REMI HOOD

Chapter 4

Will

I'm still thinking about that girl, Remi Hood. We arrive at the police station. A man in uniform is waiting for us at the door.

"Hey, I'm Ryan Ibrahim," He smiles. "the homicide detective working on this case. Welcome to Maldives."

We shake hands as we introduce ourselves. "Any other robberies or murders since we arrived?" Finn asks. Ryan shakes his head as we head inside the building. He leads us to an empty office, "This office is for both of you to work, the files regarding the case are on the desk." He says and leaves the room. We both get comfortable in our temporary office as we carefully go through the files.

Soon, we basically memorize every event linking to the case. I look at the clock on the wall and it looks like we spent about two hours on the files. "Do you think this is one person?" Finn asks. "I mean... it could be two different people or cases." He is going through the files one more time.

"Don't forget that we are in Maldives, cases like this are rare... Well to be honest, this is the only case like this with multiple crimes. I suppose it could be two completely different people, but something tells me it's not." I answer.

"We should start investigating from the beginning, like the very beginning," I begin. "We need to figure out what happened to that woman nineteen years ago. I have a feeling the answer to that will help us catch the guy... Or woman." I tell Finn as he nods in agreement.

Ryan Ibrahim invites himself to the office. "Did you solve the case yet?" He grins as we all laugh. I like this Ryan dude. He isn't like those other stuck up detectives we had to work with.

"No, not yet," Finn rolls his eyes, smiling. "but can you tell us about Anaya Ahmed?"

"Oh, yeah, right, sure," Ryan blinks a few times. "Uh, so, you see, Anaya Ahmed was a beautiful young woman who everyone loved... Until she married an American guy." He rests his hands on the desk. "People called her a disgrace as her husband did not want to be Muslim."

"Well, why?" I ask, intrigued.

"You see, a woman can't marry a man that does not support Islam. To them, she was practically abandoning the religion."

"I see." Finn squints.

"She continued to live in Malé and had a daughter with him. And then, she got murdered."

I widen my eyes. "Oh?"

"On the night before her daughter's birthday, Anaya was murdered, stabbed by a knife. Her daughter found her and called us. The call was recorded but when the police got there, the daughter was on the floor, unconscious."

"How, did she pass out?" I ask.

"It seemed like her head was hit by a blunt object, when they studied the injury," Ryan exclaims. "Though, no one was there who could've done it."

"She might have hit her head on something when she fainted." Finn suggests with a hint of suspicion. "If she fainted."

"Possibly..." Ryan contemplates.

"Unless someone else was in the house with her? Perhaps the murderer didn't leave." I state suspiciously.

"I'm not sure. The husband says he was at the airport at the time of death, so he couldn't have been," Ryan elaborates. "After the daughter regained consciousness, she lost her memories of that night. She woke up on her birthday to hear the news of her mom's tragic death."

A wave of sympathy for the girl flushes over me. "We would like to visit the husband and daughter of Anaya Ahmed." I say. Ryan nods.

"Wait, isn't the husband from the US? Why is her last name Ahmed, did Anaya take her father's name?" Finn asks.

Ryan assuredly replies, "Most Maldivians don't take husband's last names, just like how our 'middle' names are our first names. The older generation don't have middle names though."

That's confusing.

Finn scratches his head. "So, what's the husband's name then?"

"Richard Hood. He still lives in Malé. I'll find his address today."

"Okay, cool..." Finn is deep in thought.

Ryan looks down at us. "May I have your phone numbers, so I can text you the address?"

We share phone numbers, though the only thing on my mind is the husband's name. Why does it sound so familiar? Richard Hood... Richard Hood... Hood? Wait, shit.

Remi Hood.

What the fu- "Ryan, is the daughter's name possibly Remi Hood?" I ask quickly.

"Yeah!" Ryan is in shock. "How did you know?!"

"Remi Hood? Seriously?! That girl we met on our way here?" Finn exclaims.

"You... Did?" Ryan asks, surprised.

"Oh wow... My buddy Will here was drooling all over her, he even complimented her curves." Finn laughs hysterically, pointing a finger towards me.

"Shit, I really said that out loud?"

"Loud and clear, mate." Finn nudges me.

Ryan grins. "Yeah, Remi Hood is a stunner, I tell you. And the spitting image of her mother, they look so alike, I swear they're twins." He shows me a picture of Anaya Ahmed.

Finn studies the picture. "Yep, she looks just like the girl we saw on the street."

Remi Hood sure is stunning.