CHAPTER 4 : A LETTER

I stood in the room , waiting for more orders .

The team for Mr. Hayes's murder case was being formed currently and I was appointed as the leader.

" We are going for a team of four , " spoke Judy , the senior officer.

" Anika , James , Syl and Johnathan . You four will be working on the case . You can start from tomorrow " , she completed .

I looked at my partners , although I have seen them and talked to them before , I have never worked with these people .

" You guys can get the files from the front office . I am a bit busy today. " Ma'am Judy said again as she hurried outside from the room where we were in , leaving an awkward silence behind . Feeling the tension , I spoke up , " Has any of you worked together with another in this group ? "

Syl raised her hand and pointed at Johnathan , who stood there silently .

" So you two have worked together . " I spoke , this time to myself , the awkwardness still present .

" This is getting awkward isn't it , " spoke James .

" It is . " Johnathan replied .

" We could meet in the canteen today at two for lunch and get to know each other properly , if everyone's okay with it . " I told as I looked at Syl who stood quietly .

Seeing me stare at her , she spoke up . " I have no problem with it . "

" Me too ," spoke both Johnathan and James .

" Well then , see you at the canteen . " I spoke as all of us walked towards separate ways .

~

Collecting the files from the front office I , walked to my office room . Keeping the files onto the table , I took a seat . Taking my phone out , I checked today's schedule , nothing much was there today .

Due to Mr . Hayes's death a lot of work were rescheduled. Opening the files , I leaned back onto the chair . ' The postmortem reports won't be given until atleast two weeks . ' I spoke to myself .

Knock . A sound came . Looking at the door , I answered.

" Come in " .

" Ma'am there's a letter for you , " told the girl who came in .

"A letter ? " I voiced out , my voice filled with surprise. I don't really get letters . Taking the envelope from the girl's frail hands , i looked at it .

" Thank you . You can leave . " I smiled as the girl left the the room . She is a newbie , it was hardly a week since she started working .

Anika focused her attention back onto the envelope , it was made of leather . She carefully took the folded letter from inside . It was a half burnt paper , with the writings in black ink . Opening the letter , she read the writings , only to jump from her chair and to rush outside the room , the veins in her neck popping , as a wave of anger and worry surged through her . With gritted teeth she ran through the halls of the headquarters , looking for the frail girl who had given her the letter .

Seeing the girl standing a bit far away talking to someone , she bolted . Holding the girl by her collar Anika turned her around , leading the girl to yelp in surprise and fear , scaring the boy who was talking to her as well .

" Where did you get the letter from ? " Anika questioned , her eyes red with indignation .

Shivering the girl replied ' it was from a man in a suit and that she doesn't know him. '

" Do you know where he is now ? " She asked again , tightening the hold on the girl's collar ,

the girl stood there shivering in silence , not uttering a word , infuriating Anika to the core .

" Speak . " She commanded.

" I don't know , he was outside . " She spoke softly , tears almost streaming down her face . Leaving the girl's collar , Anika dashed outside .

" B-black suit. " The girl spoke again , looking at Anika as her frame disappeared. Feeling a gush of air inside her lungs , she slowly turned around to see the equally frail boy now lying on the floor , unconscious .

~

Reaching outside , she scanned the area for a man in suit . None , no one was there . The area seemed as deserted as it could . Not wanting to waste more time , she took her gun out and ran through the perimeter .

Still seeing no one in sight , she ran outside , on to the sidewalk , looking at the numerous people walking through the place , one specific man caught her vision . A man with a masquerade mask .

On the other side of the road , stood a man wearing a masquerade mask facing her , raising a hand he waved at her , and then later pointed at her .

Feeling the urge to stuff a bullet through his forehead , she pointed the gun at him and mindlessly ran towards the other side , not taking notice of the cars that were speeding her way .

Almost reaching halfway through she was pulled back , the gun being almost fired , a hand held her back , almost yanking her coat from her body . Falling onto the person who pulled , she directed her gun towards the person who held her back , to retract it as soon as she saw it was Ava , who looked terrified .

