Gone After the Wind

Chapter 22: Job

Too appalled to react, Cara remained motionless from where she stood, her eyes moving to and fro to the small space that appeared as the living area. The thoughts she had before stepping in froze immediately like a splash of water materializing midair as a snowstorm whiskered its path. She knew she was being obvious, and incoherently rude for a detective that suddenly showed up at someone's front door. But when did ever become easy to contain and suppress the wheel of reactions if the situation highly begs and seduces you to? Particularly if it had taken you by surprise, and had caught you off-guard.

Even to a tough soul like Cara, it's a real piece of work when she has to choose if she's going to throw up and be a disrespectful ally to the police or choke down all the reactions her body is giving and be professional. She can't do both. And certainly, she can't see herself wasting this opportunity and leaving Agent Rose alone here.

Biting her lower lip, she wrinkled her nose and glanced meaningfully in Agent Rose's direction who was now ahead of them, circling the living area like a child lost in Disney land. Only the difference was, she wasn't anywhere pleased with what she was seeing. Her crumpled face and bewildered eyes say it all. She was getting freaked out, and the restraint to comment was thinning out.

"You can sit wherever you can. Help yourselves," Santine said as he closed the door. He walked past Cara, bumping her shoulders a bit.

"You sure collect a lot of items here, Kyler," Agent Rose said, leaning to the first name basis to show this was just a friendly visit, and that what they were going to do was more like a casual conversation.

Gratified that Agent Rose steered a conversation right away, Cara allowed herself a moment to breathe and collect her s**t together. You've seen far worse. Don't get so worked up in a pile of garbages. Keep it together, she thought, reminding her annoying bulging brain that keeps nagging her to come out and be a spoiled kid.

That was the biggest problem, though. If she'd examine each corner, she's aware that the place wasn't just filled with tons of plastics, spoiled food, decaying bodies of rats, and unwashed garments. There were, as she had discerned by the looks and the stench, feces. Both had been emitted by animals and possibly, a human. It was scattered everywhere. From where she stood, below the small table, and near the countertop. Unknown substances and liquids tainted the green carpeted floor. The mess was so overwhelming that Cara was afraid to move or walk.

"You said you have questions," Santine said, dodging Agent Rose's previous comment. He sat on the floor, pressing his back against the countertop. He grabbed one beer on the couch and glugged from it shamelessly. Wiping the remnants on his growing mustache using the back of his palm, he clutched the can and threw it around.

Now that he was in full view, Cara can now study him completely. He wasn't tall, like the rest of their witnesses had pinned out, and like what it said on the reports. Probably about five foot five, Cara suspected he weighed less than two hundred pounds. He's lanky and moved timidly like a middle schooler who couldn't earn friends for the rest of the school year. His skin was pallor, almost stretched until the bones of his body were incredibly thin. The white sando he wore hung loosely on his shoulder, and his boxer looked like floating. The big circles under his eyes indicated how he spent his nights emptying those uncountable empty beer cans.

Cara immediately wondered how the smiling and bright boy in the portrait turned out like this.

"We do, Kyler. But would you mind covering yourself? You look cold to me." Agent flashed a friendly smile.

"I'm not," he answered, grabbing a bit of his hair. He sniffed and looked at them grumpily. "Look, can you just please go straight to the point of this? Why are you here, really?"

"We will, Kyler, okay? We're just building a rapport here since we don't want you to kick us out if we pressed onto the real matter quickly. Besides, is it wrong to get to know you first?"

"Why would I let my guard down to you if you, yourselves had never showed any identification to me? You didn't state your names when you came here," Santine barked.

"Oh, my bad. Sorry for that." Agent Rose took out her badge and flashed it languidly in Santine's direction. "I'm Agent Elian Rose from the FBI. The gorgeous lady over there? That's Detective Cara Black, she represents ASP. It means Albreska State Police, in case you haven't heard of it. Miss Black, can you show us your badge, please?"

