Heads or Tails (ManxMan) [Undergoing Major Editing]

Chapter 15

Zion Sullivon

We visited the slums near Tulip Moors Street. Houses were lined one after the other. The place was really dingy.

We passed several houses with broken windows, crooked doors, plaster wearing off from the walls. The place was surrounded by an air of desolation. Rarely, any life form could be spotted. I mean no birds, stray dogs or even stray cats, nothing!

After passing a few more houses we finally reached Edward's house. Hera knocked at the door. A woman opened it slightly.

"Who are you?", she asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Rosa Bennet. We have actually come from an organization. We record some datas on remotely habited places, such as this one and try to improve the living conditions of families residing here. ",  Hera said. Damn she's good!

The lady hesitated a bit but soon opened the door and let us in. The house was cramped and there wasn't even much space for all of us. Silas agreed to wait outside and keep a watch.

She insisted us to take a seat on her couch. It seemed like it would break within a minute if both of us sat on it, so I preferred to stand, instead.

Teressa, sat on the floor, next to Hera.

"So, Ms Duncan. We have been running a few checks on this area as you are aware of. We have a few names registered in our records. One of them is your brother. We have certainly taken into notice the sudden disappearance of your brother."

Listening to this her face paled. "What?How do you know?!", she asked aggravated.

"As I have mentioned your brother's name was registered in our database. Seems like he was associated with a medical company Sunset Medicines."

"THEY...Those monsters....they ruined us....", she said.

"Could you please elaborate?",Hera asked.

"What's the point? You cannot help us. This placed is doomed. There is nothing to fix here!", she said enraged.

"Ma'am please calm down. We can help you find your brother if you cooperate with us.", Hera said. This made her look at us with eyes filled with hope. I didn't want to be the one to crush it.

"Really?", she asked with hope.

"Yes. But we need to know a few things first."

"Okay."

"What kind of a person is Mr. Duncan?"

"Well he's hardworking. We both work day and night to sustain both our lives. He used to work at a glass factory and I work as a maid.", she said.

"Was he ever violent with you?"

"We had our fair share of fights regarding our budget but they never got really bad unlike last time."

Bingo

"Could you elucidate more on what happened last time?"

"Lately, he had been returning home late. So, I got worried and asked him about his whereabouts. He didn't answer. So when I kept on inquiring him about it, he got furious. He started throwing everything. He even lifted this couch with just one of his hands. He usually faces a hard time moving it. His eyes were red as he screamed at me at the top of his lungs. He was acting like an animal, a wild rogue. Soon he received a phone call and he left. This was the last time that I saw him.", she said.

"And this happened..?"

"Three weeks ago."

"Since when before this incident did you start noticing something strange about him?"

"A week ago."

"Okay. And can you tell me when and how Mr. Duncan got associated with the Sunset Medicine group?"

"Well the glass factory he used to work at had met with a very tragic accident. He usually has a morning shift. So he got lucky, but one time during midnight a fire broke out. The guard who was supposed to keep a watch fell asleep. He had locked the exit door. Some could manage to climb up the walls and escape, but a lot of them had lost their lives. In protest to this, the workers started to riot and stopped working. They demanded for proper working conditions and wages as well as medical facilities.

Soon, a welfare officer was appointed. He had signed a contract with Sunset Medicines for medicinal and health facilities. He had also looked into the working conditions of the factory. But not much change had been done. The workers who were still revolting against the authorities soon realised they needed the job, so they gave up on the movement and started to work in there again.

The Sunset Medicines had taken upon this special programme where they said they were going to release a new medicine for the workers so that they do not go blind working in the glass factories. I had warned my brother to not step his foot in this trap, but he really wanted to volunteer so that his fellow workmates could get the cure. It was from then he started to get more violent as they made him test on a few medicines, which I doubt were really medicines, but they liked to call it that. And then one day he just disappeared.

That day during our fight he looked tense. I knew something was wrong. I should have followed him. That damned company is to blame for everything wrong that has happened to us. They took him away from me, I just know it.", she said exasperated.

"Do you know this man?", Hera asked her showing a picture of Geronimo.

"Yes. He was also among one of the volunteers. He lives two houses from us."

Hera looked at me and I nodded.

"Well ma'am we are done here. We will give you a call once we find where your brother is.", Hera said.

"Thank you.", Teressa said.

..........................................

"Was it really necessary to tell her about her brother. I mean we both know all her hopes would be crushed once she gets to know what exactly happened.", I said.

"She was literally going to drive us away. If you have a better idea please try it next time. I'll be happy to stand at the corner of the room.", Hera said insolently.

"Damn I was just saying."

"Cut it you two. What's done is done. Onto the next house.", Silas said as he started to go towards the next location.

................................................

From interrogating Paris, Geronimo's wife we got to know that he also used to work at the same factory. He was indeed a part of that new "project".

He had shown signs of extreme violence around the same time Edward did. Except, he was a drunkard and was usually violent. Under the influence of the suspected drug, he went barbaric and almost strangled Paris to death. There were marks, still prominent, on her neck. Maybe that's the reason she was fine telling about her husband's deeds and faults. She wanted him to get punished and I could also see the fear in their son's eyes once his dad's name was mentioned. Yea, I don't feel bad for Geronimo anymore.

After gathering the information we headed to the agency. Well, boss seemed a little bit less disappointed than before. Thank God.

One thing was clear that the drug took effect within a week after dosage and its effects were very gory. Really gory. So, Odgen doesn't have much time left and we need to interrogate him about his drug supplier before he dies.