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Miranda Fontaine never thought that her parents would look her in the eye and lie to her. It's been eighteen years since the disappearance of her twin brother. Eighteen long years since her parents said that her brother went on a trip and never returned. She knew they were lying. And so she dedicated her entire life to finding out the truth behind her brother's disappearance. What she didn't expect to run into was a web of lies of deception more than thirty years in the making. A once renowned surgeon turned mafia lord, a secret from her mother's past that was buried twice. Secrets her father held that not even her mother knew of. She suddenly finds herself at the centre of the burning family feud. Maybe her brother wasn't dead after all. Maybe he did die. And maybe she will lose her life trying to uncover the full truth of the matter.
Chapter 1 001
Miranda's POV:
I glanced at the street before us. Pine street, with its quaint mom and pop shops. It used to be lively, especially along this time of the year as winter approached. But today it was dark and gloomy. Residents had shut themselves indoors, windows and doors bolted shut. They had gotten wind about the officers that disappeared her last night, and everyone was on edge.
"lets start by questioning." I said to Ferdinand. His hand went to his pistol at his hip holster, a sign that he was feeling threatened.
we headed to the bakery where they had been last spotted before they vanished.
"Yes, they were here. Kind men, both of them." The owner of the bakery, a middle aged woman in leopard print said.
"Did you notice anything strange after they left?"
She adjusted her glasses on her nose bridge. "No, nothing at all. They bought their usual doughnut and coffee, and they left."
I turned and glanced at Ferdinand. His hand was still on his gun. I gently tapped his hand and motioned for him to calm down, he was scaring the old lady.
"Thank you ma'am, we'll be sure to ask around more. And if you notice anything more, don't be scared to give us a call."
She nodded, and her wrinkled face lit up with a smile. Just as we turned to leave, she called us back.
"There was something! Oh dear me, my memory isn't the best."
A spark of hope lit up in my chest. "What was it? What do you remember?"
"There was a bike. And a man on the bike, he followed the officers. Ah yes! I remember now!"
"A bike? What did it look like?" Ferdinand asked.
"Ah, I can't tell, young man, it was big, and oddly silent."
I smiled gratefully. "Thank you, ma'am, you've been helpful."
"Please, I hope you find them. They're our regular and most cherished customers."
"I and my partner will do our best." We bade her goodbyes and left.
"A silent bike." Ferdinand said once we were outside of the bakery.
"There was no bike on the traffic cams."
"Or maybe we missed it. We'll have to go back and --"
"Officers!" a loud shout tore through the air. We both turned to see a boy running up to us. His eyes held fear. He raced up to us and slowed down, breathing heavily and sweating.
"What is the matter?" I asked.
He pointed a shaky hand down the street. "T-the kids! They found something in the back! Oh thank the heavens you're here!"
Ferdinand and I exchanged a tense look. "Show us," he said.
He nodded and ran off in the direction he had pointed in. we followed behind him and got to the backyard of a shop. The place was clustered up with bags of trash and broken furniture. But that wasn't what caught my eye. A few parents stood around, cradling crying kids. We walked up to one of them.
"Ma'am, Officer Fontaine here. What happened here?"
The woman looked at us, her eyes holding the same fear I had seen on the boy's face. She pointed at a pile of trash. "The kids found it. They saw..."
Ferdinand headed over to the pile of trash.
"Everything is going to be okay ma'am. Please step back." I did my best to move them all out of there. My heart thumped furiously. I could almost guess what was happening.
Ferdinand made a call to headquarters. Our eyes met and he confirmed my fears.
**
Bars weren't my thing.
But today called for it.
Ferdinand, myself and his girlfriend sat at the bar, drinks in hand and faraway looks in our eyes. I swirled my straw in my glass of mojito, toying with the mint leaves insdie. I had drank half of it and then my stomach closed up. The music thumped through the walls, vibrating everything. I hardly heard it.
I could still see them, officers Stuart and Kevin. Their faces bleached of all colour, eyes dull and glassy. I could still see the flies that swarmed around their bodies, heavy and loud, as if they had ben dead weeks when it was only likely a day.
Their bodies bore signs of torture. The fingers on each their right hands had been cut off, and it wasn't clean. Same with their toes. There were signs of strangulation, and rope marks all over their bodies. The looks of horror etched onto their faces indicated that they had suffered a lot before they died.
A clean kidnap. Severed fingers and toes. Body horror.
This wasn't just any kind of homicide. This was targeted. This was palnned. And it was effective.
I sipped my drink and sighed. No matter how many times I come across a dead body in this line of work, it doesn't make it any easier. And I am reminded that humans have capacity for great evil.
The three of us sighed at once. I turned to them and we shared a tense smile.
"How are you?" Erica, Ferdinand's girlfriend asked with a kind smile. She was a stunning supermodel. She and Ferdinand had been together since high school, and they were inseparable. She also knew about our current tasks and assignments. One of the kindest and sweetest people I had ever met.
"A bit shaken," I said. "it's hard to believe they're gone. We saw each other last week."
"Oh well, its out of our hands now." Ferdinand said with a sigh. "FBI has stepped in, they're gonna handle this."
"I knew it was related to the underground." I replied. Ferdinand met my eyes, a silent warning not to continue. I pretended I didn't see it. "It's probably one of the bigger families. Probably Federico and his goons."
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