Cara did what she was told. She pulled out her badge and held it before Santine. His eyes squinted, and as though that was enough for him to calm down, he nodded. "What do people like you want something from me? I haven't been out for days and I have behaved well. I don't see any reasons for you to visit me, considering that you both came from miles away. And this place is not for tourists. You know that by now."

"Mm-hmm." Agent Rose squatted. "It's really... uhm, disheartening and heartbreaking to see. But that stuff is not actually for us to handle. We can make calls to reach for help. Then the government will take care of it."

Santine scoffed. "Don't bother. People here had done that many times as they could. It all resulted in nothing. It's better this way."

"Was this place already like this when you moved here?"

Santine's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked scandalously at Agent Rose. "How did you know that? You're here to arrest me, aren't you?" He looked to Cara, asking for confirmation.

"No, we're not, Kyler. Calm down, alright? It's the protocol to gather information about the people we'll talk to. And why would we arrest you? Did you commit something that would require us to arrest you?"

"N-No, I don't," he answered, his defiance earlier had been buried by a flicker of panic. His adam apples moved.

Finding his reaction fishy, Cara looked beyond the cramped kitchen to the narrow hallway that led up to a bedroom. She searched for any opening that Santine might use to flee if the result of this questioning dismissed all the sweet touches that Agent Rose had portrayed from the beginning. Other than the tiny window she saw outside, she couldn't spot any. It calmed her, only on the surface.

"Then settle down and let's continue."

Nodding, Santine sat down again, his back gliding the top dramatically. His attention wasn't as tight as it was before. The quiver of his lips, the dancing of his panicked eyes, and the tight grasp of his hands to one another, all indicated uneasiness. Cara wondered if that was because of his assumption that they found out about his past, or something bigger, something more sinister than stalking Sandy Hupman.

"If you believe you're innocent, be forthcoming to us, Kyler, so we could support that. It's your cooperation, and honesty that we sought for. If you can't do or won't provide us that, we might as well bring you with us back to the station. I don't want that to happen, if you ask me. And I suppose you also don't. Do you, Kyler?"

"No, please, no. I don't want to go there." He shook his head.

"Alright. Glad we had a deal." Agent Rose smiled. "Now, I'll cut to the chase. You're familiar with Sandy Hupman, right?"

His head perked. "Is that what this is all about?"

"Partially, Kyler," Agent Rose said. "We're investigating a case that solely involves her. And after some of our inquiries, your name had come up. There was an incident where you acted inappropriately that led the police to put a restraining order against you. You remember that?"

Santine nodded.

"Well, we did some digging. We learned about what you did, and the preceding events before that. Can you recount that and let us hear your version of that story?"

"Does it matter? The women in that diner had probably sold me out and sang what happened. You already judged me. It won't change anything."

"It might not. But it would be a tremendous help if you would."

"I did that because I love her, alright?" His eyes confronted at them, glistening with unshed tears. "I know it sounds rubbish after what I did but I never want to cause her any harm. She's kind, lovely, and talkative. She's the only person who never judged me because of my appearance. I'm ugly. I'm broke. And I'm not mentally stable. Most people would avoid me after seeing me. Sandy never did that. She approached, and talked to me like I'm not different. She makes me feel like I'm a human being, you know. Not a trash that has been useless for years."

Agent Rose didn't probe, letting the silence extend over for more than fifteen seconds. When Santine regained his composure, he spoke again.

"I never had any relationship. That's why I don't know what's allowed or not when being infatuated. I thought by touching her things, we'd get closer and she'd realized that I love her so much."

"Did you know she's married?" Cara asked, less empathetic than Agent Rose. Santine might tell all of his saddening stories and use their time by weeping uncontrollably but Cara's doubt in him would remain sober and solid. This pity party might be a ruse, after all.

"I-I heard some...stories that she is."

"Then why did you push and insist on yourself? Perhaps because she didn't tell you, you think she was on for having extra care from someone," Cara added, watching him closely, not minding the sharp glance that Agent Rose had shot at her.

