Psychomysteries

[Vivien.]

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Cast:
Benny Chan
Charmaine Sheh
Jessica Hsuan
Louis Koo
Raymond Lam
Tavia Yeung

-

Love or hate, don’t let it depend on fate.
When problems arise, don’t hide behind your doors; because in the end, the loss is yours.

The person you see may not be true.
Even your memories may be lying to you.

-

The scattering of footprints echoed the large storage room. The room was filled with heavy breathing and the atmosphere was more than just intense. There was fear, anticipation, anxiousness, confusion, everything but peace. Each member on the team glued their backs to a hard surface and expanded throughout the dull, quiet, but echoing room. A young man peered around the room, making sure everyone was in place. An identification tag near his left shoulder read, Criminal Investigation Department: Benny Chan. He turned around and nodded at another man to signal that they were ready. “Action!” the man exclaimed.

-

The sun has set and the sky was gloomy. The air was dense and her vision was foggy. She smiled at the steak in her hand and quickened her pace to get home. Glancing down at her watch, she read, “8:46.” She wanted to get home as soon as possible to cook him a nice, warm, romantic dinner. She tilted her head to the left and made a wrong decision to take a short cut through the alleyway. As she moved half way through the alleyway, she sensed a figure tracing behind her. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her neck from behind. She wanted to scream for help but he placed his hand around the lower half of her face, trapping her speech. He dragged her into the dead end of the alleyway and tossed her down. Her heart was pounding, her hands were shaking, and her tears were running. She wanted to yell but her vocal cords betrayed her. He let out the most irritating laugh and made his way towards her. He kneeled down against her and brushed his hand across her face. “No!” she exclaimed as he ripped her clothes apart. She tried to escape his grasp but he was all over her. Every inch of her body felt sore, and every inch of her body was now flawed. At last, he got up and left her swollen body in its place. She kept her eyes on him as his silhouette faded away. It began to rain, heaven was crying for her, crying for someone to help her.

-

“Great job, everyone!” the same man praised, “Dinner is on me.”

“Thank you, Koo Sir!” the rest of his team cheered.

“Benny, Koo Sir is treating us to dinner tonight!” Annie, one of the officers stated as she saw Benny walk into the room. His expression was full of shock, yet held a bit of questioning within it. “What’s wrong? It’s unlike you, you usually feel so proud when we solve a case,” Annie was concerned. Benny looked up and over at Louis who was the team’s leader.

“There’s another crime, a girl was raped. And ...” Benny started but began to question whether he should continue. Louis became suspicious and grabbed the file out of Benny’s hands. Louis flipped it open and immediately he was in a state of shock and disbelief.

-

Copyright by Vivien. November 26, 2008.

[Vivien.]

Chapter 1: Taking the Blame

“Do you remember what happened last night?” a sweet, tender voice questioned. No answer. “Do you know where you are right now?” another question was thrown out. Still no answer. “Jessica, it’s me, Charmaine,” she explained, “We’ve met a few times. I’m your friend.” The police psychology office remained silent apart from Charmaine’s gently controlled tone. “Look over there, it’s Louis,” Charmaine directed towards Louis who was sitting on the couch with a concerned expression plastered all over his face. “He’s your boyfriend,” Charmaine tried to recover Jessica’s warm memories. Yet again, no answer. Charmaine slowly and carefully placed her hand onto Jessica’s arm. Immediately, Jessica reacted, pulling away from Charmaine’s touch. Charmaine looked over at Louis and let out a helpless sigh.

Louis stood up abruptly and made his way towards Jessica. He stared at her, hoping she would even notice his existence. Louis grabbed Jessica’s arms and shook her, “Wake up, Jess! Wake up!” He pulled her close within his embrace. “Please don’t do this to me, be strong,” he muttered so that only she could hear. He loosened his grasp of her slightly and looked into her eyes. “Remember what you promised me? You said you’d cook me a nice dinner,” Louis said, “Let’s go home.” All of a sudden, Jessica seemed to have recovered her conscious. Louis attempted to lead Jessica his way.

