Hope of the Dying World

CHAPTER 27 - THE SEASHORE

'Hm... So she's a professor.' Ferran said in his mind while looking at the label of the canned goods in his hand then suddenly, he realized something.

The guy's voice! It seemed to be familiar. Senior Police Officer II Danryll De Vega! His new partner at present time.

He looked at the last place where the two were talking earlier but they were no longer there. He tried to find them but he couldn't so he just released a heavy sigh and quickly finished shopping for food.

He was about to go out when he noticed the old woman who seemed to be having a hard time carrying the two boxes of groceries.

"Excuse me. May I help you?" He asked.

"Sure. Sure. Thank you." The old woman gave him the two heavy boxes then they came out of the supermarket. The old lady pointed to the car where the groceries needed to be placed.

When they got close to the car, the old woman's grandson arrived just in time.

"Granny, didn't I tell you to just wait---oh Ferran," Beltran said. "Thank you for helping my Granny." He said casually.

He didn't recognize that the old woman was the grandmother of Beltran.

"Thank you, dear." The old woman said before getting into the car. He just nodded and watched them until they disappeared from his sight.

+++

When Ferran arrived at his house he found Blair sitting in front of his door.

"What are you doing there?"

"Waiting for you, uncle."

"And why are you waiting for me?" Ferran asked while unlocking his door and opening it. Blair entered next to him, jumped on his sofa, and turned on the television. She acts like it's her own house.

Ferran just sighed before entering his kitchen to put those groceries in the cupboard and the meat in his refrigerator.

"You shopped?"

"Yeah. I have run out of stock here."

"It's odd. You don't even go shopping for stocks 'coz you are always out for a meal or waiting for me to deliver some food. You don't even cook, uncle. What's happening to you?"

"Well, for a change and," He said while preparing some ingredients for his omelets. "I'm starting to learn to cook on my own so that you will not be disturbed anymore."

"Cook, huh? Good for you, then."

He cracked the egg on the side of the bowl then mixed it with the ingredients he prepared. He stirred it for a minute before putting it on the hot pan.

"Hm... It looks like you're cooking a delicious meal, uncle. Let me taste it when you finish cooking, okie?"

"Fine. Fine. Go to the living room and I'll just call you when it's cooked."

"Alright!"

Her niece was waiting for him to finish cooking. He was so nervous about the taste of what he cooked. He did not want to taste it because he wanted Blair to be the first to taste his omelet.

Blair rubbed both of her hands as she looked at what Ferran had served. She immediately took the fork and tasted the omelet cooked by Ferran.

She was stunned after chewing the salty omelet. She took the glass of water beside the plate and drank it straight to get rid of the salty taste on her tongue.

"Uncle, you're the worst cook. It's too salty. Do you want us to get kidney disease?" Blair complained.

"But I put very little---f*ck! What's this? Food of the devil?" Even Ferran can't eat the food he cooked. He threw it in the garbage bin. Blair was laughing hard while watching her uncle drinking several glasses of water.

"It's disgusting!" Ferran said.

Blair stood up and took some bread from the cupboard. She opened it and started eating the biscuit.

'Maybe what Ferran and I have in common is being terrible when it comes to cooking. Tss.'

+++

It was afternoon when Blair left his house, he started printing some suspicious objects he found inside the forest. The photos are currently on his desk inside his room and he looked at it one by one.

There are already clues but he has not yet identified the person behind it. He is sure that he is on the right track to solve the problem that San Lorenzo will face in the future.

The blood mixed with purple color. He believed that the disease will start with this purple 'thing'. But what is this purple thing?

He lost his deep thought while staring at the photos when someone knocked at his door. The knock at the door was so loud as if the person out there was in a hurry.

"Officer! Officer! Are you home? Are you there?"

As he opened the door, he saw an unfamiliar face but from the looks, he was sure that the man in front of him was a fisherman.

"Thank goodness you're here! Please come with me. You need to see something, officer." The fisherman said, immediately locked his house and followed the fisherman.

When they reached the seashore, lots of people gathered near the beach. They seemed to have found something unpleasant.

"What's going on?" He asked but the fisherman just looked at him with dejection.

"Excuse me. I am the police. Let me pass." He huddled with the crowd until he reached what the fisherman was saying.

His eyes widened when he saw the naked woman with only a thin cloth cover. Even if it's not touched, it's obvious that it is lifeless, and there are bruises all over her body.

'Damn it...'

"A rape victim." Ferran clenched his fist.

Ferran contacted some of his co-police about the incident and at any time, they will arrive there. He started to gather information about the incident, and according to the fisherman who called him, they had just landed from the sea when they saw the body of the woman which seemed to be drifting to the shore.

"I think I saw her somewhere." The guy near him said as if he was thinking of something so Ferran approached him.

"Did you know her?" He asked, hoping that someone would recognize her. It would be a big help to know the culprit.

"I don't know her but I see her every time I go to the bar. I think she was often there? I'm not sure." The guy said as he looked at the body.

"Thank you."

The police he called arrived just in time before he left to go to the bar.

"Officer Ferran---"

"Take the woman's body and find out her identity. I have to leave. I still have work to do about this case." Ferran didn't hear what the policeman was saying because of his haste.

'This is too much.'