Patricia's Pov
"So you have met the detective before?"
"Yes"
"You shared the same flight with him and even had an awkward conversation?"
"Yes"
"And this afternoon he came to your house and didn't even remember you?"
"Yes"
"And he acted like a complete jerk?"
"Yes"
"WOAH THAT IS SO FREAKING COOL!", Praveen exclaimed.
I had told him everything that had happened since afternoon and well let's say it was too much for him to process. Behaving like a bewildered toddler, he paced around the drawing-room with long strides and kept asking me the same questions over and over again. I was exhausted by his nonsensical behaviour but I found it adorable as well.
After about fifteen minutes he finally sat on the sofa beside me and sipped his hot chocolate.
"Where the hell was I during this drama? Should have come with a bowl of popcorn", he said gleefully.
I facepalmed. Praveen was a big fan of the detective. The entire town was. As I said, Arjun was like a messiah for them. If only they knew what a pompous monkey he was.
"I think you should go home now", I said as I looked at the clock. It was 9 o'clock and pretty dark outside. "It's getting really dark, I don't want you to go home late. With whatever is happening outside". That last line came out as a whisper.
"Aww, you worried about me?", he cooed. I scoffed and slapped him on his shoulder. But in reality, I was.
"Well then, I guess you are right. I better leave now", he said finishing his hot chocolate and getting up from his seat.
I escorted him to the main door and when he was about to exit, he turned around and looked at me. His eyes were so warm and captivating, I felt like I was hypnotized by them. I was so engrossed in them I didn't notice he had moved forward and now was really close to me. Close enough that I could smell his scent. I noticed how his gaze shifted down to my lips but only for a second. He looked straight into my eyes again with those big dreamy, hazelnut orbs of his.
"You free tomorrow?", he asked in a smooth tone.
"Yes, why?"
"Want to have lunch with me? I know this good restaurant. You can see the tea gardens from there", he said inching a step forward.
"Fine, tomorrow at 1.30?", I asked looking at him, not breaking the staring contest that we were having.
"Done. I will pick you up and for the time being-", he paused and then finally said, "Take care of yourself"
With that, he turned around and left.
I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. My stomach was fluttering and I was blushing hard. Did he just ask me out on a date? And did I accept? Well, he was a sweetheart. How could I say 'no' to someone as cute as him?
And soon my mind took a trip down memory lane. I was leaning against the door, replaying all the memories I had with him. But my dreaming didn't last long because the doorbell rang again.
Who could it be this time?
I cautiously opened the door and in an instant, my smiling face turned into a scowl because Detective Jerk was standing in front of me with that signature Cheshire grin of his.
Speak of the devil.
"Good evening Ma'am! Remember I told you I would come to interrogate you so here I am!", he said joyfully as he opened his arms wide as if he was making a grand announcement. On seeing no response from my end he just pushed the door open himself and shimmied his way in.
"Excuse me! You can't just barge into my house without a warrant! Who the hell do you think you are?"
He just ignored me and walked around the drawing-room exploring everything the way a pigeon does when it flies into your house uninvited and struts around as if it owns the place ignoring you every time you yell "shoo!"
Yes, exactly the same case.
He finally sat down in the dining room. Pointing towards a chair exactly in front of him he said "Have a seat ma'am and please make yourself comfortable."
That was enough. I stomped towards him like an angry elephant.
"Get out right now", I said through gritted teeth. "You can interrogate me tomorrow, but not now"
"Why so? I am just doing my duty. You know you can get into serious trouble for not co-operating with people from the law enforcement", he said calmly as he pulled out some kind of leather wallet and placed it on the table. It took me some time to realise it was not a wallet but a holster and it had a revolver in it. I gulped and took my seat instantly.
"Oh, did I scare you? So sorry! don't worry I am not going to shoot you or something. Just tired of carrying this thing around with me all day so removed it", he chuckled. "But at least you sat down. Thank you for that."
He cleared his throat and started talking into the voice recorder of his phone.
"So hi, This is Detective Malhotra, the date is 12th of November 2020. I am here with Ms. Patricia Fernandez, who will now narrate the story of her encounter with a serial offender", he said and placed the phone in the middle of us.
"Uhm so from where should I start?", I questioned.
"The beginning, for example, why did you leave the house in the first place?"
"Okay, so it was 8.30 in the evening. I was hungry and my fridge was empty. So I had gone out to buy some food. There is a convenience store 20 minutes away from my cottage. That was where I decided to go. I went there, I bought noodles. I have a friend who works there, chatted with him and then I left. When I was returning, there was this man who was behind me. At first, I thought he was a regular passing by then I figured he was not. I ran into the nearby woods because I did not want him to know where I lived. I was fast so I lost him. I found a tree, climbed it, and waited for some time in silence. Once I knew I was alone, I called my friend from the store and he came to accompany me back home.", I finally finished.
"What happened in the woods?"
"Nothing, it was too dark and quiet."
"So it was just you and that man in the woods? No one else?"
"Ya, I guess so. I didn't see any-", I stopped in the middle of my sentence. Something clicked.
That dark shadow
"What's wrong?", Arjun asked as leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.
"Well, when I was up on that tree, I saw a dark shadow, but like only for a second", I replied as I looked down at the table.
"Why didn't you tell this to the police this morning?"
"Because I didn't think it was that important. I mean it could have been my imagination", I said in a weak and broken voice. Was he doubting me?
"You don't get to decide what's important and what's not, understood?", he said, in a monotonous voice.
I nodded my head.
"Well, that's it for today. Thank you for your co-operation, I will leave", he said as he got up from his chair and walked towards the main door.
Wait a minute, He doesn't have a ride home, right? It's 10 now, no transportation services are available at this hour. Is it safe for the man who is handling the case of a serial killer to walk alone at this hour when the serial killer is out as well? Should I stop him? No! Why should I care? But he was near the door and I was worried about him.
Curse my weak heart.
"Listen Detective!"
"Yes Ma'am?", he turned around to look at me.
"Please don't go outside at this hour. Stay here for the night. We have a guest room. You can leave tomorrow morning", I finally said.
That caught him off guard because he was just staring at me with his mouth open.
"Uhm, Okay, thank you for your generosity", he finally said.
A/N:
Hi! I am back again. Just here to remind you to please vote and feel free to give constructive criticism in the comments. People reading motivate me to write more.