Monkey Mind

Cafeteria, 12:00 p.m.

It was past noon when the conversation turned to the point.

‘So, how’s your wife doin’?’

Random clatters of spoons and forks, dull scrapings of knives rubbed on to the dishes, and miscellaneous gibberish coming from here and there.

‘m’

The one who kept his silence, Tony Butcher, finally generated a voice after seven minutes glaring at the intestines of his hamburger.

‘eh’

His first utterance of the week, and it was Tuesday.

His colleague Leo raised his eyebrows in surprise. The moment he heard the rare voice, his eyes glared as if to hit the bull’s eye. He wanted to ask more, but as a friend who had worked with Tony for 5 years, he knew showing excitement would quickly extinguish the bit of his enthusiasm and return to the regular one-directional chat.

‘Doin’ fine?’

‘Mh’

‘Doin’ bad?’

‘mmh’

‘Ain’t bad?’

And a nod. 

As far as Leo McNeil, the office clerk, is aware, he speaks more than 5 words only on sales appointments with his client. Working as salesman for a company selling small electronic devices, Tony has no choice but to use advanced manipulation techniques using abundant knowledge he gained as a mechanics major, and skills directly tutored by the legend, who is now their boss.

‘Betcha talk like goldfish at home, no?’

He shrugged, which is an awkwardly dynamic reaction. Leo knew something was going on. In fact, he asked about Tony’s wife because he was confident that they were not going well.

‘You wanna talk about it?’

And another shrug.

Tony went on to finish his hamburger, and left the seat to attend a business conference.

‘Unusual friendship, nobody’ll understand’, Leo murmuring to no one.

 ‘That includes you my friend’.

Tony

Tony knew there was something going on with his wife.

Her mind started to become more absent.

As if she had an issue of considerable concerns.

There was a subtle awkwardness in her attitude towards him. He could sometimes see her smile twitch, as if she is urging her face muscles to perform a stunt.

Few months ago, he noticed that his wife was becoming more absorbent with her phone.

It is not that she is overprotective of her phone, as is often said to be a sign of cheating. But her eyes seem to light whenever there's a notification ring from a specific person.

Cathy --- the new friend of hers?

Once, Tony peeked into the phone to see who she was texting to. He expected her to flinch as she realized her husband’s glimpse. Instead, she excitedly showed a picture of a toy-poodle puppy, sent by Cathy.

At this point Tony just considered she made a close friend.

At least it’s not a man.

Still, it was awkward that Ashley is developing an intimate relationship with someone besides him, since Ashley is known for having an extensive relationship rather than intensive ones. The Cathy person was the first person, as far as he knows, fills her with enthusiasm.

She’s not buying new clothes, purses, or perfumes. She’s not negligent of housework. Most of all, there’s no sign of taking a shower while I’m out.

All of his criteria to judge positivity that his wife might be cheating was crossed out.

No evidence of her cheating.

But what is this unnerving feeling…… that something is not right.

The mysterious intuition came more intense as days went by.

Tony is a man who focuses on his own interests and rarely puts into cognition of his surroundings.

Probably this was one reason for doubting his wife. 

He knows how affectionless a husband he is and has long embraces that he deserves to be cheated upon. Rather, he feels relieved if his wife were to be cheating him; if it would make Ashley happy.

As the strange feeling grew, his sensors became more sensitive.

He began to realize a specific scent from his wife’s odor.

Deep inside the familiar women’s cologne, a faint smell of men’s deodorant...

Her clothes seem newer than he had remembered.

His skepticism doubted that she had taken them to dry cleaning. 

If it was so, he would notice the familiar scent of the nearby dry cleaners, and the unfixable worn-off shape of the clothes. 

Despite his lack of attention to surroundings, his perfectionism has a keen eye for clothes conditions: many of Ashley’s clothes are too spotless. As if it’s brand new.

But then, he failed to link “brand new repurchases of the same clothes she already had” and “cheating”. 

Finally, he just could not take it.

Bedroom 8:00 p.m.

Uptone humming of Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World echoes out of the showerroom.

Aroma scents and the sound of the shower reminds him of his visit to her house; his stepmother greeting them in the garden watering the plants.

The good old days… How did I end up searching my wife’s phone?

Crouching down next to a king-size bed, he moved his thumbs.

