Chapter 33 - Suspicious Man

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“You too. Remember to bring your boyfriend here again tomorrow,” the police officer said.

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but take a deep breath and tried my best to suppress my anger.

A voice in my head said, “Annie, stop tolerating it and fight them!

The other voice said, ‘Never mind. They’re the police. You’ll be punished if you fight. And they’ll continue to detain you.’

“Alright, Officer.” I finally obeyed the other voice and suppressed my anger.

After leaving the police station, I stood by the side of the road and felt troubled.

The bus driver had already ended work at this time. The police station was far away from my house. Other than taking a taxi, I had no other way to go home.

While waiting for the taxi, I called home.

Dacia picked up quickly and his voice was anxious. “Is it Annie?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up when you called me.” I felt bad.

“I know you went to the police station. Daniel called.”

I was relieved to hear Dacia say that. I was afraid he would pick me up from work at the office.

What if he didn’t get to me? Wouldn’t he feel uncomfortable because he’d been dehydrated for too long?

“I’ll go back now.”

“How are you going to get back? Are you taking a taxi?”

“Yes, that’s the only way.” I nodded.

“When will you be back?”

“Within the hour, I guess,” I estimated.

“Okay. In forty minutes, I’ll wait for you at the crossroad closest to home.”

“Okay!”

I was glad to hear Dacia say he was going to pick me up. It felt good to have someone waiting for me to come home.

Soon, I hailed a taxi. When I got in the car, the driver asked me where I was going. I gave him the name of the place, but he shook his head and said, “Sorry, the most I can do is drop you at the intersection of Oak Street. My wife urged me to hurry home.”

The street entrance he mentioned was a little far from where Dacia was waiting for me. It would take ten minutes to walk there.

Considering how late it was, and how difficult it was to flag a taxi, I had no choice but to accept his offer.

After reaching my destination, I got out of the car. There were few cars and no pedestrians on the road.

I wrapped my coat tighter around me and headed home. About five minutes later, I heard strange footsteps behind me.

Was I being followed?

At the thought of this, I felt fear.

To confirm this thought, I slowed down and listened attentively, only to find that the person behind me had also slowed down.

And when I quickened my pace, he did too.

He was indeed following me!

I was getting more and more scared. I was so afraid that I was about to cry.

It wasn’t far from the intersection where Dacia was waiting for me. I forced myself to calm down by thinking that I might as well run forward as fast as I could in one breath. Perhaps I could reunite with Dacia before he caught me.

With this in mind, I quickly strode forward.

The wind whistled in my ears. Other than that, I could only hear my own breathing and footsteps.

I wasn’t sure if he caught up or not. I just knew I couldn’t stop running.

Suddenly, I slipped and fell to the ground.

I felt a sharp pain in my ankle. I must have sprained it.

I tried to stand, but found that with my sprained ankle, I could no longer keep running.

I subconsciously turned around and found no one behind me!

Could it be that I ran too fast and successfully shook him off?

“Hey,” a sinister voice said.

I suddenly turned around and saw a tall and thin figure standing not far away.

My heart skipped a beat, and fear took over my mind again.

“Who are you?” My voice shook.

“Who are you? Why do you smell so familiar to me?” the man asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You might have the wrong person.” I tried to stay calm.

“Your hand is bleeding,” he said.

I looked at my hands and found that they were scratched.

“I guess you need help,” he said as he took a step toward me.

“No… no need. My boyfriend is right in front of me.” I subconsciously took a step back.

Clearly not intimidated by the boyfriend I was talking about, he smirked. “You said the same thing as the woman yesterday did.”

“Which woman? What are you talking about?”

“Her name is Emma. Do you know her?”

The man’s words shocked me, and panic filled my heart. So he was the perverted murderer who killed Mandy and Emma!

“Annie? Is that you?”

At the critical moment, Dacia’s voice came from behind the man.

“Dacia…” I cried. Dacia had come at the right time!

If he had shown up a few minutes later, perhaps I would have had my throat slit by the man and my innards dug out.

Surprise flashed in the man’s eyes when he heard me call Dacia’s name.

He turned back to meet Dacia’s gaze and said nothing.

Dacia walked past him with a serious expression and came to my side.

“Come on, let’s go home,” he said while hugging me.

I nodded through my tears and huddled in his arms without daring to look at the man.

“Got it…” the man suddenly said.

Dacia didn’t stop, as if he hadn’t heard him at all.

“Annie, Dacia!” he shouted our names.

I couldn’t help but yell at him, “What are you doing? If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police!”