Hearts of the Ocean - Chapter 2: A year ago..... (Rhonda's Point of view)

Rhonda loved everything about Yorkshire market. The smell, the colours and the people. The market had everything in one place. Yorkshire faced seas of unruly crowds every morning from sunrise to noon. But still no matter how busy, she loved Yorkshire market. No place for a lady, Mother would always snap and nag at her when she found out about her outings. Rhonda thought back about her mother. No palce for a lady? What was a place for a lady? Dressing rooms? Parlours? Drawing rooms? Were those the only places a lady is supposed to be? Rhonda often wondered what it would be like if ladies wore trousers, went horse-riding without having to fuss which leg was where and get scrapes and cuts on their body.... Oh, how Mother would shriek and cry, fuss and worry over the slightest things that Rhonda did what a lady wasn't "supposed to do". It seems as if she couldn't get away from the vice grips of Mother and the rich symphony of screeches and moans of her over-bearing voice. Everytime Mother disapproved of something she wanted, Rhonda would sit and smile stifly for the rest of the day while she screaming silently on the inside.

But now that she was away from Mother, she could do anything she pleased. She could walk on the dirt road with her bare feet, sing at the top of her lungs and wear ragged clothes, which, ironically turned out to be what she was doing all at one at that very moment.  Rhonda looked at the frail sun which rose ever so slowly with a feeling of warmth and happiness wash over her. She smiled and kept on walking. 

She stopped before the entrance sign  of Yorkshire market and smiled. She went in and started wandering off in the little adventure but she didn't really know what to do. Peddlers, storekeepers and grocers were beseeching the crowd to but their goods. Rhonda walked and breathed in the different aromas when all of a sudden, she felt terribly uncomfortable all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the awful stench of decaying meat of fish, game and other poultry or the cries of all the peddlers, storekeepers and grocers that echoed in her ear or the haunting sounds of clogged feet on wet puddles or the distasteful combination of all of them that made her feel so. She felt as if she were lost in the violent crowd. Rhonda became desperate and searched for an exit. She started to feel dizzy and weak. The wayward crowd was uncontrollable. Rhonda stared at the crowd and tried to regain her posture but she felt suffocated then, tried to tear away from the crowd but she couldn't. Panting heavily, she tried to breathe but air was too thin. With her eyes closed, she knocked onto someone then, all turned black. 

'Everybody make way. Step aside!' Rhonda heard someone say. Rhonda regained consciousness but she closed her eyes still. There was a thick quality of that voice that made her distrust it immediately. "A rouge, this man must be" she thought to herself. "Make way. She needs some fresh air!" that Voice boomed. Rhonda heard the clatter of shoes that stepped backwards. Then, she opened her eyes slowly and looked at the speaker of the Voice. The man bent down onto the ground and looked her in the eyes with a smile of relief. "This young lady is alright, good people. Go about with your business!" the Rouge called out at the dispersing crowd. 

Rhonda was lying on the brick road. She sat up and blinked slowly then rubbed her eyes. She felt as if she was in a dream. The Rogue was a totally different person than she imagined. She pictured a balding man in his 30's and definitely more appalling but she was wrong. Right in front of her knelt a statuesque man. His eyes were glittered and were as blue as the ocean. He had hair the colour of honey and sand which was the length of his shoulder. He had fine crimson lips and pearly white teeth that sparkled in the bright morning sun. She fell in love instantly. But she couldn't avoid his eyes. They were so alluring. "Hello there! My name is James." the man started with a cheery voice. 

Rhonda was nervous and stiff. She wanted to say what her name was but she couldn't find the courage to do so. Finally, she managed to find her voice and  started mumbling. "Thank you, kind sir. I have nothing to thank you with. I do apologize and I must be on my way before my mistress throws a fit" she managed to stutter. She got up from sitting on the brick road that was terribly hot and uncomfortable. Rhonda bobbed a quick curtsey and scurried away homeward, abruptly. James, who was now standing up, watched as the most beautiful maiden he ever met just got up and left without even telling him her name. 

