Waiting, A Dangerous Game

by Faizal Rahim

  He got out from his car. The two Detectives are going to be sorry for what they have done. He walked to the car boot and opened it up. It’s a pity that you are the one who is going to suffer. He looked at her, still unconscious from the blow she took to her head. He carried her and looked around. He didn’t see anyone. He put her on his shoulder and brought her into his house. He carried her straight to the kitchen. When he entered the kitchen, he placed her on a chair. He walked over to his refrigerator and started to push it aside. When he had completely pushed his refrigerator aside, it revealed a hidden door. He opened the door and switched on the light for the hidden room. There was a staircase which led down to his basement. He left the door open and walked back to the girl. He looked at her with lust and ran his hands over her lips and breasts. He tore off her clothes and made her sit in the nude. The girl was still unconscious from the blow. He took out some ropes and white cloths from his kitchen drawer. He tied the girl’s legs tightly to the chair, and followed with her hands. He took the white cloth and tied it around the girl’s eyes. When he was done, he licked her neck and laughed. He pushed the chair towards the basement door. When he was at the entrance of the basement door, he waited for the girl to regain consciousness.

  The girl began to wake up after several minutes of waiting. The girl started to move rigorously in panic. She was crying out loud and she didn’t know where she was. He went behind the chair and kicked it hard. The chair rolled down the stairs, the girl screaming in agony.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  “WHAT DID HE SAY?” SHIRLEY asked Rossi, who came out from his meeting with Head Investigations.

  Rossi without answering Shirley went to the coffee mixer and poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a long sip from his cup and closed his eyes. He let out a huge sigh and opened his eyes again. He took another sip from his cup and walked over to his desk.

  “I asked you what did…”

  “I heard you the first time itself.” Rossi interrupted Shirley.

  “I wouldn’t keep asking if you could just let me know.” Shirley folded her arms and leaned back on her chair, frowning at Rossi.

  “Obviously he’s pissed. It has been two days since we missed the suspect at the nightclub and we still don’t have any results. The girl is yet to be found too. So he just blasted me for that. You’re happy now?” Rossi took another sip of his coffee and was staring away at his blackboard running through all his gatherings from the case, trying to find a breakthrough.

  “Are we not doing out best? We even went through the Missing Person Files but so far no one has reported on the missing girl. The patrol pricks did not get back to us at all. The car possibly could not have vanished right. I bet with you that these pricks are just not bothered.” Shirley totally sympathized with Rossi even though he was being harsh with her. She just wished that Head Investigations could be a bit more patient.

  Just then, Shirley received a call on her mobile. She answered it.

  “Hi Morris…”

  “Hello Beautiful. How are you today?”

  “Not good and it’s because of you.”

  “Me? What did I do other than asking you out on countless dates, which I must emphasize, you rejected?”

  “I meant you, as in your whole Patrol Department. Can’t you guys do a simple job? What’s so difficult in finding a damn car which was tinted? It has been two freaking days and yet we have no news from your side.”

  “Why love? Feeling the pressure from your Management? I thought you detectives were the smart ones. Why can’t you guys find the car then?”

  “Come on Morris, stop taking side with your department. You know they always screw things up for us.”

  “That’s because you guys never give us credit for anything. We have so many emergency calls to look into. We are not available just for you people.”

  “So you called in to have an argument now?”

  “You started it. I am just a tool of circumstances.”

  Shirley laughed, “I am sorry Morris. This case is getting to my head. Nothing will make me happy other then to see the cold murderer behind bars.”

  “You need a break honey. Why don’t we go on our honeymoon?”

  “So what made you call me?” Shirley switched topics. She didn’t want to hurt Morris by constantly rejecting his approaches.

  “Yeah, change the topic. As if I wouldn’t know. I am planning to buy a car. You want to tag along. You can help me decide the colour.”

  “What happened to your old car?”

  “It got stolen. Can you imagine that? A police officer’s car is stolen.”

