Unraveling Secrets Of The Devil

Chapter - Seven

 “Chief, usually during winters I go to the beach on few days to see the sunrise. It'll be amazing! I’m planning on going there tomorrow. You want to join?” Stella asked me. “I don’t think so. I prefer my sleep in the morning because I’m too stressed right now” I couldn’t get enough sleep from past few days, so I just wanted to rest. “ Chief, please. It will be more relaxing than sleeping at home. I bet you'll enjoy it and thank me for suggesting. Please” she requested sweetly, making me chuckle. I can’t deny her request. “ Ok. I’ll pick you up in the morning and then you can direct me to that place” I said. “ Ok. At 5:30?” she asked and I nodded with a smile.

Mason entered the room with the footage. He plugged it in with his laptop and opened the footage. We saw many patients entering and leaving Dr. Hazel’s room after consultation. Mason fast-forwarded it and we saw almost ten people entering and leaving in a span of few hours . She is a quite busy lady. Suddenly Mason stopped the footage. “ Chief, he’s the database manager” He pointed at the guy entering the room . We resumed the footage and we saw that he spoke something with Dr. Hazel and then took some files before leaving. After sometime , he again came back and placed the files and walked out. “According to what Ms. Cassie said, in her absence this guy usually collects the files and enters the information and then returns them back.” I said it aloud. “ Oh.” Mason and Stella said in unison. After a while we saw Dr. Hazel taking a photo of a sheet from a file . “ Check the time Mason” I asked him just to know if it was at the same time we received the list from her. And yes, it was the same time.“ Chief, I think he’s the one who messed with the list” Stella said. “Even I doubt him.” I said. “ Chief we’ll get his call details by tomorrow evening” Mason informed. “ Ok. Go home and take rest Mason. Good night guys” I said as I left for the parking lot. “ Don’t forget about the tomorrow’s meet Chief” Stella reminded me as she took her car and left.

I woke up at 5 in the morning and got ready. I actually thought of wearing my jogging suit but my instincts told me to go with a black shirt and a cream pant. I got dressed and since it was a full hand sleeve shirt, I folded it till my elbow . I left my home at around 5:30 and reached her home within few minutes. She stood in an off shoulder floral, knee length dress with a pretty smile as always. Her curly hair was beautifully flowing down her shoulder along with a tiara braid on top. She looked stunning! “How do I look ?” she asked. “Beautiful” I said as she climbed in. She smiled and showed me the directions to the beach. It was almost 6 am when we reached there.

We started walking while seeing the reddish orange sky. There were still few minutes left for the sunrise. As I was walking and admiring the beauty around me, including Stella , I tripped over something. I was about to fall but Stella held me my hand and caught my balance. I turned back to see it was a bottle which was slightly buried in sand. It looked like one of those old pirate bottles in which they used to put letters and seal it with a cork. Surprisingly it also had a letter and was sealed with a cork. Of course, detective brains are filled with curiosity. “ Should we take it ?” I asked her and she nodded with a big smile just like a kid who got a new toy.

I took the bottle and tried to open but Stella stopped me. “ Let’s not open it right now. We’ll miss the sunrise” She has a point. I held the bottle and continued walking. There was a slope and I saw some decorations below the slope. “ What is that?” I got suspicious. What is happening here? “ I don’t know Chief. Maybe some one is planning on proposing to his girlfriend. I think we can use it till they come since no one is around” she said. “ Don’t you think that’s trespassing?” I asked. “ You need to enjoy a bit sometimes. Trespassing also has a lot of fun” she said the last part in singing way. “ I guess” I replied and walked towards it.

It was soo romantic. There was a furry blanket spread down and above that there were like a dozen of cushions of different matching colours as the back support. In front was a small table set up with a bottle of wine and a beautiful bouquet. We sat down on the blanket and I kept the bottle beside me. It was almost the time of sunrise and Stella called me suddenly. “ Let’s open the bottle ” “ You said we should wait until sunrise right?” I asked her. “ We are seated now. We can read and watch the sunrise together ” she said. “ Ok” I tried opening the cork but it was too hard. Stella handed me the cork opener which was there on the table, maybe to open the wine bottle. I opened the cork and removed the letter. It looked pretty new. Strange. “ Shall I read it ?” I asked and she nodded.

