Chapter 6: Alphonse - Dubious Confidant

I haven’t changed at all. I said all that and still, I remained a pathetic loser. Back when I was facing that biker, if that could be called as such, I couldn’t move. Even his voice alone was enough to shake me up. I thought I have made my decision. Did that mean that was just all talk? I clutched my hair, trying to pull them out with frustration.

“Hey there buddy!” A voice called out to me. A man in his fifties or so wearing a round hat and big nose in slightly oversized brown cloth showed himself. It was the reporter from earlier. Has he been waiting for me in front of the police station? “I want to thank you for saving me earlier.”

“I didn’t do anything.” I said to him. “Instead, I got beat up without being able to do anything.” I dared not look up at him.

“Hohoho but you did. You were brave enough to shout at them. While you may not have beaten them up, it was the act that counted. As for me, it is thanks to your effort that they didn’t hit me. In my view, you saved me from all those injuries.” He pointed at the bandages on my face. “You are free after this? Want to grab a beer?”

“Well I….” but before I could even answer, the man has dragged me away along with him.

“I take that as a yes. Let’s go! I know a great place to drink.”

Our destination was not far. It was actually right around the corners. A set of stairs led down to a red door shut tight one level below the ground. Have it been me, I would have never thought it was actually a bar. There was no sign and it remained quite hidden from the high street. The inside was actually bigger than I thought it was. Well, it was not exactly like those fancy clubs with hundreds of chairs but it was the perfect place for a small group of friends to hang on in a nice quiet place. Some jazz music played in the background, softening the atmosphere. The glasses were cleanly arranged behind the counter, along with the many brands of bottles. I haven’t even sat down yet and already I liked the place. It somehow reminded me of where I proposed to my wife back in the past.

It was in this same kind of place. She and I have both just moved to our new home together. After two years of relationship, I felt like it was about time I made a decision. Then I took it. Though it was not as dramatic as it sounded. We both kind of knew what we felt about each other. All I needed to do was to say the words. A few months later, our cute little baby child was born. Thinking back, it all seemed so distant now.

A fruity voice called out to me, bringing me back to reality. When I came to myself, a terrifying face greeted me. Wearing a bright yellowy tight one piece, the person had a red wig and used a lot of makeups, too much for any normal lady would use. The heavy smell of perfume emanated from this person. But the most striking feature was the gender of the person. It was a man.

“Hello beautiful!” the man lady said.

“AAAAA!” I almost jumped myself when she…or maybe he…or it put their face so close to mine.

“How rude to scream in a lady’s face like that!” the man lady said.

“Don’t scare him like that Cassandra! Everyone would freak out if you put your ugly face so close to them.” The reporter said.

“Pffuu. You just don’t understand a maiden’s heart.” The person named Cassandra pouted.

“Yeah yeah. Just bring us some beer, will you?”

Cassandra brought us to a table in the corner of the bar and departed. I sat down, still trying to figure out what Cassandra was.

“Is it your first time seeing a transsexual?” asked the reporter cheerfully.

“Well…yes…I..hum…so is that a he or she?” I shyly asked.

“Hahaha I suppose it is normal to be confused. It is actually not that complicated as people makes it. Cassandra is a woman trapped inside a man’s body. Pure and simple. Nothing too difficult to understand. Just remember to call her HER! Else you are in for a beating. Anyway, here comes our drink.”

Cassandra came with a plate on her hand, bringing some small side snacks and two large pins of beer on our table. As she put down mine, the woman, if I could call her that, added a handkerchief with a lipstick mark and a telephone number written in black and put it right next to the cup.

“Call me!” Cassandra winked at me and departed.

“Well, someone got a fan already.” The reporter joked. “Anyway, a toast to our meeting. Cheer!”

“Cheer!”

“That is good stuff.”

“It sure is.” I said. I still had no idea why he invited me for a drink. If anything, life has taught me not to trust any stranger, especially if they were overly friendly with you. Behind every smile hid a secret intention. No one would be willing someone else for free. Either they wanted a favor or put us in debt with them for a potential future favor. It was always the case. I put down my pin and crossed my hands. “So why exactly am I here?”

Feeling that his charade no longer worked, the reporter dropped his cheerful tone and took a serious voice. “Just a little chat. That’s all.”