0-5-2-1… Ashley’s birthday. The phone remained locked.

0-3-0-9… Tony’s birthday. The phone remained locked.

0-9-2-2… Their wedding anniversary. The phone remained locked.

Greasy sweat trickled down the bedroom floor…… What if the number was this unknown lover’s birthday?

1-0-1-0… First date anniversary. The phone opened.

But before letting out a sigh of relief, he heard the showerroom door open.

The next five minutes, she will be drying her hair and wearing her light pink pajamas. 

Time is running out.

Quickly, he opened up a chat application. 

Finding Cathy was not difficult; right when he opened the phone, a notification rang which directed him to the person’s chat room.

I booked it around March 17th - March 19th! Where should we go first???

Seems normal. 

He looked through the other messages.

Wanna meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday hmm

That art was so intense the other day you know how much I love it

Hack ha ha ha you sure new how to handle it

It’s okay the dog ate the art

Apparently, nothing out of the ordinary.

But something is kind of fishy.

What is this weird feelin---

“What are you doing?”

His heart stopped.

He had not noticed that Ashley was right behind him.

He could feel the steams radiating from her moisture body; the lavender shampoo fragrance was sickening right now.

“Y-y-y-y-y, your phone… I- I accidentally drop-p-p- it”

She let out a little sarcastic smirk.

“You needn’t to, the carpet would’ve saved it”

He could feel the blood rushing down from his head.

Black and white spots covered his eyesight. 

I’m done for! I have crossed the line! She is going to yell at me, probably hit me! She never does but who knows!

Instead, he felt a warm cozy fluffiness on his back. 

Ashley wrapped her arms around his chest whispering into his ears

“You’re too tired. You need some rest”

Tony obeyed. 

“By the way, I’ll be going to vacation with Cathy this Thursday, and I’ll be back in our anniversary if that’s okay with you”

“k”

There was nothing more to the couple’s conversation.

Tony was snoring away moments later.

“Strange... why is this marked as ‘read’... ”

Office, 10:30 p.m.

“Who’sn’t lookin’ happy today?”

From the door to the back wall, miscellaneous ringing phones make an amatuer symphony. Normally, Tony is tolerant enough to ignore the disorganized random beep generators but today he already had a few doses of aspirin to avoid insanity.

Unlike Tony, who is distressed to think about going to the even noisier office cafeteria, Leo was relaxed enough to commit small talk albeit the stacks of paperwork untouched.

Tony’s mouth remained firmly shut like a bank vault door. Nonetheless, he was keeping back his urges to shove him back to his hometown.

“Is it the economic depression? Or the loose serial killer on the streets? Anyways, I’m thrilled that Roy’s gonna be out!”

Leo hated the sales manager Roy.

To be precise, Roy hates Leo, which makes Leo hate him as well.

For his defense, Roy shows some good affection towards anybody.

He is bright, he joyfully chuckles at anyone’s jokes. In return, he has enough sense of humor to lighten people’s mood. 

Moreover, he is extremely competitive as a sales representative.

He is the cause for the triple increase in the net profit generated in his branch, and he also shows exemplary performance in raising his subordinates.

Tony is one of his disciples. 

He is the third to the position of sales manager but for him, he is only following his master’s path. If this is not admiration than what is.

However, Roy treats Leo exceptionally.

He has the scornful look on his eyes whenever he sees him.

Usually when an office worker is having a chit-chat with other co-workers, Roy would try getting into the conversation naturally, and divert their attention subconsciously to work.

As for Leo---

“Hey, why’re you here hm? You’re not supposed to be here, this is a sales division, and you know you’re disturbing us here, hmm? Get out, NOW”

Tony had no idea why his boss would treat a specific person with a distinct attitude.

He knows it started a few months ago, which means there may have been an incident.

However, from his view, Roy is a reasonable person who stresses rationality and efficiency.

No matter how much his client had betrayed him, he showed compassion.

No matter how much paperwork was dumped on his desk, he would complete it all, and leave the office before anyone.

It is unlikely he would become carried off with his emotions easily.

Speaking of efficiency…

Tony remembered the chat he read yesterday.

Wanna meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday hmm

Last Wednesday was so intense you know how much I loved it

Hack ha ha ha you sure new how to handle it

It’s okay the dog ate the art

Most of the messages he looked through rarely specified a subject.

