Chapter 10

Julian stared at his phone as he drove along the road. Ten missed calls. All from Nancy. How did he not see them? He sighed as he remembered that he put his phone on silent mode during his date with Loretta. He felt a twinge of guilt fill his heart as he knew he inadvertently ignored Nancy. The same Nancy who was responsible for the meeting with the parapsychologist.

Speaking of whom, Julian could still not understand Loretta's strange personality. She intrigued and confused him at the same time. What was the whole idea behind the dinner between them. Their relationship was supposed to be strictly professional. What she told him at the restaurant was what she could have just done at the office. And then came her actions at the apartment. Why invite him over to the apartment only to seduce him? She claimed she was trying to help him but it just didn't tally. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a migraine coming. He needed a pain reliever. To his relief, he sighted a supermarket a few metres away.

He stopped the car and alighted quickly. Pulling out his phone, he dialled Nancy. As if she was expecting his call, she picked up almost immediately.

"Julian," She said. "Thank goodness. I thought something happened to you."

Julian couldn't explain it but he found her voice soothing at the moment. Like fine silk.

"Sorry," He said. "I was a bit occupied."

"I don't need to ask," He heard her laugh softly. "I'm sure you were doing 'Julian' things."

He was tempted to smile but suddenly remembered something.

"Nancy," He said . "Why didn't you tell me about Cheryl?"

There was silence at the other end. Julian knew she was contemplating on what to say. It was a deep subject.

"Honestly Julian, I wanted to, " She said solemnly. "I wanted to tell you the day you left my office. The other time I didn't want to dwell on it. I know Cheryl and I weren't that close but it still hurt to think about it. "

Julian sighed as she confirmed his earlier assumptions. All the smiles she gave him and the attempt of having fun on his birthday was her way of getting a distraction.

"I understand." He said.

"Thanks," She replied.

There was more silence again and Julian knew there was something disturbing her. He knew there was something she wanted to ask him.

"Nancy? " He said.

"It's nothing," Her voice was low. "I just wanted to check up on you."

He knew that wasn't the complete truth. But right now wasn't the time for questioning.

"I'm okay," He said. "We'll talk later. Take care."

"Bye." She said and cut the call.

Julian stared at the phone in his hand like it was a strange object. This would be the first time Nancy had been the one to cut the call. It wasn't like she was rude or anything. It's just that he was always used to ending the call. It was almost like an unwritten rule. He knew at that moment that something was bothering her deeply. And it was more than just Cheryl.

Suddenly he felt quick movements behind him and he quickly turned around. His actions were a little too late as a fist collided against his face by the side of his jaw. Losing his balance at the impact of the unexpected contact, he fell unceremoniously to the ground, landing roughly by his side. He held his jaw slightly, his blood boiling with rage as he stood up slowly to see his attacker. His rage shifted to fear as he saw the person who attacked him.

His attacker was a man who looked to be in his late thirties. He was a bit bigger than Julian with dirty brown hair. He wore a dark worn out coat above dark blue jeans that were torn at the sides. Above his bearded chin, his dark eyes reflected viciousness and murder. But it wasn't the appearance of the assailant that frightened Julian. It was the weapon the assailant processed. A pistol. And that very pistol was pointed squarely at Julian.

"Hand them over, lad." The man barked in a gruff voice.

Julian accessed the odds of survival. It was ver y slim. It was quite late in the night and his car was the only one parked in front of the supermarket. Shouting for help would be silly. Trying to attack the man would be much worse. It was quite clear that he would be outmatched even without a weapon. The man in front of him had the stance and presence of an experienced predator. This was a fight he clearly would not win.

Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He stretched his hand over to the man.

"Not that, " The man snapped impatiently. "Your keys. Your car keys!"

"You're taking my car?" Julian stared at him incredulously.

"No, I'm giving you chips and ice cream," The man replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. " Of course I'm taking your car, you bone head. Hand the keys over!"

The man tightened his grip on the gun and his scowl deepened. On seeing he meant business, Julian quickly fumbled into his pocket and brought out his keys. As the man reached out to grab them, Julian saw it. He saw it again. The tattoo. It was on the man's exposed wrist. That cursed symbol now took in the shape of an upside down bulb with the number 3 inscribed within.

"Oh, no." Julian's voice was barely audible as the man snatched the keys away.

He watched, petrified in fear, as the man drove off with his car. That feeling returned to the pit of his stomach and his heartbeat multiplied. He had to be seeing things.It had to be an illusion. It was just not possible. He wasn't supposed to see that symbol again. Loretta said it was solved. And this was not up to twelve hours. For the past twenty minutes, Julian stood still on that spot, overcome with fear for the inevitable that was about to happen. His only consolation at that moment, was that he had two cars. And now only one was left at home. However, that was the least of his worries.

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