Killing the Unfaithful

10. Mystery Man Revealed

Michael's head ached. Again. It was the end of the second day of investigation. If this went on, her head would explode.

The previous hours' events still replayed in her head. She had got to know a lot about the case, but still she felt no where close to catching the killer.

She sighed. She returned her gaze to the screen in front of her. The CCTV footage.

She had watched it again and again since the day before. The mystery guy- she had memorized his face by now.

Tall and well built, wearing a white shirt, leather jacket and jeans- he looked like a biker guy.

The video unfolds in front of her for the hundredth time today.

8pm- the door's unlocked, the guy comes in. Within less than 5 minutes, he gets out closing the door behind him.

Strange. She replayed it again, hoping that by magic a clue appears in the video if she replayed it.

She remembered Tristan telling that he cancelled meeting with Jane at 9 o'clock, so it explains why the door was unlocked.

The rest? No clue.

She was about to fix her eyes on the screen again, but a knock prevented her from doing so.

"Come in," she said.

To her great annoyance, it was Dean.

He just came in and calmly sat in front of her. She glared at him, hoping he would spontaneously combust.

When he didn't, she asked" What do you want now?"

He hesitated for a moment, "The maid talked to me today."

"Did I tell you to talk to him?" She snapped. She wouldn't have said it like that if she wasn't in a bad mood, but he couldn't just talk to anyone without her permission.

"She talked to me!" He lied, knowing how pathetic it sounded.

Steffen had told him not to tell her about anything, but let's accept it, he had accepted his challenge carelessly, but talking to Rosa- he knew he couldn't do it, he couldn't just investigate the case by himself.

"Who authorized your talking with Rosa?" she continued. "I can fire you right now do you know that? Have you even trained? Looks like you haven't. Just follow the orders goddamit!"

Dean wasn't an angry guy, but he found his temper rising for the second time that day.

"Steffen. Steffen authorized it," he found himself snapping back, the oath of secrecy long gone.

"Steffen," she sighed." Of course it's Steffen," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "Let me guess. He mentioned a promotion, right?"

"He.. uh... Yes..." Dean trailed.

She sighed again. When will that guy stop making my life difficult.

"And he must have mentioned your father quite a few times?"

Dean's face went pale. "Yes."

"I'm telling you, whatever he has told you to do, don't do it. He'll trap you."

"And how do you know that?" He flared.

"That's what he does! How do you think he got this position! With his pudgy hands and pudgy face, he shouldn't even be in the police!" She lashed out.

"I'm tired of you thinking that I'm useless and stupid and keep telling me what to do!"

"Because you are stupid. And you need to listen to me because I'm your boss idiot."

Dean was absolutely furious. But before he could say anything, there was loud and insistent knocking on the door.

Michael went to open the door, Dean couldn't hear what she said to the person.

Before he knew, Michael had sprinted and he could hear loud footsteps and then shutting of the main door.

***

We found him. That's all Michael had to hear to know what was being said.

She ran towards the car, burst into the backseat and ordered,"Go!"

The poor guy driving was about to exit the car and take a break, but buckled right back up.

It was only after a minute that she realised that they were not heading towards a residential area.

"Where did you find him?" She questioned.

"Uhh," the person beside her scratched his neck. "In a bar," he says nervously.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, after our shift today, we decided to hit a club, and we found him just sitting there, so we thought, why not come back to inform,"he shrugged.

"Except that according to my calculation, you must have left before your shift was over," she glared.

He smiled innocently.

Before she could press him any further, the car sputtered to a stop. "This isn't over," she stated before leaving the car.

She made to go in but he stopped her. "I think we should just barge in with everyone and take him for custody. You know, the good ol' way."

She never understood why the police had to create a scene when absolutely unnecessary.

"No. I'll just go in talk to him, tell him to come peacefully."

"Are you sure you can do that alone-" her death glare made him gulp, "of course, you are right, that's what we will do."

Michael went in. Immediately, she received the cautious glances she was used to.

It was not difficult to spot the mystery guy. She instantly recognised  the large man as she saw him.

He was still in the same clothes. She knew the man was bigger than average by the CCTV footage, but she hadn't expected huge.

This was why the officers were reluctant to let her talk to him alone, she realised.

They still gave her concerned glances from the entrance, some inching closer.

She went closer to the intimating presence sitting at the bar.

The bartender shrank back as she sat next to the gruff man, giving them a curious glance.

The man turned to her with a blank expression, clutching a beer in his hand.

His eyes widened a little as he saw her police uniform. She examined him, he looked like she remembered, but much worse.

There were dark circles under in eyes, he reeked of alcohol. He looked like he hadn't moved from here since two days, which may be true.

"We need you for an investigation," she said quietly. He nodded blankly.

"Do you know Jane Weld?" She showed him a picture she had kept in her pocket.

At that, his empty expression changed to one of fury.

"Yes," he growled, "she is my girlfriend."

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