Under the Oak Tree - Time Before You

11 Anticipation

Fiddling with a ballpoint pen, Captain Calypse stared absentmindedly upon the document in front of him. It was a witness report from an elderly man who was at the scene where the second victim had disappeared, but his narration appeared to be rather inconsistent.

Since morning, the detective had been through an entire mountain of testimonies already, and his eyes were turning bloodshot. No words were getting into his head anymore.

Tapping his fingers impatiently, the captain peered up from his papers and studied the homicide department. Like him, most of the detectives had been buried in work the past few days. The pressure to find more leads was heavy. Most serial killers operated with a routine. Since the previous murders were committed within one to two months apart, the squad had to crack the case by the immediate few weeks before the potential next case. However the recent leads had been rather slow, and the team was visibly stressed and exhausted from the all-nighters they had been pulling.

Riftan turned in his Herman Miller. He was about to review the progress with his subordinate when he noticed that the seat next to him was empty. The captain was surprised. From the past two weeks, he had observed Sergeant Elliot Charon to be a responsible, diligent and polite man. While Riftan was not one who micromanaged, he could not help that the seat had been unoccupied since this morning.

"Elliot! You're hilarious."

Out of the blue, a bright laughter pierced his ears. It was the same enthusiastic voice that he had gradually learnt not to shudder at. Even though the female sergeant might come across as being too handsy, she was serious and perceptive when it came to work.

A giggling Sidina soon appeared from the pantry with Elliot following behind embarrassedly. Holding an emptied lunchbox that appeared to have some hearts printed on it, the younger man's gaze was on the floor all the way till he parted with the lady and got back to his seat.

Shifting his chair back to face his desk, Riftan avoided eye contact with his partner. The high level of dopamine released between the two different personalities was rather embarrassing. Despite the usual persona Sidina portrayed, it was increasingly clear that the gentle detective was the one who truly held her heart.

All of a sudden, the memory of a red-haired lady stroking his black hound drifted into his thoughts. He wondered how it would be like too, if those fingers were brushing his hair instead. Probably a dreamy state of emotional bliss like the two sergeants. Startled, Riftan shook his head and attempted to verify the testimonials again. However it was all rather fruitless. Glancing up, his attention was drawn to his idling mobile phone.

It had been close to a week since he last met her. Unlike his initial week in Anatol, his routine now had been solely confined to the office. He had only managed to return to his apartment twice, mainly to check on his senior hound and grab fresh sets of clothes. Definitely no chance to stumble upon her in the streets anymore.

Riftan reached out to his phone and saw that there were no new notifications besides the spam from his superior Chief Nirta. Frowning slightly, the man returned the device to his desk.

Did I say or do something wrong that day?

Scratching his stubble, Riftan tried to recollect the morning he had spent with the professor. Undeterred by her insistence, the man had dropped her off a few streets from his apartment where she needed to go. The trip, though short, had been enjoyable as the two began to open up more about themselves.

So why hasn't she contacted me?

Though he could feel that her eyes were still guarded, Riftan was certain he felt her genuineness when they interacted. He had even detected a trace of happiness on those lips when she alighted the car. His thoughts lingered on the curves and softness of her mouth, and was lured into the scene where he was staring at her flustered cheeks where he only had a towel wrapped around his loins. The distressing thought immediately snapped him out from his trace.