*****

Rhonda was blushing furiously on her way out of the market. Her gaze was averted to the ground as she scurried out onto the dirt road. When she a good distance away from Yorkshire market, she stopped at her tracks and looked back, Yorkshire market was a giant blot in the distance.  She glanced at it and heaved a sigh of happiness and smiled before heading back home.   

I love you... Do you and will you love me? - Chapter 3

Detective Bram stretched and yawned. He glimpsed at the wall clock. It was 8 p.m. He looked out his office window. Lecrimno City was right at the bottom of him. He could see the tasteless flat where he lived, slept and slaved away in. Just a short distance away, he could see City Park, Lecrimno City's largest and most crime infested place. Murder, rape, kidnapping, drug dealings, you name it, the crime has been committed there. He stared at the bright city lights and wondered. Then, he grabbed his keys, coat and hat and left the building. 

He got into his black Sedan and started the engine. He drove out of Lecrimno City's Police Department's parking lot and into to main road. Detective Bram was thinking as hard as he could. "Who the could she be? Insane coworker? Mental ex girlfriend? Deranged secret lover? What? Who? Why?". Bram was so lost in thought till he missed the right turn back home. "Shit!!" he cursed angrily. Then he drove on and found himself in a familiar street. "Wait.... This is where the Steels live!!" he thought in surprise. "Humm, I might as well do some investigating while I'm here" he thought to himself. He drove through the busy street in search of the Richmond Condo. The pavements were wet and lights were shining brightly from the lamp posts. He drove slowly in the busy street and found Richmond condo. He found a nearby parking spot and turned off the engine of his car. The engine of his Sedan shuddered into a stop and he got out of it.

 The shoes on his feet made soft splashing sounds as he squeezed his way through to get to the building, the night was alive with the sounds of loud footsteps and the up beat sounds of music and talking. He walked right into Richmond Condo and explained to valet who was on the front door of the building, of the purpose of his visit. The valet smiled and let him in. Detective Bram took the elevator up to the remains of what was the Steels house. 

The elevator signaled to a stop and Detective Bram walked out and stood in front of the Steels front door. He took a hairpin from his pocket and jammed it into the keyhole. He turned it, twisted it and shook it but nothing worked. Out of anger and frustration, he kicked the door. After howling in pain and yelling out curses at the top of his lungs, he then thought of something he should have done a long time ago. He twist the doorknob. The door opened, noiselessly. After hollering yet another string of curses, he went in the suite with a a dark crimson face and a deep frown. There weren't any lights on. Detective Bram felt the walls blindly until he found the switches. The lights flashed on and Detective Bram found himself still in the Steel's spacious living hall. The hard tile floor was slightly wet but it was the least of his problems. He flicked every light switch on and looked around. He blew a low whistle. The vicinity of the place was magnificent. They furniture  seem terribly expensive and without any doubt, exquisite. 

He admired the atmosphere for a while and then got back to work. Detective Bram walked to the bedroom of Dennis and Brenda Steele. Once again he felt for the light switch in the darkness and turned it on. He stared at the bare bed. The blue sheets that were once on the bed had been removed and the entire room was clean of flies, maggots, water and traces of blood that had been in there earlier that day. All was still. He looked through the cupboards and drawers and strangely, everything was still there. Clothes, jewelry, make-up and other personal belongings were still intact in their places. He wandered to the bathroom. Everything was clean and the floor, too, was just slightly damp. The air, however, had an eerily dank smell and droplets of water dripped from one of the two sinks in the enormous bathroom. 

Everything was clean and sorted. Detective Bram stood in the bathroom feeling painfully uneasy. He switched off the lights as he got out of the room and roamed the entire house. It was strange that two people who were married without kids or family living with them had such an expensively spacious abode. He then progressed to every room in the suite. 

