MYSTIQUE DAMON

Chapter 11: Clue with a doubt

Belinda Keller and her husband Daniel Keller, as they are popularly known and addressed by officials, couldn't believe themselves, as all searches to find their missing daughter had proven abortive.

Storming inside the Prosecutor's office in a rage. Belinda is yet to understand what is happening. How can she lose her daughter out of the blues?

Mrs. Keller quietly sat, thinking about the best thing to do, just to find her daughter. Personally, if she had to hound down the entire world for the rest of her life, she will; as long as she finds her daughter.

This is why she involve the Thunder Squad. A departmental division of the IIF.( Interrogative Investigation Force) who helps in cases like this.

Mr. McCall, a top one best investigation Officer of the Thunder Squad, has exceptional skills compared to none. His special skills of sniffing trails and using them to carry out his investigation make him unique and outstanding.

Now with another top-notch trained squad under his command, combined with other skilled law enforcement agencies, he was certain that there was no way he wouldn't find the missing Mellisa Keller.

Her eyes turned towards McCall, as she sights him entering the room, in the company of other officers.

"Where is Mellisa.? Belinda began immediately after he entered. "It's been a week and I haven't seen or heard from my daughter; McCall, what is happening?

McCall's heart skipped wildly at her sudden incursion. "Please sit, Mrs. Keller."

"I've been sitting for the past week and yet, my daughter is yet to be found." She wailed.

Mr. Keller is speechless as he held on to his dear wife, they never prayed for this to happen to their child. Mellisa's sudden disappearance is what he didn't foresee, a grown-up girl disappearing out of the earth and no trace of her was seen.

"Here is the community CCTV," McCall said, and they hurried over to view the footage.

The footage showed that at 11:25a.m…, a figure emerges from the forests, bearing with her something that looked like luggage and following the main road that led towards the city.

"That should be Mellisa," Mr. Keller said, pointing at the slim figure in the footage, and the others nodded in agreement.

"From the location and time of the footage, we are convinced that it is Mellisa, because according to the statement from her colleagues, classmates, and the villagers whom we already called for questioning. All said that Mellisa left at the same time as the others. But according to their statements, she didn't leave with their bus. As the team agreed to play a prank on her amidst their previous misunderstanding which was settled by the medical team." McCall explained.

"That was unnecessary, who played such expensive pranks?" One of the officers said, shaking his head ruefully.

"Is there no other footage that captures her disappearance?" Mr. Keller asked.

"They are looking for any trace that will give us full evidence of how everything happened."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!"  Hazel alerted everyone after a moment of silence in the room. "I've got something that might lead us to her."

Everyone hurried over to take a view of the new footage.

"In this case, can we assume that Mellisa boarded another car and disappeared further down the road?" Hazel asked.

McCall thought about it for a while. "We can't say for sure. All I can think of and say now is that someone has this all planned out."

The room went quiet at his sudden statement.

"Hmm…. Judging from the footage, Mellisa already left the camp with her luggage, and you can see…" He pointed at the footage. "A car stopped, and the next thing is Melissa was gone." He inhaled deeply. "But what baffles me is how the kidnappers took her without opening the car door, how is the camera able to capture the car but not the action is something I can't fathom."

"There's another way how this can happen." Hazel suddenly speaks.

"Which is?" They all towards him.

"What if the CCTV cameras were tampered with? It's easy."

"That makes sense, that means Mellisa was abducted; but by whom?" He throws a glance at the Keller's.

"Do you have any altercations with anybody of any kind? Do you receive any form of threat from anyone?"

They shook their head in disagreement. "Any confrontation with any higher or lower rank socialites of any kind?"

Mr. Keller thought about it for a while, he couldn't just point his finger on any.

He, Mr. Keller, is a peaceful and accommodating person. His family shared these same traits of his. Having a free will, spirit that carries everybody along in peace and unity. Their choice of words and outstanding characters made them stand out among other socialites.

They said when wealth gets to you, it boasts your egos and makes you proud. But to them, the Keller who was born in a wealthy home and raised by godly parents and grandparents, they know and see people around them as important as them.

They are humans; just like you and me. That is their family motto when any member of their family starts acting ruthless or mean to any person of any class.

He looked at his wife, who shook her head in response to whatever question he was going to ask her.

