"Sky!" Andy looked through the window and was surprised to see the dog barking profusely at Paolo, the ice cream man who was trying to deliver some ice cream to their doorstep.
"Shoo, shoo!" Paolo stomped his foot repeatedly to scare the dog away but Sky kept growling and barking at him, taking occasional sniffs at him and ready to pounce.
Andy rushed out of the house and grabbed onto Sky's collar.
"Stop Sky, STOP!"
Sky stopped barking but continued to flash her angry teeth at Paolo with a growl. It was so unlike friendly Sky to be this aggressive to anyone for no known reason.
"Oh, grazie, grazie (i.e thank you, thank you)!" Paolo thanked profusely in relief.
Rita dashed out of the house after hearing the loud commotion.
"Oh, hi Paolo!" Rita greeted excitedly. "Free ice cream again? This late in the evening? You don't have to, you know?" She observed the ice creams that had double scoops each, with generous toppings.
"Not for you, signora Rita. These happy ice creams are for your bodyguards."
"For our bodyguards?"
The bodyguards perked their ears at the mention and paid attention to their conversation.
While Rita and Paolo talked, Sky struggled out of Andy's hold and went to the ice cream truck for a sniff. Andy followed her out. As she sniffed, she pawed at the door of the truck, whining and pacing about.
"Silly Sky! You can't have ice cream," Andy found her odd behaviour comical.
"Really? Bodyguards Day?" Rita raised her brows in amusement.
"Yes! Bodyguards' Day! I just gave some to Mr Leon Waltz's bodyguards." Paolo thenleaned over and whispered, "He's never bought any of my ice creams, so why not I give some free ones, then at least I can boast that I serve Leon Waltz, right?"
Rita giggled along with him.
"I hope your chef friend is chilling well on her rest day today. Not everyone gets a break on a Monday. Not your bodyguards and definitely not Paolo."
"She's having a nap and I'm enjoying my off-day. That makes today our special day - mmm, Off Day, Break Day....oh what kind of day should I call it?"
"Energy Day," teased Paolo in his loud, jovial voice. "But I wanna celebrate Bodyguards' Day! Your bodyguards deserve a treat. I see them work so hard day in and day out. Always looking serious and stern."
He mimicked their stony looks, causing Rita to laugh even more.
"Paolo Rossi's happy ice cream will bring a smile out of their stony faces. When they're happy, you'll have happy workers who'll work harder for you. Don't you agree?"
Rita nodded, "Of course, of course!"
"Only for them. Don't steal their share, okay?" Paolo warned with a playful, stern look.
"Okay!" Rita flashed back an okay sign with a grin and took the ice creams from him, and served it the bodyguards who happily took their share.
Unbeknownst to them, Andy had chased after Sky after she ran to another direction.
———
Hiromi gained consciousness immediately when she felt cold water splashed at her face.
"Ahhh! 冷たい (tsumetai - i.e cold)!" she cried.
"Wakey wakey, Miss Kawaii (i.e cute)," said a female voice.
Hiromi's eyes widened when she saw an unfamiliar face before her. The woman smoked a cigarette in her hand and blew the smoke directly at her face, causing Hiromi to cough. She also noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place.
When she tried to move, Hiromi realised her body was uncomfortably sat upright on a wooden chair. Her hands were tied behind the back of the chair and her feet were bound to the front legs of the chair. The dingy room was lit from the only naked bulb hanging from the ceiling and there were no windows. It was a messy place. There was a dirty bare mattress without a bed frame on one end, a suitcase on the floor with female clothes spilling out of it and a full-length mirror leaning against the wall. There was a phone charger attached to a wall socket next to the mattress.
At the other end of the room near the door was a wooden table with a few other chairs. A heavily tattooed man with a stocky built was sitting on a chair by the table, legs crossed and smoking while watching her. He was the same man who spied on their house! On the table was an ashtray filled with cigarette butts, a fruit knife, a cup, a few toiletries, a few bunches of rope and some stationery including duct tape and that familiar shiny pink wrapper with golden polka dots. Below the table was a trash bag filled with opened empty cans of drinks and food wrappers.
Posters and pictures of Leon Waltz of all sizes filled the four corners of the walls, and tall scented candles were placed at the edges of the room. The whole room emulated a shrine, and the whole place smelt of cigarette smoke and fruity scents of the candles.
Hiromi's eyes shifted back to the unfamiliar woman before her, whose hair was styled and coloured like hers. She was wearing the same white Dolce & Gabbana cropped sweater that she had, with black leather pants and high heels. She was also wearing the same fake glittered long nails that she had. Hiromi tilted her head down and saw that she was not wearing her top, but a brandless grey sweatshirt that smelt really bad. She felt her fingers and realised her fake nails were not there. It dawned on her that this crazy woman was wearing her sweater and her fake nails!
"Who are you?" Hiromi was trying to make sense of what was happening.
"Who am I?" the woman got agitated. "I'm Leon's wife! How dare you sleep with my husband!" She slapped Hiromi across the face.
"黙れ (Damare i.e shut your ******* face)! Leon's not married, you liar!" Hiromi cried out in fury.
"Lies!" the woman slapped her on the other cheek and Hiromi screamed, spewing out a multitude of Japanese and English swear words at her.
