The Missing Jewelry 4

The cop looked at her as she talked. Then, he turned to look at the girls seated on the floor. He seemed puzzled as he asked, "Them?"

"Yes." Hailey replied with a smile. Then, she reached into her pockets once more and brought out her phone. She scrolled to the pictures on the phone and showed him. "They entered my room and rummaged through it, turning it into a mess."

Then, she pointed at the jewelry box on the table. "My necklace is also missing."

"The necklace is under copyright and is worth a few billion dollars. You can check and confirm." She emphasized.

The cop gave her a look. Then, he motioned to his colleague to come closer. When the latter approached him, he turned to Hailey. "Where is your room?"

"Upstairs. Second room on the left."

The cop motioned to his colleague with a glance and the other immediately walked up the stairs, understanding what he said. Soon, he returned and walked up to him. Then, he said something into his ears with a whisper.

None of the people present knew what he said including Hailey but the cop instantly straightened up and his expression became serious. He recalled that Hailey had claimed that the jewelry was worth a few billion dollars. Moreover, it was in copyright. So, he had to place more focus and attention to it. He turned to the girls and questioned, "Who did it?"

The room was silent and no one replied. They all stared at each other quietly. Eventually, a girl stood up and questioned him in return.

"How are you sure any of us did it? You have not even made investigations but you're already condemning us. Does she have any evidence that we stole it?"

"Ha…" Hailey cut in with a ridiculing snort and didn't wait for the cop to reply her first. "Sure. Even if I'm only suspicious and I might be wrong, I'll apologize to you if I'm wrong. But, you have to explain how you entered my room and why you did."

The cop pursed his lips and it seemed he was contemplating. He was thrown in the middle by them and it was hard for him to keep up. But being a professional, he had no choice to keep being rational and resolve the issue.

He cleared his throat and spoke up seriously, "Miss. Smith, you have evidence that someone entered your room and rummaged through it. But, there is no evidence that the culprit is amongst them. This matter is a little complicated so I implore all of you to be calm."

Then, he gestured towards the sofa Hailey stood up from. "Have a seat, Miss Smith."

Hailey pursed her lips silently but she cooperate and took a seat. Then, she folded her legs and watched the situation calmly.

The cop continued to talk afterwards, "If anyone of you is the culprit, I hope you can come clean now before the investigations begin. It's impossible for someone to steal a thing when a lot of people are present without someone backing her up. If you know who it is and you're not fessing up now, when the investigations begin and I fish you out, you'll be charged with the crime of abetting."

The room was quiet and the girls faces were ashen. Neo and his friend sat in one corner quietly. But, none of them confessed to the crime and their lips were tightly shut.

Just then, Ashley walked up to the cop. She held the helm of her too nervously and fiddled with her hair locks from time to time. It seemed she was nervous.

She began, "Officer… I believe my friends are innocent. I can vouch for them. They wouldn't do such a thing. Can you please let them go on my account?"

After all, she was also the daughter of the Smiths and Hailey's sister. Moreover, the Smiths were a wealthy family. Would the cop want to have a bad blood with them?

Ashley was unhappy. She didn't know who committed the crime but if she did, she wanted to strangle the person to death. Not only had she ruined her chance of making a fool of Hailey, she had also lost some face. After all, it was her friend who stole and Hailey would have something against her.

When the cop heard what she said, he seemed surprised for a moment. Then, he laughed out loud. But, it was not sincere.

He spoke clearly and seriously, "Miss. Smith, don't you realize you're also a suspect? You could have invited your friends on purpose to steal the necklace so no one would suspect it was you. You could have given the information about where it is."

Ashley stared at him, with wide eyes. It was as though she hadn't expected him to say such.

However, the man didn't seem to notice this for he pressed on. "Moreover, who are you to tell me to let them go on your account?"

He gave her a look if displeasure before he faced everyone. "Don't think I don't have a way to prove who the suspect is. Do you think so little of the police?"

His gaze were on all of them. They were silent but peering into them and watching their movements. He noticed Hailey's indifference, Ashley's gruff expression and the girls panicked expressions. It was not unusual for the girls to be panicked. After all, if no one confessed to the crime, it was likely all of them would be investigated.

However, he noticed the actions of two of them. They were looking at each other and sharing eye glances. One of the girl was showing a pleading expression as she looked at the other. Her hand was trembling and she seemed extremely nervous.

The cop stared at them quietly and when he noticed this motion, he smirked inwardly, 'Got you.'

Then, he fired on. "I can do a fingerprint check and determine who has touched box. The theft happened today so it should be very easy to get the fingerprints if everyone that touched this. Excluding Miss Smith since she's the owner, it's only a matter of time before I latch on to the culprit."

His words were straightforward and direct. He spoke at once as though he was merely stating facts.

Almost immediately, one of the girls stood up. It was the girl who accused Hailey of lying about the necklace and pointed at her nose.

She clutched her dress and spoke up, "I know who it is."