Beyond the veil

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Detective Anna sighed in frustration. She had just gotten out of bed and had turned on the TV, only to see the news of a lady who had been reported missing. It was the third case that week and all the people that had gone missing were young ladies. The city was in disarray as everyone feared for their lives and safety. People were losing their trust in each other and they were pointing accusing fingers at one another and this made Anna's head ache. It bothered her that the culprit was running free while the city she was supposed to protect was in chaos. Her phone rang.

"Hi, Joseph." Anna said to the caller. It was her partner of three years in the police department.

"Have you heard the news from this morning?" Joseph asked her.

Anna sighed out. " Yes, I have and Joe, it's heartbreaking. What am I missing on this whole case?" Anna said in annoyance.

"Well, I have something that might be used as a lead on the case. I wanted to show it to you before handing it over." Joseph said to her.

"Can't it wait till tomorrow morning? I have to be with Mia today for their excursion to the museum." Anna said calmly.

"Anna, I think you should see this. Mia would understand, she's a brave girl." Joseph responded and with that, the call ended.

Anna was a single mom. She had a fling with a man and it resulted in Mia's birth, she didn't want to get married so she took it upon herself to be the only parent Mia would have, though her father came occasionally to visit her.
That day, Anna was supposed to join for the parent-student excursion to the museum, which the school had hosted for the parents and their kids as another means of connecting. Now, Anna wasn't going to make it and she needed to convince Mia in a way so she wouldn't pick offense with her.

"Hi mum, are you on your way yet?" Mia said as she picked up the phone.

"No, I'm not. How are you holding up?" Anna calmly asked.

"I'm good. Some parents are beginning to show up already and u said you'd be here once you woke up, I'm guessing you're still in bed." Mia said.

"Mia, would you be too angry if I don't make it?" Anna asked her.

"It's your day off. Why else would you not make it?" Mia responded with a question.

Anna explained that she had to go to the office for an emergency. As expected, Mia was upset but Anna promised to convince her father to come and join her for the excursion.

"Really mum? Will you let him come instead?" Mia asked with a tone of excitement.

"Yes, I'll call him once I'm off this call. I'm so sorry that I can't make it." Anna apologized.

"It's all good. Though I wanted you to come, if John will be here in your stead, I'll be fine." Mia responded.

After the call had ended, Anna took her bath and headed to the station. For three years, she had worked as a detective and none of the cases brought to her table was left unsolved. Whenever she was assigned to a case, people believed so much in her because of her diligence but the recent case had everyone worried since the famous detective was yet to solve it.
Anna walked into the office she shared with her partner who was already waiting on her arrival.

"Joseph, whatever you called me out here for had better be good. I should be with Mia by now but here I am." Anna said as she shut the door to their office.

"I'm sorry I interrupted the mother and daughter sweet vacation." Joseph teased.

"It wasn't a vacation, it's an excursion. Had you been married, you would've gone for it too, so you could get educated on your culture." Anna responded.

"If I get married and go for an excursion, who would solve the cases and catch the bad guys in the world?" Joseph asked, laughing.

"I sincerely hope you don't die a loner. So, what am I looking at?" Anna said and went to her seat.
Joseph brought his laptop to her desk with a paused video on display.

"Sorry Anna, I don't mean to bring this up but, have you been in touch with John?" Joseph asked with a look of concern on his face.

"If you're trying to get back at me for asking you to get a family, then you've failed. I have a daughter and that's pretty good enough for me." Anna responded.

"Can you just answer my question without fighting me? It has nothing to do with our earlier conversation." Joseph replied to her.

"Well, I've seen him a few times and I spoke with him this morning." Anna said.

"Do you have an idea of where he might be at the moment?" Joseph asked again.

"Joe, what's the problem? What's going on?" Anna asked him, slightly getting worried about all his questions.

"We need to bring him in for questioning. I think he is our culprit." Joseph broke the news to her and Anna went cold.

"How do you mean? John might be crazy but kidnapping young girls isn't something he would do." Anna said defensively.

Joseph sighed and clicked a button on his laptop and the paused video came to life. Anna's mouth went a gap as she watched the second victim being dragged into the alley by John, her daughter's father.

"Oh my God!!!" Anna exclaimed.

"The forensic team recovered it from the dashcam of a car that was parked outside the area of the incident. I wanted to show it to you first before handing it over." Joseph explained.

"Joseph, what do I do now?" Anna asked, her whole body quivering.

"Calm down Anna, we will catch him. At least, we are no longer moving blind and it's a good thing that most people do not know he's your daughter's father." Joseph said to her.

"Gather a team, I know where he might be and I pray we aren't late." Anna whispered as she could barely breathe out of the fear that had knotted her chest.

"Anna, is Mia with him right now?" Joseph asked her.
Anna nodded in response and tears trickled out of her eyes.
"We'll get him and Anna, do not worry, Mia will be saved." Joseph consoled her.

"It'll break her heart to see her Dad taken away. What do I do?" Anna asked again. She was heartbroken.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Joseph assured her.

Anna stood up and got her weapons ready, she took a radio and walked towards the door but Joseph stopped her.
"I think you should stay back." He suggested.

"No way. There's no way I'm going to stay here when my daughter is with that criminal. Who knows what he'll do next?" Anna cried in pain.

"Anna, you're not in your right mind and that'll be bad for this operation. I need you to trust me on this, I'll bring Mia safely back to you. I promise." Joseph said to her and she fell on his chest, still sobbing.

"How could I not have noticed all this while? My poor Mia." Anna said crying.

"Well, things are not always as they seem to be. He might appear cool but within, he was the devil and a good one at that. He won't get away with it and Mia would be fine." Joseph responded.

"Shoot him in the head if he tries to get away." Anna said with gritted teeth.

"I'd try it another way. Stay here and calm down." Joseph replied and exited the office.

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