have to use force, Mr. Jude?'' Rosa asked and cocked her brows.
''Sh*t!! He cursed and took off running away.
''Aye, he really wants me to do some exercise today'' Rosa turned to the door, ready to run after him and saw him down. She looked at the hand pining Jude down and smiled before walking out to him.
''Looks like I don't have to run after all'' she said and squatted in front of Jude, ''Jude, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of Anna Demure''
''Prosecutor Ann, welcome back'' Detective Stuart said as he pinned Jude down.
''Thanks for helping me out''
''S. A Ryan asked me to help out. He said this boy might try to run away. Looks like he was right''
''I didn't kill her. by the time I arrived she was already dead. You have to believe me, Prosecutor'' Jude started screaming which attracted a lot of people.
''Aye, he really doesn't know how to keep quiet. If you didn't kill her, why did you try to run away?''
''He said he would kill me if I told anyone. He said I should tell you this…'welcome back''
Rosa's body stiffened as she looked at Jude, ''what did you just say?''
''He said I should tell you that you are welcome back to Blue Town and that if you have the guts, you should try finding him''
''Ahh' Rosa sighed.
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