Waiting, A Dangerous Game

by Faizal Rahim

  “If any of the victims were indeed brought here, I won’t be surprised if no one knew about it. Morris has told me before that the people here like to keep to themselves. Not the nosy types. Privacy matters to them.” Shirley told Aisha.

  “How would he know that?” Rossi asked.

  “He’s with patrol right. Of course he knows.” Shirley defended Morris. Even she felt her cheeks go red at how she sounded defending Morris.

  “Shall we go to the residence side of the Villa?” Shirley asked Aisha and Rossi, trying to change the subject of Morris.

  “Everything seems normal so far.” Shirley told Aisha, while they walked through the residence side of Lagoon Villa.

  “You know he won’t be here if he didn’t feel strongly about this.” Aisha told Shirley.

  “That’s right too. I still got lots to learn about him and from him.”

  All the residences were three hundred or so metres apart from each other. Most of the residences made use of the vast space to create gardens, miniature plantations, and playgrounds for the kids, or even swimming pools. As all three of them neared one particular residence, they noticed that it was different from the rest. The residence did not have any gardens, playgrounds or swimming pools. Instead thick vegetation of uncut grass and bushes surrounded the entire residence. A huge wall was also constructed at the back of the residence to block the view from the beach.

  “No one lives here?” Shirley asked no one in particular.

  “The record shows that the residence belongs to a man named, Bryan Teamaster. He has been the owner since the 90’s.” Aisha told Rossi and Shirley.

  “Teamaster? I’ve never heard that family name before.” Shirley said.

  “In the early nineteenth century, the family came from northern Italy to start their family business over the region. They produced tea and they were known in Italy as Maestro Del Tè which means masters of tea. Overtime, they made that the family name, Teamaster.” Rossi explained to Aisha and Shirley, who were amused that Rossi actually knew such a thing.

  “It seems as though Mr Teamaster abandoned this place long time ago, judging by the way the place looks.” Shirley told Rossi.

  “What do you think Rossi?” Aisha asked Rossi.

  “I am going in.” Rossi told Aisha.

  “You want to activate patrol now?” Shirley asked.

  “Radio them in. Tell them to make their way down now. There might be something here.” Rossi slowly moved closer to the residence, his hand resting on his hoslter. The two ladies followed.

  The three of them were at the entrance of the residence, trying to decide which way to move. The thick vegetation made it difficult to have a clear look at the path leading to the residence. All three decided to move in by the main door as it was the shortest route from the entrance. They made their way through the vegetation slowly and carefully.

  He looked through his bedroom window from the second floor and saw the three of them making their way slowly towards the main door. He was filled with so much of anger that he wanted to shoot them with his revolver right away. That will be good but it won’t be fun at all. The fun lies in making them run around like dogs. He smiled to himself and walked down to the kitchen. He opened the basement door and entered the basement, pushing the refrigerator back to its place. He walked down to the basement and switched on the light. He looked at his new catch and walked towards her. She moved vigorously on the chair, trying to free herself from the ropes tied to her. Her eyes filled with fear. He went to her and ran his hands along her cheeks. She shut her eyes tight and moved her face away, disgusted at the sense of touch.

  He laughed and told her, “You and I are going to play a little game. At the end of the game, you will be dead but first we need to leave this place. It just got crowded.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  “I THINK I SAW MOVEMENTS.” Aisha whispered to Rossi and Shirley.

  “Are you positive?” Rossi asked her.

  “I think I saw movements Rossi but I can’t be sure.” Aisha replied him.

  All three of them reached the main door entrance and positioned themselves. Rossi knocked on the main door while Aisha and Shirley covered his back. There was silence. Rossi knocked on the door again, this time louder. There was still silence and no one answered the knock. Rossi signalled to Aisha and Shirley that he wants to enter the house. Aisha and Shirley acknowledged Rossi and took up their stance position. They didn’t want to take chances. Rossi made a mini countdown with his fingers, three, two, one… and gave a hard kick on the door, which opened with a swift motion.

  “CIU, anyone around?” Rossi’s voice echoed through the living room.

  “CIU, is there anyone?” Rossi declared again.

  All three of them looked around the living room. The living room was spacious. There was a huge chandlier hanging from the ceiling, two leather couches placed in a L-shape, in front of a huge plasma TV mounted to the wall. The windows were closed with curtains drawn to cover them. There was a staircase leading to the second level. Aisha walked towards the staircase and slowly looked up. She did not see any movement. She signalled to Rossi and Shirley that she will take a look at the second level. Rossi nodded in agreement and walked around the living room, trying to look for clues.

  Shirley walked into the kitchen area. The kitchen windows were also shut with curtains drawn just like the living room. The dining table and chairs were placed in a orderly manner. The dish rack had plates and set of knives arranged in an orderly manner too. She walked to the dish rack and scrutinised the plates and knives. She ran her fingers along the plates and found them to be dry. She rubbed her fingers together to see if there were any dust. She could not feel any dust on her fingers. Seems like someone does live here. If house was unoccupied, it has to be dusty. She walked over to the refriegerator and opened it up. There was nothing inside the refrigerator. The light of the refrigerator was not working also. Shirley noticed that the refrigerator did not feel cold on the inside. She touched the side of the refrigerator to see if it was warm, due to the heat generated from electricity. It was not warm. Shirley realised that the refrigerator was not wired to the electrical swtich. As she was examining the refrigerator, she felt something moving on her foot. She looked down and gave a huge scream. Rossi immediately dashed into the kitchen holding his revolver. Rossi saw a rat running across the kitchen trying to find a place to hide.