There were ten doors in the entire suite. Four of the ten were bathrooms and the remaining six were bedrooms. It wasn't surprising that all six rooms in the house were empty except for some of them which had pieces of furniture and beds in them. "Guest rooms, perhaps." Detective Bram thought to himself. He inspected every room throughly in search of some sort of clue that would help him but there was nothing that would help him. Of course, unless if you count dead pieces of wood and seemingly unused mattresses. The house had nothing. That would help him and just as he was about to call it quits after searching all the rooms, his stomach growled in a frightful fashion. Detective Bram had an idea. He trudged into the kitchen to sneak a bite. Before he did, he felt a wave of guilt overpower him then he thought, "Well, the owners of this place are dead and we don't want good food go to waste now, do we?". With that, he snorted a chuckle of delight and raided the kitchen of its edibles. 

He searched every inch of the kitchen and finally gathered his supper of meat pies, aged bananas, beef jerky, orange juice and finally, a candy bar to satisfy his bonbon craving. He ate everything without hesitation and didn't bother with cutlery, plate nor glasses. "Pfttt, like I'd want to wash dishes after eating at a place where no one would even come near." Detective Bram scorned aloud as he pulled open the refrigerator door. He brushed the last of the meat pie crumbs off himself and grabbed the last and only carton of orange juice then, drained the contents into his mouth before tossing it into the waste bin. As he was about to leave, he noticed a dark narrow hallway in the far end of the kitchen that led to some other place. The hallway was so narrow till he could touch the walls with his arms outstretched. He felt the walls aimlessly yet once more in search of a light switch. He walked and walked but still, he felt nothing but he carried on walking. Then, his face crashed onto something hard. He bellowed in agony and felt his face blindly to check for any facial damage. There was none and Detective Bram felt his invisible enemy. It was a door! He searched for the knob and twisted it and then touched the walls in search of a switch. He flicked the light switch and found himself in tiny storage room. There's nothing horrifically horrifying about narrow and somewhat frighteningly dark hallways that leads to storage rooms but this one was an epic exception.  

Normally when someone says storage room, you'd think of brooms, mops, detergents and other household objects but this storage room doesn't only have that. The room was filled with clothes, jewelry, boxes of perfume and unopened packages. Each and every single one of those things had the initials, D.S and E.G Forever........

I love you... Do you and will you love me? - Chapter 2

Detective Bram was in his office that night when Officer Ted came in. "Hey, Bram. Here's the information on the dead eunuch and his dead broad." he said as he handed him two thick files. Bram cocked an eyebrow at Ted. He was about to say something but stayed silent instead.

"Thanks, Ted. Ahh, I'll see ya tomorrow...." 

"Sure, thing. Brammy" 

Bram flinched. He detested that nickname. April gave it to him but he could never tell her that her how much he hated that nickname now and not ever. He knew that she hated him. There was a very simple reason. He was promoted and she was not. It was strange that a lesser man on the force was elevated to a better position than a person who deserved it more than he did. Bram stared into mid-air for a few minutes, contemplating deeply and opened the first file.

The first file had all the information on the "dead eunuch". He scowled at the inappropriate codename that everyone on the force gave the deceased man and how they called the woman "the dead broad". He looked at the first page. Name, ID number, address, everything was there. The damned file even had the information on where they were last Tuesday and what they ate in Cafe Crepe the next afternoon. "Lecrimno City Police Department sure as hell don't take things lightly, do they?" Bram thought as he smiled bitterly. The "dead eunuch's" name was Dennis Steele. Worked as an accountant in some place Bram has never heard of. He leafed through the other file. "Ahh, so it's a MISSUS Steele" Bram thought silently. Brenda Steele (nee Greene), Dennis Steele's wife. They were both citizens of Lecrimno city since birth. Aged 27 and 25. Clean records. Lived quite lives and had faces which reminded Bram of toads eating lemons. He chuckled at the strange thought of toads eating lemons. 

Bram read every word, every detail and looked at every picture but still, nothing. He racked his brains. Thinking of every single kind of motive the killer had and what the purpose of killing the couple was but yet again, nothing. He stared at the picture of the painfully plain couple. There was nothing interesting about them. Nothing at all. Bram thought deeper. Then a thought slipped into his mind. 

