Chasing Trouble (Part 3)

For now, Matthew would have to know first what was going on. Because aside from the pinboard, the four rolling whiteboards were filled with writings in black, blue, and red that Matthew could not understand. One would mistake that those are mathematical or science formulas but Matthew was certain that it was not.

Those were Olivia's handwriting whenever she was writing too fast. It was like she was just taking notes when something popped up in her brain or she heard something and then she quickly wrote it down in a way that only Olivia could understand.

When Matthew turned to look at Olivia, he found her standing in front of the pinboard, looking at him with an excited grin on her face. "I found out that Talon Bonneville committed suicide because his conscience could not take it anymore. It turns out, for years, he molested his three sons! Sons, Matt! Could you imagine how sick this man was?" Olivia talked so fast that she ran out of breath at her last sentence.

Matthew walked towards her. He was looking alternately at the board behind her where he could see pictures of different men. "Yeah…that's…that's insane. But what does it have to do with these people?" He asked, then he looked at her.

Olivia stood beside Matthew and faced the pinboard. "Well, they were the same cases," She said, waving her hand at the pinboard.

Matthew looked at her with uncertainty on his face. "You mean they all molested their sons and then committed suicide later on?" He asked in a low voice.

Olivia's eyes went wide and vigorously shook her head. "No! I mean…look at this," She said, and then she walked closer to the pinboard. She pointed her finger at a picture. It was a stolen photo of a man who has salt and pepper hair though he doesn't look that old. He was looking in the direction of the camera but not at the camera specifically. He was standing outside a house as if he was waiting for something or someone.

Olivia continued, "He was reportedly beating his wife and children for years. Then suddenly he vanished and was never seen again. Later on, his body was dug in a construction site. The cause of death…he was beaten to death,"

"Okay," Matthew looked at the photo and then at Olivia still with a dumbfounded look on his face.

As if Olivia was high on something, she continued talking and pointing at the pictures. "Then this one, he was a leader of a small human trafficking ring. He was caught by the police but said to have escaped and since then, he was never found. After one year, he was found hanging by the ceiling in his previous cell where he was detained. He was already dead,"

Then Olivia walked towards the other side of the pinboard and pointed at a mugshot of a man. "This one was a serial rapist six or seven years ago. He went missing for a couple of months then later own, his dead body was found in a small boat floating in the harbor,"

When Olivia looked back at Matthew, he still looked as if she was speaking a different language. "Uhm…I still don't get the connection," Matthew said which made Olivia look at him with frustration.

"Matt! This, this, and this!" Olivia cried as she pointed her finger at each of the pictures of a man that was pinned on the board. Then she looked back at Matthew and said, "They were all either child molesters, rapists, or human traffickers! They went missing and then after months, they were found dead," She cried while waving her hand in the air.

To convince Matthew further. Olivia pointed a finger at one specific man. He looked to be in his late thirties. He has long hair that was tied in a bun. He also seemed tall and lean. "This is Franklin Amudsen. According to reports, he raped his neighbor's daughter and then killed her parents. But for some reason, he managed to bail out. Now he is missing,"

Matthew looked back and forth to Olivia and then at the picture where her finger was still pointing at. "Maybe he was just running from the charges against him? I heard those bail bondsmen were relentless," He said.

Olivia shook her head. "No. I think he didn't. He was still at his address for a few weeks when he was released before he went missing and there were no signs of him leaving his house or anyone getting in,"

"Uhm…maybe he is dead?" Matthew said and in an instant, Olivia was beside him and backhanded his arm. "Matt!"

Matthew looked at her with pain in his eyes although he didn't really mind the pain at all. If there was anyone who could bestow him any kind of pain, it would only be Olivia and he wouldn't mind. "Babe! I don't know what you are trying to point out. Can you just be straight to the point?"

Olivia sighed heavily. Then she looked straight into Matthew's eyes and said, "I think there is a vigilante out there,"

Matthew stared at her for a couple of seconds before he shook his head and said, "Stop watching that series, babe. It is already messing up with your head," He was talking about the series that Olivia was currently watching about two cops who wear masks and use different identities to fight off criminals.

Olivia glared at him. "I am not! My instinct tells me that I am right about this. There is a vigilante out there that is targeting rapists, molesters, women and child beaters, and human traffickers. They are kidnapping them and then…maybe they torture them for weeks or months before they kill them,"

When Matthew noticed that Olivia was starting to get worked up, he walked in front of her blocking the pinboard from her sight. He placed his hands on her shoulders and calmly said, "Babe, if you are right, why would that vigilante wait for months before they killed those criminals? He or she could have just shot them in the head on the spot,"

Olivia shrugs her shoulders but not enough to remove Matthew's hands. "I don't know. But I will find that out," She said, pursing her lips.

