Crime of Passion

Chapter 5: Suspicious Souls

Seriously, for a minute I thought that she already discovered my secrets and unraveled the mystery of the missing women. Guess I'm giving her way too much credit. I looked at her innocent face, not a single clue that right in front of her is the most dangerous creature in this town. 

"Tell me Claire; is this still part of your game? Lure me to your lair? Are you doing this intentionally, for me to give in and surrender to your charm?" I was thinking, but not out loud.

Staring at her innocent eyes attracts me more. It makes me more anxious and eager to make her mine. "Not now, but soon my precious one. You will soon fall in my arms and you will be mine to keep. This I promise you." I said to myself. "For now, I will ride along with you, stay as close as I could be, and will keep an eye on you to know your every move. Make sure that no one can take you away from me."

"You said you know who's taking all those women. May I know who is it?" I curiously ask.

"Yeah, about that..." She looks around to check once again if there are people listening. "This is not the right place to discuss this subject matter. Let's meet after my shift is over," she suggested.

"Sure, no problem," I replied to her. 

My house is a two-hour drive from here and another two-hour drive to return. Going back and forth is just a waste of fuel, time, and energy. That's why I decided to check-in at a motel not far from the diner. My body is still exhausted and my muscles are in a lot of pain due to the hard labor from yesterday. I need to rest as well. I set my alarm clock just to make sure that I won't oversleep and put my phone on a high volume so that I could still hear my phone ring just in case she calls.

I woke up past eight in the evening. I must have been sleeping like a log and didn't hear the alarm clock. I took my cellphone from the side table and check if there are missed calls. 

To my surprise, for the first time in my entire existence, I received fourteen missed calls and all of that comes from Claire. I get up, brush my teeth, took a quick shower, and drove my way over to the diner. As expected, she looks really pissed for making her wait too long.  

"I'm sorry," I sheepishly said to her.

"Don't tell me that you overslept once again?" She gazed at me as if she wanted to beat the life out of me. I just simply smiled at her for I have no other excuse for being late. Besides, there is no point in arguing with her. "Let's go we're late!" 

We both get in her blue sedan and drove away from the diner. 

"Where are we going?" I asked her since she is the one taking the lead and driving the wheels.

"We're going to the old pub house in the suburban area not far from here," she quickly replied.

 As soon as we arrived at our destination, she parked the car in a dark alley right outside the pub house. 

"Are we going inside?" My index finger is pointing at the pub house just across the street.

"No silly, we're having a stake-out!" she replied.

"Stake what?" 

"Haven't you heard about it? Stake-out, you know we stay in the car and watch out for our target. Then, we follow him where ever he goes to monitor his every move," she carefully explained.

To be honest, I knew what stake-out means. I've seen it in a few action movies and read it in some books. I just like to pretend to be stupid and ignorant, so she won't suspect me of being capable of anything else aside from being the owner of a winery. I'd rather keep a low simple profile than to look smart and know-it-all type of guy.

"I get it now. How long are we going to wait here?" 

"For as long as it takes. We need to gather more information about our target. His daily routine, who are the people affiliated to him and I'm curious to know how he met those girls," she said it as if she is very sure that he is the suspect.

"I see," I said and release a big sigh. "How I wish I brought something to eat."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She reached for something at the back of the car seat and hand me a paper bag. "I brought you this."

I opened the bag, inside is a bacon and egg sandwich and mineral water.

"Whoa, you're a lifesaver," I gladly said. "But where's the ice-cold beer?"

"We're on a stake-out and we're not allowed to drink," she said. "Stay quiet, he's here." Pointing at the man who is about to enter the pub house.

He looks familiar, he is the same guy I saw the last time I've been here. He was with Claire at the bar counter of the pub house. No wonder she's with him, she was investigating him that time.

"Who is he?" I curiously ask.

"His name is Carlo Jose, a Mexican and a small-time dealer," she said.

"What makes you think that he is your guy?" 

"He has tons of records in our system about violence against women. He even stabs his ex-wife with an ice peak when she caught him with another girl," she explains. "There are complaints about him abusing and harassing some of the women in the pub. Plus his previous girlfriend mysteriously disappeared last year. I bet he killed her," she added.

"He sure sounds like a potential suspect," I smirked.

"All we have to do is get concrete evidence and prove that he is really our guy. That's why we are having this stake-out." 

Well, that's the tricky and challenging part. Who would be stupid enough to leave a trail in their crime? While we sit there for hours, one of the pub's houses securities walks towards our car.

"S-someone is coming," I said. "What are we going to do? He may find out that we are..." 

Just before I finished my sentence, Claire pulls my head towards her and sealed me with a passionate kiss. My eyes widened and couldn't react immediately. For a moment, I froze and my mind went totally blank. I suddenly felt like tiny electricity running through my veins creating a tingling sensation all over my body. It was a different feeling. It was a mixture of different emotions. I'm a bit confused, but I like it.

It didn't take too long before I return her kiss. She gently glides her tongue inside my mouth like begging for an entrance and I gladly give it to her when I slip my tongue against her. I can taste the mint from her gum and the sweetness from the soda she took earlier. I close my eyes as our kiss gradually intensifies. We both release a gentle moan. I let her touch me and allow her to wander her hands all over my body. This is something that I always wanted to feel and to experience, the warmth from her touch and a gentle yet demanding kiss.

