Grace stretched languidly on the comfortable bed. She had had the best night of sleep since she had seen the tape: no images of Ruby haunting her dreams; no visions of her screams piercing in the night. She snuggled against the pillow, her eyes reluctant to open, as she breathed in the smell of him, the Cookie Monster doll clutched protectively in her arms. Strange. A week ago she wouldn't have been caught dead being alone in the same room with him. This morning, she realized that the reason she had slept so well was none other than Psycho Tse.
So after a couple of minutes, Grace finally opened her eyes.
And screamed. And screamed.
For on the pillow next to hers was the thing she dread the most.
The mask of The Killer Klowns from Mars, complete with a stick on note attached to the head.
"I'm going to kill you, Tse!" she screamed loudly as she tore the note from the mask and jumped out of the bed. Her heart was caught in her throat, and she was breathing so harshly that her lungs started to burn.
'Hey Princess,
Sorry I had to fly
but I had something to do.
There's OJ in the fridge and
a donut that is halfway decent.
I'll see you in Koo's class.
Peace,
Tse.
PS: Don't change the sheets.
I have big plans for them!"
Grace looked at the Felix The Cat clock and realized she was late. No time for breakfast; although she had to admit that a 'halfway decent donut' was kind of appetizing. She quickly changed her shirt to the one she had been carrying in her bag and left the house, not before stuffing the Cookie Monster doll in her bag.
As she rode on the subway train toward the school, she couldn't stop herself as thoughts of Tse, Killer Klowns from Mars, and Professor Koo left her mind only to be replaced by thoughts of Edison.
Could this Edison be Ruby's killer? She tried to concentrate on the statistical impossibility of her looking for Ruby's killer in a city with 9.8 million inhabitants and finding him without any effort. In fact, she hadn't found him, he had found her. That thought alone soothe her a bit. It was improbable, and quite impossible.
If it wasn't Edison, who could it be?
Who else knew Ruby? Who else knew enough about editing and filming to do the snuff film?
Who else could be capable of such a horrendous thing?
Hell, Ruby disappeared two years ago. What was there to say that the killer had not died since then? Anything can happen in two years: a horrible accident� an incurable illness� a murder� a suicide. Maybe she was looking for a person that was already dead.
But then she thought about Ruby's parents. She closed her eyes and saw the picture on the newspaper, the one of Ruby's father holding a picture of their daughter. "Where's our daughter?" the headline said. And the fact that only she knew the answer was eating Grace alive.
She needed to find this murderer.
If he was dead, she could at least bring solace to Ruby's family.
If he was alive, she could stop him from hurting others.
Grace said a silent prayer, and begged God to help her.
With Tse's help, she knew it was only a matter of time.
**********************
Prof. Koo's Class
11:00 AM
Tse walked inside the classroom and toward his desk. Everyone was talking with each other, waiting for Professor Koo to come. He had been busy that morning, but he hoped to catch Grace here.
The moment he sat down, Gia, the girl who sat behind him, tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you want?" he said gruffly. "Is Grace your girl?" Gia asked. It was such a strange question that he turned around to look at her. "WTF" he replied. "I mean, is Grace, the girl that sits two seats in front of you, the one you so lovingly referred to as 'bookworm', 'class leach', 'teacher's pet', yada yada yada Your Girl?"
"No, why?" Tse asked annoyed. "Don't mind her. Gia is jealous and wants to make you jealous too," Leakena said with a snide. "Why the fu*k?" he asked harshly. "Because her dear Professor Koo went on a date last night with Gracie and Gia is mad!" Gloria said as she deflected Gia's slap.
Now, the one that was mad was Tse. So that's why Grace was all so prettied up when she had reached his apartment. And here he was thinking that it was because of him that she had fixed herself up. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid!
At that second, Grace stepped into the classroom in a hurry. "Good, he's late," she whispered as she hastily made her way to her seat. Before she sat down, she noticed everyone that sat around her was staring at her. "Uh... What's going on?" she asked as she put her stuff down.
"We are just waiting to hear the details," Gia said between clenched teeth. "Details� Well, I just came from the bathroom and I think I'm constipated. Is that the details you wanted to know?" Grace answered cynically. "She's talking about the details of your date with Koo," Leakena said.
"How the hell�?" Grace whispered with wide eyes. How the hell did they know she was with Koo last night? There was only one student aside from her in that wake and as Grace looked for her she knew she was the culprit.
"POPPIE! It was a wake! Why did you tell them we were on a date?" she asked her friend Camel. "Sorry, Gracie. I just said that you came with the professor and they drew their own conclusions," Camel said apologetically. "Well, to all of you that seem to care it wasn't a date! It was a freaking wake! Besides, all of you should have been there, he was your professor too," Grace said angrily as she took a sit, not failing to see Tse's accusatory glance a few feet behind.
"The guy is dead. Why would he care?" Gloria said. Grace was going to turn around to give her a piece of her mind when Professor Koo came into the classroom. "Sorry for my tardiness. Now, if you could pass your assignments to the front, because we have a lot to discuss today," Louis said.
Grace didn't listen to anything he said during the entire class. She was just staring blankly at a piece of paper. In it, she had written the questions she would ask Edison. There were pretty normal questions. What's your name? What's your relationship to Ruby? How did you find out about her disappearance? Do you think she was murdered?
The thing that bothered her most was the last question she had written. She had been pretending to pay attention to the class, and she was writing without looking at the page. The next time she read what she wrote, she was shocked beyond belief. Why would she think of asking something like that?
'Are you going to kill me?'
***********************
One hour later.
Lockers
Grace walked slowly toward Psycho. He was in front of his locker, placing some books on it and taking some out. He looked pissed off, and she didn't want to imagine why. "Hey, you okay?" she asked him when she reached him. "Sure I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" he said sharply as he slammed his locker door shut.
"Alrighty" she said as she decided to ignore his mood. "Hey, I need your opinion on this," she started saying as she took her notebook out of her backpack. "Why don't you ask for your Professor's help?"he said cynically. And that got her angry. "Why don't you tell me what your fu*king problem is?" she replied.
"My fu*king problem is� ah, forget it!" he said as he started walking away. She walked after him and grabbed him by the backpack. "No, you tell me now! What the fu*k did I do wrong?" she said as she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "I don't know what the problem is. I just know I'm angry," he said as he avoided her eyes.
She took his chin roughly and made him look at her. "Are you jealous of the professor?" she asked softly. "I don't know� maybe�" he said after a while. She took a deep breath and said, "Well, Tse� first of all, you have no reason to be jealous of the professor because you are not my boyfriend. Second, I am not remotely interested in the professor, not that is any of your business, third..."
"Hi, Grace," she heard a soft masculine voice say. She looked at Tse and noticed his jaw was squarely shut. He looked mad and worried. Dread filled her stomach as she turned around, hoping not to find the person she knew she would find.
"Hi, Edison," she said shyly as she strained a smile. Edison had a lopsided grin, a cute dimple showing on his right cheek. Grace was standing so close to him she realized his eyes weren't truly brown, but hazel. They changed colors depending on the shirt he wore, and today his eyes look a shade of purple. But the most interesting thing about his appearance was the red rose he was holding in his hand.
"This is for you. I want to apologize for scaring you yesterday," he said with his honey-coated voice as he gave the rose to Grace. "Um, thanks, but you didn't really scare me," Grace stuttered, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. She tried concentrating on the rose petals, so red, so incredibly beautiful. She casually smelled the rose and she could smell his cologne in the crimson petals, and couldn't help but smile.
"Ahem," Grace heard Psycho grunt. "Um, I'm sorry. Edison, this is our cameraman, Psy.. umm Tse and Tse this is Edison Chen," she said uncomfortably. She realized that after four years of sharing a classroom, she didn't know Tse's real first name. "Hey, how's it going?" Edison said with a smile as he offered his hand to Psycho. Psycho looked at the hand, and after a while took it and shook it lightly.
"Well, I have classes now, but I'll see you in an hour. Can't wait," Edison said to Grace as he turned around and stepped into a classroom. He didn't leave Grace's sight until he was out of her range of vision.
"Okay, it's definite. I'm not worried about the professor," Psycho said seriously. "Why?" she asked casually as she fiddled with the rose in her hand.
"Cause I'm afraid you are falling for the killer," Psycho said bluntly.
"Shut up! Now, can you help me, please?" she said seriously. He looked straight into her eyes, and after a while, he exhaled loudly and said, "Sure, what does the little princess need?"
"I prepared a list of questions to ask Edison. Tell me what you think?" she said as she opened the notebook on the last written page. "What the fu*k can one ask a murderer?" Psycho asked rhetorically as Grace glared at him to shut up.
Grace: "Was Ruby a normal girl?"
Psycho (mocking): "I'm glad you ask pretty lady, because she was wonderful, full of love and life, until I killed her, of course."
Grace: "Did she mix with strange people?"
Psycho (mocking): "No, she was a saint. Although I think she had a bit of crush on that strikingly handsome guy formerly known as Tse."
Grace: "Did she seem strange prior to her disappearance?"
Psycho (mocking): "She bought a dildo named The Bunny."
Grace: "Do you think she was killed?"
"WOAH! Hold your horses! You can't ask that! Take that one out!" Psycho said with wide eyes. "But it's fundamental to the interview," Grace replied. "You'll fu*k up if you ask him that. That's the equivalent of asking: "did you kill her?""he explained. "If I don't, Edison might think I'm avoiding the issue," Grace said.
"Fu*k! Please stop thinking about what he might think! This interview isn't real! This isn't your thesis, Grace! Come on!" Psycho said angrily. "Fine! I'll take it out! Alright, let me put something in the locker and then I'll treat you to lunch," she said as she gave up fighting with him. She walked to her locker, opening her backpack on the way as she searched her bag for her key chain.
She was already in front of the locker, but she couldn't find her keys anywhere. This was odd. Grace was a control freak. She knew exactly where she placed everything. "Shit, where are they? Have you seen my keys, Tse?" she asked. Psycho looked inside her bag and pulled out a key chain. "These?" he asked. "No. That belongs to my sister! Shit, I never lose my keys!" she said as she closed her backpack, coming empty-handed.
"Well, welcome to the club. By the way, did you like my note this morning? That was for not inviting me to share the bed with you," Psycho said casually.
"Jerk! I'm terrified of clowns," she grumbled.
"I know, now, about that lunch�"
************
C-10
12:59 AM
"Well, he isn't here yet. Let's take a moment to spot the emergency exit in case the man decides to come with a chainsaw to rip us apart," Psycho said as he stepped inside the room they were meeting Edison in. "Haha! Stop it. I'm already a bit freaked out," Grace said as she followed him inside and started arranging the place for her interview.