  “Sorry.” Shirley said under her breathe embarrased.

  Rossi put his revolver back into his holster and put his hands on his hips, looking around the kitchen.

  “Anything so far?” Rossi asked Shirley.

  “Nothing yet so far but it does look peculiar.” Shirley briefed Rossi on the plates and refrigerator.

  “Where did that rat come from?” Rossi asked.

  “It should have come from some hole underneath the fridge.” Shirley shrug her shoulders.

  Rossi walked to the refrigerator and lied down on his stomach. He peeped underneath the refrigerator. He could not see much.

  “Give me light.” Rossi instructed Shirley.

  Shirley switched on her torchlight and gave it to Rossi. Rossi using the light from the torch peeped underneath the refrigerator again. Rossi noticed a hole, a hole too long to be made by a rat. He got up and handed the torch back to Shirley. Rossi grabbed the refrigerator with his hands and tried to move it. Shirley had no clue what was Rossi up to but she assisted him. The two of them moved the refrigerator away and saw a closed door.

  “Why would someone hide…”

  Rossi interupted Shirley by showing signs for her to keep quiet. Rossi took out his revolver, with Shirley following him.

  Rossi was about to kick the door open when Shirley stopped him. Rossi looked annoyed and frowned at her. He wanted to know why she did that. Shirley went to the door and turned the
knob. The door opened slightly. Shirley looked at Rossi and raised her eyebrows. Rossi did not say anything, he just walked past Shirley and opened the door ajar. Rossi and Shirley noticed the flight of stairs.

  “Basement?” Shriley whispered.

  “Let’s go down.” Rossi told Shirley and slowly walked down the stair.

  Rossi and Shirley reached the basement. When they saw what was in front of their eyes, both of them looked at one another. Both of them immediately ran up the basement and ran to the living room. They took the stairs leading to the second floor. When they reached the second floor, their worst fear was rolled out in front of their eyes.

  “No, God no…” Shirley started tearing.

  Aisha was lying motionless in a pool of blood with her eyes wide open. A bullet entry hole was seen on her forehead.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  WHEN HE SAW THE THREE of them approaching his residence, he immediately went to his basement. He knocked his latest victim unconcious and carried her to his bedroom. He threw her on his bed and ran down to the kitchen again. He arranged the refrigerator and other items in the kitchen in a properly manner and ran up the stairs again. As he ran up the stairs, he heard the knock on the door. He doubled his speed and ran into his bedroom. He loaded his revolver and attached the silencer to it. He wore his clothes back and carried his victim on his shoulder while holding his revolver in his other hand. He waited with his face pressed against the bedroom wall to listen for footsteps. He heard faint sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs. He left his bedroom door slightly ajar on purpose and waited. He noticed a shadow approaching his bedroom. The shadow stopped moving in front of his bedroom. He knew it was only a matter of seconds now. He saw his bedroom door being pushed slowly. He quickly went in front of the door and aimed his revolver at Aisha. He smiled at her and pulled off a shot aimed at her forehead. Aisha dropped to the floor instantly with her eyes opened. A pool of blood was slowly emerging from the back of her head. Aisha had gone stiff and he knew she was dead.

  He waited for the right time to leave the residence. After some time, he heard Shirley give out a scream and he heard Rossi rushing to the kitchen. He peeped from the staircase into the living room and saw that the living room was empty. He carried his victim, dashed out of the door and ran into the thick vegetation. He went to his Chevrolet that he hid in the vegetation and started the engine, hoping that the two detectives did not hear the engine sound. He threw his victim into the back seat, hopped onto the driver seat and slowly drove out from his residence, all the while keeping his eyes firmly on the rear view mirror. He picked up speed and saw his residence moving further and further away from him.

  That was easy. I am just getting better and better at this. Maybe I should just carry on with what I am doing. It’s too much fun to let go. No. I have to stop. I can’t go on forever. Once I have reached my target, I need to stop. Maybe I will just go to some remote island once all this is over.

  He was driving his Chevrolet along the streets thinking about his next move. He knew the search for him will intensify after he shot Aisha in the head.

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE

  SHIRLEY COULD NOT STOP CRYING looking at Aisha lying motionless on the floor. Everyone from Crime Investigation Unit were at the scene of crime, including Head Investigations. No one could believe that such an unfortunate thing has happened. Everyone was talking about how good a profiler Aisha was and how well she went on with her life especially being a single mom after Feroz disappeared.

  “Have you told Yusoff?” Head Investigations asked Rossi. Rossi shook his head in response.

  “I want to talk to you and Shirley in private.” Head Investigations told Rossi and called Shirley over. Shirley wiped her tears and approached the two of them.

  “I am taking the two of you out from this case.” Head Investigations informed the two of them.

