Chapter 63- Taunting Tracks

[] T H I R D • P E R S O N []

John Adams was an impatient guy.

Beneath his calm exterior, he was always trying to figure out things as quickly as he could. Only a few people knew this habit of his, and they definitely found it irritating. But he couldn't help it. When he wanted to find out the truth about something, he would go to great lengths for it.

Which is precisely why he has been at the police station since 8 in the morning. He had been been busy dealing with officers, pressuring them into finding the officer who switched out Brittany's autopsy report, and to find out why they did it in the first place. The officers had been cooperating, also trying to find the traitor between them. Afterall, they had a reputation to uphold in this city as being the best cop division.

After a long time of waiting, one officer had stepped through, with a hand cuff around another officer. The whole station had stopped to see what the commotion was about, and everyone gasped when the arresting officer called out the offence for which the guilty officer was being charged with.

Once John heard, he wasted no time in pulling out his phone and dialling Jerry's number. He had been trying to dial Amelia all morning, but her number was unreachable.

Jerry picked up after the fourth ring.

"Jerry? Where's Amelia?" John asked hastily.

"We were all supposed to meet Levi today, remember? But she isn't here yet and we only have ten minutes left with him-"

John sucked in a shaky breath. He looked off to the officer who was being arrested, and he caught eyes with John at that exact time. He gave him a malicious look that made John feel absolutely sick.

"Jerry," John said cutting him off. "I need you to listen to me. I think Amelia is in danger. And the person who wants to hurt her knows that Ameia is close to finding out the truth."

Jerry sucked in a breath.

"What truth John?"

"The truth about Brittany's death."

Then John wasted no time as he lunged at the officer being arrested, demanding him to tell him about Amelia's whereabouts.

* * *

Leo called Amelia for what felt like the billionth time. He was stuck in the passenger seat as Jamal drove, with Andre laughing every few minutes. He wanted to turn around and knock Andre out, but then he remembered how much Amelia hated violence, and that was enough to stop him. He still ended up glaring at him every time he laughed though.

Despite his anger, Leo was worried about Andre too. He felt saddened that he didn't notice that Andre was going through so much in his life. To make up for his mistake, he called Laura briefly to discuss Andre's situation with her. He wanted to get an expert opinion on what he could be taking, and Laura had immediately answered without judging Andre. She claimed that if Andre had been at the point Jamal had described when she found him, he shouldn't even have survived after that. In most cases, that was an overdose, one that a person can rarely come out alive from unless they are given proper treatment. But since Andre had swung back after that, she had guessed that he had been taking mixed drugs, which could equally be as fatal. We then told her that we were headed to find Amelia, and she told us to keep monitoring Andre and call an ambulance if he started showing certain symptoms. They had ended the conversation then.

Leo then went back to dialling Amelia's number. He was worried out of his mind, and the fact that Jamal wasn't driving as fast as he should, was driving him insane.

On top of that, Andre was an absolute annoyance at the time. Both Jamal and Leo knew that Andre was high. He couldn't help what he was doing. Yet, it didn't make them both fume whenever he laughed loudly in this serious situation.

"Did she pick up?" Jamal asked, after Leo dialled Amelia's number for the fourth time.

Leo scowled and mumbled out a frustrated "No." Jamal sighed.

"Gh...ghg..." Andre mumbled in the back.

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose and slammed the dashboard in front of him. In his furious state, Leo didn't realize that he dropped his phone on the ground.

"Fucking shut up, Andre! And for God's sake, drive a little faster Jamal!" Leo screamed.

Jamal flinched at his tone, but kept driving as fast as he could in this weather. All were silent for the next little while. Until a noise spoke out from the back.

"Gh...Ghennaaa...sooo...pretttyy..."

Leo swivelled his head around, ready to strike Andre, but before he could, Jamal called out his name.

"Wait Leo! He said Gemma. Gemma! Have you tried her number?" Jamal said quickly.

Leo whipped his head around and quickly reached for his phone on the ground. How could he forget that Gemma was there?

It was probably the panic. Because despite looking angry on the outside, Leo felt like a lost child on the inside. He was quaking with fear and anxiety. He didn't know what to do besides hit everyone in his way. He felt utterly helpless, but he couldn't give up.

He had to find his Moonie.

Leo quickly found Gemma's contact and rang her. To his relief, she picked up on the second ring.

"Hello? Gemma? Where's Amelia?" He asked, wasting no time in beating around the bush.

His heart fell to his stomach when he heard Gemma's muffled cries on the other end.

"Gemma...wh-what's going on?"

"Leo-" hiccup, "she said she had something to do before she left for the station. They were going to meet Levi today...B-but she never made it. The police are looking for her."

In the next few minutes, Gemma brokenly explained to Leo what was happening. He found out that an officer had been hiding Brittany's original autopsy report from everyone. She couldn't explain his reasoning but Leo accepted that, trying to know more about Amelia's whereabouts. And then he did. He found out that the police had tracked down Amelia's location and were heading there.

"Leo... just please... don't do anything Amelia wouldn't want you to," Gemma pleaded.

Leo stayed silent.

"Too late Gemma."

And then he shut the call.

* * *

The police station was in chaos. All officers in the vicinity were trying to pull John away from Officer Lakewood, the man who hid a report unlawfully. They were successful after nearly five minutes of trying. John had gripped Officer Lakewood's neck so hard that he turned purple.

But even after pulling him away, the officers had to stay close to John to prevent him from inflicting further harm to the man.

John was breathing hard when another senior officer stepped in front of him. Officer Santana had been serving on the case since it had started, and since she was a friend of the Adams' family, she knew how to tame John in a situation like this. Officer Santana stepped in front of John and patted him on the shoulder hard.

"John, you need to contain your anger. Right now, our priority is finding Amelia Harrison. We have a lead on her."

John finally let out a breath and turned to Officer Santana, his shoulders deflating and his eyes softening.

"You found Amelia?" He asked softly.

Officer Santana nodded.

"I need you to stay calm while we find her. I can't have you creating havoc in my station when I'm not around-"

"I'm coming with you."

John didn't bat an eyelash. It wasn't a question of whether he was going to set out to find Amelia or not. It was not, and never will be in question. He will always protect his Lia. He always had.

Officer Santana watched him carefully. A few officers still stood by him in case he attacked Officer Brian again, but his focus wasn't even on the guilty party anymore.

"I can't allow that John. You know that-"

John took a step closer to the officer. His voice dropped to a whisper, and his eyes blurred with tears.

"Molly," he said, addressing the officer by her first name. "I already lost my love to him, I'm not losing a friend."

Officer Santana pursed her lips.

"Please," John begged. "She's like a sister to me. I'm not staying behind. I can't give up on her, not this time."

She wanted to say no. She wanted the young boy to stay out of this, but the anguish in his eyes made her say the complete opposite.