The Truth Berries

XII

       He did not want to kill her. In fact, he even begged her to tell him where the chest was. But the woman chose not to cooperate. She threatened him she would call the local police so he lost his patience. She gave him no choice but to leave her there with a knife on her chest.

       Jess wanted to cry out of disappointment. He travelled 8,000 miles from home to find that one thing that could set her family free but it slipped through his hands without him even knowing where it went. He was sure the investigator gave the chest to her. He’s been following him since his plane touched ground a few days ago. With so little sleep and no time to spare, he started his work immediately. Two days of surveillance has led him to her and, yesterday, he was positive that the chest was in her possession. He saw Miguel Romero handing her the golden chest itself. But after what happened in her apartment, he’s not sure of anything anymore. He was becoming more and more desperate with each passing hour that the chest was on the loose. He needed help. But he also needed to report this newest development to his employer. With a heavy heart, he called him.

       “Jess. Tell me something good happened to your trip.”

       “I wish nothing but good, but this one is not. I have found and stalked the man Yoel sent the package to. He was a police investigator here, a sergeant. And yesterday, I saw him giving the chest to his wife as a gift.”

       “Do they know what’s it for? Or what the thing is capable of doing?”

       “I don’t think they have any idea, sir.”

       “Good. Tell me you have already obtained your mission from that woman.”

       Jess did not answer him right away. He tried to find a pleasant way to tell the senator about the woman’s stubbornness.

       “I have talked to her, sir. But the woman played dumb. She was not willing to give it up easily. So I tried to persuade her in a very convincing way. It seems she has sent it to a friend for an evaluation but she was not going to tell anybody who it was.”, Jess explained.

       “Well, go talk to her again!”

       “Negative, sir.”

       “What do you mean, Jess?”

       “I’m afraid she cannot talk anymore.”

        It took a while before the senator finally got what he really meant.

       “So that’s the end of it?”, Senator Baynes asked.

       Jess did not say a word for quite some time. He could hear the senator’s heavy breathing through the phone and he knew he was terribly upset. The silence between them was only broken when Baynes spoke again.

       “Okay. Wait for my further instructions. For the meantime, you keep a low profile there. We do not want a big scandal between two countries to be tagged along our names, especially now that the presidential election is looming. Go take some time off. Remember, you’re in the Pearl of the Orient. So enjoy it while it lasts.”

       The line immediately went dead. Jess wondered what the senator meant with his last six words. Was it an honest advice or was there something deeper in it? A sinister reminder? Or just a stern warning? Whatever it was, he knew one thing for certain at that moment. He badly needed rest. Three days and two nights of stalking and surveillance drained him so much of energy, not to mention the sudden change in his diet. He never was a rice guy but a burger and steak man. Maybe Senator Baynes was right, he should take some time off. A few shots of good brandy wouldn’t hurt too. It could loosen his stiffening nerves and perhaps, set his entire system into reboot.

       He spent two hours in a night bar, sitting alone in the darkest corner with a bottle of local brandy standing in the middle of his table. The liquor tasted like liquid fire and it burned his throat with a single shot. Compared to his preferred drink back home, that was nothing but pig’s piss. But the drinkers at the bar seemed to enjoy it too much. Unlike him, they were downing their shot glasses like it’s nothing but water. There was a bucket of cracked ice in front of him but he ignored it. Still, he welcomed the unpleasant burn running from his throat down to his belly. Strangely, he felt his senses sharpened rather than dulled. But he did not empty the whole bottle. He went out of the bar when it was half-empty and searched for a place to sleep in.

He missed the soft bed back in Washington but the cheap hotel room he found would do for him tonight. He could live with that for the night because he would be gone before light. So he took it. The manager demanded an ID for security and records purposes but when he pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his black, leather wallet, he smiled and bothered him no more. He gave Jess the key to his room and left him on his own. Jess watched his twenty dollars disappear into the manager’s pocket before going to his room. Inside were an electric fan, a table big enough for two, a regular-sized bed and a small television set with a DVD player perched on top of it. The room’s air conditioner was functioning but it sounded like it’s about to blow so he turned it off. He opted for the fan. He put his bags down and turned the TV on. He searched through all channels for the late-night news but all of them were in the local dialect until he found CNN. Then he lied down on the bed and listened as the news anchor reported something about a successful buy-bust done by the authorities the day before. The next story pulled him up so he turned the volume up.

       “. . . decorated police investigator Sergeant Miguel Romero was arrested earlier tonight for the murder of his wife, Nadia Romero. He was caught holding the lifeless body of the victim in her apartment, the murder weapon still in his hands. Suspect claims he’s innocent and somebody else did the crime. The police, however, firmly declared they have the right man and they will do their very best to bring him to justice. Police assured no whitewashing or special treatments whatsoever will happen. Romero’s long-time partner Sergeant Alex Gonzalo is the head investigating officer of the case. Romero is currently in the custody of the MPD. Stay tuned for further updates on this case. On weather news . . .”

       He turned the TV off. Now it’s getting complicated, he said to himself. The police now had the only man who knew about the golden chest for murder. It would be way tricky for him to penetrate the police station, question Romero about the chest’s whereabouts and get out without anybody suspecting. Chances were slim that Romero wouldn’t scream once they’ve met and he knew that it was him who killed her wife. The sound of his phone beeping cut his train of thoughts so he looked what it was. It was a text message from a contact he named S.B. He opened it and he wondered what it meant. It simply read;

       Something to inspire you in your vacation there.

       A full minute later, a video file came in. he felt his hands tremble. What could it be? He summoned all his courage and opened the file. The video started in black because a gloved hand was covering the camera lens but he heard a familiar voice in the background. She could be heard screaming through something that’s hindering her mouth. When the hand left the lens, he saw her blindfolded wife in the video with her mouth gagged by a large handkerchief. Two masked men were holding her arms, trying to pin her down. Then a third man appeared and ripped her white floral blouse open. His son was nowhere to be found. The third man ripped all her clothing and left her naked for the cameraman to film as they all watched her struggle to break free. Jess whole body shook with anger. He wanted to throw his phone away but the desire to see his son safe kept him from doing it. The man who tore her clothes pulled down his pants and started abusing her wife. The video showed him licking her ear and her neck down to her left breast. Then he groped both of them roughly as he started riding her. Jess was watching with tears and gritted teeth while his right hand was clenched into a solid fist. He would kill them, every single one of them. When the man was done, he expected the video to end. Instead, the men switched places and they took their turns on her.

       “Oh God, please no! Not my family please. Baynes! Not them!”

       They left her unconscious when they were all done. One man even spitted on her face before leaving. Then, the video showed another frame with his son innocently sleeping. It was then that the video ended, with the face of his unknowing son. Then he received another text massage from the same man.

       Do your job or they will do theirs.

       Jess wiped away his angry tears and started to change clothes. He had no more time to rest. He has made up his mind. He would come for Romero and he would make him talk. Even if he had to go through the burning flames of hell just to get to him. For there would never be a man as scorched as him.