Chapter 12: More questions

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Your greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look. ~Caesar.

Gia paced about the room, pondering on what to tell Liana's parents who were waiting in the living room. She had been dreading this moment for so long but it was inevitable. She had to face it will all the strength she believed she had.

"Gina!" Her mother called. Gina's stomach shifted uneasily and she went to the door and opened it. She could feel her pulse pounding as she headed towards the living room. She entered and saw Liana's parents wearing black suits. They had come straight from work, that was obvious..

"Where's my daughter, Gina?" Mrs Tran spoke, freezing Gina in her tracks.

"I don't know where she is," Gina said, unsure whether to proceed and greet them.

"How is that possible? You two were tight as thieves, always together. We left her here because we thought she'd be safer but what did you do? You put her in danger."

"Don't talk like that, Karen." Her husband said.

"Why not? It's the truth. These people-"

"These people are our friends who have been taking care of our daughter, something you never did."

"It's okay," Gina's mother said. "I can understand how she feels right now. Could you please get us some water, Gina."

When Gina came back, the parents were silently watching the TV. She placed the filled glasses on the table and stood aside to see what was going on.

"Another girl has been reported missing," the female news reader said. "Hellen Den has not been seen since she left for college this morning. Whether she's been kidnapped is still unknown."

Gina left the room immediately and ran up to her bedroom then locked it. She quickly dialed the unknown number but no one answered.

The door bell rang and after some minutes, Gina was summoned by her mother. She put her phone in the front pocket of her shorts and went to the living room.

"Detective Barnes wants you to go with him to the station," Gina's father informed her. "We'll come with George and Karen."

"But why do you want to question me again? I told you everything I knew last time."

Detective Barnes stood up. "Will you come willingly or not?"

Gina's mother gasped. "Hey, don't treat my daughter like a criminal. Of course she'll go willingly. She was just inquiring."

"Yes, ma'am." The detective said and walked out. I followed him.

"What is it that you want now?" Gina asked.

"We found something," he said, opening the car door.

"What?" Gina's heart skipped a beat. Her breathing quickened.

"Get in the car," he said. Gina did as told and the detective started the car. "Something doesn't feel right. You're quite strange, Gina Breya. You don't seem very sad about your best friend's disappearance. Had the two of you quarreled?"

"No."

"Then why don't you seem worried? Do you know where she is?"

"I'm worried," Gina said, though she felt she wasn't worried enough. "Just because I'm not an emotional wreck doesn't mean I'm not. I've always been a very calm and collected person. You can ask anyone who knows me. It's true I don't feel as much emotion as other people even when I try to. You're a detective. You should know that people are different."

"Yes, I do. I also know that people like you can be quite dangerous."

Gina stared ahead. This man wouldn't understand how hard it was to be who she was. He probably didn't know what it was to be so addicted to something that you couldn't stop doing it however much you tried. She looked at his car keys and felt like reaching her hand out for them. They were beautiful, and she wanted to add them to her collection. She wished for Liana to come back so life could be normal again.

At the station, detective Barnes presented her a set of keys. Her eyes lit up when she recognized them. They were from her most precious collection which had disappeared along with Liana.

"Do you recognize them?"

"No," she lied. She was a compulsive liar so it was easy. "They seem quite familiar but maybe that's because they look like regular keys. Why? Am I supposed to recognize them?"

"Not necessarily," Barnes said and removed a jacket from under the table. "I thought you would since it was found in this pocket. Do you recognize this jacket."

"Of course," Gina said. This was the point where a normal person would cry but Gina had no tears. "It's Lia's. She was wearing it on that day? Where did you find it?"

"The search volunteers found it in the forest," the detective said. "I wonder why you are not volunteering. Your behaviour is quite suspicious."

"I haven't had the time."

"These keys belong to Corian Hospital. They were stolen a few years ago. Did Liana ever talk about Corian hospital? Do you know if she'd ever gone there?"

"Are you insinuating that my best friend stole them? Liana is not a thief. She's never stolen anything."

Barnes observed her. "What about you?"

Gina gasped. "How can you suggest such a thing? Why don't you do your work instead of pointing fingers at innocent people?"

"I'm doing my work and I assure you, I'll get to the bottom of this."

"Okay."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Dylan Ineroya reported his keys missing. He claims that he last saw them on Sunday evening. He forgot to lock his door and when he realized, went to check and found his keys missing. That was the night you were around his house. I hope you don't have anything to do with that."

Gina hid the shock very well. The keys were on her bedside table. She needed to go home as soon as possible.

"Do you think Liana took the keys?" The detective looked directly into her eyes.

He suspected something.

A/N: Gina is in a bad situation. Do you feel bad for her or not?

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