FOUR

"Mommy..."

Hazel still remained where she was, glancing warily at little Emily who was standing near the open door of her bedroom hugging Mr. Bunny. Calvin's piercing eyes in the darkness gleamed like the eyes of a hungry cat. No! Hazel screamed inwardly, screaming Emily's name for the little girl to run away for help. From her standing position, the little girl certainly couldn't see the threat from the presence of a foreign man who was now ensnaring her mother's body.

“This gun can crush that kid's head if you don't act wise, Judge Hayes. Now stay here, and let me get rid of that nuisance rat.”

Hazel tried to hold Calvin's hand still hanging over her head. Through her face, Hazel made a deep plea for Calvin not to hurt her little Emily.

She tried to grab the man's hand. The sting that tickled her stomach made her gasp for a moment. But she assumed she wasn't the only one who felt a shock like an electric shock. She could see the man's pupils dilate when she touched the surface of his hand, but his lips remained closed and his eyes remained cold.

She slowly removed her fingertips from the back of the man's hand. Her fingers trembled as she put her hands back on the blanket—which this time felt like hot coals, instead of the usual feeling of comfort against her skin. But Oh my God! Surely this behavior is very normal. Just now her fingertip touched the muzzle of that damn killer's gun!

"She's just a kid. Don't involve Emily."

“Oh, so her name is Emily. It's a pretty name," Calvin commented casually, ignoring Hazel's frustrated plea.

Every step Calvin takes to approach Emily is like one of the scariest scenes in a horror movie. The gun hidden under the shirt the man was wearing seemed very dangerous to the innocent Emily. It could have been that Calvin had actually pulled out the gun while standing in front of Emily, and then without a second thought the vile man took her life like he did to the Duffal twins.

"Who are you? Why are you in Mommy's room? Are you mommy's friend?"

Emily's adorable little voice made Hazel's heart beat faster. Now Calvin was right in front of Emily. His tall and stocky body made Emily have to raise her head to speak to the man. She was not at all afraid of the figure of Calvin who looked sinister in the total darkness that enveloped him. On the contrary, Emily was attracted by the man's presence in her mother's room.

"Friend." Calvin answered stiffly. He stared at the girl for a long time, but he didn't say anything after that. Every now and then the corners of his eyes still glanced back, right at Hazel who was now lying down clutching the edge of her blanket tightly.

"My name is Emily. Mommy's friend is my friend too, do you want to be my friend?"

"Absolutely."

"You haven't told me your name. This is Mr. Bunny." The girl cutely showed her brown bunny doll, then she put the doll's hand in front of Calvin's face who was now squatting in front of her so they could shake hands.

"Calvin. My name is Calvin."

“Hi Calvin, nice to meet you. You haven't greeted Mr. Bunny yet," protested the girl when Calvin didn't immediately shake her doll's hand.

He clumsily stretched out his hand, then lightly touched the tips of his index fingers and the tips of his thumbs to shake hands with the stuffed bunny which seemed ridiculous to him.

“Emily...” Hazel's trembling voice from above the bed raised Calvin's alertness instantly. Without looking back, his right hand deliberately moved backwards to slightly lift his shirt up and reveal the gun that was still tucked inside. He never played with his threats. And he could at any moment pull that black gun out of there to crack Emily's innocent little head.

Now the girl grimaced slightly in front of him. Several times she played the tips of her toes on the floor while looking at Calvin cutely.

“Are you here to stay? Usually a friend will go over to a friend's house to sleep together.”

Oh! Hazel screamed in her heart, cursing Emily's words for being so innocent and completely ignoring the distress signal she had been emitting. And again, where did the girl get those words from? Sleep together? Friend? Geez, she hasn't officially gone to school this year. Usually she spends all day at home with her nanny while she works. So it is certain that the child gets the term about staying and also friends from the nanny’s. She knew very well that Emily had not made any friends while living in this apartment.

Calvin who heard that felt discomfy and also hot. Don't say that he doesn't know what Hazel is wearing under the striped blanket. A thin pajama made of soft silk could be seen as he crept to cover the lips of the beautiful judge.

Oh damn! He cursed angrily. In addition to being sharp-mouthed, the woman also really knows how to seduce a man. She must have been deliberately wearing such thin pajamas to seduce her effeminate lover.

"I haven't stayed with friends in a long time." Calvin deliberately emphasized the word friend while glancing at Hazel who now looked just as clumsy as him.

"It's okay Calvin, I've never stayed at a friend's house either. I am thirsty. Can you ask Mommy to make me some milk?”

"She needs milk to get back to a good night's sleep."

Hazel finally got up the courage to speak after more than twenty seconds of contemplating to make sure that a few words wouldn't put Emily's life in danger.

"Make her milk," Calvin said quickly without looking back.

