INM 5 Part 4

Mr. Lucas Potter.

Hi, this is Chloe. Thank you for coming to the university the other day. 

Today I send this message with an impertinent request. 

I heard about the letter from Victor. Could you show me that letter as well? 

There is something I want to confirm. 

I am sorry for making such a presumptuous request. I await your reply. 

Sincerely, Chloe Meyer.

The third sleepless night began. 

I stretched out my hand to check the clock. It was 8 a.m., exactly eight hours since I had gone to bed last night. Reluctantly, I got out of bed, hastily opened the bedroom curtains, leaving the blanket and sheets in disarray, and walked out of the bedroom, leaving the pillows scattered on the floor. 

I drank a glass of water while quickly going over yesterday’s notes. I scooped some chicory coffee from the fridge into a cup and poured hot water from the electric kettle. 

After getting ready, I checked my email in the thirty minutes before my scheduled appointment. I deleted the direct messages in bulk and took care of some miscellaneous tasks in the same rush when the doorbell rang at exactly the appointed time. I put the retro kettle on the stove and headed for the door. 

“Hey, Chloe. Welcome.” 

Chloe, wearing a sleeveless black summer knit, smiled at me. 

“Hello, Luke. Thanks for today!” 

“Not at all. The office has been very busy lately, and it’s been fun.”

Chloe seemed to sense my sincerity and thanked me again, visibly relieved. I invited her into the office and placed the cocoa flavored tea and pound cake on the table. Then I quickly returned to get the box with the hastily tied string from the back office.

“Here you go. This is the letter I showed Victor and Kasim.”

“Thank you so much… I can’t believe you’re willing to grant such a sudden and unreasonable request.”

“Compared to Victor’s sudden visit, this is nothing.”

She must have heard about his antics two days ago. Fighting to keep her composure, Chloe couldn’t help but smile.

“He’s really something, isn’t he?”

“The annoying thing is that I’m starting to get used to his behavior.”

“I understand. That’s the problem.”

We chatted for a while about a variety of topics. I learned a bit about astrophysics (though I barely understood it), what an interior designer does (essentially a professional room makeover), our favorite planets (mine is Saturn), and recent favorite items (she mentioned a new vase).

When we were each about two-thirds of the way through our cake, I finally broached the heavy subject.

“So, about that letter…”

Chloe straightened up noticeably. 

“Would it be all right if I asked what you wanted to confirm?”

Chloe’s eyebrows furrowed in concern and her big brown eyes wandered slightly.

“I think I might know who sent the letter.”

I jumped in surprise at her unexpected words.

“What? Really?”

“Please don’t get your hopes up too high… May I open this?”

“Yes, of course… Oh, I believe you know the contents, but be careful, it’s quite an emotional letter addressed to me.”

Nodding at my words, Chloe pulled thin rubber gloves out of the pocket of her black jeans.

“Wow, you come prepared.”

“It’s a crucial piece of evidence. Besides, Victor was pretty insistent about bringing it, probably because he regretted not touching the letter yesterday.”

“Now that you mention it, neither of them tried to touch the letter yesterday.”

“They didn’t want to risk compromising the evidence in any way.”

“Ah, I see.”

I was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the young people. It was somewhat surprising that even Victor had been so considerate, along with Kasim and Chloe.

When she saw my thoughts reflected in my expression, Chloe laughed.

“He’s actually quite attentive to everything except people’s feelings.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“But lately he seems to be trying to change. His behavior is still unpredictable, but he’s no longer mocking what’s important to others.”

“I see.”

So he felt bad about teasing Alan.

I could feel a hint of bitterness in my answer. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I quickly grabbed the lid of the box.

“Um, about this letter. It was left here the night you all came into the office.”

Chloe’s expression immediately tightened. As she watched, I moved the eyeball charm aside and placed the letters on the table.

Without flinching, she looked at the letters and, unlike others before her, murmured softly.

“Just as he said. The order of the letters is out of order, and the earlier ones are quieter. The stationery has a strange logo-like mark”.

I was surprised. I had been so focused on the malice that I hadn’t even considered the change in the sender’s mental state. Until Chloe mentioned it, I had assumed that the sender had been angry from the beginning.

“Victor said that?”

“Yes. He mentioned that the letters were completely out of order and criticized your organization.”

“He’s right, Victor. But who would think of carefully organizing such letters?” 

Chloe chuckled softly at my words and continued.

“The beginning of the letter seems calm, but it gets more and more agitated.”

“Victor should have told us this when we were there.”

“He assumes that if people look at the same thing, they’ll notice the same details. He’s pretty annoying.”

Chloe spoke bitterly and then turned her attention back to the letter.

“So, about this letter. I think this is the first page. It shows emotion, but there are no spelling mistakes and it’s not written forcefully. You can tell the writer was calm.”

She pointed to the fourth of the seven sheets. Now that she mentioned it, the writing on that sheet clearly lacked the intensity of the others, with relatively smaller letters.

Chloe continued.

