Found
RIIIIING
“Excuse me,” William said as he took out his phone. Rebecca sighed as he pressed the green button and put it near his ear.
“Yes, boss…”
All of them turned to him, surprised, but then William crossed his finger in front of his lips.
“Come back, William,” Jason said. “There’s a case for you…”
“What about the mission with my squad, sir?” William asked. “Is it held?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jason answered. “Losing a personnel is not a reason to hold a mission.”
“Yes, sir,” William said as he stood up. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
•••
“Murder?”
“Yes,” Jason said as they walked through the pavement. “A young lady, around twenty-two, 1.8, Asian. Time of death: unknown. Cause of death: unknown.”
“Why unknown?” William asked. “Haven’t you run the forensics?”
“There’s no single wound on her body, no bruises or something,” Jason said. “And she was found dead at 1212 hours. No witness.”
“Her background?”
“Miriam Shi, a student in the City University of Hong Kong. She learnt finance, and the last lecture ended at 1200 hours. Her parents were from the mainland, she has no siblings, never used narcotics, physically and mentally fit, never got into a relationship. Her parents were retired, and her mum opened a grocery store near their house.”
“Miriam Shi, a student in the City University of Hong Kong. She learnt finance, and the last lecture ended at 1200 hours. Her parents were from the mainland, she has no siblings, never used narcotics, physically and mentally fit, never got into a relationship. Her parents were retired, and her mum opened a grocery store near their house.”
“The university is quite far from here. She can’t get here on foot in just 12 minutes.”
“She rode a motorcycle.”
Jason stopped just before an alley, where a few policemen were crowding by. There was a pink Honda motorcycle lying a few steps from them.
“The motorbike…?”
“No sign of damage. Even the fuel is still full.”
William looked at the policemen in front of him who was busy inspecting the body.
“Poisoning, maybe?”
Jason turned to William, surprised, then he sighed.
“We went to the university to take a look,” he said. “Her friends said she was going out to look for food with her friend.”
“Friend?”
Jason turned to William for a while, then he looked back to his men inspecting the body.
“Amy Tian,” he said. “Also studied in the City University, never got into a relationship, her mum from the mainland, her dad’s from here. Her dad was retired, her mum works in a shipping company, and will retire in three years.”
The policemen turned back and saw the two policemen, then they stood up and gave way. William walked past them and stopped just before a body of a woman with short black hair. She was wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt and knee-length jeans. She was holding a white bag in her hands.
“What’s in the bag?”
“Nothing but textbooks,” Jason answered. “And a phone. Nokia 2050.”
A policemen handed him a red folded phone, then William opened it and pressed the red button, but nothing happened. It appears to be out of battery.
“Any of her friend’s belongings?” he asked. “And where is she, by the way?”
“There’s a bag we expected to be her friend’s, but it turned out to be hers,” Jason said. “There were some medicines and food in there. Looks like she suffered from muscle aching lately. That won’t cause this accident. And about Amy…”
Jason sighed and leaned back to the wall.
“She’s missing.”
William looked at Jason for a while, then he turned back to the body and smiled. He stood up and touched the wall next to him, then he pulled his hand and looked at it. His fingers were white, covered by a grey powder.
“Get me some water please.”
A policeman with blue uniform walked to him and handed him a bottle of water. William opened it, then he splashed the water to the wall. The spot the water landed on became darker than the other part of the wall, then the water flowed down of the wall and to the ground. William looked at the wall for a while, then he threw the bottle to the ground.
“Poisonous smoke,” he whispered. “As I expected…”
“What do you find, Will?”
“Something not very pleasant, sir,” William said as he turned back. “If you don’t mind, please, excuse me.”
William turned back and walked past the rest of the policemen. Jason looked at him for a while, then he turned back.
•••
The girl with brown ponytail hair opened her eyes slowly and looked around. It was dark around her, and there was a strong smell of alcohol around her.
“Where on earth am…”
“You’re awake.”
A door opened in front of her, and she could see a man with blonde hair walked in. He was wearing a green shirt and black pants, and a girl with long auburn hair was following him. The light got into the room and shone right on the girl’s face. She looked up to the man, then he knelt down and touched her cheek. The girl looked at him with disgust, then she looked away.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know that, sweetie,” the blonde man said. “Besides, you’ll soon be out of here.”
The girl turned back to him, then she frowned.
“How can I trust you…?”
