Owen Able and the Two-Headed Dragon

Chapter 14

Owen arrives at his destination and pulls over. An abandoned shipping container is standing on one side with an out-of-place streetlamp close by. He hunches down and scans the area. Small glass pieces are scattered everywhere. But compared to about twenty meters further down the road, this area actually looks neat and tidy.

Someone has recently cleaned up this section of the sidewalk, Owen concludes.

He walks over to a patch of dirt that looks darker than the rest. Grabbing a fist full of clotted Earth, he feels the texture and brings it closer to his nose. The iron smell is unmistakable.

Blood. And a lot of it.

Meticulously searching the area, Owen's keen eyes spot a shimmer of light reflecting off something sticking out from a pile of dirt. It looks like a dainty golden chain. He reaches out and grabs hold of the shiny object. Pulling the chain frees the item from the pile of dirt. It looks like a small handbag. Owen brushes the dirt from the object. A dusty, white Burberry Lola shoulder bag with a blood smear on its front lies in his hands. He opens the bag and empties its contents on the ground with a gentle shake. Nicole's driver's license stares back at him.

What happened here, Nicole? Owen thinks to himself.

A yellow, folded piece of paper lies amongst the items on the ground. Owen picks the piece of paper up and carefully unfolds it.

I cannot believe she still carries this with her after all these years. It is a love poem I wrote to her back in my army days.

The poem reads:

I love you with the first morning dew.

I love you with the last fading sparkle of distant stars.

And even if the sun, moon and stars cease to exist, I will still love you.

Because you are my light.

You are my sun, moon and stars.

You are the light in my darkest hours.

Let me be your rock and comfort.

Let me wipe each tear and replace it with a happy song in your heart.

Let me chase away your fears.

Let me take your sorrows and lock them away where they cannot escape.

Let me be each breath you take.

Let me lay you down in a meadow of endless happiness.

Next to crystal clear waters of peace.

Please grant me my only wish.

Say that I am yours and you are mine.

For this is true for all of time,

My last fading thought will be of you.

Yes, this is true.

With my dying breath I will still love you.

Owen.

A photo of David looking at the camera while playing with his tipper truck lies pinned down under a small make-up kit. Owen folds the paper along its creases and gently places it, along with each item lying on the ground, back inside the handbag. He taps a few menu items on his watch. A small, concealed compartment at the top of the watch shoots open with a click. Nestled within this tiny drawer, rests a small, slightly damp cotton swab. Owen retrieves the swab and gently sweeps it over the dried bloodstain on the handbag. Afterward, he places the swab back in its compartment and securely pushes it shut.

"Saimon, please see if you can find a match for the blood sample."

The watch face flashes with a blur of images from known people in Saimon's extensive database. Twenty seconds later, the flashing stops and freezes on an image of Nicole.