Chapter 11:
Jackson couldn't stop fidgeting. He flexed his fingers, forming and deforming a fist gritting his teeth at the tightness in his fingers. His knuckles were bruised and bleeding slightly as every movement reopened the wounds. The businessman had managed to bring out the worst parts of Jackson and he regretted having lost his control. Patience, calm, and control were the three qualities that had got him the job in the first place. He was a professional who followed orders, and did the job. Nothing less, nothing more. If he lost his professionalism then there was nothing left. He wouldn't be any better than the mass murderers and serial killers that he saw on the news. As long as he remained professional, logical and not emotional then he wouldn't be the monster he feared. If he lost that sense, then he would lose what little sanity he had left, and that terrified him.
Despite this fear, his patience was still wearing thin as he waited for the boyfriend to leave the apartment. The professional thing would have been to kill Lisa and Emma while they slept, and tied up all loose ends. Then he wouldn't have to run anymore and he could get started on his next client. But he couldn't do it. He didn't want to. Sure at the time he really had planned to slide that knife into Lisa's chest, but he was glad he didn't. And then there was Emma. Sweet, honest, innocent Emma. He never even wanted to put a scratch on her. There was something that was pure, something emotional about her that confused him. Her very need to protect others even against her own best interests went against every bit of logic he knew, and yet it was what caused her to survive. Everything about Emma was just pure emotion, something Jackson had never known.
Finally, Eric stepped from the apartment and Jackson couldn't help the feeling of hatred and anger that rose up inside of him. When he had left Emma, he had expected Eric to take care of her, protect her and yet he had failed. Clearly something had happened to her. Why else would Eric have that look of determination and yet vulnerability. Jackson could only hope that the guilt was tearing Eric apart because it was well deserved. He failed to protect Emma, only proving that he didn't deserve her.
Jackson took several deep breaths trying to clear the strange emotions from his head. He needed to focus on the facts, on the logistics of what he was doing. He wasn't going to learn what happened simply by being angry and wanting revenge. That wouldn't lead to any answers as the businessman had shown him.
Jackson watched as Eric was greeted by another man and female waiting by a car. By the looks of it, Jackson had to guess that it was Joe and Ana. Jackson didn't know them well, but he did know that Eric and Emma trusted them. He moved closer slowly and carefully to stay out of sight while he eavesdropped on there conversation.
"So…" The female said, keeping her head down, and staying snuggled up against the other male. "Has…there been any news yet on Emma?"
"No." Eric responded bitterly. Clearly tense. "I should be out there looking for her."
"The police are doing everything they can for her." The other male insisted but Eric didn't seem to believe him.
"Let's just get this over with." He muttered and moved to the car pulling open the door and sliding into the back seat without another word.
"I'm worried about him." The girl said as the other male pulled her close.
"I know. Me too." He said kissing the girls head. "Let's go." He mumbled opening the door for her before getting in himself.
Jackson watched as they drove off down the road, trying to shake the feeling of dread. He was right, Emma was gone, and chances were that that bastard Carson had her. The chance of her still being alive was so low that. No. Jackson told himself again he didn't know who had her or where. He had to search the house before Eric got back, and he couldn't jump to conclusions, not without the evidence. With a deep breath and a bite of his lip he sucked it up and moved into the apartment.
Jackson had no issues opening the door; years of experience in lock picking had made him a master. Of course, the spare key he had made that fit perfectly might have helped as well. The door opened easily and he stepped inside punching in the key code for the alarm as he had done many times in the past. If he was going to find any clues the bedroom was going to be his best bet. As he moved through the living room he noted the new area rug and paint chips. It would seem that they were planning to remodel which bothered Jackson. He didn't like change, and he liked the fact that he knew Emma's apartment down to the last detail.
When Jackson reached the bedroom he was surprised to see how normal the room looked. If Carson had taken Emma, the room and the house should have been trashed, really looked like a crime scene. In fact, Eric wouldn't even be here, Carson was far from subtle and Jackson didn't understand how he didn't see this before. There was no way Carson was the one who took her. Even if he had taken her from a different location, he would want Jackson and the world to know that he had her. However, the bedroom seemed untouched. The bed was unmade and a small pile of dirty clothes rested in the corner which was nothing new. In general the room looked normal as if nothing had happened, and so did the whole house. If Carson didn't take Emma, then there was a chance she was still alive. So the question was who else?
If he was going to attempt to figure out what had happened then he needed to know what the message was. The fake businessman was proof someone wanted Jackson to know what happened. He just needed to know why. He scanned the room looking for something that was out of place, or missing, or new. He didn't see anything on the surface so he began to look closer. Whoever it was, wanted Jackson to find it, but no one else. He checked the picture frames but the layer of dust showed that they hadn't been touched. The window told the same story. He had to think and focus. He didn't have much time; Eric could be back any moment. He scanned the room, his gaze careful landing on the bed.
There were 4 pillows on the bed arranged randomly as if tossed, but something didn't seem right. Three of the pillowcases were ruffled matching the unmade bed theme of the room, but the fourth case was fairly neat. It was a subtle difference but it was worth a shot. Jackson stepped forward and slid his hand into the pillow case feeling around for anything out of place. "Gotcha." He mumbled quietly as his fingers enclosed around a foreign object. He pulled it out slowly and looked it over. It was a small plastic black rectangle with white dots. A domino. "Fuck" Jackson said aloud as his fist tightened around the domino. It was Dominic, Jackson's previous co-manager of their small committee. If he had Emma, then this wasn't about her at all, it was about Jackson, and Dominic wanted him to know that. At least it meant that Emma was still alive, but he didn't know for how long. He needed to find him and soon.
Jackson slipped the Domino into his pocket and placed the pillow back in its place. Once again, Emma was suffering for something he did, it was his choice to run, and now she had to pay the price.