“There are also signs of an attempt to alter the handwriting… Look here, the ‘p’s are here and here, and the ‘R’s are here and here. They’re trying to make them look similar, but they’re obviously different. It’s a poor attempt to stay calm. The writer is more backed into a corner than he realizes.”

“Wow, you’re right…!”

I could do nothing but listen in amazement as the clues appeared with each of her observations.

Chloe picked up a page with her gloved hand and scanned its surface.

“This is actually a page from a notebook. There’s a scribble on the back of one page. The logo on the edge is from the University of Queensland. The scrawl seems to be about law.”

“Law…?”

“That’s Kasim’s department.”

I almost jumped again.

“Chloe, I don’t think that’s possible…!” 

Understanding the exact meaning of my words, she nodded with a slightly stern expression.

“Yes, this is not something that simple… The writer was calm, very calm. And they tried to change their handwriting.”

Chloe frowned in displeasure. She stared at the letter in silence for a while before hesitantly speaking again.

“This is just my guess, but I think the sender wrote this letter not only for you, but also for the investigators to see. Of course, it’s possible that someone from the University of Queensland accidentally used stationery that could identify them. But I think it was intentional… Still, I don’t understand why they would take such a risk to involve Kasim… or any other law student.”

“Harassment of law students?”

That possibility had already crossed her mind. Chloe nodded.

“If it was harassment they were determined to carry out, even if poorly executed, that would make sense.”

I wondered if the sender knew that Kasim was special to Alan. If the culprit was obsessed with Alan and had heard about Kasim from him, Kasim would certainly be a prime target for harassment.

“Do you think you can identify the sender of this letter?”

Chloe lowered her long lashes.

“Sorry, I can’t narrow it down to one person yet. There are still two candidates.”

“Narrowing it down to two is impressive.” 

“Of course, if it’s outside my knowledge, I can’t do anything… I might be getting carried away with my imagination and not be as helpful as I thought”.

Wow, that’s an excessive understatement. If this level of deduction isn’t helpful, then my satisfaction in simply sealing the letter would be misplaced.

With true respect, I expressed my gratitude to Chloe.

“That’s not true, Chloe. Frankly, I was amazed by your insights today. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.”

Chloe smiled a little shyly at my words.

“I’m glad I could help, even if only a little.”

“No, really, thank you… Although, as far as I remember, I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve your thanks.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes slightly in a somewhat reproachful look. When I squirmed under her sudden gaze, she continued with a tilt of her chin.

“You gave me some advice once through Victor, didn’t you? You said, “Life is too short to be dragged down by other people’s opinions”.

“I… might have said that. I don’t really remember.”

“Do you want to live a foolish life, obsessed with every little thing, ending without meaning?”

“No, I’m sure I said it softer than that.”

“If you claim to be Alan’s friend, then your IQ must be minus three hundred…” 

“I didn’t say that, Victor!”

“See, you remember!”

Chloe’s eyes widened in frustration and I panicked.

“S-Sorry, Chloe. You don’t have to pay any attention to what I said.”

“That’s not true at all! Your advice was right.”

Chloe continued firmly, despite my dismay.

“Just as Victor is trying to change, I want to change. I want to believe that Alan’s presence in my life meant something. He was a dear friend and the time with him is lost forever. You’re right. The fun times we take for granted won’t last forever.”

Chloe’s words cast a shadow over my heart. It felt like a deep cut from the inside. The thought that my time with Grandma and Alan was completely gone was too much to bear.

Chloe continued.

“I’m still a little afraid of how others see me… But now, more than that, I’m afraid of living my life without being able to focus on what I really want to accomplish. You made me realize that, so I wanted to do something for you in return.”

“Those were my grandmother’s words, not mine.”

“But they came out of your mouth.”

Chloe looked at me with a puzzled expression, then nodded seriously.

“I see. Then I’ll thank both you and your grandmother.”

“And you know, a stubborn lion I met recently told me something. When you give advice to someone, it’s actually the advice you need the most.”

Chloe smiled a little mischievously, looking adorable.

“Oh. I think I could grow to like that lion.”

“I’ll introduce you next time… So really, don’t worry about it. That advice was probably more for myself than anyone else. Admitting it is incredibly frustrating, though.”

For the first time since we met, Chloe laughed with a truly carefree smile.

That stubborn lion and I had plans for the evening the same day I showed Chloe the letter. Much earlier than my scheduled departure, I left the office with my portable laptop tucked under my arm. There was still some work to be done, but I felt that if I missed this moment of broken concentration, I wouldn’t be able to leave the office for a while. 

I was a bit conflicted about whether to be honest with Kasim about where Alan and I had met or to stick to the lie that we had met at a diner. Ultimately, I decided to be completely honest because Kasim had already figured out Alan’s sexual orientation during their first visit. It’s better for Alan if I don’t hide anything.

Of course, I covered up the reason for my initial lie by saying it was a memory lapse. Honesty isn’t always the best policy.

Alexandra’s business was about a twenty minute walk from my office. Located just north-east of Brisbane’s CBD in Fortitude Valley… and a little further out, it offered a range of nightlife venues to suit all tastes, from stylish bars to somewhat intimidating old pubs for beginners.