159 Final Hour

John was in the living room sitting in the sofa checking his emails on his laptop. Catherine already left for home two hours ago. The smile on his face still lingers on. He caresses the area of his chest where Catherine had left five hickeys, it's his most prized possession as of this moment, hehehe, he grinned broadly. Today is indeed another revelation for John, he just witnessed how Catherine become a wild woman in bed. Those erotic memories they shared together two hours ago were all flashing back in his mind. He can no longer concentrate on what he was doing, he closed his laptop and reached for the TV's remote control lying on the center table.

All of a sudden his phone rings, it was Ramon calling...

"Boss tuned the television on Channel 5, there's a piece of shocking flash news about Jerome!"

"What---? Okay...," said John and ended the call, he was feeling a bit nervous about this sudden news.

The moment he switched on to Channel 5, his eyes widen and his heart beats faster!

The reporter was currently reporting of a news regarding the murder of the victim named Jerome Robles.

The female reporter's backdrop was near the river bank...

"We are here in this sleepy remote village of General Henares in the municipality of Cavite City. A body of a beheaded man was found in the bank of the river, according to the initial investigation the body of the victim was found by a ten years old boy who regularly took a bath in the river early this morning. The victim's body was floating in the shallow area of the river filled with bruises and he was beheaded. His head was nowhere to be found and Policemen were still scouting the area to find the missing head. A wallet was found in the dry land near the river bank along with a motorcycle and a black backpack presumed to be the victim's belongings, the name of the identification card found on the wallet is of that of a certain Jerome Robles. The Police investigator said that the body had been dead more or less 48 hours already. We will bring more updates regarding this murder incident after one hour. Stay tuned for more updates. This is Jocelyn Dantes reporting," said the reporter.

John was shocked!

He immediately summoned his three bodyguards into his flat. This is a serious matter!

When he said execute 'Plan B' to Allan and George, meaning set Jerome FREE! not killed him. The plan 'A' was to bring Jerome to the Police Station but Catherine chose to set Jerome free to give him a second chance that is why he ordered his bodyguards to execute the Plan B! even if he wants Jerome to serve jail time he still obeys Catherine's order.

Then what the hell is going on?

Why Jerome is dead?

Only Allan and George can answer him.

One hour later, the three bodyguards were lining up on the sofa facing John.

They stared into each other's eyes truly bewildered and flustered as hell.

"Boss, I swear on my father's grave that we never kill Jerome, we are your bodyguards, we are not killers or murderer!" exclaimed Allan.

"That is true Boss, we follow your orders from A to Z. We didn't hurt or used any violent force to inflict his body. We feed him, we take care of him. His sudden death took us all by surprise," said George.

John released a deep breath. Of course, he believed his bodyguards, they always follow his orders. They are not killers, they are just his bodyguard besides they have no ulterior motive to kill Jerome in the first place.

"So tell me guys, what happened on the last hour that Jerome was under your disposal?" inquired John.

Allan stared at George...

Allan took the initiative to speak for the two of them.

"When You, Ramon and Catherine already went home. We covered Jerome's head with a black cloth. We told him that we will set him free because Catherine doesn't want him to go to jail because she pitied his family. Along with his backpack and his motorcycle, we dropped him ten kilometers away from the warehouse on a secluded area surrounded by bushes and trees. The exact time we left him was 4:00 AM near breaking dawn. We gave him back his backpack and the key to his motorcycle. I checked his motorcycle's gas it's full tank. So, we were expecting he will go back to his house right away since he was not badly hurt physically, the only bodily harm he received from us was when we fought inside Catherine's room that night. After leaving him on that area we no longer have any idea what happened to him after that day and the next day..."

"So, who killed Jerome?" Ramon finally asked.

They all have no idea, they were silently looking to each other for a clue.

"What if he faked his death?" suggested George.

"...and if indeed he faked his death what is the purpose?" asked Allan.

John stood up and turn on the television for another update. The TV was still airing some random show.

"He wants to implicate me and Catherine to his murder. Or he just wants me, only? Did you guys leave any evidence? Have you been careful with everything just in case the Police investigation will lead unto us?" asked John.

Both George and Allan looked at each other. "We have been wearing face mask the whole time we dealt with him. The warehouse was squeaky clean before we leave it..."

John's face was aghast. He and Catherine didn't bother to wear a face mask due to the live show thing! Fuck!

Ramon saw the worries that run on John's face. "Maybe he was killed by some random people for robberies or he had other enemies. This is a mind-boggling mystery! since we are the last people who saw him before he was killed. As long the Police won't show up on our doorsteps then we have nothing to worry about."

All four pairs of eyes were glued to the TV when the reporter began adding some fresh update on the murder case. A photo of the body was being shown in the TV screen, he wore the same clothes that Jerome wore on the last day they saw him alive, his backpack and his motorcycle were strewn all over the area where his body has been found. All of his belongings were intact except for his head that was missing. The photos were a bit blurred near the severed head area. The reporter ended the report by saying that if anybody has information about the murder case they were requested to give a statement to the Cavite City Police Station. A hotline number was flashing on the television screen to accommodate anyone that can give tips or information to help speed up the murder investigation.

John hastily turned off the TV. He massaged his head anticipating a painful headache coming soon.

"Guys starting from now, be careful with your actions and always be vigilant because we don't know what really happened to Jerome. You all can go now," he dismissed his bodyguards.

They all exited the flat scratching their head in puzzlement as to what really happened to Jerome during his final hour. They all can speculate along with all the theories that come up in their mind but as long no suspect can be found the case will remain a mystery.

John went straight to his bedroom and lay down on his bed, worst luck ever! Just when he and Catherine were now in really good terms, Jerome's death was again threatening their peace and reconciliation. F*ck!

Whys is this happening? Why!?

He swipes at his phone to call Catherine, he must explain to her first before the news will hit her hard!

But his call was not answered!

Damn! This is another huge epic misunderstanding between them!