by Sandra Ryan
“Well, there is only one way to find out!”
CHAPTER 5
EVERY ROAD LEADS HOME
The car pulled up at the gate with Holly at the wheel. The gate was huge and foreboding, and was doing the job of scaring visitors away quite well. There wasn’t a security personnel around, but as soon as the vehicle got close to the gate, a mechanical voice piped from an intercom on the wall,
“Hello, how may I help you?”
Holly rolled down the glass and peered into the intercom as though it had a face and she was trying to decipher the emotions written on its face.
“This is Holly Hackett to see Mrs. Elizabeth Benson.”
“Do you have an appointment?” the computerized voice asked again.
“Yes I do. She is expecting me.”
The machine went silent, and after a while there was a click and the gate rolled slowly open. The driveway was a long stretch of road large enough to contain three cars comfortably. There were flower hedges on both sides of the driveway and the road led straight to the garage. There was the air of calm without even a single soul in sight, however, it was as though there was an all seeing eye looking down at everything from a vantage point, and this made Holly uncomfortable.
“What did you tell her? I can’t imagine it was easy convincing her to see you. I heard she has been turning down reporters who have sought to interview her,” Samuel asked. Holly had made a stop at his apartment that morning to pick him up.
“I told her the truth.”
“Which is?” He was adjusting the tie he was putting on. Holly had insisted that he dress as formal as possible, complete with a tie and a jacket. He felt terribly uncomfortable.
“That I am a private investigator looking into the disappearance of her child. I think the need to find her baby outweighs whatever aversion she has for the press.”
“I assume you forgot to mention that you were coming with me.” He was looking at her.
“Unfortunately, I did not get to mention that during the course of the conversation.” She was grinning up at him, mischief shining through her eyes.
“She would have refused seeing us, yes?”
“Maybe. But I also wanted to see her reaction to you. Public perception is everything. I have a feeling we may be requiring her help in future. Catching her by surprise would tell me what her genuine reaction to you is.”
She pulled the car to a stop inside the garage. A woman appeared on the side of the window where Samuel sat. She tapped on the window, indicating that they climb down.
“Mrs. Elizabeth Benson?” Holly asked when they got down.
“God, No! I am Clara. The housekeeper.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “Mrs. Benson is expecting you,” she said, pointing at Holly. “I am not aware that you were going to bring someone else?” she framed the statement like a question.
“Oh, yes. It was a last minute’s decision.”
Her brows were raised quizzically.
“He was a last minutes’ decision?” she asked pointing at Samuel. Holly shrugged. Clara hesitated for a few minutes then said.
“Well, it would be up to her to decide if she wants to see him. Follow me,” she commanded.
They walked through a short flight of stairs and entered into a large room. The ceilings were so high it was dizzying to look up at them. It had the effect of making one almost forget that there was a roof over them in the first place. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, dazzling in the afternoon light. The walls were a dazzling white, and the seats were black pure leather. Whoever did the decor had a thing for monochrome; every piece of furniture was either white or black. This had the effect of making the room look bigger than it really was. There were paintings on the walls. Holly could not tell any of the artists from the paintings but she was sure the paintings probably cost a fortune. The both visitors turned to find Clara observing them. She obviously was used to people gawking whenever they entered the room. For rich folks like the Bensons, part of the reasons why they had mansions was they could impress it upon the hearts of anyone who entered their homes that they were in the presence of affluence.
“Please make yourself comfortable. Mrs. Benson would be down to see you shortly.”
“Thank you.” Holly and Samuel chorused together.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Water please,” Samuel said. “Nothing for me,” Holly replied.
Clara nodded and exited the room. They were left in the room alone. There was the low hum from the air conditioner, although Holly could not tell from which vent cool air was being pumped into the room. Samuel shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Are you scared?” she asked, amused at how he was behaving.
“No, just nervous. I do not know what to expect. Are you sure this is a good idea, my coming with you?”
“Don’t worry. You will be fine,” Holly said, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently. He was almost like a child, the way he was biting his lips and sweating lightly.
When the woman stepped into the room, Holly looked up instinctively. She had a commanding presence, something that had nothing to do with her physical features. She was the sort of woman that made heads turn whenever she entered a room; she had that sort of magical pull. Holly noticed that she also looked really young, younger than her pictures in the papers suggest. She had on a simple denim with an old sweater, complete with a hole on the elbow. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her feet were encased in a pair of flip flops. If she expected to be photographed, she gave no indication that she was prepared for it. When she spoke her voice was clear and filled the room. Her voice was as arresting as she was.
“When Clara said you came with someone, I did not think it was him. You did not mention him when we spoke.” She did not move from the doorway where she stood.
“I’m sorry I forgot to mention that. I am currently working for Mr. Clark.” Holly replied. Both of them were on their feet.
“So then I take it that you are more concerned with clearing him than finding my missing child? Why should I help you?”