Matthew narrowed his eyes at her because he doesn't have a good feeling about what she said, "Uhm…what do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I am going to find that vigilante," As soon as Olivia said that, Matthew's eyes darken. "Did your chief tell you so?" He asked.

Olivia looked at Matthew and in a defeated tone, she answered, "No,"

"Then don't! You are just putting yourself in danger," Matthew said in a firm tone as if telling her that she cannot argue about that.

"But Matt–"

Matthew removed his hands from Olivia's shoulders and cut her off. "Babe! Your job is dangerous enough. Why do you have to put yourself into unnecessary danger?" He asked.

Since Olivia was covering stories about cases that involved dangerous people, her life was in constant danger because if she happened to mess up with the wrong people, she might end up dead because of the stories she was writing.

But Olivia doesn't seem to mind. She was always brave to face and uncover the truth. Even if it puts her life in danger.

Even though Matthew doesn't like what she was doing, he loves her enough to tolerate her. And because he loves her too much, he would go to any lengths to protect her and make sure that none of those dangerous people that she exposed in the past would come after her.

They would have to face him before they could even touch even the tip of Olivia's finger.

But if it was Olivia who was unnecessarily putting herself in danger even if her job doesn't ask her to, then it was a different case. Matthew could not take that easily.

"That is why I have decided to take self-defense classes with you from now on," But it looks like Olivia could not be easily persuaded to stop whatever it is that she was planning.

"Those self-defenses were supposed to protect you when you are in trouble, not a reason for you to deliberately put yourself into trouble," Matthew said in a frustrated tone.

Olivia frowned. "Okay, fine! If you don't want to teach me. I'll have Meg teach me," She said and walked away from Matthew towards the window.

"What?"

"Well, she offered," Olivia pursed her lips. She turned her back on Matthew and looked at the view of the city in her window with her arms crossed.

Matthew let out a heavy breath then his face softened as he watched Olivia's back. He walked to her and placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her around. Once she was facing him, he said, "Babe, not that I don't want to. I am just worried about you. I do not know what I would do if something bad happens to you. I can't…I could not even imagine it," He reached his hand to cup her face.

Olivia instantly leaned to his touch. Then she placed her hand on top of Matthew's hand that was on her face. "Matt…I promise you that I will only investigate. If I think that I have stepped into dangerous grounds, I will immediately notify you. I promise," She said in a soft tone.

Matthew groaned then he pulled her into an embrace. In his thoughts, he will not wait until Olivia calls him or notify him because he will always have eyes watching over her. He will be there in an instant before danger befalls her. "Why do you even want to do this?" He asked in a strained voice.

Olivia wrapped her arms around Matthew's waist and sighed. "I don't know. It's just…It's me…" She said. Olivia knows that not everyone likes her personality especially when she starts to become inquisitive.

Her inquisitiveness always gets on people's nerves and people would start hating her after that even when they showed that they liked her at the beginning. She is living proof that first impressions never always last.

But as much as she wanted to change that about her, she can't. It was in her nature. It was part of being her. And she is lucky that there were people who stayed beside her, liked her the way she was, and would never want her to change.

On top of the list of those few people was Matthew.

"You know," Matthew spoke as he stroked Olivia's head. "I love every part of you. Every flaw, every perfection. But sometimes it gets frustrating," He said, though he doesn't sound frustrated or mad at all.

Olivia chuckled and looked up to see his face. "But you still love me, right?" She said while also giving Matthew her best puppy eyes.

Matthew smiled. "Hopelessly and irrevocably," He replied.

Satisfied with his answer, Olivia hugged him again. "Matt, if I am right about this…I think this will give me the promotion that I have been waiting for," She said.

"Urgh…can't you just become a full-time model?" Matthew groaned and then hugged her even more tightly. Even though he always voices his dislike about Olivia's job, he always supports her no matter what.

"Would you rather see me pose in the magazine and walk the runway almost naked?" Olivia asked in a teasing tone. She knows that Matthew hated it but he still supports her. Even though he hates seeing her on the runway wearing a bikini, he was always present in her shows. Even though he hates seeing her in an intimate pose with another man in a magazine, he would still buy that magazine.

At her question, Matthew paled and his back stiffened. Then he pulled away and looked at her with a huge grin on his face. "How about you become my all-around personal assistant?" He asked but Olivia just laughed at him in response.