"Is someone there?" Reina asked as she turned on her living room light.
She was certain she heard a noise.
"Anyone there?" she called out the second time.
She made her way to the kitchen, but she didn't see anything.
Still not sure of what was happening, she grabbed a spatula from the counter and proceeded to make her way to the bedroom.
Just then, she heard a creak in the door and swiftly turned around.
"Who's there?" she demanded forcefully.
This time, fear slowly crept up her spine.
The sound came from the door leading to her backyard, so she went in that direction.
She spotted a figure, all dressed in black but with a white mask covering its face.
She couldn't make out if it was a man or a woman.
Then it occurred to her that she might be in grave danger.
"What is happening? Oh my child," she exclaimed as she put a hand protectively over her womb.
She dropped the spatula and ran to her bedroom to call for help.
But the figure was faster.
He grabbed her from behind.
Reina let out a shrilling scream, but it was muffled by his arms.
She noticed his hands, they were really huge.
She suddenly felt hazy everywhere. I've been drugged and about to be kidnapped, she thought as she slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.
The figure pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
"I have her sedated now, boss," he said onto the phone.
"Good, you know the rest of the plan, follow through," a male voice from the other end of the phone responded.
"Yes boss," he said.
"Number 3?" the male voice called.
"I can hear you boss," he replied.
"Hope it was a clean job?"
"Yes boss, I'm certain no one saw me."
"Good." the voice said as he hung up.
*********************
"I haven't been able to get in touch with my best friend now for over three days," Daine said as she reported to the police.
"When was the last time you spoke to her, Miss Diane?" The police officer asked.
"On Sunday evening officer," she replied.
"What did you and Reina do on Sunday evening?" he asked.
"We spent the entire day together. We saw movies, cooked and ate together, then I left for my apartment at 7:50pm," Daine replied.
"Okay, Miss Diane. Did she share any thoughts about what she would do during this week?"
"Yes sir, she said she would go in search of a job as she desperately needed something to take care of them." Daine replied, looking down.
The officer waited for her to give more explanation and when it wasn't forthcoming he asked, "by 'them', who do you mean, Miss Diane?"
"You see, she had just discovered that she was pregnant," her voice low and breaking as she explained.
"She needed a job because she wanted to be able to take care of the child when she gave birth"
"And who is responsible for her pregnancy?" the officer asked, taking notes.
"She's not married… She told me she wasn't willing to get in touch with the father of the child. The pregnancy was the product of one-night's sex. It wasn't planned at all. In her words, 'I wouldn't want to inconvenience him with this because we used protection'. I advised her to at least try to tell him about the child and if he was responsible, he would take care of his child. She told me she would think about it."
"We had this conversation on Sunday and since then I haven't spoken to her, so I don't know if she went through with my advice or not," Daine explained to the officer.
"Did she tell you who she slept with that night to get pregnant?" the officer asked.
"No officer, she didn't tell me who it was, I didn't even know she had a one-night stand until that evening."
"Her explanation was that it was a mistake that wasn't meant to happen, something she wasn't proud of. That was why she kept it to herself," Diane explained further.
"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Reina, Miss Diane?"
She broke down in tears. "Why would anyone want to hurt Reina? She is the softest person I know and so forgiving too. She forgives people for wrong done to her without them showing any form of remorse. She is such a good person, why would anyone hurt her?"
"I'm sorry about this, Miss Diane, and thank you for reporting this to us, although late. You should have come to us immediately when you discovered she was missing," the officer reprimanded her.
"Yes officer, I'm sorry, I assumed she went to see her mum. Because she didn't go over the weekend as she normally does. When I couldn't get in touch with her by the third day I decided to call her mum. She said Reina wasn't there," Diane explained.
By this time, she was crying uncontrollably.
"Please get a hold of yourself, Miss Diane. I promise, my team and I will do everything in our power to find her. The information provided has been helpful. Can you remember any other things?" he asked further.
"No Officer, except probably that she went job hunting. She mentioned she would seek one at Rylan's businesses," Daine replied.
"Rylan, the billionaire CEO?" the officer asked.
"Yes Sir, one and the same," Daine replied.
"Okay, Miss Diane. We would find Reina.
If you remember any other thing, please do not hesitate to reach out to us," he said.
"Thank you so much officer," Daine said as she got up to leave.
********
Rylan and Sons Enterprises.
"Good afternoon Officers."
"Yes miss …?"
"Miss Cheryl," Cheryl responded.
"Oh please hold on Officer, I need to take this call"
"Go ahead"
"Hello Sir?" She said on the phone.
After a minute, she responded, "Okay sir."
Officer Parker noticed a slight change in her expression, but she was quick to conceal it in two seconds.
She placed the receiver back on the desk.
"What can I do for you Officers?" she asked the two men standing in front of her.
"Miss Cheryl, I am Officer Parker and this is my assistant, Officer Ray," he said, flashing his ID. We're from the City Police Department and currently investigating the missing case of Reina Pratt. Does the name ring a bell?" he asked.
"No officer, I've never heard that name," Cheryl replied.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes officer, I am certain," she responded.
He pulled out a photo from his wallet and showed it to her. "Have you ever seen this lady?"
"No officer, I haven't" Cheryl replied.
He regarded her for a while and said, "This lady has been missing for some days but she earlier confided in someone that she would come to this company to apply for a job."
"Then she never showed up, because I haven't seen her before, and we aren't hiring at the moment," she replied coolly.
"Okay Miss Cheryl, I have no more questions for you now.
Thank you for your time."
"You're welcome Officer."
They stepped out of the building.
—--
"Could it be that she was lying, and she knows more than she's telling?" Parker asked.
"No, I don't think so, she seemed like she was telling the truth," Ray replied.
"Exactly. That makes it more confusing. The victim said she was coming to apply for a job here. Does that mean she never came?" Parker pondered.
"And what was that call about?" Ray asked.
"Yes, that. I also noticed something in her expression, but I couldn't quite place it, she was quick to hide whatever that was," Parker stated.
"Well, since there are a few loose ends to this, we would have to revisit this building. The next time we come here, we should have something that grants us access to more information, like the CCTV footage," Ray replied.
"Are you talking about a warrant?" Parker asked.
"Yes Parker, a warrant," Ray replied.
"But that would require new evidence. We can't just show up with a warrant."
"I know that Parker. "Hopefully, we will find one," Ray replied.
Where could Reina have gone? Parker asked into thin air.
Or worse still, who had gotten to her first?