Reach Of My Wife
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The sky was dark and full of stars. The moon, a sliver in the east, had not yet risen above the horizon to illuminate the land around him; it would be another hour before that happened. He stood on a hillside looking out over an empty field. There were no other people for miles. No one could see or hear what he did next. At least, none knew about this place.
He looked down at his right hand where it lay atop the grass beneath his feet. A small circle of red light glowed there as if some kind of miniature sunburned within its center. It pulsed with every heartbeat; sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly like a beating heart. As he stared into it, time seemed to slow down until everything appeared frozen and motionless. Then, when the pulse began again, all movement resumed at once.
“What is happening?” came a voice from behind him. “Why do you stare so intently at your hand? What does it mean?”
There was only darkness between them but yet she stood less than ten paces away. She wore a simple white dress—no shoes, no jewelry, nothing else. Her long brown hair fell to her waist and swayed gently whenever she moved. When she spoke, her words sounded clear even though they came through the night air without any sound.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “It’s just something I’ve seen before.”
She walked closer and stopped beside him. “Where have you been before?”
“In the past,” he said. “When I look at my hand, it seems like things are moving very slowly, and then suddenly they’re racing along. Sometimes it feels like I’m standing still while others move rapidly by me. But when I touch someone, their movements seem normal. Does that make sense?”
Her face remained hidden in shadow but he sensed concern coming off her somehow. “Yes, it makes perfect sense.”
“Then why can’t I remember anything like this?”
“You must have forgotten it,” she said. “That happens often enough. Perhaps you will recall it later. Or maybe we’ll find it written somewhere someday. Who knows? Maybe it has already been discovered but simply remains undiscovered because humans haven’t found it yet.
We may discover many more such secrets before our last breath leaves us. That is how life works: new discoveries come each day, even after death. You can never truly understand the universe unless you believe in God and His plan for humanity. Without faith, there is no hope, no meaning, no purpose in life.”
“But I am not religious.”
“Of course, you aren’t. Neither am I. And neither is anyone else here. Yet, despite that fact, there is an invisible force that binds us together and gives us guidance. It’s called love. If you think about it carefully, you might find that you feel it too.”
“How do I know you speak truthfully?”
“Because I tell you to trust yourself. Trust your feelings. They always lead you toward good instead of evil. Don’t let fear rule your life. Fear leads to anger which leads to violence. Violence brings suffering and pain. Only love can bring joy and happiness.
Love is what makes life worth living. Without it, existence becomes meaningless. Look deep inside yourself and ask whether you really want to kill your wife.”
His eyes snapped open and he realized he’d fallen asleep. He sat up straight in bed and glanced across the room at his sleeping wife, whose breathing was soft and regular. She would be awake soon. During the months since their daughter had died, she’d learned to sleep lightly and wake instantly should danger threaten them.
He wondered if she ever dreamed. Did they have dreams? Was there anywhere else to go? Would there ever be peace?
He got out of bed and dressed quietly. Outside, the morning sun shone brightly through the bedroom window. He went downstairs and made coffee. While the pot brewed, he took a bite of toast and listened to the news on the radio. With each passing minute, he felt more certain that the world was going to hell.
Humanity was destroying itself with greed and hatred. People lived in constant fear of each other. Wars raged everywhere. Mass murder became commonplace. Entire cities were destroyed. Millions upon millions perished. Nothing changed. It was always the same. Always.
He finished breakfast and drank two cups of strong black coffee. Afterward, he showered and shaved. Then he put on his best suit and headed out the door for work. As usual, the traffic was terrible and he arrived late. Everyone was angry and cursing.
The boss hated him because he couldn’t keep up with the pace. In addition, the company had suffered a downturn and layoffs loomed. A few days earlier, he received word that another one of his coworkers had quit and left for greener pastures.
The day dragged on and he struggled to stay awake. Finally, around five o’clock, the office emptied out and everyone rushed home. He drove back to their house alone and parked in front. Inside, his wife prepared dinner while he watched TV and tried to relax. By seven-thirty, she was ready to eat. They ate quickly and afterward, they cleaned up the kitchen. Afterward, they sat down in the living room and watched some television before going to bed.
