THE EMPATH

PROFESSION

"No, I don't think they will find the killer on that tape. For one, he never seemed to leave a trail, and as you can see, he had all the protective clothes. The fact that they are just looking for a tall slim guy doesn't help the situation much either," Richard Oghanga said. Richard was one of the country's most popular detectives, he had the highest conviction rate and he had saved quite a number of people in the country. He always knew where and when to look and that made him the most feared officer. The government so much believed in his work that they assigned him his own special anti-terrorism task force. Ever since then, acts of terrorism went down dramatically, then he went silent for a while. However, after Albert's confession, the government went looking for him to help them clean out the city. In only a few days, Richard had been able to flush out six d**g lords and exposed all their dirty business and he was not planning on stopping at that. In an interview with Nation TV, the detective had promised to wipe out all the d**g operations in the city within the next three months and after that, he planned to go national, and well, for those who knew him well, they understood he was more than capable. However, the news of Chief Johnson's death came along and the police were at it for a whole two weeks with no success. The fact that they were looking for a ghost that seemed to have no trail at all made it hard for them to progress so they turned to the people for help. They circulated the video through social media and any other media that could help. They even offered rewards to anyone who could help identify the killer but so far they had nothing.

That was when Nation TV invited the one and only Detective Richard so that he could give his insight. The interview was what Lily and I were watching that Sunday morning and I had to admit that the guy was good. "So, are you suggesting that the police should just call it quits?" the host asked. As usual, Richard paused for a moment before answering, Lily said that he liked to keep people in suspension to gain their complete attention but I was not convinced that that was the case. To me, it was almost like he had someone in his head giving him the answers. I knew that because I had the voice and I always made pauses like those when he was talking to me. There was a possibility that Richard was more than a human. "No, I didn't say it was impossible to find the killer, I just suggested that they are looking in the wrong place. You see, my father told me that if something happens once, it's normal, if it happens twice, it is a coincidence, but if it happens three times, then it is a pattern. What I mean is, the police should not be going about this the obvious way, they should be looking for patterns," Richard said and adjusted his seating position. I could tell he had so much more to tell but he was not going to tell until he was asked. "By the looks of it, you have already worked on that. Are there any patterns in this case?" the host went on to ask and her questions prompted a sweet smile from the otherwise always serious officer. He had been waiting for that question for some time.

"That is a very very good question Victoria. I have two ways I could answer it but I will choose the hard one. So, in one year, three incidents have occurred that are hard to explain. They all seem unrelated but they have something in common. First, was the stabbing of three murder, a*******n, and r**e suspects inside secure police cells, then, a few weeks ago, a rich d**g lord jumped out of his club office after a so-called "voluntary confession" to murder, r**e, and d**g trafficking, then there is the killing of a cruel chief who is also believed and even proven to be a killer, r****t and a dictator. Now, just looking at how the victims died, there is no connection whatsoever. The first one's died of stab wounds from what seemed like a military-grade blade, the second one was a suicide, and the third one was a very slow slit through the neck with a kitchen knife. Now, if we take a closer look, we find the connection that indicates but not necessarily proof that all the three cases involved another person who may as well be the killer. All the victims had something in common. They were all killers and rapists. So, basically what I am trying to say is that the police are dealing with some sort of a vigilante killer or killers. Does that make any sense to you at all Victoria?" He concluded and smiled even wider. Victoria's face lit up like a Christmas tree and so did Lily's. Suddenly the two seemed to have seen some sort of a light at the end of the tunnel. As for me, I was hit by a wave of disbelief. "How did he even arrive at that conclusion?" I found myself asking out loud.

The interview ended with Victoria the host still shocked from the insight and Richard's face going back to being as hard as a rock. Lily turned towards me and smiled. "Did you hear that? There is a possibility that my evil uncle didn't commit suicide," She said. I was not sure whether she was smiling because she was happy to know that or because she was about to burst up in flames before rushing out in search of "justice". "Is that a good or a bad thing?" I asked hoping it was not what I was thinking. "Well, I have been angry all along because I thought that son of a b***h went out on his own terms but now, I know that there is a possibility that he was forced to jump out of the window. That means that he was not ready to die nor confess but he did it anyway. For some reason, that makes me feel a little bit better," she answered and I was glad. "Does that mean that you support that vigilante justice thing?" I asked just to be sure. "No, no...if I ever come across the one who did that, I would...I don't know. I just...I don't think it is right to take another person's life despite the reasons one may think they have to justify it. You kill the killer, you become one. How can that make you better than them," she answered and I knew there and then that there was no way she was ever gonna understand me. From where I sat, I decided to never tell her about me. I had really hoped that she would see it as a good thing so that then I wouldn't have to lie to her forever.