“ Chief, or may I call you Dexter?” Wait, is this for me?? “ What is this?” I asked her with a confused look and she just signalled me to continue. “Okay......” I was hesitant, but was also curious to know the next part. I started reading it from the beginning again by deciding not to stop in the middle again.

‘ Chief, or may I call you Dexter ? The first time I saw you was on Mr. Charles' s laptop when he was introducing you to us. The moment I saw you, I had the biggest crush on you. I thought it might be just some sort of infatuation or a random crush for a handsome hunk, but your piercing brown eyes never let me get away from you. I seemed to have lost in your eyes.

The day you came, I was late purposely so that you could notice me. I took time to get ready and check even on the minute details everyday. You are handsome and charming, so I should at least try to match up to you right? The way you greeted me brought a smile on my face. Infact I was hiding my blush the entire time. After you consoled me and supported me in moving on over my dad's death, I wanted you to be on my side always. I wanted to spend more time with you. I have never been the person to stay back late at office, like never. But I stayed back just for you. I never got dressed specially for someone . I never asked about someone’s relationship. I never got jealous when someone praised or talked friendly with other girls in front of me . But I did all those when I was around you.

These changes made me realise that I’ve fallen for you. You are soo quite and mysterious. I want to c***k those walls and enter your world. I want to be a part of you. They say that opposites attract and I guess that’s true because I’m attracted towards you. Your smile, your honesty, your caring nature and kindness, I want them to be a part of my life. I want be one of the closest people you have in your life.

I want to be your girlfriend.

Can I keep you and never let you go?'

I finished reading the letter and turned to see that Stella was on her knee hiding the bouquet in her hand. She signalled me to stand up and I did. “ Dexter, I would love to find the directions of your heart because you have already found mine. Will you be my boyfriend?”

I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to say. I held her hand and helped her to get up. “ Stella, I really like you. I usually don’t like people who come in late but I felt happy to see you. I was charmed by your beauty. I really like the outspoken and outgoing Stella. I would actually love to be your boyfriend, to spend the rest of my life with you, to spend each and every happy and sad moment with you.” I paused for a while and sighed. “ But, you do know how determined I am in my work. I love my job and I know that even you do. This case is really getting me worked up. I need to find what is happening and I feel that there is danger hidden behind it for the whole world. I want to give my whole time and concentration for this becomes work comes first. I’m ready to be your boyfriend and take care of you for my whole life but just give me some time . I can’t and don’t want to divide my time for you during this time. Let’s c***k this case and until then will you wait for me ?” I asked her . “Are you delaying your acceptance or making some excuse to get rid off me?” she asked with teary eyes. I cupped her face and wiped her tears with my thumb. “None . I love you and I don’t want to lose you at any cost. I’ve accepted your proposal. The only thing I’m worried about is the start of our relationship. It shouldn’t affect us professionally. And anyways it’s usually the guy who proposes right? Wait until this case gets solved and you’ll find me on my knees proposing to you” I said and she smiled widely as she hugged me.

After enjoying the sunrise for a while, we decided to leave since we still had to have breakfast and go to headquarters early. I dropped Stella back at her home since she had to change into her formals. We decided to have breakfast together after she was ready. I drove back to home to grab some files and my ID. I sat on my couch and relaxed for a while until Stella was ready to pick her up. Sarah had texted me yesterday evening saying that there was no one suspicious in Evelyn’s office who could have kidnapped her and she was a very sweet person in general, so she hardly had any enemies. So, we just had to interrogate her parents.

I slowly closed my eyes as I tried to relax my mind. It’s just my habit from my childhood that I get tensed up when I’m under pressure and end up doubting my skills in solving the case. My mentor always cheered me up and taught me not to lose hope. And now I'm happy that Stella is there to have my back. I trust my team members and their efficiency in solving this case. They all are very hard-working and smart. Sometimes I feel like I’m lucky enough from my childhood to get right set of people at the right time in my life. The best mentor, supportive parents, caring siblings, efficient teammates and a perfect soulmate.

I woke up with a jerk as my phone vibrated. I didn’t even realize when I dozed off. I stood up and checked Stella's message.

‘Chief, I might be a bit late for work, so carry on with your breakfast and I’ll join later. Sorry for cancelling in the last moment. See you at work!’