  Shirley was laughing away at the irony of what Morris said. Rossi turned around and stared at her to keep her volume down. Shirley covered her mouth and mobile with her hand.

  “Stop laughing Shirley. I already feel bad about it.”

  “I’m sorry. Did you make any complaints?”

  “Laugh it all up. I did not make any complaints as I know my car would be long gone by then. I have attended to many missing car cases myself to know that. So are you coming or not?”

  “I would love to Morris but you know I can’t. I feel bad always saying no to you but I hope you don’t take it personally. There’s lots of work to be done here.”

  “What’s new? I just hope you clear this case soon.”

  “Thank you Morris. I’m sorry again.” Shirley ended her conversation. Rossi was still staring at his blackboard.

  “What are you staring at for so long?” Shirley asked Rossi.

  “Did we find any other Missing Person cases fitting the patterns of the first two victims?” Rossi asked.

  “Aisha is working on that. We will have the results on that when we meet up with her again. She also said that she will brief us about the footage which we sent to her.” Shirley answered.

  “Time of death for first two victims was about two days when we found them.” Rossi told Shirley.

  “And…” Shirley didn’t know where Rossi was going from this.

  “It has been two days since the girl was spotted with suspect. I got a feeling we might soon be made known of her whereabouts.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  “THANKS FOR COMING. NOW THAT all of us are here, we can start.” Rossi was standing near his blackboard and talking to Aisha, Gabriel and Shirley. The four of them decided to have a sit down to see if they could come up with any new findings.

  Shirley was looking at Aisha and Gabriel. Aisha, wearing a red long sleeved dress with her red headscarf, was sitting in between Shirley and Gabriel. She was looking pleasant as usual. Gabriel on the other hand was totally looking dishevelled and seemed like a person who was in need of a vacation.

  “By now, Aisha and Gabriel, the two of you should have seen the footage from the nightclub. What’s your stand on it?” Rossi took out a cigar from his pocket and lighted it up.

  “The footage doesn’t mean much to me or my team Rossi. Even after enlarging the video and resolutions, we still could not make his face visible. There is no way we could come up with a digital construction based on the footage. You are just asking too much from me and my team.” Gabriel seemed annoyed with Rossi and he was making it known. Somehow Shirley felt that Gabriel was speaking out for his team rather than for himself.

  “It was worth a shot Gabriel. I knew chances were slim but I still had to send to you nevertheless. And next time your team is unhappy with me, ask them to come straight up to me instead of asking you to be the spokesperson.”

  Gabriel wanted to say something but decided against it. He moved his chair further away from Rossi to create more space between Rossi and himself.

  Rossi shook his head and muttered something under his breathes. He looked at Aisha and smiled. “What did you find out Aisha?”

  “I went through the footage R
ossi. I have to say, based on our profiling and based on the footage; it seems to be the same subject. And based on the close encounter few days back you guys had, I have a strong feeling that it is our suspect. I can’t find any reasons as to why it cannot be him.” Aisha was looking at all three of them. Rossi and Shirley were listening to her immensely although Gabriel gave signs that he was not bothered with what Aisha found. Gabriel was one of those in Crime Investigation Unit who still resented Aisha as she was a Muslim.

  “In that case, will it be possible to do a sketch of suspect and pass it to all Patrol Units?” Shirley asked Rossi.

  “I was thinking of that too.” Rossi was puffing away his cigar.

  “It’s worth a shot. Right now you guys need to make use of all the help you guys can get.” Aisha agreed with Rossi and Shirley.

  “Can I go back to work if that is all for me?” Gabriel asked Rossi. He couldn’t stand being next to Aisha.

  “Yes you can but before you go, I want to ask you something.” Rossi turned his attention to Gabriel.

  “What is it?” Gabriel asked Rossi. Gabriel was feeling apprehensive as Rossi was staring at him.

  “What are the results from the lab?” Rossi was blowing smoke rings.

