Hushed Confessions

Framing Roger Rabbit

Sajdaa Taha

I sat in front of Malik's desk. I silently surveyed the other officers. There were three in the room. Besides Malik were two other officers.

One had jet black hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was tan. He noticed my stare and his jaw clenched. My eyes narrowed at the movement. I've been here for five minutes. I've barely said anything and this guy was already putting me on his death list.

I strayed my eyes to the other officer. His cold expression could freeze this dunya (world) into a permanent winter. His icy blue eyes stared directly at the wall behind me. His blonde hair slightly fell over his eyes. He gave no notice to me. It was as if I ceased to exist.

I cleared my throat, snapping Malik's attention towards me. "If a boy went missing, why do I have to be questioned?"

Malik looked uneasy as he exchanged glances with the black haired officer, who simply glared at me more.

"You know glaring isn't going to give you the answers you want, Officer," I said as I leaned back against the leather chair.

He growled. "It's Officer Cole to you."

I put my hands up in surrender. "Oh my bad. Didn't know police officers were so sensitive and uptight," I mocked.

Officer Cole made a lunge for me but the blonde haired officer grabbed his arm. "You b***h!" yelled Cole.

"Now that wasn't very nice," I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. "Didn't your mother ever teach you some manners?"

"Sajdaa," warned Malik. His hazel eyes reprimanded me as he ran his fingers through his messed up brown hair.

I shrugged, innocently. "I didn't do anything. I was just stating my observations."

Malik rolled his eyes. "Hate to break it to you, but that's something."

"Whatever," I muttered.

Officer Cole yanked his arm away from the blonde haired officer. He crossed his arms over his chest, blowing the black hair away from his face.

"Why didn't we take her straight to the interrogation room?" asked Officer Cole. It was obvious that he was less than pleased to see me.

Malik continued skimming the words on his computer screen. "She's not a criminal, Cole."

"f**k you mean she isn't. Look at her. Don't you think it's a little weird that she finds a dead body and the kid who sits next to her goes missing?" questioned Cole.

"She's seventeen. There's no way she'd be able to get away with murder for this long," sighed Malik.

"I don't give a f**k about her age. She's a walking criminal that needs to be stopped. She knows something we don't," Officer Cole scowled at me.

"Please do continue talking about me like I'm not sitting in this room with you. It's highly amusing," I said, sarcastically.

"Do you know how to keep your trap shut?" glared Officer Cole. His brown eyes bore holes through me.

"Depends, do you know how to do your job?" I countered.

"You little cun-"

"Tsk tsk, Officer Cole. I'm pretty sure cursing at an innocent minor is against the rules," I smirked.

Call me crazy, but these guys weren't telling me what was going on. Pushing Officer Cole's buttons was entertaining. His face was turning red as the seconds passed by. That's what he gets for assuming that I'm a bloody murderer, I thought.

Malik turned his attention to me and pulled out a picture. "Do you know this boy?" he asked.

The boy in the picture was smiling up at the camera, showing his perfect teeth. His jaw was well defined and his blue eyes were welcoming, the complete opposite of the blonde haired officer. His brown hair was ruffled on top of his head. The boy looked so peaceful and happy. A feeling of dread entered my stomach.

"Dylan," I whispered.

Malik nodded. "Dylan Anderson went missing three days ago. His parents had been trying to contact him and he didn't answer. His car was found near a lake. The glasses were shattered and the car was wrecked. Dylan was nowhere to be seen."

I scanned the other photos on his desk. The car was indeed a mess. The car had dents in them, the windows shattered as the car laid slumped against the tree. The front seats were ripped, most likely by a knife. Dylan, who did this to you?

"So why am I in here for questioning?" I couldn't help but ask.

"There was a note addressed to you on the car," Malik passed me the note.

The paper had blood splatters on it and was crumpled. The edges were ripped. My eyes read the contents. Fear consumed me.

Sajdaa,

White people make perfect canvases. I wonder how his pretty face will look after I'm done.

My fingers trembled. What did this person want from me? I didn't know anyone that hated me enough to kill me. I didn't know anyone hated me so much that they wanted to torture other people to mentally screw me over. I felt the stirrings of a headache enter my mind as I tried to think of any suspects.