“Ahh!” Jessica exclaimed. Louis forcefully led Jessica towards the door. “Ahh!” Jessica screeched again, “Ahh!”

“Let go of her!” Charmaine demanded, pulling Jessica away from him.

“Don’t try to stop me,” Louis threatened.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Charmaine threw at him, “Jessica is not the girl she used to be. She feels threatened by people around her. You can’t force her to do anything. She has to stand back up by herself. Look Louis, I’m a psychologist. I know what I’m doing. Please, just leave.” Louis slowly turned around and closed the door behind him as he left the office. Jessica stared at his back as he left her sight.

-

On his way back to the office, Louis was constantly coming up with ways to help Jessica. “Did you hear about the case? The victim is Koo Sir’s girlfriend,” a female voice faintly discussed.

“A girl was raped last night ...” another voice explained. Louis was irritated by this nonsense and in his mind, he knew who had spread the news.

“Into my office, Benny!” Louis ordered. “What do you think you’re doing?” Louis anticipated an answer as he watched Benny close the door on his way in.

“What?” Benny asked out of confusion.

“Do you understand that as a police, you should not be spreading news about the case around?” Louis was forcing the responsibility onto Benny.

“I didn’t, it wasn’t me!” Benny wanted to explain.

“Do you also understand that you should take responsibility for your actions?” Louis questioned. Benny didn’t even have time to make a sound when ... “Out!” Louis had already ordered. Benny glanced at Louis with disappointment. Someone who he once considered a friend, had no trust in him.

Benny moved down the corridor and heard a familiar voice. “Benny Chan!” the voice of his girlfriend called out.

“Charmaine?” Benny wondered what she was doing here.

“Annie told me everything,” Charmaine began.

“Yeah, Koo Sir doesn’t trust ...” Benny wanted to complain.

“Don’t you know how harmful it is to Jessica by spreading these kind of news?” Charmaine lectured. Benny was shocked to have realized his very own girlfriend didn’t stand on his side. “You fix up this mess, Benny!” she made a statement before heading off.

-

Loud music filled the air of the Sundown Pub. Teenagers were bobbing their heads along with the heavy beats of the music. The environment was dark yet very lively with people dancing and sweating. The spotlights bouncing around lit up the pub. “Stop drinking!” Tavia shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Hmm?” Benny muttered, bringing his ear closer to her as if opening his auditory canal.

“Stop drinking so much!” Tavia repeated, this time louder than before.

“Ouch!” Benny backed away, “I’m not deaf you know!” Tavia snuck a smile.

“Do you trust me? Huh?” Benny asked, “Do you?” Tavia responded with a simple but reassuring nod. “Why doesn’t anyone trust me? What the hell is wrong with people these days? Koo Sir doesn’t trust me, fine!” Benny blurted out.

“Koo Sir?” Tavia asked, “Weren’t you two great friends?”

“We were,” Benny emphasized, “Not anymore.” He took a sip of Vodka from the clear glass cup sitting in front of him. “And Charmaine, what kind of girlfriend doesn’t support her boyfriend?” Benny started up again, “It’s like I can’t even tell what she’s thinking. I knew this relationship wouldn’t work out.”

“Don’t say that,” Tavia warned him.

“You don’t understand,” he explained, “We almost broke up the other time.” Tavia was surprised to hear as she thought they were a matching pair. “But I was too soft-hearted. I always give in when she apologizes. Then in the end, I suffer from this kind of relation. I can’t breathe!” he let it all come out. Tavia felt sympathy towards him. She reached over his shoulder and gave him a comforting pat on the back.

“Sorry,” Annie said to herself in a monotone, she was standing at the entrance of Sundown Pub watching Benny’s every move, “It was me and my big mouth.”

