MISSING

“Don’t move sir,” a cop of Summerdale Georgia police department barged in the Smith’s house. “Don’t f*****g move or I will shoot,” he said to Mr. Smith with his gun pointed at him. “Officer help me.” He cried out to him, with blood covering the white shirt his wife bought him this morning for their anniversary. “All my god, I need backup and an ambulance here.” The cop in his dark blue uniform said in his mic. “What did I say sir, don’t move. Put your hands where I can see them.” “God please, Scarlet don’t die on me.” Mr. Smith’s wife of ten years lied in a pool of blood. It felt like a dream, siren and police lights flashing outside their home. “Sir am about to approach you, do you have any weapons on you?” The cop took a step closer at Jeff Smith, still with his pistol pointed at him. “No,” he said to him. “What happened here, is there anyone else in this house?” The cop paused and looked if Jeff was a threat to him. “My daughter is upstairs.” looking at the stairs, hoping that nothing had happened to her. Outside the house was now full of police cars and ambulances flickering their blue and red lights. “Check upstairs.” The cop said to his partner, who slowly moved upstairs. “What happened here Jeff?” He asked, for five years Jeff Smith have served Summerdale police service with honor and dignity. “I don’t know,” lost and afraid he answered the cop. “Where are the damn medics?” Jeff raised his voice, hoping that they could come in and serve his wife. “Stand aside sir, the medics entered and started to revive his wife Scarlet. For more than thirty minutes they worked on her until one of the medics stood up and looked in his eyes. “I’m sorry she’s no more.” He said to Jeff and the cop. On the floor Jeff went and cried helplessly. The woman who was celebrating her anniversary this morning was no more. “Is the child ok?” The cop asked his partner who went upstairs to check on the Smith’s daughter. “It’s a bloody mess up there,” he said to his young partner. By the way they looked, it was like they were both new recruits. “There is no sign of a child up there, there is only a revolver on the floor and traces of blood.” “What?” Jeff shouted, running up stairs. In his daughter’s room he rushed, hoping that she was hiding in her closet like she always did when they played hid and seek. To his shock, his angel was not there, instead what he only found was an empty blooded room. “Sir what did we say? Get on your knees.” To the floor he was pushed by the two cops, placing both of his hands on his back. “Don’t fight us sir, do not resist.” The cops said to Jeff as he tried to fight them off. “Get off me, tears trickled down his face. My daughter needs me.” he said to the cops. For hours he was interrogated of what happened. Until he was told to come with the police to the station. Outside the Smith’s house, people came out and watched as he was taken away to the station. It all felt like a dream, entering the station that he had served for a long time, but only this time it was him going in for questioning. “Do you need anything to drink?” the chief of police Mr. Harold asked. “My daughter, has she being found?” picture of his girl flashed through his thoughts. “No Jeff, every man in Summerdale is looking for her. Now tell me, what happened?” The Chief of police asked, sitting opposite to Jeff. “It was a normal day for me,” said Jeff to the Chief. “Woke up in the morning, had my breakfast with my wife and I went to work. Came back home and I found the lights to my house off.” Jeff explained to the Chief. “At first I thought there was a power cut, but when I looked, the other houses had power so I went behind the house to check on the power box. That’s when I saw that the box was open and someone had tempered with it.” “And what time was this?” The chief, Mr. Harold asked. Writing all the details Jeff was saying to him. “Seven, eight. I don’t know between the two.” Lost he said to the chief. “And then what happened?” trying to get out answers out of him Harold said. “Then I entered the house, that’s when I,” Jeff failed to hold his cry in him. “That’s when I found her on the floor covered in blood. She was calling my name, so I rushed to her and held her in my arms. That’s when the cops found me with her in my arms.” “Did you see anything that may help us?” “No chief, that’s the only thing I remember. Please are you done with the questions? I need to be out there searching for my daughter.” “You know the drill Jeff, you can’t be out there looking for her.” The chief left Jeff Smith alone in the holding room. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the detective entered the room and sat across. Jeff held his breath. "We've reviewed the evidence, and we're releasing you for now Jeff," the detective said. He couldn't believe it. "What about my wife’s killer?" he asked. "We're still investigating, but it appears it was a burglary gone wrong. The perpetrator is still at large, but it's clear that you weren't involved in your wife's death." Relief flooded Jeff’s body. He was worried that he would spend the rest of his life in jail for a crime he didn't commit. As he was escorted out of the station, he saw the reporters waiting outside to get a scoop on the latest tragedy. He knew his life would never be the same, but at least he could grieve his wife without the weight of false accusations on his shoulders. “You have your sister waiting for you outside.” Maggie Jeff’s little sister who leaves just outside of Summerdale came the moment she heard of the news. “Are you ok?” Jeff found Maggie waiting for him, “Oh poor Lily,” she held Jeff tightly. “What are they saying have they found the person responsible for this? And poor little Evelyn all alone out there.” Maggie wept for her lost niece. The drive from the station to Maggie’s home felt like an infinity. It had been a long and exhausting day for Jeff. The search for his missing daughters had left him emotionally drained, and he needed a place to rest his head. Luckily, his sister Maggie had offered to take him in for the night. As he entered her cozy home, he was greeted by the warm aroma of homemade soup and the comforting sounds of old country music playing softly in the background. Maggie was bustling around the kitchen, setting the table with the finest china she had. Jeff sat down in the living room, taking in the cozy ambiance of the room. Maggie joined him moments later, handing him a steaming bowl of soup. They chatted about their childhood memories and the happenings in their lives. As the evening wore on, Jeff could feel himself relaxing for the first time all day. He simply basked in the comfort of being in his sister's home. The sadness and fear he had been carrying around all day seemed to dissipate. His tension melted away as he settled in for the night. Maggie had prepared a small room for Jeff with a warm and cozy bed, soft blankets, and extra pillows. As he drifted off into a peaceful sleep, he knew that he had found a safe haven in his sister's home. The next morning, Jeff woke up and headed to his house. Jeff had been dreading this moment the all night. Going back to the house where it all happened - where his wife was brutally murdered and his precious daughter was taken from him - was something he thought he would never be able to do, Jeff made his way to the front door of his house. The mere sight of it made his skin crawl, reminding him of the horrors that had occurred within those walls. Slowly, he turned the key and pushed open the door. The musty smell of neglect hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn't believe it had only been a few hours since he had last been here. The living room was a mess, with overturned furniture and broken glass everywhere. Jeff tried not to dwell on the memories that flooded his mind as he gingerly stepped over the debris and made his way through the house. Everything seemed to be in a state of disarray, as though the place had been left untouched since the day of the attack. Downstairs, Jeff found the leaving room in a mess where his wife had been brutally murdered. In his room the bed was still unmade, with blood stains that had never been fully removed. He felt his anger and sorrow bubble to the surface again, and he had to take a moment to steady himself. That morning, someone knocked at Jeff’s door. Downstairs Jeff rushed and opened the door. “Morning Jeff,” Fred said, Jeff’s neighbor greeted him. “I saw you coming in, how are you keeping up?” “Trying Fred, my little girl is missing.” “That’s why I’m here. Have gathered the neighborhood, we are going to look and ask around Summerdale. Maybe something might come up.” “Thanks Fred, let me come with you.” The community came together to help Jeff find his daughter. They searched and searched, but there was no sign of her. As the days turned into weeks, suspicion began to arise among Jeff's neighbors and the community. People started to talk and rumors started to fly that Jeff had something to do with the disappearance and killing of his family. As the investigation went on, the police couldn't find any hard evidence linking Jeff to the disappearance of his wife and daughter. But the more questions they asked and the more they looked into Jeff's past, the more they came to suspect him. There was talk of domestic violence and previous arguments between Jeff and his wife. Jeff's neighbors started to avoid him, and some even began to harass him. They accused him of being a killer and warned others to stay away from him. The stress and suspicion from his community were overwhelming for Jeff. He couldn't believe that the people he's known for years and trusted were turning on him. He started to feel trapped and hopeless. Jeff sat in his living room one evening, the sunlight