"Of course not! Sandy's not like that!" Santine bellowed.

"What my partner wants to say is that what made you continue the affection if you already knew she's married? Witnesses of your admiration could have tipped off her husband about what you were doing. He could've sued you, Kyler. Why weren't you bothered by that?"

"Because I have no intention to upgrade things between us!" he insisted. "I know what my place is. I know I can't cross the line and force her to... to see me the way she sees her husband. So I pleasured myself by watching her and admiring her from afar."

Not really far because you literally watched her just a few steps away. Every freaking day. That wasn't even pleasurable because you tried an assault.

That was about to fall from Cara's lips when she saw Agent Rose silently signaling her before returning her attention to Santine. The message she was conveying through her eyes and lips was cryptic, though.

"So by wearing her clothes, you feel much closer to her. You thought you'd strengthen the invisible connection between the two of you."

"Yeah... you can put it that way... and uhm..." His lips parted a little as he staggered. The contort on his face suggested that he wished to add some but chose not to. "yeah, that's it."

"Thanks for coming clean, Kyler. We appreciate that. However, there are other things that we'd like to know about. This time, I require you to be as straightforward as you can. No flowery words or exaggerated sentences. It's imperative that you'd go into every detail. What you saw, heard, or, even touched." Agent Rose clasped her hands together, leaning forward as though the receiver of her words was a kid trying to understand adult stuff. "You see, when we're questioning some folks from the diner, we came across some information. That a green truck had been seen parking... constantly outside the premises. Just hanging around there, still and like a rock. Would go by once the sun is down. There was no harm done to anyone. Ever seen that, Kyler?"

His unfocused eyes blinked, before he nodded. If he was able to mask the nervousness he felt earlier, now it had been exposed by something both unknown to Cara and Agent Rose. His trembling intensified. His breathing became involuntarily, and the depths of his mind had consumed all shred of his attention. Cara's eyes squinted, the beating pattern of her heart quickened, not of lingering anxiety or a product of her PTSD. But something close to sheer excitement and anticipation.

Is this it? The break that has been eluding her for months of investigating it? Does Santine really hold such valuable information, for him to sweat and nibble his nails like that?

"I think I-I have."

"We were told that the driver was pretty sensitive when they attempted to talk to him. But one man managed to see the person behind the wheel. That was you, wasn't it, Kyler? Can you tell us more about it?"

"Yeah," Santine said, releasing the bite off of his fingers. "I heard the waitresses talking about that. I wasn't interested at first, because Sandy was more of my priority and focus every time I visit there. When I picked up the rumors that Sandy was quite disturbed by its... uh, presence, I decided to confront whoever was in that car because I had an intuition that Sandy might be in danger. I've never seen her so rattled everytime she sees that car. And so I approached it. For a second I thought it was going to avoid me. He answered me when I knocked on his window."

"'He'? It was a man."

"As I've seen it. I asked him why he keeps doing that... you know, parking there, and watching the diner like there was some sort of a football game always happening inside. He didn't specifically give an answer... but he said something very inscrutable." Placing both of his hands on his head, he swallowed hard. "He asked me if I... wanted a doll or a marionette."

Cara froze. "s**t," she muttered as she gazed at Agent Rose who looked dumbfounded, and elated as she was.

"What did you do, then, Kyler?" Agent Rose asked.

"I was intrigued and creeped out, I was silent for seconds because what reply can I make with that kind of question? Then I composed myself and warned him to stop it at once. He was spreading fear and panic among the customers. What he was doing may not be that illegal but it was disturbing... for some people. Especially to Sandy. My words have no effect on him, though. He was impassive and indifferent as though I didn't exist outside. He seemed... withdrawn from his thoughts. So I figured to leave him alone. Then when I was about to return, he spoke again and... offered me a job." The last phrase sounded almost like a whisper. Agent Rose and Cara were lucky to have caught it as the signs of his resignation to the talk had surfaced the moment he finished talking.

