Chasing His Rose

1. The Prime Suspect

Zayan

Taking slow sips of black coffee, Detective Zayan sat in his office with a black hat tilted and lazily resting on his thick messy locks, his feet casually resting against the edge of a small coffee table and his head leaned against the headrest of the armchair. There was only a single yellow lamp resting on his table.

It was just this afternoon when the Embalian police had sent him the case file and an audio recording of one of the deadliest killing sprees occurring in the forest of Embalia. Zayan didn't usually take a lot of cases because he found most of them boring, yet this case had intrigued him; especially when the murders committed seemed simply a case of animal attacks but consisted of one common eye-witness: Miss Nyla Khawar-the woman he had got married to last year and then left with the intention of divorcing her. She was some far-away family friend's daughter, had been his grandfather's choice. Not his. He didn't even know her, never spared her another thought, until he had heard that she was being pursued by the police.

He had been irritated that some unstable criminal was his grandfather pick for him. He knew that he was in no position to get offended by such a match, had demons of his own, but it had felt like his family no longer bothered about him. They had been bent on punishing him for all that he had done by trapping him in a business-like marriage. His irritation had then turned into morbid fascination. He wanted to bring his wife to justice. His grandfather had been begging him not to divorce her, to get to know her first.

However, upon turning on the audio, Zayan's heartbeat stopped a little upon hearing Nyla speak in a tiny voice. She seemed to have such a sweet and innocent aura, catching him completely off guard. This was the woman who was being suspected of murder, the woman he was thinking of divorcing? 

He had been a darn fool.

Charmed, shocked and captivated, he kept listening in an awestruck manner while feeling his heartbeat grow wild. Wow! This was insanity, He felt guilty of being fascinated by her, knowing beauty never equated innocence, yet he knew that this intrigue and infatuation would keep him more invested and dedicated in order to find the truth.

Mesmerized, Zayan knew that this world was full of beautiful facades. He didn't want to be fooled by another. Especially when the last one had caused him to spend five years in jail.

Feeling intrigued, he then started studying Nyla's profile.

Name: Nyla Khawar

Age: 24

Status: single

Ethnicity: born and raised in Embalia

Occupation: a struggling columnist

Background: when little, Nyla would often be taken to psychiatrists by her parents. Her medical details show that she used to claim that she would see some strange humans at night time. She was later diagnosed as struggling with an extreme case of schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. However, the symptoms of these issues started to diminish as she grew older. In fact, in 2005, she was declared healthy by her doctors, suffering from only a mild form of depression. (All of her medical reports have been attached with this file).

Family: she belongs to a middle-class family. Her father is a local shop manager while her mother is a housewife. Both of her parents are loving and kind. They show no signs of any irregularities and are adored by their community. Neighbours say that the Khawar family are the friendliest folks in town.

Her parents have also been called in for questioning, and they claim that Nyla is a sweet, kind and gentle girl who can never hurt a fly. She is fragile and easily gets overwhelmed. Her childhood problems still have a huge impact on her personality, but she is not the one who can harm a soul.