Alexis woke up from her sweet slumber feeling well-rested and somewhat content. Something had woken her, and whatever it was, was not her alarm clock. For a moment, she stared at the intricate design of her ceiling, admiring its beauty and wondering how she was still enchanted by that design almost a year after she saw it and fell in love with it. That is when she noticed that the lights were on. How on earth had she left them on? Looking around the room, she noticed her handbag was not at its usual place and her shoes were thrown near the bedroom door. Something was....
It all came back to her in a flood.
She had seen that man and fainted. The ride back to the apartment. Collins. The nightmares . . . but no terror.
Alexis was surprised to realize that she was not afraid anymore. In fact, she felt . . . happy? Contented? Relaxed? Energized? What the actual fuck?
She had been terrified to oblivion when she finally put a living face to the object of her nightmares. If her legs had not given up on her, she would have run to the end of the world and never look back. Yesterday, she had promised herself that she will back out from the case, let someone else handle it. But. . .
She didn't want to back out anymore. In fact, she wanted to go back and finish what she had started yesterday. She wanted answers, and she vowed she would get her answers at whatever cost today. But, she would need to thwart Collins. She wasn't ready to share that part of herself with anyone. No, not just that part, but any part of her private life, period.
Reaching out, she picked her phone and checked the time. 4:30 am. Time to start getting ready. She needed to get to the office as early as possible and get to work before anyone else showed up. She would dig up as much information as she could about him, try and find out if they had interacted at some point, and try to understand why he was always in her dreams. By the time they got to him, that is if she wasn't able to convince Collins to back off, a feat she was sure was as impossible as squeezing water from a rock, she would find a way to go around him.
With that thought in mind, Alexis quickly got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Within minutes, she was done with her morning rituals. She made her bed in record time, made herself a cup of coffee, and was sitting in front of her laptop surfing while slowly sipping her coffee. She keyed in his name and surprisingly came up empty. There was nothing on him.
Weird. The man was undocumented. How was that possible? With her interest heightened, she tried different spellings, different searches, and different approaches but still, there was nothing. Nothing. Unless . . . that was not his name. Mr. Alcan Buda didn't exist. So, who exactly was he? And what was his secret, his story?
Her excitement and curiosity had been woken up. The detective in her was now very alert. He had recognized her yesterday. She was sure of that. His eyes had widened when he saw her and she was sure she saw shock and panic flash through his eyes before his face was wiped off any emotion. It seems he was used to doing that and his emotionless face was a façade. So, what was his real story?
Abandoning her coffee and laptop on the kitchen counter, she picked her phone and walked out. It was time to visit the basement. Alexis was a woman on a mission and she wouldn't rest until she got the answers she wanted. She descended faster than she ever had and pushed the door but it didn't budge.
Alexis was puzzled. She never locked the door after her workouts. Had someone else been down here? Or maybe Collins had when he had dropped her off yesterday? Was that even possible? But then again, she lived alone and had no visitors whatsoever. So the only logical explanation was Collins must have come down here at some point. With that reassuring thought, she took the spare key at the hook close to the door and opened it.
The first thing she noticed when she stepped foot in the room and put the lights on was the gym outfit thrown carelessly on her dressing table. It was not hers and it was definitely not a man's. Her hesitation was brief before she quickly walked across the room and to the dressing table. She picked the fabric up and that's when she noticed the lipstick that was under it. It was a shade that she would never have dreamt of wearing, not even in her wildest dreams.
Someone had been in her house, used her gym in the basement, and left their stuff here. That, someone, was definitely not Collins. So, who was it?
With a quick practiced eye, she noted that nothing was missing, so definitely it was not a thief. She decided to leave this for later when she would get back to it but for now, she had an agenda that really needed her attention. She quickly bent behind the dressing table where she had installed a wall safe that could only be accessed by her because the password was her right-hand palm.
She did her thing and with a click, the safe opened. Quickly she retrieved the laptop that was kept there and opened it. A paper that was placed in the laptop fell and she bent down to pick it only for her hand to still as shock and fear coursed through her veins. It had been close to four months since she last opened this safe and touched this laptop. It was for her investigation and hacking into systems when she wanted to remain anonymous. The laptop could not be traced whatsoever and was unknown. But what shocked her what was written on the paper.
"It's time for justice to begin. They all deserve to die." And it was dated. . . .Yesterday?
Her blood ran cold. Her legs gave in and she plopped down like a sack. How long she sat there staring into space is anyone's guess. She was terrified. Someone had been here and had accessed her safe. How?
Her phone ringing jolted her from the hole she had crawled into. She jumped, almost dropping the laptop, and was only able to hold on to it due to her good reflexes. She picked the call after she calmed down a bit.
"Did I wake you?" Collins asked in the softest voice Alexis had ever heard him use. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she answered calmly.
"No, I was already up".
"How are you feeling now?"
"Am fine Collins. Why are you calling me this early?" Irritation laced her voice. She really wanted to get off that blasted phone so she could think of her current dilemma. Then, Collins dropped a bomb.
"We have a murder on our hands. We need to go ASAP. I have instructed the police officer that called me not to allow anyone else at the crime scene until we get there".
"Who was murdered?"
"Alcan Buda".
Shocked was an epic understatement to describe the emotions that caused through her system. She opened her mouth several times without uttering a single word. Collins' concerned voice jolted her into action. Promising to meet him there as soon as she could, she staffed the laptop back, closed the safe, switched off the lights, and ran out of the room taking the stairs two at a time.
In a flash, she was dressed, quickly locking up and running to her car. She doesn't remember much of the drive to Alcan's house. She saw a potbellied police officer, exchanged a few words with him which she doesn't remember either. Almost immediately, Collins pulled up next to her. They didn't need words between them, just silently walking in side by side.
The sight that awaited them is something she will never forget. The body was propped upright, hands spread wide open and tied to the top window sill. Legs wide apart and tied to each end of the bed, he looked crucified. The man was stark naked and his manhood had been chopped off then stuffed in his mouth and held in place by a clear tape. Blood and gore had pooled at his feet and making rivulets on the floor. There was a black-handled knife protruding from his breast and Alexis realized with horror that that kind of stab was not new to her.
A single stab wound to the heart.
Alexis turned and fled the room bending over as she stepped out of the house and vomited.