Stephnie was still sobbing quietly, but managed to utter some words in her moment of grief, “They came immediately, and I was not so sure he was completely dead, they came in and everything went berserk. We were scared but the men in black were determined to see Mike’s dead body. We wanted to offer some resistance but—”
Doctor Lens was getting all the more afraid. He walked away from Stephnie and placed his right hand on his forehead. He knew a lot of things were wrong as he entered the sitting room a few minutes ago. The atmosphere in the sitting room, yes, there was something sinister about it. He put his left hand in his pocket to ease off the nervousness that was fast piling up within him. He walked towards Paul and stared at him thoughtfully. “What do you know about this, Paul?”
Paul had been standing dumb and had been so shocked by the incident. He was unable to find his voice not until the question came harshly the second time. This time, he was able to come around, and spoke calmly, “just a little, Doctor Lens. The incredible men came in black outfits. The air was filled with the most amazing and unfriendly perfume, I have ever perceived.” He stopped talking for a while as if frozen, and the moment he began, his eyes were scary, “We were asked to walk out, and we did without giving a thought about what we were doing. Perhaps, we were manipulated by some mystical powers difficult for us to comprehend at the time, and that was all I could remember Doctor Lens. After a while, I became conscious when we heard the voice of Stephnie. And when Landus and I ran into the sitting room, they were gone. The men in black were all gone, and this time. We noticed that our boss was on the floor, and he was no longer on the chair, he sat on a few minutes ago.”
Doctor Len's eyes widened. He looked at Paul angrily and then at Landus.
He shook his head sadly. Death does not come by age, all humans must die someday but Mike’s death was certainly appalling, he thought as he shuddered. Fixing his eyes again on Paul, he muttered, “For God's sake, you were supposed to protect him. How come some men just walked in here from nowhere and did this to Mike without you fighting back or resisting them? You were paid to protect him, damn it! And here you stand talking about perfume and manipulation. This is strange, I am disappointed at you, yes at both of you,” he shouted.
He started walking about the sitting room confused for a while, and when he recovered from his anger. He walked up to Landus, and pointed to his chest, “Landus you are a trained retired army official, and Paul over there is a trained policeman still in active service. You were paid to protect him, but you failed your boss, and put his family in a pool of tears and shame.”
Landus was getting angry now, and wondered why Doctor Lens wouldn’t believe their explanations. He knew he had failed Mike this once, but it was obvious this situation was beyond his power. He knew Mike was an extraordinary man, but only wondered why he couldn’t escape this tragedy.
As he glared at Doctor Lens, he felt disgusted, and didn’t hesitate to voice out his displeasure, “Doctor Lens, I appreciate your professionalism as a medical doctor, and I sincerely respect you for that, but honestly. I wouldn’t have you teach me about security. I’m one of the best in my field, and Mike knew it. That was why he got me employed, and I have meant his expectation at all times perhaps not this time. Honestly, what I saw here today was above my power.” He looked around for a while, and as his eyes caught those of Paul. He corrected himself, “our power, yes Paul and I. These men were not ordinary, they came prepared with strange powers difficult for us to withstand if you ask me. I think we were manipulated. The perfume filled the air and penetrated forcefully through our nostrils. Sucking deep into our brains and lungs! And as they commanded us, we obeyed. We acted out of our normal selves—”
Doctor Lens was getting more scared now as Landus spoke. He knew Landus has been an amazing bodyguard, but situations like this need talk—more talk. He lifted his right hand to stop Landus from speaking any further. His words are becoming indigestible, all bottled up with the great potential to create scary nightmares. “Okay Landus, I’m sorry if I pressed so hard on you. Hmm, Mike is dead—”
When Stephnie heard that, she started crying aloud again.
Doctor Lens spun around, glanced at her for a while, and then turned his attention back on Landus. “He must be taken to the mortuary. However, first thing first, the Police must be informed. This looks more like a murder case, there was a sharp cut in Mike’s neck region and besides, Stephnie wasn’t so sure if Mike was completely dead before the men in black came in, right?” He looked at Stephnie, who was sitting afar off as he whispered to Landus and Paul.
Seconds later, he walked away from them and pulled out his cell phone from his left pocket, and then started dialing Inspector Jim Pawlus’s number.
He knew he has to call him. He must certainly be told about this, and perhaps have an idea of what possibly happened. And there is no way he could take Mike’s dead body out of his house without involving the police.
He looked at his phone screen to see if his number was going, the moment he saw it was, he placed it on his right ear.
