Chapter 4
"He's playing Pokemon," someone said.
He shot the group of teenagers a look and continued walking, occasionally checking his phone to make sure he was heading towards the right direction. Eventually, he leaned against the bannister circling the Rain Oculus, a giant whirlpool bowl located at The Shoppes just across from his hotel.
There were children around the Oculus but Haymitch ignored their quiet giggles of amusement when one of their friends' whispers carried itself across the bowl from the opposite end of where they stood. It was a game that he didn't quite understood yet.
Swiping his phone to unlock it, the screen showed Euphemia Trinket's Instagram account, the same that Beetee had hacked earlier. He glanced up to survey the spot he was standing and he was certain that she had stood at this very place just a week ago, taking a video of the light show over by the river at night.
Scrolling further down, he found another photo dated two weeks old from the very same light show which meant that she had been there two weeks in a row. From his search on Google, Haymitch easily found out that the next show was tonight, at half past nine.
Judging by her behaviour, logically he would have a higher chance of catching her tonight during the light show than he would if he were to walk over to the Flyer to hang around hoping that she would jog by.
He would try his luck tonight and if that proved to be futile, he would wait for information from Beetee on the supposed business that the youngest Trinket might have.
Lining the pathway along the river and outside of The Shoppes were restaurants and bars that provided both indoor and outdoor sitting. Finding himself a bar not far from the Oculus was easy and he chose an outdoor seat so he could see the open plaza where the light show would take place. Now that the sun had set, the weather was not as piercing hot as it was that afternoon. The cooling breeze was a balm against his sweaty skin.
Haymitch tipped the glass of bourbon back as his mind turned over the problem. He had been so inherently focused on locating her that he had not spared a thought of what to say to her when he did eventually find her. The approach he used was just as important, especially so in individuals who could be spook into fleeing.
With Iris Everdeen, he had taken on a gentle approach. He had offered her a hand of friendship and then slowly reminded her of the two daughters she had left behind. Haymitch had carefully connected her to Primrose, allowed her to hear her daughter's voice and used her daughters to eventually bring her home. It was finding the right way to manipulate them and to others, manipulating another human being was seen in a dark light but in his line of work, it was a necessary evil.
When he noticed the throngs of people walking towards the Oculus for the open plaza, Haymitch checked his watch.
As he approached, he groaned inwardly at the size of the crowd. There were people sitting on the steps of the plaza and those who could not find a seat were standing around for a good spot of the show. Haymitch parted the crowd to get to the back where the Oculus was. He would start there and if the odds were in his favour, then Euphemia would be standing at the same spot she had a week ago.
Of course, thing were not always so easy.
Haymitch found a group of Chinese tourist instead. He started looking around, trying to spot the now familiar face in the crowd. He had been staring at her photograph frequent enough that it was seared into his memory.
Behind him, the sky had exploded in a convergence of colour as the show began. Water jets shot up in dazzling purple and green, and a story began to unfold.
He took very little interest in it. The show would last for fifteen minutes which was the length of time he had to find her in this crowd before they disperse, making his job even more undeniably difficult.
"Wahlau eh," someone clicked his tongue at him in annoyance, "stop pushing!"
"Excuse me, just need to get to the other side," he muttered, raising his hand at the local man as an apology.
Having made it towards the back of the crowd, he stood in front of Chanel's giant board to survey the mass of people. A quick check on his watch showed him that he had three minutes left before the show ended.
He wiped the sweat off his brows. Three minutes would be over in a blink and even if everyone more or less remained where they were, he would still not have enough time.
Then just when he thought that today was not the day that he would find her, he caught a glimpse of her. Haymitch stood frozen, quite unable to believe what he was seeing. The familiar thrill of discovery shot through him.
She was such a sight. There was a small smile across her lips as she stared at the sky above.
Haymitch took a step forward, almost in a trance and as he shifted, the person in front of him moved a little to make way for him. In that instance, Euphemia Trinket disappeared into the thick of the crowd only to resurface again when the crowd stirred. Her phone was poised above her head, taking a photo of the lasers dancing on the night sky.
Pulling his phone out, Haymitch refreshed the screen. There it was; a photo posted thirty-one seconds ago which was taken at an angle that was only possible from the spot where she was standing.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
He might have made his disapproval about hacking into people's account known to Beetee earlier but right now, he couldn't have been gladder. Haymitch hoped that he would never have to explain to her that he had access to her private account on his phone.
"Thank you!" a voice over a speaker announced the end of the show.
Haymitch paused. Pockets of movements began to emerge all throughout the crowd as everyone began to disperse. He followed, keeping his eyes firmly on the blonde head in front of him. They were still separate by quite a distance but she was moving away and he intended to keep her within his line of sight.
"Sorry, would you mind giving me a hand?"
The woman struggling with her stroller looked up at him and what sort of person would he be to walk right past her without assisting?
"Here," he said quickly, tearing his gaze away from his target to the woman for a split second.
Haymitch lifted the stroller with the little boy inside and moved it up the three steps to settle it on the ground.