“Really now?”

“But I guess a senior employee of Orchitech Pharmaceuticals such as yourself wouldn’t be fulled by this. Am I right, Mr. Alphonse Graves?” the reporter said.

“How do you know who I am?” I asked angrily.

“If you haven’t been paying attention to the news, I suggest you go and read this.” The report brought out yesterday’s newspaper belonging to a tabloid.

Picking it up, I read the headline. “Unfortunate husband or wicked murderer?” The title shocked me to my very core. Below were some outrageous speculations, saying that I may have planned the deaths of my wife and child in order to get their life-insurance money.

“What the hell is this?” I threw back the newspaper at the reporter.

“Easy easy. Hasty one aren’t you? This is a fake.” The reporter said.

“What?” I grabbed the thing back. Once you carefully read it, aside from the article about me, all the others were in some gibberish language, not meaning anything. “What is the meaning of this?” I questioned with rage. Even if it was a fake, I didn’t find the joke funny at all.

“That was a story I intended to publish…” Before I could grab my cup and smash it into his head, the reporter quickly resumed. “That is until I find some new evidence. I know that you are not responsible for the accident.”

“Of course not!” I retorted.

“You never know these days. I am telling you, people are capable of doing some sick stuff. Just watch the news recently and you will see what I am talking about. Anyway, here is my card.”

I reluctantly took the card. At that time, all I wanted to do was to leave that place. Still, something told me that maybe, just maybe, I could use this guy for something. That was why I decided to take a deep breath and calmed down. “Buck Cash, freelance reporter and publisher of the Capital Observer.” Capital Observer, where did I see that name? The Capital Observer was the name of the tabloid where I read about that biker online. No wonders why this guy’s name seemed so familiar. He was the reporter that wrote that article. However, it would not do anything good for him to know about me researching about the biker. So I decided to feign ignorance. “So you are a reporter. What does that have anything to do with me? How did you know about the life-insurance money?”

“Well we all knew about the accident. Horrible stuff really. Anyway, I originally wanted to arrange an interview with you so I chased down your address. But when I came to your home that day, you were just on your way out. My journalist’s instinct kicked in and instead, I decided to follow you to that lawyer’s office. You should really pick a better lawyer next time I tell you. All I needed was to invite him to this place and make him drink a couple of shots before he started spouting everything about you. Then again, if your client suddenly gains ten million dollars without giving a single dime to you, you would be pretty pissed off too. I suggest you deal with that.”

“What exactly do you want?” I was not afraid of his threat. He knew better than I was how little that kind of rubbish article would affect me. I was perfectly innocent in this case. The police, even the insurance company, agreed with me. There was no one anyone would believe his crap. However, he should know this already. So why did he want to talk to me?

“A story, Mr. Graves. A good story.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You see, you might not agree with me but I understand your current situation. I mean, losing your family to some selfish prick who couldn’t wait just a few seconds before a red light is pretty frustrating, don’t you agree?”

“What? Does that mean you know who that guy is?” I stood up suddenly. Then I noticed that I have frightened the other clients in other tables and quickly sat down. I must calm down. I must take this slowly.

“Looks like I hit the spot. I might have some info….That is if you are interested.” Buck said with a sly grin on his face, rubbing his two fingers.

“How much do you want?” I asked him.

“Oh I don’t know. I am not really good with money you see. Lost the whole lot of them in horse racing. Maybe just a tiny bit to cover the debts and funding for my next article.” Buck raised one finger. “How about a hundred grands for start?”

“One hundred thousand???”

“Quiet down! Do you want the whole world to know? It is actually quite cheap you know. It includes all the fees plus some additional exclusive service for you. Besides, there is also the fee to keep my mouth shut. And don’t worry! Unlike that lawyer, I am a very ethical person. I keep my words. Come on! It is a friendly price. Who knows? I may not look like it but I have quite the network. I can be a lot of assistance to you for future reference.” Buck spoke excitedly.

From appearance alone, it was more than enough to see how shady this guy was. Despite how it may sound, Buck’s offer did manage to catch my interest. Information was power and a shady reporter would definitely have his way to find out things others would not have. In my line of works, or rather what I used to do, we most often had to resort to turn to some back channels in order to gather intelligence about our competitors, our clients and often our own coworkers. Who could possibly not be interested in that upcoming promotion? Getting some dirt on the other candidates did help bringing in that achievement. But of course, these precious info did not come from our daily chats, but rather through shady connections like this. However, sometimes, these connections could also come back and bite you later. Blackmail was a common result. It was a risk not everyone was willing to take.

