Gone After the Wind

Chapter 38: Figure

The couple who gleefully introduced themselves as the Wilsons ushered Cara into the living room, inviting her to sit on the plush beige sofa as James, the husband, returned upstairs to fetch his laptop. Georgia, the wife, left her for a minute to prepare a snack that Cara politely refused but the bubbly woman persisted. Before Cara’s words registered, she ran into the kitchen and re-appeared again, carrying a tray of lemon juice and pain au chocolat.

“It’s fine, Detective. Really. I know how hard it is to be on the field for the whole day. It’s tiring and dehydrating. Come on. Help yourself.” The woman smiled.

Not wanting to be rude and ungrateful, she poured herself the lemonade. She took a sip and just then, the descending footsteps of James Wilson boomed on their staircase. He appeared into the living room with a big, thrilling smile. Tugging the laptop on his forearm, he settled into the space between his wife.

“I’ve pulled every footage from every date you requested, all unfiltered and not single on edited. Here, check them.” James set up the laptop on the coffee table, wheeling it around to face Cara’s direction. He leaned and pressed the ‘enter’ key and five videos popped into the screen. All was dated chronologically and named random letters.

“This is excellent. Mind if I…?”

“Go on ahead. I have more of them if you want to do a week worth of backtrack.”

“That’s very kind. Thank you.” Cara smiled.

“Glad to be of help,” James said timidly, rubbing the left side of his neck. “I’ve always wondered how I’m going to use these videos since there are barely criminal activities to capture around. Thank God I didn’t delete them. Now it’s being used to solve a mystery. This is really mind-blowing.”

“What are you hoping to find, by the way, Detective? Candy’s abduction on play?” his wife asked and Cara licked her lower lip, getting slowly annoyed at the unnecessary firing of inquisitive questions.

She moved her forefinger on the touchpad and played the first video, hesitant to answer her truthfully or play it cautiously. She might never know what this couple would do once she vomits information that locals shouldn’t be aware of.

“We’ll see.” Her smile is now tight as she looked over the lid to nod at them. She dropped her gaze, her eyebrows furrowing seriously as the video began to play.

The couple’s words began to fade as she regained full focus. Pulling out the notepad in her pocket, she studied the dates and the time stamps that she jotted down earlier. She added speed, hitting the tab at the exact moment it hit the time stamp she compiled.

Starting at Thursday she went out with her current boyfriend and when the first outsider car to ever reached her house, apart from what she owned, appeared. She scanned every movement in the video all at once. The position of the camera provided the opposite view of what she watched before.

Candy goes out, met with her boyfriend and then they took off. Her boyfriend’s car never opened nor was moved discreetly from where it was parked. Cara couldn’t see anomalies that can indicate the suspect was in the vehicle.

Half-heartedly pleased with the confirmation, Cara crossed it off from her list. She moved on and delved into the next time stamp. It was the day Candy received consecutive deliveries. They served their purpose and that’s it. They all acted accordingly to their job and no one stood out that looked dubious enough. Plus, their vehicles were all unmoved and undisturbed.

Removing it from her list, it leaves Cara seven more points to check out. Those seven time frames holds the most secrets, and clues to be unraveled. Unfortunately, the four of them were clean.

After the deliveries were handed, the next activities to be seen were pretty ordinary and normal. The house sit lone and still, undisturbed and void of any new revelations.

And then, Candy’s next lover made an appearance. The camera was on-spot to catch the full back and left side of the van. At that angle, it was very eye-opening to witness how it all played out behind the blind spots.

The van was consistent to the first video. Unopened and untouched as it sat on the sidewalk, waiting for its owner. Inside the house, the plumber and Candy spared no time on fondling one another’s bodies. They kissed without shame inside the living room. Thanks to the high resolution and accuracy of the camera, anyone could slip as a Peeping Tom without getting caught.

If James Wilson was on the monitor all day, she wondered if he had seen more of this. His wife looked she’s always craving for scandals. These cameras might be his way of satisfying her.

They continued their little rendezvous outside. Using the van, they flee away.

“That’s what I’m talking about. If Polly had listened to my suggestion, poor Candy wouldn’t have to go such ordeal. They should be held accountable for that. And Candy… well, she was wrong that she entertained three men at once,” the wife said, steering Cara’s attention away for a second.

Victim blaming. Very typical.

Cara wanted to roll her eyes.

“Maybe. But going for what’s right is too late now. She can’t go back normal after all of that,” James Wilson added. His eyes went wide when she caught Cara, looking at him incredulously. “You found something?”

“I’m getting there. What do you mean three men at once, by the way?”

“Oh, it’s not like it’s a new rumor, anyway. We’ve all seen it. Her little quickies and those different men that came in her door consecutively. One after another. And after another. She’s selecting them like livestock.”

“You seem like you’ve got a good memory.” Cara’s lips twitched.

