Dim Sum Mysteries - 2. Chapter 2 - The First Murder

Chapter 2 – The First Murder

Friday, somewhere in the streets, 22:12

Voices.

I didn’t really know how to explain it, but somehow I slowly became conscious. At first, a few thoughts began formulating in my head before I became aware of my surroundings. Then I heard voices, muffled and scattered, then slowly becoming clearer. Even then I didn’t really want to open my eyes, but someone was calling my name.

“Ryan! Ryan, can you hear me?”

A feminine voice? I kind of hoped it would be Michael’s voice.

Reluctantly, through sheer willpower, I forced my eyes open. Everything was a blur at first, but within a few seconds, my vision automatically focused. I didn’t know what had happened, but I was a little bit curious. I tried telling the voice to go away, just so that I could get some more rest, but only a choked grunt escaped my lips.

“Ryan, can you hear me?” the voice repeated.

I blinked a few times.

Anna’s face was inches away from mine. I could tell that immense relief immediately washed over her when she saw that I was awake.

“God, Ryan, you scared me. Are you okay? Can you talk?”

“’course I can talk, Annie,” I grumbled. And then I remembered what had happened and suddenly sat up. The image of Fred’s blood-drenched body lying in a pool of dark red flashed in my mind, like a terrible, untimely flashback. “Oh my God!”

My sister jumped back, looking surprised. I didn’t blame her – that was pretty sudden.

“Oh my God, Anna. Fred! What happened –”

She shook her head and bit her lip.

“Anna, I need to know what happened,” I said, trying to get up. I was inside a car – not my car, it seemed. I think it was a police car. Maybe that explained all the flashing red and blue lights.

My sister pushed me back forcefully and held me firmly by the shoulders. She had a determined look in her face. “No, you have to sit. Ryan, there’s a lot of blood. We can’t have you passing out again.”

Blood. The very word sent shivers coursing through me. I had a phobia of blood, I never denied it. Small cuts and things like that were okay, but the sight or smell of anything more than that could make me all light-headed and nauseous. Worst case scenario; I’d faint, as you’ve discovered. I wasn’t really sure how I developed the phobia, but it was probably because of that one time when I was a kid, when my dad accidentally ran over a cat in our driveway.

Somebody came up to us and ducked to take a look at me. I didn’t see who it was at first, but when I saw his face, I felt a little bit more cheerful.

“Ryan, you okay, man?” Michael asked me, looking concerned. “I asked the cops to call your mom and she’s somewhere with the Sheriff. She’s been worried about you – so was I.”

This handsome boy was worried about lil’ ole me!

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, closing my eyes and resting my head back. “Michael, what happened?”

Michael looked around solemnly and spoke quietly, “The police said that Fred was probably killed by a gunshot to his chest. It’s a mess.”

Oh God. “Shit, I think that crazy voodoo girl was right all along.”

“I think it’s a little too early to make assumptions,” Anna cut in quickly.

I opened my eyes and looked at her, confused. She nodded towards Michael’s direction. “Michael told me about Victoria.”

“Excuse me, Miss,” somebody said nearby. “I need to talk to these two young men alone for a few minutes.”

“Oh. Sure thing, Sheriff.” Sheriff Elise was here?

Anna gave me one last fleeting look of concern before she straightened up and walked away. I sat at the edge of my seat and looked up, first at Michael and then to the taller woman next to him.

Sheriff Elise Worthington was, I had heard, a very capable woman and she was always quick to act against crime, even though we had so little of it in our town until recently. I wasn’t surprised she was here, actually. She shared her last name with Mac Worthington, her grandfather, who was one of the founders of our high school.

She looked down at me with an intense stare. “Are you all right, Mr. Liu?”

“You should call my father that,” I told her. “Just Ryan is fine, Sheriff.” I was beginning to get a headache, so I sat there massaging my temples.

“Would you two mind telling me what happened? What did you see, exactly? Did you see anyone or any suspicious vehicles nearby?”

I shook my head, but Michael answered for us, “No, Sheriff. Ryan was about to drop me off at my house and the road was completely empty. In fact, we just left from a meeting with Fred and a few others from Ryan’s restaurant.”

