In the darkness of the late night, a dark blue Lexus drives to a huge mansion. After the car is parked on the cobblestone driveway, a 5'8 woman with her blond hair tied back steps out from the driver's side, wearing a long black leather overcoat. From the passenger side, a 5'1 Asian woman with raven black shoulder length hair dressed in a charcoal coat, black pants and black heeled-shoes, carrying a laptop case and a small carry bag. The blond in black walks from her car to the Oakwood front door of the mansion, her Asian companion follows behind.
A few seconds after ringing the door chime, a middle-aged man in a butler's uniform opens the door. A moment of silence follows.
"They've been expecting you." Says the butler. "Please come in."
The two women enter to the foyer of polished marble floor and Oakwood walls.
"May I take your coats?" requests the butler after shutting the door. The Asian female is first to remove her coat showing her red silk shirt, handing it to the butler. After gazing around, the interior of the mansion, the blond removes her coat, showing the light-blue tight fitting dress and white stilettos she wears.
After the coats are put on the coat stand, the butler guides the late-night guests to the living room. There await a man in his late fifties with light-brown hair sitting on a couch with a glass of brandy and a woman in her late forties as well with blond hair slightly darker than one of the visitors, standing near the fireplace with a martini glass.
"Good evening." The man says rising from the couch to walk to the guests. "You must be Courtney."
"Yes." Replies the blond woman in a nonchalant manner. "This is my assistant, Yen." The Asian woman gives a brief head bow in response to the introduction.
"Richard Wesley." The man introduces himself and motions to the woman by the fireplace. "This is my wife, Anna." The wife remains silent, making no effort to make the guests feel welcomed. An attitude Courtney is familiar with.
"Father Peter from St. Aidan told me you're in need of my survives." Courtney states in a professional voice. A faint sigh of contempt from Anna is heard, but to maintain some professional politeness, it was quietly disregarded.
"Won't you sit down?" Richard smilingly motions to the couch. "Can I have Simon get you a drink?"
"No, thank you." Courtney declines, walking to the couch with Yen following behind her. After the Courtney and Yen sit, Yen takes out her lap top computer from it case and sets it on the glass coffee table.
"So who needs my help, Mr. Wesley?" asks Courtney.
"Our son, David." Answers Mr. Wesley.
"When did it start?" Courtney continues inquiring.
"We're not sure, we think sometime last fall."
"You're not sure?"
"We're very busy people. At first, it was little things. He would yell or brake things, then when he stabbed Simon in the arm with a penknife, we took him our doctor, then a whole bunch of doctors. They gave him some mediation that never worked."
"What other acts of violence did he do?"
"One night, last summer, he...he...raped one of the maids." Richard takes a long sip of his brandy. "The way he brutalized her was...inhuman. He almost killed her."
"Oh, please." Mutters Anna. "She was some slut from the Philippines, she probably liked it."
"Anna, please" Richard calmly asserts to Anna, and then turns his attention back to Courtney. "We paid her hospital bills and whatever treatment she needed and gave her a very generous severance pay."
"In exchange for her silence, no doubt." Courtney says.
"That little whore had no problem taking our money." Bellows Anna, walking toward Courtney and Yen. "People like them are always coming here from their backwater country holding out their hands." Anna notices Yen with her head down but her eyes looking up at her. "No offense."
"None taken." Calmly replies Yen. "I'm Korean."
"Is this all, Mr. Wesley?" asks Courtney. "Because it seems to me your son is just a spoiled rich sociopath. And if so, I can't help you."
"There have been other incidents." Richard testifies. "Things like the ground shaking, glass breaking from no reason. After what happened with the maid, David just got worse. Last week, Anna and I returned one afternoon and Simon take us to the pool where we saw Tammy, David's girlfriend, floating in the pool dead."
"He drowned her?"
"No, but her entire body was covered in burn marks. As if she was boiled alive. We knew Tammy's family, so we manage to..."
"That's enough." Says Courtney. "I now believe I can help your son."
"I have Simon show you to..."
"Mr. Wesley, before I get started, there is the subject of payment. I hope Father Peter didn't leave that out."
"Of course. I've already transferred the money to your account."
With a look from Courtney, Yen keys her laptop. Several minutes pass.
"The money has been transferred." Yen states.
"Very well." Courtney confirms. "Let's go started."
Simon the butler guides Courtney and Yen down a hallway in the far side of the mansion.
"We had master David sedated and restrained this afternoon." Informs Simon. "Not an easy task."
"Certainly saves me the trouble." Retorts Courtney.
Simon leads Courtney and Yen at the end of the hallway to a door with three pad locks. Using the keys left on a small side table near the door, Simon unlocks the door and opens it.
"Good luck." Says the butler as walks away.
"Ready?" Courtney asks Yen.
"Yes." Yen answers.
Courtney enters the small, dark room and sees a young auburn-haired man in his early twenties lying on an old-fashion single bed, with his wrists above him tied by rope to the bar frame of the headboard and his ankles ties to the bedpost of the other end of the bed, partially covered by a thin sheet. The furniture of the room also includes a chair near the door, a nightstand next to the bed and a small dresser by the window. With the lights off, the room is illuminated only from the window by the moon and stars. After both enter the room, Yen shuts the door behind her.
