Zane: The Atlantean Prince

CHAPTER 15: THE OCTOPUS MAN

Police Officer Thomas went to the zoo to investigate. He went to the ticket booth and asked about the manager for an interview.

"You can proceed to that building, Sir. The manager's office is at the first door on the ground floor," the ticketing agent said.

"Thank you." He went straight to the manager's office. He knocked on the door and a lady opened the door.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Is the manager here?"

"He is currently out. He might come back in a couple of hours. May I know if you have an appointment?"

Thomas shook his head. "No." He took out his police badge and showed it to the lady. "I am Police Inspector Thomas Smith, and I came here to verify some information. It has something to do with the k********g incident of a student from Pious Montessori."

The lady remained composed. "I heard about that news, Sir. Please, come in and have a seat first."

He went in and sat on the couch. The lady went to the coffee dispenser and made a cup for him. "Something happened to our security personnel here, the manager can talk about it more and give you accurate information, although I can also give out everything I could provide to you. I was permitted to cooperate with any cop who will ask for anything."

"What exactly happened? You can give me a preview of it while we are waiting for your manager." He took the cup from the lady.

"Thank you."

"I am Kim, the secretary of Gerald Thompson." The lady sat on the other couch across the centre table. "The security person assigned that night to monitor the CCTV said he was attacked from behind in his seat but he did not see who the culprit was. He is at the hospital now due to quadriplegia. He got paralyzed from the waist down because he was hit so hard on his upper back." She pointed at her upper back. "We checked the CCTV near the security room but it was broken at that time."

Police Officer Thomas wrote down every piece of information in his small notebook. "Who was the last person left in the office before it happened?"

"Mr. Thompson said it was the janitor who was recently hired but did not show up the next day, after the attack on our security person. He was cleaning the office before the manager left. Let me get his profile." She excused herself to get the records of the employee. She went out of the office for a few minutes.

Police Officer Thomas scanned the office. It is neat and well-maintained. There is one CCTV camera built on the ceiling.

The secretary went back and handed over the Manila file folder to him. "That is his profile. He was hired last month. I just realized now he hasn't taken his medical examination yet. We let him start working immediately because the previous one we hired before he went missing."

He opened the file folder and checked the profile of the suspect.

"Robert Peters?" He checked the information given on his portfolio and it is just all basic information. There is a picture of Robert attached to his file. "Is it okay if I will take this with me for further investigation? I will also ask for a few CCTV footage from your office that day." He pointed at the CCTV on the ceiling.

"Sure, Sir. We also want to capture that man. He badly hurt our employee of five years. Let me get back to you. I will ask the assigned security for a copy." The secretary left again to ask for the CCTV footage.

He did not wait long for the secretary to come back. "Sorry, it took a while to search for the time the manager left and Robert was here. I even called my manager for the exact time. Here, Sir." She handed him the USB drive. "We also included the CCTV footage in the aquarium. According to the kid in the interview, the kidnapper's photo seemed to be from the aquarium's CCTV footage."

"Thank you for this, Miss Kim. This is a big help for our investigation."

"You are most welcome. We will cooperate with you." She smiled at him. "Please, capture him."

"I will go ahead now, Miss Kim. I will contact you if anything arises from our investigation." He stood up and waved his hand before leaving the office. He immediately went back to the headquarters to report the new evidence he found.

***

"Jeff, where's the chief?" The Police Officer asked the front desk officer on duty.

"He is in the office. Any news?" he asked.

"We got a lead on the suspect in the Pious Montessori k********g case. Hope we can catch him." He raised the folder and USB in his hand.

"That is one hell of a good job, man!" He leaned forward to get a high five from Thomas. The other police in the station heard what he said and made a praising noise to him.

"Thank you. I will go ahead there." He waved his hand and proceeded to the chief's office. He knocked twice and waited to be invited to get in.

"Come in."

He opened the door and entered the office. "Sir." he saluted. The chief acknowledged it.

"Do you have anything to report?" the chief asked.

"Yes, Sir." He handed the folder and the USB drive to his chief. "The zoo provided me with a copy of the CCTV footage where he probably took a photo of Winsor Stewart. Also, they said there was an attack with the security on duty that time, and he is still in the hospital, paralyzed from the waist down." He pointed at the folder. "That was the janitor they hired a month ago. He did not return to work after the attack on the security personnel. There is also CCTV footage of the janitor before the attack."

"Good job, Thomas!" The chief laughed. "You are the asset of our headquarters." He opened the file and checked the evidence.

He pressed the intercom. "Santos, come over here. Check this CCTV footage and get a view of where the victim's photo possibly came from. Also, check the identity of this person if it is legit."

"Roger, Sir," the man on the other line said.

A few minutes later, Santos went to the chief's room and took the evidence Thomas found.

"We will work on this overnight. The higher-ups are eager to find the suspect because he is a city councillor's son. He is also running for mayor this coming election." He stood up and offered his hand. "Good job, Thomas."

He accepted his hand and shook it. "Thank you, Sir. I am leaving now." He turned around and left the chief's office.

***

"Breaking news! The police have identified the suspect in the Pious Montessori k********g case. Police Inspector Thomas Smith found out that the suspect was working as a janitor at the zoo where the school held their field trip a few days before the student was kidnapped. According to the report, they found the exact spot of the CCTV footage where the suspect took the photo of the kidnap victim, Winsor Stewart." The footage flashed on the TV screen.

"It was confirmed when the police asked the student who saw the photo that the kidnapper had on his phone. The witness said it was the same photo. Inspector Thomas said that the security personnel of the zoo got attacked the day before the k********g, and the suspect did not return to work. The suspect's name is Robert Peters, thirty-five, six foot seven inches tall." The picture of the suspect is shown on the television. "If you have any information regarding the suspect's location, do not hesitate to contact the police department. Their numbers are on your TV screens. this is Louise Stevens, reporting."

"That was him!" Zane pointed at the photo of the huge man.

"Right. Glad they found information about him." Bren sighed. "Let's go home now." He took his bag from the hospital bed and went out of the room with Zane. Althea and the other kids are waiting in the lobby.

Zane shook his head. "If they only knew he is an octopus man and he is already dead..." he said to himself.