Day 15 : That night...

She woke up in the dead of the night. She'd had too much of wine during the party previous evening, which was making her thirsty. It was 2:45 AM. She was still feeling drowsy, when she noticed faint blue light streaming from below the door.

'Shucks! I forgot to switch off the laptop.' she thought. Grudgingly, she threw her long legs out of the bed. She did not switch the lights on; she knew the way around her one bedroom apartment without bumping into any furniture. She opened the laptop and started at the screen for several minutes. Although she was tired, she was no longer feeling sleepy. She decided to complete some pending office work while she was at it. She pulled out a cigarette of a pack that was lying by the table and lit it. She breathed long, heavy puffs. Instantly she felt relaxed and calm.

By the time it was 4 AM, she'd smoked 5 cigarettes and her work was almost done. She smiled at her efficiency; she'd have a pretty laid back day at the office. Her thoughts were stirred by a soft rap on her door. She stopped her work and listened intently, waiting for another rap. There was none. She continued with her business when she heard another rap, a bit louder this time. She literally jumped out of her skin. Who could it be at this hour? She did not move from her place. Whoever it was, will probably go away. Or maybe not... should she shout out loud waiting for someone to come and see what was wrong?

'Hey, you in there? You awake? Its me! Open the door, quick!'

She recognized the voice instantly. It was her boyfriend. Perhaps he was out till late night, partying, she thought and she was not wrong. When she opened the door for him, she saw he was heavily drunk.

'Sorry, babe... was nearby, so instead of driving home, thought I'd spend the night with you.'

'It is almost morning, honey.' she reminded him. 'Anyway, you are so drunk I am amazed how you even reached here... do you know you scared me?' But he had not heard a single word from her. He was out cold on her futon. She let him lie there. She placed some anti hangover pills for him at the table like many times before and went to the bedroom to catch some sleep. Next day, while she went about her busy schedule, he'd loaf around her house till she came back. This wasn't so unusual of him to come to her place unannounced after a heavy drinking party.

She was jarred awake by some heavy banging on the main door. With bleary eyes and heavy head she sauntered to the main door. It was 7:30 AM.

'Who is this?' she asked.

'Ma'am, this is the police. We need to talk to you, it is important.'

What could be important so early? she wondered. Carefully, she opened the door to three uniformed, burly officers.

'Ma'am, early morning today we got a tip off that a murder suspect was seen coming into your house. We'd like to take a look around.'

'WHAT?? But no one came here.' She said that and instantly realized that her boyfriend was over. 'Sorry, I forgot. My boyfriend had come over... he was attending a party nearby and he just stopped over. They must have seen him. They were mistaken about the identity, of course'

'May we see him? May we talk to him?' said one of the three of them.

As far as they could see, he was no where in sight. She said maybe he was using the restroom. But when she checked that was empty too. He wasn't anywhere in the house.

'Ma'am, we hate to break the news to you. Your boyfriend is suspected to have been in a brawl that broke out at the nearby bar, and as the sources go, he was the one, who under the  influence of alcohol, beat the bartender to death. We are sorry, but if you have any information about him, we suggest you contact us at your earliest.'

'And ma'am, may I suggest, you may be in danger too. Do take care and let you know anything you hear about him.'

She looked at the futon, where just a few hours before, her murderer boyfriend lay. She looked at the untouched pills. She imagined his face in drunken stupor. He was brazen and wild, but could he have been inhuman enough to beat someone to death?

The roller coaster in her life was just about to begin...