56

Sam drops Lewis off and watches him walk into his apartment. At the door, Lewis raises his right hand in form of a salute to Sam. Sam nods and smiles then begins to drive out of Lewis's driveway. Lewis steps into his apartment and begins to whistle for Garrick. He locks the door behind him and takes off his shoes. He steps on the floor gently with his socked feet, in car Garrick is laying on the floor, towards the light switch and turns it on. He finds Garrick on the sofa and his eyes almost fall out of their sockets. As if on cue, Garrick turns around and stares at Lewis with eyes that seem to say a thousand words and nothing at the same time. Garrick is not the reason for his eyes falling out of their sockets, the man sitted on the sofa is the reason.

"How did you get in here and what do you want from me?" Lewis asks with a tone of steel. He throws on his poker face, leaving no emotion on display for the monster he is currently housing. He only laughs heartily and turns to look at him straight in the eye.

"I could say the same for you, Mr Lewis. What do you want from me? What do you stand to gain by trying to win my princess's heart?" Doctor Richard says while he stands from the sofa.

"Your place is not all so bad, you know. You must make pretty good income. I was expecting a more run down, rat hole but I guess you fare pretty well for yourself." Richard tries to engage him in small talk. Lewis is not interested and is rather taking notes of all the corners of his living room just Incase someone is lurking in the dark corners, waiting for him to make a wrong move.

"What do you want, Doctor Richard?" Lewis asks, he is still standing and staring hard at Richard. He will not cower under his gaze for any circumstances.

"Oh dear, you will not have a seat? I know it was rude to let myself in, I do not need to ask if you will not offer me a seat. I do not apologize though. Doctor Richard is never wrong. You will understand this in the coming days if you make today go awfully wrong." Richard has a menacing tone and Lewis is annoyed at himself for not putting enough bullets in the gun at the small of his back.

"This is my house and I will take a seat whenever I want to. How did you find me?" He asks again, hoping he would answer at least one of his questions.

"Hmm, how did I find you? Good question. Good old location finder, that is how. Since you have been gallivanting around with my daughter and her driver, I figured this was your spot and I was lucky enough to find an extra key beneath your potted plant outside. It is a bit cliche to be keeping keys under plants or door mats, don't you think? That is everyone's first guess now, anyway." He explains, he keeps a cold, calculative smile on his face while he speaks. What he says about the extra key makes him remember Amber. She had given him an advice such as this and he had completely ignored it. It was a genius idea to keep the key under the potted plant or so he thought. If he had listened to Amber, he would not be here, he thinks. No, if he had listened to Amber, Doctor Richard would have pulled out his door from its hinges. He did not look like a man that could simply be stopped by a door with locks.

"Come on, have a seat and relax. Let us get to know each other, my daughter is smitten by you. I want to witness your charm." Richard taps on the seat next to him. Lewis sits cautiously, his eyes still roaming around the perimeter.

"You asked what I am doing here? I am here to see you, Lewis. Who could be so lucky to get under my daughter's skin all this while without being seen? Providence has been good to you." Richard smiles again and points his index finger at Lewis as he speaks. Lewis wants to know where all of this is heading. What is the end game? His death?

"I do not understand what you are getting at, sir." He responds to Doctor Richard, maintaining eye contact and a poker face.

"You do not understand? No, I do not understand. What do you want from my daughter, Mr detective? Was she your guise to get to me? Well, now you found me and it looks like you were never expecting me. Yes, i do not understand. You will explain your intentions." Richard's voice inches higher with every sentence he makes.

"I and your daughter are just friends. Simply friends. I have no idea what you have heard, we met in a parking lot and we started talking from there. She invited me to be a plus one for her little party. I chose to accept the invite and that is where I am coming from. Now, from all of this I do not see any reason why you would break into my home unwarranted and throw accusations around like confetti. I could report you to the police, you know." Lewis explains with a calm tone. He does not want to sound threatening or incriminate himself in anyway. Doctor Richard looks at Lewis for a while and folds his arms. He looks almost convinced.

"Well, I wish to warn you, detective. I have not had the best relationships with law enforcers but I make do when I can. If you make any funny moves with my daughter, you will burn. It is not a threat. Good day, Lewis." Richard finishes and sees himself out.

Lewis breathes in deeply, he does not realize he has been holding his breath all this while.