Ch 11: The Prisoner

Champs Les Sims Department of Justice 19:00 p.m, present time.

“Major, you’d like to see me?”
“Yes, Lieutenant, any news from the embassy yet?”
“There is, Major. There’s going to be an investigation held soon regarding his death.”
“Investigation? Haven’t we reported that it was a suicide?”
“Yes, Major, but they suspected that it was the result of conspiracy to stop him from leaking important information about the organization and their comrades.”
“Hm…” Major Yves stroke his chin. “As long as they’re not suspecting any involvement from us or that would be ridiculous. All proves clearly stated that he had committed a suicide. However, that’s not going to be our problem, right Lieutenant?”
“Unless the reporters are going to pile on it, Major -- they always do.”
“Hm, right, so, when will the investigation be held, Lieutenant?“
“Tonight, Major. Agent Sam is going to make the observations tonight.”
“Tonight?” Major Yves held his breath.
“Yes, Major. Eight o’clock exactly."

Champs Les Sims Hospital 19:05 p.m.

“Is she okay, Pierre?” Marie Louvre asked the question as soon as he came out of the doctor’s office. Feeling a strong grip on his arms while she was shaking him around, all that he did was only staring at her… blankly. It couldn’t be. Rosaline couldn’t be…

“Pierre?!” Her voice caught him from falling deeply into the bottomless pit of thoughts. Stammering, he finally told her the recent news about Rosaline.

“Rosaline... is unconscious now. The near drowning event had triggered her trauma and-” He took a deep breath,  pulling his strength to say the next heaviest words. ”If she keeps on like that, she will be in a coma.”

“Coma?”




 

“Yeah, coma, Marie. You know exactly that she’s afraid of swimming, but why didn’t you stop her?"

Glowering at her, he saw tears welling up in her eyes. He didn't mean to be so rude, but it's Rosaline they were talking about.

Marie Louvre stuck in the moment, didn’t even blink or turned her gaze away as the silence drifted by between them.  “I-“ 

 
“I didn’t know that this would happen. She - she told me that it would be okay. She’s going to practice for the swimming exam. She needed the grade. She said that she would be able to overcome her fear. Everything was going well until Myrell challenged her for a breathing contest. I-I have told her not to, but- but she didn’t listen. I-“ Marie Louvre  sank in tears.

Pierre tilted back, wasn’t ready to see her reaction. “It’s okay, Marie.” A warm pat gently  landed on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so angry with you. We both are worrying about her, but she’s in a good hand now.  Right now, the doctor is taking care of her and will tell us about the result.”

Having said that, he dived into his pocket and took out his cell phone, pressing his thumbs against several buttons.

“Who are you calling?”

“Rosaline’s brother. I hope he’s home by now.”

Pressing the cell phone against his ear, he thought very hard of how to tell Valentin the news about Rosaline being nearly drowned and was lying unconsciously on a hospital bed.  He once got a scolded from him for asking Rosaline to swim, and now Valentin would be  so furious about it.

He took a deep sigh as he dialed the phone for the third time. There was only a long beep after several dial tones. “No answer.” He hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket.  “I will call him again later tonight.”

 

Marie turned her face away. Despair lurked in her heart. “It’s...  my fault. Her brother is going to be so angry at me-“ Her gaze fell on one side of his shoulder.  Pierre had broad shoulders and she could really use that.

“Marie, it's not your fault. You’re not the one to be blamed.  Maybe you should get home and take some rest. Hey, I can drive you home and come back here later.”

Marie fell in amazement. Pierre was being nice, though she knew how worried he  was. In fact, she almost couldn't blink when she saw him jumped into the pool and carried Rosaline out of there.

Back in the afternoon, as Pierre laid Rosaline's back, he called her name  several times. "Rose, can you hear me?" 

Getting no response from her, he placed his left hand on her forehead and gently tilted her head back while  lifting her chin.

 

"Rose?" He checked on her. There's no sign of her breathing, even after he had opened the airway for her. To save her, there's only one thing he must do. He pinched her nose and placed his mouth over hers. Blowing air steadily into her lungs, he gave her rescue breath. Still, her chest had not risen. While he was holding her the same way like before-- and after a quick inhale-- he gave her the second  breath which followed soon by chest compressions to urge her blood to move into her heart, brain, and other organs.

"Marie, call 112!" He shouted. Marie, who was still standing with an open mouth moved her legs. 

"Marie?" Pierre's voice brought her back to the present time."So, do you want to go home now?"

