She looked so cute and innocent as she slept peacefully and my heart hurt as I wondered what thoughts. the girl was harboring. Even if she did see something like those, what prompted her to draw them?


    "I''ll have some serious exining to do tomorrow," ra chuckled lightly, scratching her hair. "1 have no idea what I''d say to her when she asks. Right before I made the decision to tear them off, I have been thinking of what I''d say when she finds out about the missing page."


    I shrugged as I tried toe up with some excuses that she could give to Amie. "You could say they scared you."


    She looked at me, blinking. "Really, Dennis?"


    "What?" I lifted my shoulders in a defensive shrug. "You could say that or you could just tell her that you were looking at her drawings when you were eating and they got stained or wet. It will work, trust me." She shook her head and I already knew she would disregard my suggestions. "Those are silly ideas." "You didn''t even think about them."


    "What''s there to think about, Dennis?" Sheughed and I was d that she was back to her bubbly self. Trust me, even a five-year-old wouldn''t fall for that. You know Amie is smarter than that."


    I nodded, "Agreed. If you had stopped at ''a five year old", I would have begged to differ but Amie''s different."


    Just then, my phone chimed in my pocket again.


    I fished it out, gazed at the caller''s ID and picked it up.


    ra''s gaze was on me so I tried to not let the worry of what the person on the other line was rushing out show on my face. She already had enough to worry about.


    "Give me a moment," I said to the other person on the line when they finished speaking and pressed my phone to my chest.


    "I urgently need to be somewhere right now," I exined to ra.


    She nodded, "No worries. Will you be able to make it back?"


    "I can''t say yet. Either way, I''d let you know."


    "Alright, drive safely."


    I thanked her one more time and made my way to the door. When I reached the door, I abruptly stopped and turned to ra who was back to flipping through Amie''s drawings, probably still mulling over what she''d tell the girl.


    "ra," I called and she turned to me with raised brows.Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    I shrugged, "Or you could just tell Amie the truth."


    Then with that, I turned and left the room.


    On my way to my car, I ced the phone back on my ear. "So make me understand, manager. What''s


    happening in Eclipse?"


    Not bothering to park properly in the parking lot as I climbed out, my gaze lingered on the properly parked police cars in the parking lot.


    Eclipse, a popr bar and club that was a staple in the city''s vibrant nightlife, is owned by me. It is one of


    bars that is most frequented and yields an impressive earning.


    my


    When I received a call from the manager, I hadn''t thought much of it until he mentioned that the ce was being raided by the police.


    As I approached the entrance, the manager that called me fast walked up to me, his secretary right on his heel


    "I don''t understand, why are the police here? What do they want?" I asked with a deep frown.


    "They didn''t exactly say," the manager uttered tentatively. "They just said there''s a murder case they''re investigating." Are you kidding me right now?


    "A murder case?" I blurted as I made my way inside the bar to see policemen scattered everywhere doing. only God knows what.


    I''m utterly baffled as to why they thought my bar was the perfect ce toe investigate whatever murder case they were working on. I''ve maintained a clean te for years and paid close attention to ensure that nothing shady happens in any of my bars so their presence here didn''t scare me but what it might do to my business or my bar''s reputation greatly worried me.


    One of the detectives walked up to me with their customized smile that''s meant to rt anyone at ease." "Can we talk, Mr Dennis."


    "Of Course." Then I walked them to my office.


    I was grateful that the detective dove straight to business as soon as he was seated.


    "We apologize for the sudden intrusion, Mr Dennis. We''re knee-deep in re-investigating an old cold case. It''s a murder case that dates back six years, and we happen to stumble upon a lead that ces the victim at the very bar mere hours before her murder."