Bloody Riddle

X : Nothing Left

Karin stared at the book in her hand. Legacy from the beautiful woman, Isabelle's book. Her eyes examined one by one writing, written on a dull paper.

James wasn't the one who would say his feelings to everyone. He will say it if it must or forced. I found out when his mother had just died about a month ago. He received word that her mother had died in a car accident.

When the news first came, he didn't even come up with any expression. To be honest, it worried me.

He's like a live doll for over a week. Then his sister, Julia is still in Los Angeles, running her first concert and can't cancel her schedule. So James was home alone. The second week may be quite strange. Why I say strange, James open to me and he even tried to tease me, invited me to talk. In fact, he never acts like that before.

And in the third week he rarely comes to work.

I got word from Louis, James didn't come to office for three days. I came to his house without thinking.

When I got to his house, I half ran to the door and knocked it. I waited and the door open. James peeked through the door.

He looks messed up if I can be honest. I tried to talk some sense to him, and he allow me to come inside.

I watched his movements. I thought nothing strange until the moment I saw the kitchen and found a lot of alcohol bottles littered on the floor and there were some blood spots. I looked over at James. He said not to worry.

I don't believe him.

I approached James and saw wounds all over his hands. James seemed silent as I gave him the food I had bought at a nearby restaurant. He was so devastated by the death of his mother.

I asked him. At first he looks angry. But then his expression change, hesitated, and he talks to me.

Which I want to convey is not to be fooled by his words come out of his mouth. Doesn't mean he can't be trusted. But sometimes James cannot express his feelings, and that's what makes it worse. So if he's like that, please help him.

Karin opens next page.

After we talked to each other, James opened himself and he looks better. He returned to work, and I got closer to him.

One day he gets a call from his sister's agency that Julia can't reach. We all thought his sister went back to Atlanta, visited their mother's grave but, she never arrived.

A few days after the call, James received a package. I don't know the detail because I was doing another task. From what I hear, the package contains necklaces and pieces of Julia's hand.

James even more devastated when his sister's body found in the dining room of his own house, in the worst way, half-crushed and beaten.

Since then he has grown closed to everyone and drowned himself in investigation, searching for his sister's killer. Louis is very mad at him, yelled. About 2 years later, up and down, James resigned from the police.

We never saw him again. I try to reach him. Called him, even came to his house. But we got nothing. Like he never living in that house.

She sighed. So this makes James so closed to anyone. He did it for self-defense, so he wasn't carried away too much emotion. Karin stared at the clock. She got out of her bed, changed clothes and took a bag. Walked out and locked the door. She paid James a visit.

**

Karin knocked on James's door three times, like usual. She is humming a song while waiting for the door to open. No answer. Karin knocks back the door.

"James?" Suddenly the door opened and a black shadow appeared before her. James appeared, looks so chaotic and smells of stinging alcohol from his body.

"What do you want?"

"I just make sure you're okay. Can I come in?" James closed the door quickly but was held back by Karin's feet. The woman grimaced. "Let me in!" she demanded, holding the door with her hand. Her eyes glared at him, threatening. James sighed and opened the door again. Karin entered, close back the door, but she stopped at the door because the room was dark. Karin looked left, found a light switch and pressed it.

Her footsteps stopped when she accidentally kicked a bottle and let it roll. Bottle stop because it hit the table made a loud voice.

"James you okay?"

"Why not." he said, sitting on the couch. "Serve yourself." with circumstances like this, how she can serve herself. Karin grunted. She put her bag on the counter and started picking up the bottles scattered on the floor and cleaning up the mess. Feeling thirsty, Karin opened the fridge and found only a bottle of drinking water in it.

"James, where do you keep the glass?"

James didn't answer. Karin sigh and opened each shelf, found the glass arranged neatly there. She took two. While carrying a bottle in her hand Karin approached James who was on the couch. The woman looked at James with a blank expression.

"Drink it." James didn't budge. Karin ventured to sit next to him. She drank the water and put her glass on the table. silence approached them because Karin was gathering her courage.

"You can talk if you want." she said. James looked up at Karin with his green eyes. Karin fascinated with the eyes as if she saw the meadow in the daytime. The woman was nervous and half-numbed because suddenly James chuckled.

"Nothing can change anything, little girl." James put his hands together. His eyes seemed to look far ahead. "The same way will not work for me, as Isabelle did."

"No harm in trying, is it?"

"Take whiskey on the shelf then." he orders. Karin grunted but still stood up from the couch, walked to the shelf and took a whiskey. James takes his glass as Karin finishes pouring the whiskey.

"Why are you so good to me, before that you look afraid of me."

"Huh, you will not believe what I've seen. You better be careful, this little girl will surprise you." Karin started bravely after drinking her first glass of whiskey. James chuckled.

"I don't know if a little girl can threaten me. So, tell me how old are you, little girl?"

"I'm 30, this June."

"You're 29 years old, little girl."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I'm still an adult." Karin took a sip.

"What about you James, they say you disappeared for seven years." Karin put her face close to James. "How can someone like you could disappear from the radar, without a trace, and then come back here? Just tell me anyway."

"It's none of your business, little girl." Karin pulled herself away from James and set her glass on the table. "What about Julia?"

James smiled. "She's a wonderful sister."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Julia loves to sing a lot, after graduating highschool she went to college majoring in art."

