Death, Devotion, Dissonance

The incident occurred five years after Layla adopted her children.

Outside their house, a short, chubby policeman was questioning Layla. He was a frequent visitor to Layla's house, along with his partner: an average height, brawny, and a bit lowbrow-looking officer. They were responsible for bringing bodies to Layla's house and also receiving the reports. 

Usually, they both had a look of annoyance and reluctance when dealing with Layla, but today, they almost seemed expectant to be here. The reason was standing next to them.

The brawny officer was tightly holding Zack's shoulders, occasionally looking down to seemingly check if he was still there or not. The boy looked guilty, but there was an air of stubbornness to him as well. 

"Heh. Well, go on, boy. Tell your momma what you did this morning," the stout officer spoke.

"I didn't do a thing!" Zack said.

"Don't be lying, you little shit! You're gonna say us two policemen saw wrong?" the officer snarled. "That we didn't see you snagging that gentleman's wallet in the middle of the street?"

"I told you I didn't! Why would I even need to do that? And even if I did, where's the wallet that you're talking about?"

The boy's eyes were darting all over the place, so Layla understood he was lying. 

"Lying little imp," Evan said, smiling at Zack. 

A permanent smile was plastered on the spirit's face these days.

"We saw 'nother kid running off to a street corner right beside you, boy. Now tell me where that kid went. We can't have the gentleman waiting forever now, can we?"

"I'm telling you I'm innocent! Show me the evidence and then come talk to me!"

The brawny officer smacked the boy on the head. 

"Little shit."

Evan snarled at the man. "That's my kid, you lowlife."

Layla rushed to hold her boy in her arms. She glared at the officer, but managed to contain herself.

"Since there's no proof, I can't let you do that to my child. Sir."

"Stop defending your child, woman. We saw the kid bumping into the gentleman and running to another kid, who ran off to some street corner. We caught your kid and asked the man to check for his possessions and sure enough, he was missing his wallet."

"That means nothing. He could've lost his wallet hours before in this bustling city. And what's so strange about kids running through the streets? That's what they all do, don't they?"

The exchange went on for another few minutes before the officers had to give up. 

"I'll let you off for now, but don't be crying when we come with proof," the officer snarled before leaving.

Seeing the officers' fading backs, Zack scoffed. "Those brutes."

Layla groaned, brought Zack into the house to interrogate him.

"I know you did it, so cut the crap and tell me what happened."

"Yeah, boy. Why do you have to pickpocket in the first place? Only the hungry and the needy do that," Evan added.

"Wha- I'm telling you I didn't," the boy was stubborn.

Layla slapped the boy. "Do you know how pickpockets are punished in this city?"

"I do."

"Oh really? Up to three years in jail, or if you're especially unlucky, hanging limp with a noose around your neck. If you know that, then why are you pickpocketing?"

"…"

"Zack, look at me. Why did you need to steal from others? Is the food on your plates not enough? Are the clothes on your back too little? You either tell me or wait in this corridor until you do."

Penelope's head peaked out from the other room.

"You keep working on that preservative, Penny. And don't come out until you get it right!" Layla said.

The girl ran off and started mixing the chemicals.

True to her words, Layla kept herself and Zack in silence. She did not relax her expression and she did not allow her mind to wander off.

Soon enough, the boy fessed up.

He did it to impress the other kids. He thought it was cool. But when he told about it to the other kids, they didn't believe him. So, he decided to prove it to them. He picked the gutsiest among the kids his age and went with it.

He was already a pickpocket before he became an orphan. It was the reason he got picked by Layla in the first place. She wanted kids with agile hands and who could do something without choking at the last minute. Layla could only curse her past self for bringing herself such trouble. 

But today, she could only think about how she can solve this problem. 

She decided to meet this friend of Zack's and get hold of the wallet. She couldn't let them be rewarded for their actions.

Layla got hold of the wallet later that evening, when night was nearing. She met the other kids through Zack, chewed them out a bit, and was now heading to a police-box through the dim-lighted streets. She planned to leave the wallet somewhere anonymously and be done with this whole incident.

Zack was following behind him, a sullen look on his face. His eyes were darting to the dark corners around them, perhaps wondering if he could run into one of them.

"Think of it as punishment for the crime," Layla was saying. "At least it's better than going to jail."

Zack was silent, though his lips were still pursed.

"I'm sure the boy will turn out okay," Evan spoke next to them. "Kids, they're all the same, aren't they?"

As they were walking through one of the empty streets, a voice called out to them.

"Halt! We're searching for the culprit of a thievery."

It was the stout officer who gave visit to them in the afternoon.

Layla tried to walk back, but the brawny officer appeared behind her. Before Layla could say anything, he quickly walked up to her, snatched her bag away and spilled the contents on the ground. The wallet fell among them.

The atmosphere turned wrong very quickly. Even Evan's constant smile was gone.

The stout officer grabbed it from the ground and waved it in front of the two.