"Okay, Tse. Keep the camera pointed at him at all times. Try to catch a few close ups, but nothing too dense. By no means will you record me. Is that clear?" Grace instructed. "Why can't I?" he asked amused. "Because I don't like being recorded. If I had any desire to appear on film, I would have studied acting instead of filmmaking," she said as she walked back to where he was standing, keeping her eyes fixed on the closed door.
"Do you think he did it?" she asked Psycho as she looked at the door. "I think he did, yeah." he answered as he looked straight at her. "You sound like you know him," she said casually. "I know of his kind. That's enough for me," he whispered.
Grace nervously glanced at her watch. "1:00 PM. Any minute now," she said nervously. She looked so cute as she bit her lower lip anxiously, adjusting her already neatly positioned eyeglasses. Psycho couldn't resist the urge to stand directly in front of her and wrap his arms around her waist. She was surprised to say the least, as proven by the way she looked at him and said, "Tse, what are you doing?"
"I think it will be best if Edison thinks you are not available. I don't trust him to behave, even if he has a girlfriend. That way he won't get closer than he has to, specially with me around," Psycho whispered. His face was mere inches above hers and she could feel his hot breath on her forehead.
"I don't like this, stop it," she whispered as she tried avoiding his eyes. "Is that why you're trembling?" he asked with a grin as he kept his hold on her.
"Fu*k" she cursed in her mind. She was trembling. "No. I'm hypoglycemic. My sugar is low," she lied. "You ate half an hour ago. Low sugar it ain't," he replied. He took one of his hands from her waist and took off his eyeglasses. "Here. Does this make it better? Do I look now half as handsome as your wonderful Mr. Chen, who I am sure is the one you are dreaming of holding you?" Psycho said mockingly as he hugged her even tighter.
"Tse, this is weird� I hardly know.." she started saying when he placed his finger in her lips and said, "Shh! We are just acting Grace. We are putting up a little show for the psycho killer. It doesn't mean anything. I just don't want him getting close to you."
"What's your name? Your real first name," Grace suddenly asked as she took the courage to look into his eyes. "Promise not to laugh?" he said with a grin. "Promise," she said with a smile of her own. "It's Nicholas, pretty gay name, isn't it?" he joked. "I like it," she said sincerely.
"Well, I think it sounds lame compared to the nickname you kids have given me," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "What nickname?" she asked feigning innocence. "You know, Psycho," he replied. "So, you know about that," Grace replied in shock. No one called Tse 'Psycho' to his face. In fact, hardly anyone talked to him. "I'm not stupid. I've heard," he said sincerely. "And you don't mind?" she asked curiously.
"Of course not. It's my favorite movie. It is a privilege to be named after Norman Bates," he joked. "Okay, you have just upped the creep factor," Grace replied. "Why?" he said with a smile. "Cause I spent the night at your place! What if you had gone all Psycho on me? What would have happened to poor little me?" she said with a pout. "Heheh, that's cute. Naw, I'm pretty much a harmless geek. But, for future reference, don't take a shower in my house or I might go all e-e-ee-e-e-ee on you!" he joked as he hummed the familiar Psycho tune.
She suddenly turned very serious. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "I'm afraid, Tse." she said as she looked down, staring into his 'Austin 3:16' shirt. "Of what?" he asked. "That what happened to Ruby might have happened to other girls. That it might still be happening, that it will happen to me," Grace said, her voice breaking slightly. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him, to bury her face in his chest and cry away. Instead, she just covered her face with her hands and sighed.
"Grace, I.." Psycho started saying seriously when they heard the door creak. A second later, Edison stepped inside the room. Grace took a step back from Psycho nervously, freeing herself from Psycho's arms, as she gave Edison an apologetic smile. Edison looked surprised at the sight, but didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry if I'm late. Had a small argument with my significant other," Edison said apologetically. "Is that the camera?" Psycho said gruffly as he pointed to the black bag Edison carried and put on his glasses. "Yes, this is it. You know how it works, right?" Edison said. "Yep. Not a problem," he replied as he took the camera off the bag and placed it on his shoulder.
After adjusting the lenses, he gave Edison and Grace a thumbs up. Grace took a deep breath, pointed to a chair and said, "how about we start?" Edison nodded and sat on the chair Grace had instructed. Grace sat on the other chair, knowing she was out of the camera's sight, and took her notebook in her hand.
Psycho pressed the record button and said, "rolling."
Grace: "We are talking with Mr. Edison Chen, a film and media student here at New York University. Edison was a friend and classmate of Ruby.... Edison, can you tell us what happened"
Edison: "Well, she didn't come to class for a few days. Ruby was a very responsible student, so we all got worried. We called her house and they told us she had disappeared. The police, her family and friends looked for her for months but we never heard anymore about her."
Grace: "Do you think she was kidnapped?"
Edison (shaking his head): "Some people think so, but I think it's absurd. You see, after her disappearance, she wrote home saying she had fallen in love with a guy and that she had decided to run away with him. The police confirmed it was Ruby's handwriting, and that she didn't write it under duress. Besides, Ruby's family is quite rich and no ransom money was ever demanded."
Grace: "And you didn't suspect anything? Weren't you informed about her life?"
Edison smiled and said, "Well, she was my friend, but I never spy on anyone." His smile grew wider as he looked directly at Grace and said, "Do you?"
Grace had to take a deep breath before asking, "Do you know who she might have run away with?"
"I have no idea. But knowing Ruby it would have to be someone really special," Edison answered sincerely while looking at where Psycho was standing. "Special in what way?" Grace asked. "In every way. Ruby was truly a special girl. Wherever she was, she would light up the day."
Grace took another deep breath. They were down to their last question. "If you could send a message to Ruby, what would it be?" Grace asked as she concentrated her eyes on the piece of paper in her hands.
Psycho did a close up as Edison looked directly at the camera as if it was Ruby. Edison took a deep breath before saying, "Ruby� I know that two years have gone by and that you have made your new life, but I want you to know that, wherever you are, your friends will never forget you. Please Ruby. Come back to us. I.. we love you."
His voice had break up slightly, and Grace had to look up from her notes to see his face. She was amazed at what she saw. A silent crystalline tear had left his lovely eyes and had traveled softly down his perfect cheeks.
**********
30 Minutes Later
"He was crying," Grace said as she and Psycho walked down the stairs. The interview was over when the last question was answered. Edison and her said their goodbyes, while Psycho merely grunted at him. Now, they were walking down the stairs towards the building's main hall.
"That's bullshit, Grace!" Psycho said angrily. "And what if he's saying the truth? What if he truly believes Ruby ran off with another guy?" Grace said. She didn't understand Psycho's reluctance to believe a guy like Edison could be innocent.
"Please, Grace! Don't go along with his sick little game. He looks at you with his angel face and googoo eyes and you believe every fucking piece of crap that comes out of his mouth. What is it? Do you like him? Is that it?" Psycho said as he stopped and looked back at her.
"Don't be stupid." Grace replied sharply. "No, don't YOU be stupid," Psycho said as he started walking away. Grace took a deep breath and followed. "Well, what about the letter?"
"The letter only shows that Ruby fell in love with a freaking bloke," Psycho said tiredly. "And who is he?" Grace asked. "Who the fu*k do you think? EDISON! That Edison! He probably fu*ked her and then killed her!" Psycho said as he pointed back to where they were coming from.
Grace was a bit mad at his stubbornness. "How can you be so goddamn sure? Besides, Edison has a girlfriend!" she said seriously.
Psycho stopped walking and turned sharply around. "Let's see if you can get this inside that pretty little head of yours. Apart from being a stuck-up little piece of shit, Edison is a fu*king psychopath. And that is it! For goodness sake Grace, can't you see how he looks at you? He's dying to blow your brains out while he fucks you up the arse! He's insane!" he muttered under his breath.
"Wow, sounds like you simply don't like him," Grace said as she held his stare. Psycho looked away first, turned around and kept walking. "Fu*k. If you encourage him, you'll see how right I am. When you finally realize what is going on, he'll come around with a knife and a camera. And you'll definitely be ready for your spread-eagle close up," he said, catching the stares of nearby students.
Grace jogged until she was next to him and whispered, "So� what now?" "What now?" he replied casually. "What do we do now?" she repeated. "Nothing," Psycho answered.
"Nothing?" she asked surprised. "Yeah. We know who it is. We know to steer clear of him. So just go home and avoid him," he replied casually.
"But, can't we tell the police?" Grace asked, feeling totally helpless. Psycho replied, "Like hell we won't! You stole the tape. Remember? Besides, we don't have any proof. We don't even know where Lau got the tape from."
"From the archives," she replied. That made Psycho stopped to look at her. "That's impossible," he replied. "Well, he told me he was going to the archives that afternoon. He was watching the tape on university grounds. That tells me he got the tape here, at NYU. What if he found it on his little trip to the archives?" Grace said logically.
"Interesting," he said as he bit his lip pensively. "What are you thinking?" she asked. After a few seconds, he looked straight into her eyes and said, "I'm thinking that you should go home, take a warm bath, masturbate to my image if that helps you to relax and wait for my call," Psycho said as he winked at her and walked back the way he came from.
"What are you doing to do?" Grace called back to him. "I'm going to do some investigating of my own, Miss Nancy Drew," he said as he kept walking back to the university's hall.
She did the most stupid thing she could think of. She followed him.
Grace quickly gathered her things and went out of the library just to see him rounding the corner. She quickened her pace and rounded the corner in time to see him in a crowd of fellow students as he went down the stairs in the main hall.
She tailed him for two more minutes. He was now on the basement floor and she was following 20 meters behind. He rounded a corner, and 20 seconds later she followed him.
But he wasn't there anymore. The hallway was empty. "What the fu*k?" she thought as she tried to guess where he could be. Unexpectedly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around sharply and found him. "Looking for me?" Edison asked seriously.
He was watching her intently, a small smile playing on his lips. She cursed herself mentally as she tried to look nonchalantly and get the hell out of there.
She did the second most stupid thing she could think of. She ran.
"Wait! Stop! I want to talk to you!" Edison screamed as he ran behind her. Grace ran up the stairs, looking for a crowd. Everyone was already in their classes, so Grace decided that the safest place to be right now was to be inside a class. So she entered a classroom that she did not belong to and sat.
Her heart was beating wildly the whole time. She berated herself. How could she be so stupid? What did she hope to accomplish by tailing him? And yet, it had felt good. The thrill of the chase� the fear of being caught� the rush of adrenaline as he realized She was following her. The realization that she had enjoyed the little 'hide and seek' game with Chen fascinated and terrified her.
An hour later, the bell rang. Everyone started to gather their things, and Grace did the same. She looked out of the hallway for a sign of Edison, but finding none, ran to the bathroom. She felt hot and had sweated like a pig from the race. She looked at herself in the mirror, hating what she saw. What was she doing? What was she trying to accomplish by trying to find Ruby's killer herself? What was wrong with her head?