Paul walked up to where his boss was lying down dead. He had seen dead men before, but one thing he was so sure about was that Mike was different. He bent over, and the thought of rolling the white clothing used on Mike came strong within him. He soon recovered, and quickly straightened up and drew backward. He looked up and saw that Doctor Lens was still on phone, and he wondered what the communication was all about. He tried to be calm but noticed he was still fidgeting. He looked around for a sit and then sat down with both legs crossed to ease the tension that had refused to go off him.
The phone was still ringing. Jim Pawlus was yet to pick up his call. Doctor Lens had started walking aimlessly with his cell phone closer to his left ear, “pick the phone, Jim, what’s the matter with you, this is an emergency damn it!”
He spoke quietly in frustration as he kept on walking around, this time sweating profusely.
He heard his voice of Jim a few seconds later, “who is this?” he shouted.
Doctor Lens was happy to have gotten him on phone; he wasn’t bothered about his arrogance. His words suck most times, but he knew that is the system, and he has to cope with it, “this is Doctor Lens, please I have an emergency, it is all about Mike, he is dead. I think he was murdered by some masked men through his throat. It was expertly done if you ask me, and I will like you to send some of your men down to check this out.” Doctor Lens stopped talking. He was surprised it took some time for Jim Pawlus to respond and when he did, he spoke heartlessly, “Doctor Lens are you sure Mike is dead? Well, is not that I doubt you after all you doctors are supposed to know if somebody is dead or not. I am surprised you never knew Mike too well. I will have you do me a favor, go closer to his body, and check his throat region carefully. Look out for the sign BS, and tell me what you saw. I won’t hang up, move quickly, Doctor Lens.”
Doctor Lens walked up to Mike, pulled the cover clothes over, and examined the cut more carefully this time. After a consistent search, he saw a very tiny inscription BS.
What does this mean?
He thought. He covered Mike’s dead body and withdrew himself to a far-right corner of the sitting room beyond earshot. He wanted to be alone, he held his phone into position again, this time firmly to his right ear, “Hello Jim, I’m back, are you still there?”
Jim hesitated for a while, and then replied, “Sure, what did you see Doctor Lens? Did you see the mark?”
Doctor Lens was becoming more nervous. He struggled to keep his voice under control. “Yes I did—and what about it, Jim?” He noticed Jim Pawlus was silent. He asked again shouting, but careful not to create a scene out of it, “Jim are you with me, tell me all you know about this?” He wanted to know what happened to his friend Mike even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to be investigating his death. He wanted to be satisfied with how he died so suddenly and without any health-threatening situation that may have led to his sudden demise.
He waited patiently for Jim. Two minutes later, he heard him talking.
“Doctor Lens, I shouldn’t be telling you this, perhaps for the fact that you have been Mike’s doctor, I will let you into it a little. What I’m telling you should be kept secret. BS stands for the black sword, it is a deadly mission. Mike was in that mission and was one of BS's strongest occult members.” He pulsed for a while and then continued. This time feeling so sorry for Lens, “I beg you to stay out of this. The family should bury him, and forget about investigating the cause of his death. It will be a fruitless search, poor Stephnie and little Terry. Doctor Lens, I’m afraid I have to go now. I have an appointment right about now, and perhaps we could talk about this some other time if you don’t mind.” The line went dead before Doctor Lens could utter a word. He stood fixed to a spot for a while, and then started walking towards the middle of the sitting room, where he had left Stephnie, and the security men. He stopped halfway and whispered to himself; “how come I never knew Mike was a cultist, he never appeared like one.” As soon as he completed his steps to where they were, he coughed to break the lingering silence that had suddenly overwhelmed them.
Landus quickly asked, “Who was that on the phone?”
Doctor Lens sat down close to Stephnie, ignoring Landus's question. He relaxed in his seat closing his eyes. Seconds later, he managed a glance at Landus. “I was with Jim—Jim Pawlus—” and as he wanted to go on talking, he remembered Jim's words, “what I am about telling you should be kept secret…” He closed his eyes again, this time reluctant to open them. He felt like sinking away from the surrounding scene, and he knew that wouldn’t be possible.
He opened his eyes slowly as he completed his statement, “I don’t think he will be coming for reasons best known to him. I will like both of you to excuse us. I’ll love to have a word with Stephnie alone.”
Stephnie turned around and looked at Landus and Paul. And as she nodded her head, they took their leave quietly, but not without staring at their boss's lifeless body once more.
Doctor Lens drew closer to Stephnie. “Mrs. Dickson, permit me to ask you some questions. Did Mike tell you anything that may have made you kind of suspicious about his death?” He thought he had made himself clear now, but it was obvious Stephnie was beside herself. The way she thinks and talks seem to crawl out of her memory of how it all happened. It still burns like wildfire within her belly. And coordinate her thoughts now seemed to be her greatest weakness.