“Oh, you have to,” the man said as he stood up. “We’ve contacted the police. I’m sure one of them will arrive soon.”
He turned back and smiled, then he started to walk to the door.
“And about your friend…”
The girl quickly snapped back into her mind. The man turned back to her and smiled cynically. He then turned back and walked out.
“She’s dead,” he said. “At least.”
He closed the door quietly, then he turned to the girl sitting in front of him, wearing a black cheongsam. She looked at the door in front of her, then she turned to the man. The man walked to her and touched her shoulders, then he leaned down to her.
“How is it?”
“He’s here.”
The door in front of her suddenly flew open, and a few bullets flew towards her. She quickly caught the bullets with her hand and stood up. The blonde man smiled and walked forward.
“Bernard Pitcher,” a voice said calmly. “It’s been quite a while.”
A silhouette appeared in front of the door, but his face was dark so that it couldn’t be seen. The man turned to the girl and smiled.
“Listen, Camelia,” he whispered. “Kill him.”
She looked at the silhouette in front of her. She could recognize him, but she didn’t say anything and yet nodded. The man smiled in satisfaction and turned back to the silhouette.
“Responsible for the murder of Lily Green, 18 years old, in London,” he said. “You’re still wanted by Scotland Yard for that case.”
The man sighed and looked away as he smiled.
“My, my, talk about the past,” he said. “I recall you shot me in Douglas while I was having vacation…”
“That’s not your only sin,” the mysterious man said. “Not only murder, you’re responsible for a few cases of missing people. All of them are girls, aged between 17-25.”
“Enough of the rambling, alright,” the blonde man cut. “Because soon, you’ll also have the same fate…”
He leaned down to the girl and smirked.
“Right, Camelia?”
The man suddenly felt something went through his head in a flash.
“What do you think you’re doing to him? I won’t have you do the same thing to…”
The girl jumped from her place towards him, and he quickly remembered something.
“Camelia…”
The word echoed in his head as she got closer to him.
“Camelia…”
“Camelia sinensis.”
He grabbed her arm tightly and pushed her down to the ground, then he pressed her wrist with two fingers. She let out a scream of pain, then her hand stopped moving. She tried to move her hand, but it just wouldn’t move, and shortly enough, she couldn’t feel her hand.
“What the…”
She looked up to the man and was stunned by what she saw. A man with short black hair and black coat was standing in front of her.
“You useless boy!”
“William…”
The word came out of her mouth without her permission, but William didn’t say anything. He walked past her and towards the man with blonde hair, the so-called Bernard, then he stopped at his place.
“Where’s that girl?”
Bernard looked at him for a while, then he sighed and looked away.
“Seriously, William,” he said. “You still talk about the past…”
“You don’t understand, or are you trying to make yourself look innocent?” William asked. “Then, let me make it clear.”
William took out a gun from his pocket, then he reloaded it calmly.
“Amy Tian, the girl that has gone missing,” he said. “If you know anything about…”
“No, I don’t,” Bernard cut. “And you will make a lovely corpse…”
•••
The girl looked down to the stone floor desperately. She has heard a lot of noise from outside, but she had no idea what happened.
Has someone come to save her or to kill her?
The door flew open in front of her, letting light enter the dark room. She looked up and saw a man standing in front of her, wearing a black coat and a smile. He knelt down before her and sighed.
“Sorry, I’m late,” he said. “I’m William, from the police department.”
The girl looked up to him as she felt something growing in herself. William smiled, knowing that the girl was afraid, then he gave out his hands and smiled.
“Come on,” he said. “You’re save. That man is dead.”
She felt like her heart stopped beating, then she quickly turned back to him. Then suddenly, everything flashed back in her head.
“I was riding with Miriam...”
“You don’t have to testify now,” William said as he knelt down again. “My boss is ready to listen to you, later…”
“Wait,” the girl said as she moved forward and grabbed his collar in fear. “Do you mean Miriam is…”
“We will explain later,” William said as he grabbed her hand and lowered it. “Right now, we have to get out from here.”
The girl could feel something in her broke down as tears well up in her eyes. She pulled her hands and covered her eyes, then she started sobbing. William stood up, then he walked out of the room. A few men wearing Kevlar vest quickly ran into the room. They were holding a riffle and a few grenades in their hands.
