Good Evening, Mr. Carter

Chapter 1

(Present Day)

He wore a black winter coat on a summer evening. His black pants cuffed up twice, showing his black ankle socks and maroon red loafers. The shirt he wore was a dark grey button down, with the top two buttons undone. He parted his hair in the middle, and his face is what science would deem to be averagely attractive. In fact, when I first walked up to him, I was caught off guard by how handsome this man was, he had a perfectly symmetrical face and not a single facial hair was out of place. He stood up from the rectangular bar table he was seated at and greeted me with a firm handshake. What many people would think to be a good first impression, was indeed that. That is, if I did not know who this man was.

    "Is anyone else here with you? Or did you do as I instructed and come alone?" The man sat down across from me. On the table was a glass of whisky with a solid, unmelted ice cub in it.

    "I came alone." Saying this sent a shiver down my spine, as if I knew I should have told someone my whereabouts. A small closed-mouth smile was all I received after saying this. A long silence fell after that, until the man fixed his posture and cleared his throat.

    "Would you care for a drink?" The man said as he lifted up his finger towards the waiter.

    "A martini please." I smiled at the waiter after saying this, moments later the nicely dressed waiter brought the drink out to me. The bar had dim lighting, for being only six in the evening. Not many people were there, other than the waiter and the two men who were sitting at the bar counter behind me. "I am in no rush to hear what you have to say, Mr. Carter. If it takes all night, so be it. I will sit here until you are finished with what you desire to tell me."

    "Ms. Lee. I bare no malice towards anyone. I am no threat. From the moment you entered the bar, you seemed perturbed. But please, I am only here to tell you what you wish to hear. I only requested you to come alone because I decided you will be the only one to hear this story." He took a sip of his whiskey then carefully set it back down on the table, not making a noise.

    "If I may ask, why did you decide that I would be the one whom you would tell?" As I waited for him to answer, I started drinking my martini. I had been waiting for a moment that would be appropriate to take my first sip.

    "Well Ms. Lee, you may have never seen me, but I have seen you, many times. I know how important your work is to you, you are an extraordinary detective. People love you, you live a great life, I mean, according to them. But you and I both know the truth. Don't we, Ms Lee?" I did not answer, "You have no children nor husband. Or for you Ms. Lee, shall I say, wife? Either way, you are not married. Nor are you currently dating. You live in a one bedroom apartment on the second floor, your living room window leads right out to the fire escape ladder. That must be convent for you, well if there was a fire. Now, I wonder" He paused for a moment, "Is there a reason for this? Was it because your lover died in that fire eight years back? Or is it nine now? The anniversary of this, may I say, dreadful tragedy, must have just passed."

    "That is enough Mr. Carter." I felt my heart racing beyond control, but I had to keep a calm exposure in front of this terrifying man, "Are you telling me all this to threaten me? What you have just admitted to me can add an extra five to ten years to your sentence."

    "I was only doing my research, Ms. Lee. But I do have one more request before I begin" He stood up from his seat, leaving a twenty dollar bill on the counter, "I wish to speak in private, my condo is not too far."

    "How do I know that I can trust you?"

    "You and I both know my answer to your question will make no difference. If you want the truth Ms. Lee, you will do as I say." I followed him out the bar and watched as he called over a taxi for the both of us.

    His condo was three blocks away, the Edison Gramercy on twenty first street in Manhattan, New York City. I quietly followed behind him as we walked inside and took the elevator up to the sixth floor. A lovely place to live, but when I walked into his house, an unsettling feeling fell over me. Nothing was out of place, everything looked as if no one had been living in the apartment for months. No dishes in the sink, no pillows on the couch, and he only had two of everything. Two cups, two plates, two bowls, that is for what I could see through the clear cupboards. A white couch with two cushions and across, two white chairs. The bar counter had two chairs, even the dining room table had only two chairs, though it sat six.

    "Please, have a seat on my couch." He sat on the chair closest to the window and as for me, I sat on the couch across from him. "A fine evening, is it not?" He said as he stared out the window.

    "Mr. Carter, if we can get to the story please." I watched him as he slowly turned his head to look back at me, then stood up from the chair and walked over to the kitchen without saying a word.

     "A drink for the both of us before I begin." I hesitantly reached for the drink he handed me, a glass of red wine. "Cheval Blanc 1947 St-Emilion from Bordeaux, France. An exuding rich taste, is it not? I saved it for a special occasion such as this one."

    There was a white clock above him, with numerical numbers, the big hand pointed at seven. An expensive wine, expensive house, expensive furniture. This man sitting in front of me was a business operations manager whose salary was around one hundred thousand a year, about the same amount as I earned. Yet, we were living in two different worlds.

    "Well then, shall we start from the beginning?" Mr. Carter placed his wine glass down on the clear table that sat between the two of us, "February twenty-second, 1975."