Chapter 71: Appointment

JADE:

I stared at myself in the mirror and fixed the collar of my dress nervously.

I sighed. I have been readying myself for the umpteenth time in front of the looking glass, but my nervousness still remained.

Last night, I woke up to the flickers of my laptop’s screen. I rubbed my eyes awake and asked Liam what he was checking out so intently.

“We got a message,” he said slowly. “Marian’s killer… He wants to meet up.”

I couldn’t believe it. The blasted man sent an email asking us to meet him in a certain restaurant right on the next day, Saturday.

Liam tried to talk me out of it, but I told him this was our only chance. We definitely have to meet him today.

I heard a knock on my door shortly. As expected, it was Liam.

“Are you ready?” He was dressed in casual dark clothing – blue t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers.

“I’m ready,” I said.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right,” he said, his tone pleading.

“You know I have to,” I replied.

Last night, it took a fairly long time to convince Liam that the two of us should come together to catch the criminal.

He was originally planning to come on his own, but knowing that I won’t be at ease if he goes by himself, I insisted to come.

We equipped ourselves with recording devices for his confession. I also had a pepper spray in my bag in case I need it.

Most importantly, the number of Captain Rigdon, the police inspector in charge of Marian’s case, was in both Liam and my speed dials…

Things might not become so dangerous as long as we stay in populated places.

This was it… We will be finding out who killed Marian today and why.

“Are you really wearing that,” Liam said, looking at my purple dress and shoes.

I knew why he was upset. I was wearing my red shoes.

“Sorry… I just feel like I should wear them.”

“Even so. The killer clearly hated that color. He had already said it in that blog.”

“Well… I was thinking this will jog his memories,” I said quietly.

“Jade! You know I agreed to do this with you, but I didn’t agree that you should make yourself some sort of bait for that nut job!”

“I know, I know… But you remember what he said in the email, right?”

In the email he sent, the killer specifically asked that we wear something red…

Liam had been furious when I told him I will abide by the killer’s request, but at the same time, I didn’t want the killer to back out if he saw that we did not honor our end of the bargain.

Liam was still staring angrily at my shoes. “Are you really going out with those shoes?”

I frowned. I get that sometimes Liam acted like a control freak. He’s also just concerned about me, but this time, I don’t think I should back down…

“Liam,” I said, cupping his chin towards me. “Hey, it’s alright… Nothing’s going to happen. These are just shoes…”

“But the color…”

“It’s just a color. It won’t harm me.”

The truth was I was afraid too, but putting these shoes somewhat made me feel courageous in a way. These shoes looked like the ones in Marian’s social media account. It felt as if I was part of Marian, and Marian was a part of me whenever I wear them. After all, this journey started because of her…

Finally, Liam sighed. He hugged me tightly for a long time and kissed the top of my forehead.

“Promise me nothing will happen to you, hmm,” he said.

“That depends on you since you’re going to be there too,” I said jokingly.

Liam swung the black bag pack he carried into his shoulder. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of a small trinket jar, and I recognized the small silver star and the red ribbon that was tied around its mouth.

“What’s this? You made my clothing into a key chain?”

He grinned at me like an innocent boy, but he whispered something that was completely devoid of innocence. “I wanted to put it where I can see it often, Jade. This is to remind me of our first of many more nights together...”

I was stupefied as I blushed. Liam laughed softly as he put a hand around my shoulders.

After an hour, we got into the designated restaurant. The place was teeming with people.

I peered nervously as I looked at everyone inside the diner. Anyone of them could be the suspect, but of course, my hunch was still Gary Eduardo – the person who ran after me that foggy afternoon.

We were given a table near the large see-through window of the restaurant. This was perfect for spotting the people that come and go through the restaurant and for checking out if suspicious people were hovering close.

“We should order something so that we wouldn’t look too suspicious,” Liam said.

I nodded towards him.

We ordered a set meal for dinner, but I was not in the mood to eat. I fumbled through the pasta and garlic bread on my plate halfway into our meal. Liam watched me with a worried eye, urging me to take one more bite, but I just couldn’t…

I was just plain nervous. I kept on glancing at the door every time someone came in.

“Jade, calm down,” Liam said, his hand reaching towards mine from across the table. I smiled lightly at him. Thank God that he was there; otherwise, I would have completely broken down in fright.

I could tell he was nervous too. He barely touched the food before him. He only really finished the cup of hot chocolate I had ordered for him. He kept glancing at his wristwatch. The designated time was seven in the evening. It was already seven thirty. The man who said he’ll be wearing a red jacket should have been there, but no one with that description came in…

An hour passed, then two. When the third hour came, we were no longer hopeful.

“He did say he will come, right? Right,” I verified to Liam. I was already turning antsy. Why had he not decided to show up? What if he was observing us from afar? Was everything just a hoax, or was he doing something diabolical right now… Like maybe killing his new target?

I shuddered at that thought. I hope I was mistaken with that last one…

Suddenly, I heard the faint clanging of the wind chime as the door of the restaurant opened. I stared in amazement as a man in red jacket and cap that obscured his eyes came in.

He surveyed the people inside the restaurant until finally, his gaze settled on us. He then walked deliberately to our table.

“Kids… Did you really wait for me to show up,” he asked as he sat down into the empty chair.