Fire - Betrayal (16 page)

The detective stared into
my eyes.

This gave
me the chance to read into this detectives mind.  It was full of greed and pictures of the fruit, the opal seed, the black car, Cate’s house, the night I chased him, and the fire- bombing of Cate’s house.  I could also see that he had been to my parent’s house and ransacked my room searching for the fruit tree seeds.

The detective looked away first.

“Let’s go back to the tree Benjamin Adams.”  The detective left the chair and leaned against a wall and questioned me.

“Why did you return to
Cate’s house after the fire and destroy the tree? Why did you burn it to the ground?”

“I felt a strong attachment to the tree because I associated it with
Cate.  If Cate wasn’t here anymore, the tree couldn’t be here anymore.  The tree would always be a reminder to me of Cate.  The tree would become an emotional burden to me detective,” I answered.

And then I turned the table on the detective, questioning him and calling his bluff.

“What did you find when you analysed the fruit detective?  I was there when you and your partner turned up that morning and carefully took one of each of the fruits.  I was also there when you ran off at night after grabbing one of the opal seeds.  I was the one who chased you down the street to your car. And I have some interesting photographs the night of the fire bomb attack,” I said in a calm non-threatening voice.

The detective
considered my words and then moved closer and stood dominantly over me, using intimidation.

“Are you accusing me of something Benjamin Adams?”

“No, I am just stating the facts.  They go down very well in a court of law, unless of course you have paid somebody off to lie under oath.”

T
he detective intentionally stood in a position that would hinder the view of the detectives behind the one way mirror.

And then he raised his hand, his fist closed to inflict some damage.

I knew it was coming, but I refused to defend myself.

I felt the intense pain as the detective slammed his knuckles into the side of my face, not once but three times, and then violently pinned my head onto the white table, blood dripping from my face, tarnishing the piece of furniture.

“You were still away the night of the fire. We made sure of it,” the detective said in a quiet threatening voice, calling my bluff on the photos.

“Yes, I was.  But after chasing you down the street that night, and knowing that I would be away from
Cate for two weeks, I hired my own private detective to keep a look out for her, and I asked him to photograph any unusual activity around Cate’s house.  You should be the one sitting here being questioned over Cate’s murder, not me,” I threatened back, my voice low and rough, not caring whether the detective physically assaulted me again.

The truth must be told.

The detective was silent, and highly irritated, and then started to walk towards the door of the interview room.

I
called after him in a calm voice, “If you take me to court and try to convict me of her murder – which I did not do – the tables will turn detective, and you will be under the spot light, not only for this, but also for the many other things that you have done under the guise of an honest and trustworthy policeman serving  your country.”

The detective
stopped walking.  He did not turn to look at me, but arrogantly left the room.

I
sat, at the white wooden table, silent, and still, with blood dripping from my face from the injuries inflicted by the detective.  I was contemplating all that was said, and what I had seen in the detectives head.  They were either going to throw the book at me, or release me, uncharged.

Maybe I had said too much?

Maybe they would release me and then put a bounty on my head
.

In the long time that I sat at the white wooden table, I planned for the truth to be told, should they decide to kill me, or not. I would set in motion, a series of events that would unfold in the event of my death, or in the event of me leaving for Une Autre Terre, leading to the arrest and conviction of this deceitful, corrupt detective, and anyone else who was involved in his evil schemes.  Then justice would be done, and Cate would not have died in vain.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate
.  My heart ached.

After three long hours, the detective re-entered the room.

“We find you not guilty of the murder of
Cate Boswell.  You are free to leave, and no conviction will be recorded against your name.”

Then
the detective approached me very closely and talked in a low voice that no one else could hear.

“I can guarantee your safety, if, and only if, your knowledge is never shared with another human being.  Do you understand what I am saying?”
The detectives eyebrows were raised.  He was threatening me.

“Yes,”
I simply replied, filled with loathing for the detective.  I turned my cerulean eyes on him, filling the detective with fear. And then I walked out of the interrogation room, collected my belongings and left the police building.

I
returned to my parent’s house by taxi, feeling intense hatred, full of revenge.

The Portal

I went to my room
.  It was a complete utte chaos.  Everything had been upturned and strewn around. I found some dark clothes to wear, and some camouflage clothes to walk in. I grabbed my precious bag of opal seeds that I had hidden, a load of sustenance foods, water, my ultra high technology solar energy laptop computer from Earth Sphere, and left under the protection of the night.

My mother touched the side of my face, examining the damage inflicted by the detective, her eyes full of sadness.

“I need to get away Ma. I love you.”  I said despondently. I hugged her in silence.

I
had had enough of the Earth.  My beautiful Cate was no longer here, and I could not bear to be in a world where she was not.  It was far too painful, torturous.

I
would go to Une Autre Terre with the opal seeds of The Magnificent Tree, and live amongst my own people.

I
knew that the portal in Grandy’s drawing room had been destroyed, so I could not return to my parallel world through there, besides, I was sure that the detectives would have a watch on Cate’s house, waiting for some action to happen.  I must avoid Cate’s house at all costs.