  “Let’s go to the basement again Shirley.” Rossi ignored what Head Investigations had just said.

  “Are you even listening to me Rossi?” Head Investigations called out to Rossi.

  “Ashton, this is not the time. You can’t take me out of this case.” Rossi confronted Head Investigations.

  “Rossi try to understand. Aisha was someone who was very attached to you. You cannot handle this case without being emotionally attached to it. I need someone who can think with his brains and not with his heart. That goes for you as well Shirley. The two of you simply cannot handle this case from now onwards. If you two are still adamant, I have to take your badges away.” Head Investigations warned them.

  “Ashton, I do not intend to stand here and argue with you. I am carrying on with this case. Unless you plan to have me killed, there is no way I am going to hand over this case. Especially after what has happened to Aisha. If anyone of our guys want to take this case from me, I will kick their ass back to where they came from. Do I make myself clear?” Rossi stood right in front of Head Investigations and looked at him straight in the eye. The tension between Rossi and Head Investigations was so high that everyone in the room dare not say a word. After what seemed like an eternity, Head Investigations backed off.

  “Give me a report tomorrow morning.” Head Investigations informed Rossi and left.

  “Let’s go back to the basement.” Rossi informed Shirley and both of them went to the basement.

  When they reached the basement, Gabriel was waiting for them.

  “You have some balls to speak to Ashton in that way.” Gabriel told Rossi. Rossi waved Gabriel off and looked around the basement. The basement was dimly lit. At one corner of the room, there was a metal bathtub placed. Near the bathtub, there were ingredients that were suspected to be used for the epilation process. The walls of the basement were painted in black. One of the walls was filled with photographs. The photographs were divided into two sections. One section had photographs showing pictures of females lying unconsiously on the floor with clothes and with their hair intact. The other section had photographs showing pictures of the same females without clothes after epilation process was completed.

  “We almost had the bastard Rossi. This is the second time he got away from us.” Shirley rested her hands over her head.

  Rossi was still looking at the wall with the photographs. At the bottom of the wall, there was a photograph of a girl believed to be in her twenties lying unconsiously on the floor with clothes and hair intact. When Rossi looked at the other section of the wall, he noticed that there was no picture of the girl without clothes after epilation process was completed.

  “This girl has to be alive. There is no photo of her after epilation process is complete.” Rossi told Shirley.

  “Rossi, I found all the ID cards inside this drawer. A total of sixteen cards are here. He has killed others before Michelle Rogers.” Shirley informed Rossi.

  “There are a total of sixteen pairs of photographs on the wall. These includes pictures of Michelle Rogers, Neola Ponchos and all the victims that we know of.” Rossi informed Shirley.

  “Rossi, Aisha found twelve similar Missing Person cases that are somewhat with the same pattern as our victims. Is it possible that these victims in the photogrpahs are the ones reported in the Missing Person cases?” Shirley asked Rossi. Shirley could not get the image of Aisha lying dead out of her mind. Shirley felt as though she was going to pass out at any moment. Shiley felt her hands and body shaking visibly. Shirley knew she had to overcome her emotions and think straight.

  “What are you guys going to do now?” Gabriel asked.

  Shirley looked at Rossi. Rossi was looking at the ingredients that were used for the epilation process. Shirley knew what Rossi was thinking.

  “We need to go through the Missing Person Files and the receipts. That may be our best chance of getting to him.” Shirley told Gabriel.

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO

  “THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE FIRST victim
pasted on the basement wall matches with the first case of Missing Person File that was reported more than a year ago.” Shirley informed Rossi as she went through Aisha’s desk looking at the work done by Aisha.

  “Pass the file over.”

  Shirley handed the file over to Rossi. Rossi opened up the file and read the facts of the case:

  Date of Report Made: 5th January.

  Name of Missing Person: Cambria Tyson.

  Age: 23

  Description of Missing Person: Brunette hair, 132lbs, 5'5 feet. A small mole on the lower left part of the lip.

  Date Last Seen: New Year’s Day.

  Residence: No.21 Central Street.

  Reported By: Mr & Mrs Tyson.

  Relation: Parents.

  Rossi closed the file and handed it back to Shirley.

  “Do you think we should pay a visit to the Tysons?” Shirley asked Rossi.

  “Where are the receipts?” Rossi asked Shirley.

  “The receipts are here. The possible items being bought for epilation process are highlighted. Three shops stand out from the rest. These three shops had the most purchases for the items suspected to be used for the epilation process by suspect. If we can visit these shops and look at their CCTV footages, we might have a good chance Rossi.” Shirley sat on Aisha’s chair and looked around Aisha’s desk. Shirley could not believe that Aisha was no longer alive. Shirley’s mind kept on flashing images of Aisha and her Daddy covered in a pool of blood. Shirley’s face turned pale and she thought that she was going to throw up at any moment.

  “Are you alright?” Rossi asked.

  “No… yes. I am fine.” Shirley lied to Rossi. Shirley got up from the chair and she felt Crime Investigation Unit moving around her. She felt that she was losing her balance. Rossi came to Shirley’s aid just in time and prevented her from falling.