“The Jade Phoenix, right?” Sheriff Elise said. “How long was it since Fred left the restaurant before you left?”

“About fifteen minutes, maybe?” Michael said unsurely, shaking his head. “Twenty minutes, tops.”

“Are we in trouble, Sheriff?” I asked, unable to stop myself. I just had to ask. I felt so childish.

Elise shook her head and gave me a small smile. Somehow, it didn’t feel very comforting, but she was the most trusted person in all of town …

“No, I don’t think the two of you are in trouble. But I’ll keep investigating. If you two have any more information, please tell me. I’m afraid that whoever this murderer is, he or she was serious about that text message.”

Saturday, the Liu household, 09:32

I guess when you realize that your son discovered a bloody murder, you stop trying to beat him with a rolling pin, at least for a while. But my mom was still wielding this giant fork, so I decided not to try anything funny.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Ryan? You should get some more sleep later.”

“I’m fine mom,” I told her. It wasn’t really a lie, but I wasn’t feeling so sunny either.

“Drink some tea,” she insisted, shoving a glass of steaming tea in front of me on the table. “It’ll help calm your body.”

“Okay, mom.”

I sat there for some time, staring into the dark murkiness in my hands. The tea smelled nice, but I did not feel like drinking it at all. My thoughts were running back to last night. It felt so strange and uncomfortable, knowing that I had just seen Fred alive and well just an hour before he was murdered. How did it all happen so far?

I couldn’t help thinking about his family and how they’d cope with his death. I never knew who he was, who he’d eventually become in the future, and I grieved a little for him. Was it horrible of me that I couldn’t find any more sympathy for him and his family other than these thoughts? Was it horrible to be thankful that it wasn’t me, or Michael, or anyone I cared about?

Dad was already at work, as usual. We had barely even talked last night, but I guess he had his own responsibilities. Anna was somewhere in her room, on her computer, probably. So I was stuck with mom.

She came up to me and peered at the full glass of tea in my hands. “Ryan, drink up. It’s not going to help you if you don’t drink it.”

Maybe the tea wouldn’t be so bad. I took an obedient sip, and immediately regretted. I pulled a face. “Is this tea?”

“You and your complaints,” she said, sighing. She took a spoonful of sugar and dropped it into my glass, spoon and all. “Get some rest today. If you’re still not feeling well, I’ll call the school and tell them that you’re not going to be in school on Monday.”

A day off from school sounded great, but to tell the truth, I wasn’t in that bad of a shape. I was shaken up, definitely, but I was still feeling alive.

Monday, Mac Worthington High School, 12:02

I sat alone in the cafeteria. Normally, I ate with my friends from the Writer’s Club, but I had no idea where they were. Some stayed home, or so I’ve heard, because their parents were still afraid of the murderer walking on our streets. The news of Fred’s death had spread fast, and the whole school had this sort of distraught, lamentable air. Everyone was a little quieter than usual and the Junior Journalists were nowhere to be seen.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone shuffling behind me and set a tray of food next to me. I looked up, hoping it was Michael, but no, it wasn’t him. It was Nicole, president of the so-called Celibacy Club. Everyone knew she was anything but celibate, but who was to deny her the right to run the club?

“Hey cutie,” she said, settling down next to me.

It wasn’t because I was intimidated by her or anything, but I backed away slightly, just enough so that she wouldn’t notice.

“Hi, Nicole,” I replied, trying to sound ordinary.

“So, is it true that you were at the crime scene?”

I nodded, trying to focus on my food. I tortured a few peas with my fork glumly. It was a change from the Chinese or Asian food my mom often cooks at home, but I wasn’t very hungry.

Nicole let out a sigh. “Well, that wasn’t a good conversation starter. Are you free next period?”

“Uh, no I’m not, Nicole.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” she said, smiling coyly. “Listen, I have this streak and I need to complete it. I’ve slept with nearly every boy in school except for you, that Michael guy and that deranged Ned Ross from the Voodoo Club.”

I rolled my eyes and looked at her. “Nicole, are you asking me to have sex with you?”

