Thanks a lot for your reviews! I'm glad you liked my last chapter. My heartfelt gratitude goes toSamstar1990, tifafenrir09, BBleached and Amber.
Chapter 16
"It's absolutely ridiculous! Four pounds?! How dare he say that! The doctors these days have absolutely no manners! He ought to have been grateful that I had decided to grace his little clinic. But noooo! He had to be rude and uncouth, and show absolutely no respect to a lady! I mean, c'mon officer! Do I look like I've gained weight? And four pounds too?"
"Of course not."
"Correct! It's a disgrace I tell you!"
"Sure…"
"He should've been arrested, for humiliating someone like me!"
"Mm-hmm…"
"Some young men just enjoy doing that! I mean only a few days ago, I decided to go to shopping in my favorite pink skirt…"
Max suppressed, what seemed like, his hundredth yawn for the last half an hour. He had no idea how pink skirts and forty pounds got into the conversation. All he remembered was that they were supposed to interrogate this performer called Ming-Ming, and find out whether she could throw any light upon the case. That was definitely the plan… But…
"… and then that little brat began to laugh and…"
Max glanced at his 'partner' through the corner of his eyes. Kenny was listening to the bluenette with rapt attention, his face resembling an over ripened tomato. The computer generous' fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard, as he took notes of… what, Max had no idea.
He sighed. 'At least someone's enjoying himself.'
The young doctor ran a hand through his hair. It wasn't the first time he had been stumped by a woman. Ever since the age of three, he had been 'as adorable as a teddy bear'. And now, despite of being in his early twenties, he was still cooed at by a good number of females. It annoyed him as much as it made Tyson laugh. But unlike his midnight haired friend, who could put off any annoying female (regardless of the consequence he'd face afterwards), Max had the (bad) habit of always being nice. And it often got him into various difficult situations. Of course, Ray was swooned over many times. But he had a 'polite' way refusing his fans… Though, Max had the feeling that even Ray and Tyson wouldn't be able to squeeze their way around that female.
"… but I knew that she took my lipstick…"
'I wonder how Kai would've handle this,' Max thought.
So far, the Russian had proved himself quiet proficient, when it came to reasoning with females—be it Mariam's delirious attack or Julia's high-handedness…
'Julia…' Max frowned slightly, as he remembered the day they had first met the duel-haired lady—the way Julia had made her irritated appearance, her bossy way of speaking, her little interaction with Kai, her argument with Raul…
Max's frown deepened as he thought harder. Now that he thought about it, it seemed as though there was something… something strange… unexpected… about that encounter.
'Something happened... that I had noticed… that had been picked up by my unconscious mind… but what? Was it something that someone said? Someone's reaction to something…? I know I'm missing something … but… I just can't put my finger to it! I can't remember! Man! This is frustrating. What happened that day? What is it that I—?'
"But no!"
Max jumped at the sudden outburst. He blinked confusedly at Ming Ming, who looked like a she was getting ready for a fight.
"I said, 'No, you little prick! I'll rather date a slug!' And then I turned, and walked away without sparing him a second glance!" She slammed her palm on the table. "Just like that!"
"Er…" Max began, completely at loss.
Beside him, Kenny piped up excitedly.
"Yeah!" He slammed his palm, as well. "Just like that!"
"I went too soft on him, didn't I? I know… I should've complained! I must've complained to the authorities! And to the—"
"Er, excuse me, Ming Ming…" Max tried tentatively. "I-I would really like to hear more… but you see, I'm afraid my, uh… boss would get really mad at me if don't get back soon. He's a bit short tempered…You understand, right?"
"Of course, I do!" the blue haired performer cried over-sympathetically. "I deal with these kinds of people all the time! Just because they have a little bit of money to waste, they think they can make others' lives hell! You know, only a few months ago I met this insolent little—"
Max mentally thanked the heavens, when his cell beeped a couple of time from his jacket, saving him from further torture.
"Uh, I think that's boss," Max tried to look as worried as possible. "I guess, he's already mad. So we'd better leave right away!"
He stood up hastily, pulling a dreamy-looking, tomato-faced Kenny up by the elbow.
"I enjoyed your company, I really did!" he spoke with a very polite smile, while his feet began to inch towards the nearest escape— er, exit. "But we, doc—I mean, police officers have a really busy schedule…"
The Tuttle had already started striding away, dragging his hypnotized partner behind him. He was almost at the door when—
"Officer! Just a second!"
The blonde cringed, debating whether he should make a run for it…
"Oh! There you are!" the sharp clanking of heels washed away his hope. "I thought you'd already left… Oh well, I just wanted to tell you something… About my colleague Mariah's death."