“You had to when you’re living in an interesting residence. Besides, those cameras helped in sharpening it.”

And she’s proud that she’s prying into other lives, huh?

“Anything else about the men that stood out to you?” Cara asked as she added speed to the footage. She had to accelerate it on only 2x speed as missing out any important details would be the death of her mission.

She tried her best to keep an attentive ear and alerted eyes as she did the listening and watching all at once.

“They all looked pleasant and working men. I mean, Candy wouldn’t have entertained them if they were homeless and untidy, right? Candy is pretty much careful when choosing her plaything. For example, there’s the businessman, who I assumed her boss because he drives a Black Sedan. He comes in every Monday, right after Candy gets home from work. And we adults know what happens when that door closes.”

“There’s the plumber, too,” James chimed in which earned an unsatisfying look from his wife. “Go on, honey, tell her.”

“I was just getting to that. As James said, there’s the plumber. Now, this man, I think is the wildest and the least of Candy’s pride. He’s the secret man whom she entertains when everyone seemed to be asleep. Their meeting don’t usually happens in her house. The plumber will arrive and they’ll go outside to eat.”

What’s the use of Cara’s hard-work obtaining those information if she could’ve just asked them? Geez, they’re better at fishing for details than most of the men in precinct does.

“And then, there’s the beardy guy.” The wife’s tone turned conspiratorial. This is where Cara had to pause the video.

“He’s an enigma, you know. Compared to these two, he doesn’t go there regularly. He visits, just once a week, I think. Doesn’t mean he’s never around, though. He drives by this street every evening. I know that because he owns an old, beige ram truck. Which is pretty unusual these days. And in this neighborhood so it wasn’t hard to notice it.”

“Every night, you say?”

“Yeah. Not once did he miss.”

“Did he seem just passing by or intentionally watching her house?”

“Seems passing by to me. He doesn’t stop to look or anything. Candy looks okay with that, too.”

That left Cara in deep thought. Tapping the notepad, she went over the facts she had in her mind, trying to see where that notion fits her theory. It was already established that the suspect they’re chasing is driving a green van. Doesn’t mean they have to trash the possibility that he drives other cars, too.

It’s possible. And if this third man is the perp, it will be easier for him to access the house without gathering too much attention. The only leak in this theory was, why wasn’t his beige ram truck seen on the footage the week before she disappeared? The visits should’ve been more frequent if he’s preparing to kidnap her.

Validating it in her mind, Cara went back to the video and pressed play, the Wilsons continued to feed her details at the background.

“I got the idea that they’re sleeping because on one occasion, I’ve seen them making out inside her opened garage. It never happened again, or so, I thought. But every time he visits, he would not stay there for too long. Either she’s beginning to think he’s unfit or their relationship is just too casual--what is it, Detective?”

They must’ve seen how drastic Cara’s expression changed after looking at the monitor. Back hunched and eyes widening, Cara ignored them and tried to absorb what’s happening in the video as quickly as possible.

But it was hard as the detail that she sought the most turned to be none of her expectations.

Candy and the plumber didn’t stay out all afternoon as she surmised. Exactly twenty minutes after they took the van, Candy came back, hauled by a taxi and was alone. She went directly to the garage and opened it, standing on a spot where it was completely hidden from her camera.

She withdrew the car out, drove away and took hours before was seen again.

Cara took a deep breath, allowing the scene to play out on itself.

Next time frame the car appeared, it was afternoon. Candy parked it a bit far from the front of her house that successfully evaded the focus of the camera. They got out and the car was left there all evening, only to be used again on driving the plumber home.

Cara’s heart beat accelerated. Her ears felt exploding as she waited for the car to appear and forty five minutes since the plumber left, Candy swerved into the driveway, opened the garage door and tucked the car in.

When she climbed out and slipped out of the garage, Cara thought it was over. But as the garage door slowly went down and as Candy walked away, she saw the car trembled for a moment.

Then a pair of black shoes jumped onto the paved floor and scurried away, finally disappearing when the door shut in.

“It’s one of those men, isn’t it?” the wife concluded.

Cara had to choke down the mixture of adrenaline and anxiety that filled her veins. She composed herself, offering a tight smile.

“We have no information to confirm that,” Cara said, immediately exiting the video and playing the last one.

Her nerves felt like needles poking inside her skin. She wanted to end it and go back to the crime scene immediately. With these, they have weeks worth of clues to pursue. It’s unnerving. To actually wait another bunch of minutes, stripped off of the opportunity to share it with Eric and everyone who deserves knowledge of it.

Knowing she might uncover another important piece of evidence, Cara stretched out her patience and clicked the last video. The couple in front of her had begun to talk in minimize voices after having ignored for the last ten minutes and it added to the pressure weighing on her.

Grasping at last straws of hope, Cara silenced her thoughts and for the next minutes, stationed her full attention to the video. It was days after Candy had left the house and when the tiny, obscure movement revealed itself.