"Well, it is nice to know your thoughts on this. So, do you think that Richard is onto something solid here?" of course I knew she did. Of course, everyone did as well. Richard had just hit it where it hurt the most and people could see the sense in his insight. He had just set the police on the right path and that meant that my plan was not at all as full proof as I had thought. There was a chance that somehow the police investigation would lead back to me, that was however not the worst part. The worst part was if the investigation went back to my village, you know with the missing files and Anne saga. There was no telling for sure that Anne wouldn't c***k this time and that would see to me being discovered. Suddenly, I had a strong urge to talk to Robert. I had a clue that he may have had the answer to my problems and I would really love that. The main problem, however, was the fact that I had no idea where he was or how to get to him. For all I knew, he didn't own a phone. In fact, he didn't own any electronics. All he did was meditate, practice his tactics, eat, and repeat the whole process. He was not a people person and there was a huge probability that even his neighbors didn't know him well. "How on earth was I supposed to get in touch with him?" I wondered. "So, now that that is over, shouldn't we be heading out?" Lily asked and that reminded me of the reason why she was at my place that early morning. "Ooh yeah, we should. Just a moment," I answered and went to my bedroom to put on some decent clothes.

We had a whole day of fun planned. Lily had suggested earlier that week that we should do something together that weekend since she felt like all we ever did was go out to lunch and go home. A test was on the way and she was a little nervous so she thought that a fun day out would help her relax and focus. She also thought that it would build our relationship. I would have protested but you know, with her being so talkative and my being quiet, I never really got to tell her much. I had to agree to her idea even though I would have preferred to stay inside, watch a movie or something, and eat junk. I had been thinking of a way to make her postpone all week but I came up with nothing. I figured I would change her mind that Sunday morning but after the interview with Richard, all I wanted was to be out of the house and go far away where I wouldn't think about all my plans going south. I went into my room, changed, and came out ready to go. "Well, I wouldn't go for the shirt if I were you. Why didn't you go with the gray polo?" she was a fashion enthusiast and sometimes I found it annoying. To me, clothes were just meant to cover nakedness so I never gave a thought to what I was wearing provided I was not n***d or dirty. For the next few minutes, I listened to her go on and on about fashion tips and color blending, and a lot of other crap. She even followed me to the bedroom and made me change a few times before finally settling on a Grey polo shirt, navy blue jeans, and white canvas sneakers.

I stepped out of the house feeling like a ten-year-old who had just been forced to wear a decent suit to church instead of their favorite pajamas. I mean, I knew I looked good and all but the fact that I was dressed by a girl while she was yelling at me kind of made it feel like it was not worth it. Maybe someday I would grow to appreciate it. Our first stop was at our favorite dinner where we had plans for breakfast. There we stayed for half an hour enjoying coffee, eggs, and scones. Lily then took the liberty of walking me all around town. She knew I was still not familiar with the place and since she practically grew up on those streets, she thought it was better if she taught me how to find my way through the identical streets. She taught me that the easiest way to remember was by marking the eldest and the most unlikely to change buildings. Our start was at the national archives building which was right at the center of the city. We made the first lap and she showed me a few more government buildings that I was supposed to mark. On the second lap, she showed me a few clubs, lanes, and avenues and she made me lead the way through the third lap. By then I was pretty confident as I walked her through the town with her hand in mine. By then I had grown to like her more than I would have ever cared to admit. We ended the day by going out for a swim before going back to our favorite dinner for dinner. The day had gone so smoothly that I had forgotten about Robert or my plan to look for a way out just in case Richard's insight came all the way back to bite my a*s. As we sat quietly at the table waiting for our order to be brought, all I was thinking about was how I needed to be a professional at my night job.

It was clear that so far I was not careful enough. I had thought that keeping my fingerprints off the scenes was enough but as Richard had shown earlier, there was more to being squeaky clean than that. I needed to come up with a new system that would make sure there was no connection whatsoever within my jobs. I needed to come up with a professional, unique and comprehensive system that would make sure there were no patterns to follow. There was one problem though, the fact that I had already made some mistakes in the past that had not been taken care of yet and those were the ones to determine whether I was going to be free long enough to implement the new system that I had not even come up with yet. As the food was placed on the table, I looked at Lily and realized that she had noticed I was worried about something. She was just looking for the right time to ask and I would make sure she didn't find it. I pulled my plate towards me and staffed two spoons of my favorite meal into my mouth as she looked at me questioningly. She waited for a while and I saw it so I added another one before she could start talking. She gave up and pulled her plate and I knew I was out of the woods but boy was I wrong. Just as she was about to take her first bite, four police officers walked through the door and called my name out loud. I swallowed all the food I had in my mouth without even chewing them. My worst fear was just being realized and I was scared. I lifted my hand and the police approached me in a hurry. "I am sorry to disrupt your date, but we need you to answer a few questions down at the station," one of them said. I waited for them to take out the handcuffs or something but they didn't. "Is anything wrong officers?" Lily asked. "No, it is just that we think he could help us with something. Don't you worry, he is not under arrest or anything," the officer replied. Lily assured me that everything was going to be fine and that she was on her way as I walked away in between the officers with my heart thumping so hard that for a moment I thought it would blow up in my chest. "Don't you worry son, we are just being professionals here," the officers said and patted me on the shoulder.