Friday

6:00 am

Beep, beep, beep, beep...

Laura woke up early in the morning. With the sound of her alarm clock ringing like hell on her bedside table. She stretched out her arm and turned it off.

She was feeling sluggish and sleepy like she did not sleep all night. She covered her face with her pillow and gave herself thirty more minutes. Before she got up on her bed and fix herself to go to school.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She removed the pillow from her face and yawned, "Who is this?"

"Laura, comes downstairs, we need to talk," Michelle said with a nervous voice.

Laura opened her eyes wide and looked toward her door. "Mum, is everything okay?" She anxiously asked her.

Michelle quickly replied, "Come downstairs, I will tell you" and she left her bedroom door.

"What did I do wrong?" Laura mumbled to herself.

She sat on the side of her bed, stretched her body, and wiggled her two feet. She put on her rainbow flip flop and go straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

After Laura brushed her teeth. She goes downstairs. She was surprised to see her father sitting on the couch beside her mum in his police uniform, with a man sitting opposite them in a fancy suit and a brown satchel beside his right left feet.

Because usually when Larry worked the night shift. He came home around 8-9 am. But by the looks on the faces. Laura immediately felt there is something was wrong. She approached them like a turtle and her heart want to get out of her chest.

Larry looked to his right and saw her coming. He quickly said, "Oh, Laura, you are finally here. This is Detective Brown, he is here to ask you some questions."

Laura was confused. She asked, "Detective? Dad, what is going on here?"

"Just, sit down Laura," Michelle soughed.

Laura anxiously sat on a couch in front of them, with a million thoughts going on in her mind. She was trying to figure out, what is going on and what did she do wrong.

Detective Brown took a medium-sized notebook and a black pen beside him on the sofa table. He looked at Laura and said, "Good morning, Laura."

Laura jumped out of her imagination and replied, "Good morning sir."

"Do you sleep well?"

"Umm, not so bad."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure!!"

Detective Brown opened his notebook and asked, "Do you know Zoe Bee?"

Laura was stunned by his question. She said, "Yes, I know her"

"Who is she for you?"

"She's my best friend."

"How long you two, had been besties?"

"Since when we were in Kindergarten."

"When was the last time you saw her or get any contact with her?"

"Umm, yesterday after school. She gave me a ride home. Since then, I did not hear from her."

"It was what time that?"

"Umm, I will say around 14:30."

"After school. Where did you two go?"

"Nowhere."

Detective Brown lifted his right eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

Laura looked at him straight in the eyes, "Yes, am very sure. She just gave me a ride home and she told me she is going straight home to study History. Because we have a History test next Monday."

"Did you notice anything odd, with her?"

"What do you mean?" Laura had no idea what Detective Brown was talking about.

Detective Brown started to explain to her, "Like, she was showing signs of afraid of someone or did mention anyone had been threatened her."

Laura shook her head, "No, she did not. She did not mention anything about getting threatened and she was behaving like her usual self.

Then Laura realized that Detective Brown asked her too many questions about Zoe. She asked him, "Why you are asking me a bunch of questions about Zoe? Did something happen to her?"

Detective Brown gave her parents a sad look and he closed his notebook slowly.

Laura immediately took it as yes. She started to get panicking. She asked them with a frightened voice, "Tell-tell me the truth. What is going on here? And what happens to Zoe?"

Michelle started to sob.

Laura looked at her mum with sadness and asked, "Mum, why you are crying?"

Michelle replied with a quivered voice, "Laura, we don't know how we will tell you this."

Larry whispered, "Just tell her Michelle."

Michelle shook her head, "No honey. I can't do it."

"Do you want me to tell her?" Detective Brown asked them.

Laura was so frustrated that they were talking like she was a giant wall. She stood up and shouted, "Tell what? What is going on here? Can someone tell me what happened to Zoe?"

Michelle took the courage and said, "Calm down Zoe." She got up on the couch and go beside Laura.

She made her sit beside her on the couch, held her hands, and took a deep breath. She said, "Laura, Zoe is gone."

Laura let go of her hand with shock and asked, "Gone? Gone where?"

Michelle wiped her tears and said, "What am trying to say, honey. Zoe is dead."

Laura felt like someone play a recording in slow mode. But she did not believe a single word her mother told her. She asked, "Mum, is this a joke? Because it's not funny."

Detective Brown said, "No Laura. What your mother told you right now, it's all true."

Laura was still confused. She looked at him, "But-but, how did she die? What happened to her? Because she was perfectly fine yesterday."

"Well, yesterday around 20:05. We receive a call from Mr. Bee and he told us he saw her daughter lie in the barn, covered in blood. When arrived at the scene. Zoe had already gone to heaven."

"Zoe hurt herself?"

"No Laura. She did not."

"So, why she was covered in blood then?"

Detective Brown took a minute and said, "Her head had been smashed, she was stabbed numerous times, and her throat had been slashed."

Laura's face turned white with fear, she opened her eyes wide and asked him with disbelief, "What are you trying to tell me right now. Zoe had been murdered?"

Detective Brown nodded his head slowly, "Yes Laura, she did."

Her whole world crumbled around her. She began to scream and cry with all her strength. Michelle wrapped her arms around her shoulders and tried to comfort her.

Larry told Detective Brown to let her get some rest.

Detective Brown got up on the couch and walked toward Michelle and Laura.

He gave Laura his card number and told her if remember anything that will help him solve the case quickly. Do not hesitate to give him a call.

Michelle took the card into his hand and put it in a flowerpot beside her.

He put his hand shoulder Zoe and sympathize with her, "Am very sorry for your loss."

"Shall we get going?" Larry asked him.

He nodded his head, "Yes, let's go" and they made their way to the door.

Laura was still on the couch and crying with all her strength. She was also angry with herself. Because she was not able to defend her best friend.

She got one couch and ran to her room. Michelle followed her from behind.

She slammed her bedroom door and slid with her door slowly.

Michelle knocked on her bedroom door and asked her to let her in.

Larry came behind Michelle, wrapped his arms around her waist, and told her to let Laura have some space. She needs time to digest that horrible news and they left her bedroom door.

Laura put her head on her pink fur carpet and closed her eyes.