"The victim was abused at home. It's a clear case of abuse,and it wasn't just her DNA that was found at the scene of the crime." Amanda said in annoyance as she threw the report she just received on the table.

Richard rubbed between his brows to appease the headache that was now forming. He knew very well what Amanda was talking about and he understood the reason for her anger but he was in no position to do anything especially since he received orders from above.

He leaned across the table and made sure his voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"I know what it is you are saying but then, this is an order from the chief." He said to her.

There was only one person Amanda knew that could influence the chief's decision. And she hated to admit it but of this person was involved then there was only very little she could do to save this woman.

"The mayor?" She asked him in a whisper.

Richard nodded and relaxed back in the chair he was seated on. They were the only ones in the interrogation room. Amanda was nursing a coffee which was famous in the station due to its strong taste. There was just something about the coffee. The officers said it was made with love and the person who had come up with the coffee was a rookie named Jacob Joseph. Also known as JJ. Sometimes, she felt the officers were playing a trick on her and that wasn't really his name.

Amanda took a sip of the coffee as she tried to control the rage she felt.

"Okay, I understand that but then, what about her family members? There is no one with her and she is barely hanging on to what little life she has." She said to Richard.

The victim was covered with scars from her head to toe. It was not a nice sight to see and even Richard with all his trianing, had to avert his eyes anytime he saw the picture or the victim in topic.

Richard sighed. He really needed her to drop this matter.

"Look, Amanda. You know how much the mayor's family donates to our facility. You know how much we need him and you also know if you keep on pokenosing on this matter, you will be suspended." He said to her with a helpless look.

"Suspended? For trying to help a victim? Unbelievable." She scoffed with her hands folded across her chest.

"You know we are just pawns to the chess game at hand, we could hope to be either pawns or become queens or a sacrifice." Richard said to her.

"So I should choose which side?" She asked him with her mouth twisted in anger.

"What I just told you, was exactly what the chief said to me. We could play this by the book, Amanda or we could very well choose to become the sacrifice but one thing is for sure, stay out of this." He said to her.

Amanda kept silent and just stared at him. Richard nodded. He had passed on the message and now, it was time to leave.

"I'm going to take my leave." He said to her as he stood up.

Austin who had been observing from outside the interrogation room took that as a sign to step into it.

He turned to Amanda who still say with a scowl.on her face.

"Come on detective, where is that lovely smile of yours?" He asked her with a wry smile.

"No where near you." Amanda said to him.

"Okay…..but we still have that sparing session scheduled right?" He asked her.

"Yes. And you are so going to eat dirt." She replied to him.

"There is no way you can make me eat dirt…" Amanda turned to him with a raised eyebrow immediately he said that.

"Fine, fine. But not again." He said to her.

The last sparing session they had, Amanda had beaten him until he fell flat on his ass. Austin was a huge man and towered over Amanda but she was still able to defeat him. He called her a snake, after that. Her moves were very trucking to see and anticipate. No wonder she was a detective.

"Am I missing something?" Richard asked them.

"I beat him black and blue. Along with all your other people. You should really invest in women, we move better." Amanda said to him with a wink.

"Move better?" Austin asked her with a scoff.

"And we are scary too." Amanda said, ignoring him.

Austin made a noise in disagreement and with a smile, Amanda stood up from the cahir she was seated on, she was just three steps away from Austin when he flinched and moved back.

"See?" Amanda asked Richard with a smile.

"Well, I have to go now. Till we meet again." She said and without a second glance, she walked out of the station and moved to where her car was parked.

She only had to wait for a few seconds before someone else entered the vehicle.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him in anger but he ignored her.

"Your father doesn't want you in the station for some time. You get a week off." He said to her.

"What?" Amanda asked in anger.

"He has someone informing him of everything and he doesn't want you in this case." He replied to her.

"Michael, am I getting suspended?" She asked him.

"It's not really suspension. Be reasonable, Amanda. You will make a good detective one day but it will not be with this case." Micheal said to her.

"And there is a reason why I want to be involved. And if I want to become a detective then this case would make the way for me do t you think?" She asked him.

Micheal sighed. He knew there was no way he could convince her to let go. But it was an order and he had to make sure it was carried out one way or another.

Most people already referred to Amanda as a detective and she knew she wouldn't be a traffic cop for long. She would become the detective she wanted to become. She drove to the hospital and took out the fruit basket she had purchased on the way and made her way to the emergency room.

The girl turned to look at Amanda who gave her a little smile as she walked into the room. She dropped the basket on the bedside table and took a seat next to the girl.

"Has he been caught?" The girl asked her hopefully.

Amanda swallowed. What should she tell her? That the police department wanted her out of this case? Or according to Richard, they wanted her to stop pokenosing?

