Undercover

Chapter 13

Emma's P.O.V

RING! RING! RING!

The faint buzz of the door bell met my ears from the other side of the door as I pressed the bell switch on the wall outside the house. 

I looked at my watch and the time read 7 pm.

I sighed. Today has been a long day.

I flinched at the memory of me torturing Jason when the door opened and a middle aged lady stepped out. She had dark rings around her eyes. Her face was creased with weary.

"How can I help you?", the lady asked as she eyed me suspiciously from head to toe.

"Mrs. Owen, I'm Emma Parker from the IAE and I have some questions to ask about your daughter", I told her softly as I flashed my ID, afraid that I might hurt her by reminding her of the torturous memories.

I watched the woman move aside, making space for me to enter.

"Please, come in", she said.

I stepped inside and removed my shoes, placing it on the shoe rack which was placed by the door.

"Please do take a seat. Give me a minute and I'll be back", she said in an emotional voice and walked away without even waiting for my reply.

The lady's eyes were brimmed with tears. I assume that she went to muster some courage to answer my questions. I shook my head to get rid of the guilt that was clawing the insides of my heart.

Emma you have to do this if you need to crack up this case!

I shook my head to get rid of my own emotions and then looked around to see whether I could pick any useful clues.

The house was well maintained from the inside. It was an average house that any person would love to live in. It seemed to have all the facilities. Photo frames hung from the walls of the living room. They displayed happy moments of the family. I knew the faces because I did my own research. Ella was their only child.

She seemed to not have any family problems from these photos, I mentally noted in my head.

I was brought from my reverie as I heard Mrs. Owen's voice from behind.

"I'm sorry, did I take long?"

I turned around to watch her enter the living room with blood shot eyes. They were swollen and glassy.

I pushed away the guilt that was resurfacing again and gave her a genuine smile as I shook my head in negative.

"Ma'am, I know that this might be hard for you. But, I need your help to crack this case. This case was handed over to the IAE very recently. And I promise that I will perform my best to find out these criminals as soon as possible to bring justice to your family", I told her confidently and gave her cold trembling hands a reassuring squeeze.

She nodded at me and pursed her lips into a thin line as she tried her best to suppress the tears from spilling.

"Did your daughter have a boyfriend?", I asked her as I watched her reaction carefully.

The woman nodded at my question and then sighed.

"She did have two. Not more than that. I know her, because she tells me everything. She started dating at the age of 17", she then continued with white trembling lips.

"How long was the first relationship?", I asked as I jotted down on my notebook hurriedly.

"It lasted only for two months", my eyebrows shot up as I heard her reply.