"A job?" Agent Rose asked, incredulous. "What kind of eccentric stranger would offer you a job? It's a joke. And it would be stupid if you had taken the bait. Did you, Kyler?"

The flush on his cheeks and his avoidance to look at them suffice Agent Rose's suspicions. Cara scoffed, blinking rapidly as she tried to process and fathom what could he possibly mean by that. She watched his face undergo several emotions, each corresponding to guilt that pissed off Cara more. The way Santine concluded his narrative, it appeared as though, somewhat, he had done the man an exquisite favor by doing some dirty work for him. Just how much stupidity did this man commit?

She hoped her hunch was wrong. She hoped the job he accepted didn't involve hurting the poor woman. Because if it was otherwise, she didn't know if she could leave this place without landing a punch on his irking face.

"What was the job, Santine?" Agent Rose pressed, gone with the compassionate and empathetic agent she displayed a moment ago. Her voice was cold, chilling, and filled with menace. The revelation had surely hit a nerve, causing her to give up on the facade.

Santine rose up to his feet, hitting the edge of the countertop with his shoulders. "I didn't mean to do it!" he snapped with tears streaming down on his reddened cheeks.

Cara reached cautiously for her holster, ready to withdraw the gun just in case Santine did more than an outburst.

"Didn't mean to do what? Harm the person you think you're madly smitten at? Did the job he paid you for wasn't worth the repercussions?"

"What... what are you talking about? I didn't harm her, alright!" he declined. "The job he proposed wasn't that dangerous! I felt guilty because it didn't come out the way I expected! The price he gave wasn't worth the shame I got after!"

He pulled something out of his boxers, three or four square cut white papers that looked like polaroid shots. He swung his arm in the air, spreading the photos until they drifted towards Agent Rose. She picked them up, one by one.

"In exchange for those, he ordered me to go into her locker and take some of her belongings."

Agent Rose stood up abruptly, still eyeing the pictures with scrutiny. "What kind of belongings did you steal?"

"Anything that had traces of her scent, he said. Her red jumper was the closest thing I had thought of since... it was my favorite. She'd always become a cute little thing every time she wore it at work," he explained, recoiling back. "It was like hitting two birds at a stone for me. I get to receive pictures of her that even her husband hasn't yet seen and would never be if I would have those in my possessions. Not in this lifetime. I also have the chance to wear her dress and smell her like I'm just cuddling her. Those, and the fact that I'd draw her attention were convincingly enough for me to abide on the job!"

Hands balling into fists and teeth clenching, Cara took a step forward, damn well prepared to lunge at Santine, and engaged his wrists with cuffs. All the rationality she preserved to prevent herself from doing something reckless had burned out by the anger and disgust that she felt while listening. She had enough of this insanity, those twisted reasons that only he and that man would ever see as normal.

Just as she reached for the handcuffs, Agent Rose held up her palm on her way, shaking her head as if to warn her not to do anything that she'd regret later on. Assuming she understood it, Agent Rose handed the pictures over to her, before returning her attention to Santine who was clueless and pacing back and forth in his filthy kitchen.

Irritated by that, Cara still grabbed the pictures and examined them for seconds before shoving them down on her pants. She only had glimpses of those but she understood it immediately—the reason why that man was able to persuade Santine, and make use of his ignorance.

"So it wasn't you who truly came up with the notion to touch her things," Agent Rose concluded. "You didn't decide that for yourself. That doesn't mean you hadn't considered doing it. In fact, you fantasized about it a lot more than chances would allow you to. But because you were a coward, you couldn't force yourself. Then this man entered the picture, tricked you to do that on behalf of him, and made a sloppy bargain. And you, like a moth enticed by fire, agreed and followed him like a dog, not knowing that it would freak out Sandy more than the stalking you did."

"You don't know anything!" he moaned.