“Urgh…”
William turned back to the voice, then he saw the blonde man holding his bleeding stomach. He slowly turned his head to see William, then he smiled.
“Lau…”
William didn’t say anything as he walked to the dying man. He smiled and took out his gun.
“You’re not dead yet,” he said. “What did you say?”
The blonde man looked at him for a while, then he felt something painful near his stomach. He held it, but the pain didn’t leave him.
“Lau…” he whispered as he felt the pain went across his body. “And you, too…”
He turned his head to William slowly as he felt the pain became more and more painful.
“He will be…” he paused and gritted his teeth in pain. “After you…”
He then felt something very painful in his chest, then his eyes turned blurry. He turned to William, who has stood up and walked away, then he smiled again.
“Looks like that’s all the time I’ve got…”
•••
2000 hours
Anthony opened the door and walked into the dark room. He was wearing a black shirt with jeans, unlike policemen at work. A few men were dancing on the shiny tiles, and there was a table in front of a shelf full with colorful bottles, and there were a few people sitting in front of the table. Anthony headed to the table and sat down next to a girl with auburn hair that didn’t look natural – must be the work of hair dye – and she was wearing a dress with red checkered pattern. She had a highball glass in front of her filled with orange liquid. Shortly later, another girl with a green sleeveless dress walked to him.
“What would you like…?”
“Shirley Temple, please.”
The girl smiled, then she walked away and took a red bottle from the shelf as she walked. The girl with auburn hair turned to him and smiled.
“I thought you said police aren’t supposed to drink on duty,” she said. “But aren’t you always on duty?”
Anthony sighed and turned to her.
“So what?” he asked. “I’m here to see you, because you called me.”
She smiled in satisfaction as she looked away to the people who were dancing on the shiny tiles. She looked at them for a while before she took her drink and sipped it a little.
“It’s been quite a while since we met, right?”
“The situation right now and in the past is different,” Anthony said as the girl came with a glass of red liquid. He took out a black wallet and put 10 dollar bill on the table. The girl smiled and took the money.
“So what is it today?” Anthony asked. “I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, so make it quick.”
The girl sighed again, then she turned to him and smiled.
“Lau wants some information,” she said. “And he wants it from you.”
Anthony looked down to his drink, then he sighed and drank it a little.
“Do you know something…?”
“Bernard is dead,” he said as he put down the glass. “I think at the end, he told about Lau.”
The girl sighed and made a sour face.
“We should’ve known.”
“But apart from that,” he said as he played with the red straw on his drink. “William has got Camelia with him, so…”
The girl turned to him, surprised.
“Really?”
“If everything goes along well, William should be in a checkmate,” he said. “I mean, Camelia, Tracy, and lastly, me…”
He sighed and stood up from the stool, then he turned back and walked away. The girl watched him leave without turning her head, then she turned back to her drink.
“I like Screwdriver,” she said. “But if William is the screw…”
She smiled and took the glass, then she turned it around with her hands.
“Who will drive him down to the hole…” She paused. “Will it be you, Anthony?”
•••
“Geez, it’s already 8 and I haven’t done anything…”
William closed the door and put down the plastic bags he was holding. They had a picture of a circle printed on them, and they were full with things. William stood up and took a can, then he walked to the bench top in the corner of the room and put it there.
The door flew open, then a girl with long black hair and black cheongsam walked into the room. William turned back to the door, then he sighed and turned back to the canned food.
“You trailed me here?” he asked. “Don’t you have anywhere else to go?”
The girl didn’t say anything as she closed the door and locked it. He looked at her for a while, then he sighed and opened the cupboard above him.
“Where do you live…?”
“In that place you destroyed.”
William took out a can opener from the cupboard as he turned to her. She was sitting in front of the table.
“You don’t have your own home…?”
She didn’t say anything and kept looking down. William sighed and put the can in the gap between the bottle opener - then he turned it slowly.
“You can’t stay here for a long time,” he said. “I’ll make out some cash for you, then I’ll move you out…”
She didn’t say anything as he lifted the flap of the can, then he turned to her.
“Can you take out some bok choy from the shopping bags…” he said. “I forgot where I put it, so…”
She pushed back her chair, then she walked to the line of shopping bags and opened one of them. She fished around the bag, then she took out something.
“Is this…?”
William turned back to her, surprised, but then he sighed.
“You’re a girl, and you don’t know which one is bok choy?”
