The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Thirty-Three

There had to be something more.

-x-

"So I checked Joe Robinson's family history," Walter said as he picked up his coffee to take a sip and placing it back down. 

"And?" Seth asked.

"Well, his grandfather didn't really have much of a history with illegal activity. So I dove a little deeper and found something very interesting." Walter grabbed photographs and showed them to his partner.

"What am I looking at?"

"That is Stanley Robinson in 1968 on his way to a meeting. Not just any meeting though. A drug trafficking meeting." Walter placed the photo on the desk as he then stabbed his finger at it. "He was secretly smuggling drugs."

Seth raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Wow. Interesting. But how did you find out all of this?"

Walter sighed. "Ok, so hear me out. I found this in an envelope in front of my apartment door. Someone I guess found out where I live and decided to just place it there anonymously. But this wasn't the only picture I got." Walter reached over to his desk to grab the pictures and show them to his partner. Seth got closer to his desk to examine the photos. But he didn't really seem so surprised.

"So these pictures indicate that Stanley was smuggling cocaine from who knows where into New York," Seth said. He tapped his fingertips against his chin while pondering. "What else did you find?"

Walter raised a brow at how unenthusiastic his partner was. He grabbed the paper that was sitting on his desk, handing it over to Seth. "I still have yet to figure out who he was helping smuggle drugs. But my guess? It's probably our killer."

Seth shrugged and stood up from his chair. "Perhaps."

-x-

Gasping for air and tears sliding down his face, Raymond quickly dialed his fathers number. He raised his flip phone up to his ear. He was crying hysterically.

Finally his father answered the phone.

"Ray? Whats the matter?" Said a man with a subtle Spanish accent.

"P–papa!" Raymond cried into the phone. "I just... it hurts."

"What hurts? Ray tell me!"

"My heart! I feel like... I feel like I can't breath!"

"Ok, where are you?"

-x-

"Im sorry, papa," Raymond whispered under his breath as he lifted the cup of water up to his dry lips. Mister Hunter nodded and sat down next to him.

"It's ok, mi hijo." Mister Hunter looked at his surroundings. The house felt so dull after the horrific tragedy happened. "And the kids?"

Raymond shook his head. "Not here. Vicky took them out for some ice cream." He took another sip of his water, hands shaking. "Papa, can I ask you something personal?"

Mister Hunter furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course."

"When mama was in the mental hospital... what was going through your head?"

Mister Hunter frowned. It pained him to think back to being in that mental hospital and seeing his wife being restrained. She was unkempt, not her usual self, and it was only after the birth of Raymond. She was never like that after Tanya or Richard.

"Lets... not talk about that kiddo," Mister Hunter said as he gently patted his knee. "Just keep drinking your water."

Raymond hiccuped and nodded, continuing to drink his water. He felt like a baby. Tears all over his face and his lips no longer dry from all the saliva and water.

-x-

The smell of wet cement made Zachary shiver. He rolled up his car window and kept driving until he reached his large but cozy home. It wasn't super luxuries since he planned on having a family and he didn't want things to be really uncomfortable. But of course, the actions of a mad man didn't let him have a happy life with a family of his own. No wife, no children. He was all alone.

Zachary parked into his garage and got out of his car. He was exhausted and poured himself a glass of scotch. He loosened his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his white button up shirt, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch. The silence bugged Zachary. He wanted to listen to the sound of his children running around and screaming with laughter. He wanted to see his wife smiling at him and kissing him the moment he got home.

"Oh, mister Sorrentino," the maid said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

Zachary stared at the newspaper that was sitting on his coffee table right in front of him. "Lisa, you seemed surprised to see me," he said. He took a sip of his drink.

"A little. You said you would be coming home half an hour later. Did you get tired?"

Zachary nodded and brushed his hair back. "Yes, exhausted actually. Could you be so kind to dim the lights a bit please?"

Lisa nodded and grabbed the remote, dimming the lights down a bit.

"Thank you. Why don't you go home? You must be tired as well."

Lisa smiled warmly at the man before nodding and thanking him. She left the room to gather her belongings to go home to her family, leaving Zachary alone.

The man looked down at the newspaper. What his company had done was being talked about in the media. Raising money for breast cancer awareness. Just one of the many good causes he did. Many people thought of him as a man who deserved to be praised. A man who had done so much for many people. Running an insurance company which everyone used and trusted.

But regardless of everyones support, he was lonely. Next to Raymond Hunter, he was the loneliest man in the world.

(A/N) The progress of this book is moving slower than i expected. but school is finally over for me and so i hope i can finish this book in the summer before school starts back up cause i really wanna move on to the second book. but i hope y'all are enjoying this. thank you for reading! make sure to vote and comment, it helps me out a lot :)