Grace bent over the sink and splashed water on her face. The water seemed soothing and relaxing. "I'm just imagining things, it's just my imagination," Grace thought as she opened her eyes and once again looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Only to find Edison Chen standing behind her.
"FU*K," she screamed. She was about to run out of the bathroom when he pinned her against the sink and put his hand over her mouth. She was terrified when he whispered, "Shh, girl. You are going to get me in trouble! I'm not supposed to be in the ladies room. My girlfriend finds me here and I'll be in big trouble," Edison said with a boyish smile on his face as he took his hand off Grace's mouth.
"What are you doing here?" Grace whispered as she struggled to find her voice. The sink was digging into her back, and Edison realized it, so he took a step back. "Looking for you. Mind explaining me why you were stalking me?" he said with humor. "Stalking you? You were following me!" Grace said with as much courage as she could muster, praying that some girl will come to the bathroom.
"Okay, let's forget about who was following who. here, I was trying to give you this," Edison said as he gave her a folder. Shit. She must have let it fall when she was running away from him. It was Grace's folder with all the news articles about Ruby Lin. Grace took it, but it slipped out of her hand, slipping the contents of her file on Ruby into the floor. He bent down to pick it up like a gentleman, but Grace noticed with apprehension that he took one of the articles with Ruby's picture on it and started reading.
"What's this?" Edison asked as he stood up and showed her the article. Grace said the first thing that came to mind, "I'm doing a short documentary about Ruby's case, about runaway girls." Grace stuttered as she took the article from his hand and put it in the folder, which she quickly tucked inside her backpack.
"Ruby� god," he whispered. Grace looked at his face in time to see his eyes tear up. That raised a flag on her head. Seeing her questioning look, Edison said, "I knew her."
Edison knew Ruby.
Ruby knew Edison.
And he had a XT-500 camera.
Not good. Especially since Grace was trapped in a bathroom with him.
"Really?" was the only coherent thought Grace managed to articulate. "Yeah, she was my girlfriend's best friend. They worked together and even took most of the same classes. I hanged a lot with Ruby. I miss her. We all miss her," Edison said softly. He wiped his eyes before a tear fell out. Grace was shocked that she was almost compelled to soothe him. She knew now why every girl was crazy about Edison; he was downright irresistible.
"Well, we better get out of here," Grace whispered as she walked fast toward the door. She got out of the bathroom and went into the hallway, only to hear Edison's footsteps close on her tail. "You are still following me," she said softly. "Yeah, but I got two good reasons for it," Edison said with humor.
Grace turned around. There were other people in the hallway, she was safe for now. "What do you want?" Grace asked coldly. "First, I want to help you with your documentary about Ruby. It's the least I can do for her," Edison said sincerely.
"I already have everything I need, but thanks," Grace said sharply. "What about an interview? Those types of report need interviews with family and friends� I can get them for you. I can also help you edit. I just want to help," Edison said looking directly at her eyes. God, he had beautiful eyes.
"Who do you have in mind?" Grace found herself asking. "Me," he said sincerely. He knew she was interested, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling at the mysterious girl.
"Why you?" Grace asked. "Well, I knew Ruby well, yet I'm objective about her. I was with her family during her disappearance and search. I kept in touch with the case. I can give you hard info and yet you can use my emotional attachment to the case," Edison said softly. He looked so sincere that Grace couldn't help but nod.
"Alright. I'll interview you," Grace whispered. "Fine, tomorrow at 1. We'll meet in C-10. You can use my camera in case you don't have one," Edison said as he showed her the camera bag. "Good, what was the second thing?"
"What's your name?" he asked with a smile. "Grace. Grace Yip" she said shyly. "Honey, what are you doing?" Grace heard a sexy female voice say. A girl appeared behind Edison. Grace knew who she was. Who didn't! It was none other than Vicki Zhao.
"Hey, Vics," Edison said sweetly as he put his arms around her shoulder. Vicki kissed him passionately, but looked at Grace the whole time. Grace felt chills down her spine with Vicki's stare. Her sister had been right. This woman was not to be messed with.
"Grace, this is Vicki. Vicki, this is Grace. Grace is doing a report on Ruby's disappearance," Edison explained. "Really? Isn't that a bit, old news?" Vicki asked coldly. "It's still interesting. Well, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow," Grace said as she nodded to the couple. She knew that tonight she had found a new limit to her stupidity.
"See you tomorrow. What does that mean?" Vicki asked Edison, her hands on his hips. She was fuming mad. "Relax, Vicki. I'm going to help her with the report," Edison said a little angry. He was tired of Vicki's jealous fits. So very tired.
"Well, you better behave! I won't have your eye roaming over the little nerd," Vicki said as she took Edison by the hand and walked out of the hallway.
******************
7:00 PM
Yip Residence
"Oh my god, Grace, he's a dream," Lillian whispered as she watched from Grace's window. Professor Louis Koo stepping out of his Audi convertible and walking to house door. Grace was too busy buttoning up her shirt to notice.
"Oh my God, Lillian, he's my teacher! Nothing will be going on between the two so get that stupid grin out of your face and meet him downstairs. I don't want Dad giving him the 'so-you-are-going-out-with-my-baby-cakes' speech," Grace said cynically as she finished preparing.
When Lillian left the room, Grace stopped brushing her hair and just looked at her reflection on the crooked. The truth was that she didn't want to get out of her room at all tonight. The whole deal with Edison Chen had rocked her to her very core. But she knew there was only one reason why she kept her date with Prof. Koo. She didn't want to be alone. She was too afraid to be alone. And the only person she could share her fear with was the same one she was too angry to talk to.
Grace went out of her room and walked downstairs. Louis was on the doorway talking amiable with her father and Lillian. When he heard her coming, he turned his smile toward her. "Gracie, just in time," her father said as he took her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. However, Louis didn't take his eyes off Grace's face, and the realization made her blush.
"Our daughter spoke very highly of Professor Lau, Mr. Koo. I'm very sorry for your loss," Jackie said as Grace gave Louis a shy smile. "Thank you, Mr. Yip. He was a good man. it is a loss to all of us. Are you ready, Grace?" Louis said with a sad smile. "Yes, let's go. I'll see you later," she said to her family as she walked with Louis to his car.
Like a gentleman, he opened the car door for her. After that, he jumped inside and they rode off to the funeral home.
"Your family is great, Grace. No wonder you are a good kid. Although I think your father was worried that such an old man had come to pick his little girl," Louis joked. "He always worries. Where's the home?" Grace asked. This was too close to 'date talk' for comfort.
"Just around the corner. It belongs to Andy's cousin," Louis said as he parked the car and got out. Before Grace could get out, he had come to her side and opened the door for her. "Thank you," she said a bit surprised. "What is it?" he asked. "Nothing. I have never met such a gentleman before, Professor," Grace answered sincerely. Louis only smiled and placed his hand gently on her back, guiding her inside.
***************
Lau Funeral Home
8:00 PM
"And that's who Andy was for me. An uncle. A friend. A teacher," a young man said as he stepped out of the podium. Two or three individuals had already given eulogies in honor of the deceased. Now, it was Louis's turn. "Wish me luck," he whispered to Grace. She nodded and smiled softly to him as he got up from his chair and walk to the podium.
"Good night. Thanks for being here. My name is Louis Koo. I was a colleague of Andy in the university, but we actually met when we were together at NYU 15 years ago working on our studies. Andy was a good student, a bright young man, whose life was shortened due to his disease. But his disease never stopped him from living his life to the fullest. Andy was a volunteer mentor for different organizations. He participated in meal rides every weekend. He was a volunteer in his church. We should all learn that from him: He never let his shortcomings stop him from helping others. I know I have learned that from him."
"Andy has changed the life of many. He changed my life when he stopped me from dropping out of school 15 years ago. He changed his students' life with every word of wisdom he shared with them. He changed each and every one of your lives at one point or another. Always remember this, always remember him, as long as we remember him. Andy will live in our hearts," Louis said. Grace watched speechless as a tiny tear left his eye and traveled down his cheek. What amazed her is that he wasn't ashamed or quick to wipe it off. He didn't mind others to see that he was weak that he cared.
Louis walked back to where he was sitting and sat down next to Grace. Without knowing why, she took his hand in her own. She felt she could trust him and she wished with all her heart that he would listen to all the horrors she had witnessed these last two days. He looked at her, his eyes full of tears, and she couldn't help but put her head on his shoulder and cry and cry and cry and cry. She cried for Professor Lau, for Tse, for Edison Chen, and for Ruby Lin, the girl that haunted her dreams, the girl that kept begging for her help. And Louis just held her close to his body, kissing the top of her head. "Shh, it's okay. Everything will be all right," he kept saying over and over.
But she couldn't tell him that nothing was going to be all right. How could she tell him that she had been the one to discover Andy's body, only to steal from him and not telling anyone else about her discovery? How could she tell him that Andy had been watching the murder of Ruby Lin� that she had in her hand the answer to the Lin's question: Where's our daughter? That the answer to that question was the most unspeakable act she had ever witnessed?
****************
9:30 PM
Louis stopped his car in front of an old building and turned off the engine. He turned to Grace and touched her cheek gently. She seemed to awaken and suddenly realized she was at the address she had told Louis to drop her off.
"Hello there," he greeted. "I'm sorry. I kinda phased out," she said apologetically. "Don't worry about it. I can't think of a better company than you. Thanks for being there," he said sincerely. She smiled. It was nice being with someone that was so pleasant to her; a nice change from Psycho and his incessant teasing.
Louis's face suddenly grew very serious. "Grace, I feel I can trust you. Andy trusted you; he told me so himself. Grace, I think Andy's death wasn't quite incidental." Louis said softly. Grace's heart jumped a bit, and for a moment, she forgot to breath. "Why do you say that?" she asked nervously as she turned around to face him.
"Don't get me wrong, Grace. I saw the body. The coroner declared Andy had died of an asthma attack that had caused a cardiac arrest, and I believe that. I just think there's something more to that story," Louis said seriously.
"I went to that room Grace, after Andy had been discovered by the janitor, but before the police came. He was staring at the screen, Grace. He had been watching something. The VCR was empty, but it was on. I know he had been watching a tape and someone stole that Grace. Someone was in that room with Andy and took that tape and didn't say anything about it! Why would someone do that, Grace? Unless, unless they got something to hide," Louis said very seriously.
Grace gulped down hard, but managed to put the best poker face she had ever mustered in her life. She knew who that someone was, it was her. She had stolen the tape, she hadn't informed the cops about Andy's death. she knew that the tape contained a murder and yet had not gone forth to the police. Instead, she was playing a cat and mouse game with the likely murderer. Instead, she was playing Sherlock Holmes looking for Dr. Moriarty in the big, bad city of New York.