"APRIL!! APRIL!!!" Bram yelled, running out of his office. "Over here!" she said, looking at Bram who had a strange look on his face "April, do you have the Steele's personal items?"

"Yeah, sure buddy. They're with Ron at that department where they keep stuff. Damn, I can never remember what the stinkin' department is called!!" 

"The storage department?"

"Yeah!! That's the place!! Thanks Brammy!" April said, winking at him.

"Ok, alright. Thanks, April."  mumbled Bram as he shrugged and cringed at the same time.

Ron was all the way at the basement. Bram took the elevator from his office on the eighteenth floor to the basement. On the ride down, his mind worked furiously thinking about the Steele's and their brutal murder. The elevator was filled with the annoying chimes of elevator music and the smell of stale coffee and dry doughnuts. Bram ignored both, concentrating so much until he almost forgot what he was in the lift for. When the elevator doors slid open to a dark dim lighted room with a loud ring of a bell, Bram snapped out of his trance and walked out into the large dim room. There are two very, very strange things about the storage department. One, it looked like an underground hotel lobby. The walls are the color of the sky on a rainy day, a calming mixture of light blue and light grey and the floor was covered with whitish-gray carpets with rich matching furniture. The storage room also had a reception which barricaded the guests from getting the real storage room. On the reception was a counter bell which was used to signal for Ron's services but in other words, wake Ron up from his loud slumber and the other strange thing was Ron.

Ron was a tiny young man with a pair of thick glasses. He could have been 25 or 43 and no one would notice or really care because of his thick glasses. His skin had a tan-grey quality and he wore his hair in a very awkward fashion. It was a dark red crew cut and he always seem to wear a cap. The entire was filled with loud snores. Bram couldn't take anymore of the irritating sound. He rung the bell and then, there was a loud crash and a lot of cursing. Ron came out from the Store Room. Bram chuckled. "Poor bastard must've fallen from the damned chair."

"Hey, Bram! Whaddya need?" Ron asked, gleefully. 

Bram stared at Ron. He was awkward and strange in many ways. No one in the entire force knew anything personal about this guy. Yeah, sure details like address, identity card number and records of this guy but no one really knew him. No one knows what kind of place he lives, who he lives with, relationship status and lots more. Ron was like a strange puzzle. Ron once told Bram his personal motto, "Bram, want to know why I'm so damned lonely? Well, I stick to my motto" Bram recalled perfectly. "Stay outta people's shit and business, they got nothin' to do with ya." It was true. He never went to parties or socialized. Whenever anyone invited him out, he'd decline, politely. But everyone's gotten used to it.

"Uhmm, hey, listen Ron. Where are the Steele's personal belongings? Cellphones and wallets. That's what I need"

"Hold on. They're at the back" Ron said before he disappeared to the Store Room.

Bram stood in the "lobby", thinking again about the murder. "Here it is" Ron yelled as he burst through the door, holding four zipper bags containing the wallets and cellphones. "Thanks, Ron" Bram said, grabbing the bags before he smiled at Ron and left. 

Bram was back in his office. He opened the first bag which had the name Dennis Steele. The bag had his cellphone in it. Bram turned the phone on and searched his call history. He received his last calls from the same unknown number. The calls were answered at first but went unanswered at last. Bram checked his voicemail. It was filled with the same number. Bram randomly picked a voicemail from the same unknown number and listened to the speaker of the voicemail. 

"Hi honey. Did you get my presents? I hoped you really liked them. You must really love it because I bought it for you. Humm, wanna meet up later at Hotel Wellington? I'm paying. I'll meet you at 7 P.M, alright? I love you....."

Bram sat on his chair, horrified and somewhat disgusted. It was the same voice from the cassette recording. 

I love you... Do you and will you love me? - Chapter 1

Dorris, a housekeeper in Richmond condo, went to each of the designated floors to accomplish her duties. The strangest thing happened on a gray Monday morning. The penthouse suite on the 10th floor didn't answer to the doorbell rings when she pressed the plastic white button which was plastered to the beige wallpapered wall nor did they answer when she rapped her knuckles on the large mahogany door as she hollered 'housekeeping' at the top of her lungs. The even stranger thing was that the faint sound of dripping water came from inside of the house. She tried opening the door but it was locked up tight.

