• (Chapter 3: The Onslaught & Man's Omission)

    tab The warmth of the fireplace hugged my body as I was reading the Arizona Times. The black wireless phone that lay on a mahogany coffee table next to me rang. I answered my unexpected call.
    tab “Hello? Who am I speaking to?” I asked.
    tab “Hello, this is Deidra McCorwell calling from Arizona DNA Lab. I assume you’re Xion Yukuta, correct?” said the caller.
    tab “Yes, I am. The reason you’re calling me is because you finished analyzing the blood sample I gave to you, right?”
    tab “You are correct. I discovered that it was not one of the FBI’s Most Wanted, the victim’s, nor was it your partner’s.”
    tab With I sigh of relief for my partner and the deceased victim, I sighed, but then said, “Oh…” I was silent for a period of time to think. The only two people were the witnesses. It couldn’t have been the victim’s blood because, now that I think about it, he was murdered inside the cave, not outside. He wasn’t dragged outside, either. Therefore, the blood must match one of the two witnesses! “That’s it! Deidra, do you mind if you can keep the analyses of the blood on your records?”
    tab “Sure,” said Deidra.
    tab “Thank you! Bye!” I placed the phone back on the table and looked for Mr. Wachigo's phone number on an index card that I wrote on.
    tab Once I found it, which was under a home furnishings magazine that I had just received, I reached for the phone once again to call. While I was calling, I thought strategically on how to acquire their blood. If I ask directly, they would be suspicious of me. It would be better if I pretend my brown toy poodle was lost… Maybe, they might trip and bleed somewhere. With that plan, I answered the phone with a, “Hello!” I remembered I was suppose to sound depressed, so I changed my tone of voice, “This is Xion Yukuta. Do you remember me?”
    tab “Oh, yes! Any luck with the identity of the murderer?” said Mr. Wachigo.
    tab “We are nearly there to discovering who did it; I believe that it might me a man named Harrison Porture, but… I’m sorry. I’m distracted because my toy poodle disappeared. Do you mind if Peter and you could assist me in finding her?” I set the trap. Hopefully, everything would go according to plan.
    tab “Alright, this will be an early thank you for finding the murderer,” he responded.
    tab Perfect. I caught him in my trap. “Meet me in the town’s park, okay? I’m sure my pet would be there. She loves the park.”
    tab “Okay, see you there.” Mr. Wachigo hung up after saying goodbye.

    tab tab tab tab tab tab ***********

    tab When I met both Mr. Wachigo and Peter Gojuko, they were at the entrance of the park, sitting patiently on a wooden bench. Mr. Wachigo wore a blue plaid shirt with blue long jeans. His friend, Peter, was wearing almost the exact same outfit except his shirt was red instead of blue.
    tab “Thank you for assisting me!” I said as I was walking towards them. “I think my darling went over there.” My finger was raised to point to a part in the park where some plants were thorn bushes. “I’m incredibly sorry if you’d think I’m trying to injure both of you, but…,” I didn’t want to become suspicious, so I tried to infatuate them by blinking my eyes a bit faster and pouting my lip. “I love my Keisha! Please help her!”
    tab The sunlight that shone upon them showed that my infatuation had worked. Their faces became more concerned, and they headed towards the area I had told them to go.
    tab “If you do become injured, I’ll treat you with my first aid kit. Please be safe!” Again, I tried to infatuate them, so that they would try to receive at least a minor cut. Patiently, I sat down on the bench Mr. Wachigo and Peter were resting on earlier. Sure enough, Peter had returned with a possibly an inch cut on his right arm. The cut was still bleeding, which was perfect. Immediately, I took out a small white plastic box from my brown Coach bag. When I opened it, band aids, cotton balls, and alcohol pads were ready for my use. I tended his wound first with a cotton ball only to wipe off the blood and dispose of it. Or so he thought. Then I used an alcohol pad to disinfect it and placed a band aid on top of it. He thanked me and went back to search for the “lost” poodle. Men are so gullible, I thought, they would do anything if you infatuate them.
    tab A couple of minutes later, Mr. Wachigo returned, also, with a cut. However, this cut was much longer than Peter’s by possibly a half an inch. I tended his wound the same way I tended Peter’s. When Mr. Wachigo left to continue his work, I placed the used cotton balls into two separate Ziploc bags.
    When it was sunset, I called them back and acted once again, “Did you find her?”
    tab “No, we didn’t. We’re sorry,” said Peter.
    tab “Oh…,” I faced my head towards the ground avoiding eye contact.
    tab “But, if you do really love Keisha, then I suppose we’ll stay longer to search for her. Right, Ren?” Peter looked at Mr. Wachigo. He nodded his head in response. “We’ll stay,” said Peter.
    tab I faced them again, this time with a smile. “Thank you so much! I must go home now. I’m very busy tomorrow. Good night!” I ran towards my BMW in the parking lot while waving them goodbye. Once I reached my car, I opened the door, sat on the driver’s seat, and smiled. “Men are so gullible.”