"I, I don't know what to say." Grace whispered. Louis smiled a sympathetic smile and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Grace. I just wanted you to know so you can keep your eyes open. If you hear any of your students talking about a tape, let me know. I need to find that tape. I need to know if what it contained might be the cause of Andy's attack. I need to know why would someone steal the tape and left Andy to die."
"But he was already dead, there's nothing I could have done," Grace thought. But she just nodded and lied, "I will, Louis."
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait to take you home?" Louis said as he pointed to the building. "Naw, it's okay. This might take a while," Grace said. She was about to get out of the car when once again Louis got up and opened the door for her. "I know this may sound weird, Grace, but I had a good time tonight. I feel that, even when I've lost Andy, I have gained a good friend," he said as he walked her to the building's entrance.
She looked at him straight into his eyes. He seemed so sincere and trustworthy. "I took the tape. I have it. I know what's in it," she wanted to tell him. But something inside told her that it would be a mistake. She would emerge as a thief and a liar. She could get expelled, even arrested. She would put his life in danger. Or she could just keep playing her Agatha Christie game and find out who the killer was before the killer finds the people that have watched the tape. Yes, she will help Louis but in her own way.
"I feel the same way, Louis. I'll see you tomorrow," Grace said as she averted her eyes from his. She just hoped that he would never find out it was her. "See you tomorrow," he whispered. But he took her hand and kissed it softly. With a small smile, he went inside the car and drove off.
She walked up the stairs and rang the bell. No answer. She rang it again and waited a few minutes. No answer. "Shit! Just what I needed. He's not home," she thought as she pondered what to do next. Tomorrow, she was going to meet Edison Chen for an interview. She was going to meet the person she suspected to be Ruby's killer. She wanted his help, needed it. So, Grace decided to sit on the stairs and wait for him.
Not five minutes had passed before Psycho Tse walked up the stairs and found her. "You? I thought you didn't want to talk to me," Psycho said seriously. "I didn't," Grace answered sincerely. "Then what are you doing here?" he said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "I need help," Grace said softly. "And I'm your best choice? Wow, sad," he said with sarcasm. She didn't say anything, but closed her eyes and lowered her head.
A second later, she felt his hand on her shoulder. Unlike Professor Koo's touch, the touch didn't seem sexual, it seemed more intimate than that. She opened her eyes and look up to find him staring at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'll help. Just tell me what you need from me," he said seriously. She couldn't help but smile.
**************
Psycho Residence
Five minutes later
"YOU WHAT?" Psycho asked in a mixture of horror and disbelief. "Shh! Keep your voice down!" Grace said seriously. "You followed the guy with the camera? Are you crazy, Grace? What if he had been the killer? You could have been hurt!" Psycho said with a voice full of worry. She was touched and annoyed at the same time.
"Hey, I remember I told you the same thing yesterday, and you said that it was your own fu*king business," Grace hissed. "Yeah, but it's different," he said slowly. "It isn't, you moron! Girl, guy, it's the same thing! When someone stabs us, we both bleed. Doesn't matter who it is," Grace said seriously. "It matters to me," he whispered as he averted her eyes. She immediately knew what truly bothered him. It wasn't the fact that she was a girl, it was the fact that she was Grace Yip, Psycho's favorite bookworm.
"So, who was he?" he asked seriously. He had decided to change the subject; brownie point for him. "Edison Chen," she answered. His eyes were about to drop out of his sockets. "Chen? The Edison Chen?" he asked. "You know him?" Grace asked him. "No, aside from the fact that he is a conceited pretty boy who acts like there's something up his ass," Psycho grumbled. "Hey, that's my description of you!" Grace teased.
"You think I'm a pretty boy?" Tse asked with a small smile. Grace slapped herself mentally. "No, I think you are conceited and you act like there's something up your ass," she replied. Psycho smiled even wider. She had missed his teasing. Ironic.
They stayed silent for a moment, until Psycho grew serious and said, "You know, having the XT-500 definitely doesn't prove he's the killer. I mean, I don't like Edison Chen, but that doesn't make him guilty."
"He knew Ruby. We both know Ruby knew the killer," Grace said seriously. "What? How do you know?" he asked shocked. Might as well tell him of her horrible tailing skills. "He caught me following him. I had dropped some papers I had checked out from the library about Ruby. He found them and asked me what they were for," Grace explained. "Shit, what did you say?" he asked.
"That I was doing a report about Ruby's case. That I was just researching and then he told me that he knew her. That Ruby was his girlfriend's best friend," Grace explained. "Fu*king shit! Then it can be him! That's it, Grace. I won't leave you alone for another second! He now knows you are investigating Ruby! He's going to try to stop you!" Psycho said as he started pacing the room nervously.
"Actually, he's cooperating," Grace said seriously. That made Psycho stop and look at her. "He kinda suggested that my 'report' needed to have interviews with some family or friends. And he kinda offered to be interviewed," she said apologetically. "WHAT? YOU ARE GOING TO SEE THIS GUY AGAIN?" Psycho asked shocked. She nodded.
"Are you out of your fu*king mind, Grace? He might be the one!" he reprimanded. "WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO SAY? I couldn't tell him "Hi, I'm Grace and I'm looking for Ruby's killer, a murder that just happened to be filmed with the same type of camera you have in your hand! Did you kill her?" I did the best I could! Besides, what better way to know if he killed her or not," Grace said matter-of-factly.
"Shit, Grace, this is not good, this is not good." he kept whispering over and over again. She thought it was very cute of him to be so concerned.
"That's why I want you to come with me," Grace said seriously. "Run that by me again," he said wide eye. "You are coming with me to the interview! We are going to use his camera, but I need a cameraman to film us. You," Grace said softly. Expecting him to call her a jerk, she was surprised when he said, "Sure. I told you I wasn't going to leave you alone. What time?"
"At, 1:00," she said surprised. "Why so shocked?" he asked. "I thought you were also mad at me. I figure that you'll at least fight with me a bit before agreeing to help," Grace said softly. "Well, I decided to save everyone the time and go straight to agreeing. Tomorrow at 1, I'm going to be the cameraman for Grace 'Connie Chung' Yip," he joked.
"Well, I better get going," she said softly as she got her purse and got up from the bed. "No," Psycho said with authority. "What?" she asked annoyed. "It's past midnight. You either let me walk you home or you stay for the night," he said as he took his pillow and threw it on the floor. "Tse, I don't know who you..." Grace started complaining when Psycho said, "Look! I don't know what's with you and the Wonderwoman complex but this guy knows WHO YOU ARE! What makes you think he's not waiting outside to do to you the same thing he did to Ruby?" Psycho said seriously.
He had a point. It was either that, or he had just gotten her frightened enough to piss her pants. Without another word, he took off his shirt and laid himself on the floor. "Just what are you doing?" she asked surprised. "Going to sleep on the floor. You are lucky. I usually sleep in the buff, but since I have a guest." he said as he took of his glasses and closed his eyes.
"Why do you assume I'm going to spend the night here?" Grace asked annoyed. "Because you probably told your parents you were going to stay the night out or you would not be here so late," he said grumpily. Which to Grace's annoyance was true. She had planned on staying on a motel nearby.
"At least let me sleep on the floor," Grace said softly. "Naw, don't worry about it," he said softly. Grace laid herself on the small bed; it was comfortable. She realized it smelled of him, which made her wonder when was the last time he changed the sheets or what he had done on them. "Besides, tomorrow I can tell everyone you slept on my bed," Psycho said. Without a second thought, Grace threw the pillow under her and it landed straight on his face.
"Tse, if Edison's the one, what are we going to do?" Grace asked softly. "I don't know, we'll see," Psycho answered softly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked like a little boy on the floor, his hair falling over his closed eyes, a tiny crooked smile on his face. But of course, she looked up and saw his collection of horror masks and weapons. A little boy he wasn't. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer for this not to be a mistake.
Psycho opened his eyes and looked at Grace. She was beautiful. She had taken off her glasses and had put them on his night table. Without glasses, she looked younger than she was. He really wished he could join her on the bed, but he knew it was impossible. "Grace, can I ask you something?" Psycho asked. "Yep," she grumbled. "Why aren't you afraid of me? Everyone else is," he asked softly.
She opened her eyes and looked at him. Why wasn't she? She was nervous in his presence. She was anxious when he was with him. But afraid? "I don�t know� I guess� I guess you are like The Nightmare Before Christmas," Grace said softly. "How so?" he asked laughing. "You seem terrifying on the outside. All scary and horrific. But on the inside? You are nothing but a softie," Grace replied sincerely. "A softie? Hey, I've killed people for less than that," he teased. "I'm sure you have," she whispered as she closed her eyes. Somehow, sleeping here with him seemed safer than sleeping alone in her room. Ironic.
"Well, hope you like the honor of being the first girl for a sleepover," Psycho said as he closed his eyes. "First girl? What about guys?" she teased. "Hey, hey, no questioning my manliness," he joked. This definitely felt good. Tse had become the 'girlfriend' she never had, although weirder, and sort of hotter.
"I can't sleep," she whispered after a few minutes of silence. "I got something that might help," the half-naked Psycho said as he got up from the floor and opened his closet. She heard him rummaging in it and after a moment, he came out with something on his hand. He threw it to Grace and said, "he might keep you warm."
Grace was surprised, to say the least. It was a small Cookie Monster stuffed doll. "You like Sesame Street?" she asked surprised. "Not really. I'm more of a Powerpuff kinda guy," he joked. "I, I bought it for you," he said softly.
"What?" she asked shocked. "For your birthday last year," he confessed. "But but, we didn't even know each other back then," Grace stammered. "We had never talked, but I knew of you. We have shared the same classes for four years, Grace. I knew you liked Sesame Street because your pencils and notebooks are of them. Even with the whole Elmo-craze, you had your Cookie Monster eraser. I saw that on a store and I thought of you, but I never had the opportunity to give it to you, might as well do it now," Psycho said softly as he went back to the floor and closed his eyes.
"I, I don't even know what to say," Grace said softly. For a second, she imagined how a room decorated with Sesame Street/Horror memorabilia would look like. "Nothing, just hold it tight and think of me," he joked.
They spent a couple of minutes in silence. Grace clutched the doll in her arms as if her life depended on it. She suddenly opened her eyes and called, "Tse?" "Yes?" he replied.
"Thank you. For everything," she whispered.
"Not a prob, Grace. Remember, I have an ulterior motive," he said with a hint of humor.
"Yeah, and what's that?" she prodded.
"I want to get into your pants," he said with a smile.
