Waiting, A Dangerous Game Read online

  “There are too many malls, saloons and stores. I’ve requested Head Investigations to activate the patrol dicks to get the receipts for us. It might take a day or two.” Rossi looked around the neighbourhood. A neighbourhood for the rich and wealthy. Rossi walked up to the entrance and rang the door bell. A man in his fifties opened the door. A woman in her early forties was closely behind the man.

  “Mr Rogers?” Shirley asked the man.

  “Yes. What’s the matter?” The man and the woman looked on anxiously.

  “I am Detective Shirley. This is Chief Detective Rossi. We would like to ask a few questions regarding your missing daughter.”

  “Where is my baby? Is she fine?” The woman pushed the man aside and came forward to Shirley. The woman’s eyes were reddish and swollen.

  “Please come in and have a sit.” The man invited them in.

  Shirley and Rossi came in. The man signalled Rossi to stuff out his cigar. Rossi stared at the man for a few seconds before throwing his cigar out of the door. Shirley waited for both the man and woman to sit before she continued.

  “Mr and Mrs Rogers, we understand that you filed a missing person report regarding your daughter. Care to tell us what actually happened?” Shirley looked at Rossi. Rossi was looking around the house, looking at a photo of a teenage girl.

  “Yes. Everything was normal. She came back from school as usual. Did her homework and informed my wife that she was going shopping with her friends later. She left in the evening. It is normal for her to return home late at night, so my wife and I don’t have the habit of waiting for her. In the morning, my wife went to my daughter’s room to wake her up for breakfast but Michelle was not in her room. We tried calling her mobile but it was switched off. Called her friends she went shopping with and asked for her whereabouts. Everyone said Michelle left after supper while her friends still hanged out. Suspecting something was wrong, I filed a report.” Mrs Rogers started to tear and leaned on her husband’s shoulder.

  “Did anything else happen? I mean, was something out of normal? Did she have any boyfriend?” Shirley waited for Mr Rogers to answer. Mr Rogers was looking at Rossi. Shirley turned around to look at Rossi. Rossi was still looking at the photos around the house.

  Shirley cleared her throat and asked again. “Mr Rogers, as I was saying…”

  “No. My daughter did not go sleeping around with any boys. If that is all, please leave. Come back when you have found my daughter.” Mr Rogers got up from his seat, Mrs Rogers looking at Shirley with pleading eyes. Shirley did not know what she said which made Mr Rogers very agitated.

  “Your daughter’s dead.” Rossi’s voiced echoed around the house. Shirley closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “No. It can’t be.” Mrs Rogers started weeping now; Mr Rogers went to hold his wife.

  “Look, I would not stand rudeness in my own house. And you better learn how to speak properly. Do you know who I am?” Mr Rogers was looking at Rossi with his fist clenched. Shirley just prayed that Mr Rogers will not land up in a hospital after this.

  “Mr Rogers, frankly I don’t give a shit as to who you are. Your daughter’s dead. If you do not want to cooperate with my Detective, then you don’t deserve my respect. We have already found your daughter. Just that, she’s dead,” Rossi was staring at Mr Rogers now. Before it turned ugly between Rossi and Mr Rogers, Shirley intervened.

  “Mrs Rogers, I know this is hard for you. Please, we are just trying to help here. Will you come with us to identify the subject?” Shirley went to Mrs Rogers and took her hands. Shirley lightly squeezed Mrs Rogers’ hands and gave her a smile: a technique which always worked its magic.

  Mrs Rogers nodded her head in approval and wiped her tears. She turned around to her husband, “I am going. If you do not wish to come, stay here and be in denial that your daughter was innocent and she never did anything wrong.”

  Shirley definitely knew Mr Rogers was hiding something about his daughter. She waited for Mr and Mrs Rogers to come to a decision. Rossi’s mobile phone rang. Rossi picked it up at the first ring. Shirley could not hear what the conversation was about. Rossi disconnected his call and came forward to Shirley.