"Thank you so much!" the woman smiled at him to which he nodded.
He caught a glimpse of the blonde head bobbing up and down the crowd as she walked further away from him. He hurried. All Haymitch needed was to stall her so that he could get close enough to slip the device into her pocket or her handbag.
Instinctively, Haymitch did the first thing that came to him. He called out her name.
"Euphemia!"
It made her paused in her steps, turning around halfway to look over her shoulder. Their eyes met briefly but there was no flicker of recognition in her eyes because she didn't know him the way he did so she looked right through him and passed it off has her imagination that she might have heard her name being called. She walked off and merged into another crowd coming from her left.
That was the last he saw of her.
"Fuck," Haymitch spat, slowing down slightly.
He still tried and when he couldn't spot her along the walkway outside The Shoppes, he decided to try inside.
Still, he couldn't see any signs of her. Haymitch toyed with the idea that she might have gone to the toilets so he loitered along the corridors but that only drew curious look from the staffs of Burberry and Balenciaga. After ten minutes and finding no sign of her, Haymitch admitted defeat.
At least he knew now that she frequent the area and if her family was any indication, The Shoppes seemed to be exactly right up her alley. All the branded names and fashionable goods…
That was still development. It was still something.
Next time, however, he would need to make contact.
Haymitch filed the fact that he also saw her alone and that she was not accompanied by anyone who could potentially be her husband. It could mean anything, of course, but, she was alone and alone was good.
XxX
The knife slipped from his grasp as his brain processed the fact that he was startled awake by the ringing of his phone and not because of any notable danger. Haymitch grabbed the offending device from the nightstand.
"Yeah, Beetee? Got something?" Haymitch mumbled into the phone.
"Yeah, got something for you," Beetee answered and Haymitch noted the tinge of excitement in his voice. "I ran the business profile search like you asked and I found – did I wake you? What time is it there?"
"Three in the morning. We got 'bout thirteen hours apart. Doesn't matter," he said, staring absent-mindedly at the television he had turned on before he fell asleep. Channel NewsAsia was on and having no desire to watch the news at that hour, Haymitch began flipping through the channels. "What'd you find?"
"I've got her address. I know where she is and the sort of business she runs. Euphemia Trinket isn't married. Personally, I don't think she is. She owns Effie's Bridal & Boutique."
"Effie...?" Haymitch latched on it.
"Yes. She goes by that. I tried running the search with Euphemia Trinket but that returned no results probably because I was too specific. So I ran it by 'Trinket' alone and well… Effie Trinket turned out."
"You're sure it's her?"
"Absolutely," Beetee affirmed with confidence. "I ran a social media search based on her shop's name which led me to its Facebook page. She was in the photos. Chaff ran a facial identification because he was sure you will want a confirmation and it's positive."
"Good. You want to give me her address?"
"More good news – I also have her residential address. It was on the business profile search."
"That's great," Haymitch declared, pleased by that. "Text me both but you know how it is, I'll drop by the workplace first. Where is uh… Where is her store?"
"Not far from where you're at. Google Map indicates that it's only a five minutes' drive away at Capitol Piazza."
XxX
Capitol Piazza was not difficult to find. Like The Shoppes, it was another luxury shopping mall. As he alighted from the taxi, the first thing he noticed was the bright pink neon sign of Capitol Theatre.
He went straight to the directory to locate her store and then made his way over.
Haymitch stood in front of the glass window with her shop name emblazoned in golden letterings across it. The inside of her shop was modest with mannequins donning various wedding gowns with a raised platform for her to take measurements. There were full length mirrors around the shop and a round table with several chairs from where he supposed she would have meetings and discussion with clients.
On his way over, Haymitch had given some thought on how he would approach her. There were two ways to go about it. He could walk in and pretend that he had no idea who she is and introduce himself or he could introduce himself and made it clear that he knew her.
Usually, he let nature take its course. There were times that what he intended to do did not fit the scenario as it unfolded.
He was about to take a step towards the door when she caught sight of him lingering outside. After a few words with her customer, she walked towards him.
Haymitch wasn't a nervous man by nature but he licked his lips and cleared his throat, preparing himself for the inevitable contact she was about to make with him.
"Hello, hello!" she pulled the door open and inside, a chime jingled. "Come in! If you see something you are interested in, do not just linger. Do come in, sir, so I can be of assistance."
There you have it - Haymitch and Effie meeting each other! I hope you've enjoyed the chapter :) As usual, let me know what you think or what you supposed Haymitch is going to do/act. Thanks for reading!
Just some fun facts: The light show happens every night at designated hours but for the purpose of this story, I made it so that it happens weekly! Marina Bay Sands, the area where Haymitch stays and where The Shoppes is located was a Pokemon hotspot (back when Pokemon Go was still the rage), thought it'll be fun to throw that in. As for the Oculus, when the water is off, you can try whispering into it to your friend at the other end and they'll likely be able to hear an echo of what you're saying. I am half deaf so it never works for me but my friend swore by it.
Wahlau is a Singlish (Singaporean colloquial English) term that connotes annoyance, disbelief or surprise.