“Not necessarily, Mrs. Clark. They are not both mutually exclusive. I believe Samuel is innocent and finding your baby and whoever took him would be a way to prove that. However, we do intend to find your baby in the process.”
“I’m afraid I think you may have wasted your time. I do not think I can bear to be in the same room with the man suspected to have kidnapped my child.” She turned away.
“I understand you have been the subject of the warped public opinion a few days ago, thus you of all people should be able to appreciate how painful it can be to be accused of doing something you had no hand in doing. I am only trying to clear my name. Wouldn’t you have wanted someone to give you the benefit of the doubt during that period?” It was Samuel who was speaking. He had moved towards the center of the room.
Elizabeth whirled around to face him,
“How dare you equate our experiences? You are a convicted felon. They had every justification for putting you under the microscope for the missing child? For me, the only crime I committed was taking my eyes off my child for just three minutes. How dare you suggest that our experiences are the same?”
“What Samuel is trying to say is that you, above everyone else, should be able to empathize more than anyone else. Besides, shouldn’t we be focused on finding the child? Would it really be horrible if Samuel is declared innocent in the process? If you do not want to do it for him, at least do it for child.”
Elizabeth paused in her tracks. Then slowly walked back into the room and settled down on one of the sofas.
“Well, I guess you are right. Although I fail to see how you would be any better than the previous policemen I have spoken to.” Elizabeth said.
Holly and Samuel returned to their seats.
“So, what do you want from me exactly?”
“I just want to ask you a couple of questions regarding the baby. And…” she cut in when Elizab
eth was about to start protesting, “I know you have spoken to the police officers already, just go over it with me again, there may have been some things you forgot or overlooked as important.”
“Let’s begin with the journey. Why did you travel to Trinidad?”
“For holiday. Nathan, my husband, wanted me to rest after the delivery of the baby. The trip was scheduled months before but I could not bear to travel with the baby so soon after delivery.”
“So it was Mr. Benson who arranged the trip?”
“Yes. Although it was his assistant who made all the arrangements. Why do you ask?”
‘For no reason.” Holly added quickly. “I’m just trying to cover all the basics.” Elizabeth did not look like she believed her but she said nothing further.
“How long were you there for?”
“Three weeks.”
“Was anyone else aware of your itinerary apart from your husband and his assistant? Maybe someone outside of the company?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“You would not know if this assistant of his shared this knowledge with anyone else, correct?”
“That is correct, although I doubt Melvin would have any reason to want to hurt my family. It was my husband who put him through college and offered him his first job as soon as he was done with his studies.”
“You can never tell with humans,” Holly said, smiling genially. “Did you notice any unusual activity while you were in Trinidad? Was there any strange calls at night or any individual you noticed who was always around whenever you showed up?”
“No.” Holly added quickly.
“Mrs. Benson, I need you to think about it deeply. Go over it in your mind, anything that was out of the ordinary, please let me know. No matter how inconsequential you thought it was in that moment.”
Elizabeth leaned back in her seat, furrowing her brows in concentration. After a while, she opened her eyes and shook her head from side to side.
“That is alright.” Holly said. “How about at the airport? Did you notice anyone you felt was out of place? Anyone you had an uneasy feeling about?”
She shook her head again. She was beginning to look tired.
“It is alright. Why don’t you tell me about the baby?”
She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
“What is there to talk about?”
“I can’t begin to imagine how hard this must be for you Mrs. Benson, but I need you to speak to me about your relationship with the child. How was he, generally? This would help us build a profile for him”
“He was such a beautiful boy. My sweet beautiful boy. Damn, I should stop referring to him in the past tense, he is not dead yet.” She laughed bitterly. Holly and Samuel were silent. There was hardly anything they could say in the circumstance.
‘He hardly gave any troubles. His birthing was so painless. He slept a lot. He was at peace with his own company. Once fed, he could sleep through anything, even a hurricane. You know I took time off from work to wean him, but he was such a peaceful boy that I was considering going back to work as soon as we returned from Trinidad.”
Tears were flowing freely from her eyes. She made no attempt to wipe them.
“He was my little boy. Mine. And someone took him from me. How could anyone be that cruel?”
Holly had no answer. She waited for the woman to regain some measure of calm before continuing.
“How was he around strangers?”
“Everyone loved him. He had no issues cuddling up to strangers. That was why I was confident leaving him with the passenger on the plane. I was confident that even if he woke when I was not around that he would make minimal fuss.”
“How about his father?”
“What do you mean?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“I do not mean to be too bold, what I was asking was the relationship between Mr. Benson and the baby. Were there any changes between the time of birth and before?”
“Ms. Hackett, I am not sure I am comfortable with the tenor of your question. Are you suggesting that my husband may have anything to do with the disappearance of our child? His child?”
“I am considering every possibility, yes.”
Elizabeth glowered at her.
“The gall!” she fumed, although she made no move to throw them out of the room. Finally, she sighed.