She nodded, almost innocently. I shook my head at her and turned away.

“Well, if you change your mind, you know who to talk to.”

To my immense relief, I saw Michael’s passing figure nearby. I waved at him and succeeded in getting his attention. He turned around and gave me a lopsided grin and strode over to where Nicole and I were sitting.

“Hey, Ryan. Hi, Nicole.”

Nicole gave him a sickening, seductive wave in reply. I gave him my best smile.

“Ryan,” he said, sounding serious, “I need to talk to you later. Are you free next period?”

“Y-yeah, I guess so,” I replied, wondering why he would want to talk to me. Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up too much.

“Great. I’ll meet you in front of the English class in about half an hour.”

“Wait!” I blurted out, stopping him before he left. “You’re not going to eat?”

He shrugged and gave me a small, regretful smile. “I gotta finish that essay Mr. Daley assigned for the Physics class. And I’m not really hungry. But I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” I said, slightly disappointed. I watched, gazed at him as he left. I was checking out his butt when Nicole nudged me painfully in the ribs with her elbow.

“Hey you, I have two things I gotta ask,” she said, frowning. “First: I thought you weren’t free next period?”

I ducked my head and smiled sheepishly at her. “Oh. Well, about that …”

“Second: I saw you checking Michael out. Ryan, are you gay?”

I straightened up and looked around cautiously, making sure no one had heard that. “Nicole! Not so loud!”

“Oh wow, you are gay.”

“D-don’t make assumptions,” I said, biting my lip. It was too late; Nicole knew. I wasn’t very religious, but at that moment, I quickly prayed to any deity I knew of so that Nicole never told anyone.

She let out a sigh and cleared her black bangs away from her face. “Well, that goes my chance of completing my record. But I guess since you’re gay, you’re not counted.”

Before she stood up to leave, I poked at her arm. “Nicole, please don’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret’s safe with me, Ryan,” she said, reassuring me. “But don’t tell anyone I’m going to ask Ned out. The kid’s filthy and disgusting, but I’m serious about my record.”

When she left, I let out a loud sigh of relief before finally consuming the peas I had reduced to crude, green piles.

Monday, Mac Worthington High School, 12:30

I found Michael waiting, looking all handsome in those jeans and that black shirt.

“So, you wanted to talk to me?” I asked. I secretly hoped that he would ask me to a date.

“Yup,” he said, giving me that lopsided grin of his. “Well, actually Victoria wanted to talk to the two of us.”

The girl in question appeared behind us from the English class. She glanced at us, looking very observant, and her eyes narrowing.

“So you’ve come. I need to talk to the two of you. Come with me.”

I could tell that this was about Fred and the murderer. I was about to leave and conclude that Victoria was crazy, but she had been right about that text message.

Victoria led us to the Voodoo Club’s room. It was a place everyone knew to steer clear of. Everyone suspected that some kind of magic spell was laid around it to protect it from people entering without permission. Everyone was also afraid that Victoria would turn them into toads if they upset her.

The room’s walls were decorated with dark-colored curtains, rugs, sheets, canvas and other materials. The windows were covered with black-colored paper hastily taped on them, and the floor was covered in dark carpet. The only light came from a few lit candles dotted around in the room on small tables and cupboards. There was this strong smell of incense – the whole place was reeking of it.

“Ned, where is Cynthia?” Victoria called out into the darkness.

I literally jumped when this short pale-faced, scrawny kid with a messy haircut materialized out of the dark next to me.

“Here she is, Head Sorceress,” the boy said, handing Victoria her creepy doll. So, its name was Cynthia.

“Ned, please leave us. We must converse in private,” Victoria said, and Ned bowed awkwardly. He left the room without even so much as a glance at us.

“As you might have guessed, this is about the murder last Friday.”

“Don’t remind me,” I muttered. “The police kept calling me all weekend, trying to gather info.”

Victoria shrugged and turned around, heading towards a small round table in the middle of the room. “You two are the only ones who’ve even listened to me. Everyone else kept ignoring me.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Michael said sarcastically.

“Take a look at this.”

