APRICITAS [ENG] || Johan Liebert || Monster

Chapter 9 - Dr. Gillen

From the side of the birch grove a slight breeze was blowing, bringing with it the breaths of spring, towards the road on which Emiko Tenma was heading towards Welheim. She felt extremely determined because she already knew what Rudy Gillen looked like.

She had spent the last three months researching more information about him; although books and newspapers didn't mention his place of living or work (after all, Emiko was still extremely grateful to the policeman who passed her this knowledge to her), in some she found his present photographs and works of which he was the author. She read many of them, but that wasn't enough. She knew that she needed his direct help and that she would definitely not ask for it at the police station, but that she had to meet him after work, on the street... and preferably in his apartment. So she decided to go first to neighborhood of the prison where he worked in and wait for him to return home to find out where he was living.

In the late afternoon, she finally lived to see that moment - Rudy Gillen left his workplace and headed towards his home. That day, the sky was overcast and it was gathering the rain; Rudy Gillen probably didn't have an umbrella with him because he was walking briskly with a black briefcase in one hand. Emiko was walking far away from him, because she didn't want to be noticed, which she managed to do. After about fifteen minutes, the man she was following passed through the gate that divided his garden and the street, turned the lock on the door and entered the house. The girl watched it all from the other side of the street, partially hidden behind the building there, still wondering how she should actually introduce herself and what to say.

Finally she made a decision. With a determined step, she approached the fence and rang the bell next to the gate. Soon the door to the house opened and none other than Rudy Gillen himself was standing there.

"Yes?"

"Good afternoon. Mr. Rudy Gillen, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Exactly. How can I help you?" The man began to stare at her curiously, so Emiko first decided to investigate the situation and whether he had any opinion about her brother's case.

"My name is Emilie Himmel and I'm currently writing an article for the student department of the university of the crime department. I have heard about your authority in the field of criminal psychology, which would be of great use to me. I'm writing an article on the unexplained case of Dr. Kenzo Tenma from Düsseldorf..." As Emiko only said her brother's name, she noticed that Dr. Gillen's face changed immediately. It was no longer curiosity, but something like... contempt? She swallowed hard. "Please, sir, I really care about it..."

"I'm not very interested in this matter, to be honest with you. Please go to someone else." The man turned his back to her and began to enter the house, which made Emiko think frantically to say something that would be most appropriate... until she finally found it.

"You're refusing me because you studied with Dr. Tenma?" The man stopped and turned back towards her.

"It has nothing to do with it. Goodbye." After this the door slammed shut behind him. The girl stared ahead for a moment, then looked at the windows of the house.

'Uhm. He didn't want to talk to me about my brother, so that's a good sign. It means that he is too dear to him to hand him over to someone like police or journalists...'

She smiled gently, then looked again at the door that had been closed a moment earlier.

'I will come back here again.' She thought, quite content, then started walking away in the opposite direction. Now all that was left to do was persevere in her resolution.

****

A dozen or so consecutive days passed - every day Emiko waited in front of Dr. Gillen's house until he returned from work to be able to talk to him. He didn't want to deal with her in any way every day, and he tried made her turn to someone else. The girl, however, didn't give up and bravely confronted him each day separately.