"No! I can't say I've been in some kind of quarrel or disagreement that will prompt them to abduct my child." He replied coldly to McCall's question.

"The problem now is that the security cameras there are limited since the community is still under development. And the community Chief is helping a lot in the investigation, but we still can't say if he's been genuine or did he get something under his sleeve." One of the officers said.

"I think with this new information on the spot where she was last seen, we need to send our search parties, visit the community again, consult a thorough search throughout the community, everything that lies under that community."

"That's a good idea, but with the way, the abductors planned it, I think they cleared every trail that will lead us to them, and coupled with the rain that fell heavily that night; I think it will be difficult to trail," Hazel said.

"We need to call back the medical team for questioning, especially the ones she has the misunderstanding with." McCall sounded pleased with Hazel's ideas.

Mr. McCall further discussed with the Kellers to keep their spirit alive and hope for the best. "Something positive will come out after these investigations, he reassured them."

Mr. Keller turned his gaze to his face, her eyeballs already puffy due to constant midnight wailing and weeping.

"Thank you, McCall." That was Mr. Keller's response to the investigator for the help tender to them.

"Riana." A beautiful young girl, in her early twenties, stood on the doorpost. Her pretty cat eyes were already puffy, she must have cried herself to sleep. And beside her was another lady in a wheelchair.

"You shouldn't be here, Ria." Belinda bent over to the lady in the wheelchair. "I will take Essa; You go. You still have a class to attend."

"What happened to Mell.? Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't….not now Riana." Mr. Keller put his arms around her shoulder. "The Investigator is on it." He had the feeling that if he told her about Mellisa's abduction, she might collapse from the news. He knows how much the two love each other.

"I'm personally going to hound down that Northern Coast; everybody and their momma is going to provide Mellisa's way about."

Many emotions zinged around the Kellers as they watch Riana's outburst.

"We can't take laws into our hands and ruin the investigation."Mrs. Keller said softly. "Let's just wait for the investigator to carry out his job." She knows within herself, She's shared the same thoughts as Riana. Yes, if she could personally hound the world just to find her lovely daughter, she would have, but what can she do now? Mellisa's disappearance was a shock to her whole system, her family wasn't expecting this tragic situation. If she could make her way and rescue her daughter in whatever dungeon she is kept, pay whatever ransom that was placed on her head. But seeing that she can't even fathom where exactly they took her to; the entire, Mellisa's abduction is under probability. She shook her head. It's a complicated issue.

Mr. Keller couldn't stand another minute of watching her wife breaking down in tears. For a week now, he is always comforting her. He knows how painful it is for her, all these entire issues stressed the life of the two. Then not being able to find the information about their daughter's well-being and location. At least a call from one of the abductors will save him and his family and at least give the investigator a clue to finding his missing daughter. But each time they turn to another plot, it seems they always meet a dead end.

He shut his eyes, giving out a loud breath. It seems reality already dawned on him. His life might end up being the hardest place to live without her daughter. He clenched his fists, then turned to his wife.

"Let's discuss everything at home, I think it's safer there."

Riana hesitated for one second, then answered him. "I'm sorry, Mr. & Mrs. Keller, I have to go home now." She sniffed.

"What are you planning?" That was Essa's turn to question the weeping Ria.

"Nothing…. I think I need to be left alone." She uttered, her voice already cracking from persistent crying.

"Okay? That's fine, as long as you don't end up making a stupid mistake; until then, just take care of yourself." Essa urges her.

"Please do come around too, okay, Mellisa will never want you crying always, you know that right?" Mrs. Keller said as she started pushing Essa out of the FBI hallways.

Raina stood there for like two minutes, then turned and met a pair of eyes staring at her. That must be the Officer in charge of Mellisa's case, in right.

She looked at him, her eyes in rage of anger as she approaches McCall.

"Yeah, I can see you are confused about this whole situation, right?

"You are too smart to be thinking like that, young lady.

"And you have no right to tell me how I should be thinking." She yelled at him.

"You are not an officer, right?"

She shook her head.

"Then who….?

She smiled mischievously and leaned closer toward McCall.

"I'm the one who will hound your dreams if anything should happen to Mellisa..... damn it..... She bawled; hitting the table and stomping out of the office, leaving the door dangling for its dear life.

"Wawwwwww..... oops." McCall puffed at Ria's statement.

"Such an innocent threat." He laughed.