He walked among the kids sadly when he felt a hand pulling his shirt. He turned his gaze and saw it was little Anna. The latter handed him the beanie and looked at him with a smile. John was so glad that Angela had left a piece of memory before her departure. He rubbed his fingertips gently on the cap and kissed it with all his heart.
•••
He entered his house and closed the door behind him.
"Where were you John?",asked his wife while pealing some potatoes.
John placed his keys on the table, still wearing the same sad face when his wife said:
"The fan has stopped working again"
John looked up at the fan, then tried playing with the switch button to light it on but it was of no use. So, he bought a ladder and climbed on it to repair the fan:
"Where are the groceries?"
Huh?
"Where are the groceries, John?",Nancy asked.
"Oh ughh...I...I forgot",he replied.
"Are you alright?",asked the wife with a worried tone.
"Yeah",he said. Then he climbed down to search for a screwdriver.
He was adjusting the two broken wire of the fan while holding the screwdriver in his mouth when Nancy said:
"Oh god, John!"
"Huh?"
"Father Martin had come to see you in the morning"
"Okay",he replied, quite surprised but continued his work silently.
•••
"How are you John? Won't you come inside?",father Martin asked him by welcoming him inside the church.
"No, I seek justice from the law, not from god",John replied, then he removed the beanie from his pocket and showed it to Father Martin.
"This..This is the same cap she was wearing when she was kidnapped",he explained.
"Look, A and M; Angela Miller", he exclaimed while putting his hand on the cap where the alphabet "A" and "M" was well-stitched in the middle of the strawberry design.
"Where did you get this?",Martin asked a little surprised.
"A little girl from "Little Flowers Deaf and Dumb" orphanage was wearing it. You know the Imambara at the Hooghly? It was donated to the orphanage from there",he explained.
Martin shook his head and was looking at the cap.
"How did it get there? Who gave it to them?We must follow this trail..",John suggested.
"We can find the kidnapper",he said with a little hope in his voice.
Martin blinked his eyes and frowned when he replied:
"John, it's been 8 years...Why don't you forget it and find another way to attain peace?"
"Martin...Martin..listen", he said desperately trying to convince him.
Martin looked away and handed him back the beanie. John stepped backward and took the cap then left by walking.
He trudged when suddenly he turned his back and faced Martin when he said:
"I'm not going to run away from the situation like you, Inspector Martin. You are trying to shy away from your responsibilities by becoming a priest now. You're only trying to hide behind those white ropes. You had promised me. You forgot, but I didn't", he said with a calm voice, then left.
Father Martin stood and stared at him as he walked away. The words from his mouth were too truthful and straight that it hit him so hard that he was left with no words.
•••
He repeatedly kept kicking up the stand of the scooter when a voice said:
"You always fail to understand. That crime was never repeated again. Criminals are the creatures of mind, they can change their location but not their habits",said father Martin as he walked towards John.
"I'm sure he left the city",he guessed and sat on the scooter while the old man was repairing the brakes.
"It's almost impossible to find him",he continued still sitting.
John left him a stare and they both looked at each other when Martin realised he needed to get off from the scooter.
"My heart says I'll surely find something",John said while repairing it.
"Justice? How will you get justice? For that we need to go to the Imambara. Your scooter is a piece of junk. How about my bike?",he asked by gesturing his hand.
John didn't respond to his talks. He kicked up the stand again and to his luck, it was working. He sat on the scooter with Father Martin behind him.
"Do you know anyone at the Imambara?",Martin asked.
"No",he replied then they both left on the scooter on their way to Imambara.
YOU ARE READING
Angela✓
Mystery / ThrillerJohn Miller is a broken man. His life was destroyed when his precious grand-daughter, Angela Miller, was abducted and murdered. Likewise, Martin Gas, the investigating officer, was so shaken by the case that he had quit the force and turned to the p...