-

Copyright by Vivien. November 28, 2008.

[Vivien.]

Chapter 2: The Break Up

Louis travelled swiftly towards the alleyway, the one that turned their relationship a hundred and eighty degrees. He inhaled deeply, hoping to fight away his inner fears. He did not want to revisit such a horrifying scene again. He wasn’t the type to be afraid, but what was this feeling swooshing around in his blood? If there were criminals, he would be the first to chase after them. If someone was held hostage, he would sacrifice is safety for theirs. But why? Why is he afraid now? The non-existing growls and hisses this alleyway produced echoed in his mind. However hard he tried, he couldn’t shake them away. His body stiffened as he approached its entrance, staring at the exact spot he discovered Jessica just last night. He forced his eyelids down as he painstakingly recalls those inhuman acts that were committed here. Although he wasn’t present, he could almost hear Jessica’s cry for assistance. He brushed his hand across the ground where Jessica had laid helplessly. The excruciating pain that visited his heart failed to cease, even until now. He remembered as he ran up to her and snatched her into his arms. His attempt to blink them back failed as the first tear landed on his identification card.

“Koo Sir,” the voice of his only disciple began, “Are we actually going to find anything here?”

Louis swept away the last bit of his tears before getting up. Turning around, “All you need is a bit more patience, Bosco,” he reassured, patting Bosco on the arm. “Alright,” he sighed, not knowing where to start, “Keep looking.”

The two scrunched down, coming closer to the ground in search for evidence. Bosco scratched his head and glanced up at the sky. Light rays shining through the leaves gathered and directed into his eyes. He flinched and a brilliant idea came about. He reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. He slipped them on. Turning around proudly, he finds Louis’ figure in close proximity.

“What are you doing?” Louis shook his head in disappointment.

Bosco smiled awkwardly and placed his sunglasses out of sight. He never understood why Louis wouldn’t let him wear shades. He swore he could see perfectly fine with them, possibly even better. Unsatisfied, Bosco directed his vision towards the tree, to find himself blinded yet again. Suddenly, Bosco caught sight of something dangling on one of the tree branches. He couldn’t make out what it was. Determined, he climbed up the tree trunk and reached as far he could to grab hold of it.

“Bosco!” Louis exclaimed in surprise, “What are you ...” Before completing his statement, in front of him was a falling Bosco dashing towards the ground. Louis stepped up beside Bosco, who was now laying on the ground with one hand over his leg. Bosco squinted his eyes and turned slightly away to avoid Louis’ glare. To his surprise, Louis snatched the piece of fabric into his possession. Bosco widened his eyes and expressed his puzzled state. “Where did you find this?” Louis asked, “It’s from Jessica’s shirt.” Bosco responded by directing Louis’ vision towards the tree. Louis continued to move closer towards his disciple.

“Shit,” Bosco gasped, not knowing what to expect. Louis reached under the bags of garbage. Bosco stared in disgust. Retrieving his arm, Louis pulled out a small package of substances. “Drugs?” Bosco shouted in astonishment.

-

“Thanks, Charmaine,” Louis greeted as he entered the room. She smiled and nodded at him, expressing that she understood his kind words.

Louis could see Jessica’s stare. “I think all the negative news is affecting her quite a bit,” Charmaine said in a disappointed tone. Slowly, she rose from the white plastic chair that she was sitting on. She hesitated to make large actions as it would frighten Jessica. “I’m going to get her some water,” she left the two alone.

Louis moved towards her. Her stare widened, not wanting to lose track of his movements. He stepped forward. She inched back. He took another step forward.

“Stop!” she demanded. His lips curled up to sneak a smile, finally she spoke. Momentarily, he realized how she distanced herself from him. He was emotionless. He was helpless. He was hopeless. She snug and hid herself under the rough, brown hospital bed sheets. What should he do now? Questions continuously ran through his mind, but no answer. He stood there staring at her. She stared back. No words were spoken, no movement.