***
They awoke early the next morning. Their routine continued as usual until midafternoon when they heard a loud knock at the door. They hurriedly got dressed and ran downstairs. Standing outside was the police officer who’d taken their report yesterday. His face looked grim.
“I’m sorry to bother you again,” he began. “We need your help.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Peter.
“Your neighbor saw you leaving the house today. Apparently, you didn’t lock your car doors or close the garage door properly. Somebody stole it.”
Peter stared at him blankly. “Our car?”
“Yes. Your neighbors say you were gone all day so they checked and noticed the vehicle missing. Now, we can’t find it anywhere.”
“Did you check in the parking lot behind the supermarket?”
“No, sir. We assumed it was stolen from the street where it was parked.”
“Well, it wasn’t. So, whoever took it probably abandoned it in the shopping center.”
“Probably?”
“It’s possible someone picked it up and then dumped it later. There are lots of cars being sold on eBay these days. Someone could’ve bought it and then decided to sell it elsewhere.”
“Do you think he’ll get caught?”
“I don’t know. That depends on how much effort he puts into hiding the evidence. But he won’t get away with this forever. Eventually, somebody will notice something suspicious.”
“Will you return our car?”
“Not unless you catch him first. This isn’t my problem. It’s yours now. Good luck finding him.”
Before Peter could reply, the cop turned and walked back to his squad car. He climbed inside and started the engine. Moments later, he drove off.
“What just happened?” asked Rebecca.
“Someone stole our car. And not only did they steal it but apparently they also ditched it somewhere. How stupid does he think we are?”
“You’re right. He doesn’t seem very bright.”
“And why do you suppose he said ‘probably’? What kind of an idiot says that?”
“Maybe he thought you might try to take matters into your own hands. If you found him, maybe you’d kill him.”
“That’s ridiculous! Why would I want to hurt anyone? Especially over a car!”
“Because he took it. You hate people who steal things. Don’t deny it.”
Rebecca laughed. “Of course I do. Who wouldn’t? But I never wanted to kill anybody. Not even a thief.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Find him and make him give us our car back. We’ll get revenge by making him pay for the damages.”
“How do we find him?”
“There must be surveillance cameras in the parking lot. Check them and see if there is any footage of the theft.”
“Okay. Let me go upstairs and change clothes. I have to meet a friend tonight so I need to hurry.”
She went up the stairs and pulled her phone out of her purse. She dialed a number and waited impatiently for the call to connect. When it finally connected, she spoke rapidly. Her voice sounded urgent.
“Hi, Danny. Where are you right now?”
“At home. Watching football.”
“Can you leave the game and come here immediately?”
Danny hesitated. “Why?”
“It’s important. Can you please come here?”
“Sorry, babe. I’m watching a good game. I can’t miss this.”
“Please, Danny. My life depends on it.”
After several minutes of silence, he replied. “All right. But no funny business.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Relieved, Rebecca hung up the phone and returned to the living room.
“He’s coming right away,” she announced.
“Good. In the meantime, let me see your phone.”
Rebecca handed him the cell. After looking at the screen, he sighed.
“This has been deleted. Do you realize how serious this is?”
“Yes, I do. But it’s too late to worry about it now.”
“Don’t say that. We still have time to fix this.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“Let’s hope it’s not permanent. Maybe we can recover some data from the hard drive.”
“But he erased everything. All the pictures we had. Our music collection. The videos.”
“We’ll figure something out. First, though, we need to find the guy.”
“Where do you suggest we start?”
“The parking lot behind the supermarket. That’s where he left our car.”
“I guess so. Okay, I’m going to use the restroom before we head down there.”
While Rebecca walked to the bathroom, Peter sat on the couch next to his wife. They watched TV while waiting for their visitor. Once again, he worried about Rebecca’s safety.
***
When Danny arrived at Rebecca’s apartment, he saw police officers standing outside. A couple of them came toward him as soon as he entered the building. One of them grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away.
“Wait!” shouted Rebecca. “Let him through.”
Peter followed Danny inside and shut the door. As soon as Rebecca closed it, she locked it. Then, they heard footsteps approaching.
A policeman knocked on the front door. When nobody answered, he opened it and stepped inside. He looked around and frowned when he spotted Rebecca sitting on the sofa.
“Hello, Officer,” she greeted him politely.
