She had been suspecting him for quite some time, especially for the last three months. He was not the same anymore. He left house early morning and returned late in the evening every day. She was determined to find out with whom he was hanging around.
Should she hire a private detective? She had seen enough episodes of Crime Patrol and CID and also seen quite a few suspense thriller movies. She knew tricks of the trade and she will do a fine job. She even googled "How to be a better detective?".
While he was sleeping, she checked his mobile phone. To begin with, she opened his whatsup app. Except a couple of useless latest messages, he had deleted all his messages. Very smart of him! He has wiped off the traces. She checked log details of the calls. Nothing suspicious there. She logged into his Gmail account. Thousand and thousand of messages were there. She spent couple of hours scanning them. The messages, both received and sent, offered no clues. She even looked inside the thrash can but no success there.
Financial activities was another area detectives look at to get the hidden clues. Fortunately Bank statements as well as credit card bills were lying unopened on his desk. She inspected every entry. He was not overspending. There was nothing alarming in the expenses trend. Everything was in order.
She looked at the shirt he was wearing in the morning. No lipstick marks, no strands of hair. She checked with a magnifying glass. Nothing. She sniffed the shirt. It smelled nothing except his aftershave and his sweat. Every criminal leaves a clue and that clue was alluding her. She was determined to find one and nail him.
Why not catch him red handed at the scene of the crime itself ? Next day morning, she followed his car. He drove out of the city and parked his car on the side of a forest and vanished into the thick green cover. She parked her car a little behind and entered into the forest in the direction that he took.
There was no trace of him. Determined to catch the culprit, she ventured deep into the forest, surveying it to spot him. Still no trace of him. All she saw was a peacock spreading its wings wide and dancing to attract a peahen perched high on the tree. She had never seen a peacock dancing. It was indeed enchanting. A hare raced out of the bushes and ran up the hillock. It was a cute little thing. She ran after it to have a clear glimpse. Beyond the hillock was an opening. A herd of antelopes were basking these besides a small water body. She hid behind a rock, to observe the antelopes. She had seen them in the city zoo but never in the wild. It was a fantastic sight. She also say a couple of monkeys swinging and jumping from one tree to another. A huge eagle had camaflogued itself well in the branches of the tree and was eyeing a hoopoe perking on the ground, eating away insects. A wide variety of butterflies were fluttering all over the wild flowers. Birds were singing merrily. A snake hissed past her. Lucky!It did not come within it's striking range. She dreaded these creepy creatures. She heard a loud roar, not far away. Was it a tiger? No way. Tigers were unheard off in this area but there have been reports of leapord spotting. She ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction as she was now scared.
She looked at her watch. She had been inside the forest for more than four hours. She had got so engrossed in the beauty of the nature and the Wildlife, she had almost forgotten about her secret mission. It was time for her to return home to be back before he returns and renew her efforts the following day.
She tried to recall which direction she had come into the forest. All directions just looked the same. She circled the pond and the hillock but still could not make out from where she came. She walked in one of the directions, hoping to see the road. Road was no where visible. She had indeed lost her way. She panicked. What to do?
She was left with no choice but to call him.
"Hello. I am lost."
"Lost? Where?"
"In the forest. My car is parked near your car and I am in the forest having lost my way. What should I do?"
"What the hell are doing in the forest? This could be dangerous."
"I" ll explain later but first fetch me quickly. I am scared, thirsty, hungry and tired. "
" Don't worry. Stay calm and remain where you are. Just whatsup me your location. Trust your internet connection is on. "
She did not had to wait long . Within ten minutes he was there. He led her out of the forest and they drove back home in their cars.
" So tell me why you went to the forest. "
" To be lost and found, I suppose. I just followed you to be with you but you entered into the forest so fast and vanished. While searching for you, I lost the way. However, I really enjoyed the Wildlife out there. "
" You know what! I was able to spot the mollted wood owl today that I had been searching for the last three months. Today I spotted it eventually. Rather it was a couple. The female has laid two eggs in a hollow of a dried tree and the male was perched high on a tree nearby to protect her and her eggs. They are so beautiful. I got the clue from the drangos hovering and squeaking above the two trees."
"Hell with the owls and the drangos. I could not find any clue. Rather there was no clue as no crime was ever committed. The case file is closed. I just got trapped by the Crime Patrol and the CID and the suspense thrillers," she mutely concluded to herself.
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3 comments
You have strong points for imagery and description. However, the actions of the main character needs to be explained more, especially the reasons.
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Hi, here for the Critique Circle. I really liked the all-consuming obsession of the main character and the fact that she actually apes her favourite shows to the point of stalking her husband and breaking some very interesting laws on privacy and personal property. I also believe you stumbled on very interesting imagery there, with the forest. The main character loses her faith in her partner, basically loses him (in her mind), and ends up losing herself -her identity is consumed by his actions, and she actually loses her way in the ...
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I like a story to end with a twist, but I always thought the husband was going to be innocent in this case. Perhaps more clues, such as arrangements to meet at 7 (and it turns out to be in the morning rather than in the evening), or buying certain wildlife watching equipment that sounds like something racier? "Let's meet early, at 7? I'll bring the outfit for you." in a text message. Maybe a reply for "Sure" from someone with a unisex name like Alex. Maybe an email about how beautiful "she" is but she is a bird or a doe. Make him LOOK guilty.
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