Must Read: Before She Dies

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Before She Dies

In few minutes, they descended the stairs and got to a Prada Jeep parked in the garage. Alfred sat behind the wheel and Dennis heaved his weight on the passenger’s seat.
“Where do we go from here?” Alfred demanded and turned on the engine.

Dennis glanced at his wrist watch, “I think Jankas bar will be conducive.”
Alfred nodded, “correct,” and reversed the car. In some minutes, they were already past the SIA gigantic gate and were in the traffic, heading to the bar. After about thirty-five minutes drive, Alfred pulled up in the parking lot.

The bar was thatched and airy with agile and cheerful barmen and barmaids always ready to take orders. They got out of the car and Dennis ran his cop’s eyes through the filled up bar, then pointed at a corner, “Let’s stay there.”
Alfred looked in the direction he had pointed and was satisfied. He smiled and nodded.
They walked to a vacant table at the extreme right of the bar and sat. An impressive looking barmaid, in her early twenties, hurried towards them and asked with smiles, “What’ll you like to take?”

Dennis looked at Alfred and Alfred said, “Two bottles of stout.”
The barmaid smiled, “A moment please,” and she left quickly, twitching her butt0ckz. They stared after her with smiling faces. Dennis stopped smiling and sq££zed Alfred’s shoulder, “Let’s concentrate.”
Alfred was still smiling and he kept looking till he lost sight of her. In some minutes, the barmaid was back with a tray of drinks, glasses and an opener. She la!d them on the table and gave a cheerful smile, “Hope you will enjoy your stay.”

“Definitely.” Alfred smiled, an urge he couldn’t tell sweeping through him. He made up his mind to come back later for her, alone.
“If you need anything, I’m at your service.” She said, turning to leave.

“Thank you.” Dennis said immediately and she left, Alfred’s eyes following her until Dennis slapped him gently on his neck.

“I can see you’ve already fallen for her.”

Dennis joked.

Alfred laughed and turned to him. “I think you may be right.” He uncorked the drinks, poured some quantity into the glasses and said, “Let’s talk business.” He sipped the drink.

Dennis sipped his and dropped the glass on the table, “That’s alright.”

Alfred brought his glass to the table, “The nub of the matter is how to track this Lucia.”

Dennis folded his arms, “I’ve been trying to figure that out but haven’t reached at something meaningful.”

Alfred thought for a while, “There must be a way.”

Dennis nodded and sipped his drink, his mind at various directions.

They were silent, lost in thoughts for several minutes before Alfred raised his eyes to Dennis, “That hospital incident might be of help.”

Dennis said, “How do you mean?”
“I’ve a feeling that Lucia must’ve left something behind the day she tried to kill you in the hospital.”

Dennis unfolded his arms, “What do you mean?”

Alfred looked into his eyes, “May be the type of gun she came with, something she was wearing, what she said before she was taken out of the hospital, just anything about her or about that day that is implicating and might aid us to get her.”

Something told Dennis to just do as Alfred had suggested and he gulped down his drink, refilled his glass and went thinking. Alfred kept sipping his drink, praying Dennis remembered anything they could use as a stepping stone. Dennis replayed the scene of that day in his mind. It was around 11:45 on the bright Monday afternoon of 14th August, 2006. He had a vivid memory of himself lying on a bed inside room 412 of Sydney Specialist Hospital. He remembered hearing a shot when Lucia killed a doctor and how he had sprang to his feet, took off the syringe from his vein and hid behind a cupboard in the ward. He recollected how shocked Lucia had been when she entered the ward and didn’t find him on the bed. He remembered watching her prowl around the room and how he had taken her unawares and almost strangled her. After some minutes, he concentrated his thoughts on the gun Lucia had come with. It was a pistol. Nothing about that gun was unique. At this point, he wanted to tell Alfred that there was nothing about Lucia or that Monday afternoon that would help them, but he remembered the white smock Lucia had worn. He remembered how it fitted her. It was an ordinary smock worn by most nurses and nothing about it was incriminating. The only remarkable thing about the smock was that it made her beauty more outstanding. When he had eventually overpowered her, the only meaningful thing Lucia said was that Sergio Bruno sent her, and Sergio was already dead. There was nothing else about her that would help them. He concluded. He took a sip and said, “I don’t think there is_” and an image immediately struck his memory: the diamond necklace around Lucia’s neck. It was a replica of the one he had given Vivian two years back. Alfred who was still looking steadily at him noticed that his memory has stumbled upon something helpful and said quickly,
“Come on, what’ve you remembered?”
Dennis raised his gaze to him and an infinitesimal smile appeared on his face as he told him about the necklace.