With a Pull of a Trigger

Chapter Two

 “Nothing I’ve seen had been from The Alliance or Dale,” said Eena after a few minutes later.

Reini looked at the envelopes in her hands. “I know,” she said, puzzled. “Everything’s normal; almost too normal. Every envelope I’ve seen had been bills he had to pay or letters from his parents from when he was younger.”

“If they’re just bills, why does he have to keep the drawer locked?” asked Eena.

“False bottom?” asked Reini.

“Oldest trick in the book,” said Eena, shrugging.

“It works, though.”

Eena went towards the desk and felt the corners of the drawer. After a few seconds, she carefully removed the false bottom, not wanting to damage or leave scratches on the drawer, and they looked at old pieces of paper, worn out and brown at the edges.

“Unsent letters?” asked Eena, carefully putting the piece of wood on the desk.

“I think so,” said Reini, taking one letter in her hand, careful not to tear it.

Eena looked at the worn out pages wistfully. “This guy is waiting for someone, then. These letters are worn out. It’s like he takes them out every day and reads them always with the way the papers are so old.”

“Or maybe that someone is dead,” murmured Reini as she returned the letter back to its place and carefully put the false bottom back. “No mention about any organization. Everything’s about this girl named Therese.”

Eena started helping Reini put the envelopes and letters back into the drawer. “What’s her name? We should search her files, just in case.”

“Therese P. Annica, apparently,” said Reini as she closed the drawer shut. “I think she’s dead. On the letter, this guy said that he missed her but he couldn’t see her anymore.”

Eena took her tools from the desk. “That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s dead, Reini.”

“I know,” said Reini, “but from the way this guy said it, it was almost as if not seeing her was permanent. And, he mentioned about not even having the chance to say goodbye to her. He also said that he hoped he could tell her everything but that he can’t now, and that he wished he could send that letter to her—the letter I was holding in my hands a while ago—but that he knew he couldn’t anymore because apparently, she was gone.”

“No wonder he always has alcohol in his study. Everything about this guy is so lonely.”

And suddenly, because of Eena’s comment, everything started to make sense to Reini.

“Oh my God,” breathed out Reini.

“What is it?” asked Eena.

“It all makes sense.”

Eena furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”

“Profiling is amazing,” murmured Reini.

“Yes, I know. Now what makes sense?” asked Eena, clearly impatient.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too weird that almost everything in this room is brown, gold or maroon, and yet there are colorful abstract paintings on the walls? Think about it,” said Reini, glancing around the room. “Everything about this study is elegance. Grandeur, power, and money are this room’s main theme. Look at the carpet; so fluffy, it sinks with every step. Look at the leather couch and chair; clearly expensive and clearly well used. Look at the bookshelves; almost every book is hardbound, and in the first edition. Look at the scotch. Look at the chandelier. Look at the great glass windows and silk curtains. This room is all about money, power, and grandeur. Clearly this man is intelligent—what with his vast collection of books—and so, so very careful about appearances with the way everything on his desk looks like it had been spaced so carefully as if a ruler was used, and the way he sticks to the color scheme. If he cares so much about appearances, then why would he put colorful paintings on his walls which have colors clashing horribly with his sleek, formal theme that he has going on in here? Think about the desk. That’s him. The desk sort of mirrors his personality.”

“So careful and put together on the outside and a mess inside?” asked Eena.

“Yes,” said Reini, nodding her head. “Ever since this girl died or whatever, he felt lost. He put the paintings in this room to try and brighten himself up. This girl is important to him; so much that when she was gone, this guy had become a hollow shell of what he used to be. We have to find out about this girl.”

Eena nodded. “Of course. But first, we have got to confirm that he really was in The Alliance.”

“Right,” said Reini. She went to the bookshelves, scanning the book spines. “What kind of evidence do they want us to give them?”

“Anything that connects this guy to The Alliance is evidence. We’ll just take a picture of it, I guess.”

Reini stopped abruptly in front of a bookshelf, looking at a dark green hardbound book with a silver spine. “Hey Eena, come here.”

Eena walked towards Reini and looked at the book she was pointing at.

“Does that count?” asked Reini, already putting her finger near the pearl on her mask.

Eena looked at the spine incredulously. On the spine of the book was “Gilbert Baxendale—senior agent, The Alliance”, and Eena gently touched the letters with one tender fingertip. “I can’t believe they’d actually type that on the spine of a book. That could get them compromised.”

“Well,” shrugged Reini, getting Eena’s finger and putting it away so that she could take a picture of the book, “for whatever reason, they trust this guy.”

After a few more shots, Reini walked back to the desk and took off her latex gloves, putting them inside Eena’s pocketbook. Eena walked back to the desk and got her tools, locked the desk drawer, put her tools in their proper place, and took off her gloves. She quickly put them back in her book and proceeded to put everything back into her purse.

Reini smoothed out her gown and took her purse. “Let’s go.”

Eena nodded and walked behind Reini, exiting the room after her. She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. “Ready to get out of here?”

Reini was about to say yes until a memory sprung up in her mind; a memory of a man holding his hand out to shake a woman’s hand after he was helped by the woman who had bumped into him.

Eena looked at her knowingly, aware of what her words had done. She then sighed and looked at Reini in the eye. “We have a job to do.”

Reini sighed. “Yes. I just don’t know if I could just leave this place yet.”

“You mean Samuel,” said Eena knowingly. She chuckled when Reini sighed. “Honey, it’s obvious.”

“I just don’t want to leave him for the second time. The first time was hard enough, Eena. I don’t want to leave knowing that I could have told him.”

“We can stay for a bit more, I suppose,” said Eena thoughtfully.

Reini looked at her, smiling sadly. “Don’t, Eena. You know I have to move on.”

“Well you’re not exactly moving on, Reini. You’re stuck in the past, pretending everything’s alright. Hell, you barely gave a backwards glance when you threw away the locket! Besides, Reini, I don’t understand you anymore. First you tell me you can’t leave, then you tell me we can’t stay.”

Reini sighed. “We have to leave. I can’t be stuck in the past forever. I have to let go and move on.”

Eena patted her back comfortingly. “It’s probably for the best, Reini.”

They rounded a corner and stopped in their tracks.

Two men in suits—clearly guards—were walking towards their direction.

“You shouldn’t be here!” exclaimed one of the guards.

And then Reini and Eena did something they shouldn’t have done.

They ran.