Chapter 38: I, Your Glass

  8 September 2018, 8.01 am. The day started on a more mellow note, with Ace and Dante stationing themselves outside Dr. Faust’s residence.

  “Enigma.” A silvery veil shimmered into existence, draping over their forms. “We’re hidden from sight now. No one should be able to see us.”

  “I know you manifest your emotions, but I have never quite figured out Enigma.”

  “Enigma is when I feel like being alone or when I am… confused,” Dante answered flatly.

  Sounds like every introvert’s dream, Ace thought.

  “Even though we have Enigma, refrain from speaking unless spoken to. Although people can’t see us, they can still hear us. Take notes if needed.”

  Ace nodded. This time, he had a proper notebook and a camera. Dante had also permitted him to bring snacks, provided that they were not dry and crunchy.

  The Faust family had left their house for work and school. They quickly Airstepped over the gates and into the compounds of Faust residence. Ace peered into their living room through the window. The house was rather well furnished with sophisticated decor. It was obvious that they had hired a professional interior designer. “Looks very atas,” he muttered under his breath, jotting it down.

  At the corner of the living room sat a large aquarium. However, the aquarium was empty. It did not strike him as odd since his father also had an empty fish tank after his arowana died.

  But the initial enthusiasm wore off quickly. Ace sat down and opened up his bag, taking out the slice of cheesecake he bought. “It’s only been an hour,” Dante said.

  “There’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Ace said after he swallowed his bite of cheesecake. “I have taken a picture of everything. You saw me get inside the house too.”

  “Through the window on the second floor. The daughter’s room, yes?”

  “Mhm!” Ace finished his cheesecake. “Did you notice anything by chance?”

  “The empty fish tank,” Dante replied.

  “The oxygen pump could have malfunctioned, who knows?” Ace said. “Quite recently, might I add. The supplies are still a long way from expiry.”

  “True. We need people in the house to make more observations. Based on preliminary observations, they are not in financial distress.”

  “You know what she works as?”

  “She works at a business consultation firm as chief financial officer,” Dante replied. “We will head there shortly.”

  “So, what are we looking out for?”

  “Anything noteworthy.”

  ***

  After Ace finished his lunch, they staked out at a café outside Elizabeth’s workplace. They did the same things, sans the invisibility cloak. Ace bought more food while Dante survived on a cup of tea. He stirred the tea back and forth with a spoon without hitting the sides of the cup while keeping a vigilant eye on the entrance of the office building through the cafe’s glass shopfront.

  Hours passed, and eventually, workers started filing out of the building. It was obvious that they had knocked off work.

  However, Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen.

  “Dante, are you sure she hasn’t left?” Ace said as the stream of office workers trickled to none.

  “I have obtained her license plate number. Her car has not left the building yet,” Dante replied.

  “Maybe she’s working overtime?”

  “I doubt a CFO would be willing to work overtime. She can very easily delegate her work to her subordinates. Moreover, I have obtained a list of employees who are in upper management. Most of them have already left work.”

  He can be a perfect private eye, Ace thought.

  Dante suddenly leaned forward. “There she is. Let’s go.”

  “Huh?!” Ace looked around, but Dante was already making his way out. Where?

  Dante called out to him, “Hurry. To the car.”

  “C-coming!”

  ***

  The family was back home. All except Dr. Faust.

  It’s weird how we are just staring at them like fish in a tank, Ace thought. “How old are the children?”

  “Kayla Faust is seventeen. Oliver Faust is four,” Dante replied.

  “That’s a pretty big age gap.”

  “I do not think their choice of when to have children is a factor in this case.” Dante watched with his arms crossed while Ace took the occasional photo to capture the interaction between mother and children.

  Ace had noted earlier in the day that the younger Faust had a liking for sea animals, judging by the number of stuffed fish toys he had, as well as a large marine-themed mobile hanging over his bed. It seemed that he was clamouring to his mother about the empty aquarium. He pointed to it repeatedly while his mother was busy setting up the table for supper.

