Detective On Duty-Chapter 21: Stalker?

1955

The restaurant was a cozy, bustling place with checkered tablecloths and the warm scent of pasta and garlic in the air. Katherine and Ava sat across from James and Adrian, a small, intimate group at a round table. The girls, old friends, fell into easy conversation, their laughter a soft melody in the noisy room.

"You really have a good eye when it comes to boyfriends," Ava whispered to Katherine with a playful wink. She gestured with her chin toward James, who was engaged in conversation with Adrian.

Katherine chuckled, a blush rising on her cheeks. "He’s something else, isn’t he?"

While the girls talked, James and Adrian made their own introductions. Adrian, however, kept glancing at Katherine. He’d ask James a question, and while James answered, his eyes would dart over to Katherine, watching her. Katherine, catching his brief, intense stares, began to feel uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, a faint frown touching her brow. It was a strange sort of look, a mix of curiosity and something more possessive.

’Why is he staring at me like that?’ Katherine thought nervously her brow furrowed slightly.

The dinner conversation continued, but Katherine’s unease grew. She tried to ignore Adrian’s lingering gazes, but she felt as if he was watching her every move. She tried to cut him off from time to time, but he would just continue, his eyes on her. She had a feeling he was not just interested in her, he was obsessed with her. She finally decided to ignore him and concentrate on the food in front of her.

After what felt like an eternity, the dinner came to an end. James paid the bill, and they all said their goodbyes. The walk home with James was a relief, the quiet darkness of the street a welcome change from the strange tension of the restaurant. When they arrived at his house, he unlocked the door and stepped inside, pulling her with him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He closed the door behind them and turned to her, his hands gently cupping her face. He leaned in, and his lips found hers in a soft, tender kiss, they shared the intimate and passionate kiss near the door forgetting anything near them or behind them, he found the zip line oat the back of her dress and descending the zip down, her gown falling off her body leaving her underwear.

She found the belt of his trouser at the same time their lips entangling with each other, the tongue dancing to the little moans that escaped their lips, she pulled it down and unbuttoned his sleeve, he carried her, ascending up the stairs to his room, her legs encircling his waist, his hands holding her waist, their lips inexhaustible from being intimate. The world outside melted away as they stood there, wrapped in a moment of pure bliss.

"Who is Ava?" Miles asked

"Adrian girlfriend." James replied.

"Who is Adrian?" Miles’s voice was sharp, cutting through the tense air of James’s living room.

James hesitated, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Ava’s boyfriend," he finally said, his gaze distant.

"You are telling us the same thing over again."

"She’s Katherine best friend," he said and continued, "He always stared at Katherine, I think they were close. I think I remember their house, if you want I can take you there."

Miles’s jaw set in a hard line. He didn’t need any more lies. He and Ethan were going to find the truth, with or without James’s help, but with James knowing a few things yet told, they have to stick with him. Miles nodded, and the three of them left for Adrian’s house.

They drove through the quiet streets, the houses growing smaller and closer together as they left the opulent part of town. When they arrived, James knocked on the door, but a surly, unfamiliar face answered.

"What the hell do you want?" the man grumbled, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I’m looking for Adrian," James replied, his tone guarded.

"Maybe that might be the guy before me," the man said, a sneer on his face. "He’s not here anymore. You’re out of luck, pal." He slammed the door in their faces.

Ethan walked up to the door and knocked and thE man opened the door again, "what!?"

"We are with the police, do you really not know where the man we are talking about is." Out of fear, staring at Ethan cold face he answered, "no" and Ethan stepped away and he locked the door.

Miles felt a cold knot of dread tighten in his stomach. The man’s words were a brick wall. They were hiding. James had an idea, though. "Let’s go to the company," he said to Ethan and miles, and they left for the publishing house.

Miles, Ethan and James entered the busy office and approached a woman at a desk. "We’re looking for Ava," Miles said.

The woman frowned. "She hasn’t been working here since last week, after our lovely Kathy died."

"Where are they?" Miles pressed, a new urgency in his voice. "Are they hiding?"

The woman just shrugged, her face a mask of confusion. Miles and Ethan said their goodbyes to James and left, the silence in the car on the way back to the office a heavy weight.

When they got back to the Aethelred Initiative, Cecilia was waiting for them, a stack of notes and letters in her hand. "I found something," she said, her voice filled with a new sense of urgency.

She held out a letter with an unfamiliar, sloppy script. "What’s this?" Miles asked, taking the letter.

"I think this might be another guy," she said.

Miles read the note and remembered the strange conversation with James. "James talked about him, catching Adrian always staring at Kath," he muttered. "Maybe he’s the one."

"And there’s this," Cecilia said, pulling out another note. "I think he was stalking her."

Miles’s eyes widened as he read the chilling words on the note: "Your body is lovely, can’t wait to get a glimpse of it."

Ethan and Miles stared at each other, their minds reeling. The case had just taken a very dark and twisted turn. "What the hell?!" He muttered, "did Adrian do something to her?" His question left a pang of worry in the air.