"If you won't shut up, I'll cut your face!" She pulled out a small knife from her pocket and pressed it against Hiromi's cheek. Hiromi immediately shut her mouth and knew that she was in danger, serious danger.
"P-please don't hurt me! My father's rich and I can give you all the money you want! Spare me and let me go, please!" she begged with tears and trembling.
The woman suddenly broke into a laugh and switched to a light-hearted tone, "I don't want anything from your father. I just want my husband back. Can you return him to me?"
Hiromi quickly nodded her head.
"Good girl," the woman caressed her cheek lightly with the tip of the knife, causing her to shudder even more that her legs trembled against the front legs of the chair.
The man kept watching as he smoked, deadpan and silent.
Hiromi's frightened eyes landed on a particular picture on the wall with a young, teenage-looking happy Leon and an attractive, exotic-looking girl cuddling in his arms. There were even newspaper and magazine picture cuttings of him with that same girl again. That same girl looked like the woman standing before her, but an older version! What history did Leon have with this crazy woman? Hiromi recalled Ariel mentioning Leon's ex, but she had forgotten the name of the ex. Leon had so many girlfriends whom he was pictured with. Was this the particular one Ariel warned about?
"Love the pictures?" said the woman when she noticed Hiromi looking at the collage.
"He's my soulmate, the one that got away," she sighed. "Do you think he misses me? I want to have babies with him."
Hiromi's eyes shifted to the knife in her hand and she felt sick to her stomach. She gave a hasty, trembling nod.
"Really?" the dimples on the woman's smile deepened. "Then quick! Write a letter to him. Tell him to come home to me." She got out a white card and placed it before Hiromi, the same card that she had received at the house that was written in blood.
"Why are you not writing?" the woman gathered her brows in confusion. "Write now, write now!" She kept pushing the card to her chest.
"My hands are tied. How can I write for you?" Hiromi sobbed.
"Oh, my bad!" the woman let out a good-humoured laugh. She cut through the rope to release Hiromi's hands. Then, she grabbed Hiromi's right wrist and pricked her index finger with the tip of the knife, causing Hiromi to yelp.
"It's just a prick, honey. Pig's blood is too complicated. Nothing's more heartfelt than writing your own words with your own life. Be a good girl now. Write what I say, and I may spare your pretty little face," she caressed Hiromi's face once more with the tip of the knife.
Terrified, Hiromi began to write the words the woman dictated to her.
———
"Sky!" Andy ran after the dog into a small park until they stopped at an empty bench.
"Whatcha doin, Sky?" Andy panted, baffled at the dog's odd behaviour. However, Sky was too intent in her sniffing than listening to Andy. The dog put her front paws onto the bench and sniffed intently on a spot. After sniffing, her ears perked up and she barked at Andy, as if to tell him something, but he could not make out her actions. Sky bent down and sniffed under the bench and barked profusely, pawing underneath.
"What's it, Sky?" Andy bent down to peek at the bottom of the bench that was intriguing the dog. He noticed a mobile phone with a pink, diamond-crusted casing and picked it up. Andy instantly recognised whose phone it belonged to. When he pressed the side power button, it lit up but it had a low battery and there were many messages and call notifications. The screen was locked and only accessible via a fingerprint.
"It's Hiromi's phone! We gotta give it back to her and let her know we found it. Good job, Sky!" Andy ruffled Sky's head but she continued sniffing around. "Sky, we gotta go back, it's getting dark," Andy grabbed her collar but the dog managed to free herself and ran in another direction.
"Not again!" Andy ran after her but Sky was fast and stubborn. They turned into an unfamiliar residential street until they reached an abandoned house that was under construction and had scaffolding all around.
"Sky!!" Andy was losing his patience and tried to catch his breath.
Sky pawed at the door and it creaked open, and the dog went in. The inside of the house was devoid of furniture and had construction materials everywhere. Its floors were dusty and debris was all over. The windows were sealed with newspaper and it was really dark. Andy felt creeped out.
The dog sniffed and trotted down the hallway. "Sky!" Andy followed after her until they finally reached a green door. Dim light billowed from below the bottom of the door, so there must be someone inside. Sky pawed at the door and barked.
"Naughty dog!" Andy scolded and grabbed Sky's collar. He tried to pull her away but Sky barked and pulled herself in the opposite direction despite the collar almost choking her throat.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Andy jumped in fright when he was greeted by a scary-looking, stocky-built, tattooed man who smelt of cigarette smoke. Andy glanced at his dirty sneakers and suddenly remembered who he was and froze.
The man's eyes popped at the sight of Andy and Sky.
"Oh! What a surprise!" said a woman behind the man.
At first, Andy thought that woman was Hiromi, for she looked and dressed like her. But the face wasn't her and she looked somewhat familiar...
Through the gap of the opened door, Andy could see Hiromi bound and tied to a chair. Sky broke off from his hold and immediately ran into the room towards Hiromi, wagging her tail and licking her. Feeling utterly dreadful and scared, Andy swallowed hard and stumbled a few steps back, sensing he was in great danger.
"We've got company. This will be fun!" She pulled him into the room and closed the door behind them.