Crime of Passion

Chapter 4: The Vineyard

What the hell is she doing here? I check the wall clock in the living room and it’s already midnight. 

"What brought you here in my humble home detective? Are you somehow lost?" 

"I need to talk to you. Can we discuss it inside?" the tone of her voice sounded serious.

I've never seen her that serious before. Her cheerful personality and friendly smile have been replaced with a different orb, more like a dark and uneasy aura. I don't get scared easily, but the way she looks at me, it feels like something bad is about to happen. I looked around to see if she is with somebody, but it seems that she came here alone. 

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" I tried to stay calm and act normal.

"I know it's late, but this is important!" she insisted.

"Go home detective, let's just talk tomorrow," I told her. 

I was about to close the door, then she tries to push it. The door opens a bit wider and exposes my half-naked body covered in sweat. I saw the startled look on her face. She scans me from head to toe and a bit surprised at my physically built body. I can't blame her. People knew me as a timid kind of guy. I bet they also thought that I'm still a virgin until now since people didn't see me having any interest in women. 

"I'm sorry. Do you have a visitor by chance? I must have disturbed you. I'll see you tomorrow," she shyly said. Her face suddenly turns red and dodges my stare.

"Claire, wait. It's not what you think it is," I grab her hand and tried to stop her from leaving. "I just finished my workout and I was about to hit the shower when you showed up," I explained.

"Seriously Levi, I wasn't thinking of anything malicious. I just realized that it's already late and you're right we can talk tomorrow," she panicky explains.

My forehead furrowed and curiously asks her, "I'm just wondering, how did you knew where I live?" 

"Mr. Leviticus Mancini, you are the only one who owns a winery in the province. Everybody knows who you are and your contact information was scattered all over the town," she said smiling. I guess she's back in her cheerful aura.

"You don't have to come all the way here. You can just call me next time," I said.

"I'm trying to call you, but you're not answering my call."

I must have been busy with Yvecell at that time, that's why I missed her call. 

"Sorry about that. My sound system is a bit loud," I explained.

"No worries go back to what you are doing and I'll see you tomorrow in the diner," she said and left my villa.

I watch her get in her car and leave the villa. She's lucky that I don't have enough strength to take her down. It's been a long tiring day and I've used up all my strength with Yvecell. Besides, I no longer have the urges and the mood to do anything violent. After making sure that she was finally gone, I close the gate properly and went back to my house. 

"That was really close," I said to myself while looking at Yvecell. 

All of sudden, I realized something. No wonder I find Claire very familiar, she resembles all the girls that I've been with. Her physical feature fits all the women that I've been intimate with and killed. The FBI must have been studying me for the longest time and find out the type of woman that I'm attracted to. Did they send Claire as bait to lure me? Very clever but not enough to outsmart me.

I carefully carry Yvecell and bring her down to the basement. I placed her on top of the table and prepare all the things that I needed for her ritual. First, I wash away all the dirt from her body, the residue from our intercourse, and even her make-up. Disinfect the mouth, eyes, nose, and other orifices. I used a powerful disinfectant mixed with water to clean the features. It's part of my cleansing ritual. I want her to be clean inside and out. 

Next, I gently scrape away all of the tattoos, scars, and birthmarks from her skin. I want her to look flawless and perfect. It took me a lot of time to remove all of her tattoos as it was deeply embedded on skin. I rather remove those parts of her skin than to see her tainted with those inks. Then, I carefully brush her hair. So, she will look tidy and neat. Put on some scented oil on her body to moisturize her dry and lifeless skin and to keep her glossy complexion. It will create a life-like appearance. Finally, I wrapped her in a piece of cloth and carefully bring her to the vineyard.

I always have a hole ready for this kind of occasion. After burying one, I dug up another hole for the next one. It's like being prepared for what will happen next. Slowly and gently I bring Yvecell down to the six-foot deep hole and cover it up with soil, slightly sandy, and rock that has a pH balance of 5.5-7.0. Prepare a trellis for the grapevines and start planting. 

The sun was already set when I finished everything. The whole process is tiring, but looking at my precious vineyard, it was all worth it. I walked around the field and visited each one of my grapevines. 

"Good morning Rose, Veronica, Aileen, Marta, Darlene, Mima," calling and greeting all of my beloved. "We have a new member of the family. Her name is Yvecell. Please be nice to her," I happily introduce their new friend. 

Lastly, I walk over to the small greenhouse that is situated at the back of the villa. This is the most important place for me. It’s my happy place, my sanctuary, and my favorite part of the whole property. I went inside and walked over to the well-decorated greenhouse that is filled with daisies and lavender. In the center is a grapevine, the one I cherished the most. Unlike the rest of the grapevines, I used them to create wines that I sold commercially. But not this one, I used its grapes to create a special wine for my personal consumption.

"Good morning mother, it's been a while since I last visited you." I took a watering pot and start to water the plants. "We have a new member of the family." I smiled at her.

I gently cut off the weeds that surround the grapevine. "Aren't you proud of me? I've been making some progress. I have lots of friends now," I proudly told her. "Soon, I will introduce you to her." A smile curved on my lips. "I promise that you will never be alone here. Not for so long."

I left the greenhouse and went straight to my house. Gather the clothes, shoes, bag, and other property of Yvecell and burn it all in the furnace that was in the basement. I collect all the ashes and place them all in a garbage bag and throw it all in the bin. It will be collected by the garbage truck in the evening. I clean every inch of the house to make sure that there will be no traces left from the incident. Finally, I took a long shower to clean myself from long hard work. 

It was a bit early to go to the diner to meet up with Claire and my energy is running low. We can never tell what will happen, it's best to be prepared. I am also curious about what she wanted to discuss with me. But I am too tired and exhausted, so I decided to take a quick nap before heading downtown.

After three hours of sleep and no meal, I prepared myself to go to town. Upon arriving at the diner, Claire immediately saw me and went straight to me.

"What took you so long?" she asks.

"Sorry, I overslept," I explained. "Can I get the usual?" I ask casually.

"Of course," she replied and walked with heavy feet back to the counter like a child having tantrums. 

I sat at the corner farther back as I don't like to get much attention from the crowd. After a few minutes, Claire shows up with the meal I ordered. She sat in front of me.

"What is it that you want to discuss with me?" I said in a low tone almost whispering, so that nobody can hear us.

She looked around and checks if someone is watching and listening to us. After she's certain that the coast is clear, she leans closer to me and whispered, "I think I know who's taking all those missing women."  

I almost choke on my bacon and egg sandwich when she said that. No words come out of my mouth. I have mixed reactions and tons of questions filing in my head, "Did she really know that I am the one taking all those missing women?  How did she find out? Is this the reason why she said that to me to check my reaction if I am guilty of a crime?" I just stared at her waiting for her to spill it out. 

"I don't get it? Why are you saying this to me?" I ask inquisitively. 

"You are the only one who knows the real me," she said.

"So what?"

"I need your help!" she said with full of determination. "I need your help to capture the person who's taking all those women!" 

I suddenly felt relieved. I can't help but give her a big smile that almost tears my face apart. All this time, I've been worrying for nothing. 

"Of course Claire, I'll do anything to help you capture your suspect. We'll make sure that those missing women will get the justice they deserve!"