Max whipped around immediately, his face serious. "Yes?"
Ming Ming leaned closer and whispered in a suspenseful way. "You know, when I was little, my old nanny died. She slipped on a banana peal…Everyone thought that it was an accident, but I know better! She was murdered! That banana peal was a trap! I myself saw our old gardener eating the banana that morning… Mariah's case is just the same! The murderer is someone completely unsuspected… someone you think too incapable… or too… (Her eyes flickered towards her bespectacled audience) … unfashionable. It's usually the innocent looking nerds who turn out to be the real culprit!"
Giving a gaping Max, a meaningful look, she walked away.
Max blinked a couple of times. 'What the hell—?'
Next to him, Kenny nodded and called out drunkenly, "I completely agree with you, Miss Ming Ming!"
Crash!
The china vase crashed onto the floor, as a hooded figure rushed past it.
'Almost… Almost there! He hasn't seen my face! He can't catch me!'
The figure increased its pace. It rounded up a corner, and was relieved when it saw the small kitchen door, that led out into the backyard. Seizing the handle, it yanked the door open… only to stare directly into a pair of gleaming scarlet eyes.
"Like I said, not a very smart move… Miguel Lavaliere."
Miguel stood frozen, his sapphire eyes horrified from beneath the hood of his jacket. He stumbled backwards into the kitchen, when the person in front of him calmly took a step forward.
Kai's silhouette was outlined by the glowing silver aura of the moonlight. The once amethyst eyes had turned blazing crimson. Those very eyes sent shivers down Miguel's spine. He tried to move, but his limbs refused to cooperate.
"L-l-look… I-I can ex-explain—"
"You can," Kai agreed. "But the question is, 'what?' What can you explain? What will you explain? And… what must you explain?"
The Spaniard once again scuttled away, as Kai walked past him. The door was still open, but Miguel dared not to even look at it. He gulped, and shakily followed Kai. Once in the dark drawing room, he hesitated, before switching on the lights.
Kai stood leaning against the front door, facing the green armchair. Miguel gulped again, and cautiously approached the immobile figure.
"… uh…I—"
"July 21st. Time: Approximately, half past eight in the morning," Kai spoke softly but clearly, his eyes once again back to their original state. "Raul Fernandez stood outside this door, waiting to return a borrowed book to Mariah Wong. However, when he knocked, he got no response, and therefore, decided to try the handle. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked."
Kai pushed himself off the door.
"He entered into this very room through the door, and called out for Mariah. Once again, he was rewarded with no answer. So, he decided to leave the book on that— (Kai indicated towards a small table that stood beside the armchair)—table. But…"
Kai walked towards the table, until he was directly at level with the armchair.
"When he reached the table, he noticed Mariah sitting there—dead. He got quite a shock… seeing his next-door neighbor with blood flowing down the temple and all. Raul did the only thing he could— he ran. Gripped with fear and shock, he immediately fled from the spot."
Kai once again went back to his prior position next to Miguel.
"About half an hour later, Hiro Granger and his team arrived at the crime scene. They walked in through the door and came upon this…"
Kai produced a photograph from his jacket and silently held it out to Miguel. The later took with trembling fingers, careful not touch the Russian's long ones, as though the slightest contact with the pale skin would turn him to ashes.
It was a photograph of Mariah's corpse, taken from the exact spot where they were standing. It mainly showed the victim slouched over the side of the chair, her head hanging limply and a small pool of blood at the base of the said chair. Miguel slowly looked up, worry and confusion present in his eyes.
"This was what the police saw when they walked through here," the Phoenix continued. "Within a few hours, the body was taken for post mortem, the blood stains were marked, evidences were collected… Nothing more significant happened on that day. The chapter of June 21 was thus, declared closed… But… was it?"
This time, Kai looked directly at Miguel. "That is what you must explain, Mr. Lavaliere."
"I-I d-don't k-know what you—"
"Let's recapitulate the situation once more, from the beginning." Kai went on ignoring the other. "Raul Fernandez enters the room. He calls out for the victim. Then he walks towards the table… Now the question is 'why?' Why did he decide to leave the book on the table? Because he did not see anyone in the room, when he entered. Fair enough. However, later on when the police arrived, they saw the exact scene that you now hold in your hand— Mariah Wong lying dead."
Miguel's throat constricted, as Kai once again went back to the armchair. He gently the traced the top of the backrest with his finger, without touching.
