Charmaine picked at her grilled salmon and side dish of buttered broccoli florets.  Although it looked and smelled delicious she was in no mood to eat.  Her earlier hunger had transformed into dread and all she can think of now was what did this man have in store for her.  He had been polite and courteous so far but who knows if this was all an act.  He claims to protect her but is that the truth?  Charmaine finds that hard to believe.

Raymond watched her from across the table.  She was pushing the food around the plate, not eating it.  Every so often she would look at him.  When met with his gaze she would quickly look away.  He could tell she was afraid despite the front she put up.  Any one would be afraid under these circumstances.  Abducted and held captive by a total stranger would drive any sane person mad.  However, she seems to be holding up pretty well and Raymond found himself again wanting to test her limits.  Tapping a finger on the table, he waited until she looked at him and asked, “Is the food not to your liking?”

Charmaine gave the salmon a brief perusal and dropped her fork.  Pushing the plate away she professed, “I’m not hungry.”

Raymond instantly got to his feet and walked to her end of the table.  “Since you’re not hungry, you should go to sleep.  I’ll take you to your room.”

Charmaine remained rooted to her seat.  Fed up by the not knowing, she was not going anywhere until she got some answers.  If he thinks she was some helpless victim who he can order around, he was in for a big surprise.  Locking her eyes on him, she demanded, “I want to know exactly what you plan to do with me and I’m not going anywhere until you do!”

Unaffected by her outburst, Raymond calmly responded, “I’ve already told you.  I won’t harm you and am here to protect you.”

Outraged by his ludicrous assertion, Charmaine clipped, “You’re holding me here against my will so how can you even claim that.  How much is Kong Lau paying you?  I’ll give you double the amount if you let me go.  Now!”

With eyes boring into her, Raymond replied softly, “I don’t work for Kong Lau.”

Unnerved by the intensity of his stare, Charmaine stammered, “You think I believe you?  If you don’t work for him then why the hell am I here?  Who sent you then?”

Raymond saw the stubborn set of her jaw and knew she wasn’t going to give up until she got some answers.  Resigned to that fact, he said quietly, “I was hired by your father.”

His response completely threw Charmaine off track.  “What?” she croaked.

“Your father and that cop Edwin Siu sought me out.  They asked me to watch over you for a few months,” Raymond added.

That explains why he was so damn nice to her since bringing her here.  Plus knowing her father, it was highly likely that he would do something like this to ensure her safety.  Still, a small part of Charmaine was skeptical about whether he was indeed telling the truth.  Studying him warily, she countered, “If what you’re saying is true, why didn’t they tell me in advance?”

Raymond shrugged and replied derisively, “Perhaps you should direct that question to them.”

“I would have if I had my cell phone!” Charmaine seethed and was further antagonized when she heard his soft chuckle.  Glaring at him she asked heatedly, “What’s so funny?”

Ignoring her question and her searing glare, Raymond began clearing away the plates and utensils on the table.

Charmaine watched with ire as he worked.  Even when performing a simple domestic task such as the one he was doing now, he does it with such flair and elegance that she found herself wondering who is he and how and where did her father or Edwin meet him.  As she watched him she waited for his response.  As the seconds ticked she realized she wasn't going to get an answer to her previous question.  "Well?" she persisted.

Raymond turned his gaze on her.  "Well what?"

"What were you laughing about just now?"

Turning his back on her, Raymond proceeded to carry the dishes and setting them onto a serving cart when he responded, "Why do you need to know everything?"

Giving up on her last question, Charmaine posed another, "Can you at least tell me where I am?  That's not so hard to answer is it?"

"You're in my house."

That was it?  That was his answer?  Fuming that he was apparently not going to give a more detailed response, Charmaine asked tightly, "Exactly where is this house of yours?”

Raymond glanced over at the grandfather clock behind her and noted the hour.  Returning his gaze on her he said with authority, "It's very late.  We can continue our discussion tomorrow.  I'll show you to your room."  He turned and began walking away.