There was nothing he could do. The girl needs to be removed before he has anything to do with her mother. And since he wasn't a man who liked to make a child cry in front of him, he wasn't going to keep the child waiting long for her milk.

Hearing Calvin's voice giving the green light, Hazel immediately jumped off the bed and ran half-hurriedly towards Emily. She didn't care at all about the lump of thick blanket that fell on the floor. Her focus now was solely on Emily. The little girl is in danger. And she couldn't see Emily lingering with Calvin while he had a gun behind his back.

“Emily, remember what Mommy said? Don't talk to strangers!”

The girl lowered her head slightly while looking timidly at Hazel. "But he's mommy's friend," said the girl quietly.

Hazel who saw that became impatient and immediately pulled Emily's small body to walk towards the kitchen. Behind her she felt Calvin's heavy footsteps following her towards the kitchen. But before she passed through the kitchen door, she could see a few drops of thick red liquid on the clean white floor. Even though all the lights were dim and almost out, she knew that the liquid on the floor was, it’s blood. The man had soiled her house with several traces of blood dripping from his temples.

"You're hurt."

“Stuck in a barbed wire fence on my way out of prison.”

“The police will be looking for you soon after this,” Hazel said sharply. She was still increasing her vigilance as she sat Emily down on her high children's chair. After that she walked to the side of the kitchen container, pressed the light switch beside it, then let the whole kitchen corner lit by the bright white light.

Now she could clearly see Calvin's sturdy body complete with his battered face that looked pitiful. Calvin was still wearing the same clothes the man wore in the courtroom. The clothes were under the layers of prisoner's clothes he was wearing at the time. But she was sure the clothes were the same clothes he was wearing right now because Calvin didn't fully button his prisoner's shirt when he was in the courtroom.

The gray short-sleeved shirt had blood stains in several places. The seam near his arm was torn. Dust sticks to all surfaces of his shirt. She could imagine how the man had escaped from prison. He probably fell from a fairly high height and then rolled on the asphalt.

In addition to the temple, the man also has a wound on his lips. Maybe it was the result of beating the police officers yesterday evening. The wound is now open again because of Calvin's reckless act of somehow escaping from the very strict first class prison.

“Mommy, Calvin is hurt. I have a plaster, do you want to wear it?”

Calvin didn't immediately answer Emily's question, instead he glanced at Hazel who was preparing warm milk for the girl.

“Get the first aid kit near the cupboard, Em. And plaster too." Finally Hazel couldn't bear to see Calvin's face that looked pathetic like that. A little antiseptic and plaster she hoped would make the man's wounds better.

"Can you come down?"

"No. Please help me."

Hazel was about to run towards Emily who couldn't get out of her high chair, but Calvin's swift movements grabbed Emily's body which was now clinging to his shoulders. Instantly she held her breath. The gun that was still behind Calvin's back became the main focus of her gaze apart from the movements Calvin made to help Emily get off the child's seat.

"Thank you, Cal. You're so kind."

The thank you sentence doesn't require an answer at all. Calvin was silent when Emily jogged a little to the first aid kit which only the child and her mother knew where it was. His gaze then immediately turned to Hazel again who was now looking so tense behind the kitchen table.

"I didn't hurt her," Calvin said casually. He then nodded at his kettle, which had boiled and emitted a plume of steam. "Can you make coffee for me?"

Hazel just stared at the man intently. It seemed that she no longer knew how to behave with someone who had just recently become a defendant in the trial that she presided over. She was in a state of confusion that was suffocating her. From afar she could see that her telephone was still securely attached by the door of her room. She could have used this opportunity to run and grabbed the telephone to call the police station. But her plans were cut short when she saw Emily running from her room carrying the things needed to treat the bad man's wounds.

“Here are the plasters and medicine you need. Mommy, is my milk ready?”

The girl walked casually toward her mother, but Hazel had always known that Emily was very interested in having Calvin in their house.

"Sit down, Em. Can you treat your own wounds?” Hazel asked turning to Calvin. In silence, the man nodded faintly and began to unload the contents of the first aid kit on the kitchen table.

He made sure Emily sat comfortably in her chair and got the glass of milk she wanted. Then she started preparing black coffee for Calvin. Let's just say she's nice to him for a while. Calvin's willingness not to hurt Emily would be rewarded with a cup of coffee.

"Add sugar or not?"

"No sugar."

After she finished brewing coffee for the suspected killer, she quickly set the cup down on the table. She didn't want to be in close contact with the man. Just today she was surprised by his uninvited arrival. "You'd better get going. I won't report your whereabouts here."

The man just smirked while applying a cotton swab with liquid medicine for the wound on his cheek. "You think I'll believe it? You're the judge, Your Honor Hayes. You're connected to a lot of law enforcement."

