chapter 17

Tessa and Robert hurriedly made their way into Logan's mansion, it seemed no one was home so the two entered the house since the door hadn't been locked.

The two made their way from one room to the next but there wasn't anyone around, there wasn't any trace of Salma anywhere. Tessa and Robert were about to leave the house when they heard a noise coming from inside the house, hurriedly they followed the sound to the kitchen and found one of the maids cleaning it up.

The two just realized they hadn't checked everywhere, "Excuse me lady, where is Logan?" asked Tessa.

"I'm sorry madam but the boss hasn't been home since 2 pm, he left in the company of his men Nate and Jordan. They were in such a hurry that I don't think they would return soon," replied the maid.

"But did you by any chance notice a human girl close by in the afternoon?" asked Robert, desperation beginning to eat him.

"No sir, I wasn't able to see anyone, I've been indoors ever since," replied the maid.

The two immediately stormed out of the room. They started losing faith as to whether they could find her alive at that hour. They had to move quickly and search even the nearby forest as she might have decided to go home alone.

It was morning when the two finally decided to stop their search and went back home. Tessa was so heartbroken by the sudden disappearance of her friend she took a long time in training. Robert was worse since that was the first time in his life he had decided to care about anyone. Salma had made him feel what no woman had been able to in his entire life.

Getting back to his room the memories of Salma filled his head that everywhere he turned he could see her. The room was still filled with her scent after the wild sessions that the two had. Robert dropped himself on the bed facing the ceiling, he had become really desperate not knowing what to do at that moment. Al that he could do was wait for his men to give him feedback from the search.

Robert was so lost in his own world when suddenly the ringing of a phone woke him up from his reverie. He suddenly got up when he realized that it wasn't his

mobile phone ringing. Checking through the pile of bed sheets that had been thrown during their sessions, he found the ringing mobile and immediately realized it belonged to Salma, it was 'sis' calling.

Robert waited till the phone stopped ringing and went through the phone. There was more than twenty missed calls all from her sister and mother. Robert lost any remaining hope he had held onto, Salma hadn't gone home.

It had been three days since Salma disappeared and there wasn't any sign of her. Back in town Salma's twin sister had been worried the moment her sister hadn'tbreturned after leaving early in t h e morning. Though Salma had really been stubborn and not listening to anyone, she had never spent a night out without informing her sister. This worried Alma who decided to call her mother

Having tried with no luck to reach her daughter, Alma's mother decided to go to the apartment that her two daughters lived at.

Salma's mobile had stopped ringing days ago and the two became worried sick about her. They decided to report her disappearance to t h e police station. Alma's mother Belinda had never imagined in her whole life that she would report about the missing of any of her daughters. Though she knew Salma had been a rebellious child since the onset of adolescence, she had been a good kid and would never let her worry that much

Arriving at the police station the two filed a missing persons report. The officer attending to them decided to interrogate them.

"How old is your daughter madam?"

"She just turned twenty years this month," responded Belinda.

"I've you done anything that could make your daughter want to disappear from home recently?" the officer asked again.

"No sir, in fact I haven't talked to her for the past five days, any other day we talked as usual, no differences between us whatsoever, replied Belinda.

"If you are sure then let's just hope that she is still around somewhere, recently there has been cases of unidentified bodies being found mutilated and abandoned in the forested areas of the country." the guard said pointing to Belinda where she had to sign. Belinda when he heard his statement felt a sting of pain in her heart, as though it had been pricked by a needle. What caused it she had no idea.

"And before I forget, is there any mark that can be used to identify your daughter, or any pictures you guys might have," the officer called back when Alma and her mother were just leaving his desk.

"Sorry sir I didn't carry any photographs with me, but here is her identical twin, it could help you identify her,"

Melinda replied as she brought forward Alma who had quietly waited for her mother to complete her statement. The officer looked up for the first time and was shocked to see the lady before her, she looked exactly the same as the body they retrieved two days ago at the forest.

"Madam I'm sorry about this but I would like you to accompany me inside, maybe you could identify some of the photographs of people we retrieved days ago, the officer said. Belinda felt all her strength leave her the moment the

officer informed her to go check on some photographs, did it mean that her daughter was one of the people found murdered in the forest? She has a bad feeling in her heart about this. Alma who witnessed her mother about to break down supported her and led her inside, following closely behind the officer who on most occasions had to slow down waiting for them to catch up. He could feel the pain that a mother experienced at such a time that had been filled with uncertainty.

The two were led into a room that had only a woman occupant probably in her mid-fifties, she welcomed the two and explained to them what had transpired the few days and how many parents had filed for their missing children. She then handed over photographs for them to look through. Belinda who at first glance knew that the woman being shown in the photograph broke into a loud scream and passed out. The officers who had been passing close by noticed what had just happened rushed in together with the old lady and helped Belinda up and took her to another room close by to recuperate.

Alma who hadn't seen the photos was shocked when she heard her mother scream and could already tell what had happened to her sister, with her shaking hands she took one of the photographs and looked through. She didn't even notice her mother falling to the ground as her eyes had been focused on the photographs.

Alma immediately recognized the dress that her sister had worn the day before she had disappeared. In the photograph she was lying in a thicket with flies hovering over her body. Alma felt tears streaming down her face

as she couldn't control the emotions that overwhelmed her body, she dropped herself on the chair as she lost control of herself.

When the two came around and settled the two were accompanied to the mortuary where the body had been kept awaiting identification by her kin.

The two cried in each other's arms as they viewed Salma's body. There wasn't any sign of struggle on her body that might have led to her death apart from a small scar around her neck. Even the offices were not able to determine the cause of her death. There has been a similar case a few months back but they hadn't been able to arrive at a conclusive evidence of the real cause fi such deaths. At that point there wasn't anything more they could do but continue with their investigation.

Belinda went back home to make the funeral arrangements, the news had saddened their kinsmen but they were there to support them with everything they needed. Alma's father had died when she was a young girl, it was now just her and her mother. The two just hoped that justice would be served one day.

It had been a week since the death of Salma, Alma had planned to move out of the apartment and relocate somewhere else as the house contained so much

memories of her sister that wouldn't let her move on. Al the family members has returned to their homes, it was just her mother that stayed behind.

Since the two had shared the same bank account, Alma decided to check the amount they had been left with to see what apartment she could afford. Opening their account, she was shocked to see the amount showed on the screen that the computer slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground.