Many Things To Handle

The next day, we spend the whole day in my apartment. Jennifer sleeps almost all the time, though very often she suddenly wakes up with screams and jolts. Her assistant brings me files of her previous cases, 37 cases to be exact. I read those files on my bed, calm Jennifer down once in a while.

I make preliminary assumption that whoever called me that night is the defendant himself. I said preliminary because in my mind I take a note to take out that assumption when I found no one from my first strategy. So I quickly separate the files into two categories: suspect and not.

First, I put all female defendants into the latter categories. I read the file of all male defendants to get to know their profiles and cases, thus I can calculate the probability of them being suspect.

Based on the voice, I'm looking for a 30-40 years old caucasian male. He hid his accent quite well, but he skipped one or twice a thick accent, Central, perhaps east Central. Also, the case he was charged must be big. Killing a person must need to have a big motive. Maybe she destroyed his business, or maybe his family.

"Can it be Belladrick ?" Jennifer whispers while sneaking her arms in my armpit and rest her head on my shoulder, "He hired an assassin before. Maybe he is still enraged and wants to payback."

"Can be" I utter to her, kiss her forehead. I only said it to please her. It can't be Belladrick. He is almost 60 years old and his accent doesn't match.

"That Braxton. He killed his lover, his gay lover who worked as his wife's assisstant. His wife was the initial defendant. We found out the truth in court. His wife was so devastating when she found it out, she filed a divorce after he was convicted. She won their children's custody. Basically, he is destroyed," Jennifer tell me about the man on the file I hold, then she yawns. I put the Braxton's file on the Suspect pile.

"You better have some rest again," I say to her.

"I sleep too much already," she denies before lets out another yawn, "Why I keep on being sleepy ?"

"You are stress and tired. It's your body mechanism to protect you," I say, shift our bodies gently into sleep position. I reach her back and pull her closer to me. "Sleep," I order her, repeatitively circling my hand on her back.

"I love you doing that to me," she murmurs, snuggles her head to find the best position on my chest.

"I know," I whisper to her. I can feel her smile on my chest. When she is asleep, I gently let my self go from her and get back reading those files.

-------

I finally manage to sort the files and have 13 suspects. So I call the prisons where they are now. On phone, I pretend to be their lawyers. I don't need to speak long with them. They only need to speak a few words to me to be able to decide whether is him or not. Unfortunately, none of their voices is match with the caller's voice.

Maybe the caller is someone closes to the defendant, their husbands, or brother, or child. I sigh and start to take all files from Not category and read about their families and connections. I change my method. Now I immediately call when I find ones who is suspicious.

I only go to bed after midnight. Jennifer is awaken when I crawl in. "Manage to find him ?" she asks with her cute sleepy voice.

I kiss her forehead. "Not yet," I tell her the truth. None of ones I called has even the similar voice with the caller. She sighs. "Don't worry, I will find him," I promise her.

"How can you be sure it's not one of them ?" she asks.

"I just knew.." I can't tell her what I knew.

"But.."

I kiss her lips to cut her words, sucks the air in her lung. "Trust me on this," I request her. She nods with teary eyes. Then I kiss her again which she responds with much passion.

-------

"Aah!!" A short scream wakes me up. Even before I open my eyes, I immediately uncover my blanket and embrace her.

"It's okay. I'm here. It's just a nightmare," I whisper to her ear while doing a gesture that she loves to calm her.

"This time he bombs this apartment," she says with sob.

"No, he won't be able to do that," I calm her. She cries on my chest.

After a while she stops crying. "Thank you," she whispers.

"Are you feeling stronger now ?" I ask her, glancing at alarm clock on my bed corner.

9.35 AM.

"Uh hu. I have so much sleep, I feel better now," she says then a loud groan comes from her stomach. I chuckle.

"Why don't you take a shower while I make you breakfast," I tell her. She kisses me. "Alright," she agrees.

After breakfast, I tell her to change with my shirt and try to make it into a mini dress with the help of tutorial video.

"Where are we going ?" she asks when she finally comes out of the bedroom.

"Shopping," I say to her in short while my eyes are adoring her look. She looks super cute and beautiful, even without any make up.

"Shopping ?"

"All your stuffs are burned and I don't have any woman clothe here."

"Yes, that's exactly. I don't have any cards or cash to pay.."

"I have some cash," I say to her casually. My wallet and phone are also burned by the bomb. But I have cash. Well, a lot of them, since I always receive payment in cash to avoid digital track.

"You can borrow it first. After you get your new card you can pay it to me," I add.

"Okay," she says in doubt. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," I say to her. The door bell rings. She jolts and reflexively hides behind me. "Relax," I say to her.

With her behind me, I walk to approach the door and peek through the door hole. "It's the guys that will repair my windows," I tell her.

"Repair your windows ?" she repeats my words in confused. I just nod not saying more words. I decide to change the glasses of my windows with bulletproof ones, to make my apartment a safer place.

I take her to a shopping center after that. Since she is barefoot, we first find her some footwears. Then we spend half of the day to buy clothes, underwears, and cosmetics. As wearing a set of new clothes, flat shoes, and make up, I can feel her becoming more confident and brave. She is now brave enough to walk alone in to a gadget store while I am taking a call from Thief. Shopping really is a good therapy for woman.

"I'm telling you, you have too many things to handle. You should just tell her about the calling and let her handle it..."

"And what should I tell her why the caller called me ?" I rebuke Thief.

"Or you can just leave her alone. She knows now she is in danger. She will find help. You don't need to babysit her."

"I was there when the bomb exploded, okay.. You weren't there to see her condition. I couldn't just leave.."

"You're in love with her," Thief cuts me.

I'm stunned for a second before I hiss to her. "I am not!" I sigh. "Please.. just tell me what you found out," I deliberatedly change the topic.

"The phone belongs to Rocky Johnson. It is still inactive now so I can't tell you where he is. I will tell you the moment it is active," Thief says.

"Are you sure he is the one ?"

"Of course. From those three black vans, only a van went to the port and that van was rented by this Johnson."

"Okay," I utter. "And Thief.. Thank you," I say to her sincerely.

"Be careful, okay," she says before ends our conversation.

---------

[Johnson's phone is active. He is moving. I'll send you a link to track his GPS]

A message from Thief comes when Jennifer and I just finished our dinner at home. She is now in my kitchen cleaning the dishes and kitchenwares. I approach her and embrace her from behind. She jolts a little bit.

"You scared me," She says in protest.

"Sorry, I don't mean to," I say, putting my chin on her shoulder, watching her dries the last kitchenware. "How is your feeling today ?" I ask.

"Much better, " she answers, turning her head to me then kisses me, "Thanks to you."

I return her kiss. "Are you tired ?" I ask.

"A little," she answers, replying my kiss while snaking her arms around my neck. I lift her and carry her to my bed. Our lips and tongues are busy nibling and twining.

I lay her on my bed and release our kiss. Her sight utter a protest. "Sleep or sex ?" I ask. I don't want to force her, especially in her current circumstance.

"Sex," she whispers before pulls my head closer to her and kisses me again.

An hour later, I bring her a glass of water and another "contraception" pill. She half-awakenly is taking the pill without asking.

"Sorry," I say inwardly while kissing her forehead. She is already soundly asleep like baby. I hate to force her fall to sleep like this, but this is the only way to keep her being safe mentally while I"m not around. I need to do other obligation.

-------

I check the GPS tracker again when I arrive at one of red districts in this city. Johnson is in a building that offer a one stop entertainment. It means you can get drunk, high, and layed at once here.

I force to open the door of a private room. Two employees try to forbid me but they immediately back dow to see my Jonatham Lee fake ID. "Rocky Johnson!" I call the name with a loud voice.

A guy who was busy with two girls suddenly stops what he is doing. "Who are you ?" he asks.

I march to him, glancing what are on the table. Some white dust, tiny scrapper and straw, and, what important is, a big pack of white powder, around 500 gram.

I grab that pack then pin Johnson so he can't move. My knees beside his waist on top of his hands. I pull his head to back so he can only stare at ceiling. The two girls quickly run out of the room.

"What do you want ?" He asks in pain.

"I want the name and contact of person who order you to steal weapons at the port almost a week ago," I answer him straightforwardly.

He spits at me. "Not a chance."

"I know you have used few of this already," I say to him, lifting the white powder pack. "It's a good stuff, isn't it ? I can tell by only looking at its color and texture. But you used it too little."

I smother his mouth tight so he can't breathe from it. Then slowly I pour the white powder into his nose holes. He blows his nose hard to blow it away.

"You do know that the harder you exhale the harder you inhale, right ?" I ask him. His eyes are in terror watching me constantly pouring the powder into his nose.

Quickly, I have poured almost half of the pack. He inhales it a lot, like it or not. If I pour it all, he will be OD to have that much of heroin in his body. He knows that. He tries to say something.

"You wanna talk ?" I ask. He nods. I open my hand to give him a chance to talk.

"Yvette. That's the name she told me. Her contact is in my phone. Please.." he says with tears in his eyes.

"Phone ?" I ask. He gropes his pocket and gives it to me.

I release him while searching for an Yvette in his contact. When I find it, I sit next to Johnson and call her. Johnson is laying on the couch with blank sight staring at the ceiling. The heroin starts working.

"Hello ?" A woman voice is heard. "Johnson, I told you not to contact me again." Her voice. I've heard it before. Suddenly my mind brings me to a memory where i was in a small chamber and the same voice is heard, "Forgive me, Father, for I have sins."