“Then what do you want by coming here?” Hazel let out a muffled growl. She still kept glancing at Emily who was now playing with her stuffed bunny. Hopefully the little girl never realizes the dangerous situation that now lurks them all.

“Asking for your help. You're the only one who looks clean to my eyes." Calvin forcibly grabbed Hazel by the wrist and forced her to sit next to him.

"The prosecutor's office was infiltrated, a lot of people couldn't be trusted there."

"Then what are you? You killed the Duffal family,” Hazel hissed as quietly as she could, not wanting her daughter to hear words that would traumatize her brain.

"I'm not the culprit. I was framed,” Calvin retorted angrily. He suddenly made a motion of extending the tape which startled Hazel a bit.

"It's not a gun," Calvin said amused. He immediately groaned in pain as he accidentally pulled the muscles in his face to laugh at Hazel's ridiculous surprise. “Ah… this damn hurts. Can you put that plaster on my temple?”

"Mommy."

"Yes, darl?"

"He cursed."

Instantly Hazel gave Calvin a sharp glance. "The first rule in this house, there should be no swearing. He doesn't understand, honey, after this he won't curse anymore. Keep your mouth shut in front of a child,” Hazel said, turning to Calvin again.

She then took the plester from the medicine box and quickly applied it gently to the five-inch-long open wound on Calvin's temple.

The man made strange looking facial movements. Maybe he wasn't used to being in an environment with children full of strange rules. Swearing is a part of his life. As for Emily, it was like a great, unforgivable sin.

"I don't know the rules. I'd rather break the rules anyway."

“That looks pretty obvious,” Hazel sneered after she had the plester installed perfectly.

"By the way I don't believe in that rotten lawyer either."

“Rick is trying to help you,” Hazel said furiously.

“Maybe you think like that because you are his ex-girlfriend. Let me guess, is Emily the daughter of that rotten lawyer?"

"None of your business." Hazel replied curtly.

"It's indeed none of my business." Calvin muttered nonchalantly.

He then reached for his coffee cup and sipped the thick liquid deliciously. It felt like he hadn't tasted home-made coffee in a long time, which was still warm and fragrant. His days in prison were really bad. Food for him is only given once a day in portions that cannot be said to be a portion of human food. According to him it is food for the portion of the dog. Apart from that the ham served in the holding cell tasted very bland. It was obvious that the food was cooked without seasoning. In fact, he thought that the ham was leftover ham that didn't sell in supermarkets, so they gave it to him as food.

"What is the chronology of events?"

Calvin seemed to raise his eyebrows, but then he took another sip of his coffee.

“When you were caught on the Aurora Bridge,” Hazel continued indignantly.

“I was driving with Zinny, and suddenly three police cars appeared and surrounded me. I had no other choice but to pull over because I didn't want to harm Zinny. If I was alone at the time, I definitely wouldn't have pulled over and made my face into a sack by those damn cops."

"Zinny saw you being beaten."

"Definitely. She was crying in fear in the car. I feel like killing them one by one for causing a child to watch such violent acts. Zinny always reminds me of the war children who live miserable on the Syrian border.”

"Are you a member of the military?"

"Former military elite, was a sniper, had participated in several wars involving violence," the man replied casually. He completely ignored the nervousness that was now clearly etched on Hazel's face.

The man's answer instantly made Hazel so pale she wanted to cry.

“Why did you decide to become a chauffeur in the Duffal family?”

"My coffee is out." The man got up and put his empty cup into the clean sink. For a moment he remained there, considering whether or not to wash his cup, but then decided to return to his seat.

“Rick is involved with Richard Duffal in serious negotiations. Rick, as far as I know, participated in Richard's stock auction for five lucky people who could impress him."

"Rick? He has never been in the business world. He loves his job too much.”

Calvin smirked at Hazel and gave her a scornful look. "As a lover, you don't seem to recognize Rick at all."

"I'm no longer his girlfriend."

"When did you guys decide to split up?"

"About two months ago."

"Rick entered the auction five months ago."

Now Hazel felt like her head had just been hit hard by a sledgehammer. All this time she knew nothing about Rick's activities outside the house. Didn't she already say that their relationship wasn't healthy? So far they have only been living together. Nothing intimate or overly close they ever did. Rick loved her very much, and he always respected her every decision. Because she never wanted to be touched other than a kiss, Rick never forced her to have sex like a normal couple. So far, they've only had physical contact that they can tolerate. But about Rick's involvement in the stock market, she had absolutely no idea. The man never said anything to her. Their conversations have been limited to criminal matters or about the cases they have handled so far.

Recalling all those memories, Hazel now understood that their relationship had been so boring from the start.

"We rarely discuss personal matters."

"You two need to be separated."

