Chapter 26 His legs
VICTORIA
My eyes dimmed as I stared at his legs, filled with confusion and trying to push away the thoughts going on in my mind.
“What are you looking at?" Roseanne asked, and my head snapped up.
“It's…it's nothing,” I stammered and forced a nervous laugh to cover up how I felt.
Mr Thompson stared at me coldly, not saying a word before limping into the office.
“Come on!" Roseanne snapped at me, waving her hand at me.
I took a deep breath and forced a smile onto my face before following her in, even though a lot of questions haunted my mind.
The office erupted into an uproar when I arrived. All my colleagues who seemed to be dead serious and buried in their work sprang up and rushed towards me with grins on their faces.
“Ugh! You haven't changed at all, Vicky. You still look as beautiful as ever!" Silas exclaimed, and everyone burst into laughter.
As I laughed, I looked at him and felt my heart clench.
Mr Thompson looked up at that moment, and our eyes met when they shouldn't.
I quickly looked away and continued to fake a smile.
“I heard you almost caught the killer last night." Mr Thompson's voice broke through the chatter, and my heart skipped a beat.
Silence and tension fell in the room as we exchanged glances, mine full of confusion and theirs full of tiredness.
I sighed and turned to face him.
“Oh, yes, but I couldn't catch him,’ I paused and stared at his legs.
“He jumped off the balcony and I'm sure he would sustain a sprain that could leave him… limping,” I muttered, and then he shook his head, smiling smugly.
“You think I did it, don't you?" He asked, and my body froze
Damn! He figured it out immediately!
My lips parted and slammed shut as I gripped my hands together, avoiding her eyes in guilt.
The rest of the members stared with amusement across their faces.
“One thing I know is that the boss trusts you so much, Vicky, how could you suspect him like that?" Roseanne blurted out, and my chest tightened.
Mr Thompson raised his hand and nodded at Roseanne, then turned to face me.
“You have every right to suspect me, anyway," he muttered. I looked up at him, and my heart was crushed at the pain and disappointment in his eyes.
“I…it's just…” I stammered and cursed loudly.
"Are you ready to ask me why I'm limping?” He asked, and I nodded.
"I was shot last night by him," he muttered, and a gasp escaped from my mouth.
I turned and looked at the rest of my colleagues, engulfed in guilt as they watched me.
“I'm sorry for misunderstanding you, I… I thought…oh God,” I whispered, cursing myself.
He sighed and leaned into the chair, twirling a pen in his hand.
“Well…now we're sure the serial killer is a man,” he muttered, then raised his gaze to meet my face.
"Why was he at your brother's wedding anniversary in the first place?” he asked, and my throat knotted.
“Uhm …” I gripped my cold hands and rubbed them together as my heart raced.
He sighed and sat up, then leaned closer.
“Do you want us to talk privately about it?" He asked, and I shook my head.
“No, I can say it here. I don't think there's any need to hide it from the whole team anyway," I responded.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, waiting till everyone had gathered around Mr Thompson's table.
“The thing is… I've seen this serial killer before,” I blurted out, and gasps filled the room.
"Great! Just great!” Mr Thompson said and reached for a recorder while Sam, the youngest in the team, grabbed a paper and pencil.
"What does he look like? We'll start from there,” Mr Thompson asked, his eyes full of hope and life.
I sighed loudly, hating myself for giving them so much hope.
“I didn't see his face."
The smile on Mr Thompson's face dropped, and the shoulders of everyone slumped. Groans and sighs filled the room as disappointment etched on their faces.
“I'm sorry, I tried…”
"It's okay, I tried too. He was so strong, and when I was at the verge of pulling his mask off, he shot me and ran off. Silas found me in the field and took me to the hospital," Mr Thompson explained, and my heart clenched.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you went through all that last night.”
I wanted to ask him how he knew the killer would be there, but I kept my mouth shut.
Mr Thompson seemed to have read my thoughts as he watched me.
"I knew you were hiding something from me, Miss Victoria, and you've been acting weird and avoiding me. I had been following you. I was also at the party last night, maybe you didn't see me,” he said, and my brows raised.
"You were there?” I asked.
He nodded and leaned back into his chair.
"You were so rude to your sister-in-law…” he paused and looked at me. My heart ached from his words, and I bit my lips. "I'd love to see you do it again.”
My eyes lit up, and a smile sneaked into my face as I blushed hard at his words.
"Is there any other thing you want to tell us?” He asked after a long stretch of silence.
“Yes," I muttered.
They all left their work and tuned in to whatever I wanted to say.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the bunch of cards that the killer had been sending to me.
“Here," I said and handed it to Mr Thompson.
Mr Thompson's eyes darkened as he scanned through each card.
“The bastard has been threatening you?" He groused in a way that made my jaw drop.
Anger darted across his eyes, and he cursed loudly, crushing the cards.
“I wish I had caught him last night. I swear to God, I would have made him regret being born!" He spat.
Everyone shuddered and drew back to avoid getting caught in his anger.
"How long has this been going on?" He asked after seething for almost a minute.
“Three days."
He scoffed loudly, his lips twitched up in disbelief.
"And you kept this to yourself?” He asked.
"He said he would kill me if I said a word,” I muttered.
"And you believed him?” He snapped.
I raised my head and shook my head.
"That man has killed a lot of people. He won't hesitate to kill me–”
"You know if he wanted you dead, he would have done that the day you met him, right?” Mr Thompson said.
My head shot back, and I thought about what he said.
He was right. If the serial killer wanted to kill me like he threatened, he would have done that a long time ago.
“He is doing this to manipulate you. I think he's scared of you and wants to keep you away from catching him. I mean, think about it, you had the opportunity to catch him multiple times, something we haven't even been able to figure out for months.”
I gulped hard, and my hand clenched.
I was right after all. If there was anyone who could catch him, it was me.
“Miss Alexander," Mr Thompson called, and I looked up.
He pressed his hands against the table and leaned so close that our faces were just an inch away.
“Will you join us?" He whispered, causing my breath to cease.