She got slightly agitated and nervous as her hand dove into her snow-white apron to retrieve the extra set of keys which the management handed to her when they hired her. Agitated because of the strangely unusual loud ringing plop of dripping water which never seemed to end. Nervous because she couldn't afford to lose this job to what the rash couple who lived in the penthouse suite would call "breaking-and-entering". With shaky hands, she tried to find the right key to the door. The brass keys made a delicious tinkle with every quiver of her hands.

She finally got the right key and slid it into the well oiled lock. Dorris turned the key and the door came unlock. Cautiously, she opened the door and entered the suite. Ultra modern furniture filled the suite which had black and grey stripped wallpapers and white hard tiled floors. The maddening sound of dripping water in the eerie silence almost drove Dorris insane. Before she could step any further to 'investigate', she felt an icy touch on her slippered feet. Dorris bit her lip from screaming, much to her relief, it was nothing but water. She heaved a sigh of relief then wondered silently, 'wait, why is there water?? Where is it coming from?? Why didn't they close their tap properly?? What's going on?!?".

Millions of questions filled Dorris' head as she walked through the shallow body of water. "Hello?? Is anybody home?!? I'm Dorris, the housekeeper you hired...." Dorris' frim voice trailed into a soft whisper. She searched every room in the suite for the source of the dripping water. Finally, when she got to the master bedroom. A horrible stench filled the air.' This smell far worse than death itself.' Dorris thought. She brushed off her ridiculous thoughts and opened the door which creaked loudly. The neighbors from the nearest levels were the ones to hear Dorris scream but before she did, a horrible sight greeted her eyes. A naked couple was on the bed, tied together with their backs facing each other. Their throats were slit in the most abominable fashion and their dried blood stained the blue bed sheet a dark maroon. Flies and maggots infested the corpses as if they have been left to rot for a few days. The stench was overpowering.  Both of them had their eyes and mouths wide open as if they were gasping for air. The sound of dripping water became louder and louder until it felt like as if Dorris was deafened by the insane sound.

Drip, drip, drip.

Dorris' lips parted as she found her voice. With that, she screamed and screamed.

***

The police came soon afterwards with a paramedic team. The news of the naked couple intrigued the neighbors and spread like wildfire. The police warded off the curious spectators, nosey journalists and pushy photographers. Detective Bram stepped into the water immersed crime scene. He spotted his long time cop buddy, Officer April. 

"Well, I'll be a son of a gun. This sure is one hell of a mess." Detective Bram, choked.

"Someone finally noticed! Hey there, buddy! Here to work on this case?" Sergeant April chuckled.

"Yeah. I knew that it was bad but I didn't know that is was THIS bad......."

"Well, pal, now you do."

"April, what the hell is that??" Detective Bram asked, pointing to the man's blue lips

"Bram, honey, that is the ugly glaucous colored lips of a dead and horribly castrated man." Sergeant April answered with a flinch. 

"No!! Look at what is INSIDE his cold dead lips, woman!" Bram hollered.

Sergeant April pried the man's stiff jaw open with her gloved hand and felt something hard and rectangular. She fished out a cassette tape from the lifeless man's mouth.

"Would someone PLEASE get me a cassette player and get this damn floor dry?!? Jesus, it's like I have to do everything myself!! Move it, ladies!!" she screamed at her team, cursing silently.

"Honestly, Bram, why'd you have to get promoted like that? Things were sure as hell a lot better when you were my partner in crime. I got a bunch of ninnys and smartasses that don't know how to handle stuff."

Bram stayed silent, he knew all too well about how April really felt but he'd rather keep his mouth shut and say nothing than to get into trouble with her. A police officer handed Sergeant April a cassette player. The voice was hateful and sad but still very clear. It was a woman's voice. 

