“We’re not putting you on suspect list, sir,” Kiara said. “This is just a hunch.”
“Anyone who should be on the suspects list has to be Shawn,” Michael Campbell said. “I knew from the beginning that he married her only for the family money. Cynthia won’t listen to us and see what this marriage has brought to her. And, now his secret affair has come to the light. He’s shown his true colors finally.”
“About Shawn’s affair … we’ll make sure that Amy Brooks doesn’t go to the media with her story,” Kiara said in an assuring voice, but it angered Michael instead.
“It would be good for her if she keeps herself away from the media. If she tries to malign my family name, she won’t even come to know what hit her,” Michael Campbell said before realizing that his words could go against him. He got up at once and looked at them. “I’ve another meeting now. The guard will guide you out.”
With that, he left for the other room. Jake looked at Kiara and gave a smile. Kiara gestured him to keep quiet. With that, they walked to the main door.
“Okay. You didn’t want me to speak inside. Can you at least tell me now? What do you think of him?” Jake asked as they got into their car.
“Let’s get out of here first,” Kiara said while looking at the guards from the rearview mirror.
Jake nodded reluctantly. “As you say.”
Kiara kept driving while Jake waited for her to discuss their meeting with Michael.
“Our guess was wrong. He didn’t have any clue that the actual reason for her kidnap is the financial loss to Shawn’s clients. Now, he feels that there is a chance of her getting kidnapped because of his falling out with the Italian-American community,” Kiara said finally. “If he were behind the kidnapping, his reaction would have been different.”
“Or, maybe there are two reasons behind the kidnap,” Jake mused.
“What do you mean?” Kiara asked while stopping at a traffic light.
“Maybe, the Italian Mafia and their local contact in New York did this to help each other out. The money that they asked for is clearly a cover-up to show that it’s a run-of-the-mill kidnapping. They know that Shawn will never tell anyone that they have asked the details of his clients. The Italian Mafia needs the list, as their influence is dwindling in Italy. Their local contact in the US, on the other hand, wants their demands for the legality of their businesses to be an agenda for the upcoming election. By helping Michael, they could get that in exchange. The role of the Italian Mafia is just to sensationalize the whole drama by giving it an international touch. The media and the cops will keep chasing the notion of a typical kidnapping while deals for Cynthia’s release will be signed on the back-end between Michael and the Italian-American leaders.”
“We can’t rule out anything right now. The way Shawn and Michael are still focused on their image, it doesn’t seem that they are concerned about Cynthia’s well-being. Shawn is still working on his deals while Michael doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s helping us in securing her release. It’s as if her life has no value to them,” Kiara mused as the signal turned green.
“Or, maybe that’s how the rich people run their lives,” Jake said while trying to put the pieces together.
“Maybe,” Kiara said. “Let’s meet Cynthia’s parents and see if we can find something there.”
CHAPTER 8
Cynthia’s parents’ house was in the heart of the city, but still it stood out among other buildings. It was a five storied building and spanned across half of the street, with various country flags displayed on the top. However, unlike Michael’s villa, the security guard checked their badges and pointed them to the living room. The caretaker told them to wait and went to call Shirley Campbell.
Kiara looked around the hall. She was sitting on one of the corners facing the large glass windows overlooking a sprawling garden. The other wall adjacent to the entrance was covered with the photographs of the Campbell family. One thing that she noticed was the absence of Cynthia from the photographs.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” a voice brought Kiara back from her thoughts. “I’m Shirley, Cynthia’s mother.”
“In fact, we should be sorry to disturb you at this hour. You’re generous enough to accommodate us at such a short notice.” Kiara wanted to be extra polite this time. She had seen how Michael Campbell had gone offensive on their direct questioning. She didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.
“That’s not a problem. I’ll do anything to secure Cynthia’s safe release. Let me know how I can help.”
“Mrs. Campbell, we’re here to update you on the current status of our investigation. We’re waiting for positive news by tonight. The motive behind the kidnap and the people who orchestrated it have been identified,” Kiara said the rehearsed words.
“That sounds great,” Shirley replied. Kiara sensed an indifference in her voice, and before she could’ve got out of the confusion, Shirley looked at her watch.
“Anything else that you want to tell me about the investigation?” she asked as if she was in a hurry.
“I actually wanted to speak to you and your husband together,” Kiara said while looking around the hall. “Will he be joining us?”
“Oh … he’s out of town for a conference. I’m afraid he won’t be back until tomorrow,” Mrs. Campbell replied with some hesitation.
“Mrs. Campbell, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask something,” Kiara asked.
“I know you want to know how a father can still be busy with his work while his daughter is fighting for her life,” Mrs. Campbell said, sensing what Kiara was about to ask. “This is definitely a trying time for us, but life doesn’t stop at such things. I don’t expect you to understand, but we have a different way of living and stopping all our work for any reason is not a part of it.”
“Told you,” Jake whispered. Kiara ignored him.
“Mrs. Campbell. How do you feel about this news of Shawn’s affair?” she finally asked the question for which she was building up the discussion.
