Offended

Chapter XIX

Warning: this chapter includes and mentions murder/sexual themes/assault. If you feel uncomfortable reading this, feel free to jump ahead or not read this chapter entirely. Stay safe :)

SleepyFerret

The now bloodied body bag was carefully zipped up and carried away by two men from the crime scene. Silent sobs could be heard as the mother and father of the girl wept next to one of the picnic tables, and yet Alex didn't move. The cries only fuelled her anxiety, knowing that Monika's parents could be the next couple drowning in tears. She knew she couldn't afford to mess this up, she knew there wasn't much time left. Only thinking about what could happen to the poor girl made her shiver. It was times like these she wished she had never taken this job, this path.

The sudden sound of a car engine snapped her out of the dark place her mind had wondered to. The gravel path crunched underneath the tires, an oh so familiar sound. She recognized the car almost immediately. A black BMW with tinted windows and shiny paint, almost new from what she could tell. Alex's boss was many things, show-off wasn't exactly one of them, even if he did like to brag about his wealth to some newcomers. The car door slammed shut and the annoyed look on the inspector's face told her everything.

"Good afternoon, inspector Wright" – the greeting held no sense of emotion. His response held so much more.

"Don't "good afternoon" me, Milford" – venom laced every word he spat out, - " I thought I made it clear when I said you were off the case"

"You did, inspector"

"Then how come you're still here?"

Alex knew that what he really wanted to say was "get the fuck out of here before I make you get the fuck out of here". She knew what she was doing was wrong, most probably illegal as well, but she couldn't let herself to stand by and watch as everything slowly goes down hill.

"I understand that what I have done is wrong and I sincerely apologise for it" – she wanted to say more, but she knew the inspector too well, she knew he wouldn't listen.

A satisfied huff was the only answer she got. Not seeing anymore reason to keep talking to the woman, Wright waved over to John and slowly started to walk towards his car.

"But I must object" – the detectives voice was loud and clear, - "I know you will not be satisfied with this decision, but I must stay on this case, whether you like it or not"

It was risk, an awful uncalculated risk that she was willing to take even if it meant losing her job. The inspector stopped, but didn't turn around. After a few moments of silence, he resumed walking, but was once again stopped.

"This is a life-or-death situation. I will not just stand by and watch everything happen"

The man whipped his head around and took a sharp breath, before finally looking at the detective.

"Four days, 96 hours, that's all you get and I'm being generous here" – Alex couldn't quite read the emotion in his eyes, - "I give you 96 hours to find that girl and bring her back alive. If you fail, the girl's life is not the only thing you'll be losing"

With everything said, Wright and John walked behind the car, further away from preying eyes and ears. Alex felt relieved, lighter if you may. 96 hours was not a lot, especially for an investigation like this, but at least it was something. The woman looked back at the crime scene. The blood had left dark stains on the wooden tables. She finally realized just how dark it truly was, the red and blue police lights illuminated the once dark woods and the street light became a spot light aimed right at the crime scene. The shuffling of feet, muffled voice and cries of sadness and anger. She has seen this scene before, time and time again, and yet this time it was different. She cared. All her career she has seen the same exact scenes through dark tinted sunglasses. Before, a crime scene was just a scene filled with blood and a dead body or two. But when she met Monika in that diner, when she asked her all these questions and listened to her story everything became way more vivid. Has the blood always been this red? The bruises that blue? The terror and fear that dark? She started to care, because before she had only seen the aftermath, the old scars and blood, but now she saw a person, a girl, a living being with feelings and emotions, something oh so fragile and so easy to break.

Monika is just a girl; she knows nothing of the world and what kind of horrible things it is filled with. She isn't supposed to know that yet, let alone experience it. 96 hours... Now that she thinks about it, she has no time. There are no clues as to where the girl was or is, what has and hasn't happened to her. Maybe she is already dead, just like all the other victims before her. Maybe there is no time left. Who knows?

The victims do and so do their records. There is one thing in common with every single murder and assault. The witnesses and fortunate survivors always mention one thing.

I saw him coming out of the woods.

Offenderman doesn't belong to me. All of the credit goes to his creator. Only the story belongs to me.