The Mistletoe

Chapter IV

With Jonathan's gang lurking around, we had to have patrols from time to time watching the house and its surroundings. My house was surrounded by trees, so it was easy to hide around; this old place had been inherited by my father from our grandparents when they found a place closer to the town. When I was little, the view towards the bushes scared me because the forest seemed so dark at night that I had the impression that any creature could hide there. But now, I was not afraid of ghosts or creatures; I was afraid of real people, who had quite questionable backgrounds.

Sometimes I saw a guy with a red cap and sunglasses smoking at night in front of my house. Other times, another guy wearing a military jacket, the boldest one, would surround the house and enter the forest.

The third and final guy wore a black hood, and he always had it on. Sometimes, he seemed to take pictures of the house with his phone, and then he would start using it for hours. My dad was getting nervous because they could mug him or even break into the house. There had been nearby robberies, and the police had warned us that the three had a history of violent robbery.

A police officer always escorted my dad and me, and they ended up putting restraining orders on these three guys. But somehow, they managed to still surround and get into the forest during the night.

Things started to get quite ugly when both of us were summoned to the police station for investigation. They reviewed both my and my dad's records, and it felt like they were treating us like criminals.

"Mr. Aguilar," a detective said to my father, "Sorry for the inconvenience, I'm Detective Cortes." They shook hands, and then the detective asked to escort me outside to ask questions to my father.

I was outside, very nervous, and didn't know what to say. At the same time, a young lawyer arrived, her last name was Zambrano; she shook my hand and warmly smiled at me before entering where my father was. They allowed her to enter the room where he was.

Listening to the murmurs of the detectives, I realized they were from the PDI, especially from the criminology area. The PDI, or "Investigative Police," was the branch of the Chilean police responsible for investigations or solving cases, much like Sherlock Holmes. Yes, I had to read a book my dad gave me, unfortunately.

Paying closer attention to the murmurs, I heard that someone had died, precisely one of the guys who had been stalking my father and me. I closed my eyes and tried to listen through the walls.

"Mr. Aguilar. Do you recognize these photos?"

The young lawyer tells him to answer only what's necessary. I could hear my father's heartbeat racing; the photo was probably horrible.

"Do you have any relationship with this man? We believe he was one of the ones lurking around your house."

Suddenly, my ear caught something from another particular conversation immediately upon hearing my father's last name.

"Do you think it was him?" the woman said.

"Nah, the bites were from an animal, it left that guy dry; it didn't seem like a dog, and I don't think Mr. Aguilar goes around biting people."

"The Chupacabra!" joked the woman.

"I think they're asking him questions mostly because we found the body near his house, but the escorts didn't see Mr. Aguilar or his son leaving the house," added the man.

My father came out, and the lawyer spoke with the detective; then they escorted us outside the place.

"Mr. Aguilar," the detective said. "It's quite likely that you will be summoned to sign some documents and go through some legal procedures. I spoke with the two escort witnesses, and as far as I know, the forensics team found nothing against you, so you can go home feeling assured. I took care to ensure both of you have escorts in case there are accusations or if the victim's other friends try to do something."