  “Results for…” Gabriel asked in a confused manner.

  “Gabriel, I am already losing my patience with you and your team. So please don’t make me turn into a beast.” Rossi raised his voice in frustration and continued, “All I kept getting from you and your team is that no evidence can be found, no traces this, and no traces that. Can’t you give me something concrete?”

  “I would have given it to you if we found something. Are you trying to say that my team is incompetent?” Tension was growing between Gabriel and Rossi. The two ladies looked at one another and raised their eyebrows.

  “Matter of fact is that they are incompetent fools.” Rossi retorted.

  “Guys, can you two take a step back. It’s not helping anyone. Calm down Gabby.” Shirley went over to Gabriel and gave him a pat on his shoulder.

  “I agree with Shirley. Perhaps you can explain to Gabriel what is in your mind Rossi. It’s not fair for Gabriel if you don’t tell him. And they say women can’t work together.” Aisha calmed Rossi down.

  “Gabriel, you said that some kind of hair removal chemical was used by suspect on his victims, right? Till now, I don’t have any report from you stating what was the chemical used. You said chemicals have punctured the hair glands and so on but you never got back to me on what chemical it was. I am sure there will be traces of chemical on the bodies of the victims. Why didn’t you check what chemical it was? Burn marks were also found on the bodies. Now is that related to the chemical or is it something else?” Rossi waited for Gabriel to come up with an explanation.

  “I thought I have already submitted everything to Head Investigations? Didn’t you know?” Gabriel looked confused.

  “We didn’t receive a copy from your side Gabby. Maybe one of your guys forgot to pass it to us?” Shirley was trying to calm the situation.

  “Now didn’t I say your guys are incompetent fools?” Rossi reminded Gabriel.

  “Rossi can you stop it? Gabriel, perhaps you can explain in detail to Rossi and Shirley what you’ve submitted. Better to hear from you than reading from a report.” Aisha suggested. Gabriel shrugged his shoulders and walked to the blackboard. He told Aisha, Rossi and Shirley to sit down. He was writing some notes on the blackboard. When he was done, he turned to face the three of them.

  “Now does anyone of you know anything about hair removal? I don’t expect him to know but surely the ladies will know.” Gabriel asked them.

  “I just know things like waxing or using gel to remove hair but not much. I use the brand VEET.” Aisha told Gabriel.

  “Hey I use the same brand too. It’s easier on the skin.” Shirley replied excitedly.

  Rossi looked at the two ladies and shook his head. Women.

  “What you are using is called Chemical Depilatory in medical terms.” Gabriel told them.

  “Chemical what?” Rossi asked.

  “Chemical Depilatory. A chemical depilatory is a cosmetic preparation used to remove the hair from the skin on the human body. Currently, a common active ingredient is calcium thioglycolate, which breaks down the disulphide bonds in keratin and weakens the hair so that it is easily scraped off where it emerges from the hair follicle.”

  “Can you speak English? I’m lost. I am the Italian here not you.” Rossi told Gabriel. The two ladies looked at one another and smiled.

  “Ok I will take it real slow. There are two methods of hair removal. They are termed as Depilation and Epilation. Depilation is the removal of hair from the skin layer. This can be done by shaving or using chemicals which Aisha and Shirley have mentioned. The usage of chemicals for depilation is called Chemical Depilatory. Now we are not interested in this method as we clearly know victims’ hair glands were punctured. So we must turn to Epilation. Epilation is the removal of the entire hair from the root. Now Epilation is achieved by using several methods such as tweezing, waxing, sugaring, and threading or using epilators, mechanical devices that rapidly grasp hairs and pull them out. As the hair glands of victims were punctured, we can rule out epilators, tweezing and threading. These methods do not have the tendency to puncture hair glands. So what we need to look at are waxing and sugaring. Clear so far?” Gabriel asked the three of them, who were studiously listening to every word of his. When there was silence from the three of them, Gabriel continued.

