CHAPTER 8
1150 Words
Patrick Johnson was completely taken over.
Taken over by his sense of responsibility.
Angela had trusted him in the time of danger. Out of all the people she knew she had phoned him when she was being stalked.
Now, it was his turn to keep up to that trust.
Patrick was standing right in front of the Louis's mansion. Despite the fact that he had visited the place once before, he couldn't help but get astounded at its vast beauty.
He looked around at the place. The mansion was surrounded by ginormous trees on all sides. Patrick's cop instincts told him that Angela was running somewhere outside the mansion but inside the Louis' premises.
He walked over to the security and shouted at him to open the gate. His closed eyes did not respond.
Patrick shook the guard violently but the man didn't move a muscle.
It was then that Patrick noticed an empty coffee mug at his feet. He picked it up and looked in.
Sleeping pills.
The guard had been sedated with sleeping pills.
Patrick quickly climbed over the compound wall and got in.
He ran towards the ginormous trees that engulfed the mansion. It was all dark and quiet.
Deep inside, his gut told him that something was wrong.
That everything was out of control.
Patrick did not listen to it. His sense of responsibility blindfolded him. He kept wandering deep into the trees, his firm footsteps echoing through the woods.
He sharpened his ears so he could hear even the slightest move.
He heard the breeze blowing, the leaves flaunting and the crickets' flapping.
This was the first time he was singlehandedly facing an antagonist and he felt the adrenaline rush within him.
His perspiring palms made violent attempts to hold the gun firmly.
And then three things happened one after another:
1) Patrick felt someone's presence behind him.
2) His gun slipped and fell off to the ground.
3) A hand touched his shoulder.
Sarah Jones had a beautiful mind.
She'd been rattling her brain ever since her husband told her how challenging the Ashfield Park murder case was.
She was born into a family that applied logical thinking into everything. Her father was a criminal lawyer, her mother a math professor and her elder sister, Stana, the best detective in the country.
Sarah loved solving su do ku puzzles. The harder it was, the more intriguing it was to her.
And now, the Richard Anderson murder case looked like a cupcake to her. Like it was the most difficult su do ku puzzle she had ever come across and she was determined to help her husband solve it.
It was ten thirty in the morning and Sarah walked into the Cafe Rainbow that was a few kilometres away from St. Mathew's college. The same college were Richard and Rachel were perusing their master’s degree in business administration.
She walked right towards the bill counter were a tall, good looking brunette was appointed to stand.
"Can I help you, madam?" asked the brunette head.
"Yes. Can I take a look at your CCTVs?"
***********
"Are you sure you didn't hear anything?" asked Ronny.
Rachel took a deep breath. "I'm sure chief. I did not hear anything"
Angela, Rachel and Patrick were sat along with Ronny in his precinct.
Angela was shivering with fright, her eyes wide and refusing to blink.
"What were you doing, Rachel?" queried Patrick.
Rachel sighed. "I was in deep sleep. I did not even hear a slight sound"
All this seemed very suspicious to Ronny. Someone had sedated the security with sleeping pills and stalked Angela. While Rachel, whose room was very next to Angela's did not even hear a slight sound?
"Angela, can you brief the whole incident?" asked Ronny.
Angela nodded. "It would have been eleven thirty and I was about to sleep. I switched off the lights, shut the door and hit my bed. In the quiet, I was able to hear deliberate footsteps in the balcony. I switched on the lights and opened the balcony door. There was nobody. When I looked below, I saw a shadow moving amongst the trees. I presumed he would have slid down through the pipes. Without further thought, I grabbed my phone and went down. When I was amidst the trees I saw a shadow walking towards me....." She paused and shivered as she recalled the moment.
"The way he walked.... It was like a.... hunter walking towards his prey. I turned around and ran. As I ran, I called Mr. Johnson and told him I was in danger. Before, I could finish talking to him, I accidentally stepped on a stone and fell down"
Ronny saw the wounds in her hands and legs.
"By this time, I was able to hear the stalker chasing me at a faster pace. So, despite the wounds I got up and ran for my life. When I was completely exhausted, I hid behind a huge tree at a corner. Fortunately, the stalker got confused and walked in the opposite direction. I stayed right there until Mr. Johnson came to rescue me"
Ronny nodded taking in the information he'd got. "Did you see the stalker, Patrick?" he asked.
"No. I think he absconded by the time I arrived"
"Maybe you should talk to our security" suggested Rachel. "You can also take a look at our security cameras" added she.
Just then, a musical voice intervened. "Excuse me?!"
It was Sarah Jones. She shot a friendly smile at the small party gathered in Ronny's precinct.
"Sarah?!" Exclaimed Ronny, shocked.
"Umm... Give a me a sec" he added and got out.
********
Ronny took Sarah to a private room.
"Why were you so shocked when you saw me?" mocked Sarah.
"I was surprised" replied he.
"I don't think so. Every time you see me in your office, there's shock written all over your face. Doing something dirty?"
"Why would I do that when I have a hot cupcake at home" he said wrapping his arms around her.
"Alright. Alright. Not now" she said laughing. "Actually, I came here to tell you something very important" she added and opened her laptop.
"I spoke to a few of Richard's close friends this morning and discovered that he had been with them till eight o'clock during the night he was murdered. And then he left them saying that he had to catch up with someone in a nearby cafe. He was in the cafe presumably till ten o clock"
"That's a good thing you've found. And who was Richard with?"
Ronny asked itching his stubble.
"I checked the CCTVs of the cafe and found this" asserted she, turning the laptop towards him so he could see.
And there, Richard Anderson was in a serious conversation with quite an elderly man.
And the man was Mr David Downey Louis.
- Writer