At the click of the doorknob, Louis turned his focus towards the door. Benny stepped in with a bouquet of Camellia. They were Jessica’s favourite because they meant graciousness.

Louis got up at once upon seeing Benny’s presence. “What are you doing here?” Louis approached Benny, “Everyone here knows that she got raped. You don’t need to spread the news.”

Concerned, Benny ignored Louis’ rude remarks and stepped up beside her bed. “Don’t listen to him,” Benny comforted her, “Everything’s fine.” Jessica poked her head out of her protection, her shaky lips forming a slight smile.

Louis noticed her trust for Benny and immediately attacked him. “You get out of here now,” Louis pointed his index finger at the door.

“Who are you to tell me to leave?” Benny was heated up.

“I’m her boyfriend,” Louis simply answered.

“And her boyfriend has the right to cut her off from seeing her friends?” Benny hissed.

Louis remained still for a moment before he snatched onto Benny’s collar. “You’ve hurt her enough, don’t disturb her recovery process, or I’ll ...” Louis said in attempt to threaten him.

Unexpectedly, Benny turned the game around. Thrusting Louis down onto the chair, “I can do whatever I want, don’t try to believe that you can stop me.”

As Benny overpowers Louis, Charmaine walks in. Noticing the awkward conversation they were having, she quickly placed the jar of water down and pulled Benny back. “Sorry,” Charmaine smiled at Louis as if she could’ve controlled Benny. With such unfit silence, Charmaine dragged Benny outside.

“Let go of me,” he insisted.

Charmaine examined the glare on his face; she has never seen such a powerful yet frightening glare from him. She slowly yet unwillingly let loose of her fist clenched tightly around his wrist. She was speechless. Tracing her vision up towards his eyes, she hoped that he would begin their conversation. Nothing. “Benny, couldn’t you have ...” Charmaine finally decided to ask, but she was interrupted. He let out a sigh hinting the annoyance she had caused him. Charmaine began again, “Couldn’t you have controlled your temper better in there?”

Benny squinted his eyes a bit and gave her a puzzled look as if questioning her question. “We’re through,” Benny was determined to break loose from his controlling girlfriend.

“What?” Charmaine was hoping she had misunderstood him.

“I said we’re through,” Benny made it clear, “Our relationship, it’s over. I’m dumping you. Get it? Understand? Now get out of my sight.” Charmaine froze in place. “Fine, I’ll leave!” Benny turned the corners and left her sight. She stared at the empty space in front of her until it became blurry. One after another, her tears fell uncontrollably.

-

Leaving the hospital, Charmaine wondered the streets endlessly. She wanted to go home, but what was home without him. She didn’t understand why he would choose such a time to end their relationship. What had she done wrong? Nothing, nothing that she could think of. Yet he was always the one to bring it up. To be honest to herself, she felt kind of tired from this relation too. But it all comes down to the fact that she can’t imagine life without him.

No, she kept thinking to herself. What was she doing? She can’t be letting go so easily. Last time he had brought up this topic, their relationship endured it. She had confidence that they could get back together. She smiled sweetly and let out a big sigh of relief. But how should she do this? What was the best way?

“I can call him up tonight and be like hey, let’s go grab a drink,” Charmaine whispered to herself. She shook her head in disagreement, “No, that’s not good, what if he says no?” She began debating with herself, “Well then maybe I can show up at his door ...” Yes, she smiled, that’s what she’ll do. “But wouldn’t that be too sudden? Or what if he’s not home?” she tried for better ideas. It wasn’t a good idea to plan things out on the streets so she decided to weigh it out at home. She waited for the pedestrian lights to change so that she could cross the street. Browsing around, she suddenly caught sight of something she never thought she would see.

“Stop it,” a girl’s voice giggled as she looped her arms around his.

“What? You don’t like it?” Benny asked. They were pointing around and laughing together. They definitely seemed like they were having a good time.

