It was around ten in the morning when Redrick opened his eyes. His head and the upper part of his body were lying on his desk, being an inspector doesn't let you have the best night's sleep, he noticed that he was dribbling and the saliva coming out of his mouth had already made a large stain on some of his papers. As he stood up he wiped his mouth with one of the sleeves of his shirt, and started heading towards the door, a quick glance at the clock made him realise that he was already late. He grabbed his trench coat and stepped out of the flat. While he was going down the building he took a newspaper laying on a neighbor's carpet, having something to read in the bus was a good way to avoid casual conversations. When he got out of the building he had the same feeling as usual, all those buildings towering him made Redrick feel like a mouse in a world of giants. The sky was grey and cloudy and a light rain was spread in the windy streets as if it was trying to wet every spot possible. Redrick hold the news paper above his head so he wouldn't get soaked. A bus was waiting at a stop, the doors still opened, Redrick hurried and jumped just in time before the bus pulled away. He managed to find a seat not too dirty, and started his reading. An article was entitled " A disappeared brother reappears... or not" it dealt with the story of the Baders brothers, a case that happened a little less than ten years ago, it rang a bell to Redrick, it was about a man that disappeared on a fishing trip and who's never been found, no trace of his body, neither his clothes, he couldn't have fallen from the boat because of the weather which was perfect for a sea trip, and the possibility of a suicide had been thrown away because no message were left, for anybody. Well, that was what was said at that time, but the article Redrick was reading explained that this man has been found and identified by his brothers, even if he denied, he who is now a television announcer. Redrick didn't give a damn whether this was the truth or not, he could not even care less about this story but since it was his only way to be at peace he kept on reading. He eventually arrived at the police station. It was an old building, made of those red bricks that gave it a rusty shade, therefore increasing the feeling that it was about to collapse, some of the windows were so covered with filth that the light coming from the inside could barely break through them, drawing the bleak shapes of shadow puppets. Redrick climbed the front-steps and entered the building. Phones were ringing and citizens complaining, Redrick headed straight to the office of his superior where he should have already been one hour ago. As usual his boss told him off, with his deep voice while he was scattering the ash of his big cigar in the air, but Redrick was getting used to it. Then his boss stopped, put his hand on his big belly while he was catching his breath, and the explanation started. Redrick's job was to get to the house of a woman, a countess or whatever, she had called the night before and wanted to meet an inspector as soon as possible. He had no other informations. Since he was already late he lit a cigarette and took a coffee, that was his way of taking a breakfast since long now. He took the keys for a business car in a drawer.
The woman lived in the suburbs, a neighborhood known for its nice houses, but her house was of a golden yellow that has faded to a browny sort of color, reminding Redrick the cigars of his boss. He pulled over in front of the gate and got out of the car. The grass was high in the garden, it seemed as if it hasn't been mown for a long time. The door was already open and we could hear the radio humming in the living room. Redrick took a few steps in the house and called for the lady from the vestibule. No response. Redrick could feel it, something was wrong. He ran into the living room and caught a sight of what could be described as chaos. The couch was upended, the armchairs broken into pieces on the floor, an aquarium was broken and had spilt all its water on the parquet floor, where a tiny goldfish moving about, giving its last breath while the radio was playing a jazz song. Nobody was there. Redrick silently lit a cigarette and started to inspect the room. Pieces of broken glass led him to the bathroom where he found a note written on a piece of toilet tissue, the handwriting showed that it has been written in a hurry. It went like this " please, help me, I thought he wouldn't dare to come and get me, I am hiding in the bathroom as I'm writing this, please, he's mad, he wants to take me to the port where we first met" and it ended in a sort of incomprehensible scribbling. Redrick put the note in his pocket and dragged on his cigarette. He had to think quick, it seemed that the woman hasn't been abducted long ago, so there was still a chance to find her in time but he didn't even know how she looked like. As he was going back into the living room he stepped on something. A frame which contained a picture of a woman in her forties standing next to a man that was giving a strange look. He wasn't sure it was the woman he was looking for but he didn't have the time search more. He jumped in the car and drove at breakneck speed to the port. He could see the streets uncoiling in his rear-view mirrors, the car was skidding and the tires squealing at every change of direction, splitting the puddle in half while the raindrops were splatting on the wind-shield. He slammed on the brakes when he arrived at the port, got out of his car leaving the door open and heard screams. He headed towards them and saw a couple standing on the edge of the dock, the man seemed ready to jump. Redrick managed to catch his attention, the woman was crying. "She's mine!" he said, "miiiine, she will deny but I know she's lying, we shall be together at any price, I will keep her with me forever, even if this means I shall die with her !!", and as he finished his sentence he threw a big weight into the water, that looked like a big piece of cast iron. The weight was linked to his and her ankles with a rope that suddenly dragged them into the water before Redrick could move. He bent over the water but wasn't able to see them anymore, there weren't even little bubbles, only dark and cold water bobbing against the stone of the dock. He couldn't do anything for them, all he had to do now was to report to his boss what happened so as to the guys to come and get the corpses. Sullen he walked back, wandering in the port, until he saw a bench on which he sat. He lit an other cigarette and as he was sucking on it looked to the sky, a wide grey net with little holes where the sun was breaking through like arrows, the whole moving as if it was a raging sea fighting to spread itself as far as possible.