"If we survive, I just might let you," Grace said with a cynical smile as she closed her eyes, but not before watching Psycho opened his eyes wide at her remark.
"I'm having a bad influence on you, Gracie," Psycho said with a smile as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
"That you have, Tse. that you have."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO PLEASE NO!"
Grace walked to where Psycho was sitting and sat next to him. He barely acknowledged her presence, for the video had all his attention. In his thick glasses, an image was reflected. The torturer in the ski mask took out a gun and pointed directly at the girl's head.
"GOD NO! DON'T! PLE..."
A gunshot resonated loudly. And there was no more screaming.
"Is she dead?" Grace asked numbly. "What the fu*k, Grace. He just blew her brains out. What do you think?" Psycho answered, still looking at the screen.
"What is he going to do now?" Grace asked him. "I think he's going to cut her up," Psycho whispered. As to confirm Psycho's suspicion, the killer took a wood saw and plugged it in.
Grace covered her face with her hands. "Please. switch it off," she whispers meekly. The saw was now blaring loudly. It resembled an engine being started. "I told you so, the bastard is a fu*king butcher," Psycho said in a mixture of horror and awe.
Thru her fingers, Grace opened her eyes. And she watched. she watched the walls in the screen dripping with blood and heavier things. She watched as the saw cut thru skin, flesh, muscle, and even bone. Flesh was hanging everywhere, until she couldn't distinguish between what used to be a human and what used to be cattle meat.
"I think her name was Ruby, Ruby Lin," Psycho said softly. "Why would someone do that to her?" Grace said, her voice slightly breaking either from fear or from shock. "It's a business, Grace, a fu*king business," Psycho answered softly.
"Business?" she asked. "This is what's called a snuff film. You see, there is a difference between this tape and 'Fresh Blood'. In Fresh Blood and films of its kinds, the fact that there is a camera recording the act is coincidental. In a snuff film, the whole purpose of the movie IS to record someone's death or rape. It's not coincidental, it's the one and only reason!" Psycho explained.
"Who would buy that?" Grace asked. "Extremely rich people� You know how much it costs to buy a true snuff film? Anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000, depending on how truly violent the murder is," Psycho answered. Grace was left speechless.
"That looks like a garage. What do you think?" Psycho suddenly asked. He paused the video to inspect it more closely. "Does it?" she asked absently. In the TV, she could see it was a big empty space. The walls were covered with tiles, the lower half blue, the upper half white.
"It's a garage� it's a fu*king garage," Psycho said. "Why the fu*k does it matter? She's dead! She was tortured and then shot!" Grace said frustrated as she got up from the bed and started pacing the room.
"You don't say," Psycho whispered cynically as he kept his gaze on the screen and pressed the Play button.
"How can you still watch that crap?" Grace said with anger. "May I remind you missy that YOU stole that crap!" Psycho said as he pointed to the screen. "I didn't know what it was," Grace said defensively.
"But you suspected, Grace. Don't try to make a fool of me by denying it. Deep down, I'm beginning to think you love this shit!" Psycho said as he turned to her. "What are you saying?" she asked him softly. "What you heard, Grace" he replied.
"Well, it's nonsense. Like everything else that comes out of your mouth," Grace said as she took his pillow and slammed it against his head. But it wasn't a playful action; he knew it was a 'you-are-lucky-it-ain't-a-bat' action. "You love my mouth, don't deny it," he said as he threw the pillow on the floor. He turned his attention back to the screen in time to see something that raised a flag on his brain.
"Fu*k, what is this�" he started saying when Grace, who had her back to the screen, said, "I refuse to look." "I'm talking about the video's texture. Something funny here," he said softly. He paused the image and walked to the TV. He traced the screen horizontally. "Look at these lines, Grace." he whispered.
She did look. And she immediately regretted it. "I only see intestines, Tse," she said softly. "Haven't you learn anything in four years, Grace? The texture is different. It's a digital zoom. The fu*king idiot used a digital zoom!" Psycho explained.
"So what?" Grace asked. "We can find out what camera he used!" Psycho said. "Really? How many cameras have digital zoom? 50? 100? 1000?" Grace said with anger.
"How many had digital zoom two years ago?" Psycho said softly. His simple statement blew the anger out of Grace. She now could see where he was going. "Few�" she whispered. "Very few," he said as he got up and walked to his closet. He searched around and finally pulled out a manila folder, spilling the contents on the floor.
Grace could now see what it was. They were magazine pages, advertisements for different cameras. Only a true buff like Tse would keep this. He sat on the floor and started rummaging thru the dozens of ads. She followed his lead and sat next to him, scanning the articles for something that might help them.
"Auto focus� light control� shake control� shit!" Psycho said as he started reading one of the advertisements that looked promising but realized it had no digital zoom. Grace had one on her hand and said, "Here's one, digital zoom!" Grace said. Psycho took the paper out of her hand and, after scanning the document, sighed. "This is the B-12. It came out this year," he explained as he crumpled the paper and threw it aside.
"Stroboscopic effects, light texturing� shit, I'm sure there was one! T� XT� XT-500! Sony!" he exclaimed suddenly. He took all of the remaining papers and scanned for that model. He finally pulled out a paper and dropped the rest.
"Auto focus� shake control� stereo mike� digital zoom! This functions allows you to perform enhancements of the original image. See? Now we know the camera he used. the XT-500. It's a HI-8 System. This ad is from almost three years ago. I think."
Now that they had found the camera, the little distraction was over. The frustration at what she had seen came back at Grace like a 1000-volt shock. "Fascinating. I'm going home for dinner," she said softly as she got up from the floor and searched for her backpack.
"Are you hungry?" he asked with a cynical smile. "No� I'm afraid," she said seriously. He immediately dropped his smile and looked at her. She felt uneasy with his stare, so she walked to the VCR and pressed the Eject button.
"Hey, what are you doing? I want to watch that again," Psycho said impatiently. "Fine. Do whatever you want. I don't give a fu*k," she said as she put the backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the room.
"Bye, sweetheart. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite," Psycho said absently as he went to the player and pressed the Play button.
***********************
One hour later
Yip Residence
"Miss Diana Jean Fulgencio's parents say they have no clue as to their daughter's whereabouts. The Police are still looking for a sign in this mysterious disappearance. This is Julia Oh for Channel 6 news," the reporter was saying as Grace opened the door to her home and stepped inside.
She found her family in front of the TV, watching the news. Coqui ran happily toward Grace and waited for the welcoming pat. "Good boy," she whispered as she scratched behind his ears. What she truly meant 'Thank God my family is safe.' After watching the video, she suddenly realized how vulnerable and frail life was.
"Hey baby. Studying late?" her dad asked as he kissed he daughter. "Yeah. I'm beat," Grace said tiredly, although what she wanted to tell him was "Dad, I saw a murder today. And now, I feel frightened enough to die." But she couldn't explain it to her parents or to Lillian. She couldn't share this with anyone but Tse.
"Your food is on the fridge honey. You have to eat. It's meat loaf with my special lamb sauce! Your favorite�" Anita said as he stroke her daughter's back.
Meatloaf with sauce� flesh with blood. Grace fought the urge to throw up once again as the memories of the tape washed over her. "No. it's okay. I already ate. I'm going to bed," Grace said as she ran up the stairs and went right into her room.
Not 10 seconds had passed when someone knocked on her door. "Come in," she said as she started undressing. As predicted, Lillian walked inside. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "Of course, baby. Why do you ask?" Grace said softly. "You know why. These last two days you have acted like a ghost. It's not like you," Lillian said softly.
Grace suddenly realized something. The pencils on her desk were out of order. Although it would have been something small to anyone else, it mattered to Grace. She scanned the room, completely ignoring Lillian's questioning. Another thing- one of her drawers was half-open. Grace was a control-freak and she knew exactly where everything and anything was in her room. And she knew someone had gone thru her stuff.
"Lil, did you go thru my stuff today?" Grace asked softly. "Of course, not! I know what a freak you are for those things. why? What's wrong?" Lillian asked with concern. "Nothing." Grace whispered. She was questioning whether it was paranoia from the tape or if it was real. She had gone out of her room today in a hurry� maybe she was the one that left things like that without realizing.
"So, how's the project going? The one with Vicki Zhao?" Grace asked Lillian in an obvious attempt to change the object of Lillian's questioning. Lillian sighed, but she knew her sister enough to know that she couldn't press the subject. "It's fine, I guess� although she's not as nice as I thought she was," Lillian said softly.
"What do you mean?" Grace asked absently. "Well, she's moody. A little paranoid� a bit neurotic� typical supermodel," Lillian said with a smile. "You are right! That's you!" Grace joked as she poked her sister's stomach. Unexpectedly, the phone rang.
"Grace! Phone call!" her father screamed. Grace ran out of her room and went to the phone. "Grace?" she heard Psycho's voice on the other end of the received. "What are you doing calling here?" she whispered.
"I have something to show you," he said seriously. "I'm not interested, Tse. Get that in your head!" she whispered, trying not to get Lillian's attention. "Tse� I think someone has been in my room," she confessed.
"What? Calm down! Don't get all panicked on me! No one knows about the tape or us! Don't be afraid!" Psycho said anxiously.
"Nothing to be afraid of, right." Grace whispered, cynicism dripping from her voice. "You better check your room too," she said softly.
In his apartment, Psycho checked around the room. His clothes were thrown around the floor, his shoes were scattered around like debris, the video camera ads were crumpled around, and the air smell stale and unhealthy. In other words, no one had been in his room. "No one's been here. Look you have to come here! I have something to show you!" he said seriously.
"I can't," Grace whispered.
"Yes, you can!" Psycho replied.
"I don't want to," Grace replied.
"Yes, you do," Psycho rebutted.
"I won't," Grace said between clenched teeth.
"Yes, you will."
*********************
One hour later
Tse Residence
"You owe me 2.50 for the subway ride," Grace said as Psycho opened the door. The sight of him took her back. He was naked except for a towel wrapped around his waist. He had his eyeglasses off and beads of water still clung to his hair and body. In this attire, he looked normal and downright cute. Not that Grace would admit it. Not in a million years.
"I'll take you out for coffee sometime to make it up," he said as he signal for her to come in. She didn't move. "What?" he asked her amused. "Tse� you are naked," Grace replied matter-of-factly. "You caught me getting out of the shower," he said with a small smile. "I won't go inside of your apartment with you naked," she said as she pointed to his towel.
"Is my nakedness getting you horny?" he said with an Austin Power's voice. She couldn't help but smile. "More like your paleness is making me blind. Tse, I have no time for small talk. Get dress!" she said more seriously. "If you are in such a hurry, then come inside," he replied, mocking her seriousness.
"Alright. But if that towel comes off, I'm going tie you to a chair and beat the crap out of you," Grace said as she followed him inside. "Tempting, but it will have to wait," he said with a sly smile. They entered his bedroom, where she saw the tape was paused.
