Meeting Again

Present

It was 1am, the skies opened up and torrents of water filled all cracks and openings. It was the first rain of the year.

 A police van and an emergency van zoomed out of Western Ville precinct. Sirens blared and pairs of wipers glided over the windscreens as the vans descended into the heavy rain. It was an emergency.

 "We should have waited for the rain," Roy shouted loud enough to be heard over the roaring engines and the hailing rain.

Shane smirked and remained undeterred as hr sped into the highway. After about 10 minutes, they were at Parker's Avenue in Downey.

 They rounded a corner and came to a screeching halt right in front of a mansion with a bold inscription, 'No 85'.

"Here we are," Shane said and took a quick peek into a small note where he had written down the caller's details.

The doors opened up. They ventured into the rain. Shane noticed a car that was parked outside before making his way into the compound.

The sitting room came into view as the door to the main entrance was wide open. 

"Mary?" Shane asked as he walked in.

 A young lady in her mid twenties sat on the floor. She shook violently and it was hard to tell if the jerking of her head was a response to Shane's question.

Shane scanned the sitting room at a glance. He squatted before the lady and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you the one that called?" He asked.

The lady did not respond; rather, she pointed towards the bedroom. 

"Take care of her, she is in shock," Shane said to one of the paramedics and ventured into the bedroom alongside Roy and Bob.

Shane stood transfixed as he pushed the door open. He swallowed the lump in his throat as a strong stench of blood filled the air. He pulled on his pair of gloves and walked in.

Two bodies were in the room. In the bed was the body of an adult man. His head rested on a pillow and he was covered with a blanket that was pulled down to his loins. 

On his chest were multiple stab wounds of varying sizes and depths.

Blood dripped rhythmically from the crimson red bedspread, it formed a pool on the floor. 

Shane felt at the body. It was cold and all pulse was gone.

On the cold floor was the body of an adult woman in a pool of blood. She was also unconscious and her face was turned towards the floor. Her arms were spread out and blood oozed out from her left wrist which was obviously slitted.

Unlike the cold body on the bed, the body was still warm, though pulses were slowly threading away. 

Few inches from the slitted wrist was a large sized kitchen knife smeared with blood.

Shane called for the paramedics. He brought out his camera and took different shots of the scene.

The dead body was removed and a clean washcloth was tied around the woman's slitted wrist.

 "She lost too much blood already. She would need blood transfusion," one of the paramedics said to another as the woman's body was lifted into the stretcher.

Shane turned around at the comment. He took in the paleness of the woman's skin. Color had drained out of her and he knew she might not make it. 

His gaze traveled up to her face and he shuddered.

 "Stop!" He commanded and took a closer look. He gasped as he identified the woman in the stretcher; it was Nicole Colgate; his high school crush.

Shane's eyes dazzled and he blinked hard as he was taken back memory lane.

Eight Years Ago

Shane sat over a steamy cup of coffee at Aladeen Cafe. He seemed restless and he looked out through the window repeatedly. 

The previous night, he had summoned the courage to ask his crush; Nicole Colgate, out on a date.

He knew he was not in her league as there was a great class difference between them. Nicole Colgate was the only daughter of The Chief Medical Director of Oxford University Teaching Hospital while Shane was the son of a policeman.

Shane knew the chance to be with Nicole was slim but he gave it a shot. He had crushed on her all through high school and he knew she would be gone after that night. It was Nicole's valedictory night; while Nicole graduated that year, Shane had one more year to go.

Nicole sighted the cafe from the car and signaled to her driver. The car came to a screeching halt and she walked out lavishly.

Shane rose abruptly from his seat as he had sighted Nicole. He walked out of the cafe and fell in line beside her and walked her in.

Nicole eyed the cafe and took her seat without uttering a word. She looked gloomy and tense.

 "I will be back in a second," Shane said and left for the counters. He soon returned with a cup of ice cream. 

"Thanks for the effort but isn't it freezing cold now?" Nicole said and pushed the cup of ice cream farther away. "Anyways, why did you call me out?" She asked like a spoiled brat. 

Shane heaved a sigh and rubbed his sweaty palms against each other. He stood up suddenly and walked closer to her. He went on his knees and drew out a rose flower from his pocket.

"I want to live the rest of my life with you.... Will you be mine?" Shane stuttered hurriedly. 

Nicole scoffed. She collected the flowers and a line of tears fell from her eye. "You fool! Why didn't you come out sooner? All through the years I saw your eyes, I saw them, they were full of love for me, I saw them and waited day after day but you were too timid to come out straight. It's too late now, I am getting married this weekend," Nicole said and blinked hard to staunch the tears building up in her eyes.

She placed the flower carefully on the table and eyed Shane's cup of unfinished coffee. "It is cold," she muttered and picked up the unfinished coffee. She drained the warm black coffee and replaced an empty cup on the table.

Shane remained on his knees and watched her leave. Suddenly he snapped out of it and rose up to his feet. He was right in time as he watched her slip into the car. He ran after the car while Nicole continued to look at him through the rare mirror as the car revved forward.

******

"Boss? Are you okay?" Roy called and tapped Shane's shoulder.

 "Yeah? Sure I'm not." Shane jumped out of his daze and pulled himself together. 

"Get the knife down to the forensic lab. We need to identify the blood stain and possible fingerprints," Shane said to Bob.