"How about your family?" Amanda asked her.

"My family…..I have no family." The girl said to her.

Amanda noticed the pause before the girl said she had no family but she kept quiet. She was sure the girl had a reason.

"Did you get him?" The girl asked in a very scratchy voice.

"I am not in charge of the case. Although an officer will come with a lawyer soon. You can get a high compensation." Amanda told her.

"The only compensation I want is to see him behind bars." The girl told her.

"You mean, the police are not going to do anything? I cannot take him to court?" The girl asked her with tears in her eyes.

Amanda knew how painful it was. She understood what the girl was passing through and it wasn't just any abuse she had been through. She was cut on purpose. What type of sick creature does that, just because he could not take her to bed? Amanda picked up the file by the bed. The girl's name suited her perfectly. Amanda was sure the girl was really a flower.

"Lily Price." Amanda said with a smile.

"You have a lovely name." Amanda said to her.

Lily turned to her like she had gone mad. What did her name have to do with anything right now? She had been abused by a psychopath and she was being told to settle and yet the officer she had trusted was telling her she had a lovely name? What did that have to do with anything?

"I'm sorry, I couldn't do more." Amanda said to her with a bow.

—-------------------------------------------------------

Amanda stepped out into the cold June air. After that apology, Lily had broken down in tears and ther was nothing she could do. She was a policewoman and she wanted nothing more to protect the citizens of Chicago. That was the main reason she strives to be a detective. Can she really achieve that? Could she make it happen?

She had just gotten to her car when her phone rang. It was a call from Micheal. Amanda rolled her eyes but answered the call.

"I'll send you a vehicle tomorrow. You move to a remote island." He said to her immediately. Michael hardly ever wasted time with formalities.

"I can drive myself." She told him.

"Your father doesn't want to. He wants you safe." He told her.

"And I do not care what he wants. Neither of you control my life. I have hands and I can drive myself. Pick up the vehicle when I'm gone." She told him coldly.

"Amanda." He called in warning.

"It's a little request, Micheal. Don't pretend like it's something huge." She said to him as she ended the call.

She released an annoyed sound. Her family members especially her father always knew how much to annoy her. They were willing to go that far just to make her stop interfering with the case?

"Fuck!" She cussed out in anger.

—----------------------------------------------------------

She entered her home and switched on the lights. The staircase was getting bad and even with a the complaints, the landlord still refused to fix it and there was no way she was going to contact her father for help. She sat on the sofa and browsed the said destination. Micheal was sending her to Mamoudi Island in Malaysia. Amanda had never heard of it but she wanted to see the place in pictures at least, before she got there. There were only a few landscape photos taken by locals.A pristine island, located in the middle of the sea, not yet fully developed, and inhabited by a large number of locals.

This was the first time Amanda had gotten a paid vacation since moving to Chicago. It did not matter if her father had been the one behind it, she was excited for this.

Even after everything she had said to Micheal, he still sent someone to pick her up and Amanda knew it would be rude to just leave the person standing there especially in the early hours of the morning.

"Have fun." Gregory, who had come to pick her up told her immediately he dropped her off at the airport.

"I'll try." Amanda replied to him.

"I sent you the contact information of the tour guide." He said to her.

"Hmm." She replied to him with a small nod as she moved towards the airplane.

Amanda slept in a luxury hotel for her first night and then the next day, joined the yacht which had her tour guide in it. Micheal had explained that she wasn't the only one on the yacht. It was a group of ten people with four couples. The only single people happened to be her and a fifty year old woman. Amanda could not understand the woman. The woman tried everything to get a rise out of Amanda but she was not paying any attention to the woman. She never cared about her. And besides, there were other couples for the woman to disturb but she chose Amanda.

Amanda just kept on observing the vast blue sea and ignored the woman. They had stopped at a beach and everyone went about their own business. Amanda sat on a lounge with a hat over her face to protect her from the sun as she scrolled through her phone.

It was around three in the afternoon when the tour guide approached her.

"Hey, are you just going to sit there all day?" He asked her.

Amanda gave him a raised eyebrow as a reply and he took that as his cue to sit next to her.

"Let's go diving." He said to her as he pointed towards the others who were jumping into the sea. How had she missed that? Amanda asked herself.

The tour guide was a Chinese Malaysian, dark-skinned, but in his early twenties and Amanda could see very well that he was interested in her. Had he never heard of subtlety?

"Thanks but I'll sit this one out." She said to him with an apologetic smile.

"Are you sure? The water is really nice for this." He told her.

"Yes, thanks though." She said to him.

"Okay, if you change your mind, I'm not far away." He said to her as he walked away while Amanda went back to watching videos on her phone. But even her phone could not appease the boredom so she placed her hat over her face and went to sleep.