It was always pronouns; that was good, it was fun, we should do this more often.

As for the expressions, it was similar to something copied off from adult magazines.

Something was definitely fishy for Tony.

Hack ha ha ha… Was ‘Cathy’ in a rush when she typed it?

That is when it struck him.

4 meters away from his desk, a man was talking with his client on the phone.

Occasionally, he would give the familiar chuckle as if he had heard the best joke in a few years. 

Haa! Hahaha! Ah Jeff, you always make my day el o el ecs d

People may find it unusual to voice LOL, let alone XD.

As for spoken conversation, that is.

Since when was the last time Roy typed on his smartphone?

“Okay, I’ll text you the details later, bye bye”

After he hung up the phone, Roy walked past Tony’s desk to get lunch.

A fresh odor of mint and lemons followed his lead.

“......bought a new suit?”

“you noticed! Keen eyes! Just what I’d expect from you!”

Aiming at the timing Roy left the office, Leo came skipping down to Tony’s desk to drag him down to lunch.

“...... Do me a favor” Tony requested before being apprehended. “Look up Roy’s business schedules”

As it turns out he was having a business trip on  March 17th - March 19th, and was scheduled to a conference at the client’s office on Thursday.

The records also showed that he had a meeting at another branch.

People’s chatter and silverwares’ clinking did not give Tony further headache.

He was absorbed into his thoughts about one disturbing possibility.

Is Cathy…… I mean it explains how she mistyped ‘new’ with 'knew’……. Happens a lot.

“Y’all right, partner?”

“How you figured out…...”

“My, my! Someone’s talkin’ today!”

“Your wife’s cheating”

Bar, Every Friday Night

Last year, Leo caught his wife cheating.

He had suspicion towards his wife’s attitude and decided to put hidden cameras and voice recorders around the house.

The result was as expected. She was having an affair with a younger male while the man was out of the house. 

“Ain’t had sex, heck, nor ate together for years! But that’s pretty normal right? She started given’ me evil eyes and ask for more money! The slut won’t do anything round the house! The bedroom got messier with stuff I never saw, and damn! What’s with that classy outfit! I first thought she became a prostitute or somethin’ “

At some point, Leo noticed she was making the same coquettish eyes before they got engaged when she was on her phone. 

“She’d keep on smirkin’ ’n blushin’ so I thought this ain’t right. So I started recordin’ stuff secretly. And wa-la! She’s there, humpin’ like a horse!”

“Tellin’ you again man, if she’s actin’ weird, better look out. You don’t know what chicks’re up to”

Every Friday night after the incident, Leo warns Tony of wives’ affairs.

Tony never showed interest in it. He had unconditional trust towards his wife and had no doubts that she had as much love as he had.

Why am I even here listening to him anyway? I think I should be less compliant to others.

Now, unnerving thoughts haunted him to think maybe, maybe he has been blind.

So what? You told yourself even if Ashley is loving another man, I’d feel happy. I promised her I’d be happy if she’s happy. What am I concerned about?

But then, there was the inner devil who would taunt him to seek the truth. 

This is not about love, it’s curiosity. It kills it. Witness the truth, and embrace it. With this I could purely love her.

City, 7:00 p.m., March 17th

Crowds of office workers rush home to welcome the next day. Pedestrians race towards the nearest stations to be accommodated, and cars yell at each other urging to move faster. Although it was March, chilly winds remain willing to blow the jackets off of shivering night walkers.

Tony trembled through the waves of people not because of the 10 degrees celsius but from what he saw with his eyes. He secretly followed his boss after work, only to find out the destination was his own house.

As Roy parked in front of Tony’s house, Ashley came out and boarded Roy's car.

Instead of further pursuit, he parked his car at a nearby parking lot. 

Devastation hit him hard enough to lose his will to investigate. There was no curiosity anymore, fear dominated him as he imagined what more disturbing piece of intelligence he may encounter.

Shuddering and weeping in his car, Tony wished he never had any doubts.

Everything would have stayed normal, if I hadn’t known.

Parking Lot, 7:30 p.m.

Tony dialed through the car radio to get his mind off and forget the day.   

However, it made him more miserable as the news was predominantly of economic crisis and killing sprees. He finally found a music channel but it rubbed more salt to his wounded heart as it aired his wife’s favorite song, Wonderful World.