"Raul was unable to see the corpse, because the backrest hid her from his view. It could've only been possible if the victim's torso was upright. See these stains of blood? (He traced the crimson lines) They start from the top right corner of the backrest, all the way down its length, before pooling onto the floor. Form this, it can be safely stated that victim had been slightly inclined towards the right. Her forehead rested on the spot from where the blood trail began. But, if you'd check the photo, you'll find that victim's posture was quite different when the police arrived. Her upper body is complete off the backrest making her clearly visible from the entrance. Also, look at the position of her head. It's at least two feet away from the armrest, about here. (Kai indicated at an imaginary head a couple of feet away) But here's the interesting part… look at the floor directly below her head. What can you see? A few pieces of shattered glass, but no blood. Not even a single drop. Yet, a couple of feet away, at the base of this chair, there's quite a puddle."
Kai could've been talking to himself all this time. All throughout his explanation, the blonde neither had said a single word, nor moved an inch. His face was itched with disbelief and fear.
"Now let's go back to where we'd left. Raul reaches the table. He keeps the book and turns. His eyes fall on the dead body, and out of shock, he flees to the first place that comes to his mind—his house. He's hysteric and clearly in shock. It takes him some time to convince his sister about what he saw. Now, while he tries to give a proper explanation, we'll see what happens in Wong's house."
Miguel remained stupefied. The picture slipped from his trembling hands.
"Raul rushes out of the house, without the curtsey of closing the door. As a result, the door is left open. A few minutes later, another person enters the picture—a person clad in a pale brown denim jacket. He sees the door wide open and enters into the house calling out for the victim. Just like Raul, he sees no one when he enters the living room, and in the same way, he unknowingly heads toward the corpse. However, unlike Raul, he did not cross the chair. Instead, he turned it towards him… The sudden movement makes the body lurch sideways—straight into his arms. Taken by complete surprise, he immediately jumps away from the body, leaving it hanging off the side. It takes him a while to come to his senses, and much to his horror, he realizes that his jacket had been stained by the victim's blood as well. Instinctively, he removes the tainted jacket from his body."
Miguel shuddered visibly, and gave an audible gasp. Kai ignored both.
"While all this is going on at the crime scene, Raul Fernandez is in his house, telling his sister about his sudden discovery. Not being fully convinced, Julia decides to investigate herself. She leaves her brother, who refuses to return to the corpse, in the house and heads for Mariah's. Like her predecessor, she finds the door open and enters. But, what she sees is definitely not, what she had expected… Mariah Wong, her next-door neighbor, is slumped over an armchair, bloodied and unmoving. And standing right next to her, with blood on his clothes, is none other than her secretly betrothed boyfriend… Miguel Lavaliere."
"J-Julia's not involved!" Miguel tried desperately, to cover his no-longer-secret fiancée. But Kai once again ignored him, as if he wasn't even there.
"Julia watches as her fiancé hastily removes his jacket and throws it away from him. Soon after, he notices her as well. But this not so happy reunion does not last long. It seems that, while Julia was in her neighbor's apartment, her brother had raised the alarm and alerted the locals. Out of panic and shock, Miguel, impulsively and without thinking, rushes out of the house, leaving his fiancée with a dead body and bloodstained clothing. No one pays any attention to a young man, running along the road, amidst the crowd that had accumulated around the house. Now, back inside the house, Julia stands in dilemma. Within a few seconds, the locals are going to arrive. She needs to save her lover, whom she firmly believes to be innocent. She hastily picks up the discarded jacket, and throws it out of the window. Luckily, it lands within a dug up patch of earth, near the flowerbed. While the excited neighbors are busy in the living room, Julia slips out into the garden. Unnoticed by anyone, she buries the jacket into the earth, and hurriedly embeds a few flowers on top of it. Within half an hour, the police take control. Everyone is busy with the removal of the body, and scanning the rooms. No one notices a tiny bit of cloth, sticking out of a disorganized flowerbed, hidden between the disarrayed flowers."
Kai finally stopped and looked at the Spaniard.
Miguel's face was no longer petrified. Instead, it was itched with desolation and hopelessness. He gave weak, hollow laugh. His voice was filled with despair like that of a man who has surrendered to his doom.
"I should've known," he spoke quietly. "It was pretty stupid of me to think that… (Miguel sighed) I don't know what it is about you. But ever since our first meeting at the hospital, I had this feeling that you were different. I guess, a part of me had already known that no matter what I did, I would not be able to deceive you. Our little conversation had been enough to tell me that. I have no idea how you found out that I had been eavesdropping on you people, earlier that morning, in Lee's house. Ever since, my little adventure over here, I had been nervous. Julia told me that she believed me, and what she did with my jacket. But still I was not consoled. I mean, how long would it take the police to dig up a pile of soil and retrieve it? I had to remove it, before the police did. I was just waiting for the right opportunity. Then that morning, I saw you and your team waiting outside Mariam's house. I got worried. I informed Mariam about you, and then secretly followed her. I was confident that no one had spotted me… But then again, I never did deceive you, did I? I heard your interrogation, and private conversation with Mariam. I was really mystified by your warning, and even more when it actually came true. I could tell that you knew more… a lot more than any of your colleagues did. And that's what scared me. How did you know? How much did you know? Later at the hospital, I suppose I became a little too impatient… or as you said 'curious'."
Miguel looked up at Kai with sadness, and a trace of admiration.
"I had no idea people like you can actually exist outside one's imagination. Everything you just said was… accurate to the last detail. If-if I weren't involved like this, I might have been a complete fan… But I was involved! And I had to go against you, and the same went for Julia. I told her that her phony clues—that match and cigarette—it wouldn't fool you. But that silly girl… She had to try. She had to…" Miguel's voice began to quiver. "…for us… for our…"
Tears were escaping freely from Miguel's eyes. He sank into his knees, and buried his face in his hands.
"I… I sh-should've t-told the truth… I shouldn't have run… B-but… I was t-too much of a c-coward. I g-got sc-scared… And… it's a-already t-too late n-now! All because of me! I-I promised her that… that we'll l-leave tonight! We'll go away… Away from all this! Sh-she's w-waiting f-for me… at the airport… B-but now… Th-that jacket… it-it had e-everything… my ID, my letters t-o Julia… everything! Julia! I'm sorry… Forgive me…"
The young man broke down completely. For a while, the room remained silent, apart from Miguel's uncontrollable sobs.
"The jacket is now under custody," Kai's calm voice sliced through the gloom. "Sooner or later, McGregor will discover its owner. However, it will be a lot more difficult for him… without this…"
Miguel slowly looked up… And immediately his eyes widened. A thick, lather wallet was dangling from between Kai's fingers. The letters—M. L.—were clearly visible on its surface.
"Th-that's my wallet!" Miguel gasped. He looked up at Kai in confusion and disbelief.
"The only thing McGregor has, is a mysterious blood stained jacket—and nothing else. It's not impossible for him to locate the anonymous owner… but it will take him time—knowing him, probably a couple of days more."
Kai produced something else—two plane tickets booked by Mr. M Lavaliere and Ms J Fernandez. He held out the wallet and the tickets to the shocked Spaniard, who, after a while, took them with trembling hands.
"You… you're giving them back to me?!"
"The only thing I'm giving you," Kai said, "is a choice."
"Choice?"
"As soon as you leave this house, I want you go straight to the BBA."
"What do I do there?"
"Confess."
"What?!"
"You'll find Hiro Granger there. Tell him everything you've told me… Nothing more, nothing less. Hiro will tell you what to do next. No harm will come to you or your family, and you'll be free as soon the court trial ends."
"But—!"
"Or, you can follow your original plan. Go to the airport with your fiancée and leave the country. You can rest assure that within two days, McGregor will be hunting you down from whatever corner of the globe you choose to hide in. You'll have to confess everything then, anyway. Only, McGregor wouldn't be so reasonable."
"…"
"I've given you the options, but the decision is yours to make. You can either go to the BBA and have yourself explained, or you can go to the airport and leave your fate in McGregor's hands. Just remember that your family's future depends upon your choice. And when I say family, I don't mean your fiancée alone."
Miguel's eyes widened. Then slowly he looked down at the objects in his hands. 'Julia…'
"B-but what if he asks why I was at Mariah's house in the first place…"
"He won't."
Kai's eyes were shadowed by his hair, making it impossible to make out what he was thinking.
"Why not?" Miguel looked down. "And you… Don't you want to know that, as well? The reason I came here that day?"
"That," Kai's voice was sharp and cool, "is none of my business. And it wasn't your either."
Miguel's head snapped up, his face filled with shock. 'H-He knows!'
"One last thing, Mr. Lavaliere," Kai was already at the entrance, the first light of the dawn glinting off his profile. "The next time you decide to 'interrogate' Raymond Kon, use the front door. The last time you nearly sent him to the hospital."
Before Miguel could've even blinked, he was gone.
Finally, I got this one done! It took me ages to finish this chapter.
Well, so now you know the mysterious figure that had been climbing up Ray's window in Chapter 11. But is Miguel's case all over or is there more to it? Wait and watch!
Read and Review!
KPR