Strange, why will she be late? She was fine until I dropped her at her home. What if she’s dealing with some serious issue?

‘Is everything alright?’

I texted her back, just to make sure she is safe. After few seconds she replied with a thumbs up emoji. She is the type of person who prefers using emojis and GIFs rather than just texting. I chuckled by recalling how different we both are in many aspects and yet are attracted to each other. Well then, it’s true that opposites do get attracted to each other. I grabbed my files along with my ID and drove to the headquarters. I had breakfast in the cafeteria while awaiting Stella’s call or message.

I texted her to see if she was ok or needed some help, but she didn’t reply even after 30 minutes. I called her as I entered my cabin but her phone was switched off. I smiled at others as they greeted me. “Umm guys, did any of you text or call Stella from morning?” I asked grabbing everyone’s attention. “No Chief” everyone replied in unison. “Any problem Chief?” Ansh asked. “No, you guys carry on. I'll be back in few minutes” I replied and walked out of the room. I rushed towards the basement and got into my car. I accelerated my car and drove towards Stella’s home. I tried to stay calm, without drawing conclusions and staying positive. I parked my car in front of the gate and hurried towards the main door. As I knocked on the door, it slowly opened. I stepped inside with so many thoughts racing in my mind. I called out her name loudly as I entered the living room, but there was no reply. I went upstairs to check in her room, but no use. She was no where to be seen. The pen stand and few files, which were supposed to be on the desk, were fallen on the floor and her cupboard was left open. This can only mean, that she has been kidnapped!

I called Mason to inform about Stella being missing. They are were stunned by hearing and said that they would be here in few minutes. I cut the call and started analysing the situation. I dropped her here at 8 am and went back home. I received the message from her at 8:20 pm. So that means, within 20 minutes, when she came upstairs to change her outfit, the kidnappers entered her house and captured her. They knew that we both would be meeting up again for breakfast, so they sent this fake message for me so that I would go to headquarters directly without worrying about her. Damn it! How can I be so foolish! I should have at least come here to check before leaving, probably then Stella would be safe.

I came out of my thoughts when I heard the main door opening. I went downstairs to see Mason entering with others behind. “Chief, how did this happen? I mean how did they manage to kidnap her?” Sarah asked with a worried look. She was concerned about Stella and so were others. I could see fear and rage in their eyes to see one of their friends going missing. “We had planned to have breakfast and reach headquarters together, but suddenly I got a message from her saying that she’ll be coming late. I should have realised the sudden change and at least came here to check if she was fine” I clenched my fists with frustration on myself. “Its ok Chief, even you couldn’t have expected something like this. So don’t blame yourself” Ansh consoled as he patted on my shoulder and I just nodded.

“Ok, so right now they are trying to threaten us. We shouldn’t back off and find those bastards soon. We still have to interrogate Evelyn's parents along with this and one has to keep an eye on that database manager. So we’ll be split into teams” they all nodded as I continued “Ansh, you keep an eye on that database manager. Sarah, call Sameer and inform him to join you in searching Stella. Let Luna handle the forensic reports if they have got to do because right now this is more important. Mason, you come with me to interrogate Evelyn’s parents. Do one thing. All of you keep tracking devices with you” all three of them agreed. Ansh left and Sarah went upstairs to investigate Stella’s room. I walked out of the house along with Mason. I took the shot g*n seat and staring outside the window as Mason started the engine.

I was guilty for whatever happened from morning. She had planned so much for me, so that I would accept her proposal and be her boyfriend, but I ended up putting her in dilemma. Even though I explained her why I took this decision, it was clearly seen in her eyes that she was disappointed, even though she plastered it with a pretty smile. And I couldn’t save her from getting kidnapped. I know, I shouldn’t be blaming myself right now and losing my confidence, but somewhere I do feel like I owe her an apology. I have to and I will find her soon. Even though I badly wanted to search her by myself, I didn’t want my personal emotions to affect any of my decisions in this case. As a Chief, I must be more concerned about saving the savants kidnapped before worrying about my girlfriend. Evelyn was kidnapped first, so she should be saved along with others who are been kept captivated from so long. I'll have to trust Sarah and Sameer in finding Stella. I hope she’s doing fine.