It was until a homeless man tapped his window when he stopped running his tears.

“Are you alright mister?”

Tony shook his head.

“You wanna talk about it?”

He shook his head again.

“Here, have a can of coffee, it’ll cheers you up”

This lit his feelings up a little.

“It’ll be $5”

But then again, he was betrayed.

“......Go away, I’m not giving you money”

“Shoot, what am I supposed to do with this expired coffee. Whatever, I’ve got better things to sell you”

He took out a golden ring.

“This ring is not only made of gold, as you can see, it’s got a 30-carat diamond attached to it. I will offer an outstanding price of, let's see…… 5000 bucks!”

Tony took a quick glance at the ring. He noticed it was a fake diamond made of plastic. 

“Okay, maybe the diamond is not 30-carat, but the gold is real! 500 bucks!”

Tony suspected that as well. He anticipated that under the fingers holding the ring, the golden coating have worn off revealing its copper inside.

“You got me, mister! The thing is worthless, but please! I need something to eat tonight or I’ll starve to death!”

You have a coffee, why not that?

He gave him $30 anyways if it would make the homeless leave him alone.

But as soon as he received the ring, he noticed it was awfully familiar.

I’ve seen this ring before…… I think it was at an office party a few years ago…… Tony observed the ring for a while and noticed a carving.

Leo to Marianne. 

This…… this ring belongs to Leo’s wife. Why did it end up in this man’s pocket? 

“Where did you get this?”

“To assure, I did not steal---"

“Where, did you get this?”

Tony’s mind was racing. 

He believed the odds are that Tony’s wife got broke after leaving her husband. Probably, her lover did not accept her as wife and the wife was on her own with nobody to feed her. So, she might have sold her ring, which somehow ended up in the hands of a street dweller. But his instinct tells him there might be another scenario.

“I found this ring on a lady’s corpse. It was right after I lost my house. I had no hope for the future, so I decided to find a good place to hang myself. So, I wandered around the forest but gee-wiz! Will you look at that! A woman stabbed to death lying on the ground. She still had her things on so I took it, and here I am selling one of it to you”

Leo’s wife was murdered? By who? The lover? A random street killer? Or……

 Tony had a feeling, there was more to the story.

Library, 10:00 a.m.

The smell of roasted coffee filled the air of silence.

All that could be heard is the sound of paper fluttering as it fights air resistance and an occasional coughing by an elder.

Tony found himself in a library the day after witnessing the depressing scenery.

He told Roy he will be coming to work late due to a temporal headache, which Roy showed no doubt. 

Tony was looking through past newspaper articles to obtain whatever information he could find. He realized how much he was missing out about the world. He never paid any attention to how many people’s lives have been affected by the recent economic devastation and the rise in crime rates. He was especially surprised that many of the victims in the recent series of murders were not far from where he lived. 

killed…… had multiple stab wounds…… a man…… no…… multiple stab wounds…… child ……

As he flipped through the pages, he came to an article that read ‘Women Found Dead in the Woods’. 

‘Women Found Dead in Madison Ville Forest (Oct.17)’

This is it. It must be her about death.

‘On October 17th, a woman’s body was found by a hiker in the woods near Madison Ville. Police investigation have found that the body belongs to 30 year-old Marianne McNeil, a housewife who lives in Rockshire, Massachusetts 30km east from where she was found. 30 stab wounds were found on her body; however, the cause of death was suffocation. The police reported that the body’s discovery was a day after her death---

‘Husband Convicted of Murder (Oct.18)’

‘Marianne McNeil a 30 year-old housewife was found dead in the forest near Madison Ville yesterday October 17th. The police convicted her husband Leo McNeil in suspect of murder. Witnesses report that he was seen leaving his house on a car at the time around the murder. Neighbors say they just had their fifth anniversary and were seen frequently together at cafes and restaurants. The police are currently investigating the incentives behind the murder, however evidence on the site implies there may have been at least two people involved in Marianne McNeil’s murder. The suspect is pleading not guilty.’

The moment Tony read the article, it all dawned on him.

October 17th…… since when did Leo started to became so obnoxious? I’ve always thought he was just heartbroken after his wife’s cheating but wasn’t it around this time when Roy started to show hostility?

Images began to conjure. More wide, broad images than he would ever see from his eyes.

