Juliette’s entire body went weak upon hearing Leo’s words. The guilt gnawed at her insides, knowing that once again, someone had become a victim of Master D. She covered her mouth to suppress the sobs that threatened to escape; her heart felt as if it were being stabbed by a knife at the sound of Leo crying and asking her to come to the hospital. “Wait for me, Leo, I’ll be there soon.” Juliette quickly hung up the phone and stood up from her seated position on the floor.
Juliette stuffed all her important belongings into her bag, but before leaving the room, she stared at the phone and asked loudly, her voice filled with anger, “Why? WHY?” She sobbed and felt tears streaming down her cheeks. “What’s wrong? Why did you kill him? I disobeyed your orders, so punish me; don’t hurt anyone else. I beg you, stop…” Her hazel eyes shimmered with tears, giving a fierce glare to the phone in her hand. A deep hatred began to consume her heart. Still, Juliette felt powerless because she was just a puppet being manipulated by that psychopathic man.
After releasing her frustration, Juliette turned off the phone and put it into her bag. She exited the room and didn’t stop even after exiting the building. Juliette looked right and left, searching for an empty taxi. She thought she would soon need to buy a new car to avoid the hassle of looking for a taxi or ordering an Uber. Of course, Juliette wouldn’t use De Lavigne’s wealth because it wasn’t hers; she had enough savings to buy a car, even if it wasn’t a luxury vehicle like the ones parked in the De Lavigne garage.
She waited for an available taxi until, finally, one pulled up to take her. Since it was still lunchtime, many people were using taxis to go out for lunch. Juliette also didn’t dare order an Uber from her phone for fear of unwanted notifications.
In a hurry, Juliette got into the car and instructed the driver to take her to the hospital where Leo was. Her eyes didn’t once stray from the windshield. She wanted to arrive at the hospital as soon as possible. Leo needed her, and Juliette felt like a useless girlfriend for not being by his side when he needed her.
Once again, guilt welled up in the corners of her heart. Henry died because of her. If only Juliette had buried her curiosity about the identity of that psychopath, perhaps Henry would still be in this world, and Leo wouldn’t be grieving the loss of one of his best friends forever.
Finally, the taxi Juliette was in arrived at the hospital. The forty-minute ride felt quick to Juliette amidst the traffic and chaos of New York City. She paid the fare and hurriedly got out. Juliette immediately ran into the hospital, directing her feet toward the morgue, where Leo was.
Upon arriving at the morgue, Juliette felt her heart drop when she saw Leo sitting in sorrow in one of the waiting chairs near the room. His head was bowed, and she could see his shoulders trembling gently. Carefully, Juliette walked toward Leo, and when she was beside him, she knelt and grasped Leo’s trembling hand tightly.
“Hi,” Juliette greeted softly. “I’m here, Leo. I made it.” Slowly, Leo lifted his head, revealing a face wet with tears, his eyes and nose red from crying.
“Oh, Leo…” Juliette sat beside him, then wrapped her arms around his solid frame, pulling him into her embrace. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, filled with sorrow.
“I… he… I didn’t expect…” Leo struggled to say something, but soft sobs made it hard for him to speak. Juliette understood his pain deeply. Henry had been like a brother to Leo. Thinking about that only intensified Juliette’s overwhelming guilt. Indirectly, she had killed Henry.
Juliette closed her eyes and tightened her embrace around Leo’s body. Still, their moment of grief was interrupted when a police detective approached them, requesting Leo to come to the police station to give a statement.
“What’s really going on, Leo?” Juliette asked as they were in Leo’s car. Her boyfriend was distracted while driving, so Juliette offered to take the wheel.
At first, Leo didn’t respond to Juliette’s question, but after a long silence, he muttered quietly, “He was murdered.”
“What do you mean?” Juliette asked, confused. Leo continued without taking his gaze off the car window, “It can’t possibly be an accident.”
“Leo?”
“I will prove that what I’m saying is true.”
Juliette bit her lip. She trusted Leo because she knew who Henry’s killer was, but why was Leo so sure that Henry was murdered? Did he know something? “Why do you think that?”
“Last night, I met with Henry. He received a phone call from someone. A threat.” The car finally arrived at the police station. Juliette parked in the available parking area and turned off the engine, but neither she nor Leo moved to get out of the car. An intense silence filled the air between them until Leo spoke again, “That person, whoever he is, ordered Henry to stop meddling in other people’s affairs. He forced Henry not to help someone with an investigation.”
Unconsciously, Juliette’s hand gripping the steering wheel began to tighten, her knuckles turning white. “Henry wouldn’t listen to me! And it ended up like this!” Instantly, Leo straightened up and looked at Juliette.
“Isn’t Henry no longer a PI? Why did that man suddenly-? Forget it. We should go inside.” And without waiting for Juliette’s response, Leo exited the car, slamming the door behind him, making Juliette jump in fright.
Juliette took a deep breath and slowly got out of the car. Remembering to lock it, she ran to catch up with Leo, who was already at the front door of the police station. Once Leo was within reach, Juliette pulled him. She cupped his face, filled with anger and sadness-two emotions that shouldn’t be felt simultaneously. “Leo, calm down. Don’t let your anger take control. Okay?”
“Ette, you don’t know how it feels-”
“I know, Leo. I know.” Juliette interrupted firmly.
“But you can’t show your anger in front of the police. What if they suspect you?” Leo considered Juliette’s words and reluctantly nodded in agreement. He took a breath and tried to calm the turmoil inside him.
Once Leo had calmed down, he and Juliette met with the police detective in a closed room. The initial conversation revolved around Henry’s background and other details relating to his identity before shifting to questions about Leo’s testimony regarding the threatening call and the secret case Henry had been working on that Leo himself didn’t know about.
Juliette clenched her fists. She desperately wanted to speak up and tell everything she knew but held back. Juliette had learned from her past mistakes. She didn’t want any more victims because of Master D.
Detective Nathaniel-or Nate-folded his arms across his chest and pursed his lips as he listened to everything Leo had to say, absorbing each piece of information from Leo’s mouth. Then he stood up and opened the laptop on his right side. Juliette watched as the man typed something on the laptop before turning it around so she and Leo could see the screen.
“If your statement is true, then what happened was not a mere accident, but rather a premeditated murder.” Juliette watched a video-the CCTV footage-playing on the screen. There, she saw a man standing near the crosswalk. The atmosphere appeared calm, even though the CCTV indicated it was nine in the morning. A few people were walking by, but they were few and far between. It was surprising because the area where Henry usually was at nine in the morning was usually quite crowded.
Henry appeared to be standing stiffly. Occasionally, the man glanced at his watch as if in a hurry, constantly checking the time.
The pedestrian light, which was initially red, finally turned green. The man looked left and right, but it was clear that the street was empty since there were no signs of vehicles stopping at the red light. Henry began to step across the road, but just a few steps into crossing the street, a large truck sped toward him.
Henry’s body was instantly struck and thrown far before landing several meters from the scene. The truck that hit Henry crashed into a building near the red light. After that scene, the laptop screen went black, and the detective closed the laptop. “The truck driver also died at the scene. His blood tested positive for drugs, and the truck was speeding above average,” Detective Nate said quietly. “So if you believe this was a premeditated murder, does the CCTV footage suggest that?”
“No,” Leo hissed, holding back his anger.
Detective Nate patted Leo’s shoulder and said, “But I won’t dismiss this possibility. I will find out the truth.”
“Thank you, detective,” Juliette murmured as she hugged Leo tightly.
…