The Midnight Cop

Chapter 11: Things Fall Apart

Let's see how Hailey explains the puzzle, how Kiara takes it in and what step will be taken.

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"Wait, mum, what are you trying to say?"  "That dad is not my father?" Kiara pestered going crazy at the moment. She had lived 20 years, taking the wrong man as her father. This brought her back to her childhood. When she was born, she lived at a bigger house with an old couple and she was nannied by a young lady. She scanned her memory and found out that, she knew Collins after the day her mother went for promotion, with her little brain then, she could picture her mother crying, and wailing while the man they live with Mr. Andy consoles her, sooner or later, she could remember that it was Mr. Collins then, who came to take them to his house. Though she was just 5, yet she remembered a lot.

"No, my brain is playing games with me, my brain is toying with me" Kiara lamented. While trying to picture Collins in her first five years on earth, she had a dated album too, it was the day they left Mr. Andy's house that Collins started to show up in her album. "Mom, I thought there was a tangible reason why he wasn't there those first five years. I had planned to ask him" Kiara continued to cry, with both parties crying none could console the other. Stream of tears from their eyes filled the atmosphere with, sorrow, sadness mixed with disappointment.

"Yes, you have the right to be disappointed in me, though, I'm the only one who understands my predicament" Hailey finally said when she regained her voice.

"What do you mean?, What predicament is so worse to give me to someone that's not my father?" Kiara retorted, getting fueled with her hot temper.

"Kiara, my girl, let's settle this amicably, I don't have to lose the only person I have, I'll narrate the details to you" Hailey explained.

"Wow, I came home to ask about Stephen Archer, see here something new I'm to tackle" Kiara soliloquizes.

"By the way, I heard you mention Stephen Archer earlier?" Hailey asked.

"Yes, do you know him?" Kiara replied.

"Hmm, we were at least 25 years, when it all started, your police station was the best nationwide, due to the unity and togetherness, but it crashed all of a sudden when a murder case happened". Hailey stopped, she cleaned her tears and cleared her throat, "this Murder got everyone on deck, Collins, Archer, Jude, Chris, Jane, Sandra, Veronica. We were junior detectives then, we all started to work hard. I remember that I was sent to Ms. Damien's place with Archer and I observed that she had an interest in Archer".

"Then what did Archer do?" Kiara questioned.

"He did not observe it, later on, we left the place and we had found a jacket at the scene, it was torn in bits, Mr. Andy ordered Jude and Archer to mend it at the NPTD (National Police Tailoring Department). They stitched it and we found out that the jacket was that of a police detective of the station, except that the logo had been removed. Our boss, Mr. Andy then told everyone to bring their initiation jackets, then while Archer and I carried out another order, he pleaded that we stop by at his house, so that he could pick his jacket. On getting to his house, his door was wide open, his house was scattered and his jacket missing, he was shocked, there was no way he will convince other detectives though I believed him". Hailey coughed continuously, and quickly rushed to the kitchen to get water, her mouth was dry, it's been long that she had any long discussion.

"Mum and this Stephen must have had a close relationship, mom has not portrayed him badly as others have done" Kiara thought. "Sorry mom" She said as Hailey comes out of the kitchen with two glasses of water.

"Thanks" Kiara mumbled as she collected the water.

"As I was saying, we had no choice than to report to the police station, we got there and Archer was painted black, he was thrown behind bars, he had no one except himself, so I took it up to cook for him. Collins took up the responsibility of tormenting both of us, because of his jealousy, that day I brought him food and I slept over outside the cell of the police station. The next morning, I rushed home to prepare breakfast and I brought it, he ate and later I heard that I killed my family because of Archer" Hailey narrates.