The Confession

"Congrats Dave! Now you are free. That bastard nearly had the case. But we won it because we were true." Said Rick hugging Dave.

"Indeed we were. But I think you are the reason why we won. I will be thankful to you my entire life." said Dave smiling and relaxed.

"Dave stop being so formal. I know I helped. But don't embarrass me more with these formalities. Dan was your son but he was nothing less than that for me too." ensured Rick."But I still don't understand. Why was he killed? I mean he was a bright young kid. What was he doing in that room and why did he get stuck inside?" Rick was unable to decipher it.

"I wish I had been there earlier. It might have made all the difference. So all I can tell you now is why he was murdered." said Dave looking at his coffee.

Rick stopped drinking and said "Accident Dave. They happen all the time. " said Rick. "As do murders, " said Dave frowning.

Rick could not hear it anymore. "What murder are you talking about? He was killed because he went in that room. That's it. Now stop blaming yourself. It was an accident." Rick shouted. Silence replenished the rooftop. "And anyway I don't get it. Why are you wearing gloves in such hot climate?" asked Rick, trying to break the silence.

"Nothing. Just a little fever and some cold." Said Dave coughing his heart out. "I have to tell you something about Dan." Said Dave.

"Okay. Go on." Rick replied as a good listener. "I hated him. With every ounce of my body, I hated Dan." Said Dave holding the cup.

Rick noticed it might break loose at any extent. He took it from Dave's hands and kept both the cups on the table. "What are you talking. Is this coffee.." "Well, my favorite one was his 18th birthday. He was drinking so much that day. And the girls, I don't know where did they come from. Such gorgeous models. I wish I went to such a college." Said Rick. "He was the king. Every single person loved him. Rick continued praising Dan.

"Maybe that's what got into his head," whispered Dave.

"What do you mean?" asked Rick.

"Remember when we had to go out of the city for an urgent meeting last year? He was mad at that time." Dave started the narration as Rick listened quietly. 

"He told me he would hang himself to the ceiling if I did not give him money for purchasing a gift for his girlfriend. Well, the thing is, I knew it was not for some girl but for paying some drug lord...." "The drugs not only ate his physical life but also his mental and social life. " Rick added "Yes, and the worst part of it is I knew it all. I couldn't stop him no matter what. He kept borrowing money and taking drugs. I tried everything. Stopped every possible route of the drugs to reach him. But he always found out a way. He literally earned my respect for the innovative ways he could use to make new drugs from old decaying stuff. And then." Dave stopped. Something held his throat. Something dangerous. Something toxic. 

"Then what?" Rick pushed for further information.

"One day I got a call at the office from Stacy. She said she was in horrible condition and that she needed my help. Before she could complete she passed out I guess. I reached the place I thought was our home. The safest place on earth. She was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Seeing her naked I knew what had happened but I had to control those emotions to stop the bleeding. After 8 hours of grueling messy work, she got stable. She was there now unconscious. It was difficult for me to wait for her to wake up. I tried calling Dan but he didn't pick his phone. It was a usual thing. So I walked up to have some water. And then came the message. It was a video message from Dan." Dave stopped again. 

This time it seemed to be impossible to narrate, because he took out the phone to show the message instead of narrating it. Rick played the video. It had Stacy in it. Trying to make her best food. And then came a guy dragging her from behind to make her unconscious. She struggled. But he covered her eyes and ripped her clothes apart. Rick put the phone down in utter disgust.

"You always called me lucky Rick because I was the Doctor and you the pharmacist. Well, guess what, I had to watch it completely to know what exactly was in his mind. So much for good luck, eh?" smiled Dave. Tears were flushing down his eyes by now. "I'll tell you what was in his mind. He had this great plan of raping this woman by drugging her and making sure she was unable to see him. And then he would blackmail me with the tape and ask for money."

"Who is he, Dave? We need to report it right away." Said Rick.

"Oh, my friend without any ears. Can't you listen? It's a guy raping his mom." Said Dave picking the phone and increasing the sound. The guy holding the camera repeated the name DAN again and again. "At first I thought maybe they are trying to frame my son. Maybe these are those drug guys. But guess what Rick, when I went to pay the ransom they asked for, I could clearly see those eyes. I mean he was such a dumb creature that he thought he could cover his face and I won't be able to recognize his heavy voice and blue eyes."

"So what did you do after that. Did you tell Stacy?" Rick asked. 

"Well, I couldn't tell her that her son is no more her child. But I had to tell her about ransom demands," informed Dave.

Rick thought something, " So how did you do it?"

Dave smiled " Well thought, young man. I thought I had to spell it out for you. And well, it was really simple. I just tampered a little with his drug dosages and the magic happened. Of course, I had to make him go to the room. But then again a guy on drugs could do anything right?"

Rick was not sure why Dave was telling him all this. He was his best friend. But he had no clue of what to say in this situation. A son raped his mother. And the guy in front of him murdered his rapist son.

Dave got up from his chair "You know Rick, the worst part of it all. I have to stand beside Stacy to pretend that I miss that asshole. I mean it's so disgusting to see her crying and missing her rapist. But then again I think it's my punishment for killing my son.

"What about the other guy? The guy holding the camera and yelling your son's name." inquired Rick. 

"Well, I tried to find him. But he seems to be really shrewd. I have no proof of who the hell he is. But judging the facts that are in front of us, I would say the person knew Dan very well." Dave started walking across the table. "He knew him so well like a father knows his son. And also he has to be so much closer to me because only a person close to me can get into our house so easily. And seeing that he raped and asked for money he might be jobless or working on some poor job. And seeing the pleasure he got in beating my wife, clearly, he hates her. And then he had to be perfect enough to fool me by looking right in my eyes. Something only a dear friend can do. Do you know of any such person? Any name coming up in your mind? Dear Rick." Dave stopped and looked at the clear blue sky. The view from the rooftop was amazing.

Rick got up. "I don't know. I guess there must be plenty of names to consider then. Right ? " he said in a trembling voice. "Not many Rick. Come I'll show you who he is." Said Dave asking him to come over at the edge of that rooftop.

"See that guy in the red suit, can you see Dear Rick?"

"Which guy are you.." before the camera guy could finish his words, Dave pushed him to meet his end.

"See right there." He shouted to make sure the dead listened. "See how red his shirt is! See it ! See it!" And the voice kept growing louder.