Love, Vance Cole

Two

11 December



“Are you sure you’re the right man for the case?”

Lucas stood beside him in the elevator as he spoke. Both kept their eyes on the door. Keith saw that question coming. And he didn’t want to respond. 

“Let’s not drag our personal lives into our profession. Speak with evidence or simply do not speak.”

With a soft bell, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a crowd of people wanting to get in the moment they’ll step out.

“Smart response. Alright then. Let’s wait a day or two until I find the ‘evidence’ we need to get you behind the bars.” 

With the kind of reply Keith expected, he sat in his car and spoke.

“Get in.” 

He pressed the button as the door on the left of the car opened.

Keith fed the car the location of the map; the house of the victim. It was where they’d find his mother, Emma. The drive wasn’t in silence. Sitting beside him, Lucas raised another question.

“Where were you last night when the incident took place?”

Keith quickly gave a neutral gaze and shifted his eyes back to the road. He hurled in a question that was often asked from the suspect. He couldn’t get furious because he could clearly see where Lucas was coming from. They reached in a few minutes, her house wasn’t far from Keith’s building. 

“Let’s meet the victim’s mother, who lives just near the suspect’s house.”

Lucas murmured to himself as he got out, Keith following him as he pulled out his phone. He had to catch up on the news from Caligo. Scrolling down articles, he spotted none that could brief him on the matter. 

The building was rusty, the snow barely keeping the door from getting blocked. They had to bend down to get inside, the snow had blocked half of the way. Keith slid his hands in the beige coat that was warm enough to keep his temperature stable. By the time they were inside, the black cap that he wore on his auburn hair was half wet. He took it off, running his fingers along his hair to brush away any snowflakes. 

In front of him, Lucas had wrapped a muffler around his neck as he loosened its grip by pulling it away.

The building was barely standing with its two floors. The victim’s mother, Emma, lived in Apartment 205. After ringing the doorbell for a minute or two, they waited for someone to attend the door. The building was silent as if everyone in there was mourning along with Emma. As they waited quietly for a few minutes, Keith scrolled down more articles. Lucas, who had been staring at him for a long time now, spoke from beside.

“It was on 28th November when he first appeared. And his main target has been children who are 6-8 years old.”

His eyes were still fixed on the door. Both of them avoided looking directly at each other’s faces. The awkward air lingered.

“Motive?”

Keith decided to continue the conversation just like he would with any other investigator.

“None to be sure of yet. But we didn’t expect him to spread to other cities as well. He’s hopping cities, taking away children. And if he’s up to mass kidnappings, it must be for the purpose of trafficking.”

Lucas’s voice deepened.

“Thinking the same. But these thank you notes say otherwise.”

Keith nodded.

“Exactly, why would he leave these notes? And reveal his name too?”

Lucas tapped his feet, it had been more than five minutes and the freezing cold had their legs frozen in place.

“I wonder why the culprit wants his name to be known.”

Lucas twisted his neck, his suspecting gaze now meeting Keith’s.

“When a culprit commits a crime and leaves his name behind, it can be a trap. A blame game he’s playing. Probably someone who goes by the name of Vance Cole is an enemy of the culprit. The one that the culprit wants to blame for these serial kidnappings.”

Keith suggested to which Lucas tsked.

They heard footsteps and then a soft twist of the doorknob as the wooden door creaked open, revealing a woman in her thirties, hair tied into a rough bun, eyes swollen, and a baby girl sleeping in her arms. She ran her eyes around, tilting her neck to look behind them. As if she was expecting someone with them. 

“Good day.” 

Keith initiated the conversation to which her eyes started to get moist. She knew they were coming, and she had hope that they’d bring her son. She nodded politely and turned her back, walking inside as they followed.

“Please have a seat.”

She pointed to the sofa that had been patched up at different places, cotton still popping out of it. In front of the sofa was a small wooden table. On it, there was a grocery bag with baby food, packed and unopen. The room was icy cold. Keith glanced at the baby girl in her arms, all wrapped up. The temperature in the room wasn’t suited for the newborns. Keith thought.

“I can understand the pain you’re in, but don’t worry. We’ll bring your son back.”

The woman did not look alive. It was as if she’d been dragging her lifeless body here and there just for the sake of her baby.

“A little too confident in bringing him back, aren’t you? It’s not like he’s in your attic.” Lucas looked like he’d been waiting for a chance to put in his suspicions. “Or is he?” He added.

Ms. Emma, who was carefully listening to the conversation, creased her eyebrows, a question reflecting through her glance.

“Keep it zipped for a minute, Lucas.” 

Keith didn’t want the woman to create more confusion in her already perplexed mind.

“Please tell us whatever happened last night.”

“I-I don’t remember what happened.”

She spoke, her voice breaking in between.

Keith looked at Lucas, who was busy playing with the cat. Maybe Ms. Emma’s pet. Upon hearing her statement, he kept patting the cat without flinching. It was as if he knew.

“Ah yes. The victims’ families usually don’t remember anything. Maybe its the chemical that the culprit uses.” 

He casually tossed in the important information. 

“And you’re telling me now?”

Keith whispered.

“You never asked.” 

Lucas shrugged.

“Alright then, we’ll take our leave and get back when we have your son.” 

Keith stood up, giving the baby girl a quick peek again. She hadn’t cried, spoken, or moved since then. She was sound asleep, which meant the cold wasn’t bothering her. 

Emma stood to see them out when Keith caught a glimpse of their family portrait. It was just her, Daniel, and the baby girl. 

They walked, careful not to make a lot of noise.

Lucas and Keith had their eyes on the cat who was jumping around, meowing all the while.

“Stop, Casper. You’ll break the vase Daniel brought for me.”

Emma yelled, her voice loud and clear.

Unfortunately, the cat wasn’t intelligent enough to understand, as she shifted from the sofa onto the table, kicking the vase. 

Lucas and Keith watched as the vase fell in the air, Emma pacing towards it trying to catch it. But what startled Keith and Lucas and forced them to freeze in their feet wasn’t how fast she ran, but how she tossed the baby girl away, catching the vase.

“Ah, thank goodness. It’s safe.” 

She caught the vase before it could fall.

And on the floor fell the baby girl with a loud thud. Still wrapped in the blanket. Still sleeping.

Keith hurriedly unwrapped her, the sweet scent of jasmine lingered in the air. Probably the smell of the baby cream. Keith thought.

But inside the blanket was a cold frozen baby, lips purple, and skin pale. 

“She’s dead.”

Keith spoke, turning to Lucas who was as disturbed as him. Their eyes were wide open, tongue paralyzed, and brain numb. 

“She has been this way. Since last… night. I fell unconscious during midnight….. an-and I woke up today morning, rushing towards my home, only to… only to find my child frozen to death, from….from hunger and….. cold.” 

She spoke this with huge breaks in between, sobbing as she knelt near her dead body. She caressed her pale cheeks, kissing her forehead as she wrapped her in the blanket again, holding her carefully in her arms.

***