“This case is a very popular one. I followed it as a kid. It was everywhere: TV, newspapers, magazines; you name it,” he said with a childlike enthusiasm.
‘This guy, Donald Coleman was going to Arizona when his car came to a halt a few miles before Sedona. He had only walked a few yards from his car, when the aliens allegedly abducted him.’
“What bullshit?” Jake asked shaking his head, “That’s the notes you’ve taken?”
“I knew you would react this way. Please, hear me out completely before making any judgments,” Ryan said and looked at Jake in anticipation. Jake nodded and gestured him to continue.
‘Donald doesn’t remember how he was abducted as he believes it was erased from his memory. He only remembers seeing the eight Suns.’
“Yeah, but the doctors found that he was high that time, and even the heat also played a part in messing with his head.”
“It’s not that straightforward as you think it is, and that’s what I wanted to tell you,” Ryan said and looked around the office floor. Once assured that no one was listening to their discussion, he pulled his chair closer to Jake. “The report says he was clean. The department wanted to avoid any controversy. Donald has a background of drug abuse, and they used it for their benefit. The media bought the story, and the case was closed with no further investigation.”
“Are you sure?” Jake asked with surprise.
Ryan nodded, “It’s right there at the end of the report.”
Jake thought for a moment, “That’s why Donald and the other three guys were chosen for this experiment or whatever was done to them?”
“What do you mean?”
“They were chosen based on their backgrounds. The idea was to do the experiment and then kill them. If a situation arose where the victim escaped alive and reported the authorities, no one would believe his story…”
“Because of their background,” Ryan finished Jake’s thought. “You’re right. Donald was blamed for being a drug addict although he was clean. The other three were also on the wrong side of the law. So, even their stories wouldn’t have been given any weight in case they had filed a complaint.”
“But, that raises other questions,” Jake mused, “Why kill three people at the same time? That will definitely create some noise. Also, if you want to kill your victim; why leave enough life in them so they could leave a message about seeing the eight Suns?”
“I have no clue about it either,” Ryan said.
A momentary silence ensued with both lost in their thoughts.
“Anything else?” Jake asked.
“No, I haven’t read the full report yet,” Ryan answered.
“I’m glad we had this discussion,” Jake admitted reluctantly, “It’ll definitely help in tomorrow’s meeting with Donald.”
“Yeah,” Ryan said tersely.
“Great,” Jake said and started working on his computer. After a few seconds, he noticed that Ryan was still standing near his desk. Jake looked up at him. He had said that he had nothing else to discuss, but his body language said otherwise. Jake knew that Ryan would not tell until he asked him.
“You want to discuss something else?” he asked.
“No… it’s just a wild thought,” Ryan said and gave a faint smile, but still didn’t leave.
“What’s it? Come on. There is no need to get formal with me. You may not agree to it, but I’m your mentor.”
Ryan looked at Jake’s face for a moment as if having last minute thoughts.
“Come on, man,” Jake said again.
“Why are we keeping an eye on Donald’s movements for the last seven years?” he asked finally.
“What do you mean?”
“The news always maintained that no one could reach out to Donald as he left his house the day his past was made a public fodder. But, we kept track of his movements without disclosing it to anyone. There has to be a reason for that.”
Jake shook his head. “You are over-reading the whole situation. He has always been a person of interest just like the people in other unsolved cases. That’s why we have kept an eye on him. Let’s meet Donald tomorrow with an open mind. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Ryan replied.
“You have some imagination; I must say. The first day of the first case and you’re already blaming the department,” Jake said in disbelief.
Ryan’s face turned pale hearing Jake’s words. “I… I’ll get coffee,” he said and left at once. Jake looked at the file. He knew he was going to have a long night. He was missing Kiara a lot.
Jake turned off his computer and was about to leave for the day when he glanced at the main entrance. He left his bag on the table and rushed to the other side of the hall.
Kiara and Jason were walking towards Carlson’s office. Jake got hold of her hand startling her. Kiara looked at him from the corner of her eye.
“Get off me,” she said while pushing him away. “What do you think you’re doing?” She asked while looking around the office floor. Everyone’s eyes were on them. Jason stifled a chuckle irritating her further, but as her eyes met Bob, the analyst’s stare, she gave a loud grunt and looked angrily at Jake.
Bob walked to them at once and pointed at the coffee mug, “I was about to leave, but stopped for this stupid cafeteria coffee. I am glad, I did. Otherwise, I would’ve missed this,” he said and winked at Jason. Kiara knew she had to tell Jake to leave as soon as Bob and Jason high-fived each other. However, she didn’t have to say anything to him.
“Dude, not cool,” Jake said while raising his arms.
“But, you always support me in pulling her leg?” Bob complained.
“Not this time,” Jake said sternly.
“Whatever,” Bob said and left at once.
“What are you doing?” she asked, “I need to speak to Carlson before he leaves. So, be quick.”
“I hadn't seen you in so long … couldn’t control myself,”
“I was out for two days… two days, damn it,” she said and turned to Jason. “Stop giggling. Let’s go.”
