Dark Secrets (Thriller)

Chapter 1

FEW HOURS AFTER THE PROLOGUE.

(NILE SCHOENFELD THIRD PERSON POV)

NILE SCHOENFELD: Ex-Detective of Melanie’s Case. (Suspended)

EDUCATION: COLLEGE GRADUATE

SKILL LEVEL: AVERAGE, NOT RELIABLE

Important Terms (CO means Chief Officer)

24 year old Nile Schoenfeld adjusted the house antenna to the satisfaction of his younger siblings. He watched the teenagers argue on how the television signal went on and off due to poor connection.

“Wait! Stop!” His 16 year old sister, Maggie stopped him as he bent it to a particular position. “It works now!”

“Really?” He asked, staring at the strange way he positioned it.

“It’s gone,” his brother, Migel blurted out in disappointment.

Nile groaned and wiped off his sweat.

“Could you tilt it to the side a bit? My favorite show is about to start.”

Nile knew he couldn’t attend to the antenna forever, but he tried it for her anyway. The reception got better for a few seconds, before the car of his office colleague pulled over in front of his home. This distracted him for split seconds and he lost signal again.

“Brother, why?!” Maggie cried in disappointment. Nile felt remorse and tried putting it back, but it was no use.

“Nile, it’s fine,” His mother said, walking out of the house with some basket of fruits. “I will ask the engineer to fix it. Go to work.”

Nile sighed and dusted his hands. The sun wasn’t nice that day and a red sunburn on his arm proved it. He climbed down the ladder and brushed Migel’s hair before approaching the visitor’s vehicle.

“George Jason,” he said out loud, as the car door opened and a young man stepped out. George Jason, the well known jovial and witty man, threw him a disturbed look, opposing his hype. “Is something the matter?”

“There is another murder case,” George reported. Nile’s enthusiasm disappeared instantly.

“What?!”

“You need to come to the station right away. There are some documents concerning the case that could help you.”

“Fine, please wait for me!” Nile gestured to him before racing back inside to get his coat and ID card. His siblings watched him ransack his room like a crazy man as he grabbed his gun and hat before hurrying out. That was the fifth case of murder they’ve had that month. But no information had been traced to the murderer yet. This Anonymous killer was smarter than they thought. Whoever he or she was, was definitely skilled at what he did. Neil placed his fingers on his lips with tension. As a 24 year old son of his single mother, being a detective wasn’t what he wanted. But there he was, kicking the butts of criminals.

“We are here, Neil,” George’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He arrived at the police station and inspected the photographs and autopsy report given by the hospital.

“She is Melanie Hopper, a 25 year old mother of a toddler,” George explained as Neil looked through the photographs. There were struggle marks, scratches and some faint bruises. “From rumors, she was in several relationships before settling with an anonymous lover. It is believed to be a long distance relationship. No one knows where the father of her toddler is from.”

George dropped the photographs and picked up the autopsy report. There was no relevant information except what he saw in the photographs.

“Has anyone been interviewed?” George asked. “Her mother, brother, friend…”

“The police tried to get information from her mother. But it turns out Melanie lives on her own. Her mother doesn’t keep in touch with her.”

Neil arched his brows with suspicion.

“They do not get along?” He asked.

“It felt like that,” George confessed. “As an inspector, I tried my best to dig in deep.”

“I don’t think you dug deep enough, George,” Neil took out a cigar from his coat pocket and a lighter. “Was there no other person you interviewed? Perhaps, the person who found the body.”

“O!” George exclaimed. “It was an old man. He was reluctant to speak with us when we questioned him. I do not know why."

Neil puffed a smoke and walked out. He said no word to George and his witty friend took that as a hint to follow him.

“Where are you going, Neil?” He asked, racing down the stairs.

“The question should be where are we going. I want us to head to the murder site and investigate the area. After that, we can visit this old man you speak of.”

George stopped.

“Are you serious right now? You are not allowed at that site, Neil. Don’t you dare get involved.”

“Stop me!"

George raised his brows and unlocked his car. They both got in and put their seatbelts on.

“You know you are no more the detective assigned to the case, right?” George asked.

“I know. You do not have to remind me of how incompetent I am,” Neil bit his lips. “Let me guess, they hired a better detective elsewhere? B** s***t! I do not see why I need to be replaced.”

George sighed. They narrowly dodged a careless driver who honked his horn with anger.

“George! Watch where you’re going!” The driver cried.

“No! You watch where you are going. Crazy drivers everywhere!” George hissed with frustration, before concentrating on the topic. “A female detective will be coming from London. We don’t know who she is, but the chief of police thinks she is a good replacement.”

That was not the news Neil expected to hear.

“A lady? I mean, I have nothing against that. As long as she knows what she is doing.” He was silent for a while, before blurting out. “I am trying freaking hard, George! A lady?!"

“I know, Neil,” George agreed. “It hurts your ego. I know you have tried in all the cases you were given. That too for the past two years. We cannot blame the police force for thinking otherwise. They believe you are doing nothing to solve the murder cases. Rather, replacing you will resolve lots of dead ends.”

Neil hated the sound of that. He tossed his finished cigar and ran his hand down his face.

“It’s not too late, Neil. You can still prove yourself,” George said, with an enthusiastic smile.

“This murderer is smart. I am sure he is making me look dumb on purpose,”

George kept the rest of his thoughts to himself until they arrived at the murder site. Getting past the caution tapes, Neil inspected the chalk marked image of where the body laid. There was no sign of blood stain, or weapon.

“From the autopsy,” George broke the silence. “Her ankle was sprained. She looked dirty and had signs of smeared makeup. I think she cried while the attacker strangled her.”

Neil stared around for a while and caught sight of the steep hill. He walked towards it and saw a tiny white pearl. His eyes widened, adjusted his gloves and picked it up.

“Here, look!” He happily said, showing the pearl to George. George looked confused at the discovery.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“From the photograph, the corpse was wearing a black sandal with white pearls like this,” He brought the pearl closer for him to inspect. “It is possible she tried to escape by climbing the hill, but failed. The highway isn’t too far from here. She must have tried to get help.”

George nodded.

“That’s possible, but how does that help the case?”

Neil signaled him to be silent, since he was still thinking. He gazed at the environment for a while and went on.

“She must have been dragged from the hill to this spot where she died. Perhaps she was strangled right here.”

George wasn’t impressed.

“Again, that doesn’t help the case. We are tired of speculations, Neil. We want to know who did it.”

“That’s the thing George. To know who did it, you have to know how it is done. Their tactics are our only way of knowing who could possibly get it done.” Neil argued.

“Alright,” George frowned. “From your short analysis, who do you think must have done it then?”

“Someone big,” Neil answered with a smile. “Someone strong enough to pull her from the hill and strangle her. But, Melanie was a small woman. Anyone could easily do that."

George was silent this time. He folded his arm and watched Neil paced around clueless of what else to make out of it.

“We need to speak to that old man and hear what he knows. Do you know where he lives?” Neil asked as he turned away from the crime scene to the car.

“Yes. We got information from him, but he isn’t speaking. How do we get him to talk?”

“Leave that to me. I…” Neil stopped and hinted to George to stop moving. George obeyed with confusion,.

“Stay low! Now!” Neil screamed and fell to the floor.

“What do you…”

A gun was instantly fired to their direction, leading them both in shock. Police sirens were heard at a distance as they drove towards them.

“Freak!" Neil thought with disappointment. He looked towards the direction of the shooting and sighted a dark figure instantly fleeing into the woods.

That’s the murderer!