peeking in through the window curtains. Weeks had passed since his beloved wife was brutally murdered in their very own home. He had been lost since that day, not knowing what to do or where to turn. Every day, he spent his time sitting in that same living room, staring into space. It was the only place he still felt close to his wife. The quietness of the house was shattered when a loud crash interrupted his thoughts. Jeff jumped up from his seat and ran over to the window. There, he noticed a stone had been thrown through his window, leaving pieces of glass scattered all over the floor. As he bent down to pick it up, he saw a note attached to the stone, and in bold letters, it read, "Child killer!" Jeff felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He couldn't understand why someone would call him a child killer. He hadn't hurt anybody. His wife had been the innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of a senseless act of violence. Despite his confusion, the insult stung, and Jeff's first thought was to hunt down whoever had thrown the stone. But as the anger slowly started to subside, he began to wonder if this was just a cruel prank. Maybe it was kids in the neighborhood trying to stir up trouble or the work of a crazed stalker. He realized then that he had to put his emotions aside and figure out what was going on. He started to comb through all the evidence of his wife's murder, hoping to find a clue that could solve the mystery. Jeff was determined to find justice, not just for his departed wife, but also for himself, he couldn't keep living in a world where he was accused of something he didn't do. Jeff promised himself that he would find out who had thrown the stone, and when he did, they would pay. He would not let someone destroy his life without a fight. Right there on the floor, surrounded by broken glass, Jeff made a vow to himself and his wife that he would uncover the truth, no matter how long it took. Jeff was determined to find out what had happened to his daughter and why his wife had been murdered. He started by combing through their home, searching for any clues that could give him a lead. As he searched through his wife's belongings, he found a journal that she had kept hidden away in a drawer. Jeff quickly flipped through the pages, hoping to find any information that might be useful. What he found were pages upon pages of entries detailing her fears and concerns about their daughter's safety, as well as her suspicions about a certain neighbor. Jeff was shocked and angered by this revelation. He had always had a good relationship with their neighbor, but his wife's words suggested that their neighbor may have had a hand in their daughter's disappearance and his wife's murder. Armed with this new information, Jeff decided to pay his neighbor a visit. The neighbor seemed friendly enough, but Jeff couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. As he spoke with him, Jeff noticed that he seemed nervous and shifty. It was enough to raise his suspicions further. As Jeff continued his investigation, he noticed other clues that had gone unnoticed before. A piece of clothing that didn't belong to anyone in the family, an unfamiliar phone number in his wife's phone contacts, and the absence of a keychain that his daughter had always carried with her. With each discovery, Jeff's resolve grew stronger. He was determined to find out what had happened to his family and bring the person responsible to justice. Weeks turned into months, and Jeff's search continued. He tirelessly pursued every lead and gained insights from unlikely sources. The next morning Jeff could hardly contain his anger and sorrow as he approached his neighbor's house. He had always suspected that something wasn't quite right about the man next door, but he had never had any real reason to believe he was capable of something as heinous as murder. But as the weeks had turned into months and there had been no sign of his wife or daughter, Jeff's suspicions had only grown stronger. He knocked on the neighbor's door, his heart pounding in his chest. When the neighbor opened the door, Jeff wasted no time in confronting him, accusing him of having a hand in his wife's murder and the disappearance of his daughter. The neighbor seemed taken aback by Jeff's accusations, but Jeff could sense a deep unease in the man's demeanor. He pressed him further, demanding to know what he knew about the night his wife and daughter had gone missing. At first, the neighbor tried to deny any involvement, but Jeff could see the fear and guilt in his eyes. Finally, after much prodding and questioning, the man broke down and admitted that he had been the last person to see Jeff's wife and daughter alive. “I saw your wife that evening,” the neighbor said to Jeff, “She was afraid that a man in a red cap kept following her around that day.”