My heart rate rapidly increases and beats faster. My hands turn cold and sweat starts to form from my forehead and different parts of my body. I feel nervous and excited at the same time. She's too fragile and I don't want to break her, at least not for now. I still want to prolong this feeling and enjoyed it for as long as I could. 

I was about to touch her when we heard a knock from our window glass. Claire rolled down the car window glass.

"This is not a motel. Will you guys get a room?" The Pub house security officer said.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again," I politely replied.

"Levi, Leviticus Mancini?” He looks so surprised to see me. "Hell no! You and the hot waitress at Fred's diner?" he said and starts to laugh. "The sneaky little bastard hit the jackpot!"

"Jerry, this is an awkward place to meet," I shyly said to him while scratching the back of my neck.

"Jerry, can you please keep it a secret?" Claire said.

"Of course, anything for my friend Levi," he quickly responds. "I really thought you are gay. Never seen you with a girl before," he added.

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" I seriously don't know what to say. 

"Anyway, you can stay here and take as much time as you needed," he said. "Here take this." He gave me something. "You'll need that later." He winked at me. 

It was plastic of condoms. "Jerry, I can't take this," I said trying to return it to him.

"Better be safe than sorry!" he reminded me. He walks away from us and returns to his post.

Both of us sat still and kept quiet until she breaks the silence. 

"What we did is necessary, so he won't blow our cover," she tries to explain.

"I completely understand," I quickly agree.

"That kiss means no..." I interrupt her before she finishes her sentence.

"You don't have to say a word."

We continue to sit in the car without talking to each other until Carlo Jose walks out of the pub with a woman. He was holding her hair and dragging her outside the pub. They were screaming and yelling at each other. Then, he hits her hard in the face.

"Aren't we going to help her?" I ask Claire. "He's hurting her," I said.

"No, but I am going to record everything for evidence," she said. Claire took out her cellphone and records everything that had happened.

After a few minutes, Jerry went over to them and stops them from fighting. They both ride in a car and left the place.

"Are we going to follow them?" I ask once again.

"No, that's it for now. It's late, we should head home," she answers and starts the engine.

We drove back to the diner where I parked my pickup truck. 

"I really had a great time," I told her. 

"Levi, this is a stake-out and not a date," she said smiling at me. "But it was fun. I had a great time too," she added.

We both bid our farewells and go on our separate ways. The next day, I went back to the diner in time for my weekly wine delivery. Surprisingly, everyone is staring at me as if they saw a celebrity.

"Here comes the man of the hour!" Fred greeted me with his usual cheerful attitude, but this time with malicious intent. "How's your date with our lovely Claire?"

I was slack-mounted upon hearing those words, "Don't be shy everybody knows that you and Claire were dating!" Laurice said and slaps me from my behind.

"We are?" I confusedly said.

Then, here comes Claire to the rescue, dragging me out from the crowd. Everybody is screaming and cheering on us when we exited the diner.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask her.

"Apparently, Jerry spills out the beans and tells everyone that he saw us making out," she explains. "Now, everybody thinks that we are dating," she added.

"What are we going to do now?" I look at the diner. They are all looking at us from inside and gossiping about us.

"Levi, for now, let them think that we are dating," she shyly said. 

"Wait, what?" I panicky said. 

"It will be a good cover and people will not suspect us of doing anything if ever they see us together," she explains. 

"I guess you're right. Okay if that's what you want, I agree."

The bigger my chance of getting close to her is the slimmer my chance of killing her.

We continue to go on a stake-out or should I say a fake date. Every night, I wait for Claire to finish her shift at the diner and we head out to the pub to monitor Carlo Jose. We even followed him wherever he goes and recorded his every move. Claire list down all the people he had contact with and at the same time, reported it to her Headquarters to run a background check.

We did the same routine every night for two months. Until one day, Claire told me that we no longer need to do a stake-out and we can stop pretending to be lovers.

"What do you mean that he is no longer your suspect?" I confusedly ask her.

 "Why do I feel heavy-hearted after hearing that we can no longer continue the stake-out?" I ask myself.

"Levi, he is not the one. We did follow him for two months and found no proof that he could be the suspect," she said. "Yes, he can be harsh and mean to women, but he doesn't show any sign or capability of killing them," she carefully explains. 

"But I thought you said that he once stab her ex-wife?" I tried to insist that he is guilty of a crime he did not commit. "Will that be enough to say that he is capable of being violent or kill someone?"

"Do I feel low-spirited because Carlo Jose is no longer a suspect and that I could be her next target or because I can no longer hang out with her during the night?" I said to myself as I have mixed feelings about the situation.

"Yes, but not a serial killer," she seriously said. He stabs his wife out of self-defense, only because she is trying to stab him first." She releases a big sigh. "What we are looking for is someone who repeatedly did the same crime over and over again. He or she is someone who has neither remorse nor feeling of mercy towards its victims."

She perfectly describes me. I feel like she already knew me even without getting to know the real me.

 "What will happen next?" I ask her. 

"I'm back to square one. But that won't stop me from finding out the truth and looking for the person responsible for those missing women!" she said with full conviction.

That puts me in a very difficult and dangerous position. Nevertheless, if she needs proof to convict Carlos Jose, I would gladly give it to her on a silver platter. I will make him a legend that will put him in the history of this town. This will be a perfect crime.