It could be nothing. Really just anything. But if it happens to be a person opening that particular window, then they’ve got the last piece, the biggest key to uncover how Candy had been kidnapped and what really transpired in that house prior to that.

She was right then. To assume the window had been closed all the time. Candy ignored it when she was double-checking the security of the house and while she was pulling the blinds off. It didn’t concern her as she had confidence it would be impossible to open it from outside.

It was good choice of her to not check its fault and lend it false trust. Because if she had it fixed, no one would have known someone is inside her house for days and Cara wouldn’t have raised her suspicions about the perp’s way of entering.

The flapping that she had seen from the previous videos back at the crime scene was indeed the curtain from that window. The way it opened from inside looked natural.

But as the video rolled, it completely shifted into a spine-chilling scene. Behind the curtain that swayed along the wind, a dark, murky figure stood two or three feet away from the window.

The house was lit partially by the sunlight but the window being opened, the hindrance to see the interiors disappeared. The figure stood for over three seconds before it walked to the left side and returned again to walked passed by the window.

The curtains moved so the second time the figure walked by, its face was covered. On the third time, however, the figure didn’t do much covering and revealed itself or himself by standing behind the curtain, facing the window. The curtains did a single sway and when it moved away, two pair of eyes caught her by surprise.

He wore a ski mask, answering the risk of revealing himself. The way he stared into the distance appeared as though he knew there was camera and someone would be watching it in the future.

He knew. He’s done it on purpose to announce he’s there. He’s mocking us.

He simply walked away after giving that hard, cold stare. He was never seen again. In or out of the house.

This is it. This is everything that I need.

“Are you okay, Detective? Have you seen everything that you wanted?” James asked that reminded Cara they were still there.

Leaning forward, Cara scratched below her chin. “Yeah, it’s quite interesting. Before I hand it back to you, I don’t suppose you mind if I copy it into my hard drive? The thing is, I’ve forgot to bring one and I don’t have my phone with me. Is it okay if I borrow yours?”

The spectacled nerd’s eyes lit up. “Of course. Just so it happens, I have a bunch of them in my office. Wait here.”

As he stood, Cara emptied her glass of lemonade and pushed it toward the wife.

“And uh, can I ask for water to down all of these? I’m not really a fan of sweetened drinks. Makes my throat itchy for some reason,” Cara requested, pulling off her best polite face.

The wife’s nodded, eyebrows knitting. She hesitated but the urge to please an officer reigned. Hiding her refusal, she smiled. “Sure thing.”

“Thank you so much. Really sorry for the bother.”

The wife didn’t reply and retreated back into the kitchen. Soon as her back disappeared, Cara fumbled for her phone. Her heart went mad as she transferred every files from the laptop to her phone. She didn’t really need an external storage. Or was her throat damaged from the lemonade.

What she really needed is a distraction to keep the both of them away as she collected the files. She doesn’t trust the couple. Not with those trashy mouths and extreme nosiness. Hard evidence of a crime will be the last thing they should be trusted with.

As precaution and avoidance to future ruckus, she planned to delete the videos. With the progress her phone is taking, she wondered if she’d make it in time before the couple discovered what she’s trying to do.

The phone, indicating the transfer was complete. Just then, footsteps on the staircase interrupted the silence. Cara selected every video and with last command, deleted them all.

“I included ice so you’d feel more comfortable,” the wife said, her voice getting near.

She pressed the ‘off’ button of the laptop and just as she inserted the phone back into her pocket, the wife appeared and James followed behind her.

“What happened?” The wife’s steps trailed off upon seeing the screen of the laptop black.

“I don’t know. It just shuts itself off.”

“What? How could--” James Wilson groaned, stomping past her wife to check on the laptop.

Cara stood up, giving him space, and headed for the door.

“Did you touch something on it?” The wife’s eyes squinted.

Cara shrugged, raising her palms on a silent surrender. “I was just reviewing the video when it happened. By the way, I’ll be heading out. They must be looking for me there. I’ll get back to you to see if it’s fixed.”

The wife ignored as James already made frustrated noises. Cara took that as a chance to flee.

“Wait, Detective, wait!”

She ignored them. She stormed out of the door and when she crossed the street, the front door opened and Eric came out, distressed and relieved to see her in flesh.

“What ever happened to five minutes? I hope it’s worth it.”

“It is. It’s all in here.” She plucked out her phone and showed him.

“That better lead us to something. Moore has gathered every person inside. She’s ready to tell her show. Are you ready for yours?”

“It’s not a competition, Eric. But to answer your question, yes, I’m ready to tell what I found. All I need is that confirmation from the plumbing company and the dandelion flower we haven’t found yet at the scene and I’m set to go.”

“Good. They’re waiting for you in the living room. Let’s go.”