I love you, Dennis. I loved you so much. You know that painting I drew of you? The one I sent a month ago? I drew it, Brandon. I drew it for you and I sent you all those boxes of your favorite clothes, underwear and that mix of Old Spice Aftershave. I love you so much, Brandon. But too bad you have your whore of a wife. That fat pregnant slut. Wanna know something, darling? I ran her down with my car. That bastard child is dead now. You and me, we can live together forever, right, honey? Together, forever and ever and ever and ever...........

The cassette player went silent. April and Bram stared at the cassette player for a very very long time. 

"What the hell is going on?" April whispered
"I don't know, April. But it's my job to find out." Bram murmured as he left the building noiselessly. 

Hearts of the Ocean - Chapter 1

Thunder rumbled and clapped in the dark sky. Rain would only come much later. Rondha Wilks stared out the carriage window and thought about the visit that was supposed to take place tonight. No, rendezvous. How many girls had secret lovers behind their parents backs? Oh the shame Mother and Father would have to go through, she thought, relishing the idea of the humiliation they would have to go through, no, writhe in if they or anybody outside the family for that matter, found out about her fortnightly meetings which went on for a year before her engagement with this man. Especially this man.

The carriage headed faster and faster into the lurid grasps of the forest. The moon glowed chalky white and even through the loud bumps the wooden wheels of the carriage, the low, solemn hoots of owls and the many cries of wolves as the called out to each other could be heard. Rhonda glanced at a glittering diamond ring which was on her second last finger of her left hand. After some time riding in the darkness, the carriage came to an abrupt stop.

She gazed outat the wooden cabin which was quite some distance away from her. So close and yet so far, she thought.... 

"We're here, mam' " the carriage driver said hoarsely.

Rhonda looked at the man with a deep feeling of disgust. His clothes looked as if they haven't been washed for at least a week and he sported himself a scraggly dirty pale ginger beard wich went along with his equally pale dirty ginger mop of hair. She handed him a small purse with money and told him to stay where he was. The driver snorted as a reply and went back to smoking his pipe.

From where she stood, she admired the scenery of the place. There was a lake which glittered under the glow of the moon and a beautiful field with soft long grass. At the side of the lake was the cabin. She breathed a sigh of happiness and did the one thing she wasn't allowed to do. She lift her dress up as high as possible, let her smooth auburn hair down and took off her shoes and ran like a mad woman to the cabin. The messy driver lept a foot in the air then shrugged and  muttered "Never in my life" under his breath.

Rhonda ran and every step she took only made her want to get closer to that cabin. Her legs pumped, energetically and her heart was raced so badly till she swore that it would beat right out of her chest. When she reached the cabin, she didn't stop. She flung the door right open and there he was, standing in the of the cabin with a smile that instantly melted her heart and arms wide open where she landed softly, knowing that it was the one place where she truly belonged. She stayed in his arms for a long time, not caring about anything else but themselves and what little time they had together. She felt the muscular body on her soft one and his strong arms which hugged every inch of her upper body. They broke apart from their hug which seem to last forever and admired each other. 

She couldn't take her eyes off him. His sky blue eyes looked at her warm and lovingly. He had a fine crop of long ebony hair witch was always tied neatly into a ponytail and his smile, his smile was so beautiful. Never in her life was she ever head over heels in love with someone. Not even with her fiance, Edward. James was his name and it was a name which suited him divinely. She really couldn't take her eyes off him. Everything right there at that moment wanted to make her explode with indescribable happiness. 

He looked at her. Her eyes were a beautiful dark chocolate which went wonderfully with her hair which was long and a little bit curly. She was looking at him with so much love, he knew that he could only be happy with her in his arms forever than to let her leave. She beamed at him and when she did, a wave of bliss and ecstasy crashed upon him. Nothing in te world would make him happier than to see her happy and smile like the way she's smiling right now. All his life, he was with the wrong women, at the wrong places in the wrong time. But now, as he glanced at this extraordinary woman. He knew that there was nothing in his life he was more sure of, more certain of. 

And it all happened a year ago in the Yorkshire's town market