The cold eyes co-workers beamed on Leo. It was not just Roy, everyone but Tony despised him.

‘…… (Oct. 30) ………… Leo McNeil …… dropped of all cases against him ……no sign of evidence found indicating his murder……nothing was found in his house…… police continue to investigate the case as potentially a part of the recent series of killing……’

Traffic, 11:30 p.m.

The red light gleamed like a psycho-maniac’s eye.

It was thirty minutes before noon and Tony wanted to arrive at the office by lunch.

Contrary to his expectation, the traffic was jammed but it did not bother him too much.

He used the time of void to organize his mind.

October 17th…… probably my wife had been acting strange by that time…… I remember it was before October last year that Cathy first appeared in our conversation…… but for sure she acquainted her before. October 17th…… Leo has been saying over and over, he and his wife hadn’t been going out well, which is why she cheated, but his neighbors say otherwise. And October 17th…… around here everyone ostracized Leo…… everyone but me………… am I getting somewhere?

The light changed to a relieving green. Just to shifted back red so soon.

Nothing…… I don’t get it. I don’t get it!

Frustration piled up.

He could feel blood rushing to the top of his head, then free fall down to his feet. His face changed red to blue, blue to red, as he kept thinking.

He knows his instinct is alerting something; a shrieking beep. But he had no idea why.

Why am I thinking this anyway? Leo was giving false information for some reason, which is why he lost trust, and soon he became an outcast, and having nobody to talk to, he came to me because I don’t give a SHIT about stuff around me. And now that I’ve been taken advantage by my ‘friend’, my wife, and my boss, I’m going nuts!

That was just all of it, there is nothing more to the story other than he was betrayed by the only people in his world. Tony wanted to just acknowledge this and move on; but something told him to hold on.

Tony rolled down his car window to take a refreshing breathe.

Though it was March, the air was cool enough to pierced his throat.

After a few coughs, Tony caught sight of a homeless man fishing through a garbage can.

That man also had rough times, he lost everything and almost end it all. But look at him, living tough. Guess I can’t live like this for long……

It was a moment before the red turned green when Tony had a glimpse of what the homeless was spreading. The man was examining two clothes drenched in red: a men’s business shirt and a lady’s blouse. Both seemed awkwardly familiar.

“Hello? Tony? Never expected a call from you in this hour, is anything alright?”

“……Nothing, just wondering if you were okay”

If that wasn’t my wife’s blood, then whose is it?

Office, 11:45 a.m.

11:45 a.m. Tony inserted his time card to the machine.

As he expected, he heard footsteps coming towards him.

“Hi-ya, buddy! Thought you’d never come! Ready to have lunch?”

Leo came prancing as usual.

It was 15 minutes before lunch hour but it did not matter since nobody gave him any work. He would always stare at his fingernails or twist his pen waiting for the company to find a justification to fire him eventually. The possible dismissal of the labor union might be one reason Leo is currently detested.

Tony wanted to feel bad but first he wanted answers.

He made the face Sure, why not?

Steakhouse, 12:10 p.m.

“Is this the last supper or what!? Ha! Never thought you’d invite me anywhere!”

Leo’s knife struck across the muscles of a beef. Greasy oil spewed out fresh like a water fountain.

It was the first time Tony took lunch with Leo outside the office facility.

He especially chose a steakhouse a mile away from the building. He did not want any possible distraction, which included any of the co-workers.

The setting is perfect, and the lunch…… well I thought I ordered well-done, but I have blood on my knife. Anyways, how should I break it out……

“Y’all right? You’re staring at the beef like a butcher, ha ha! Speaking of which, you wanted to ask me ‘bout my wife’s death?”

This took Tony by surprise.

He did not mention anything about Marianne’s death, nor did he even spoke a word to him all noon. Even when going to the restaurant he showed his smartphone and pointed to the direction. But probably that was enough information for Leo.

“Now where should I start…… okay for starters, my wife did die. And yes, I was actually in good terms with her until the day came. I didn’t mean to fool you or anything, but please understand that I did this all for my good friend”

He took one strong glance at Tony and made a merciful grin.