"You're right, I don't. But I'm not stupid. And I believe you are not, too. Which is why I want you to do the last and probably the best thing you'd ever do in your life. Describe that man for us. Provide us all the details you could think of while me, and my partner is still at our calmest mind. You wouldn't like it if we become more pissed, Kyler. Your story has already irked us in every possible way. Don't think of adding fuel to it before we did something you and I won't absolutely like."

He shook his head fervently, his eyes bulging as tears continued to stream down on his face. "I can't..." He grabbed his hair again, pulling occasionally as he recoiled on the wall. "I can't do that. He'll... he'll kill me."

His petrified expression looked genuine and Cara almost released the grip on her weapon, and come to him gently. But she remembered how fast his mood had changed, and how he wasn't entirely forthcoming to them at the beginning of the conversation. This could be his defense for getting caught out. Or just another form of his delusion.

Agent Rose stepped forward. "Who, Kyler? Tell us about him and he won't be able to harm you. We assure you that."

"No, no, no. That's not going to work. He'd find me, no matter what I do or whenever I put myself in." He paused, releasing the clutch on his hair, and facing them head up as though a thought—much more terrifying than his fears—had crossed his mind. His rounding eyes looked electrified. "What are you so interested in him? Did he do something? Is he a suspect? Did he... harm Sandy?"

Cara's eyes shut firmly, frustrated at how the moment they'd been waiting for had backfired.

"I prefer not to discuss that," Agent Rose answered. "Why don't we go outside and—

"Answer me!" he screamed angrily, the veins on his neck protruded and his whole face turned crimson.

Agent Rose licked her lower lip, glancing over at Cara, mentally asking her to prepare as she was about to drop the bomb. "Sandy is dead. She had passed away several days ago. We're retrieving information about that man because we believe he had an involvement in her demise. We want your help, Kyler. I know this is so hard to process but you have to be at your best. You're the only key at identifying him. Without you, we might not—"

Her last words had been drowned by a loud agonizing cry. Santine had apparently fallen on his knees, the grief had taken over his remaining sanity. He collapsed on the floor like a soldier that has been shot, curling up into a fetal position as he moaned shamelessly. Cara flinched, taking that moment to approach Agent Rose, and leaned into her.

"Should we take him?"

Agent Rose shook her head. "It's not possible. Let's have him a moment to regroup. Grief is grief. It's the same for everyone. Not, of course, if he's a sociopathic murderer who'd put on theatrics just to trick us." She went over to Santine and helped him to sit up. He obliged, draping one hand at the agent's arm. "We'll give you a moment to recover from the shock. Once you're done, and ready to talk, call us outside."

He shook his head and leaned back against the wall. He coughed. Using the energy and voice he could muster, he started speaking. "He's a white male. He had no particular accent but his... his voice was sweet and pleasant. He wasn't big but he was well built. He had clean-cut hair, and his face was... oddly handsome."

"Wait, what—"

"He told me his name but I can't say it," he added before his face crumpled for yet another cry.

"It's okay, Kyler. Take your time to breathe. We'll wait until you're ready." Agent Rose patted his shoulders, almost sympathetically. Hadn't Cara seen the victorious shimmer in her eyes, she'd think she had given in to Santine's unfortunate condition.

"Tell me you jotted all those down," she whispered as they headed for the door.

"It's in here." Cara raised her notebook.

Agent Rose nodded and sighed in relief. "That's good to know. Thank God your hands are fast."

Just as Agent Rose twisted the door handle, Cara saw at the corner of her eyes how Santine stood up and sprinted across the hallway towards the bedroom at the end. She stopped walking and looked over to where he had left off, wondering why he suddenly had the energy to move and slinked as he did.

Don't tell me he's...

Cara's eyes widened a fraction. She wheeled around, retrieving her foot that was about to step outside. She ran off across the living area to the hallway, flailing out her gun in the process. But she couldn't progress any longer when a blasting sound halted her from taking another step. That particular sound that she didn't expect would echo in here and at this very moment.

The heart-stopping growl of a gun being fired.