Deadly Romance

Day 6

      A banging sound gradually brought Kevin back into the world. As he tried to focus on where he was, he realised it was morning and someone was banging on the door of his unit. He jumped out of bed, nearly falling over his shoes which he had thrown on the floor the previous night, and opened the door.

Jessica pushed past him and sat down on the couch.
"I'm sorry about last night," she said, "Mum and Dad insisted I have dinner with them, and then we got into a long discussion, or maybe I should call it an argument, about family stuff. By the time we finished it was after midnight. When I tried to call you to see if you were still at the club I discovered my phone battery was dead."

Kevin sat down beside her and she pulled him in for a kiss. "Am I forgiven?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied with a smile, "You wouldn't believe how drunk I got last night waiting for you."

"I can guess," she smiled, "Don't forget we go on the cruise today. We have an hour to get to the river wharf."

Later they were standing on the deck of the cruise boat with the other passengers listening to the commentary as important landmarks were pointed out to them. After two hours the boat docked at a wharf with a restaurant nearby where they enjoyed a seafood lunch. Then another leisurely trip back down the river.

As they stood on the top deck holding hands Kevin looked at his holiday companion. Her eyes sparkled as the breeze blew through her long blonde hair. She turned to look back at him and gave him a smile. She was the most beautiful girl in the world and she was all his, but only for one more day. It seemed so unfair that he had to lose her after all the good times they'd had together in the last six days. 

As if she could read his mind she put her arm around him and pulled him in close, then whispered in his ear, "We'll make tonight and tomorrow last forever."

The boat docked an hour later, and as they made their way up the ramp and onto the wharf Kevin saw the man again. He was tall with dark hair, wearing sunglasses and was staring intently and him and Jessica. As they got closer he put a mobile phone to his ear and quickly walked off.

"I think that man has been following us around," Kevin said.

"What man?" Jessica asked looking around.

"Up there ahead of us," Kevin replied pointing to the rapidly retreating figure. "This is the fourth time I've seen him watching us."

"The fourth time?" Jessica sounded slightly alarmed, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well I didn't think it was all that important."

"This isn't good,' Jessica muttered to herself, "Not good at all." Then aloud, "Kevin, call an Uber. It can drop me off at my parents' unit and then take you back to yours. I'll meet you later for dinner."

Half an hour later Kevin arrived back at his unit. As he pulled out the key to unlock the door he noticed it was slightly ajar. He was positive he had locked it when they left that morning. Someone had been here. Hesitantly he pushed the door open and stepped inside, and gasped at the sight that greeted him.
The place was in total chaos. The blankets and sheets had been pulled off the bed and the mattress was lying upside down on the floor. Every drawer had been pulled out of the bedside tables and the contents strewn everywhere. His clothes from the cupboard were lying on the floor, and his two suitcases were lying open on top of the mess.
He checked the bathroom. The cabinet had been opened and all his personal things were on the floor.

While he waited for the police to arrive he called Jessica and told her what had happened.

She was silent at first, then she muttered, "They were looking for something."

"Yes, but what," Kevin said, "Money, drugs?"

"Maybe. Did they take anything?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

An hour later the police arrived and took down the details. "The lock on the door isn't damaged so they must have picked it," a young constable said, "And they couldn't have got in through a window since you're on the fourth floor. You said nothing was taken, so we'll file the report, but there's not much chance we'll find out who did it. We'll let you know if we turn up anything. Good bye, sir." And they left.

Kevin couldn't help feeling very unsettled as he tidied up the mess. The thought of someone rifling through all his personal things made him uneasy. Would they come back? Probably not, but tonight he would make sure the chain was on the door when he went to bed.

Jessica met him at the restaurant an hour later. She seemed very disturbed about the break in.
"Are you sure they didn't take anything?" she asked him.

"Quite sure," he replied, "But Jess, don't worry. I'll put the chain on the door tonight. But I doubt they'll come back. They were probably just looking for money."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Jessica said with a thoughtful look on her face. She pulled out her phone and started texting, holding the phone so Kevin couldn't see what she was writing. "I'm just letting my parents know I'm staying with you tonight," she said.

Later back at Kevin's unit when they were making love he noticed she didn't seem to have her heart in it, but appeared to have her mind elsewhere.