“Are these two with you?”
“No. These are my guests.”
Officer Brown nodded. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. Please, sit down.”
As soon as she finished speaking, another officer appeared in the hallway. He approached Rebecca and held out his hand to shake hers.
“I’m Detective Garcia. May I ask what brings you here today?”
“My husband and I were involved in a minor traffic accident last night. We lost our car and we need help finding the culprit.”
Garcia glanced at Danny. “Do you know anything about this?”
“Not really,” replied Danny. “Just that we need to find the person who stole it.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you report the incident to the police?”
“We weren’t aware that someone had stolen our vehicle until this morning.”
“What happened then?”
“We drove to the store to buy some groceries. When we got back, the car was gone. It seems like somebody broke into the garage and stole the keys.”
Detective Garcia examined the key ring hanging from Rebecca’s purse. “These all look familiar.”
“They belong to our car,” explained Danny.
“And you haven’t reported this to the authorities yet?”
“Of course not. Why should we? There’s nothing valuable in the trunk or glove compartment. And the car itself isn’t worth much either. Besides, we needed transportation.”
“You mean you’re driving an old junker because you couldn’t afford a new one?”
“That’s correct.”
“So, why would anyone steal your car?”
“Because they wanted to get away quickly. With a quick getaway, they could sell the vehicle without getting caught.”
“Did you notice any footprints near the scene of the crime?”
“No.”
“Then, whoever committed this robbery must be very careful. Which leads us to believe that they might’ve known exactly which cars belonged to you.”
“Couldn’t they just take a look at the license plates?” asked Rebecca.
“Sure. But if they did that, they’d also have to memorize the registration numbers of each vehicle parked nearby. Most people aren’t capable of doing that.”
“Okay, but how does that explain what happened to our car?”
“It doesn’t. However, based on the evidence at hand, I’m assuming that whoever took your vehicle knew precisely what kind it was. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken the trouble to break into your garage.”
“Why is that important?”
“Because the thief probably wants to return the car to the original owner. Either by dropping it off on the street corner, or leaving it somewhere close to your house.”
Danny frowned. “So, they want us to see their face?”
“Exactly. If that’s the case, maybe we can track down the criminal using surveillance footage from local businesses. So, let’s call the supermarket and ask them to check their security cameras.”
Rebecca stood up. “Excuse me, Detective. Can I borrow your phone?”
“Please, go ahead.”
She dialed the number listed on the business card Garcia handed her earlier. After several rings, a woman picked up the receiver. She sounded annoyed.
“Yes, hi. My name is Rebecca Sullivan. You sent me a message yesterday…”
After listening carefully to Rebecca’s explanation, the receptionist interrupted her.
“Hold on a second, please. Let me put you through to Mr. O’Brien.”
Once again, Rebecca listened closely to the conversation taking place between the two parties. At first, she thought the man on the other end of the line was trying to avoid giving her information about the surveillance camera recordings. However, after a few minutes, she realized that wasn’t the case. Instead, he seemed to be desperately searching for something.
“Thanks, Ms. Sullivan. Did you happen to mention where the video clip came from?”
“Yes. The supermarket called me this morning. They said that the video shows a young black male wearing a hoodie walking past the front entrance. Then, he walked directly across the parking lot and entered the alleyway behind the building. Do you think that’s enough to identify him?”
O’Brien sighed loudly. “Unfortunately, no. That’s too broad. As a matter of fact, we don’t even know which direction the guy went once inside the alley.”
“But there are so many alleys! How do you expect us to narrow things down?”
“Well, I guess that’s true. Still, we might be able to locate the suspect’s location with a little bit of luck. Would you mind telling me more details?”
“All right. We live next door to the supermarket. Our home overlooks the rear entrance. In other words, the camera captures everything that happens outside our property. For example, the moment the intruder steps foot onto the premises, we’ll see his face clearly.”
The detective hung up the telephone. He turned towards Danny and Rebecca. “I hope you understand that we can only proceed as fast as possible. Right now, we’re going to search the area around the supermarket and hope we can spot your vehicle on the way.”
“Do you think we can catch up to him before he drives away?” wondered Danny.
“Maybe. It all depends on whether or not we find him within the next hour. By then, I should have some news for you.”
The End