“What have I done?” Jason asked and looked angrily at Jake. Jake ignored him and walked closer to Kiara, who stepped aside. “Not again.”
“This new kid, Ryan is killing me. If I don’t talk to you, my head will explode,” he whispered in her ear while Jason tried to decipher it unsuccessfully.
“Same here,” Kiara replied, “Let’s discuss once I’m back after meeting Carlson.”
“Okay,”
Jake kept looking at her until she got inside Carlson’s office. He turned around and looked at Ryan, who was sitting at Kiara’s desk, deep buried in his computer. He shook his head and walked to his desk.
“How did this happen?” Carlson asked with disbelief. “You, of all people, made such a rookie mistake,” he said and left his chair. He stepped up to the window and gazed out at the evening sky. Jason gave Kiara a puzzled look, but she ignored him.
After a minute of contemplation, Carlson turned to her.
“You are absolutely sure it was his car?” he asked as he walked back to his chair.
Kiara nodded, “We have been following his trail for the last two weeks. He doesn’t use any other vehicle.”
“This is bad,” Carlson said looking alternately at them and was about to say something out of anger before he realized that Jason was new to the set-up. “You have people stationed outside his house and the restaurant. Right?”
“Yes, 24x7,” she replied.
Carlson made some calculations. “I don’t want to make any rash decision. You stay away from this case for two days. Let’s track his moves to see if he does something different thinking we are on his tail. Once I’m sure that he knows about you, only then I’ll take any decision.”
Kiara knew Carlson wasn’t saying it in words, but he was disappointed big time. She cursed herself for not driving the car, but Jason was new, and there was no point in placing the blame on him.
“There is another thing, Sir,” s
he said.
“What thing?” Carlson inquired.
“Every evening, he carries a bag with him to his house, stuffed with a large amount of cash. We suspected that he would take someone’s help to deliver this money to his handlers, and we could follow that courier to the other end of this chain. But, today, instead of taking the money to his home, he carried it to the Park Plaza hotel. And, when he came out after two hours, the bag was empty.”
“When were you planning to tell me this?” Carlson shouted before realizing the scare it brought to Jason’s face.
He took a deep breath and looked at her. “Anything else that you’ve hidden from me?” he asked with great restraint.
Kiara shook her head. “No, Sir.”
“Okay… So, as I said, stay away from this case for two days. If there is no change in this guy’s routine, you can follow him again. Otherwise, we will have to think of some other approach. Today is what … Tuesday. Meet me on Thursday evening, same time.”
Kiara nodded and got up. Jason followed her in a hurry. Carlson looked at him as he reached out for the door. As their eyes met, Jason’s heart started to beat faster.
“You can leave,” Carlson said calmly. “I need to talk to her for a minute.”
Jason almost ran to the door hearing Carlson’s words. Kiara looked at him and gave a faint smile, however as she turned around, Carlson's burning eyes greeted her.
“I’ve put up with your bad behavior for ten years. I ignored it because you were good at your job, even if you undermined my authority. But, this is a big disappointment - something that can’t be overlooked.”
Kiara knew Carlson was right. At times, she had disobeyed him, but she knew he had faith in her abilities, and it was shaken for the first time.
“Sir,” she said in a measured tone, “I... I think we made a mistake by putting these rookies directly in the field…. I mean, they could’ve read about the past cases; talked to other agents about their cases, but sending them to the field so early wasn’t a right decision. Jason wasn’t keen on driving fast and that made us lose the sight of the car we were chasing.”
“Passing on the blame will not help your cause,” Carlson said firmly.
Kiara looked at him with hesitation. She wanted to say something but was wary of Carlson’s reaction.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Sir, can Jake and I work together on this case?” she asked knowing beforehand that it was a mistake.
“What’s the problem with the two of you?” he asked angrily, “I think I made it clear when I assigned you the new partners- solve your cases, and I’ll let you work together again. The deal was simple, but it doesn’t look so easy now that you’ve screwed up your case. Does it?”
“But, Sir,” Kiara tried to say something but was cut short.
“I have nothing else to say to you,” Carlson said and pointed at the door. Kiara knew she had no other option, but to leave. She gave a muffled grunt and left at once.
Kiara cursed herself for everything. She failed to keep her cover hidden for the first time and knew there was a slip up from her end. She just didn’t know when it had happened, and that was killing her.
Carlson didn’t say much in words as much as he expressed with his tone – there was a very slim chance of her continuing with the case. If he got confirmation that her cover was blown; he had to pull her out of the case. In fact, he had no other choice – firstly, she couldn’t go near her target as he would know who she was; secondly, there was a great chance if he knew about her existence, he would’ve sent his men to follow her by now. There was a possibility that Carlson would send her on a leave lest she is seen with anyone from the division raising suspicion and making it impossible to assign anyone to the case.
“What have I done?” she asked herself as she reached her desk. She looked at Ryan, who was sitting at her desk.
“Ryan. Right?” she asked calmly to which he nodded with a smile, “Get the hell out of my seat,” she shouted drawing attention from the nearby desks. Jake walked to her desk hearing the commotion.