"I had nothing to do with this," I croaked out.

Officer Cole snorted. "Bullshit. Tell us what you know."

I hissed at him. "I swear by Allah that I know nothing of Dylan's disappearance."

"Then where were you this past week? You weren't in school," he demanded. Officer Cole's jaw clenched.

"I was at home taking care of my family. I was trying to help my mother and grandma normalize their lives again. My uncle died, you morons. What else could I have done?" I questioned, incredulously. I couldn't believe they thought I had something to do with Dylan's disappearance.

"I don't believe you," Officer Cole's lips pulled back into a sneer.

I looked at Malik for help. He stood up and put a hand on Officer Cole's shoulder. "She didn't do it. Let it go," he said, keeping his voice stern.

Officer Cole pushed his hand away. "Why do you believe her so much? Is it because you want her to warm your bed, Malik? Why the f**k do you believe this liar?"

Malik's hazel eyes blazed with anger. "You know damn well that this isn't personal. She's innocent until proven guilty. That letter was targeting her. She's not the murderer."

The blonde haired officer finally spoke. "Cole," he started, "Malik is right. She's innocent until proven guilty."

"Nathan," growled Officer Cole.

Officer Nathan shrugged. "Dude, she's seventeen. Instead of framing her, we should lay down the facts of the case and see if she can help us." He turned to me with his arms crossed over his chest. "I hear your uncle was murdered, yes?"

I nodded.

Officer Nathan turned his attention to Malik, who was still glaring fiercely in Officer Cole's direction. "Malik, pull up her uncle's case."

Malik mutely sat down and started typing. "Found it," he mumbled after a couple moments of silence.

Officer Nathan leaned over Malik and started reading the details about the case. His blonde hair falling over his eyes, shielding them.

"I think we're dealing with the same person," he said as he took the mouse and scrolled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your uncle and the Muslim girl last week have similar deaths," Malik responded as he handed me a folder. "That's the autopsy of the girl. She was poisoned before she was tortured."

"My uncle wasn't tortured," I flatly stated.

Malik raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure about that?"

I nodded. "I saw his face at the funeral."

"His abdomen was cut open. His ribs were broken and he had a bruise on his jaw. There were scabs and scars all over his arms. Some of his wounds were still bleeding when they found him in his home. The person who hurt him took time carving into his skin with a knife. The cause of death was from blood loss," he finished. A look of sadness entered his eyes as he stared at me.

"W-What? It wasn't a stroke?" I felt dizzy with the new information.

Malik shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sajdaa."

I gulped. "So you're telling me there's a serial killer out there."

"The style of murder is too similar. It has to be a serial killer," Malik sighed.

Officer Nathan looked confused. "It doesn't make sense though. Why would the killer kidnap a girl and cut her face beyond recognition but only cut the midsection of the first victim?" He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "It's possible that the cases are not connected. It's too early to deem it a serial killer."

"I'm telling you she's hiding something from us," muttered Officer Cole.

We all ignored him, except Malik.

"If you're not going to be helpful, just leave," said Malik.

Officer Cole just glared at Malik, before looking at the computer screen with Officer Nathan.

"Something isn't adding up," Malik muttered.

I pondered the new information. Malik was right. It didn't make sense. My uncle wasn't kidnapped and he didn't get tortured the way the Muslim girl did. There was also no known motive, but from the pictures, the knife technique was definitely similar. I noticed the way the cuts were carved. I tilted my head at the pictures.

"The killer is left handed," I stated.

The officers' heads snapped up.

"What?" asked Officer Nathan as he came to my side.

I held up the pictures as Malik also stood up to see what I was talking about. "Look at the way the scars are craved. They're also smeared with blood as the hand would move to the right side," I pointed out.

As the two officers begun to examine the pictures, Officer Cole's phone rang. His eyes slowly widened as the frantic voice on the other line. His fingers clenched his phone so tightly that I was surprised that it didn't break. He grumbled a response and put his phone away.

"What happened?" asked Malik with the lines of his forehead creased in concern.

"They found Dylan's body."