APRICITAS [ENG] || Johan Liebert || Monster

Chapter 14 - In Searching for The Truth

Who would have guessed that this would happen... Who would have expected a police officer to commit something like this? Emiko was standing by the newspaper kiosk, leaning against its wall, and with bated breath she followed the next lines of the newspaper's text... At the same time feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

The article said that the former policeman, and until recently a working detective, had climbed onto the roof of the university rooftop just the night before, got drunk and then jumped off it. The girl felt her uneven heartbeat and was leaning more and more against the building, because the article was accompanied by a photo of a suicide, in which she recognized... the man she had followed some time ago.

'How is this even possible?'

Emiko stared at the face shown in the photo, carefully analyzing the situation. She felt as if it was all inextricably linked with a certain blonde-haired young man... She swallowed.

'So that detective... Mr. Richard Braun must have got on his trail somehow. It's possible that he discovered something he shouldn't have, that's why he ended up like this...' The girl put her thumb on her lower lip, biting him lightly. 'First Fahren's death when the real son of Schuwald appeared, now Richard Braun while the investigation was underway... And at the center of this story this demon. It's Johan's case, no doubt... This detective had his own investigation related to him!'

She closed her eyes, trying hard to focus. Is there a person from whom she can learn something more about Braun? Emiko suddenly opened her eyes.

'...He was going to that addiction clinic!'

She decided to sneak up to Dr. Reichwein's office and find out what he might know about it... Or at least how much he was NOT suspected.

****

On the first day after finishing work, Dr. Reichwein went straight to his home, while on the second... he started walking in a completely different direction. Emiko, driven by her inquisitiveness and willingness to solve all puzzles, went straight behind him.

Then the truth struck her - the older man for some reason started his own investigation of Richard Braun, diligently looking for information about him wherever he could: in the bar where the detective had been last night before his death, at the police station, in the night district, and others places that could only be associated with the death man and... with Johan.

'...He might be in danger.' Emiko thought, walking in quite a distance behind him. 'He's looking for the truth, just like me and my brother... I'd better watch him just in case. I don't want him to end up like Mr. Braun... He seems like fine man.'

In the end, she followed the old man underground, to the subway platforms. When they stood there for a longer time - he was staring at the tracks, and she at the area surrounding him, she suddenly realized that a young man in sweatpants was approaching him. She cautiously started walking towards them... suddenly discovering with horror that the young man was reaching out to push Dr. Reichwein right under the wheels of the oncoming train...

The old man, however, had an extremely sensitive sense of perceptiveness, as he immediately turned back, which made the young man immediately start to run away in panic. Immediately, the older doctor ran after him... and Emiko after them.

They ran for a long time through the streets, and the young woman was surprised to realize that the "old man" was really in an incredibly good condition (for his age), because he not only managed to catch up with his opponent, but also when he was led out of the bar by him and his "boss", she didn't manage to help him... because he himself knocked out his attackers. The girl stood by the wall of the second building, watching the scene unfolding in front of her with her mouth open. It was undoubtedly an extraordinary feat.