Hushed Confessions

Game Plan

Sajdaa Taha

"You're extremely stupid for believing this would work," I disapproved.

Malik grinned. "Oh come on. My plan is bulletproof."

Officer Nathan and I exchanged glances. Hamza pondered over Malik's words, his gaze narrowed in on the paper across from him. Malik had brought both Hamza and I into his office at my father's request.

Dad refused to have me alone with two males in one room without at least one of my brothers. Considering the fact that Ridwan was on a hospital bed, Hamza was the next best choice.

"I gotta agree with Sajdaa on this one. I highly doubt this is going to work, Malik," said Officer Nathan with a pointed look in Malik's direction.

Malik rolled his eyes. "All we have to do is find the next target. Then we can catch this guy."

I turned my attention to Hamza as Officer Nathan and Malik continued to bicker over the loopholes in Malik's plan. "What do you think?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Hamza lifted his dark brown eyes to mine. They were almost identical to Ridwan's eyes. Even the blank expression was the same. I found myself missing my older brother, praying to Allah that he would survive.

An image of Ridwan's pale lifeless body on the hospital bed passed through my mind. It was as if the painful claws of the past were pushing its way through my thoughts. I exhaled a shaky breath. Ridwan's troubles and sacrifices would not go to waste. I was going to find this killer.

"I think Malik has a point."

All heads turned to Hamza.

Officer Nathan scoffed. "Kid, I think you hit your head on the door too hard before walking in."

"At least I still have my brain," snorted Hamza.

"You're a real pain in the ass," scowled Officer Nathan. "Hell, you're worse than your sister."

"Hey! I take offense to that," I grumbled.

Malik's hand went to his forehead. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he muttered.

"Make sure you include yourself," I retorted.

Hamza cleared his throat, dragging our attention back to him. "Can we please not murder each other before we find the killer?" he questioned, staring us down.

We all mumbled incoherently. I gestured for Hamza to continue, getting myself comfortable in my seat. I had a feeling that we were going to be stuck in this room for a long time.

"As I was saying, luring the killer out is our best option. We need to find the next target and plan accordingly," explained Hamza.

Malik nodded as he pulled out a file and dropped it on the desk. "Let's go over what we know about the supposed killer."

"Well, we know he's into drugs like a majority of s*x offenders and criminals in America," I said, dryly. "Not to mention how easily accessible dangerous drugs are."

"What was that?" Malik craned his neck towards me, his palm cupping his ear in a mocking gesture to hear me better. "Sorry I can't hear you over the ocean of disappointment."

My lips cracked a smile.

"We know he's six foot tall with blue eyes," said Officer Nathan as he ignored our comments.

"Right," agreed Malik. "We also know that he has a habit of wearing hoodies to cover his face."

Officer Nathan mumbled under his breath. "Man, I'd hate to be his friend in high school."

Hamza stifled his laugh with a cough.

"Anway," Malik continued, "the victims that are usually targeted have some sort of connection to Sajdaa."

I looked over at his desk, the smiling faces of all four victims smiled up at me. Their teeth were bright against the sunlight, enough to blind someone. My uncle's gentle face stared back at me.

For a moment, I wished I could go back in time, so that I could have cherished my last moments with him. A heavy ache fell upon my chest and I hastily tried to ignore it. There's no point dwelling in the past. I had to focus on the future.

"I have seven classes every day," I added. I felt my face scrunch in irritation as I thought of the second death. "The Muslim girl didn't go to my school though."

"Did you know her?" asked Officer Nathan.

I racked through my memories. I glanced at the photo on the desk, she looked very familiar. My eyes caught onto her heart charm bracelet. Recognition rang clearly in my thoughts.

"She was a girl I used to tutor," I said.

Malik quickly wrote something down, tapping his pen against the paper. His hazel eyes stared hard at the sheet as if willing it to give him the answers he desperately tried to seek. There were creases on his forehead. His puzzled expression didn't go unnoticed by Officer Nathan.

"What got you thinking so hard?" asked Officer Nathan, taking a sip of his coffee.

Malik picked up his timeline for the deaths. "The first two victims were Muslims. The last two were white. There's a pattern here," he commented.

"Basically the killer isn't racist," I sassed.

Officer Nathan bit back his grin.

Malik sighed, "Sajdaa-"

"Yes yes, I know. I have to tone it down. I got it," I rudely interrupted.

Hamza frowned, "Do we know the religions of the last two victims?"

Malik searched his files. His fingers flipped through the pages, a blur of white, until they paused. He quickly pulled it out and laid the paper flat on the oak desk.

I peered at the words written on the page. Christian. Malik and I locked gazes with one another.

"That means the next two targets are Jewish," I stated.

Malik nodded his head.

"Wait! We only know the religion of the next victim. There's still a range of possibilities on which Jewish person will die," Hamza pointed out.

