Hide and Seek

9 hours...

"Okay, Inez. Then what?" Teagan pushed.

"Then, I found out that the hairstylist's name was Vince, the best hairstylist in the world to be honest. He managed to replicate the hairstyle, to be honest it was even better than-"

"That's not what we are talking about Inez!" Zahara slammed her fist on the table.

"Calm down Zee." Teagan places a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'm calm Teagan," she hissed. "But she needs to stop playing around and tell my why she went to jail."

"I'm getting there, hold on." Inez muttered.

"You're not getting there fast enough."

"I thought maybe my whole story could be connected because it confuses me."

"Fine, just keep talking then."

"So, after I got my hair done, the police showed up..."

'"We got an anonymous tip that there were drug dealings going on in this salon," one police officer said.

"Officers, I've worked in this salon for five years and there has never been a single drug deal here." Vince told them.

"I've worked in the police force for five years and there has never been a time I didn't hear that," the police officer responded.
He gestured for his team to begin searching the entire salon. The told us to stand in a line up against a wall, and turned the whole place upside down.
I had never been so humiliated in my life, and to top it all off, they searched my handbag and guess what they found?

Drugs.

Drugs that were not even mine, and I had no clue who put them there.

"Whose bag is this?" The police officer asked and everyone who was in the salon looked at me.

Those traitors.

I slowly raised my hand. "It's mine but I have no idea how those got there. They are not mine."
One of the police officers stepped close to me. "Ma'am, put your hands behind your back."

I obeyed and did not try to fight them off, but I kept trying to tell them that the drugs were not mine.
As they were dragging me out, Ezra walked in.

"Ezra," I breathed.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Inez? What's going on?"

"Ezra help me. Someone put drugs in my bag. I don't know whose they are and now I'm getting arrested." I sniffed.

"Officer is there a way we can talk about this?"  Ezra asked. "Without the handcuffs?"

"No sir. Unfortunately not. She will have to come with us to the station, where we will question her. I suggest you contact your lawyer."

"No, Ezra, please don't let them take me. Dad is going to kill me if he finds out."

"Inez, don't say anything until we get there."

They continued to drag me out as I called out to Ezra. "No, no, no, Ezra please don't let them take me. I can't go to jail."

"We will get you out Inez. Don't worry," he yelled after me as the policemen pushed me into their car.

"Don't tell anyone, especially dad," I managed to say before I was sitting between two police officers in the car.

Ezra and the lawyer, Mr Upton, didn't take long to arrive at the police station and I got to talk to them.

"Ezra, you didn't tell anyone right? No one knows right? Dad doesn't know right?"

"Yes Inez, I didn't tell anyone. Now, what were you doing there? And why were there drugs in your bag?"

"I don't know Ezra. I really don't know. I was only there to get my hair done and then the police showed up. Wait, what were you doing there? No, actually, it doesn't matter. Please help me get out of here. You're the only one who can help me. I promise you Ezra, I have nothing to do with those drugs. I swear on my life."

"Okay Inez. I believe you."

"You do?" I wiped away the tears that were spilling on my face. "You believe me?"

"Yes," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "I think someone wanted you there. And they wanted me to find you there. But who? And why?"

"Someone wanted you to find me there? How come? That doesn't make much sense."

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either." He kissed his teeth. "Anyway, Mr Upton is going to get you out in a few hours. Make sure you go straight to the mansion."

"Okay, you didn't tell anyone right?"

"I didn't tell anyone Inez."

"Okay, thank you Ezra."

As he had said, Mr Upton managed to get me out in a few hours and I was back in my bed at the mansion. For a few weeks I was walking on eggshells, afraid that people would find out. But nope, no one found out anything, and Ezra didn't tell anyone like he had promised.'

"Were the drugs really not yours?" Teagan asked.

"Yes. I hadn't bought any because the stash I had was at home. I'm not stupid so I don't carry them around. I always leave them at home and my dealer delivers them to me."

"How?" Zahara asked.

"Do I have to tell you? You could get me arrested."

"I'm a police officer. I will be the one arresting you if you don't tell me," Zahara gritted.

"This is off the record," Teagan interrupted. "It's for the investigation. Nothing will happen to you, I guarantee it. Right Zee?"

Zahara exhaled and gave a brief nod.

"I'm in charge of some of the charity work that our company does and every two months boxes of items we purchase come over to the mansion for me to check and sign. My dealer delivers through there."

"So, I'm assuming your dealer works at the organisation?"

"Bingo." She winked at Teagan.

"Anyway, you visited Ezra on the week he died?"

"Yes. Everything was quiet for two years the suddenly I received a picture of me in handcuffs on the day I got arrested. Ezra was the only one who knew about it so I just assumed he took it and now he wanted to blackmail me or something."

'"I got you out of jail, only to blackmail you two years later?" Ezra asked. We were standing by his door, he didn't let me in. "Why is it so hard for you guys to believe that I actually wanted to protect my siblings?"

"Siblings? Who else is in trouble? Eli? Dilean?"

"None of your business Inez. I'm not the one who sent you that photo and I don't know who did it so just leave." He slammed his door in my face.'

"It was a very brief conversation, but yeah, that's what it was. After that I went to the airport. I was going on a trip that the organisation had planned, and when I came back, I heard the news."