"She always talks and live about art and she never stops. It always makes me happy."

"On her birthday, I wanted to give a big surprise. Someday, I sent her BioData to the singing agency and thankfully they immediately accepted Julia, then I gave her tickets to go to L.A as a singer. Afterwards she left me with my mom and worked there."

James poured the whiskey again and drank it. "One day Julia called me, she said she couldn't come home because of her busy schedule, I was so upset because soon we were going to celebrate our mother's birthday. We argued and ended up with her disconnecting all phone calls from me." He grip the glass very strong and put it on the table afterward. His face turn sour.

"Our relationship faltered when Julia became more famous and she became the star of the show, I don't know the details but she rarely calls home."

"My mom knew we were fighting. She said she also annoyed with me too. We had a big fight about me, who always came home late because of work. I was so upset and going out from house to office. I don't really remember that time because I was exhausted and asleep. But I remember afterwards, I woke up at my office desk when Hugo said my mother was a car accident and died." Karin shifted her seat close to James. She gently caressing his arm. Slowly James finger meets with Karin's then slowly link it.

"Don't force yourself to tell me if you don't want to." James shook his head weakly. "No, I want to tell you everything." Karin nodded.

"The news reached Julia, she finally called me after the last time we had a fight, she said she was going back to Atlanta after the last show. I was happy. Grieving our mother's death make me pretty down. Luckily Isabelle helped me move on too."

James's grip suddenly strengthened, making Karin staring. An uneasy feeling arises in her heart. "A few days later, Julia's agency called me, they said Julia disappeared from her hotel last night without saying goodbye, I told them that Julia was going home to visit our mother's grave. The agency paused, then they said goodbye and hung up."

"I was getting suspicious, but I tried to ignore it and think positive. After a packet came to my office, sent directly by someone, I was more afraid... and my fears became real." He trembled.

"In the package there is a piece of my sister's hand and also the necklace given by my mother before she went to L.A."

"James." Karin whispered. James lowered his head. "My instinct says I have to go home, and I'm went home." came a sobbing voice. "The unthinkable is that I found my sister's body headless, in my dining table." He paused. His body language said that it devastated him. Karin tried to look at James's but she can't.

James lifted his face, exposing the sad face to the woman in front of him. But, because he's a man with a high ego, he wipes his tears with the tip of his shirt. Karin paused.

"Don't tell this to anyone." He said. Karin released James's grip and hugged him. James’ eyes widened.

"You don't have to keep pretending to be strong, James." James's eyes filled with tears. In the end, he buried his face in Karin's shoulder and started crying. With his enormous hands James replied to her hug. Karin stroked his head, letting him take out all his feelings.

**

When the morning came, the sound of phone awakened Karin. She stared upward, but her was eyes blocked by something. Why she feels stuffy? She lifted her head.

They sleep crammed on the sofa, embracing each other. James's hands tightly wrapped around her waist. Somehow they slept last night in such a state. Karin felt deeply caught in a complicated situation. She blushed. Oh, this is great. She grunted.

The phone rang again.

"Ja-James, can you let me go?" Her hands trying to move his body by pushing his shoulder but unsuccessfully. James moaned in his sleep. He opened his eyes slowly. "Morning for you too."

"James, please." James got off the couch because Karin kick him and he fell to the floor, Karin jumped off the couch to open the bag.

"Hello?"

"Where have you been?" said Hugo on the other line.

"Sorry, I'm tired and overslept." Karin looked at James, who accidentally hit the wall. Karin held her laughter.

"Where are you going?" She whispered.

James replied. "Washing face."

"Did you hear me?"

"Sorry, can you repeat, I'm not focused."

"Come to the Office, Louis wants to talk to you."

"Uh, I'll be there soon."

James came back from the bathroom, wipe his face with a towel. He looks more fresh than before. His messy hair looks cute, making Karin hold her laughter for the umpteenth time. Fortunately, James didn't realize it because he still intoxicated since last night. "You want to leave now, it's still in the morning?" James’ eyes narrowed, trying to focus on the clock. Then his gaze fall to the woman.

"It’s okay. By the way, can I borrow your toilet?"

James blinked. "Down the hall."

Karin exited the living room, looking at the end of the hall in question. There are two doors there and Karin immediately rushed to the closest door. She chose the door on the right.

When she opened, she saw a different place, an office. In the room's corner, a curtain got in the way. Karin wondered what was behind it. "This isn't a toilet."

Karin winced. James was right behind her. "Sorry."

"The toilet is at the other door." James pointed. Karin quickly left the room.

James turned off the light and closed the door.

**

Karin returned to the living room to find James sitting and watching television. Karin approached, took her bag. "You want to come to office?"

"I want to stay today. If Louis asked, tell him, go f**k yourself."

Karin shook her head and quickly got out of the room. She opened the door. Before closing Karin look inside. "You're a dick." She yelled and finally closed the door so hard. James looked from the hallway.

His expression changed after that.

After being sure that Karin gone, James walked to one of his room, opened the door and saw room was pitch black. His hand grabbed the light switch on the right. Light illuminates the room. He walked towards the corner of the room to open the curtains.

The room is full of various kinds of photos and pieces of articles. Everything is connected by the red thread. All pointing in one direction. A photo of a man he had taken several years ago.

James smirked. "Found you."