“Annie?” Charmaine said to herself in disgust.

-

Copyright by Vivien. December 5, 2008.

[Vivien.]

Chapter 3: Narcotics Bureau

“Thanks, Annie,” he said but not knowing whether he had done the right thing. He felt his heart lighten as he let loose from her grasp but he also felt guilty for lying to her.

“Are you sure about this?” Annie looked for an answer in his wandering eyes, “You two have been through a lot. I mean, every time you tell me you’d break up with her, you don’t.” In a state of self realization, Annie wondered why she had just said that. Deep inside, she knew she had feelings for him. She just didn’t let them surface because she knew he was happy with Charmaine. Or at least she thought he was. Snapping out of it, she pulled herself together and repeated, “Benny, no regrets? Are you sure?” She was hoping for a nod from him.

“No, I’m not,” he said in all honesty.

She fell over. Not literally, but her heart had just been tossed from heaven and fell straight into hell. She didn’t think she would have such a big reaction. From the beginning, she knew they were only a fake couple. They were only pretending.

Suddenly, she felt him reach over to wrap his arm around her shoulder. She looked at him, puzzled. “Care to grab a drink, Miss?” he flirted. She smiled and nodded.

-

Moving with the beats of the music, Benny and Annie danced their mind troubling problems away. Swaying their bodies and bobbing their heads within the crowd of teenagers, the two were having a blast. Settling down by the bar, “One Long Island and ...” he turned to look at Annie.

“Pina Colada, please,” she said.

“Would you like a few shots of Vodka?” the bar tender offered.

“Sure, why not?” the two said in unison. They looked at each other, smiling at their compatibility, “Cheers!” The two each downed a shot of Vodka.

Laughing and talking, time was flying by. Having sat there for a while now, Annie realized the large number of shots Benny had taken. “Stop the Vodka,” she suggested, “Your Long Island is still waiting.”

“What?” he asked, “You think I’ll get drunk from a couple of shots?” Attempting to prove that he was sober, Benny got up and spread his arms out for balance. Not realizing that he was tipsy, he sat back down.

“You’re not going to get drunk,” Annie stated, “You are drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, you’re drunk,” he laughed, thinking that she was just being silly.

“Benny! Annie!” a voice from behind shouted. Turning around, Annie caught sight of Tavia pushing her way through the crowd, heading towards them. Greeting them with a wave, Tavia had finally made her way to the bar. She looked down at Benny then looked up at Annie to show her disappointment. Annie sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Benny,” Tavia slapped his face gently, “Why are you always drunk?” Tavia sighed dramatically and instantly slapped him across the face as hard as she could, hoping it wouldn’t hurt too much. To her surprise, he didn’t even flinch.

Noticing the drama, “Here,” the bar tender handed a glass of ice water to Annie. Annie turned it over to Tavia. Without even the slightest doubt, Tavia splashed the glass of water all over Benny.

“Wh-what’s happening?” he blurted out in a state of shock. He moved his jaw back and forth, feeling a tinge of pain. Benny went into the washroom to splash himself awake. Glancing up at the mirror, his eyes widened. Why on earth is there a handprint on his handsome face? Closing the door behind him, Benny saw Tavia and Annie waiting impatiently for him. Sticking out a finger, Benny directed it towards the mark on his face and looked at Tavia.

Tavia tried hard to hold back her smile, “So yeah,” she began. Benny walked up closer to her and emphasized the handprint on his face. Tavia brushed his hand away and smiled, “Stop. I actually have something important to say.”

“When do you have anything important to say?” Benny teased.

“When I’m on duty,” Tavia pulled out her identification card. Benny gasped and took a step back, pretending to chicken out. “Stop playing around,” Tavia playfully slapped him. Annie stood there silently watching their act.

“Yes, Madame?” he offered her to speak.

“About Jessica’s case, we’ve found our suspect,” Tavia announced.