Left with no choice, Charmaine grudgingly followed him.  As they made their way out of the dining room and into the foyer, Charmaine took noticed of her surroundings for the first time.  The foyer was huge, almost the size of a basketball court.  There were several doors leading to various rooms from the foyer.  In the center was a grand staircase which led to the floor above.  The house, if you can even call it that, was more like a mausoleum.  Taking a closer look at the antique furnishing and the lack of updated fixtures, Charmaine muse it looked like an old abandoned mausoleum.  Does he really live here?

Raymond felt her stall behind him and turned.  He saw her wandering eyes and asked, "Something wrong?"

Charmaine had been studying an old oil painting when she heard his question.  "Is this really your house?"

Raymond smiled with amusement at her question.  He can see the disbelief on her face and he asked, "Why do you find that surprising?"

Annoyed that he yet again answered one of her questions with his own, Charmaine said coolly, "Never mind.  I can see its useless talking to you.  Just show me where I'll be sleeping."

Raymond studied her.  One second her face was alight with curiosity and now she was scowling at him.  Charmaine Lau certainly was a woman of many moods and he anticipates interacting with each and every one of them.  His gaze shifted from her face down to her partially exposed neck where he could almost see a vein.  He could feel the beast within him churn with hunger and he his lips.  He needed to feed and fast.  Walking abruptly to the stairs before the hunger in him grew beyond control, he ordered curtly, "Follow me."

-----------------------------------------------

Edwin bent over the body.  She was completed , except for her shoes.  There weren't any visual marks on her to indicate a cause of death.  No signs of a struggle either.  Her possession laid in a neat pile a short distance away.

"Her name is Niki Chow."  Yoyo, his partner, told him from a few feet away.  Handing the victim's wallet and purse over to a uniformed officer, she added, "I don't think this is the first scene of the crime."

Edwin walked towards her, careful not to obstruct any potential evidence.  "Why do you think that?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Yoyo said, "I just do.  Everything looks too neat around here."

Edwin rolled his eyes and said, "You got to do better than that.  You can't assume anything if there are no facts backing it up.  That's rule number one when trying to solve a crime.  Understand?"

Yoyo nodded sheepishly.  She had only been working with Edwin for two months and already she can't seem to get anything right.  Before transferring to this unit, she had been on foot patrol issuing tickets for offensive drivers.  She found it boring and wanted some zest so she requested to be transferred.  After a series of training and being shifted around, she finally made it to this unit.  While in training she had heard many glorified tales about Edwin Siu.  He had cracked some of the top cases and was greatly admired by his juniors.  She had decidedly that she wanted to work under him.  After much persuasions and exhaustive training she achieved her goal.  Plus, having an uncle who was a supervisor in Edwin's station helped.  Edwin may be harsh on her at times but Yoyo knew he was only teaching her and she gratefully accepted whatever criticism he dished out.  Turning to the forensic doctor, she asked, "Any findings?"

Newly appointed forensic doctor Bosco Wong looked up from the body.  Pointing a gloved finger at the victim's neck he said in an odd voice, "She has two small holes on her neck.  They're exactly the same size."

Returning to the body, Edwin squatted down beside Bosco and asked, "What do you think made them?"

Bosco turned the head of the victim aside so that they can get a clear view.  "Noticed how the skin and flesh caves into the hole.  I would say the holes were punctured by a very sharp thin object.  Like knitting needles."

Looking across at Yoyo, Edwin said, "Make a note to search what kind of objects matches that description."

Yoyo quickly scribbled it down on her notepad.  Turning her attention back to the body, she said, "She must have been dead for some time.  Her body looks all washed up."

Turning to her with a strange look on his face, Bosco said, "I don't think that's it.  I did a temperature reading and she died some time within twenty four hours.  But what's really strange is that when I inserted my needle and pulled it out, not one single drop of blood came out."