  The older Faust, on the other hand, was rather disengaged from meal preparation and was busy chatting away on the phone. She occasionally shot death glares at her younger brother for being noisy.

  “Dr Faust isn’t home yet,” Ace said. “Isn’t it rather late already?”

  “It’s not unusual for doctors to put in overtime,” Dante replied, but the rev of a car engine made him look. “Well, speaking of the devil.”

  Light flooded the driveway as Dr. Faust pulled up. The moment he entered the door, the older Faust took her plate and headed upstairs.

  “Something’s not quite right,” Ace remarked.

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  Although they could not hear their conversations through closed windows, they could feel the atmosphere inside turn frosty, especially between husband and wife. The younger Faust was oblivious to such changes but could be absolved from the lack of understanding given his age.

  “Go upstairs to Kayla Faust’s room. Try to pick up on any unusual behaviours,” Dante said to him.

  “Huh?”

  “You wrote that her room was the only room where the windows were left open. She likely has a habit of doing so. Try to get information from her and try to pick up on any conversation if you can.”

  “Aye.”

  ***

  “Wait, hang on a moment, my dad’s back.”

  That was what Kayla Faust had said before she headed upstairs to eat. As Ace had noted, the dynamics of the family were thrown off the moment Dr. Faust stepped into the house. His wife quietly sent her son to his room to play and when the couple was alone, her smile vanished.

  Dante watched the conversation unfold. Though a glass door stood in his way, he could still lip-read and even better, it was one of the languages he was familiar with: German.

  In the ten years he had been living alone, he picked up all sorts of skills. Lip reading was, arguably, easier than everything else he learned.

  “Where have you been?” Elizabeth asked.

  It was not possible to read what Dr. Faust’s reply was as his face was obscured by the newspaper he was reading on the couch. However, Elizabeth gave a weary sigh, pinching the skin between her eyes. “Work, work, work. That’s what you always say. Then what about the kids? It’s always up to me to prepare food for them and take care of them,” she said.

  Dr. Faust put down his paper and said to her, “I think that could be my line as well.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened. She closed and opened her hands, inhaling deeply. “What has gotten into you these days?” she asked.

  No answer.

  “Sweetie,” Elizabeth’s tone grew softer, “you can tell me what’s troubling you at work.”

  “Can you help?”

  Though Elizabeth tried to keep a calm demeanour, Dante picked up a spark of fury in her eyes. “Forget that I asked, alright? Have you applied for leave from work?”

  “What for?”

  “It’s Oliver’s birthday tomorrow. We planned a trip to the aquarium to celebrate. Do you not remember?”

  “I have work. You can go ahead without me.”

  “Johann-” Elizabeth threw her arms up. “What’s so important that you skip out on your son’s birthday outing?! I have been thinking–”

  “I have been thinking about something for a long time, too. Was your career so important that we had to leave behind everything to move here?” he fired back. “There’s so much more that I could have done back in Germany!”

  “What does that have to do with Oliver’s birthday?!”

  “I am on the verge of a breakthrough that would change my life! I can’t afford to have a birthday party screw up my jive!” Dr. Faust snapped.

  “What has gotten into you?!” Elizabeth reiterated. “You were never like this!”

  “Then you’ve never truly understood me,” he replied. “I’d rather spend my life with people who do.”

  It took a moment for Elizabeth to digest the statement that came from her husband’s mouth. When the realisation set in, she lashed out at her husband, who caught her hand before it could land. He pushed her away roughly. She stumbled but found her footing.

  “I have been considering this for some time, but I’ve decided to do this now. There’s no point in prolonging this union.” Dr. Faust produced a manila folder from his briefcase and tossed it on the coffee table. He did not even brief Elizabeth on its contents before marching out of the house.

  “You can’t… It’s not possible…”

  All Elizabeth could do was cry at her husband’s betrayal. She pressed her hand against her mouth, muffling her sobs as much as she could.