Thinking with clarity of mind,
I decided to return through the portal that I had used when I returned to Cate just recently.  It was out of the way, but it was in an unpopulated area.  It was concealed in the guise of an old uninhabited farmhouse, which was obscured from the dirt road by overgrown long grasses, and had shelter as well. It had its own water supply and many native foods that could provide sustenance.

I
left through the back door of my parent’s house.  I was sure that there would be spies positioned in the street waiting to follow me as soon as I left. I jumped the neighbours fences undetected, until I was two entire streets away from my parent’s house.

I
walked on foot, cloaked in the darkness of the night towards the north, where the portal resided.

Continuously,
I kept an eye out for suspicious activity, people following me, cars following me, detectives dressed in civilian clothes.

I
was pleased to observe that I was totally alone, at this stage.  But I could not let my guard down.

I
walked for two hours until I reached a dirt road that led off down a concealed tree lined dirt road.  It was pitch black and would have been impossible for me to have been seen. In the darkness I was looking for a sign to turn off the dirt road and then continue cross country towards the ruins of an old two storey stucco house. I had to concentrate intensely on the trees on the right of me, looking for the tree that had been split in two by a lightning strike, forming a very unique shape.

The moment that
I saw it, I veered off the dirt road, and headed through the overgrown waist high golden brown grass, hoping that I was walking in a straight enough line so that I would not over run the old unoccupied house.

After a nervous hour of walking
I saw it.  I did not want to enter the ruins of the old house in the dark. It would be better to wait until daylight, so that I could see clearly and be prepared for the unexpected.

I
examined the area around the house as best as I could with my limited vision in the dark, and found a very well hidden place to rest – but not to sleep.  Sleep would come later when I was safe. For now, I would wait for the sun to rise.

And t
he waiting was the worst part. Without the doing, my mind would wander.

Wander back to memories of
Cate.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate
…

I could still hear her voice, and see her captivating smile that always touched her soulful brown eyes.

The
smell her sweet scent gutted me as I imagined the feel her gentle touch on me, and heard her playful laughter.

I squeezed my eyes shut and lifted my head up to the black sky. Agonisingly, I
could still feel her body against mine, see her gorgeous flowing locks of hair, and feel her warm, soft luscious lips on mine. I stifled a deep powerful sob.

My
heart ached with pain and my throat choked up.  I wanted to scream at the agony I felt deep in my heart. But I couldn’t.  So I silently let out more deep, deep, cries of sorrow, and let my tears stream down my face.  My heart was broken, and I felt that it would never be repaired again.

I
cried in silence until there were no tears left, and the heaving of the sobbing left my body.   I had to be strong now.  I had to put her out of my mind, and look forward in my life.

My new life alone….

But a life without Cate was darkness.  She was the light in my life, and the light was gone.  There was nothing.  But somehow, I had to go on.  And the best place for healing was in my homeland, Une Autre Terre.  And there I must go now.  Perhaps I could find a glint of happiness there.

The rising sun was taking a long time to arrive. 
I felt lonely, so very alone, and my heart was empty.  I breathed in deeply, and then exhaled quickly, feeling the emptiness, the nothingness, a void.  My mind was numb, and my heart heavy in its emptiness.

As the sun finally made its appearance,
I swiftly changed into my day camouflage gear, and packed the night camouflage gear into the bag.   The colours were perfect.  The short sleeved shirt was khaki, and fitted tightly over my chest and arms, defining my muscular build – good for psychological warfare, while my long pants were military woodland design.  I wore the khaki cap backwards, as it mostly covered my dark hair, and also streamlined my shape.  I now blended in perfectly with the surrounding unused overgrown farming land.

I
watched the old farmhouse ruins for some time, looking for signs of life.  I scanned the surrounding terrain for movement.  When I made my move, I had to be absolutely sure that I wasn’t being followed.

I
was confident that no other soul was present.

Cautiously and silently,
I walked towards the farmhouse, keeping low.

A
s I approached the ruins of the old farmhouse, I took another scan of the farm land terrain, again checking to see if I had been followed.  I was relieved to see that I was still alone, but remained guarded, and ready in case the situation changed.

Entering the doorway
I stopped, and looked left and right.  The old farmhouse had a very large open living area, but what I was interested in was the disguised portal in one of the back rooms.  This portal was always open, and anyone could enter it, or leave from it at anytime.  It happened to be extremely advantageous to the Terreans, for those who knew about it, but it also had very undesirable consequences for the people of the Earth if they happened to enter it, intentionally or not.

My
intention was to enter it today, perhaps leaving the Earth for good, never to return.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate…

I walked quickly through the open living area and through to the once kitchen and dining area.  Off to the left were two rooms, one was very dark and uninviting, while the other was confusing in its layout, giving the illusion of instability.  Once you entered that room, you became disorientated and unsure of why you entered the room. Any person who entered that room felt the need to escape it very quickly.  It was perfect for the unsecured portal to Une Autre Terre.

Stalling in the kitchen of the old farmhouse,
I realized that I had to set up the information and evidence to send to the higher powers of the police department. The corrupt detective that murdered Cate would not get away with it, or hurt anyone else.  I must do this before I enter the portal, and seal the detective’s fate once and for all.