"At first, I thought it wasn't important. Just a minor glitch in the image," he said as he sat at the edge of his bed. The image in his TV was of the so-called Ruby, sitting down, bound to the chair. He pressed the play button and the image continued.
"PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME ANYMORE! PLEASE DON'T!" Ruby screamed. "Don't hurt me. Please, don't," Psycho mocked in a girly voice. Grace slapped him on the back of the head. "Girl, that hurts." he whispered when the screen flashed what he wanted Grace to see. "LOOK!" he said excitedly as he pointed to screen and pressed the slow-motion button.
And Grace did look. And she realized what he wanted her to see. In the screen, the attacker was walking toward the girl with the intent of beating her face but for a second, the image jumped. It was small, imperceptible to the untrained eye, but undeniable.
"It's been cut! It's been edited," she whispered. "It's only a bit. But the thing is that it is not only here. The film is full of cuts. All small. see the change is minimal. Look, he's almost standing in the same position!" he said as he pointed to the screen and replayed the video in slow motion.
"Doesn't make any sense� why cut there?" she asked rhetorically. "In a film like this, the attraction is to see everything. That's why they are always uncut. The more you see, the better," Psycho replied.
"So why cut it?" Grace asked him. She knew he had a point, but she was getting impatient with his reluctance to get to it.
"So we don't see something� or hear something�" Psycho said as he looked at her. Once again, he pressed the Play button.
"PLEASE� DON'T WHY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS�" they heard Ruby scream when the image was suddenly cut. Maybe for a fraction of a second, but something was missing from the original recording.
"Oh my god. She was about to say something� something he doesn't want us to hear," Grace whispered.
"What could it be?" Psycho asked rhetorically. Grace already knew the answer.
"His name," she whispered.
"His name! She knew who he was! She knew the motherfu*ker that did this to her," Psycho said as he pointed to the screen.
"What does that change?" Grace suddenly asked. As if she hadn't been afraid before, she was now terrified. "It changes everything Grace! We now know more about him! We know what camera he uses, we know he knew Ruby!" Psycho said. He couldn't understand why she wasn't more excited.
"Whoa! Listen! You are starting to sound like the police," Grace said impatiently as she started pacing his room. "Hey, girl. Slow it with the insults. We've got to know more about who were Ruby's friends," Psycho said with determination.
"Are you crazy?" she asked him as she turned to face him. Psycho ignored her so she continued, "This guy could be one of them!" Once again, he didn't reply.
She grew impatient and said, "Look. I've had enough of this. I don't want to hear anymore talk of this tape!"
"You're scared shitless!" he finally replied, his eyes glued to the screen. Was she? She knew her answer right then and there. Grace turned her wide eyes at him and said, "Yes, I AM! This is no fu*king game, Tse. These people, whoever the fu*k they are, kill for real!"
"Piss off, then. I'll find out on my own," he said as he paused the video and inspected the image. Grace walked until she was standing next to him. She took his chin roughly and made him look at her before saying, "You don't understand, Tse. I said it's over, for you as well."
"Hey, hey hey! You are not my girlfriend nor my mother, so don't tell me what to do," Psycho said angrily as he stood up, looking taller than Grace. However, she wasn't intimated. "I don't want any problems, Tse," she said seriously.
"What do you mean 'problems'? I won't get you in any trouble," Psycho said more calmly. "So what now? Go after everyone that has that camera? What if you find him? What if he finds you? What if he hurts you?" Grace said. She wanted to beat some sense into this guy.
"Then it's my problem. Or is it that you can't live without me, Gracie?" Psycho said cynically. He knew he had made a mistake when he saw her eyes fill with tears, not of sadness, but of anger.
"You said it yourself. It is your fu*king problem. I'm out of here. I've never been here. I don't know you. AND I've never seen that tape!" Grace said as she stormed out of the apartment.
"Wait. Grace! I'm sorry. I didn't mean.." Psycho managed to say as he tried to stop her before getting his door slammed on his face.
**************
School of Mass Communication
Classroom
12:00 AM
"What is Cinema? Don't fool yourselves. Cinema is an industry like any other. It's about making money. It's about giving the public what it wants," Professor Koo said to his enrapt class.
"That's why cinema fails, when there's no concept of industry, when there's no communication between the audience and the filmmakers. When we don't give them what they want to see. Never forget that."
The bell rang loudly. "He's brilliant," Camel whispered as the whole class, except for Tse, clapped loudly. In her four years as a student at NYU, Grace had never been in a more captivating class. Professor Koo was a very gifted teacher indeed.
"Come on! You are all too kind. Don't forget! I want your assignments by tomorrow," Koo said with a charming smile as he started gathering his papers. "Can we have a partner?" Scott asked as the students gathered their stuff. "Who do you have in mind?" Louis asked. "My girlfriend� Leakena!" Scott said as he pointed at the girl. "Sure, no problem. just make your girlfriend promise me that she won't pinch your ass anymore during my class," Louis said with a smile. Everyone but Tse, Grace and Leakena laughed; they all knew of Leakena's obsessive compulsion to pinch her boyfriend's cheeks.
A very serious Tse walked to Grace, who was still gathering her things. "Grace, listen to me. I'm sorry for.." he started saying. But she ignored him as if he weren't even there. Psycho took her arm and tried to make her look at him, but Grace yanked her arm away and looked at him directly in the eye before saying, "I said: I don't want to talk anymore!"
"Is there a problem?" Louis asked seriously. Grace looked around and realized that, aside from Tse, the professor and herself, they were alone. "No, sir. I actually wanted to show you something," Grace said sweetly to Louis as she gave the death-glare to Tse. Psycho looked angry enough to burst, but left the classroom in silence.
"Guy trouble?" Louis asked when Psycho left. "Something like it. I actually wanted to give you what I have so far of my thesis. I have to apologize, Sir. I haven't had much time to work on it," she said apologetically as he handed him a paper.
"Please don't be so formal. I'm barely older than you," he said with a charming smile. Gia was right; Louis had one of those smiles that made your knees get weak. "But don't worry. I just want to get an idea about your work. I'm sure the final product is going to be fascinating," Louis said as he scanned the document.
"Grace, can I ask you a favor?" Louis said seriously. "What professor?" she asked. "Louis, call me Louis." he said softly. "Alright. What can I do for you, Louis?" Grace asked.
"Tonight, it's Andy's wake. I was planning on going alone, since I don't have many friends, but well, I would prefer to be with someone else. I know most of these kids either hated Andy or couldn't care less about him, but I know you appreciated him. I was wondering if you would go with me to say our final regards," Louis said seriously.
For a second, Grace was under the impression that the new professor had asked her out on a date. But this was a funeral. Besides, she wanted to go anyway. Might as well go with company than alone.
"Sure, Louis. Let me give you my address," she said as she opened her backpack to look for a piece of paper. "Don't worry. I'll look it up in your file," Louis said with a smile. "Do you look in all your students' files?" Grace asked him, but the next second regretted it. This was her professor; she could get in trouble.
"Only the very charming ones, Grace, only the very charming ones," he said as he bowed slightly, took his briefcase and left the classroom.
***************
NYU Library
3:32 PM
Grace sat on her favorite desk, the one that is next to the library's entrance. She took her Walkman out and played the tape. With the background of the classical music, she opened the file that contained the information she had gathered in the newspaper's archives on the last three hours.
Article #1 - 'College student disappears.' A picture was shown. Grace had no doubt anymore; the girl in the video was truly Ruby Lin, Third-year publicity student at NYU. She had disappeared without a warning on a Sunday. She had left for her morning run and never returned. The police and her family were frantically searching for clues to her whereabouts.
Article #2 - 'Where's our daughter?" Another picture was shown, this time of Mr. Lin holding a picture of his daughter in one hand and a letter they had received, supposedly of Ruby, after her disappearance. In the letter, it said that she had fallen in love with a wonderful young man and, knowing her family wouldn't approve, had decided to run away with him. However, Mr. Lin was still suspicious. He said he knew his daughter very well, that she would never do something like that. So, he pleaded with the readers to submit to the police any clues they might have.
Article #3 - 'Court blocks new inquiry in Lin's case.' The small article, again with a picture of Ruby in all her beauty, talked about how the court blocked Mr. Lin's request to having his daughter's disappearance case re-opened. They stated that the letter he received was proof enough that his daughter had left in her own will.
Article #4 - 'Ruby Lin - the year after.' Ruby had become a poster child for runaway kids. In the article they talked about this phenomenon, making small comments about the Lin case and how her disappearance actually fit a pattern.
Grace closed her eyes. She tried to match the face of the beautiful girl smiling in the picture in the newspaper with the girl that had been screaming and begging for her life. They seemed like two different people; yet Grace knew they were one and the same. Her heart broke when she thought of Lin's parents, worrying all this time about their daughter's fate. The worst was that Ruby had suffered a fate 10 times worst than anything they could have imagined.
With her eyes closed, amongst the sounds of classical music coming from her headphones, she heard Ruby's screams. Over and over again. Begging for her life. Begging for him to stop. Begging for help.
Grace opened her eyes. She once again felt lost and alone. She was trembling slightly, and she remembered she hadn't had anything to eat. She was anemic; she needed to eat regularly. She was about to walk to the soda machine for a quick fix when she saw IT.
She couldn't believe her eyes, and for a moment, she couldn't even breathe. There it was, lying on a desk just next to the soda machine. A Sony video camera. From her desk, she could read the distinct marking on the camera's side: XT-500.
Grace kept looking. She could taste the fear in the back of her throat. She realized that someone was sitting next to the camera. It looked like a guy, but with his back to Grace she couldn't really see who it was. He took the camera and started filming someone in front of him.
Grace definitely recognized the girl in front of him. The girl was smiling flirty to the camera, blowing kisses and waving. It was none other than Vicki Zhao, supermodel extraordinaire.
That could only mean the guy was..
Grace got up from her desk and finally walked to the soda machine. She didn't want to see too obvious; but she couldn't help but look back to them. With fear, she realized that the camera wasn't pointed at Vicki anymore, it was pointed at her.
Without getting any more attention to herself, she quickly took the soda can from the dispenser and walked back to her desk. She sat down. Luckily, the cameraman seemed to ignore her.
She watched as he put the camera in the bag nearby and walked to Vicki. He gave her a passionate kiss, and finally turned around.
Every doubt Grace had about the man's identity dissipated as he looked directly at her before walking away.
It was none other than Edison Chen.
"Oh, fu*k�" Grace whispered with wide eyes as she looked at the remains of Prof. Lau. She wanted to get out of the room screaming, but her body refused. Instead, she stretched her hand until she touched his cheek. He felt cold and clammy to the touch.