He walked up to her and fished around the bag, then he took out a vegetable with white stem and wide green leaves.
“The one you took is cauliflower,” he said. “This is bok choy…”
She watched him quietly, then he turned to her and sighed as he knew she wasn’t interested.
“Whatever,” he said. “Before you eat, throw yourself into a decent clothing…”
He walked to his room, then he opened the wardrobe and took out a white shirt and black pants, but the he noticed her watching her from the door. He sighed and put back the clothes into the wardrobe.
“Ok, I’ll buy you a better one,” he said. “Just give me a minute…”
•••
KNOCK KNOCK
William opened the door and saw a girl with black ponytail hair and blue dress standing in front of him. She was holding a few shopping bags in her hands. He sighed in relief, then he opened the door wider.
“Thanks for coming, hummingbird,” he thanked. Tracy smiled, then she walked into the house.
“It’s fine,” she said. “But exactly why do you tell me to buy…”
Suddenly her words were stuck on her throat as she saw a girl with black cheongsam sitting behind the dining table. William closed the door and sighed.
“She looks very much like you, Will…”
“That’s what I’m going to explain,” he said. “I saw her somewhere, then she trailed me here, and won’t go…”
Tracy sighed as she put down the bags. She looked at Camelia for a while, then she turned to William.
“Your sibling…?”
“Who knows.”
She turned to Camelia and sighed.
“You’re still conservative,” she said. “Amazing.”
She then smiled to Camelia and sat down on the table. Camelia looked at her for a while, then she looked down again.
“Oh, my,” she said. “William is a cruel guy, is he not…?”
William could feel blood rushed up to his head. He looked away and sighed.
“What did you say…?”
“You always are, Will,” Tracy said as she turned to him. “If I know what kind of girl I’m facing, I would’ve bought better clothes…”
“I’ll handle the bill,” he said. “Camelia, get changed…”
She nodded, then Tract took a bag and fished out something inside. She then took out a white pajama and put it in front of her. She took another bag, then she put it in front of her.
“Your underwear is in this bag…” she said. “Keep it from the guys…”
William looked away, annoyed. Tracy smirked to him, then she turned back to Camelia. Camelia nodded as she took the pajama and the bag, then she walked into the room and closed the door behind.
William sighed and turned bck to Tracy. She hopped down from the table, then she walked up to him and youched his cheek.
“Who is she…?”
“I thought she’s dead…”
William took ther hand and lowered it as she looked at him, surprised.
“You mean…?”
“She’s supposed to be my sister,” William said. “I’m about 3 years older than her…”
William walked past her to the benchtop, then he opened the drawer and took out something from inside.
“Then one day, she was going out and never came back,” he said. “That’s why I thought she was dead…”
“What is it, William?”
“W…where is Camelia…?”
“She’s not going to be here with you anymore.”
William could feel tears well up in his eyes, but he wiped them before Tracy could notice. He opened the cupboard above and took a white cup.
“Do you want lemon tea or apple tea…?”
“Ah, there’s no need,” she said. “Besides, I have to go home soon…”
“Oh, yeah,” William said as he looked back. “How are your parents?”
She looked surprised for a moment, but then she smiled and pulled the chair behind William and sat down.
“My mother was so relieved that you survived,” she said. “But my dad didn’t seem to be that pleased…”
“My father in-law will be a tough guy,” he said as he put the cup in front of her. There was a line out of it, and the water was brown. Tracy turned to him and smiled.
“Thanks,” she said. “You’re a nice guy, William…”
“Are your parents still here…?” he asked. She took the cup and nodded.
“My mum wants to see you again – she thought it was a feat for you to survive,” she said. “But my father was rambling about you being away when I need protection…”
“Sorry about that,” William said. “But work and personal things are two different ones…”
“I know that.”
Tracy suddenly stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She them pulled herself and smiled.
“I’d better leave,” she said. “My parents won’t be happy if I go home too late because of meeting a friend…”
“Should I accompany you home?” William asked. “The streets aren’t that safe for a little hummingbird like you…”
“I’m going to be fine,” she said. “Then, see you later, Will…”
“I’m going to be fine,” she said. “Then, see you later, Will…”
He smiled and walked to the door, then she followed him as heopened the door.
“Be safe,” he said as she walked past him. She turned to him and smiled, then he touched her cheek. She blushed a little, but then she smiled and walked away. Sometimes actions meant more than words.
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