“It didn’t come as a surprise to me. I had told Cynthia on her wedding day itself, that Shawn was going to cheat on her,” Shirley said and paused for a moment. “See, Cynthia is our only child. She’s going to inherit everything that we own. Shawn, on the other hand, was a lowly investment banker when he met her for the first time. Look where he has reached now. For him, this marriage was clearly a ladder to succeed in the corporate world.”
“That means, you must be relieved now that the affair may result in a divorce,” Jake asked directly, making Shirley Campbell lose her composure for a moment.
“Frankly, I don’t care. I haven’t spoken with Cynthia in a year and a half. It’s because of her father that we still send them invites for family functions. Otherwise, her presence or absence doesn’t make any difference to my life.”
“That’s why you’ve removed her from all of the family photographs?” Kiara asked.
Shirley Campbell got up at once. “I think I’ve shared everything that I know. Will you excuse me now?”
“Sure,” Jake said while getting up. “Just one last question. By any chance, do you know someone named Karl Bennett?”
Shirley thought for a moment. “Never heard that name before. Is he some industrialist or a venture capitalist?”
Jake wanted to laugh but controlled it somehow. “No. I think that ends our questions.”
“Again, we are really thankful for your time,” Kiara said.
“Okay,” Shirley said and left for the other room.
Kiara and Jake came out of the house. Jake was going to ask something, but then he remembered that Kiara would first like to get out of there. He quietly followed her to the car.
As they drove past the main road, he looked at Kiara, who was driving while thinking about the discussions they had so far.
“We thought that she hated Shawn, but she hates Cynthia equally. She has thrown Cynthia completely out of her life,” he said.
“Cyn
thia is still the heir to the property because of her father and grandfather. Shirley, on the other hand, will prefer donating it to charity before giving a single penny to Cynthia,” Kiara said while shaking her head.
“So, two down and both have a reason to go after Shawn,” Jake said.
“Yeah…” Kiara was about to say something when her phone rang. She looked at the number with surprise. “It’s Carlson.”
“Put it on the speaker,” Shawn said.
“But, you have to keep quiet,” Kiara urged.
“Yes, I will,” Jake said in frustration.
Kiara nodded and picked up.
“What took you so long?” Carlson asked.
“Sorry, sir. I’m driving,” she said apologetically.
“Okay. There is news. Lorenzo was captured in the raid,” Carlson said.
“That’s great news, sir,” Kiara said and looked at Jake, who gave a broad smile.
“There is an even better news. He has given the address where Cynthia is held captive. It’s outside of Long Island. There’s some old, abandoned factory where two of his men are keeping a watch on her.”
“Wow! That’s great news. Do you want us to go there?”
“That’s not required. Two local teams are already on their way. We’ll be hearing the good news anytime now. I wanted to inform you so that you can stop meeting the families.”
“We understand, sir,” Kiara said then disconnected. “Wow! This is something. All the drama ends with a whimper.”
“I told you that she’s coming back safely,” Jake replied.
“She’s still with her captors. Let’s hope the mission goes out as planned,” Kiara said while looking at the road. She just hoped that the rescue mission would go smoothly.
As the sun went down, the teams took their position outside the gloomy factory building. Though the factory was an abandoned one, it still had all the rusty equipment, which was enough for the teams to take a cover. They scanned the whole ground floor, but no one was there.
The rusty stairs to the second floor had some of the steps missing. As the teams walked up, the joints made creaking noises. It was enough to alert Cynthia’s captors. There was commotion from the room at the far end on the second floor, followed by a muffled groan of a woman.
One of the captors tried to call someone, but couldn’t reach the number. The other one, a boy in his teens, began to shake nervously. He pulled out his gun with trembling hands. The older one threw the phone in anger and walked near the door.
He looked through the corridor for a second. He could see a few shadows, and it made his heart sink.
“They’re closing on us,” he said while wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“What’re we gonna do, Jimmy?” the teenager asked.
Jimmy looked at the door again for one moment. He turned to Cynthia, who was tied to a chair with her head covered by a bag. She did not show any movement.
“We shouldn’t have believed Rafael,” Jimmy said in frustration.
“Should we finish her?” the teenager asked.
“We will,” Jimmy said, “Let them come closer first.”
With that, both walked behind Cynthia’s chair. Jimmy took an aim at the door while the teenager put his gun on Cynthia’s head.
In a few moments, the footsteps started becoming more and more distinct. Jimmy’s heart was beating so fast that he could hear his heartbeat.
Two of the officers took position outside the door while others waited in the corridor. The officer on the left side of the door gave a signal and counted to three with his fingers. As soon as he finished counting, the one on the right entered and rolled down on the floor. Before Jimmy could’ve taken an aim, two more officers entered, and one of them shot at him. His gun fell toward the other corner of the room, and the shock made him fall, but he soon recovered and took cover behind Cynthia’s chair.
