Too Hot to Breathe

And Four is the Proof

And four is the proof. There was no doubt that someone was definitely targeting the people that had conducted the robbery. But then again, for all I knew, maybe Alexandra just slipped from the fire escape and fell. No, that also didn't make sense. Why would she be in the fire escape? All these thoughts kept popping in my head like little tiny bubbles that would burst every time I managed to find a loop in my theory. 

I gave up on the chase little after it started. The gray haired man I was following, that I assumed was about 60, 70 years old, was actually faster than me. Perhaps a life of running had caused such thing. I had no idea why all of a sudden I was suddenly more philosophical. Maybe the whole bump in the head had really interfered with my personality.

"Damn it, now is no time to think," I thought to myself (such an ironic statement). I climbed into the green dumpster where Alexandra rested. It stank. Not the worst smell I had ever sniffed, but not too far away. Shards of glass, plastic bottle, newspapers, organic wastes, fruit peels, everything that surrounded her was covered in blood. I thought for sure she was dead. 

Turns out, she wasn't. Just to be sure, I checked her pulse (I wasn't going to do the same mistake again, right?). It was fading, but there was still blood pumping through her veins. I picked up my phone (that had fallen when I tried to get up to the dumpster) and called 911 as fast as possible. An ambulance showed up a few minutes after.

While such aid didn't arrive, I managed to wrap a cloth that was above Alexandra around her head to try and stop her bleeding, but after a bit of thought, I immediately regretted it. If the cloth had been placed above her, then clearly it had been placed after her, so it had to have been dropped by the killer. However, the fact that was stomping me the most was that the clothing appeared to be a woman's scarf, which made no sense for two reasons - First, the person I was chasing looked a lot more like a man than a woman. In fact, I could swear that I was chasing a woman. Second, who would wear a scarf in the middle of the summer, with 39º C (or 102º F if you will) outside? It made absolutely no sense... 

This case was getting more complex by the second, and the pain in my head became even more unbearable by the puzzle. Maybe I should go to a hospital just like Maggie had said, but as far as I was concerned, that was out of the picture. 

Alexandra was escorted by me in the ambulance and to the hospital, and even though the doctor kept insisting that I should give her some rest, I stayed in her hospital room for a few hours. Realizing that that might not have been the brightest of ideas, I left her alone and went on to investigate her house. 

There was nothing of interest neither in the house or in the building. To me, it seemed like the whole house had just been the cheapest thing she could found at that time. Her TV was on some cooking channel. Near the place where I assumed she had fallen, there was a watering can, and I assumed she was watering the plants that were placed on top of the rail. Her closet was organized, and the only thing missing was a écharpe (at least I assumed since it was next to other écharpes). On her medicine cabinet, all she had was an allergy medicine. And then I notice, behind me, a little tiny white cat. One of the cutest things I had ever seen. But just as I thought... Besides the whole robbery thing, there were no proofs of murderous intention.

I made my way to the hospital again. I entered her room, where a medic was taking her blood. Cordially, I stepped out of his way and let him do what he could. I needed her alive, and so I just stayed in the hallway, reading one of the magazines that were there. A few moments later, one doctor left and another came. 

- What are you doing? Your buddy over there already took her blood? - I said, seeing him holding a syringe full of blood. 

- What buddy? I'm her only doctor right here. There was nothing else scheduled for her today. 

I looked down the hallway. The supposed doctor was now taking off his medic jacket. He looked over his shoulder to me. It was the same man I was chasing earlier. Alexandra had been targetted twice by now, and I still didn't know who he was...