{Yandere EreMika} Only Mine...

Chapter 23: December 2nd

Agent Ritchard's POV

A word was never spoken between Lopaz and I- even when we were searching for the staff members. School was just about to end... and I couldn't find where this Hanji Ackerman was. As we waited for the time to speak with her, Lopaz and I were busy compiling the evidence that we have collected here.

"It just confirms everything that we got at the station." Lopaz said, but his pen continued to circle around December 2nd and we both knew something about that date. "First... let's figure out what to say to her. She'll be defensive when we talk about her niece being suspected as the murderer."

"Can't bring up December 2nd right off the bat. She'll get suspicious and go defensive."

Lopaz nodded his head in agreement. "Gah... why does this have to be this difficult?" Scratching his head tends to be his way to relieve stress- though he uses a rubber band on his wrist to help relieve it. Just a snap of his band on his wrist maintains his control. Though... he always resumes to his scratching habit. "Tsk..."

The bell suddenly rang through the emptied halls- then the halls were no longer empty. Kids were all racing out of the classrooms and hurrying towards the front doors- or just any doors to escape the school's grasp. That's when we spotted her.

"There- room 113." Lopaz said as we saw a woman with messy brown hair and a pair of glasses on their nose. We never said anything else, but we knew exactly what to do. We got up and started to walk towards the woman. "Excuse me-"

The woman turned around with her face frozen in panic. "Y-Yes?" She stutters nervously, but I knew exactly why she's really nervous. "May I help you?"

I nodded, taking over Lopaz's role a bit. "Yes. As we already introduced ourselves earlier this morning, we can skip this, Mrs. Ackerman."

She nods her head, opening the door into her empty classroom. "Of course, of course. Please, come in and out of the traffic. At least in here, we can get some sort of privacy."

Entering into the cold classroom, there was this shuddering chill falling over me. Being in the school was no problem- but the classroom was truly the place of where my memories laid. Every tiny detail... a single moment here made me wince. The classroom was always a chilling nightmare within my prison of a mind.

"D-Did you guys need anything?" She asked, looking towards us. Her hands attempting to not cradle her stomach. I could see it... "Agents?"

Without a proper strategy, we started to ask her about the one other thing she treasures most. What almost all mothers would truly care about. A choice to see which one she prefers- her husband or her child. "When did you get pregnant?"

Her hazel eyes were gleaming with surprise when her hands finally reached to her stomach. Her bottom lip quivering- as if we revealed her greatest secret. That... I wondered a lot. Yet it wasn't her greatest secret. Something else- she was hiding it.

"Mrs. Ackerman, when did you get pregnant?" I asked again.

"I-I found out about a week ago..."

"Forgive me Mrs. Ackerman for delving into personal matters," Lopaz began, "but have you been sexually active? Having a kid once your niece is in high school... that just makes things curious- doesn't it?"

Frozen with fear, the woman sighed. "What does this have to do with those kids?"

"We aren't just investigating this case at the high school." Lopaz said with confidence. "We're also investigating the case from your old high school. We believe these cases are connected- as they are similar in nature. Now- please answer the question."

She sighed heavily, "Mikasa is growing so much- I miss the idea of having a baby in my arms."

"But..." I stated, "you never had Mikasa when she was an infant. You had her right before she reached her double digits. So it makes me wonder... does that relate to December 2nd?"

Color began to drain from her face when I said that specific date. No doubt that it involved her. Those rumors we collected proved us... useful. At least we might get some information from her regarding those murders and not these... but it's best to solve a mystery like this instead of returning home without changing anything.

"Mrs. Ackerman, what does December 2nd mean to you?"

Stammering with her face blanked out as she tried to speak. I let her take her time- but I knew that if she took her time, she would create this facade. A lie over the truth. But we can expose that truth if we could. 

A few seconds was all she need until she began to tell her little tale of December 2nd.

"I was pregnant... with Levi's kid. I was reorganizing the kitchen when I tripped on some plates. When I fell, I tried to catch myself- but it only made me land on some knives. I-I have hospital reports of it to prove it. I lost the baby... and I was told to not try for a baby for months... but when my niece was orphaned... I had to take her in. I just had to."

"A mother's intuition." Lopaz chuckled softly. "I understand. December 2nd was the date of the incident, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

I nodded my head, taking it in with a grain of salt. "Thank you for that, Mrs. Ackerman. May your pregnancy be successful. Take it easy and don't stress too much."

We left her alone to tend to her life. Though... I will admit... something about December 2nd startled her. Maybe she was telling the truth about the incident about her losing a baby... and it explains her dormancy of having a baby... but the fact that she might've lost her baby because of cleaning and knives happened to be out and about? Something wasn't right... something... wasn't... right...