  “Another body found. This time it is at Timber Town. Patrol just called in to update. Bring them to identify the subject. I will go to Timber Town and look into it.”

  “Is it the same?” Shirley wanted more details from Rossi.

  “I hope not Shirley. I hope not.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  HE PARKED HIS MITSUBISHI CAR a few houses away from No. 11 Northampton South. Through the car’s tinted window, he kept observation of the house. Been thirty minutes and they are still inside, he thought to himself. He was whistling to the tune of Paranoid by Black Sabbath. He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel rhythmically. He knew he has started the ball rolling. Ball is still in my court till I throw it to you guys. He was looking around the neighbourhood, trying to see if anyone was watching him. The whole neighbourhood was as quiet as it can be. I might as well have dumped the bitch here. This place is even deader than Lake Victoria.

  He was starting to whistle again when he saw Rossi exit the house. Rossi was rushing out to his black Camry. He smiled to himself. So they know. He waited another ten minutes after Rossi left. He saw Shirley come out of the house with a woman. A man followed them closely behind. Parents? He frowned to himself. The man and the woman seemed to have a heated conversation. Shirley was waiting patiently for them. The woman got into the car with Shirley. The man went back into the house. The blue Ford sped off. He let out a slow laughter, rocking back and forth on his seat keeping his hands firmly on the steering wheel. He opened his dash board compartment and retrieved an ID. He looked at the photo ID: Neola Ponchos, Born in 1991.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SHIRLEY WAS AT HER DESK, savouring her Chinese noodles. When Shirley came back to her desk, there were Chinese noodles on her desk with a small note which read, a small gesture from your biggest fan: Morris.

  Shirley finished up her two boxes of noodles. She could not recall when her last meal was. She was grateful to Morris for being so thoughtful. She tried calling his mobile but it was switched off.

  Rossi entered the unit. He took out his jacket and placed it on his chair. He saw Shirley and the empty noodle boxes on her desk. Shirley gave him an apologetic look.

  “Have you eaten?” Shirley asked Rossi feeling guilty.

  Rossi waved her off with his hand and sat down. He sat there in his own thoughts, not realising Shirley was already at his desk.

  “What happened?”

  “Did they identify the victim?” Rossi answered her back with a question.

  “Yes. I even managed to get some facts from the mother. I had a feeling the father; actually he is Michelle’s stepfather.”

  Rossi lighted up his cigar and took a long deep puff. He blew out the smoke in the shape of circles. Shirley knew that was Rossi’s quiet moment. She waited for him tolerantly.

  “Thought so myself. She did not resemble him. Proceed.”

  “Apparently, Michelle’s mother married Mr Rogers when Michelle was 15. Michelle was never in favour of the marriage. Michelle felt that her mother was neglecting her. Mr Rogers actually adored Michelle. He always made sure she had money whenever she asked for it and he always saw Michelle as his own but Michelle never accepted him. Michelle ran away from home the first time when she was 16. She started playing truant in school and was arrested by the cops for shop theft couple of times. No records were found as Mr Rogers has his connections with higher authority. Michelle started being addicted to alcohol. Michelle also mixed with boys way much older than her. She also started to frequent nightclubs and discos. It seems that Mr Rogers has caught Michelle number of times in vulnerable state with those boys which might explain his outburst at their house. Michelle was last seen by her mo
ther at their residence. Michelle never told Mrs Rogers where she was going. When Michelle did not turn up, Mr and Mrs Rogers tried calling up her friends and the rest we know.”

  “What time did Michelle leave the house?” Rossi rubbed his eyes.

  “Mrs Rogers said it was late at night. She assumes that Michelle probably was going to a nightclub. It might be a possibility. We can visit the nightclubs and discos. Hopefully they might have some records or CCTV footages which can be useful to us.”

  “We can also call up her friends for more leads. We can work out some kind of pattern or routine Michelle might have followed. It might give us a rough idea as to when or where she was taken.” Rossi stood up and went to the coffee mixer for his daily dosage of coffee.