In the dim light projected by the screen, she noticed his face looked a little bluish, and his lips were a tad shade of purple. She followed his outstretched hand. In the floor, underneath his hand, was his asthma inhaler. It was open and looked like it had been taken out of his pocket in haste and accidentally dropped.
Was this what happened to Prof. Lau? Nothing more than a deadly asthma attack? She knew he was a very sick man. He may have been young, but his frailty was evident. He was no more than 38, but he had needed a cane to assist him since he was 20. Was his own frailty what killed him? Or was there something more sinister afoot?
She looked back at the screen. Nothing but static and snow stared back at her. Then she looked back at the Professor's face. There was no mistaking the fact that his bloodshot eyes were glued to the screen. What had he been seeing? Could the image have prompted his untimely death?
Grace remembered the last words Prof. Lau had said to her: "I don't promise anything, but I will try and get them for you." Violent images. Had he been successful in getting it for her? Was the film he was going to get for her the one that had finished playing in the screen? Was that responsible for his death?
She walked toward the console just beside the screen. Grace looked at the VCR as someone look at the electric chair on his execution day.
Without a second thought, she pressed the Eject key.
**************************
NYU Library
10:00 AM
Grace was sitting on the same chair she had been sitting in with Jimmy just yesterday. Her world had changed in less than 24 hours. She was still shock, her mind trying to absorb what she had seen yesterday in Psycho's room; what she had felt when she was trying to sleep� what she had found this morning while looking for Prof. Lau.
Grace had taken the tape and quickly hidden it in her backpack. Without thinking about it, she ran out of the screening room, leaving the screen and the body the way she had found them. No one saw her leave the room; and she told no one of her discovery.
Only now she realized how stupid she had been. Prof. Lau's body will be found soon, if it hadn't been found already, and someone will notice that a tape was missing from the VCR. What if it could somehow be traced back to her? She had not only stolen from school property, she had left the scene of a death the way the killer escapes from the scene of a murder. If she were found to be the thief, she would be thrown out of college. Even worse� she could be in trouble with the law.
So she had skipped her classes and come straight into the library, determined to start working on her thesis. For three hours she had been sitting on this desk, her pencil in her hand and the notebook neatly placed in front of her. Three hours later, the paper was still blank. She couldn't think straight; she couldn't snap out her shock enough to write even one sentence.
She wanted to see the tape she had just taken to find out what really was in it. But at the same time, she was scared and apprehensive. Why did she felt like that? It was nothing more than a tape. Images don't kill people. People kill people. She had nothing to fear from watching that tape�
So, she just stared blankly at the library's entrance, half expecting that at any moment two security guards from the university will come and escort her into the Dean's office. They will take the tape from her before she could watch it and they will expel her from college. And her last four years will be nothing more than a waste, a fitting ending for Professor Lau's favorite student. And some small part of her felt she truly deserved it.
She didn't notice that, instead of the security guards, in came Psycho Tse. He searched around the library, and upon seeing her, walked straight to her. "Hey, bookworm. Did you find the old man?" Psycho asked her. She suddenly waked up from her thoughts and noticed his presence.
"Um� no. I didn't found him." Grace said hesitantly. "Funny. He didn't come to class. You didn't either for that matter. Walking on the wild side now, Grace?" Psycho teased. "Tse, I'm not in the mood," she said squarely. He seemed to be taken back by her words, and dropped his smile. He looked down to the floor and said softly, "Is it something I can help you with?"
She was surprised, to say the least. But she didn't show it. Instead, she just mouthed "No." He just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself. I'm off." Psycho turned around and was walking away from her when she suddenly asked him, "Do you think a film can kill someone?"
"Uh?" was Psycho's reply as he turned around to face her once more. "I mean, like a heart attack, or something like that, caused by the images they are watching," Grace said.
"Shit, Grace! What's gotten into that pretty little head of yours?" he said as he walked back to her. She shushed him, but he continued, "Wasn't yesterday enough for you? You are a real sadist, girl. Keep this up and you'll be fucking me in no time." Psycho then flicked his tongue out as if he was going to lick her face. However, Grace just gave him a blank look coupled with a 'drop-dead' expression. Psycho grew serious, finally realizing that she wasn't in the mood for his teasing.
"Okay. I'll leave now. See you tomorrow. And try to watch some Disney flick to get this bad thoughts out of your pretty head," Psycho said as he pushed his glasses up in his nose and left the library.
Grace watched him leave, wondering when she had changed his view of Psycho from 'lunatic idiot' to 'plain weird friend.'
****************
8:15 PM
Yip Residence
"Honey, are you sure you aren't coming?" Anita, Grace's mother, asked her. Grace, already in her NY Knicks pajamas, just yawned and said, "Yeah. I'm tired. I was working all day in my thesis and I'm beat. But you all go and have fun!"
"Would you like something, baby cakes?" her father Jackie asked as he put on his coat. "Aside from you not calling me baby cakes in public, a chocolate cake if you don't mind!" Grace said as she kissed her father's cheek. "My baby cakes wants a cake!" he joked. "Coqui! Take care of Gracie! Don't let her trash the house!" Jackie said to the dog. At the sound of his name, Coqui barked.
Her father and her mother left for the car. Just Lillian remained. She put on her coat and was about to walk out of the house when she turned back to Grace. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Lillian asked. "Yeah, go out and have fun! Remind dad to bring me the cake," Grace said as she walked Lillian to the door. Lillian seemed serious, as if she wanted to tell Grace something but was hesitant to. "Lil, what's wrong?" Grace asked her.
"I spoke to Jimmy today," Lillian told her. "Really? That's great! You two are back on speaking terms," Grace said as she adjusted her sister's collar. "He told me you were talking with that weird kid from your faculty. That you two were quite intimate�" Lillian said bluntly as she looked straight at Grace's face. "Fu*king Jimmy and his big mouth," Grace thought as she gave Lillian her best Poker face. "Who the hell are you talking about?" she asked casually. "That freaky kid that was in the subway station. Skinny� tall� big ass glasses� always wears that green overall coat and the WWF shirt inside� Ring a bell?" Lillian said as she went on with her description.
Grace suddenly felt angry. Angry that Tse could be reduced to a description that didn't do any justice to the complex enigma he really was. But this was Lillian and Grace knew that if Lillian had just reduced Psycho to a stereotype, it was probably because she was worried about her. "Oh! You mean Tse! He's helping me with my thesis, that's all," Grace said with a forced smile. "Are you sure?" Lillian asked her. "Of course. He's not my type, you know that," Grace said as Lillian walked out the door. "Thank God! For a moment there, Jimmy made it sound as if that kid was going to be my brother-in-law," Lillian said with relief.
"And talking about brother-in-laws, when are you and Jimbo coming back together?" Grace asked. She wanted Lillian out of the house and she knew that this was the best way to do it. Lillian just blushed and kissed Grace goodbye. Grace just laughed out loud and closed the door when Lillian walked to the car and stepped inside. "Things to do� kick Jimmy's ass," she thought wearily.
Her smile faded as soon as the door closed. She had one reason for not going out to eat with her family, and it wasn't tiredness. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to play the tape she had taken from Screening Room 11.
Grace ran to her backpack, Coqui trailing happily behind her, and took the videotape out. She put in on the player and grabbed the remote control. She then sat on the sofa, Coqui jumping beside her and cuddling against her leg. As she absently stroked his furry coat, she felt hesitant to press the Play button.
But she finally did. The color bars came on, signaling the tape was about to start. When the image was about to start, she shut the TV off. Nervously biting her nails, she was playing in her head the day's events. What she had found in that room had changed her life forever, yet it had triggered in her something quite unexpected: the need to know.
She turned on the TV back again, but before the image started, she changed the TV contrast to 0, effectively darkening the image to black while leaving the sound on.
A scream was heard; deep and gut wrenching. Full of pain and suffering, that scream was something out of Grace's worst nightmares. She opened her eyes wide while Coqui just put his ears up. And she kept hearing it. it must be a minute now� 2 minutes� five� and she kept hearing the screams. the begging. the thuds and grunts of punches and kicks and of beatings.
And the screams echoed loudly in her living room. It was the voice of a woman. That was something Grace was sure of. Those screams increased and subsided in length, pitch and emotion; but they were always there. And Grace knew they would be forever playing in her head.
And yet, she couldn't bring herself to adjust the contrast and watch the image that accompanied those screams. She just couldn't. What was really going on in that tape? Was it a movie? Was it real? Was this what killed Prof. Lau?
"Please! please! don't do this! DON'T DO THIS! WHY� WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEONE! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH GOD! WHY ARE YOU�"
Grace shut the TV as tears started streaming down her cheeks. Coqui looked at her with big brown eyes, not comprehending what he had heard and waiting for his master to give him a reassuring statement. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay," she whispered as she absently stroked his head.
But it wasn't okay, because that night, long after Mom, Dad and Lillian had come from the restaurant, long after Grace had tucked herself in with her Cookie Monster doll, she kept hearing it. She heard it as loud as if she had been on the living room. But it was in her head. It played only for her.
**********************
The Next Day
8:05 AM
Grace looked at herself in the mirror. She looked as if a truck had ran over her and then shifted to reverse and ran over her again. She hadn't rested at all last night, and she knew why. But she also knew it was no one's fault but hers.
She was dressing in a plain white shirt and jeans, when Lillian's voice suddenly caught her attention. "Mom! Were you watching this tape?" Lillian asked her mother from the living room. "What tape?" Anita asked from the kitchen. "I don't know! It doesn't have a label! It was on the VCR," Lillian replied.
"Fu*king shit!" Grace muttered as she opened the door to her room and ran down the stairs just before Lillian pressed the Play button. She had forgotten to take the tape off the VCR. "Shit, Grace! You scared me to death!" Lillian said as Grace hit the Eject button, took the tape and put it on her backpack. "Sorry, Lil. It's my tape. It's something for my thesis. Some boring article," Grace lied as she gave her sister a half-smile.
"Girls, breakfast ready!" Anita said as she came into the living room. "Sorry, mom. I can't have a breakfast. I'm late for a.. a thing. I'll see you tonight! Love you," Grace said as she took the backpack and ran out to the door.
"Is it me or is your sister acting weird?" Anita asked. "It's not you, mom," Lillian said worriedly as she followed her mother back to the kitchen.
********************
School of Mass Communication
NYU
11:00 AM
"I heard someone say that they found him with his guts hanging outside his belly and with his cane up his butt," Gia whispered to Judy. "Are you kidding me? This place would be crawling with NYPD! It had to be natural. He wasn't exactly the poster boy for Healthy Living," Judy replied. "Thank God someone found him before he stank up the place!" Blu said and all of them snickered.