" What the hell were you trying to do ?" She whisper screamed as she signed me to keep the gun down . Not listening to her , I turned around looking for the man who was standing afar . He was not there anymore .

Standing up she kept the gun back and walked even further through the pathways like a mad woman . She was too busy in her thoughts to notice the stares both her and Ava were recieving .

Just like before , she was pulled back again only to recieve a hug from her dear friend . " Calm down . What happened? " She asked as calmly as she could , it's not easy to talk to your friend calmly after you saw her almost getting hit by cars and then get a gun pointed at your forehead .

Slowly relaxing Anika looked at her bestfriend now , no visible signs of aggression on her face , massaging her forehead , she slowly walked back to the quarters with Ava following her behind , trying to apprehend what was happening .

Anika was never the type of person who gets angry really fast or shout at people unless it was something related to her family. No one other than the one above decides when her parents take their last breath and she would make sure of it. No one would hurt her parents or even Ava who even though was not blood related was considered family as long as Anika breathed .

Reaching back at the headquarters , she searched for the girl from earlier , she deserved an apology from Anika . She should have never screamed at the poor girl like that .

Walking through the halls , she saw the girl , sitting in the corner , with the same boy , comforting him . Seeing me walk towards them , the boy tensed up and held the girl's hand , which resulted in her looking at me .

Seeing her stand up , I spoke up .

" No , no , sit , sit " I repeated and the girl sat down .

" I am so sorry . I never meant to get angry at you like that . I was searching for someone, it's related to a case I was working on . "

" It's okay " Her voice barely heard .

Still feeling the guilt inside , I spoke again .

" I am going to pay for your lunches today . Buy anything you want from the canteen ."

" Oh , that's not needed . " " Sure " . Spoke two of them together .

The boy seemed excited about recieving free food and I am not going to judge , but the girl didn't seem to like his interest as she glared at him , her eyes looked as if they would fall outside from her sockets any moment.

" Yeah , that's not needed . " The boy spoke looking genuinely disappointed at the fact that he is going to loose a chance at recieving free food.

" Oh please , it's the least I could do . " I spoke again , looking at the girl , who slowly nodded her head as an 'ok ' .

" I am sorry I am in a bit of a hurry now , I have to leave . We will talk later . " I spoke as I turned around and left with Ava following me like a lost puppy, not uttering anything.

Reaching my office , Ava walked in with me . Picking up the crumbled letter that was lying on the floor, I tried to straighten it .

" What was happening back there ! " Ava exclaimed .

" Long story short , the possible killer of Mr . Hayes sent me a letter , threatening he will kill me , you , my family and everyone working here . Seeing him writing about my family , made me angry . You know how angry I get , right ? The girl back there , gave me the letter , so in the heat of the moment I may have picked her up by the collar and scared her a bit along with the boy .

She told me , this man was outside the building , so I went outside and he was there and I was about to blast his brain , when you came in and pulled me back ."

" Yeah , because otherwise you would have been as flat as the flat bread they sell at the canteen . " Ava spoke as she stood there, holding onto a chair lying in front of her.

" Today I am having lunch with the new team , what about you ? We will speak while walking . " I spoke as I walked outside behind Ava .

" I am going to be with my new team as well . Its a talk again this time . I hate talks . "

" I know ," I told as I held her hand .

Reaching the camera room , I called Johnathan who was sitting there .

" We will start looking at the case today itself , I got a letter from him. " I told as I gave him the letter , that was in my hand .

" Check the cameras at the front , near the gate , the ones facing the road , he was standing there . "

" I can call the rest of the team , tell me their names , I will go find them " Ava talked looking at me .

" James and Syl . " I told as I took my phone to call my parents . Calling my mother , I waited for her to pick up the phone as I watched Ava walk away .

" The cameras are hacked , it is a loop that is playing " . Johnathan spoke grabbing my attention. Cutting the call , I looked at him .

" He has access to our systems ."