“Ms. Hackett, do you have a child?”
“No, but that is not the point…” Elizabeth cut her off with a wave of her hand.
‘Do you, Mr. Clark?” Samuel shook his head slowly from side to side.
“I forgive you then for your insinuations. Nathan and I waited a while for our baby. Throughout the wait he was patient and kind and barely made a fuss throughout the rounds of IVF we had to undergo.”
She had a sort of bitter smile on her face as she got up and faced one of the paintings on the wall.
“When the baby came, Nathan was the sweetest father in the world. He was so doting. At night he would move the baby’s crib into his office here so I could rest, and also so he could spend time with his son. He felt so guilty that he spent the amount of time he spent at the office and thus had such little time to spend with his son.”
She paused again and wiped something from her face. Her back was turned to the duo so they were not sure if she was crying or not.
“He wanted to have a painter come in and do a portrait of the baby. He had given gotten the canvas and the painting. Everything was ready. I cannot believe something this tragic would happen to me. Why me?” She cried.
There was an awkward silence. Holly got out a tissue and handed it to Elizabeth. She murmured her thanks then blew her nose sharply.
“This was exactly what I told the police. I told them that I did not think my husband is involved in the kidnap of our son.”
“Do you still feel that way even now? Has that conviction changed?”
Elizabeth hesitated then said, “No, of course not.” Holly did not comment on this. She rather asked,
“I have a final question.”
“You haven’t needed my permission to ask any before now, I wonder why you are doing so now.”
Elizabeth had a wry smile on her face. Samuel too turned to stare at Holly. Throughout the entire exchange he had not said a word. He had the feeling that whatever it was Holly was going to ask, it was most likely going to offend the other woman. But knowing Holly, he knew she was going to ask the question anyway.
“Again, forgive my being so bold. How is the relationship between you and your husband? Were you having troubles in your marriage?”
“I think it is time for you to leave,” Elizabeth said. Her eyes were blazing with anger.
“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth apologized and started leaving, Samuel in tow.
“My husband and I are fine, Ms. Hackett. You should focus on finding my son instead of spinning theories.”
******
“Get me Olga, now,” Holly said as soon as she stepped into the building.
She walked straight to her office with Samuel behind her. He smiled apologetically at Judith who was seated behind her desk at the receptionist stand. Holly was almost brusque in her approach. The assistant, however, was used to Holly’s moods and so waved him away. She picked up the receiver and dialed Olga’s number.
Samuel followed Holly into her office and sat down. The ride back from the Benson’s home had been in silence. Samuel could literally see the wheels turning in her head and thus he had decided to give her space. However, he was almost bursting at the seams with curiosity.
“Okay. Please could you tell me what you are thinking?”
“Huh?” she asked, blinking severally. “She was leaning back on her seat with her legs placed on the table, crossed over each other. “I don’t know yet. I will let you know as soon as I am clear on that.”
She picked up the phone on the table.
“Where the hell is Olga, Judith? I am getting to my wit’s end with that young lady.”
“She is on her way in right now, ma’am.”
Holly cursed loudly, placing the phone back with a thump. Not long after a young lady wearing cut-out jeans and nose rings came in. Her hair was in dreads and she wore sneakers.
“Before you say anything, I know I am an idiot and I messed up and I don’t deserve you, but please I am sincerely, really fucking sorry. I could blame it on my shitty car but that’s an excuse I’ve given one time too many. Could you please forgive me?”
Holly sighed. “One of these days you are going to give me a perfect excuse to dump your sweet ass, and by then no amount of sweet talking can get you out of it.”
The young girl’s face broke into a smile.
“And who the hell curses while issuing an apology anyway?”
“My mother never really taught me how to apologize properly. You can put the blame on her, not me,” Olga replied.
“Anyway, Olga please meet Mr. Clark. He is the client we are working for at the moment. Samuel, Olga, she is our computer analyst.”
“Nice to make your acquaintance, sir,” she stretched out her hand to Samuel who had been quietly observing all along.
“Do you have what I requested for?”Holly asked.
“Sure thing, boss,” Olga replied, bringing down her backpack and retrieving her laptop from it. She began setting up on couch.
“Isn’t it possible for you to go straight to the point instead of wasting our time like you are currently doing?” There was an edge of irritation in Holly’s tone.
‘I’m preparing for a presentation. Are we not supposed to make a presentation for the benefit of the client?”
“Olga, I am sure Samuel does not care about some stupid presentation. We are not trying to impress him. Now could you please hand me your findings on the Bensons?”
Immediately, Olga’s face fell. Apparently, she had been pumped up about the whole experience.
“Actually, it is alright. I think I would love to see the presentation,’ Samuel intervened. Olga’s face lit up again. Holly scowled at him. After a few minutes of fiddling with the equipment, Olga was ready. She had hooked up her laptop to the television in the office and was projecting some images.