HUES OF A MURDER

Chapter 18: Sometimes, crimson ties are thinner than water

Cyan took out his phone and called Skye. He described the man he saw and told Skye he was going to follow him. Skye told him to send him directions and wait for him and Rusty. Cyan cut the call and despite Rose's protests, send her to the stall.

Cyan followed the man. He tailed the man pretending to be interested in the sights, occasionally stopping to smell a perfume or taste the delectable snacks. The man seemed unaware of his stalker. They circled the fair ground. As they reached the entrance, the man turned to enter the Hay Maze. Cyan stopped and send a message. Skye warned him again against confronting the man alone and told him they were nearby. Cyan ignored the message and headed into the maze.

It was close to evening. The sun painted the sky in various shades of red. The maze was almost dark. Cyan ambled towards the centre of the maze listening intently and looking at the turns and twists. A bunch of kids screamed and cackled and ran past him. He clutched his heart and sputtered, "Shit!" He breathed heavily.

The maze was so silent, he could hear his own breathing. He wondered where the man was. Cyan felt fear creeping up in his veins. He wished that he had waited for his brother. He wondered if he should wait before proceeding further. But what if he missed the man? He dragged his unwilling legs in pursuit of the man.

The maze was huge. It had turns with dead ends. There were scarecrows larger than life some with cloth faces with eerie expressions and some with pumpkin head with carved creepy grins. He missed a turn and ended up facing a scarecrow with a witch's hat and a raven perched on its shoulder. The raven scrutinized him. He grimaced at it and turned back. He looked behind him to find the raven still staring at him. He bumped into something solid and was pushed backwards. He fell on his rear and stared at the man he was following.

"Why are you following me?" he asked in a raspy voice. The man was only a few years older than him, possibly younger than his own brothers. He noticed a faint burn mark on the left cheek covering his throat. He wondered why he didn't notice it before. The burn mark covered his left arm. Seeing Cyan looking at his arm, the man pulled his sleeves down. "You didn't answer me," the man repeated.

"Why are you limping?" Cyan got up.

"That's none of your business." The man snarled. "You were following me. Why?"

"You answer my question first," Cyan felt bolder.

"I don't owe you an answer. I know all about you and your little girlfriend. You think I didn't notice you snooping around the manor? What do you want?" The man was breathing heavily. He put his hand inside the pocket and drew something. Cyan inched back and hit the hay wall. His heart began ramming inside his chest. He remembered the fortune teller. He held his breath.

"Aah!" Something crashed into the man, causing him to fall forward and lie splayed on the ground. A small thing fell far from the man's hand.

"Are you OK?" Skye and Rusty came running towards him. A bale of hay was lying on the floor.

Cyan looked at the object fell from the man's hand. He grabbed it from the ground. It was an inhaler. The man got up slowly. "Careful. Don't try to do anything stupid," Skye growled.

"Huh?" the man looked confused. He was struggling to breath. He began searching the ground and took something and put in his ear. His hearing aid. The man stood up and held out his hand to Cyan. He gave the inhaler to the man. The man shook the inhaler and took two puffs.

There was an awkward silence before Cyan broke it, "Are you OK?"

The man sat on the bale and nodded. "Why did you follow me?"

"You are a Greywich," Cyan stated.

The man was startled and looked at him in surprise. "How did you..."