Chapter 5

On my way to the station, I felt thirsty, so I decided to stop at the first grocery store I saw. When I entered the store, I saw some of my high school friends. We exchanged some hellos and continued finding what we want to buy. I went straight to the drinks section and picked up an energy drink. As I was about to turn around, I heard two ladies talking.

"That detective is really making a name for himself. I saw the trending post on F******k about how he saved a child at Reserve last Sunday." The woman in a red dress said.

"Yeah, I heard about it. And guess what, he's single." The other woman in a floral dress responded.

"He's practically a hero and a handsome one at that." The third woman in tight jeans and tank top added.

"He's not a hero; that's his job. Besides, that man is a jerk." The voice of the fourth woman was familiar, so I walked towards them. And there I saw the teacher of Krishna.

"Good morning, ladies." I greeted them.

The three of them squealed and smiled sweetly at me. But I focused my eyes on the teacher. She was shocked to see me standing in front of her. I smirked.

"Hello, teacher." I greeted her. The other women just realized that I might have heard what this teacher said.

"Det—detective, hi." She stuttered.

"It's Mary Sue, right?" I said to her.

"Uh—yeah." It looks like she already realized that I heard what she said.

"How are you? Did they lift your suspension after I saved your student?" I asked her meaningfully.

"I have to go. Excuse me." She tried to excuse herself.

"Take care, and maybe stop saying negative words behind people's back," I said before walking towards the counter.

After paying, I went back to my car and drove to the station. My mood turned sour because of that teacher. After her heartfelt apology, she then goes on to say that I'm a jerk? Does she think I'm not a hero? Fine! But I'm not a jerk! If I mistreated her the first time, she deserved it.

"Hey, man. Good morning. Listen, uhm—" Oliver was about to say something when I snapped at him.

"What!" I'm really not in the mood.

"Whoah! Chill, dude. What's wrong?" He then asked, laughing at my reaction.

"Tss! Nothing." I replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Come on, dude. What happened?" Oliver asked as he sat at my table.

"Remember that teacher from the missing kid's case?" I asked him.

"Yeah, so?" He replied.

"I saw her at the grocery, talking to some ladies who happened to be talking about me. And you know what she said? That I'm not a hero but a jerk. How could she?" I know I sounded like a child but could you blame me?

"Maybe she likes you." Oliver teased me with his eyebrows moving up and down in a stupid way.

"Shut up, man." I pushed him off my table and started working, but I was interrupted by an officer who said someone was looking for me. I walked out of the detective's area and saw my high school friend and his daughter at the lounge waiting for me.

"Chris, I need your help. Please, you have to help us." I was shocked by Calvin's reaction, and when I looked at his daughter, Sheila, who happens to be my godchild, she seemed so terrified.

"Sheila, hey, it's Uncle Chris. What happened?" I tried to ask her as calmly as possible. But Sheila started cried. It feels like my own daughter is crying. I watched this kid grew up.

"Someone did something terrible to your goddaughter, Chris. I am so close to losing it. I'm going to kill someone." I can clearly Calvin's struggle to stay calm for the sake of his daughter.

I let Calvin calm down and tell me what happened. And as he tells me everything, my fist clenched slowly and involuntarily. I could feel what he feels; the urge to take out my gun and just shoot whoever harmed my goddaughter is bubbling up inside of me.

"Calvin, I need you to stay calm and let me handle this, okay? I will do everything in my power to put this man in jail, you hear me?" I assured him. I will not rest until this monster is caught.

I take them to the desk officer to get their statement before grabbing Oliver, who is now eating, again, at his desk. I dragged him out of the station by his shirt's collar, all while he's still munching on his food.

"Wait, man. Where are we going?" He finally asked after swallowing the food in his mouth. I don't know why this man is always hungry.

"To an engineering firm, and you have to come with me. Or else, the thing you will hear about me is that I shot someone inside that firm. I said honestly.

"Whoah, chill! What happened?" Oliver was shocked and, at the same time, confused because of what I said. After I told him what happened, he walked to our patrol car without saying another word. One thing that Oliver hates the most is sexual predators.

It took us thirty minutes before arriving at our destination. As we enter the building, we immediately saw the mixed emotions of the people around us. Some were shocked, and some are irritated. I let Oliver talk to the receptionist while I look around, trying to spot the person we are looking for.

"Mr. Albert Humphrey is not here, sir. He didn't report for work." I heard the receptionist said.

"Where is her? What is his address?" I asked in an upset voice. I don't want to waste time if our suspect is not here. The receptionist gave Oliver a piece of paper.

"Thank you," Oliver said to the receptionist.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Who are you looking for?" A medium built and a tall man in a black suit approached us. He's smiling, but his smile didn't even reach his eyes.

"Albert Humphrey," I answered briefly.

"I think you mean Eng. Albert Humphrey?" Then tried to correct me.

"I mean, Albert Humphrey, where is he?" I asked again.

"Why?"He asked, smiling as if he's trying to test me.

"Are you the owner of the company? If not, then we can go. Thanks for your time." Chris turned his back on the man walk away.