Desired by a Lunatic

☠ Chapter - 21 ☠

Song: One Last Night - Vaults

Jaine

       "Try to recall Mrs. Austen" James said "Did you ever notice any weird habit or behaviour whenever he was around you?"

Walden sat glued to me, all of the previous anger forgotten, trying to comfort me as always.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I went back in my memory lane and thought of each and every encounter I had with Ethan until now, which were quite less, because he rarely mingles with anyone other than Calvin.

"No, he... doesn't talks much. He likes to keep it to himself. He talks to Calvin though, he is his highschool friend after all."

"Wait" I suddenly said after a moment of silence, gaining attention of them both immediately "I met Ethan in the police station. He had a file of his own name in his hands and that's how I know his full name" I continued "When I asked him about what he was doing there he said something about some family matter."

James furrowed his brows "I'm not aware of his case but we can definitely find about it" He stood up "Give me a call if you remember anything else. We are going to keep a close eye on him now."

"Please do inform us as soon as that man opens his mouth" said Walden as he got off the couch.

"Do you think it's him?" He asked me, as soon as the door closed behing officer Elroy.

"I don't know Wald" I sighed "It's like I can't trust anyone. It's hard to think... to even grasp the idea that someone who I know, someone who I see everyday could be my stalker and possibly the psycopath who murders people just for fun."

"You can always rely on me" He sat beside me "You can always trust me. I will always be there for you" He smiled at me and I hugged him close to me.

"I know. I love you, Walden."

"I love you, Jaine."

The next evening, I got a call from officer James Elroy asking me to come to the police station. He didn't tell me why he wanted me there and I had a bad feeling about it.

I didn't want Walden out of the bed but he wouldn't listen and that was why I was against on telling him anything.

I decided to look on the brighter side of things, if Wald's in front of my eyes then I'd be reassured that he's alright and not have anxiety about his well being when I'm there.

"What did you want us here for?" I asked, as soon as we sat in front of James.

"The guy we captured goes to the college with you" He continued "He says he was offered money on the spot by a masked man to distract Arthur for some time."

Me and my husband looked at each other and Walden spoke "So he just accepted money from a stranger without asking why and how?"

James nodded "He told me he is a broke guy just like anybody else who goes to college and the man was offering a pretty good amount of money so he just 'grabbed the opportunity' in his own words."

"Do you think he is speaking the truth?" I asked.

"He isn't lying" Arthur said as he entered, his face and arms covered in bruises "We checked his records and investigated" He sat down across us, beside James "He says he even knows you. You talked to him once in some event."

A moment of silence passed.

"What about Ethan?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes, he is the reason why I called you here" James said "We checked his records and turns out he.... he is involved in mafia."

"What kind of mafia are we talking about exactly?" Walden asked, his piercing eyes taking a sharp edge.

"The kind which involves everything" Arthur answered, giving me a pitiful glance "Drugs, human trafficking, murders, money laundering, you name it."

"The worst part being, Ethan is the boss. He is the King of the mafia" James told us "He's been to jail for quite a few times and he comes out everytime because surprisingly or, I must say unsurprisingly, no one is able to find anything against him and the eyewitnesses either change their statements or they just simply vanish into thin air."

I just stared at him with wide eyes. How could a guy like him be the mastermind of the mafia?

"Any unusual activities you remember about him now?" Arthur asked.

I thought about it and then suddenly it came to my mind "He used to disappear for a few days sometimes but when I asked him about it he said something about taking care of his sick mother and he also always had to be on his phone" I continued "But whenver I took a glance, he was just playing some game."

"Well, that explains it. Going to college is just a facade to cover up his dirty life" James said.

"So that's the reason he was in here that day or shall I be aware of something else too?" I asked, tired of all the increasing chaos.

"He got bailed out that day" James said to us "He had his own files because he's been to jail so many times, he needs to show some important documents with him everytime he gets his ass out."

I heard my husband's irritated sigh beside me.

"So is it him then? Is Ethan the stalker?" Walden asked.

"Well, seeing his background, we wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be him. Our team is keeping an eye on him and his activities 24/7 but I must tell you, if it turns out to be him, which I think is the case here, it's going to be quite hard to get him behind the bars" James sighed "Even a few top lawyers have lost the case against his gangs because he is damn good in covering up evidence."

"Have you received any new note or phone call?" Arthur asked.

"No, I haven't yet" I said, after some time.

James stood up to take a phone call and excused himself, leaving us with Detective Arthur.

"He even saved my life that day" I said "When the car came crashing right at me."

I was having a hard time digesting all the information.

"Some of his gang members are in jail for murders and stalking and... for some heinous crimes, of course he couldn't save them all. I agree with James too, I definitely think it's him" Arthur concluded.

"What about the man you captured earlier?" Wald asked.

"He is a tough one, loyal I must say. No matter what we do, he wouldn't open his mouth. Either he knows nothing or he knows everything" Arthur said, narrowing his eyes, deep in thought.

Suddenly, the door opened with a loud bang and I jumped in my seat.

Officer Elroy came in front of us and he looked nervous.

"Ethan's gone missing."

A/N: Yooo, I sincerely hope you find this chapter interesting. It takes me a lot of time to write a full chapter because sometimes I experience writer's block and the other times life happens.

Anyway, I have to read each and every chapter everytime I write a new one because I have to make sure that I don't write something I never talked about in previous chapters and accidentally give you the stalker's name or spill some important information.

That would just ruin the story, wouldn't it?

I am grateful for each and every comment and vote and even the silent readers! 😁

Please do remember that I haven't edited any of the chapters yet and English isn't my first language but I try.

I hope all of you are staying safe and taking necessary precautions in this difficult time.

See you until next time. Stay safe! Xo