The Truth Will Come Out, It Always Does

"So this is what the idiots used to write that stupid message."

It was a young goat. She was young and healthy, other than the fact she was dead. The bullet hole in her neck had seen to that. It lay at an unnatural angle, legs splayed out and it's back painfully arched. Something, or someone, had ripped its stomach open and drained its blood. Stevens felt a pang of nausea coursing through him and looked away for a moment.

"You think it's a student?" Job asked Stevens, the stench of the dead goat also hitting his nerves.

"No. I don't think so. This killer is way too experienced. God forbid he might even be the one who had killed the young girl." Stevens remarked.

The sound of a car engine shifted their focus. It was William's car. It was dilapidated and rusting. The Volkswagen Beetle was ragged and its tires were bald. William did not see the need of buying another car when the Beetle was serving him well.

"Let's see what the old man has to say about this." Stevens said and left for William's car.

William was not a happy man when he alighted. He had just gotten out of a call with the Managing Director of Arabella Academy in which a very fierce argument was involved. Never in his life had he faced such a crisis and it was taking a heavy toll on him.

"Seems like that junkie's giving you more discomfort than what's happening here," Stevens remarked, giving them a light moment that was much needed.

"Oh trust me, even driving this treasure here with no seats will give me far more comfort than what I'm facing right now. Job, will you now please go and ring that emergency assembly. I am tired of being treated like shit." Job nodded and rushed to ring the bell, eager to hear what was in store for them.

William eyed Stevens and asked, "Any new developments?"

"Actually yeah. Turns out that the blood used to draw that message I informed of you earlier was got from one of the school's goats, it had been butchered and its blood sucked."

William took and deep breath then let it out slowly as he waited for the emergency bell to stop ringing.

"Do you think this had to do anything with our students?" William asked absent-mindedly, his mind wandering far away.

"To be honest I don't think so. Whoever killed that girl was a cold-blooded murderer. I don't believe we teach students of that kind here."

"Well we better hope so, because this thing is still troubling my mind; and everyday it seems like it's just getting worse."

"Don't worry old man. The directors have much faith in you."

"At the moment it seems like that faith seemed to have died with the girl. The directors are on my neck since it took place. I can only hope that we find out what really happened here yesterday morning."

"We will William. The truth will come out. It always does."

***

Marcus was getting used to the emergency bells as part of his life. This was the second time it was being rung and he was getting tired of it. He wondered why they couldn't simply just use the speakers connected to their classes to relay their message.

"Now they are calling us to make us sit for a test based on Sheila's murder." Jeff complained. It was his natural habit to try and come up with explanations as to why certain things usually happened, especially where one was lacking. Marcus saw it as Jeff's way of sarcasm and appreciated it during times when things weren't going easy for him.

They found other students assembling and joined them in waiting to hear what was going to happen. The teaching staff seemed to be equally in suspense as they debated on the possible topics of discussion for the abrupt assembly.

The school was quietened by the arrival of William and Stevens walking side by side. They formed a threatening figure with their stern faces portraying that they were not in any mood of humour. Marcus thought to himself that it was their no-nonsense faces which earned them their respect and status at the prestigious school.

William walked to the front of the podium and looked intensely at the crowd of students that was before him. He tried to come up with possible suspects in his mind but failed at it. He took out the glasses he was wearing and scratched his forehead, a normal habit for whenever he was stressed out by something.

"I know that we are not used to having this much interruptions in our daily activities but as you are already aware of, these are not normal times," he began, his voice deeper than usual. The school was in dead-drop silence, with everyone noticing the importance of what he was about to say.

"I will have to admit that in all my years as Principal of this school. I have never encountered such a situation like this. It is an incident which has not only shook the school, but the whole community in general. This thing has baffled all of us, and up to this point I can't exactly figure out why someone wanted to kill a young innocent girl. To be honest the girl was better than three quarters of you. God only knows the kind of grief the family of Sheila is going through. Therefore I don't understand the reason why someone would do the foolishness displayed at the crime scene. I don't know whether it's one of us or an outsider, and honestly I am deeply disturbed by that message. I don't have a clue as to who the warning is to. So I am still trying to get to the bottom of this, but let me tell you one thing, if that action at the crime scene was the doing of one of our own students, I promise you will pay dearly for it, very dearly."

He let that information sink on the audience for some fifteen seconds before speaking again.

"Anyway, we have arrived to the inevitable. Due to the preceding series of events the administration has no choice but to suspend school for a period of two weeks in order to give way for a thorough investigation. The short holiday will also assist in helping you come to terms with what had happened and restore your souls to a state of calm. I know most of you are happy, but just ask yourself, did my happiness have to come from someone's death? And as someone just told me before I came here..."

He glanced at Stevens and then took his eyes back to the students.

"The truth will come out. It always does."

***

Marcus was looking for Jeff. They had apparently been separated after the assembly with students rushing in all directions to pack and leave. Jeff had taken his drawing pens and Marcus needed them if he was going to enjoy his stay at home.

"Hey, Michelle, might you have seen Jeff somewhere? I'm looking for him." Marcus asked Michelle. Michelle looked miserable. The loss of her best friend had caused a whole ton of grief on her. Marcus couldn't help but think she looked cute in her grief.

"I saw him last near the principal's office," Michelle replied shyly.

Marcus left Michelle and went ahead to find his best friend. He reached the hallway near the principal's office and looked around for Jeff. The hallway was nearly deserted, and one or two students could be seen emptying their lockers. He was about to leave the hallway when a loud remark from the William's office caught his attention.

"What do you mean the investigation's been cancelled?!"