 

"Thanks, Pierre. I think… I'm going to wait here, at least until I know the result. Don't worry, I will call my parents." She smiled. Her face was blushing. Though, to think about it a, maybe it would be useless since her parents were having a business trip in Bridgeport. There's no one in her house except Auntie Liz, her nanny.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm not going to let you wait here by yourself. She needs us." She smiled.

Marie then tried to make herself feel comfort by leaning back in a sofa in the waiting room.  In front of her, Pierre walked few steps to a magazine rack. Without reading the title, he picked a magazine and handed it  to her. "Here. Maybe it'll help you put your mind at ease."

"Thanks." Marie took it, even though she didn't really need a distraction, not when her best friend was in a dire state. Her fingers flicked through the pages at a fast pace while her thoughts were still in a whirl. It's amazing that her worries could defeat the nausea from smelling the carbolic acid and seeing the white walls surrounded her. Though, as soon as her eyes riveted on a page, her knees felt weak and  quickly she put aside the magazine.

 

"What's wrong?" asked Pierre, noticing  her covering her mouth. 

The mix of white walls, carbolic acid, and the picture finally defeated her. It was the picture of a woman getting birth. "Oh," She clutched her skirt. Could there be an easier and a less painful way for a woman to get labor? 

Running into the nearest toilet, she left Pierre flustered at the moment.

 

"Marie?"

Inside the toilet, she threw up

 

and cried.

She looked at herself in the mirror, pulling out her butterfly hairpin and held it tight. It was a gift from her mother who died when she gave birth to her little sister, Amy.

"Momma…" She held it tight.

  

"Aagh!" Marie held her chest as she bumped into Pierre outside the restroom. "You- you surprised me."

"Sorry. You don't look so well. I headed out to Cafeteria and bought you sandwich. Do you want some?"

"No… thanks." Marie walked past him. "I'm just going to sit here and wait. Besides, I'm not that hungry." She said, slamming herself down on the sofa.

Pierre gazed at her, clueless. He shrugged and followed her, sitting on the sofa next to her while she was trying to distract herself by taking the magazine again. This time, she only stared at a page without a picture on it. 

Meanwhile, Pierre took a deep sigh as he returned his gaze to the wall. "Rose." He called her in his thoughts in a hope he could reach her. From all the wishes in the world, there's only one thing he needed the most--  a miracle.

 

A man and a woman came through the door. They looked dressed up and prestigious. The woman wore a blue skirt and a crème blouse with a pink scarf around her neck. The man  wore a white shirt, a formal black stripped vest, and a blue patterned tie. He suddenly halted as they entered the room.

"I've got a text, honey." he said, brushing his fingers to the back of his hair. "The bureau called me. It's a coincidence that we are here. The police department is not that very far. I'm going to pay our day off  tomorrow.  We'll have the whole day just the two of us. No text, no calls, no meetings. I promise."

His wife stared at him with a look of … Okay, here we go again. 

He noticed it. 

"I- I promise, it's going to be settled tonight.  I'll accompany you to wherever you wanted: the seminars, the hospitals, the art museum, and … the Nectary you've been dying to see." 

The woman let out a sigh. "Okay, if you say so, but I'm not sure that this is going to end here. " She smiled. 

The man was speechless. "I-"

"That's okay-" She held his hands. "-as long as you'll return to the hotel soon."

 All the while, Pierre noticed the couples showing off their affection to one another. 

He wished he could be with Rosaline now, to see her smiling again in the morning. 

Champs Les Sims Police Department 20:00 p.m. 

"How is your wife, Sam?"

"A.J? She's is doing fine. She sent you her regard."

Major Yves smiled at him. "Wouldn't she mind by youdoing your job here late at night when you two supposed to have your …. Hm… what is it, second honeymoon? 

"Ha-ha… yes.  I supposed she doesn't mind as long as I keep my wedding ring on my finger."

Both men laughed.

"So, could I see his cell now?" Sam broke off the conversation and went on for his mission.

"Of course, right this way."

"Ugh!" Walking into the cell, Sam made a grimace of disgust. The place was completely horrible. The stench from the dirty toilet pierced his nose and made his stomach to react undesirably. Though, his wife often complained to him for leaving messes all around the house, still the messiness in their kitchen was thousand times excusable compared to this. 

"We cannot make them feel like this a hotel, right?" Major Yves added frigidly while sprucing himself up.

Sam made a quick observation inside the cell. He put his gloves and checked every corner of it.

He started from the bed- kneeling down to see the space underneath it.

He checked the pillow and uncovered the blanket to see the sheet, yet found nothing. He took a quick look at the sink and the dirty toilet,  but still  found nothing. Until finally… he turned to the jail bars, 

and found a strain of red hair on the floor. 

