The Lotus and the Dragonfly

Chapter 1 _The PoLICE

Bam...Bam...Bam...

Tom was creeping down the basement stairs, almost at the bottom step, when he heard a loud banging coming from his front door. 

Police! Open up!

His head jerked up abruptly, it felt as though his world was being jostled off its hinges. He turned around and hurriedly climbed back up the rickety wooden steps until he reached the top. Then he closed the door and pulled a thick curtain over it, to hide the entranceway to conceal his secret.

Tom rushed through the living room, down the hallway, towards the front door. He paused for just a moment, took a deep breath and conjured up a neutral expression on his face before he finally opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he said, trying to appear calm. Tom looked at the faces of the two cops. He was not surprised to see them.

The older cop introduced himself, "I'm Deputy Sheriff Riggs and this is Officer Stevens."

His partner was in his early twenties, tall and slim. Both men flashed their shiny metal badge holders for him to inspect, but he only managed to get a brief glance.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" said Riggs, scanning him up and down.

"Of course!" he replied.

"Do you live here?"

"Yes, I do," he said, with a fake smile on his face.

"What's your name?" asked Riggs.

"Tom Wolfe," he answered, the sound of his thudding heartbeat in his chest almost betrayed him, but he managed to control his voice and sound calm.

Deputy Sheriff Riggs frowned and his brows furrowed into a serious expression. "I am sorry to bother you, but you may be able to help us with our investigation. We are looking for a missing woman, last seen around this area a couple of days ago."

From the inside of his jacket pocket, he pulled out a photograph of a young brunette and showed Tom the picture.

"Have you ever seen this woman before?"

"No...never," Tom lied.

He didn't actually pay attention to the photograph, instead, he focused his eyes on a rim of dirt under the cop's thumbnail.

There was something about this guy that made Riggs suspicious, he was too calm for a start, so on a hunch, he said, "So, you don't mind if I come in and take a look around the place, do you? Or do I need to get a warrant?"

Tom's heart skipped a beat and his fingers began to tremble, so he slipped them into the pocket of his jeans.

"Of course, come in," replied Tom, knowing that it would be more suspicious if he refused him.

The older cop nodded to his partner, who then sauntered back down the path to investigate outside. There was nothing Tom could do, but allow the sheriff to enter his house and he was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable since the sheriff was staring intently at him.

Suddenly, the sheriff's eyes lit up. "Tom Wolfe! I thought I recognized that name. Don't you remember me, Robert Riggs? We went to Hudson primary school together, must be about twenty years ago?"

In his mind, Tom mentally flipped through the hazy recollections of his school days, as he examined the sheriff's face. Then suddenly...

"Heck, yeah! Now, I remember you!"

"It's been a long time, I didn't recognize you at first, with that big bushy beard and I must admit, I've put on a lot of weight since then," he said, cupping his hands over his ample belly.