"Jesus Christ! Don't you people have any respect? A guy is dead!" Camel scolded. "Yeah� a guy that was going to flunk me," Bon said and all of them, except for Psycho, Camel and Grace started snickering.
"Tse and Gracie are awfully silent. maybe THEY did it!" Gloria said as she gave mocked accusatory glances at them. Grace looked back and was about to give Gloria a piece of her mind when she felt Psycho's deep stare in her face, and she turned back before she said anything.
"Poor Grace. She has spent three months sucking up to Lau just to have him die before he could give her final grade. Tsk. Tsk. That's what I call bad luck," Leakena whispered while snickering. Grace just sank further into her chair, her big eyes fixed on her desk, causing Leakena to laugh out loud. Some of the other students joined in her teasing. That is until Tse said seriously, "Leave her alone. I won't say it a second time." At his words, everyone stopped laughing and just looked at the front of the classroom.
Dean Leung came inside the classroom with a handsome man trailing behind him. "Silence. Silence please. Quiet!" Leung commanded. Gradually, the students stopped talking and paid attention.
"Call me a mare and ride me. I'm in love," Gia whispered dreamingly. Her statement made Grace look up from her desk in time to see the man that had come with Dean Leung. He was around 34, Asian, with black stylish hair and sharp clothing. His deep tan only increased the dimples in his cheeks and his eyes held an edge of intelligence. Leung turned his attention to the stranger and nodded. The stranger then walked to the front of the class and started speaking.
"Hello, everyone. I supposed you have all heard the sad news about Professor Lau. Our esteemed colleague died yesterday morning. He was found on one of the screening rooms of this faculty. Apparently, he had an asthma attack while watching a film," the stranger said seriously.
"Wow. Must have been BioCops. That film will kill anyone," Tse joked, making Judy snicker. Leung heard his snide comment and walked to him. While the stranger talked about the funeral arrangements, Leung asked, "Have you seen the film, Mr. Tse?" "No," Psycho said, surprised by the Dean's reaction.
"You probably took it," Leung said softly. Psycho looked confused. "Well, someone took it from that room," Leung said. "Sir, it wasn't me," Psycho said sincerely. When Leung walked back to the front of the class, Psycho looked directly at Grace and she could feel the weight of his stare as if it weighted a ton.
"Well, my name is Professor Louis Koo. although, I prefer to just be call Louis," the stranger said. "Damn! this is what I call higher learning," Gia said with a small smile, getting a low five from Bon. "I'm definitely not cutting class ever again," Judy whispered to them.
"I'm a professor of Audiovisual Psychology. Some of you probably know me already and have even taken some elective courses with me. I was a good friend of Andy and I'm very familiar with his curriculum. I have been asked to take over my friend's classes until a more suitable replacement is found. So," Louis said with a small smile, "there shouldn't be any problems to carry this class as normal. That reminds me."
Louis took a small note from his pocket. "Grace Yip?" he read out loud. "Damn Grace! You always have all the luck," Gia whispered. Grace raised her hand. Louis just smiled at Grace and said, "I believe Professor Lau was directing your thesis. I'd be more than happy to carry on. I've heard a lot about you, Grace. We can talk whenever you like. That alright with you?"
Grace nodded. "Well, class. That will be all for today. See you tomorrow," Louis said as he walked out of the class with Leung, not before waving goodbye to Grace.
"Shit, Grace! How do you do it? He has here for five minutes and already you are his favorite," Gia said as he gathered her things. "I'm not his favorite. I'm sure that by the end of the semester, he's going to be hell over heels with you," Grace muttered quickly as she took her backpack and walked out the classroom. They all noticed as Tse clumsily gathered his things and followed her outside.
"What's up with those two?" Leakena asked. Everyone just shrugged and went about their normal lives.
******************************
In the hallway
Grace was walking fast, knowing Psycho was behind her. However, he kept increasing his speed until he was side to side with her. So she simply decided to ignore him and keep walking. But Psycho wasn't a person you could easily ignore.
Grace (sharply): "What do you want?"
Psycho (bluntly): "The tape."
Grace (innocently): "What tape?"
Psycho (seriously): "You know exactly what tape I'm talking about, Grace."
Grace (impatient): "You're losing it, Tse."
Psycho: "I'm not. You found him dead and you took the tape."
Grace (angry): "What the fu*k are you talking about?"
Psycho (whispering): "I saw you on the basement. You were looking for him. That day you missed his class. I have known you for four years, Grace, and you have never skipped a class. You didn't go because you knew there wouldn't be a class. His body had not been discovered yet because you didn't say anything. You just found the dead guy and stole from him�"
Grace (angry): "I did NOT!"
As he walked beside her, he smiled and turned to the other people in the hallway. Psycho pointed at Grace and started screaming, "It's her! It's her! She took the tape! She's the thief!"
Grace stopped walking and pushed Tse against a locker, pinning his body with hers, covering his mouth with her hand. Even when it hurt him, he was amused; she looked angry enough to kill him. "Even if I had the tape, why would I give it to you?" she said between clenched teeth. She took her hand off his mouth and allowed him to answer.
"Because I showed you mine, Grace. That's how it works! I show you mine, you show me yours," Psycho said with a sly smile. "You're sick! Why do you want it?" Grace said as she pushed him once again against the locker. "Why do you?" he said amused. "I need it for my thesis," she replied seriously. "That's bullshit and we both know it. What's really on it, Grace?" he asked seriously.
To his surprise, she took a step back and hesitantly said, "I don't know." "What?" he asked. "I said I don't know! I haven't seen it yet!" Grace said softly. She suddenly gazed at the floor and covered her eyes with her hands. To Psycho, she looked as someone that had witnessed something horrible and yet refused to believe it.
He did something very unlike him. With the tip of his finger, he made her look at him and said, "You are so stupid, is cute. Your place or mine?"
**************WARNING: STRONG EXPLICIT DESCRIPTION***************
**************WARNING: READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED**************
1 Hour Later
Tse Residence
Bedroom
"Gimme the tape," Psycho said seriously. Grace was hesitant, but finally gave him the tape. She had come all this way, might as well go all the way. She watched as he put the tape in the VCR and hit the Play button. He sat on the edge of the bed, slightly surprised when she absently sat next to him.
The color bars appeared once again. Grace was waiting for the image with the horror and the dread with which someone waits for his own death.
"I, I can't," she suddenly says as she got up from the bed and gave her back to the TV screen. "Your loss," Psycho whispered as he took a Dorito bag from the floor and started eating.
At that moment, Grace heard once again the scream as horrible as in last night's nightmares. She put her hands over her ears, trying to shut the sounds that seemed to echo in the dark room. And then the beating started.
Psycho, who had dropped his half eaten Dorito on the floor, whispered "Fu*king hell!"
"Turn it off!" Grace screamed. her eyes closed, her hands over her ears, her back to the screen.
"Grace� this� this is real� this is fu*king real," Psycho said slowly.
"What do you see?" asked Grace. She had opened her eyes and was trying to concentrate on Psycho's collection of weapons.
"A girl� she's tied to a chair� naked� she's being beaten by someone wearing black clothes and a ski mask� with a fu*king wrench� He's hitting her head over and over again�" Psycho said, his mouth hanging wide open, in a mixture of shock and curiosity.
"NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Even with her hands over her ears, Grace could hear clearly the woman's sobs and screams, her begging and her fear.
"Fu*k� fu'king shit� son of a bitch� this is awful," Psycho said breathlessly.
"I can't", Grace whispered.
Psycho opened his eyes wide, looking like an owl with his big eyeglasses. "Shit� what's he going to do to her� what's he? Oh MY GOD! Grace! don't look. you better not look." Psycho said, his eyes glued to the screen.
And he kept saying: "Don't look. Don't look." But the more he said it the more Grace felt the irrational part of her brain give in the desire to take a peak. One thing was to hear what was going on, another thing entirely was to see it.
So she did. She dropped the hands covering her ears and slowly turned around.
As Psycho had described, a girl was tied to a chair. The girl had been beaten and cut in multiple places. The image was blurry and was almost devoid of color, except for the blood. The red was so intense it wasn't faded by the lack of film quality. So much red, so much blood.
Someone with a ski mask was holding a knife near the woman's breast. he was slowly using the blade to tickle the woman's nipple. The woman was so afraid that Grace could feel that fear in the back of her own throat. Unexpectedly, the attacker put enough force into the knife to cut her breast. The woman screamed loudly, trashing against her restraints, but the attacker just kept cutting and cutting slowly until he was holding her nipple between two fingers. To further humiliation, he put the nipple he had just extracted on her head.
The camera did a close-up on the girl's face. Grace gazed directly into the girl's eyes, and in those eyes Grace could see the fear and the pain and the suffering of the girl. Grace had never felt so powerless before in her life. She was nothing more than a silent witness to the girl's tragedy, unable to do anything to help her.
Grace absently sat once again next to Psycho, her face a canvas of shock, horror and just plain sadness. Her heart beat wildly, deafening against her own ears. Grace put her hands above her heart, as if her heart would suddenly give in. Her eyes were full of tears, but like Psycho, she was glued to the screen, unable to look away from the horror it showed them.
"I know that girl," Psycho suddenly said.
"What?" she asked, her eyes shifting from the screen to him.
"She was at the university. I think she was a publicity student. She disappeared� two years ago� I think," he said absently as he took the Dorito bag from the floor and started eating.
Grace shifted her attention back to the screen in time enough to see the person in black as he dipped his or her hand between the girl's spread legs. With slippery gloves, the attacker touched the girl's genitalia. He spread her lavia, giving the camera a full view of the girl's womanhood.
Grace squirmed against the bed. This was beyond pain and beyond humiliation. This sadist was not only breaking her body. he was also breaking the girl's mind and spirit.
"Fu*k, what is he going to do?" Grace whispered as she watched the attacker take the knife and touch her organ. Without another second of warning, the attacker plunged the tip of the knife inside the girl, making her scream louder than she had ever screamed before.
Grace couldn't watch any longer. She ran out of the room as if her life depended on it. She ran into Psycho's bathroom and almost didn't have time to open the toilet seat as she emptied her stomach's contents.
Psycho, who was now standing in the doorway, told her, "I told you not to look at it." With that, he left back to his room.
But how could she not look?
She had wanted to push herself, to know what were her true limits.
And she had reached them.
She had just witnessed the most horrible scene she could have ever imagined.
But this time, it wasn't a movie.
This time, the credits won't roll in the end and the makeup artists wouldn't get an Oscar for the marvelous work they did.
This time, she won't be able to go back to her house and sleep soundly, knowing everything was well in the world.
Because this time, it was real.
Prof. Lau had known it.
And now, Grace knew it too.
And she kept hearing the girl.
Asking her why she was doing this.
Asking for her help.