  “Are you going to tell me or what?” Shirley questioned Rossi.

  “Tell you what?” Rossi took a sip of coffee and was returning to his desk.

  “The body found at Timber Town…” Shirley folded her arms and waited for Rossi to brief her.

  Rossi signalled Shirley to his jacket. Shirley took Rossi’s jacket and passed it to him.

  “Look into the left pocket.” Rossi encouraged her to look into the pocket.

  Shirley put her hand into the left pocket of Rossi’s jacket. She felt something smooth in nature. Shirley frowned at Rossi and took out whatever that was in the jacket pocket. She took a huge intake of breath when she saw what she was holding onto. In her hand was a piece of paper which read: I AM WAITING . . .

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “IS IT THE SAME MO this time around too?” Shirley asked Rossi.

  “Same MO used as Michelle. Body was found at a building site which is still under construction. Whole of Timber Town is basically shocked to hear about this.” Rossi passed Shirley a cup of coffee and he went on to fill his cup.

  “Well? What now?” Shirley probed Rossi.

  “Aisha.”

  “Aisha?” Shirley thought she did not hear Rossi clearly.

  “Aisha.” Rossi answered her and walked past Shirley to his desk.

  “But protocol says…”

  “Look Shirley. To hell with protocols. I have already decided. So stop acting like a trainee for once and fix an appointment with her. While you are at it, also go through the Missing Person Files and find anyone who fits this new victim. Gabriel is already working on the facial scan. Once you’ve found a match, let me know and we will go through the same way we did with Michelle. I want to know if there are any connections with the two victims. Anything at all that will help Aisha which in turn is going to help us.” Rossi took the piece of paper from Shirley and went over to his blackboard. He pinned up the piece of paper beside the piece of paper already pinned up to his blackboard. Both pieces of paper were staring back at him with bold words: I AM WAITING . . .

  I am waiting too, Rossi thought to himself. I am waiting.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “NEOLA PONCHOS. THAT’S THE SUSPECTED name of our victim.” Shirley handed over the file to Rossi.

  Rossi opened up the file and read the case facts:

  Date of Report Made: 7th August.

  Name of Missing Person: Neola Ponchos.

  Age: 20

  Description of Missing Person: Dyed Brunette hair, 130lbs, 5'7 feet. Subject last had conversation with Boyfriend over the phone.

  Date Last Seen: Morning of 6th August.

  Residence: No. 3 Bartley Apartments.

  Reported By: Mrs Ponchos.

  Relation: Mother.

  Rossi closed the file and looked at Shirley. She was talking to Aisha over the phone. Rossi lighted up his cigar and waited for Shirley to draw to a close her conversation.

  “She will meet us two days from now.” Shirley passed the message to Rossi.

  “Not good enough. We need to see her now.”

  “I did tell her that Chief Detective Rossi wants to see her immediately but she said unlike you she has PROTOCOLS to follow.” Shirley stood with her arms folded and looked away. Shirley disliked Rossi for not following the protocols religiously set by the Force. She believed that every officer has to follow protocols in order to work efficiently. Though she disliked Rossi for not following the protocols, she had to admit that Rossi was efficient in his own eccentric ways.

  “The receipts are out. I just got the breakdown through mail. Come over here and take a look at these. I need to call Head Investigations.” Rossi left his desk and went to call Head Investigations.

  Shirley came over to Rossi’s desk and was looking at the mail. She hoped there would be some receipt which shows buying a large quantity of hair removal product. With that receipt, they can look at the date of purchase and they can find out which place sold the items. Once they know the date and place of the receipt, all they need to do was to visit the place and look at the CCTV footage. Based on the CCTV footage, they can have an identification of the person who bought all these items. A total of sixteen pages with the compilation of all the receipts gathered from malls, hair salons or any other place which sold hair removal products. Shirley eagerly looked through the first page. No receipt for hair removal products. She went through the second page. It was the same as the first page. Shirley went through all sixteen pages thrice so that she has not missed out anything. Disappointment was the only thing she found. Rossi came back to his desk and looked at Shirley.