-

Rushing back, Annie dragged Benny closely behind. Worried, Benny breathed out to see whether he could smell the alcohol he had consumed.

“Hurry up!” Annie urged.

“Can you smell the alcohol?” Benny asked breathing in her face.

“Yes, you can smell it perfectly fine,” Annie swept her hand back and forth at the air in front of her face.

“That was not comforting,” Benny said. Realizing that Annie could care less about him right now, he scurried to catch up to her.

“Have you been drinking?” he glared at Benny. Turning his focus back to the crowd in front of him, Louis began his speech. “We have our suspect to this rape case. We’ve found out that he is a well known drug dealer in this area so I’ve invited the Narcotics Bureau team to cooperate with us,” Louis directed their attention towards the young man.

“Hello everyone, I am the team’s leader, Raymond Lam,” he introduced, “And these are my teammates, Kevin Cheng, Oscar Leung, and Tavia Yeung.”

Benny eyed Tavia and winked at her. Tavia giggled quietly but stopped immediately after noticing Louis’ stare. Instead of pointing her out, Louis turned around to threaten Benny to behave with his glare. Benny forced a smile at him to turn around and roll his eyes.

-

“So who was that guy you were flirting with?” Raymond asked out of curiosity.

“You mean Benny? He’s a long time friend of mine, we grew up together and we’re quite ... close,” Tavia noticed the serious expression on Raymond’s face, “Flirting? Wait, you don’t think we’re ...”

Raymond smiled, “Of course not. If I didn’t know who your boyfriend is then maybe I’d question. But knowing that you have such an awesome boyfriend, I don’t see why you would ...” He noticed that Tavia had already taken off before he could finish bragging about himself.

“So pretty!” Tavia shouted to the beautiful ocean view in front of her. “Come look, Ray!” Tavia said.

“Sure,” Raymond replied. Tavia turned around to guide his way but he was nowhere in sight. She directed her vision downward slightly to see Raymond spread out on the sand. He spread his arms out in the form of a letter T and hinted her to come. Tavia laid down on his arm and he wrapped it around her neck.

Enjoying the sun’s warmth shining on his face, “Relaxing?”

“Why do you like to tan?” she turned to face him.

“Because you like chocolate,” he moved closer to her and kissed her on the lips.

She rolled over to lay on her belly. Looking around, she saw something delicious. “Ray ...” she pouted, shaking his arm.

“What is it?” he asked casually. Tracing her vision, he saw the ice cream truck that she was staring ever so passionately at. “Got it,” he got up and headed over.

Tavia walked up towards the ocean and gazed upon the sunset. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the fresh air deeply and slowly exhaled it. She stretched out her arms, swinging them up and down then back and forth until she finally let them loose, feeling the breeze sweep through her long silky hair. She opened her eyes to see a mouth-watering vanilla ice cream cone held in front. She grabbed hold of it and took a small savouring bite. “Perfect match,” she closed her eyes again, “Beautiful scenario and delicious ice cream.” She felt his arms wrap around her waist. She kept her eyes closed to feel the warmth of his arms wrap around her body, to feel the warmth of his love wrap around her heart.

He brought her closer within his embrace and whispered into her ears, “Will you marry me?” At those words, her eyes shot open. A warm smile spread across her face. Seeing the charming smile on her face, he too, had a smile plastered on his.

-

Copyright by Vivien. December 14, 2008.

[Vivien.]

Chapter 4: A Slow Recovery

Having witnessed such a disturbing scene, Charmaine felt really lost inside. A part of her really hated him but another part of her didn’t fully believe what she saw. She sighed as she looked at herself reflected off the monitor. She reached over to turn it on and began to type.

