The Heart Collector Act 2 Chapter 16

Also available as audio here:

https://youtu.be/TnY6Hvk_lgY?is=HkvVO9YFs_PLKLK5

Chapter 16 – Warning

Anna was still standing motionless in her kitchen. Meanwhile, Milo was constantly circling her legs, purring as if trying to soothe her.

How did he find out where I live? How does he know I have a cat and what it looks like? And why this provocation now? Is he simply trying to communicate, shock, or actually threaten me?

Anna's temples began to throb. She had so many questions in her head that she was feeling dizzy from thinking about them.

She looked at the drawing again and felt nauseous. She ran, drenched in sweat, into her bathroom and flushed everything she felt about the sender and his actions down the toilet. Then she stood up, went to the sink, and looked in the mirror. A pale woman stared back at her, her bloodshot green eyes peering out from dark, deep sockets. She shuddered and then turned on the tap. She held one hand under the water. It was icy cold. Then she used both hands and splashed the ice water on her face. When she looked up again, she saw her cheeks flushing from the cold. Milo was meowing loudly now; he was apparently still in the kitchen.

Damn, I completely forgot to give you your food because of this mess.

She went back into the kitchen and quickly got Milo's treat pouch from the cupboard. Then she went into the living room. She didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen while the drawing was still there.

After filling Milo's bowl, she plopped down on her couch. She listened to the cat's contented smacking and purring. Once he'd finished his meal, he came over to her and lay down on her stomach. With his emerald-green eyes, he looked at her expectantly, as if to say: "So, what are we going to do about that thing in the kitchen?" But Anna just thought: "Damn it, where's Mert?"

Then the doorbell finally rang.

Anna stood up so quickly that Milo jumped up in fright.

She hurried to the door and was about to press the door opener, then she hesitated for a moment.

"Hello, who is there?"

"Anna, it's me. Open up." It was unmistakably Mert's dark and rough voice.

Anna sat at her desk and typed up the transcript of the interrogation with Moni.

She thought back to how she had offered Moni the chance to stay overnight.

"Oh no, thank you. That's a kind offer, but you know, I've been outside for so long now, to be honest, too many walls are confining me. Besides, you only have space for yourself here right now. I'll come back tomorrow morning and pick you up."

“Pick me up?” Anna asked her, puzzled.

"Moni, you don't even have an alarm clock, do you?"

“No, and I don’t need one either. I think you modern people are so used to your devices and numbers that you no longer perceive what is actually important.” Moni looked serious as she spoke these words.

"I will certainly be punctual enough, and you won't have to wait a single second for me. Believe me." Now the old woman smiled almost mischievously.

Anna, however, had set her alarm anyway. She woke up, ate a little breakfast, washed, and got dressed. Then, just as she was about to sit down and rework her painting, the doorbell rang.

She opened the door to the stairwell and called down: "Yes, hello?"

"So, shall we get going then?" It was Moni's voice.

Anna was genuinely surprised. "Just a moment, I need to put on my shoes."

Less than two minutes later, she was walking next to Moni on the street.

"Do you have some kind of magic powers or something? I had just finished my morning routine and not even a second later you rang my doorbell. It's a little scary."

The old woman laughed: "Who knows, who knows, maybe I was something like that in a previous life."

Then she fell silent briefly, looking serious and thoughtful.

"But listen, Anna, tell me again what to expect. I don't like surprises. And talking to the police is already a surprise."

“Yes, of course, we still have some way to go. I’d say we should go through everything again until we get there.” Anna nodded to her.

Mert stood in Anna's kitchen, staring at the drawing. Anna, meanwhile, stood in the hallway. She still didn't want to go back into the kitchen. She still felt nauseous whenever she so much as crossed the threshold.

"I honestly don't know what to say to that, Anna." Mert slowly turned to her and stared at her, frozen in place.

"It's obvious that it's supposed to be you. But what's more frightening is that the cat in the picture looks exactly like Milo." He placed the thumb and forefinger of his right hand on his chin and tapped his cheek with his forefinger.

"Elias must have been watching you," he concluded. Then he hurried to the window and looked out.

Anna had only listened to him until now. She had already reached that point in her thoughts, but now that someone else had voiced the fact, she fully grasped what it meant. He was watching me.

"So you finally believe that it is Elias we are looking for?" she asked Mert.

He turned around again and stepped out of the kitchen into the hallway, where Anna was still standing.

"I'm slowly losing all doubt. The boy has been in hiding for quite some time now, and there are some clear indications."

"But there are some for Frederick too. So how could he have done it? I mean Frederick's fingerprint or his handwriting. Where did he get that?"

"Didn't the two of them supposedly work together on their studies? What if he siphoned off some of the material and kept it for himself?"

"But why would he have done that? Unless he had planned to commit a series of murders and pin them on Frederick?"

