The Night They Went Missing

Breonna

This day did not go how I expected it to. Nothing about this day was normal. As the day went on, I realised that this killer had been playing me all along. I had been playing a losing game. A game where I didn't know the rules or who I was up against. But by the end of the night, I did.

The morning sun blinded me as I lifted my head up off my desk, the footage still playing on a loop on my laptop. Squinting at the clock, it read 09:00am. Soon I would have to meet Philando.

It still shocked me at how I was working alongside him. The one person I thought I would never have to see again, is now the person I am about to see.

Taking a cold shower, I ran over what I would say and where I would start. I wasn't going to leave that house without a potential lead on who that man might be. The man that's responsible for both Tanisha's death and Atatiana's disappearance.

Even though I was determined to find this man, panic started to rise in my chest as my heart rate quickened. What happened if I couldn't do this? What if I'm not good enough to do this? I knew this wasn't the first time I've asked myself these questions and it wouldn't be the last. The thing is, these thoughts never leave you, not really. No matter what I do, they are always talking on repeat in the back of my mind.

As I stepped out of the shower, I grabbed my leggings and hoodie while tying my hair into a ponytail. Janisha was leaning against the banister as I stepped back into the hallway.

"Hey, you still going to Philando's?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've got to get it done, Jan. I want it gone and solved."

"I know but look just be careful. I don't trust him."

Even though her face didn't hide her worry, I couldn't help but laugh. Philando was many things, but he wouldn't hurt a fly.

"I'll be fine, I promise. I can use my self defence techniques from those classes all those months ago." I demonstrated some moves playfully, making a small smirk appear on her face.

Months ago, I had took some self defence classes after meeting a client that seemed sketchy. Being around them, it made me feel uneasy like I should always be on alert. Don't get me wrong, I know how to throw a punch and where to kick, but I really didn't know much else.

Taking those classes helped. Learning new skills in fighting made me feel stronger and more protected. But as I got less time to attend those classes, I decided it was better to quit then keep paying when I weren't going to be there. As many people say, life got in the way.

"Call me if anything happens, OK?"

"Alright I will." I pulled her in for a hug before her phone started to ring.

We both knew it was her boss and as we locked eyes, we both burst out laughing. How she still had a job fascinated me.

She quickly grabbed her phone and answered as she ran down the stairs.

Once the door shut, I walked into the office once again and glanced around. The jacket was folded on my desk chair with the torn photo on top with the flash drive waiting on the desk. All the evidence right here in front of me and yet, I still couldn't figure out where they led too. And who they led to.

Quickly grabbing the jacket and flash drive, I placed them in a bag and folded the picture into my pocket. It was a shame, really, that this person would never be able to live the life she wanted too. And if I didn't solve this case by tonight, neither would Atatiana.

I quickly made my way downstairs, said goodbye to Minnie and left the house.

The music played loudly as the nerves began to set it, my knuckles turning white from the grip on my the wheel. This had to be it. Tanishas husband and Atatiana and her family deserved to get peace (at least some peace) from this case. After tonight, this would all be over.

Soon, I drove to the address Philando texted me this morning. His house was different to his last one with it being larger and now detached from the other houses on the street. Fields lay behind it with ranges of different animals such as horses and cows grazing on them.

Slowly, I knocked on the door and waited for the door to swing open. It was only a matter of seconds before the door opened and stood before me, was Philando. His hair was wet as if he had just got out the shower and his eyes looked me up and down. The powerful smell of bacon and eggs flew through the door, hitting me instantly.

"Hey, you're here. Well come on in, I've made your favourite." he stood to the side, allowing me to walk inside.

"Thank you, but I don't plan on staying for long."

"How come?" he asked as he closed the door behind us and lead me into the living room that was attached to the kitchen.

"I want this case solved and once it is, I'm out of here." 

I looked around the house, boxes scattered the floor with different items inside them. Some furniture like a couch and a mat lay on the living room floor, but other than this, his house was quite empty. I wonder how long he has lived here for.

Placing the items we had found on the couch, he turned his head to look as he carried on cooking the bacon.

"These are some of the evidence found. The jacket at the hotel Tanisha and this man stayed at, a torn photo from where I found the body. I need you to test this jacket to see if there is any DNA that could help us figure out who's behind this."

He walks over to where I placed the items and picked the jacket up. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed as something in his expression changed. I couldn't place my finger on it, but as quickly as the expression had came, it quickly disappeared. 

"I'll get this checked out for you." he placed the jacket back on the couch as he turned back to carry on cooking the food, his voice gone cold.

Looking around, I became interested in the boxes he had scattered around. I rummaged around in the box nearest to me to see what else he had to unpack. Inside, there were multiple cups and plates, but what caught my eye was a photo. A photo that didn't seem to match the others that were in the box. It wasn't placed in a frame like the other's, but was folded up, almost like it was hiding from the eyes of curious people.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess. I still haven't managed to unpack and get completely settled in yet." he called out from the kitchen, but I wasn't focused on him.

As I unfolded the photo, I realised that half of the photo was missing. In the photo, he was stood on a beach with half his arm missing from the tear down the middle. Casting my eyes back to the photo I placed next to the jacket, the tears were identical. The beach was identical. Everything about the two pictures were identical.

That was when everything clicked like a light bulb going off in my head. The expression when he saw the jacket was realisation. It was the realisation of his own jacket that had been found. The pictures placing both Philando and Tanisha together and the fact that his boxes hadn't been fully unpacked settled the realisation that he doesn't intend to stay here. He doesn't intend to stay once this case is over.

Maybe I was overreacting and my mind was going to wild places, but once my eyes glanced towards the door, he was waiting there. Standing in front of the door, blocking my way out while his eyes were glued to the photo that is held in my hand. He had no intention of solving this case, but just framing it on someone else.

"I really wished you didn't have to see that. You just had to place your nose in business where it didn't belong." he sighed as he slowly locked the door.

My heart began to beat faster, pounding against my chest as I realised, I wasn't going to get out of this building. Not unless it was in a body bag.