The teenager was so shaken that his hands had started to tremble even faster, making the gun swerve dangerously over Cynthia’s head. One of the officers noticed it, and as he was about to jump at him, the teenager fired a shot by mistake. It missed Cynthia’s head by a couple of inches, making the officer stop mid-way. The kid was even more terrified of it, but as the officers stepped back a little, Jimmy gained some confidence. He got up at once while pressing his bleeding right hand with his left.
He snatched the gun from the teenager and put it on Cynthia’s head.
“You can kill us, but she won’t be leaving alive too,” he said in a frail voice and gestured the teenager to pick her up.
“We’re going to count till three. You hand over the woman, or else!” one of the officer’s shouted.
“Or what? You’re going to kill us?” Jimmy retaliated. “When your count reaches two, she’ll be lying on the floor. You can kill us after that.”
The officer was unperturbed. “One,” he shouted.
“One,” Jimmy screamed back.
As the officer was about to count to two, Jimmy put the gun on Cynthia’s forehead.
“Two,” the officer shouted.
“Two,” Jimmy shouted back and fired. There was a momentary silence.
“Don’t test me!” Jimmy shouted. “Let us get out of here, or else I’m not going to miss the next time.”
The officer stepped aside and gestured the team to do the same. The teenager looked at Jimmy, who nodded in return. With that, they started dragging Cynthia out of the room. As they came out, all the officers stepped aside. The officer in charge came out of the room and gestured the officer standing near the stairs, who took the cue. None of the boys noticed that.
As soon as the two of them stepped on the stairs, and the joints made squeaky noises, the officer took advantage of the sounds to move near the teenager and shot him on his back. Before Jimmy could’ve understood anything, the teenager fell while hitting the rails during the fall. Cynthia’s whole weight came down on Jimmy, and both tumbled down the stairs. All the officers ran toward the stair immediately.
Jimmy got up and looked around. The teenager was lying motionless in a pool of blood. Jimmy knew his time was up too, and he couldn’t possibly drag Cynthia on his own. He looked at the front door. He left Cynthia near the stairs and started limping towards the door.
A shot missed him by inches. He groaned in angst. The door was a clear target, and he couldn’t possibly walk to it in the open. He took cover under one of the machines and started crawling slowly toward the giant window on the other side. Two of the officers helped Cynthia up and removed the bag from her head. She was still unconscious. They moved her behind one of the large boilers for safety.
A few shots were fired, but this time the machines saved Jimmy. As he crossed the last section, he shook his head in frustration. There was a twenty-foot open area between the window and the point where he was hiding. He peeked through the gap in the machines and looked as far as he could see. He saw five men pointing their guns in his direction. His heart stopped for a moment.
He looked around for something. A few pieces of metal lying near the machines drew his attention. He took a large piece of metal scrap and threw it towards the door. The officers were sidetracked by it and fired in its direction. The distraction was enough for Jimmy to run toward the window. While running, he kept firing backward. Some of the officers took cover, but as they noticed that he was firing aimlessly, one of them shot at him. As Jimmy jumped out the window, the bullet pierced his skull. He got out, but not alive. He could hear footsteps coming in his direction before he took his last breath.
Kiara and Jake were sitting in Carlson’s office waiting for the update on Cynthia’s rescue mission. Carlson was so nervous that he had checked his phone more than ten times in the last five minutes. Kiara had been working with Carlson for the last eight years, but she had never seen him so nervous before today. Jake, on the other hand, playing games on his phone while concealing it under the table.
The ring of the phone broke the silence. Carlson picked it up imm
ediately. Jake looked at Carlson’s phone for a moment and then went back to his game. Kiara ignored him for the moment and looked at Carlson, who walked to the other corner of the office and stared at the city skyline while speaking in a low voice.
“She’s fine,” Jake said while still looking at his phone’s screen.
“I will deal with your indifference later,” Kiara replied while trying to read Carlson’s body language.
Carlson disconnected and walked to them. All the stress had left his face.
“The operation went as planned … well, almost. Cynthia is safe, but her captors were killed in the crossfire,” he said and sank into his chair. “Wow! I can finally get a good night’s sleep.”
“Where is she now?” Kiara asked and tapped on Jake’s leg. He locked his phone screen and tried to look attentive.
“They’ve admitted her to a local hospital. She was unconscious when they rescued her. The doctors say that she will be fine by tomorrow morning and can travel back home.”
“That’s a great news. No harm is done to anyone,” Kiara said with relief.
“Say that to Rafael, Karl, and the two captors,” Jake smirked.
“You know … I had begun to like you. But, I think we need to have that talk sometime now,” Carlson said sternly.
Jake was about to respond, but Kiara looked at him angrily, making him stop mid-way.
“We’ll get a chance to speak to her, right?” Kiara asked.
“Of course. I need to file a report in the next two days. You’ve to meet her as soon as she arrives home,” Carlson said and looked at the television, which had forgotten about the case and was showing other news now. “A few hours without any development and the breaking news becomes no news for them. But, a few hours from now, the news of Cynthia’s return is going to be on prime time as if nothing else is happening around the world.”
Davenport Mysteries 03-Perfect Crime Page 10