"Perhaps that's the case. You already said that, in your opinion, the perpetrator isn't acting spontaneously or impulsively. So maybe he really has been planning this for a long time and has staged it all." Mert then went into the living room and sat down on Anna's couch.

"You wouldn't happen to have something to drink here, would you? I don't mean water." He sighed.

"No, I haven't. But honestly, I can see you're itching to do it. And I can't be here right now. So let's go outside. Then you can have a smoke too."

"So you were in the park, right? Can you tell me approximately what time? Was it morning or evening? I'm not even going to ask for the exact time." Anna laughed briefly.

"That was early in the morning. I mean very early in the morning. Even the dashing businessmen weren't walking through the park on their way to work yet. Except for that one."

"That one? You mean the guy who talked to Eddie?" Anna asked.

"Yes, that's right. A really slick guy, he was wearing a suit, but at the same time he still looked unkempt, as if he'd been wearing it for days and even slept in it." Moni shook her head.

"And this man..." Anna hesitated for a moment. "Have you seen him there before, or was this the first time?"

"You really ask some questions, kid. I'm not sure, Eddie never usually spoke to anyone in a suit. But it's possible I've seen this guy with Eddie before."

Moni slowly pushed her car across the street; the traffic light opposite had already turned red again, and a car immediately started honking its horn.

Anna was equally unbothered by the fact that they were being watched by everyone around them. This mismatched pair, a neatly dressed young woman with dynamic strides, and beside her the older woman with matted hair and shabby clothes, but calmly and deliberately pushing her shopping cart, filled with numerous plastic bags overflowing with all sorts of odds and ends.

"Okay, and now back to the conversation between the two, you suggested that Eddie said something like: he had talked."

"Yes, I couldn't hear everything, and to be honest, given the tone of voice they were using, I didn't really feel like getting any closer. Anyway, it sounded to me like they'd been doing business together for quite some time."

"And you suspect Eddie then spoke to someone who shouldn't have known about it. Like a customer, a competitor, or maybe..." Anna hesitated again. "A police officer?"

"Eddie was a really, really good friend of mine, and we'd known each other for ages. Even so, I have no idea what he got himself into. He did dabble in drugs now and then, yes, but it wasn't like that all the time." Moni sighed deeply.

Anna was walking next to Mert on the street.

"Well, I hate to say it, but you can't stay in your apartment for the foreseeable future, at least not alone." Mert took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"What do you suggest? Do you want to move in with me?" Anna smiled mischievously.

“Nonsense, no, I thought we’d find you a hotel room or something like that,” Mert stammered.

Anna noticed that Mert actually blushed and smiled to herself.

"Do you want to wait here? I'll just get us two beers from over there." She pointed straight ahead, where a bright sign with the word "Kiosk" could be seen.

"Maybe something else that will keep me warm for longer, because you're right, I certainly won't be able to go back to my apartment tonight." Then she left without waiting for an answer.

Five minutes later she came back with two bottles of beer, a vodka and energy drinks, and a pack of crackers.

Mert was amazed: "You really intend to stay up all night."

"Mert, I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight. If you'd rather go home, do so. I can manage on my own, I'm not afraid." But that was only half the truth.

"As if I'd leave you alone now. Even if no lunatic could be lurking somewhere. You're not well, and you can't lie to me about that. I'm not going to stop you from getting drunk. Besides, you're scared. I certainly am."

Anna looked at him, she had opened both beers and now wordlessly handed him a bottle.

Mert accepted it and they clinked glasses. It was a moment of unspoken understanding between them.

Anna knew he didn't think she was weak, even though he was obviously very worried. He's afraid himself, she thought. Afraid of losing someone who understands him.

No colleague before her had lasted long with Mert, but then she came along and perceived him and his remarks differently. And now they were suddenly on a shared mission that affected not only others, but also their own lives.

"Drugs, you say?" Anna suddenly stopped.

Moni continued pushing her shopping cart, then looked around in surprise when she no longer saw Anna next to her.

"Yes, from time to time Eddie got his hands on something. But apart from drinking too much alcohol, he didn't take anything himself. He sold it and then used the money to buy what he needed."

"Well, Moni, we've already found out a little bit about Eddie." Anna had caught up again.

"He apparently had an account at a bank. I was able to see the details. There were repeated cash deposits, but no other transfers. To me, that suggests he was dealing drugs again."

"A bank account..." Moni was silent for a while. "I never saw him go to a bank. And he never carried around much cash either." Moni shook her head again.

"But it's true. He was apparently clever enough to keep the matter a secret even from his friends."

"So, what do you suspect now? That Eddie was executed by a drug ring? The guy looked businesslike, but more like a customer, if you see."

"Anyway, unfortunately we have nothing yet about the second murder in the park, and if it turns out to be the same guy, we need your description all the more."

"I'll give them to you, I hope you can do something with them, but after that leave me alone. You too, okay? I've already learned enough today. I told Eddie every time he started selling again that it wouldn't end well."

"Okay, thank you Moni, it's really very important for us. We're here."