  “This is bullshit.” Shirley was rubbing her eyes from the tiredness. All she could see were dates and invoice numbers.

  “Not even one page?” Rossi seemed disappointed himself.

  “As I said… none. No pattern whatsoever. Not even a single soul bought more than three items of hair removal product let alone for a large quantity. The path seems to be narrowing out on us.” Shirley’s mobile rang. She looked at her mobile’s caller ID. It read Morris. Shirley answered the call and motioned Rossi to give her 5 minutes.

  “Thank you for the noodles Morris. Appreciate your kind help.”

  “Don’t mention it. Did it taste good?” Morris asked.

  “Yeah best noodles I had for a long time. I tried calling you but you didn’t answer. Out with a girl eh?”

  “I was busy. Well the girl that I want to go out with seems too busy for me. Even after noodles, she still refuses me.”

  “Ha, that’s funny. I’m not so cheap to agree just because you bought me noodles. I can always return you the money.”

  “No love. The noodles are my way of trying to bribe you for a date. Since it didn’t work, I will think of something else. I can’t stop fantasizing about the good time you and I are going to have.”

  “Keep blabbering. It helps unsound minds. Really appreciate your concern Morris. I got to go now. Catch you around.”

  “Catch my crotch will be better.”

  Shirley shook her head and disconnected her call. I need to find him a date. Maybe he will stop his nonsense. Shirley smiled to herself. She went over to Rossi who was staring at his blackboard.

  “What now?” Shirley sighed.

  “Mrs Ponchos reported that Neola last had conversation with her boyfriend right?” Rossi was still staring away into his blackboard.

  “Yeah…”

  “We pay the boyfriend a little visit.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  HE WAITED FOR AN HOUR now, looking out through his car’s tinted windows. He was beginning to get agitated at the amount of time he spent looking for what he wanted. It has always been easy for him to spot his prey. Some days he did not even have to look. They just came to him as if willing to sacrifice themselves for his cause. He knew he cannot always wait at the same places. It has to be random. I can’t give them a pattern to look forward to. The place he chose today was totally different from his earlier ventures. Today, he just parked his car and waited in front of Mansion Valley, a twenty five minute
drive from Lake Victoria. Mansion Valley was a place known for its extra terrestrial sightings. It is believed by the residents that the first sighting of UFO and aliens were made in Mansion Valley. Roswell was a conspiracy theory which ripped Mansion Valley from their history and glory. He was getting more and more impatient at the lack of opportunities over at Mansion Valley. He kept reminding himself that he needs to be patient. He kept thinking about how the two Detectives were running around without direction. Credit goes to me for that. Bunch of fools they are. He was gazing at the stars and trying to keep himself awake when he heard a faint noise. He remained still to increase his hearing capabilities. He heard it again. It was faint but was surely the noise coming out from someone opening the front door. He looked around and noticed a woman in her forties closing her front door and preparing to leave. Where is she going at this hour? The woman was in her forties, about 5'7 feet, slim built. She was wearing a knee length skirt with a translucent white blouse which showed the red brassiere she was wearing. Normally he will never be interested in women who were around the age of her. Today was an exception. Something about her kept telling him that she was the one tonight. She fits to what you’re looking for. What are you waiting for? He got out of his car and approached her.

  “Hi. What is a good looking woman like you doing at this late hour?”

  The woman looked at him. He was tall and had well built physique. He looked way much younger than her but there seemed to be a maturity in his body posture. He was good looking too.

  “I’m just looking after my sister’s kids. The kids are in bed already so thought of just going back to my place to bring back some reading material.” She leaned against the lamp post and started playing with her brunette hair while looking at him with a seductive eye.

  “It is a pity that a beauty like you has no one accompanying you. If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to buy you a cup of coffee and drive you to your place after that. You can take your reading materials and I can drop you back at your sister’s place. There are too many crooks and thieves around here. It is not safe to be alone, especially at this hour.” He winked at her and gave her a smile.