Chapter 6: The Little Girl in the Picture
*** At XXX Crime Investigation Office ***
April was still concerned about the little girl's picture that she found in Erick's wallet two nights ago.
She couldn't have a proper sleep for two days now just thinking about it.
"Good morning!"
Bryan greeted everyone with a bright smile as he entered the office.
Everyone greeted him back except April.
Bryan furrowed his brows as he noticed April who was staring blankly in front of her table while playing with a ballpen in her right hand.
She looked like her mind was somewhere else. Bryan just shook his head.
He sat down on his seat and continued observing April. His table was located in front of April's table.
After a minute passed, Bryan couldn't stand it anymore. He walked towards April.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to notice the presence of another person beside her table.
A light tap on her shoulder woke her up from her train of thoughts.
She turned around to see Bryan staring at her intently and looking so serious.
"What?" She hissed, obviously she was not in a good mood to joke around with him right now.
Bryan pouted as he sensed her annoyance in the tone of her voice
"Hmm, I should be the one asking you that 'what'.... what is bothering you right now? What happened in your weekend that causes you to be in a bad mood right now?''
She just sighed upon hearing his question.
She was in dilemma right now. Should she ask him right now about the picture or not? Maybe he could give her an answer since Bryan was the closest to Erick among them.
Bryan noticed that she was still thinking. He just kept silent and waited patiently for her answer.
Rose also arrived in the office and upon entering she saw the two of them looking so serious and very quiet.
"Are they having a lover's quarrel so early in this morning?" she mumbled to herself. She decided to join them.
"Do you know who is the little girl in the picture that Chief Inspector Lee kept in his wallet?" she asked.
"Huh, What do you mean little girl?" Bryan asked her as they both heard another voice, it was Rose. They didn't notice that she was already standing in front of April's Table looking at them.
"What? Did you scan and search his wallet without his consent?" Rose was shocked as the realization hit her.
Her friend did a search operation looking for a photo inside their Chief's wallet thinking that she might uncover the truth about whether their Chief had hidden a photo of his girlfriend.
And it was all about curiosity...-but remember curiosity kills the cat. The worst case is.... it was done without his consent.
April did not respond and just smiled sheepishly while looking so guilty. Another person came to join them. June thought that they were having a meeting early this morning.
"Is there a new tough case assigned to us?" June butted in.
"Yes, our friend did something illegal. It was against the rights of privacy of our beloved Inspector Lee, haha " Rose laughed at her own joke.
June didn't know what was going on that's why he was confused right now. Speaking of Inspector Lee, Erick who just entered the office saw his team gathered together at April's table.
The "Magnificent 5" was complete.
"Hi guys, good morning! What's the commotion here?" he greeted them.
The four of them looked towards the direction of that voice. They saw Erick standing one meter away from them and he was smiling widely while looking at them. The four of them wore different expressions on their faces.
"Good morning Inspector!" only June greeted him back.
"Oh right timing, You're here, we were just talking about you", he added.
Bryan "....."
April "..."
Rose "..."
The three persons beside him were dumbfounded and became speechless.
They didn't expect that June will be that slow-witted. Why he has to say that to Erick?
The three of them glared sharply at June like flying daggers.
If just glaring could kill someone, June would be dead right now having thousand of daggers stabbed in his whole body.
April stood up immediately from her chair and bowed her head while saying "Sorry Chief, I did something grave this time. Hope you can forgive me".
"You feel sorry about what?" Erick asked her. He didn't sound angry at all.
"I-I… last Friday… Chief Lee," April struggled in her explanation as she didn't know how to justify her action at that time. She didn't want Erick to know that she did it because she likes him.
The four of them just stared at April waiting for her response. "Chief Lee, last Friday, I accidentally saw a picture of a little girl in your wallet."
She really used the word 'accidentally' to lighten her punishment just in case.
Bryan and Rose glanced at her meaningfully. They didn't know whether they should cry or laugh.
April dared to lie again with their Chief.
Erick chuckled "Haha.... is that the reason for the commotion this morning? Don't worry. It's not a big deal."
He tapped April's head. She blushed. "Are you all curious about her?"
"Yes," Bryan answered immediately.
"Is she your childhood sweetheart?" Bryan added.
That question earned another chuckle from Erick.
He could see in their eyes that they were really eager and interested to know who was the little girl in the picture.
"Ok, since you are all interested. I will tell you what I know about her".
"Her name is Ma. Belle Elliese Falcon. She was the only daughter of Agent Cedrick Falcon and His beloved wife Jasmine Montenegro."
"Agent Falcon was the Former Head of Phoenix Special Task Force. He was my father's best friend."
Erick glanced at them and they looked like they didn't want to interrupt him, so he continued his story.
"My father used to tell me that they were a wonderful family. However, everything changed after that incident 15 years ago.
"Mr. and Mrs. Falcon together with their parents, helpers, and the security guard were massacred."
"It was a classified case that is why no media was allowed to release any news information about what happened 15 years ago."
"Their daughter was reported missing. They never found her body. That was one of the mysteries that my father was not able to solve when he took charge of the investigation."
"Unfortunately, the case remained unsolved until now. 15 years had passed but they couldn't find any clue. Ma. Belle was declared dead.
"But my father believes that she is still alive out there. He made a promise to his best friend's grave that he will find her no matter what."
"And I plan to help him fulfill that promise."
"The picture that I am keeping right now is the only picture that we have. It was taken when she was 10 years old. Uncle Cedrick gave it to my father, and I guess my father also sent him my photo."
"Every time they had a conversation, Ma. Belle and I were their number one topic."
"They also planned to have a reunion for me and Ma. Belle to meet. But it never happened because of the tragedy. And that was her story."