"That must be Monsieur Edinburgh's hair." Major Yves explained. "He's our guard who found him at four in the afternoon."

"Oh…" Sam nodded, putting the hair into a plastic bag. He glanced sideways and found a pencil on the floor. "So, Von still loved to write, didn't he?"

After Sam took his gloves off and put it inside his briefcase along with his findings, he pulled out a note and his favorite pen which was a gift from his wife. "Could I interview Monsieur Edinburgh now?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, Sam, he's taking his leave now. He had just flown out to his hometown, but you can read his files."

"Excuse me?" Sam raised his voice. "Am I hearing this right? He's taking a leave?" He shook his head. "Major, you know that you can't let a witness go before an interrogation is held. This is necessary to reconstruct and analyzed any evidence that might have escaped during the first observation."

Major Yves fell into silence.

Getting no response, Sam took a deep sigh and then spoke in a lower tone. "Yes, I have read the report, but there's nothing in there that mentioned how he got the rope. So, would you care to explain it, Major?" 

Major Yves, who was still a bit dumbfounded with the changes of Sam's temperament, cleared his throat and said. "Well, he must have gotten it from his workplace. Every Monday to Friday, he worked at a construction site. It's the new police station. We don't know how he got it."

"Have you asked the other inmates about this?"

"Yes, but they kept their mouth shut. Von was the most influential prisoner here. Deals were going on between them which we haven't known until now."

"Don't they know that it would extend their sentence for covering it up?"

"They know, Sam, but you know…" Major Yves raised his brows and started to make a non-formal conversation.

"After this, maybe we can go for a coffee? I bet you haven't seen the whole France. You can pick up your wife and we can go to the nearest coffee shop and have a great time."

"That sounds great, but I promised A.J. to come home as soon as possible."

Major Yves chuckled. "You two are like just a new married couple."

"Yes. Maybe we could do it some other time. Thanks. Now could I see the body?"

"Of course, right this way."

*** 

"What? You haven't made an autopsy on his body yet?" Sam spoke with a sharp tone after Major Yves told him about it. The high-pitch of his voice resonated around the corners of the morgue.

Major Yves cleared his throat. "From all the evidence on the scene, we thought it wasn't necessary to do it. Not to mention the tight budget. Everything is highly expensive now."

Sam let out a harsh sigh. "But he's not an ordinary criminal, Major. We cannot decide if it's a suicide or not, especially when all the evidence, including a forensic result, had not stated that yet. Let me tell you, Major, he's the most wanted fugitive in our country. He once escaped from our jail by all the means that seemed impossible at that time. He used to work for our government, and that was why he was highly trained. "

Major Yves said nothing. He turned around and pulled the drawer that kept the prisoner's body inside. "It's him."

After a quick move of unzipping the body bag, Sam leaned over to take a closer look. He noticed something weird about the body. His trained eyes spotted an unusual jagged line over his neck. It was  thin, but he could differentiate the shades of the skin color. 

Other than that, the  mark caused from strangling on the neck was quite obvious for him to see.  Below it, there's small dark circle which showed a deep injection to the neck. Feeling suspicious about it, he pinched the skin on its face and then pulled it out. 

"What are you doing?" Major Yves stopped him since Sam wasn't wearing his gloves.

"Making sure that he's  not our prisoner!"Sam took off the mask and the brown wig. 

 

"What? It couldn't ...! It's- it's Monsieur Edinburgh!"

"I supposed he's not taking a leave after all." Sam retorted." All I can say...Von must have strangled him from behind. He shot the pencil to  the victim's neck to stop the breathing and took the key from the victim's pocket to open the cell door. He dragged the body inside and then switched identities before hanging him to the vertical pipe on the wall."

"But how - how did he get the mask and the wig?" 

"He wasn't working alone for sure. Maybe his men came and brought those stuffs in here."

"But Sam, we have a strict surveillance system here. There's no way someone could smuggle something."

"We also thought the same way back then, but as you have known, he got away. You should call your men to watch at the airport and at the border. He could be any suspicious man or even a woman now. He's very well-known in disguise, but before that could you show me the surveillance camera?"

"O-okay. Right this way."

Sam turned his head around before leaving the morgue. He had been chasing this man for years, still without any success.

Meanwhile at the Celtic Foray:

Tap..tap… tap…

Valentin trod on each of the staircases, making his way out of the Celtic Foray. He had to tell her that he would not give up on her. He loved her. She's the air that he breathed, the only one important for him.

Outside, there's a dazzling light from the sky. He looked it up to see it clearly.

"A helicopter?" He wondered.

To be Continued...

Notes: 

Reflective floors by morphead at MTS 

Cell bars and door by Lisen 801 at MTS