Victoria retrieved something out of her pocket. It was her phone – she pressed a few buttons and handed it to us. Michael and I leaned in closer to take a look at the screen. It was a text message from an unknown number. It read: the next one will die in the multiple arms of darkness.

“What does that even mean?”

“This was a text message that Fred received an hour before he died,” Victoria explained. The words took some time to register in my brain. “I have all reason in the world to believe that the killer sent him this.”

“Wait, how’d you get this message in the first place?” Michael asked, his eyes still glued to the screen.

Creepy voodoo doll girl let out a sigh. “I checked his phone during our dinner on Friday without him looking. As I suspected, the message was there. So I forwarded it to my number.”

“You knew Fred was going to be murdered?” I asked her, my eyes widening in realization.

“I didn’t know for sure that he’d be the Gunner’s next victim,” Victoria replied slowly, her eyes flickering towards the floor. “I told him to go home, but through a route that I knew at least one of you guys would be taking, so that he’d be safe with more people nearby. I knew Michael’s house was the closest to the Jade Phoenix, so I sent him in that direction.”

Michael looked up and raised his eyebrows questioningly. “You know where I live?”

Victoria shrugged nonchalantly and said, “I have my sources.”

“Fred died anyway,” I said forlornly. “We didn’t make it in time.”

“I didn’t expect the Gunner to risk being seen by someone nearby,” Victoria said, biting her lip, still staring at the ground. “This just comes to show that we need to be even more cautious. But it’s not enough to just be more careful. I think we need to get to the bottom of this and prevent the next murder.”

“But what does that message even mean?” I asked again. “’The next one will die in the multiple arms of darkness’?”

“I need your help to solve this riddle,” Victoria explained. “Please, I need your help. I don’t want anyone else to be murdered.”

She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. I kind of felt sorry for her and a little part of me was a little curious and wanted to know more about this Gunner.

“Shouldn’t this be the police’s job?” I said.

“I don’t think they can be trusted,” Victoria said firmly. “The murderer could have a contact inside the police; maybe that’s why he or she knew where Fred was going.”

I looked at Michael. If he was in, I’d be willing to help. I didn’t want to do this alone, that’s for sure.

“We’ll think about it, Victoria,” Michael said eventually. “But we can’t promise anything.”

“That’s a better response than what I’ve got so far,” Victoria said, nodding, compromising. “I usually get ‘freak’, ‘leave me alone’ or ‘stop stalking me’. Isn’t that right, Cynthia?”

I glanced at Cynthia and it felt as if the doll was staring back at me with its little beady black eyes. Unconsciously, I shivered.

Monday, Mac Worthington High School, 12:47

It was so good to get away from that cursed place that is the Voodoo Club’s room. Life felt a lot more cheerful and colorful when we returned back to the school’s more populated corridors.

Michael turned towards me as we headed to our next class, Chemistry. Apparently, we took it together and I never even noticed. How could I have not noticed? Maybe I was so busy with my writing these days.

“Hey Ryan, are you going to go see the meteor shower this Thursday?”

“A meteor shower? Where’d you hear that from?” I asked. Seeing a meteor shower would be nice, especially if it would be with Michael, I think.

“Yeah, the school’s opening its fields that night,” Michael explained. “But there’ll be a few police officers and cars around, just to make sure that the murderer isn’t around.”

I smiled and nodded. “Then I guess I’ll go. It’s not as if I have anything better to do.” That was sort of a lie – I could just stay at home and work at my novel instead.

“Great, then you’re going with me,” Michael said quickly, beaming. He seemed to be very happy. “I know it’s only been a while since Fred’s murder, but I think you need to have a break. At least, lighten your mood or something.”

I returned Michael’s happy smile. “Sure. I’ll see you on Thursday, then.”

Michael nodded and gave me a slight punch on the shoulder, all the while still grinning. I let out a quiet sigh of happiness and leaned against the wall, watching his back as he walked down the corridor. While I watched him, no one else even came into my vision. All I saw was him.

But then something was beginning to gnaw at me at the back of my mind.

The next one will die in the multiple arms of darkness.