Tony had never seen him in such serious tone

“You see, in some respect, I did kill my wife. Well, to be accurate, I happen to allow my wife to be killed. Few weeks before my wife’s death, a strange email by the name of detective Catherine Rogers was sent to me with photos of my wife going out with another male. She even sent me text messages revealing that Marianne was having sex with another male. By the way, this Catherine lady got the text message disguised as a ‘trustable friend’. As you might’ve expected by now, the guy’s our boss, Roy. And Roy must’ve noticed that which is why at some point since he started telling me to break up, and threatened there would be casualties if I didn’t. Though I had enough proof to lose trust towards my wife, I believed one day she would come back to me”

He took a brief stare at the restaurant chandelier.

Tears were held back on to the bottom of his eye lid as if hanging on to a steep cliff.

“Some days after our fifth anniversary, my wife confessed that she had been cheating on me, but she wanted to come clean. The moment I was glad. Glad I waited for her to bring the love back where it belongs. The next day, it happened. I found my wife lying on the ground, stabbed all over. And I knew who did it. He told me I was next if I don’t keep my mouth shut. But if I didn’t tell anyone about the real culprit, I knew I was going to be the one caught. I mean it doesn’t take a detective to assume I killed my wife for cheating. Well, I could purposely go to jail, if it means not getting killed. Getting anal raped by dropping a soap is better than death. I can’t die, nor get jailed…… not until I have that bastard sent to hell before my eyes!”

As he said it, hells fire blast deep within Leo’s pupils.

His fork penetrated the sliced piece of meat. Cold fat gushed out between the metal spikes but soon sucked within where it came from.

“He wants me out of the building. He wants me seen delusional! And that pesky son of a bitch!...... he took it all…… now I have nothing but you……but it is a matter of time before your wife is next victim”

Leo took a deep breath calming down the tensions, turning his red-hot chili pepper face into a cool breeze paprika.

With a determined voice he said,

“Save your wife from Roy. Avenge me”

Office Entrance, 6:30 p.m.

“Yo, you forgot your phone”

A moment before Tony was about to leave the office building, Leo caught up to deliver Tony’s phone. With it was a piece of paper with a phone number attached to it.

“Just in case for emergence. Try callin’ it”

As Tony pushed the send call button after puncturing the numbers, a familiar soundtrack played out of nowhere.

‘What a wonderful world’

“What. After all, I still think the world is a wonderful y’ know. Well, good luck, bud”

Louis Armstrong’s was one of the last voices he wanted to hear.

It hurt to hear the music which played at every wedding anniversary with his wife.

Especially when the day itself was their 7th anniversary.

Ashley have spent 2 nights with her new best friend ‘Cathy’ and should now be heading home to have a dinner with Tony.

That is if she still has feelings for me…… what if she called. Saying she couldn’t make it. Or worse……

Right when depressing thoughts arose, it rang.

Ashley Butcher

Tony’s heart stopped.

Speaking of the devil…… I hope she’s still my angel…

Highway, 6:45 p.m.

Adrenaline, Dopamine, and Beta Endorphin.

All raced through the highways of his blood vessels.

Tony kicked into the gas pedal with his eyes tracking every one of the cars within 500 -meter radius.

He was driving over maximum speed of the expressway but at this point, he had no sense of legal obligations.

I might kill somebody tonight…… heck would I care! I need to get to the bottom of this!

“Hmm, why would the power go out in this timing?”

“Roy, can you go see the circuit breaker?”

Roy left the room.

Dark silence covered the room.

Tony hoped in a moment or two, Cathy would crack a joke and dissolve this awkwardness.

But instead he heard a man scream.

“Wait here! I’ll go look”

He heard the entrance door flung open.

Trails of blood lead towards the outside.

Tony rushed out, just to see Roy bleeding from his stomach lying unconsciously.

In a near distance but within the hardly visible darkness, he thought he saw a moving shadow along with hurrying footsteps.

“Ashley! Cathy! Over here! Help him out!”

Tony decided to leave Roy with the ladies and chase the suspicious figure.

On his left hand was his phone to call the police and on his right was a loaded Colt Python .357 magnum.

Down the Cliff, 7:20 p.m.

Tony found himself in a forest, down a light cliff.

Except for some scratches, there were no serious wounds, but he had dropped his phone somewhere.

It was new moon.

Barely any light was present to help.

Not even a rustling sound of winds were to be heard.

Tony was too focused on chasing the shadow that he had forgotten the landscape around his boss’s house. It was in the middle of a small mountain covered in deep woods.