“What’s happening?” he asked while looking at the both of them with confusion.
“I’m paying for someone else’s stupidity. That’s what happening,” she retorted making Jake take a couple of steps back. Jason, who was sitting on the adjacent desk, knew she was talking about him. He got up at once and was about to say something when Jake gestured him to remain seated. He tried again, but Jake’s stony glare didn’t let him say anything.
“Come with me,” Jake said.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Kiara replied with disinterest.
“Come on,” Jake said and pointed at the cafeteria. Kiara nodded reluctantly.
“Can I use the desk or not?” Ryan asked in a low voice while collecting the documents he had laid on Kiara’s desk.
Jake and Kiara both looked angrily at him. He immediately sat down looking away from them.
Fortunately, the cafeteria was empty – late evening and the general dislike of cafeteria’s coffee had worked in their favor. Both filled their mugs and walked to the table at the extreme corner.
“What did Carlson say to make you so mad?” he asked.
Kiara looked at him while trying to put her thoughts together. They had faced a lot of setbacks during their past cases, but Jake had never seen her so tense in any of their assignments. He knew something had gone wrong big time.
“I botched up the mission,” she said in a low voice, “The target found out that I was following him.”
“What?” Jake exclaimed. “How did that happen?”
“We were following him for the last two week. We had kept an eye on all his movements. But, today... he just disappeared from our sight. We were chasing his car, and Jason couldn’t keep pace with it. He used it to his advantage and gave us a slip at the traffic signal,” she said and looked at Jake with despair. “Like a fool, I kept following the car without knowing that he wasn’t inside. He got down somewhere while we lost the sight of his car. He must’ve gone to some hideout -a place that could’ve helped me put a lid on this case. I…I was this close, Jake… this close.” She said with frustration.
“I don’t get it,” Jake said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, more than planning, it has to be a stroke of luck to give you the slip. I mean... how would he know that Jason was going to drive so slow? He couldn’t have planned it before reaching the signal. He must’ve noticed that you were far behind, and he had a chance of losing you when the signal turned red.”
“You mean he didn’t plan that beforehand?”
“I believe it was done on the spur of the moment,” Jake said. “He would’ve noticed that he was being followed and must’ve told the driver to get rid of you guys. Then, the driver kept an eye on your movements, and as soon as he noticed the signal was about to turn red, he crossed it leaving you stranded behind.”
“But, it took us only fifteen minutes to reach the signal. If he didn’t notice us all these days... how could he notice us ...” Kiara stopped mid-way and shook her head realizing something. “He wasn’t in the car in the first place. How could’ve I missed it?”
With that, she gave a wide grin. “That’s why I want no one else but you as a partner. You saved me.”
“Yeah,” Jake said in confusion, “Though, I couldn’t make any sense of what you said, just like most of the times. Care to explain?”
Kiara took a deep breath. “Besides the signal, there was another point where he could’ve given us the slip. How could have I missed such an obvious thing? I’m getting dumb in Jason’s company.”
“Still waiting for the explanation,” Jake reminded her.
“As we took a U-turn towards the hotel, we lost the sight of the hotel entrance for a few seconds. There is a chance that he went inside and sent the lady in the car as a decoy,” Kiara beamed. “What do you think?”
“That’s a good theory too,” he said and paused.
/>
“But?” Kiara asked.
“But, that would negate the ‘on the spur of moment’ theory. That would mean it was pre-planned. He had an eye on your car and came out of the hotel just to entice you in following him. He knew there is a blind spot across the street and as your entered that spot; he replaced himself with the woman. That would mean he knew about you for quite some time.”
“I hate you. That’s why I don’t want you as my partner.”
“What?” Jake asked in disbelief. “You just said that I was...forget it.”
Kiara didn’t respond. Instead, she started pacing across the cafeteria. Jake knew there was no point in asking why she did that. He concentrated on the coffee instead.
“I still think there is an element of uncertainty. I should’ve thought about all the possibilities before informing Carlson,” she said and pulled the chair opposite to Jake. “I’ve to go to that hotel one more time and check it by myself.”
“Are you mad?” Jake said. “Carlson has already told you not to make any move without his knowledge. Don’t go against his orders.”
“It’s not the first time I will disobey him. And, Carlson isn’t my concern either,” she replied. “Jason is my concern.”
“What about him?” Jake asked while taking the last sip of the coffee.
“I’m not sure if I should take him with me this time,” she said, “Already, he has put me in enough trouble. Yes... I’ve to keep him away till I get control of the complete situation,” she declared.
“I see, he is giving you a tough time,” Jake said.
“It’s not about the work; it’s his attitude that is bothering me,” Kiara replied. “He doesn’t treat me like his senior. He doesn’t report on time; gives no suggestions, isn’t willing to learn anything and above all – he is always in a hurry to go home. He says he misses his college party life.”
“Wow! He is the opposite of Ryan,” Jake said while shaking his head. “Ryan is a know it all and doesn’t hesitate in correcting you. He knows everything about the department - right from the rule books to everything that the department is supposed to do.”
Davenport Mysteries 04-Loose Ends Page 2