The Trial Of Alyssa Miller (Teen Thriller)

3. You, Me And Everybody

Detective Howe left the precinct around lunchtime and headed for the hospital. He received a reprimand from the chief of police and a call from the mayor when they found out what happened in front of the Miller residence. He was told the trial must proceed the next day. As he made his way across town, he couldn't help but frown. Something was unnerving about it all. He felt it deep in his gut. It was like that time when he and his team were ambushed during a deployment overseas. He knew something was coming, he felt the heaviness in the air, but he couldn't tell what it was, when it'll come or how it would present itself. But he knew, trouble was around the corner.

It wasn't simple. No one in town made sense. After everything they learned about those damned bones, the community and even the local government insisted on their belief. But no matter how ridiculous it was, the community did have a point. The evidence supported it, however... The blaring of a horn from behind his car got Howe to step on the gas. He maneuver his car with caution and soon, he was parking his vehicle in front of the town's hospital. As expected, there were people gathered in front of the building with big cards and slogans that demanded justice.

He could only shake his head when he saw Martha and Barnaby, two of the most insistent and notorious people in the community when it came to the demand for justice. He got all their information on his second day in Tarika. Both of them were parents to two of the skeletal remains found near the bank. He must have met them years prior but at that time he barely made an effort to give it his all. It was insane to question a twelve-year-old girl back then, but perhaps, it was due to that languid demeanor of his towards the case that he missed something. That something that could have prevented the agony of seven parents and the delay in burying corpses which could have given closure to their broken hearts.

The years of waiting must have seeded a tumultuous amount of pain inside their hearts that they had now turned into heartless citizens, craving nothing but blood. It was obvious in their eyes. Howe was not innocent with those looks; the projection of spilling blood and inflicting pain through the eyes and body language. He was after all a murderer too. Not in a criminal sense, but he had aimed to kill and at some point, needed to spill blood to quench his pain and fears.

It took him a few minutes to fight off the bodies that blocked his path while making his way inside the hospital; thankful that he need not draw his gun and fire a bullet in the air. An act that constantly invoked fear in his heart, returning him to scenes from his past. That was something about him that he must keep hidden because it could cost him his career.

The scent of alcohol and bleach wafted by his nose the minute his feet stepped on the tiled floor. And as the air conditioning soothed the warmth in his body and dried the perspiration on his forehead and armpits, he couldn't help but tilt his head up and drag a breath.

"Detective, we've been waiting for you."

Howe instantly recognized whom the voice came from. It was a scanty-looking cop named Peter. The kid was too energetic for his liking, but he had no choice. He was the only officer tasked to assist him every day.

"Had she woken?" Howe asked as he proceeded to walk towards the staircase.

"Yup, she woke up an hour ago."

"Are her parents with her?"

"No sir, but her brother is there."

Detective Howe sighed and then asked, "Which one?"

"The eldest sir, Jhon Miller."

Upon the mention of the name, Howe instantly froze on the staircase. He turned around and looked the young cop in the eye before he asked, "I thought her older brother was out of the country?"