  “Waxing is accomplished by spreading a wax combination thinly over the skin. A cloth or paper strip is then pressed on the top and ripped off with a quick movement against the direction of hair growth. This removes the wax along with the hair. Another method utilizes hard wax. In this case, the wax is applied somewhat thickly and with no cloth or paper strips. The wax then hardens when it cools, thus allowing the easy removal by a therapist without the aid of cloths. This waxing method is very beneficial to people who have sensitive skin. Generally waxing is a painful process and it can be agonizing for the person when hot wax is used for removal.”

  “Is that why burn marks were found on the victims’ bodies? Burn marks resulting from using hot wax?” Shirley wanted to clarify with Gabriel.

  “Yes Shirley. Burn marks are high possibility when hot wax is used. As for our case, the burn marks were not a result of waxing. There were traces of cornstarch and honey found on the victims’ bodies.”

  “Sugaring? Is that the cause?” Rossi asked Gabriel. Rossi needed to be sure. Rossi was already running through in his mind what needs to be done.

  “Yes that’s right. To elaborate further, sugaring paste can be prepared with common household food items, such as water, sugar and lemon juice, and cornstarch, honey or molasses. The ingredients are heated and mixed until they are completely liquid, after this the liquid changes from seemingly white to a light, gold-like colour. The solution is not allowed to become too dark. Getting the consistency correct takes some practice for most users. Darkness and hardness are controlled by the heating to specific temperatures. For a thick paste, the solution is heated to 118°C; for a gel, it is heated to 121°C. The liquid needs to be cooled before application. Failure to do so will cause burns and damages to hair glands.”

  “This is what we see on our victims’ bodies.” Shirley said to no one in specific.

  “Where do we go from here?” Aisha asked everyone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  “WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN the wrong direction since the beginning as long as receipts were concerned. We were looking for products used for Chemical Depilatory whereas it is clear from Gabriel’s lecture about hair removal that suspect never used any finished products.” Shirley told Aisha.

  “Suspect definitely likes to get his hands dirty. He takes pride in whatever he does an
d he makes sure that there are no shortcuts to his works. He gets great satisfaction from the final product which is what we get to see after he is done with the victims. Rossi, we are dealing with someone who is a real danger to society. There is no telling what else he might do.” Aisha was sounding worried now.

  “We need to go through the receipts again. We need to look for any purchases related to all the household items needed for sugaring process.” Shirley knew the painstaking work was required. It will do wonders if they could find any leads from the receipts. Shirley was feeling optimistic. Shirley noticed that Rossi has gone quiet and was deep in thought.

  “Why are you quiet?” Shirley asked Rossi.

  “It doesn’t add up.” Rossi said to no one in particular.

  “What doesn’t add up?” Shirley asked Rossi puzzled.

  “The receipts are wrong.” Rossi told Shirley while still deep in thought.

  “Isn’t that what I just said?” Shirley frowned at Rossi.

  “No, we are looking at the wrong receipts. We need to look at another set of receipts. Not the ones that we got.” Rossi looked at Aisha and Shirley. Both had a look of confusion on their faces.

  “Aisha, as what you have mentioned. Suspect is an intelligent person who takes great pride and satisfaction in his works. Being someone of that nature, it is very likely that he plans everything in his head before putting it into practice. He will not be doing everything in the spur of the moment. Assuming that this is how suspect behaves, and then he would have kept everything ready with him. I mean, if I was suspect, I will definitely keep everything ready before I start committing those acts. I won’t stop half way through and go to the stores to get my sugaring ingredients.”

  “That makes sense Rossi. So what are you proposing?” Aisha asked Rossi.

  “What’s your progress on the Missing Person Files?” Rossi posed the question to Aisha.

  “I found quite a significant number of cases. There are four cases with somewhat the same pattern as our first two victims, Michelle Rogers and Neola Ponchos. These cases are yet to be solved. The missing persons have not been found yet.”