[Sheh’s Blog]
Is it true? Did I really see what I thought I saw? Maybe I didn’t really see it, maybe I was just hallucinating. Would he do something like this to me? No, no, I don’t think he would. Would he? It’s just not him to do that, that’s not the Benny I know. Even if he wanted to break up, he wouldn’t cheat on me. He didn’t have to. Then what was this relation I saw between him and Annie? Something friendly, like an outing of some sort? I really hope what I saw wasn’t true. I hope this is all just a misunderstanding. I really want to know the truth, what is going on? I have to find out. Tell me Benny, tell me the truth. Did I do something terribly wrong? Please forgive me. I just want one chance to prove that I can change. Is it because of Annie? I know if you did anything wrong, I would always forgive you, no matter what. I really need you, because you make me perfect. You complete the emptiness in me, you complete my life.

Moving her hands away from the keyboard, her eyes traced their way to the picture frame sitting neatly on the desktop. Picking it up, she brushed her thumb over his warm smile. She looked at her own smile in the photo. Her smile used to be so full of life, but now it ceased to exist. She brought it closer to her, placing it on her heart. She closed her eyes as memories of the past flooded her mind.

-

“Hey Louis,” Charmaine moved aside, clearing the pathway so he could reach Jessica. A tender smile crept across Jessica’s face at Louis’ presence. It has already been days, even weeks since the incident occurred. Not once did Louis think about giving up. Every day, he would find time to visit Jessica and give her the support that she needed. It was a rough start but things have gradually gotten better. Their relationship wasn’t the way it used to be but to the least, she didn’t reject his presence. They drifted ever so far apart since the incident, but have only gotten closer ever since. She didn’t consider him her boyfriend anymore but at least they’re still friends. As of now, this was enough for Louis because the rest of the world seemed to be Jessica’s enemy. “She’s a lot better now, you can take her home,” Charmaine smiled. Louis nodded and she left the room.

“Let me help you pack,” Louis offered.

She smiled, “Okay, I’m really tired anyways.” She sat back down on the mattress and watched as he gathered her belongings into a bag. Taking a glance at him here and then, she examined his features. The man in front of her felt so distant. They were friends, but he felt more like a stranger to her. She couldn’t sort out her feeling towards this gentleman.

She reached out a hand to pat him on the arm but immediately retrieved it when his voice interrupted, “You’re tired? You barely started to pack when I came in. Not to mention, you’ve been in this room for days. Aren’t you bored?”

Nodding in agreement, “Even you’ve realized that this room is boring. I kept telling the nurses to let me go but they insisted. Are you planning to take me somewhere fun?” He looked at her and drifted off. He didn’t think that she would offer to go anywhere with him. He was planning to bring her home but since she asked, it’d be nice to take her to places they used to always go. She waved at him frantically, “Louis? Are you listening to me? It’s okay if you’re busy, I can just head home. But it’d be nice if you could give me a lift.”

“No ...” he began.

“No?” she frowned.

“No, I meant I’m not busy,” he clarified, “I was just deciding where to take you.”

“Where?” she was curious as to whether he had someplace in mind.

“You’ll see,” he led her to his car.

-

Getting off the car, Louis made his way to the other side to open the door for her. However, he was too late as she already got out. “An amusement park?” she said excitedly, “I haven’t had this kind of fun in ages.” He nodded as he purchased two adult tickets.

Entering the amusement park, Jessica was very excited. She hopped around like a little child, stopping by every booth she came across. Louis couldn’t help but to smile at her innocence. He had been longing for the day when he would see her smile so brightly again. Jessica turned around and waved at him, signalling him to hurry up. He caught up to her and they walked side by side. Exploring the park and enjoying all the rides and games, they finally decided to settle down for a nice filling meal.

“Pizza?” Jessica was disappointed at his choice of food.

“What’s wrong with pizza?” he asked.

“I thought you said you’d get something good,” she grabbed a slice.

“Pizza is good!” he too, grabbed a slice, “And what did you expect? Abalone and shark fin soup?”

“It could’ve been better, a burger of some sort would be nice,” she stated, enjoying her pizza.