Tony was surprise to have no wounds despite that he stumbled over a guard rail and fell 3 feet down head first and rolled down a cliff.

Miracles continued as after 5 minutes of crawling around, his hand struck a flat hand-sized tablet.

Unfortunately, the battery cover of his smartphone was severely damaged on the screen was cracked. Otherwise, it seemed fine.

Thank god the Lithium battery was still in. Three miracles in a row!

He pulled out the battery to see if there were no damage to it.

But then, he noticed a peculiar piece of device stuck to the battery outlet.

He knew it for sure. As a major of mechanical engineer, he realized what it was the moment he saw it.

GPS microchip…… but why?

It puzzled him for a moment, but soon he figured it out.

He turned his phone on and was relieved to see there was mobile connection.

The number should be here somewhere…… there it is!

He called the recently saved phone number, and within a few seconds.

‘What a wonderful world’

“So, y’ got me.”

A voice rained from above.

Tony turned on the phone flashlight, just to see Leo at the top of cliff staring down at him.

Goosebumps erected in the back of Tony’s skin just to think he may have probably been there the whole time, even while he was pointing a gun at Roy.

“Well, if you were smart enough you’d’ve gotten me earlier. I’m actually not a good liar.”

Tony reached for his gun.

But with an explosive sound, he lost all his grip and felt nothing but pain to his arm.

“Not so fast cowboy. I’ve got a plenty of things to put you to sleep if I wish. Oh, I love this sense of dominance and superiority! Just like the time I watched my wife die before my eyes! But boo hoo, I lost this game anyways. I caused too much suspicion and that homeless guy’s gonna be snitchin’ anytime soon. Yep, he’s working for me. He’ll do anything if I pay him, heck he’d even kill people.”

The moment Tony heard it, he felt smell of blood arose from the golden ring in his pocket.

“I look pretty stupid but yo, I did all the math. I calculated how to make you delusional, doubt things, make actions, and it all went surprisingly well. You see, my plan was to have you kill Roy at the house party, and after that, Cathy walks in, sees the murder, call the police and you’re taken into custody. But she came 10 minutes faster than I expected.”

“……”

“So, you might be wondering why I’m doing this. Well, first of all, you’re fricking pathetic. But more importantly, I knew Ashley belonged to me. Do you remember the office party a few years ago? Sure, you do. You recognized my wife’s ring. I remember it like a week ago. It was true love at first sight. And you know what? She smiled at me. She likes me. Like love me from soul. From that they on, I always thought of her, and despised everyone who made me and my love miserable. She might’ve been really heartbroken when she knew I was married.”

“……”

“So, I got rid of the burden. I thought now that I could show that I’m free, she’d be running towards me singing the lyrics of love. Then I noticed that she was kept in captivity by an idiot captor and a pesky prison guard. Yeah, that Roy shit always got in my way whenever I approached her. Oh yeah, you don’t know. Apparently, Roy and my sweet dove was keeping it all a secret to you, god knows why. I could’ve used the hobo as a hitman to just kill both of you but that’ll be just risky, I mean he’d get caught and he’d probably snitch.”

“……”

“So, I planned a scheme where I could just fill you with a mindset to start doubting your wife. Ashley, really cute, she’d show some awkward things. You become skeptic; I fill you with more hints. You become delusional; I give you more clues. And finally, I divert all your frustration towards Roy, and you kill him and all’s matter gone. My sweet honey would have nothing to worry any more, and we’d’ve been having a honeymoon at Venice by tomorrow night. But again, Cathy just had to come in ten minutes early.”

Clicking sounds echoed above the cliff.

Tony realized Leo was loading his gun.

He immediately turned off his phone’s flashlight but Leo simply turned his on.

“Now you got the answers. Hope you liked it. The cops’ll be arriving soon. But you’re coming with me.”

Leo gun pointed straight towards Tony’s head.

Well…… at least I wasn’t betrayed by people who really matters.

But before a bullet penetrated Tony’s forehead, he heard Leo scream in agony.

Drops of red showered from above. Meat ripped, and bones cracked.

Leo’s flashlight had already been down on the ground. Tony could not see what was going on above.

Tony could have climbed up to see. But he mood suggested otherwise.

Within few minutes.

Once again, dead silence filled the moonless night.