I had to make a decision. It was certainly risky but who was going to say that I would get another chance? The police would never give out the info about the culprit. In addition, they were all corrupted or too unreliable. No one else but these kinds of guys would be willing to help me. I had no other choice here. It required evil to defeat evil. If I decided to follow my vendetta till the end, I must be prepared to do some questionable things. Yes, I needed to.

“How do I know you won’t be lying to me?” I asked him. “Or maybe betray me?”

“Surely you jest. I would never lie to my clients.” Buck smiled.

“The fact that you said that makes me worry even more.”

“How about this? You give me half of the money we agree to. Think of it as the funding for my investigation. I will bring back some proper evidence so you can check it yourself. Once I am done, I will get the other half. Not a bad deal huh?” Buck proposed.

“….Sounds fair.”

“Of course it is fair. Old Buck never lies, if you have the money of course.”

“Can I count on your silence then?”

“But of course. Whatever you do with the information is up to you. I can even find some dirt on them if you have more to pay for it. Old Buck is your friend, buddy.” The shady reporter spoke cheerfully. “Now, a toast to our new friendship! CHEER!”

“Cheer!” I said softly. As I sipped through that enormous pin, a part of me wondered if I have made a mistake in dealing with this guy. But there was no going back. I would do it this time. But first, there was something I wanted to ask him. Just before I started to have a spark of hope on my revenge that I forsook what I have committed to. The biker remained at large. “By the way, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure. Shoot ahead!” Buck replied.

“Do you know who was the one that attacked us? That biker?” I asked.

“Oh you mean Ross Duran? Yeah I know him. I wrote an article about him, telling how he scared the shit out of people because of his reckless driving and gang members. A real piece of shit I tell you. The police caught him a few times but there is always someone bailing him out. I tried to find out more who was behind his little gang but couldn’t find anything yet. For once I do something journalist-like and look at what it got me!” Buck showed the bruise he had from the biker’s punch. “If you are smart, better avoid him!” the reporter took out a cigarette and a lighter.

“I see. So…where does he usually hang out?”

“Why are you asking?” Upon the sudden question, Buck stopped and put down his lighter.

“Oh, I just want to know where to avoid encountering him. I am afraid if he sees me again, he will kill me.” I faked a cowardly posture. All those years working as a salaryman have made me a pretty actor at faking it.

“Ahaha, I get what you mean. I would probably do the same thing. But don’t you worry. Aside from the alleys we met last time, he usually only hangs out with his buddies in the central park starting from midnight. Though I am sure even he wants to avoid attracting too much of the police’s attention so he will definitely be at the pack only in late night. You have nothing to worry.” The shady reported said.

“Thank you for the info!” I grinned secretly. “I expect good things from you.”

“Of course! About the payment….”

“You will get it tomorrow. I will give you a call when I am ready.” I put Buck’s business card in my wallet.

“Yes yes of course. Well, it is almost midnight now so we should probably call it a day. Wouldn’t want to miss the train or have an unfortunate encounter!”

“What do you mean? What unfortunate encounter?”

“Have you been living under a rock? Just look at the news for once! It is all they have been talking about for the last few months.” Buck pointed at the hung television of the bar. “Hey Cassandra, can you turn on the volume a bit?”

On TV, two reporters were discussing with each other in a breaking news section.

“It has been three months and the police has not yet succeeded in identifying the serial killer who is behind five murders. Jim, I get it that the public has given this killer a nickname?”

“Yes, Andy. Due to the mirrored states of the five crime scenes and the similarities between the accounts of the witnesses, the mysterious killer has been nicknamed…..”

“The White Reaper?” I uttered.

“Yes. According to the witnesses, the killer wears a white mask and black cloth, making him look like a real reaper of the death. Furthermore, his signature killing method is cutting the victim into two pieces, as if they have been slashed by a giant scythe.” Buck said. “Really creepy shit. What has our city come to, letting murderers roaming around like this? Anyway, let’s go home!”