The Face Thief

Chapter 3

~Sometimes,don't judge a book by its cover.Read the pages!

At least I thought I'd glimpsed the driver,but unfortunately I hadn't.but I thought,I had.sighs.
  Everything had happened in a kind of daze. Selena had been standing next to me and then she was at the junction. This should probably be the fastest hit-and-run recorded.
   I checked my timer 0.4321 seconds! Fast, you'd say. Not like I had an actual timer,you know. Just a mental calculation of facts I had going on in my head most of the time.
It seemed pretty surreal to me.
   Worse,the others hadn't noticed. I turned towards Marcus and a small police group surrounding him. Oh,they had. One of the officers was already making a 911 call.
Marcus was already beside her body,and I ran to meet him. "Notice anything?" He asked shortly.
"Other than a shiny car speeding about more miles,than I can remember--" I shook my head. "--nothing" Marcus sighed momentarily. This murder case thing was reaching a dead end. "The only thing we've got it this hair sample" Marcus muttered. "Run this in your data-base" he shoved it towards the cop who'd been following earlier.
"Let's go" I followed Marcus into his car.

✪

Twenty minutes later,we arrived at a small pub. Yellow neon lights read 'Redrick pub '. "We going to have a drink?" I asked Marcus,walking inside.
  "We're meeting someone" he replied rather hastily.
   "Who?" I asked again.
"You'll know" he always kept his replies concise. We took a table at the far corner. A small brunette--which looked like the waitress-- asked what we'd like. "Scotch" Marcus answered. "Salad---"I looked at the menu again. "A cigar would do just fine too" I answered.
"You smoke?" Marcus stared at me quizzically. "No big deal" I told him.
"Make that two cigars" he called after the waitress. We sat in silence for about three minutes---five if my calculations were right. "What are we---"
"she's here" I caught sight of a slender woman who'd just walked in. She seemed to be coming towards our table. I scooted inside to allow her sit. "Mary sabath" she paused,then sat. "Victim's sister".ohhh,no wonder the resemblance. Gosh,what was I thinking!
  "You said you'd important information for us ma'am?".our order arrived. Marcus sipped his scotch,staring. I scooped a spoonful of salad in my mouth---staring too.
   "I don't really know much" she began. Her voice had this weak edge to it. "Me and Alice really weren't close. I mean---"
    Marcus ordered a fruit drink for her. "We were step-sisters, kind of her dad left her mum,so she's ---" she chugged half the bottle. "---she's been taking it all out on me. She hates me". More emphasis on the hate.
"Okayyy" Marcus dragged the word impatiently.
  "Recently,I mean before she died or was killed--whichever, she's been seeing this weird guy". I leaned in,so did Marcus.
  "Which guy?" Marcus asked.
  "I've only met him once" she sipped her drink. "He's got this weird tattoos,and he looks really old"
   "your sis into older guys" I chuckled. Marcus glared at me.
    "Do you have any info on this mysterious guy?" Marcus was talking to her now. Alice reached into her bag and took out what looked like a leather diary.
  "I don't know,it should be in here" she pushed it gently across the table. "She was being secretive about her whole relationship thing,and it's not like we get along well" Alice told him. Marcus collected the diary. It was a small pocket diary,one he easily shoved into his coat pockets.
   "Do you have anything else?"
"No" she replied immediately. "Wait" she said immediately. She handed a blurry polaroid.
   "I found this amongst her things, it should probably be the guy".I squinted to look at the picture.Damn!it really was blurry.
I could only make out the girl's face a bit. She looked pretty. The guy's face was No way. The ruffled sides of the picture made his own face unrecognizable.
   "Thanks for the help" I told her. She smiled weakly and left. "I guess we could start with this" Marcus waved the photo. He tossed the small diary to me. "Tomorrow's Saturday,I want you looking for clues in that---thing." He told me. I lot my cigar,and bellowed smoke in his face.
"You sick!" I strode quickly out of the pub. I entered the car and waited.
Marcus seemed to be having a small hearty conversation with the waitress,given she was laughing---really hard. Not like what he'd was funny. I continued puffing. Marcus turned towards the car,then stopped. He reached into his pocket and picked his cell. Why's he taking so long on a call. His face changed suddenly and he was running towards the car. He slide and turned the ignition hastily. "What's wrong?" I asked. He reversed,almost bumping hardly into an incoming car.
  "Looks like Selena's condition just got worse!" He muttered,cussing under his breath.