Hazel couldn't help but let out a resigned breath without trying to deny Calvin's taunts. It's true that they haven't been close all this time, even though in fact they are a famous couple who get along very well out there.

“But Rick had nothing to do with the Duffal family's death case. His relationship with Richard Duffal must have been just a work relationship. Business partner."

"You think so? But in the last few months, Richard's reasons for auctioning the stock were easy and quick. The oil company collapsed, they needed an injection of funds from investors who were not very skilled in oil matters so that they would not have to interfere in the internal affairs that were already damaged. Rick was one of those stupid investors that Richard managed to trick. Even though the company is now stable again after receiving an injection of funds from investors, last month they had suffered losses due to the lucrative investment offered by Richard. In other words—"

"No! Rick couldn't have committed such a heinous act just because he had been cheated on an investment deal. You can't accuse people carelessly, while you yourself are currently the only strong suspect in the murder. After all, why would I trust a murderer like you!”

Hazel clenched her fists on the table. Her outward expression of anger did not escape Calvin's scrutiny at all. He knew for sure that the woman next to him was disgusted with him.

"I told you I didn't kill them. Shit!” groaned Calvin in frustration.

“Get out of my house now! Don’t disturb us."

“You think I escaped from prison just to stop by for coffee at your apartment?” The man pursed his lips, looking tired and irritated at the same time.

"Then what else do you want? The police will soon realize that you are missing from their prison.”

"They would. But they won't do anything as long as I hold you hostage."

“Wha-What?” Hazel's face paled. Blood seemed to have just been sucked from the surface of her skin. The fear that had previously subsided from her heart now re-infiltrated ferociously and made her restless.

"The prosecutor's office should postpone their plans to convict me."

He glanced briefly at Emily whose voice was now no longer heard. It turned out that the little girl had fallen asleep in her children's chair with a stuffed bunny drooping down from her right arm.

“Move your daughter to her room. Remember, I'm watching you."

Hazel gulped. "You're not going to hurt Emily are you?"

"We will see later. It all depends on your attitude, whether you can be cooperative or not. Come on!”

After threatening her, Calvin immediately got out of his chair and followed Hazel to Emily's room. The man waited for Hazel to move towards Emily then carried the girl slowly so she wouldn't wake up. After all, she preferred the girl to sleep and not know the bad situation that was currently threatening them. She felt Calvin's gaze only directed at her. And she couldn't risk herself and Emily if she took the impulsive act of grabbing the scissors and hurting the man and then escaping his reach. At least the thought of hurting the man and running away from her apartment had been teasing her ever since. But she knew she couldn't do it with Emily in her arms right now.

"I'm watching you. Don't try to act stupid!"

In front of him Hazel was so tense walking while holding Emily tightly to her chest. Her back felt hot as she felt every move Calvin made back there. Moreover, at this time she was only wearing a thin pajama made of silk which couldn't hide her curves at all. In her heart she only hoped that Calvin would not be affected by any form of femininity that she was currently showing.

Entering a room dominated by pink and various cartoon stickers on the walls, Calvin felt a strange sting on the back of his neck. Of course all girls' rooms will have this vibe. His brain couldn't help but bring up the fleeting memories of Richard Duffal's residence. Richard's daughter also has a room that is dominated by pink, but with a larger size.

To get rid of all those memories, he purposely asked Hazel a mocking question.

"Since when did you become a single parent?"

"Not too long ago."

"Since parting ways with Rick of course."

Hazel chose to ignore Calvin's mumbling behind her and immediately pulled the blanket over Emily's tiny body. For a moment Hazel held on to her position, crouching over Emily. She used the opportunity to stare at Emily's face for a long time and live it in her brain. Just in case it turns out she doesn't have long to live. She wanted her last memories to only be filled with Emily's face, who was so peaceful while sleeping and also Mr. Bunny, whom Emily always carried everywhere.

He kept an eye on the woman's movements. He knew that the beautiful judge had been waiting for an opportunity when he caught his guard and then she would run away. But as far as he could see in this child's room there were no sharp objects that looked dangerous. This place is not like a kitchen which has a lot of dangerous sharp objects. And luckily so far Hazel was still using her brilliant brain not to do anything stupid to protect her daughter.

"You're taking too long to just say goodnight to your daughter," Calvin said, now his face was starting to get angry. He then glanced at the clock on the wall with the cartoon character hello kitty attached to one side of the wall in the room. "In three hours the police will surely realize that my cell is empty."

Hazel's reflexes also followed Calvin's gaze to the clock on the wall which was now showing three in the morning.

"What time did you run away?"

“From prison? I don't know," said Calvin, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "There's no clock there. But I saw the clock in your office."

Hazel suddenly turned sharply at the man. And the next Calvin words were the ones Hazel really didn't want to hear right now.

"I broke into your office at one o'clock."