Of Kings and Aces

29| Remember Ten

"How about this, we ask for the CCTV footage of the area during that time. Maybe we'll find the culprit," Bart offered as I shook my head for the hundredth time. It has been a week since the incident, and we still have no leads other than the two suspects I have in my head.

"I told you there were no security cameras nearby. The closest was around the corner, which was what, twenty meters from my car? Plus, it was facing the other side of the street. Come on; this is futile." I took my tie off and placed it neatly folded beside the monitor on my desk. It looked misplaced, and even though it was a nice tie, it was a ghastly addition to the desk. So I stuffed it in my bag instead.

"So you walk to work now?"

"Yeah. Bummer. I really hate carrying an umbrella. But then I'd rather lug that around than ending up drenched in the rain."

It was the tail end of the rainy season, and the weather was rather unpredictable lately – bright and sunshiny in the morning, then you get a downpour in the late afternoon.

"I can lend you my bike if you like? But then I think walking looks more professional than riding around in a mountain bike," he chuckled.

"I can go for that Mark Ross game. Think I could get a Rachel Zane and a few more chicks?" I wiggled my eyebrows, and he laughed. I had stopped joking about the capacity to take women home a long time ago. The joke felt all sorts of tasteless and dishonest on my tongue then, and it still felt the same just now.

"You already have the entire IT department drooling over you, narcissistic prick," he laughed. A knock on the door interrupted us, and Noelle walked in moments later.

"Mr. Ace, I just got a mail with your condo address as the sender," frowning as she handed me the small white courier envelope. "Hello, Bart," she greeted him.

"Hi," he smiled as his eyes lingered a second longer on her ass. He turned his attention back at me. "Well? Open it. Let's see what you sent yourself."

"Maybe later. I'd like to see what I sent myself by myself." I dropped the envelope into the drawer. My heart was racing as fear overtook half my senses. I balled my hands into fists to stop them from shaking. The fact that whoever sent it knew my home address frightened me the most. It could only be another warning, and it was something I did not want Bart to see.

"You're no fun. I'd better get back to work then. Break time's over," he stood up and left.

My home address was not top-secret, but I did not give it away to anyone. Aside from my family and my El Valle friends, only Noelle, Bart, Jacob, and Brigs knew where I lived. I doubt any of the few women I brought home even remember my unit number, aside from the fact that I haven't brought anyone home shortly after Justin's birth. That's probably a little more than two years already since the rascal just turned three last August.

I kept myself busy the rest of the day to keep myself from opening the envelope while in the office. Otherwise, I might end up running home before five again. By five-thirty, I took the envelope and tucked it deep in my bag before heading out.

The office was a few blocks from my building, but halfway through my walk, it started to rain. Smirking at Mother Nature, I raised my automatic umbrella over my head like he-man and smugly deployed it.

Give it your best shot, mother! I challenged her but ended up regretting it ten minutes later.

My leather shoes were sopping wet, and so were my socks. As I bent forward to them off, I noticed the front zipper of my bag was open, and the contents were also wet. I must have forgotten to close it when I took out my umbrella. Luckily, it was a pocket for pens, receipts, and coins.