Officer Nathan groaned. "I was just about to say case closed."

Hamza raised his brow. "How are you even a police officer?"

"Because I'm incredibly sexy in this police uniform," he winked.

"Gross," grimaced Hamza.

Officer Nathan shrugged, "Don't hate on what you can't have."

"Moving on," interjected Malik. "Your uncle was the oldest victim. Since the targets are people you know, perhaps the next murder will be a Jewish person you're acquainted with."

"The victim will either be another student from your class or someone you've met in your daily life," said Officer Nathan after he finally decided to be serious. He was close to Malik's chair, observing the computer screen. "Has to be someone older than a high school student."

I looked back at the pictures. We were still missing something. I knew a lot of people, being Jewish only narrowed the search a little. I clutched my brain trying to think of any possible victims or any similarities the people I knew had with the recently deceased.

Wait a minute.

The genders had a pattern.

"Malik," I said. "Look." I pointed at the pictures.

"What?" he asked staring at what my hand was pointing at. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"The pattern in genders. Boy, girl, boy, and then another girl."

"So then the next victim is a Jewish boy," he finished my train of thought.

"Precisely."

Malik leaned back against his chair, stretching his arms and legs. Through the navy blue uniform, his biceps flexed. The shirt had tightened around his chest as he moved. I felt his foot touch mine under the desk. I kicked him back. Immediately his eyes met mine, narrowing at the smug look on my face.

"Do you mind giving me some peace for like two minutes?" he glared playfully.

I smiled innocently. "I didn't do anything."

A finger snapped between us. "Hey stop flirting!" said Officer Nathan as he gave us a knowing glance.

"This is not flirting, you dork," I huffed.

"Right. And I'm an independent black woman," he countered with sarcasm dripping off his words.

I rolled my eyes and brought my attention back to the case. Who was a Jewish male that I knew? In school there was a couple of Jewish students and they usually were quiet. There was two Jewish boys in my classes that I've had contact with. However, my neighbor was also Jewish and he was close to my uncle's age. In fact, my uncle and Mr. Hollen were extremely close friends. It made me wonder...

"You said that the victim couldn't be a high schooler, right?" I asked Officer Nathan.

He nodded.

"That means the only Jewish man that I know who isn't a student is my neighbor, Mr. Hollen."

"You think the killer is after Mr. Hollen?" asked Hamza as his eyes widened. "But he's so nice. Why would anyone want to kill him?"

"Because he was best friends with our uncle," I solemnly affirmed.

Officer Nathan let out a low whistle. "Looks like we got our victim," he stated.

Malik gazed at me, his hazel eyes watching my every move. I could feel his burning gaze. The room felt smaller as I stared back. His eyes were searching as if he was making sure that I was okay.

"We leave Sajdaa and her brother here."

"What?" I glared at him. "It's because you're scared I'm going to get hurt isn't it?"

Malik sighed. "Sajdaa, you know-"

"That a serial killer is ready to slice my throat? Yeah, Captain Obvious. I knew that already."

Malik cringed at the venom in my voice. "I know you can handle yourself, but throwing you at the killer is a bad idea."

I felt my eye twitch.

"Uh oh," commented Hamza.

"Throwing me? I'm going to whip this stupid killer before he can even touch me. That is my neighbor who might die because of me. I am going whether you like it or not," I snapped.

Malik pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering in arabic.

Officer Nathan put a hand on Malik's shoulder. "I know you're worried, but if we leave Sajdaa alone then she's at greater risk of getting caught by the killer. For all we know this could be a diversion," he said.

"I know that but we can't entitle her to such danger," argued Malik.

"Malik, I'm not a damsel in distress that needs protecting," I hissed.

Malik shot me a warning look.

I simply rolled my eyes at him. "I took out quite a lot of Ethan's men. I'm sure I'm fine," I reassured him. He didn't look convinced. Letting out a heavy sigh, I stood over his desk. "I promise I'll stay by your side the entire time."

"If Sajdaa goes, I'm going too. We got this," grinned Hamza as he stood besides me.

Malik examined our expressions, trying to find a reason to not let us go. Moments of silence went by, the constant ticking of his clock buzzed in my ear. The room was silent. No one moved, no one spoke.

Behind Malik, the sun let out it's hues of orange and red. The opaque colors splattered against the soaring skies. Not even the clouds could hide the beauty of the sunset.

A look of seriousness was on my face. I couldn't save my uncle, but I could save others. I wasn't going to let any more innocent people die at the hands of this murderer. Finally, Malik stood up.

"Nathan, call for extra units for their protection," he ordered.

Officer Nathan mockingly saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Sajdaa, Hamza, you will listen to every word that I say. No disagreements. Understood?"

We nodded our heads.

With a shaky breath, he said, "Let's go find ourselves a killer."