The Unmasked Faces

When the college day was over, Dr Felter was sitting alone in the park before the female student he told to meet earlier arrived.

"Good evening, sir," She greeted him with a smile.

"Good evening, come sit," He replied and pushed himself aside a bit to make some space on the bench for her to sit.

She sat on the bench and opened her notebook. "Sir, I wanted to ask…" When she was speaking, he suddenly held the notebook in her hand by deliberately touching her hand.

"Yes?" He said and looked at her while taking the notebook.

"Sir, I wanted to ask…" She was about to speak but again was interrupted by him.

"Why don't we go somewhere else? I am not getting a good vibe from this place," He mentioned while looking here and there. She had some doubt erupting in her mind already as the park was empty for some reason.

"Sir, I have to go somewhere after this. I just want to understand the topic…" She was again interrupted by him before she could finish her sentence.

"We all have to go someday. Some go soon, some early while some go even before they arrive. It is all written in our fate," He uttered with a creepy smile. "So, if we are fortunate enough to make it this far, then we should be concerned about taking it further." He suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Sir, I have to go…" She muttered as she was feeling uncomfortable now. Dr Felter's eyes had become like a demon who found his prey.

"As I said, one has to go someday. So it is better to stay and enjoy the present moment," He mentioned when he pulled her closer to himself.

"Sir…" She was in a panic now and was struggling a bit. He suddenly received a phone call and his attention diverted for a moment. The girl took this as a chance, bit his hand, and ran with her full speed.

"Ah!" He winced but didn't chase her but rather picked up the call in a hurry as if someone very important had called him.

"Yes, sir!" He said on the phone and paused to hear what the other side had to say. "The prey just ran away from my hands. Don't worry, I will get her sooner or later," He replied after listening to the other side.

He paused for a moment and replied, "Sir, as long as your umbrella is above my head, no one can harm me." He had an evil smirk on his face after disconnecting the call.

The girl was running without looking back when suddenly someone pulled her into an alley.

"You thought you could run from me, huh?" The person who pulled her said while holding her mouth tightly. He was no one other than Dr Felter who took a shortcut to get to her.

"Mmm… Mmm…" She was trying to scream but couldn't as her mouth was tightly closed from his hand. He pulled out a syringe from his pocket and injected it into her neck to make her unconscious.

When she dropped on the ground, he took out his cell phone, took her picture, and sent it to someone. As soon as he sent it, he received a call.

"Yes, sir. She is the one I told you about just a while ago," He said after receiving the call. He suddenly got silent as he heard some noises outside the alley but got relieved as it was a passerby who passed by without noticing him in the alley.

He put the cell phone back to his ear and said, "I will send her to you at the midnight." He cut the call after nodding when he heard the other side.

Meanwhile, Detective John had a hopeful smile on his face when he was looking at Alex's missing complaint file. The police inspector beside him noticed his smile and asked.

"Did you find something, sir?"

John looked at him and answered, "I can't say for sure but I think we have got our fish."

"I can't understand, sir."

"I am saying that this Alex…" John said and paused when he looked at the file once again, then continued, "…could be the one we are searching for."

"Are you saying that…"

John nodded with a smile. "Yes, take a look at the description of his looks and the photograph they provided to search for him." He handed the file to the police inspector.

His eyes expanded in surprise with a little bit of shock and he uttered, "Sir, this is…"

"I have a strong theory to support my speculation," John mentioned when the police inspector was looking at the photograph.

"But sir, aren't speculations a kind of theories too?" The police inspector countered, making John squint at him.

"Listen to me what I am trying to say. Why do you think the killer spared Claire even if she had witnessed him murdering someone?" John asked.

"Didn't she run away and hid in an alley to save herself?"

"Do you believe this bullsh*t?"

The police inspector had no answer.

"Sam did say earlier that she is hiding something… Look at the features of the guy in the picture. It is exactly matching the looks of the killer which the only survivor had told us," John said, making the police inspector take a good look at the picture again. He nodded in agreement.

"But… Didn't Claire tell Sam that she had seen a middle-aged person murdering the government officer?" John mentioned.

The police inspector's eyes expanded in realization and he closed the file in his hand. "Are you saying that…"

"Yes, exactly as you are thinking. There is a high chance that she is trying to save him. It is the time we need to ask some serious questions from Miss Claire," John said and crossed his fingers with a smile while staring ahead into nothingness.

Meanwhile, Dr Felter was preparing some snacks in his house as he was expecting his daughter and the guest she told about anytime.

When he was in the kitchen, he heard the doorbell ring. "Coming!" He said, went to the door, and opened it.

"Dad!" Jessica uttered and hugged her father with a smile.

"Daughter…" Dr Felter separated himself and looked at the young man standing beside Jessica.

"Professor Ryan, sir," The young man said and placed his hand for a handshake before Dr Felter could even speak.