  Subduing her reaction so that she would not taint her children’s impression of their father, Dante thought. Quite the effort.

  What he witnessed provided more questions than answers. Who was the person that Dr. Faust was having an affair with? Dante had a nagging feeling that that particular person could be an important witness or even an accomplice. His eyes followed Dr. Faust as he drove off. Confronting him would not be ideal, as the situation might escalate. It was better to come up with a plan first.

  Dr. Johann Faust, what else are you hiding?

  ***

  There was nothing useful in Kayla Faust’s phone conversation. Ace decided to swing by Oliver’s room. Oliver was doodling away with his colour pencil. He could not see the contents of Oliver’s sketch, but judging by how he was singing to himself, he must be enjoying it very much.

  Just then, Elizabeth entered the room and closed the door behind her. Ace noticed that her eyes were puffy, as though she had just cried.

  “Mama! Look!” Oliver held up his drawing. “This is going to be us at the aquarium tomorrow!”

  “Lovely drawing,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

  Ace could tell that she was merely paying lip service as her smile did not reach her eyes. And a smile that didn’t touch the eyes was never truly sincere.

  “Mama, which aquarium are we going to again?” Oliver asked. “Are we going to all of them?”

  Elizabeth smiled once more and tousled his hair. “No, silly, we only have time to go to the Sea Paradise.”

  “Yay!” Oliver clapped his hands excitedly. “Do you think we will get to see uh… kick-lids?”

  “Kick-lids?” Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. “What’s that? Is that a new type of fish?”

  “No!” Oliver broke out a set of flashcards. With furrowed brows, he shuffled through them to find his desired card.

  “C-I-C-H-L-I-D…” Elizabeth squinted at the card that he thrust in her face. “Sweetie, it’s sic-lids. Watch my lips…”

  “I wanna see all of them tomorrow!” Oliver hardly listened to his mother, who repeated the correct pronunciation.

  “Alright, alright, we will,” Elizabeth said. “But tomorrow your father has to work, so we are going to pick him up first. Okay?”

  Oliver nodded his head. “Now go to bed and don’t stay up all night. The fishes are waiting for you, so don’t fall asleep while you are there,” she said as she carried him to bed.

  “Good night, Mama.”

  Elizabeth pecked Oliver on the forehead and tucked him in. It did not take long for the boy to fall asleep.

  Well, I guess that’s it for today. Ace dropped down to the ground below him.

  Dante was already waiting for him outside the residence, fiddling with the ring around his finger. “Did you manage to find out anything?” he asked when he released his technique.

  “Nothing much from the phone call but I did manage to find out where they are going tomorrow.”

  “Oh?”

  “They are heading to some aquarium called the Sea Paradise? I dunno where that is.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Elizabeth looked like she was crying before she came in to check on Oliver. Did anything happen between her and Dr. Faust?”

  “They quarrelled.”

  “So… marriage troubles?”

  “It seems to be the case.”

  Dante held out his hand. “Pass me your notebook,” he instructed.

  Ace looked at him quizzically but handed it over nonetheless. “Are we continuing the investigation tomorrow?” he asked.

  “You’ll be heading back to the zoo tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve decided that it's no longer safe for you to see this to completion.”

  Ace crossed his arms. “I’m not a kid anymore, you gotta stop treating me like one,” he huffed. “I told you that I was ready and I can be of use!”

  Dante sighed. “You have contributed plenty. However, I did say that I reserve the right to exclude you if it gets too dangerous,” he said plainly. “With this regard, I hope you know what the right course of action is. Do not force my hand on this.”

  Ace squeezed his hand into a tight fist, his nails digging into skin. He lowered his gaze, feeling a heat burning behind his eyes and his lips trembling. If he spoke then, he would have proven Dante's point.

  So, Ace said nothing.

  He could not afford to be too desperate to convince Dante.

  atas - Singlish slang that means 'very high class' or 'posh'