“Don’t eat it then,” he teased, attempting to grab the slice of pizza out of her hand.

“But it’s good,” she accidently blurted out. He pointed a finger at her. She felt defeated, “I meant to say it’s better than nothing. I shouldn’t complain since I didn’t pay right?”

Finishing off the food, they cleaned up their mess and readied themselves for more fun. They walked around looking for things to do but nothing came about. The walk was silent, no words were exchanged. Louis examined her and suddenly felt an urge to embrace her. However, he quickly realized that this was not the right time to do so. Thinking that he was able to control himself, he didn’t notice that his hand had already crept up beside hers. He held tightly onto her hand to feel her pull away immediately. Jessica noticed the awkward silence between them and dashed towards the ferry. “Hey, want to ride the ferry?” she tried to ease the awkwardness. He forced a smile at her and nodded.

Finding themselves on the highest level of the ferry where no one was, they stood silently staring out at the lake. He couldn’t take it anymore, when are they ever going to get back together? He didn’t want their relationship to slip by and just end like that. “Jessica ...” he muttered her name ever so quietly.

“Yeah?” she replied. He looked up at her shocked. He didn’t realize that he had spoken out loud, not to mention her hearing it. “You have something to say?” she finally decided to ask.

He looked deep into her eyes, hoping to find an answer to his questions. “I ...” he managed to utter out. Without another word, he found himself locked tightly in an embrace with her. “Forget about it,” he brought her closer, “Can we just let it go and start over again?”

“What are you talking about?” she was confused at his words. She wasn’t paying much attention to him for she was working hard, trying to wiggle out of his lock.

“I know you can’t let go about that night but please, try. I understand that it’s hard for you to accept that fact that you’ve been raped, but ...” he immediately swallowed the remainder of his words as he realized his mistake.

“Rape?” her voice was trembling at his words.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” he begged for her forgiveness, “I promise I’ll never bring it up again.”

Finally freeing herself from him she took a step back. “What are you talking about Louis?” she questioned, “I don’t understanding ... rape?”

-

Waving goodbye, Jessica went up to her apartment. Louis watched as she disappeared from his sight. He looked up at the building and sighed heavily. He turned on the radio and closed his eyes to the soothing music. Many questions ran across his mind but all of them were left unanswered. None of them were questions that he could answer because Jessica had the answer to them. Suddenly, he felt the device in his pocket vibrate. He took out his phone and picked up.

“Hello? Koo Sir?” the voice on the other end began, “Come back immediately, we have the name to our suspect.”

“Alright, be there in ten,” he replied swiftly and hung up. Starting up his car, he drove back to the police station immediately.

-

Arriving at the station, Louis quickened his pace back to the office.

“Koo Sir!” Annie said as Louis walked in.

“What new discovery did everyone make?” he asked the team.

“Remember that pack of substances that we found the other day at the crime scene? Well, I took it for examination and it is confirmed to be drugs. These drugs have been all over the market lately and seem to be related to the biggest drug dealing group,” Bosco explained.

Annie continued, “Benny and I have been tracing these drugs to their owners. At first, we were only able to find the minor drug dealers who sold them at pubs ...”

“Get to the main point,” Louis demanded.

Annie rolled her eyes, “Well, we finally found our way to the top of the chain. We now know who is in charge of all this and when their next trade will be.”

“Within the next few days they will be proceeding with their trade. We’ve discovered that this will be their biggest deal as of yet and they’ve been planning it for some time. If we were to use this chance, then we’d be able to stop their deal and use this opportunity to advance with Jessica’s case. But since this event is drug related, do we need to inform the narcotics team of our action?” Benny gave out his information.

“Yes, we’re responsible for telling the narcotics team. Do we know who the leader of all this is?” Louis wanted an answer.

“Power Chan,” Benny firmly stated.

-

Copyright by Vivien. December 23, 2008.