Davenport Mysteries 04-Loose Ends

by Vashist, Varun

  “You think of the questions that we’ve to ask tomorrow,” Jake said as he got out.

  “To whom?”

  “We’re going to visit the store and then we’ll go to the other two victims’ houses,” Jake said while looking at the shops. Ryan didn’t know what to say. Jake took the opportunity to cross the road.

  Ron had already covered a few shops and by the time Jake reached the other side, a couple of shops had closed down.

  “Perfect,” he said in angst and rushed to one of the shopkeepers who was about to close down.

  Jake flashed his badge. “I need to talk to you for a second.”

  The old man squinted hard looking at the badge and then looked at Jake. “I don’t want any trouble.”

  “There won’t be any trouble,” he said, “Have you seen Donald Coleman coming to the market?”

  “Who?” the old man asked.

  “Donald… the guy who lives near the abandoned metal factory,”

  “Oh… the lunatic?” he said while remembering something.

  “Yes,” Jake asked eagerly.

  “No, haven’t seen him in days,” the old man said dashing Jake’s hopes.

  “Then why are you wasting my time?” Jake shouted.

  “You’re the one wasting my time. Moreover, if the mad friend of yours had come to the market, he wouldn’t have come to my store. He goes to the supermarket at the end of the street,” the old man said.

  Jake rushed to the supermarket hoping it wasn’t closed yet. The supermarket was closed, but Jake could see the cashier from the glass door. He knocked on the door while showing his badge. The cashier opened the door within moments.

  “What… what happened?” he asked nervously.

  “Did you see Donald Coleman today? The guy from the house near...”

  “Yeah, I know who he is. I saw him boarding the bus for New York,” he said.

  “Are you sure?” Jake asked hurriedly.

  “Yup, he boarded the eight o'clock bus from there,” the cashier said while pointing at the bus stop just outside the supermarket, “This is a small place. You can’t miss something like that. There are hardly a couple of people waiting at the bus stop at that time.”

  “Great… you have been immensely helpful,” Jake said and rushed to the car. “Let’s go,” he shouted, drawing Ron’s attention, who too ran towards the car.

  “What happened?” Ryan asked as Jake opened the car door.

  Jake waited for Ron to join them. “He left for New York. We need to leave now.”

  “I’m coming with you, but my job is done once we reach the city. My job was to keep an eye on Donald and nothing beyond that.”

  “And, we know you did that wonderfully. Now get inside,” Jake said as he fiddled with the keys.

  “Don’t blame others for your incompetence,” Ron said angrily and got inside the car.

  “Let’s not go there again,” Jake urged as he turned on the ignition.

  “So, what’s the plan now?” Ryan asked.

  “The only thing that can help us is the bus that he has taken. If we could find it and speak to the driver, we may find some clue,” Jake said with little confidence. “He already has a two-hour head start. He must be nearing New York by now.”

  “Two hours? He knew I was watching him,” Ron admitted reluctantly.

  Jake gave a faint smile. “The guy has toyed with us. He knows that we are after him, and he knows that we don’t have any clue about his victim. He knows finding him in such a big city is like looking for a needle in a haystack. All we can do is stay in the division tonight and hope that we get a lead.” With that, he looked at Ryan. “I want you to utilize this time in noting down anything that comes to your mind which can give us any hint about his potential victim and I promise, this time I won’t debunk any of your theories. I hope we don’t have to face another dead victim with ‘eight suns’ as his last words.”

  By the time they reached the division, it was midnight. Ron had left them as soon as they had entered the city. Ryan had not spoken for the last forty-five minutes and Jake’s brain too had ceased to act. He knew tomorrow was the make or break day for them and that too if there was no new murder case.

  As they parked, Jake’s phone rang.

  “It’s the MTA. You go ahead. I’ll join you in a minute,” he told Ryan and waited for him to step out of the car.

  “This is Agent Carter,” he said and waited in anticipation.

  “The man you described did travel with us and got down at the central bus station,” a voice came from the other end.

  “Awesome,” Jake said with happiness, “Any camera footage?”

  “Yes, he got in a cab,”

  “Any pointers on where he might be headed?” Jake knew he was shooting in the dark, but he was desperate.

  “It’s impossible to tell. He could’ve gone anywhere,”

  “Was he carrying something?”

  “A small bag,”

  “Anything else?” Jake asked.

  “That’s it. Hope it helps.”

  “Oh… it definitely does. Thanks,” Jake replied and disconnected.

  With that, he dialed another number.

  “Can I speak with Lieutenant Jonah?” he asked.

  He looked around while he waited for the Lieutenant. The whole division was submerged in darkness with the solitary light glowing on his floor. “It’s going to be a long time before I get any rest,” he murmured

  CHAPTER 6

  Ryan was still in the same somber mood. “Any luck?” he asked without much interest as Jake walked to his desk.

  “The great news is that he has come to the city. Our efforts of channelizing the local police network can work. The bad news is that he could be anywhere in the sea of eight million,” Jake said with tiredness in his voice.

  “I’m a little scared,” Ryan said in a low voice.

  “Scared of what?” Jake asked with surprise.

  “I don’t think I should’ve taken such a twisted case as my first case. I… I won’t forgive myself if Donald kills someone tonight,” Ryan said.

  Jake gave a faint smile and came near him. “Now I know why you were quiet the whole time. Believe me; he would be more scared than you are. He was living anonymously as a victim all those years, but now we know his secret. In fact, the whole NYPD knows his secret, and it’ll be impossible for him to hide for long. And, whenever we get hold of him, you’ll be the one who will be credited with saving so many lives.”

  “Me?” Ryan looked at him in confusion.

  “You’re the one who knew the background of the case from the first day. You were the one who found the murder weapon, and you’re the one who eventually linked everything back to him – him being left handed etcetera. I was just beating around the bush. If you want to pursue a career in this field, you’re going to encounter such criminals on a regular basis. Just think of the number of lives you would be saving. And… though I hate to say this; the way you have shown promise, you’ll go a long way.”

  “You really think that?” Ryan asked with a smile.

  “I do,” Jake replied. “Enough of the pep talk. Let’s get to work.”

  “Yes… where should we start?” Ryan asked with excitement.

  “Let’s take a blank sheet and note down everything that we know about the case,” Jake suggested.

  “Okay,” Ryan nodded.

  “Donald knew the store from where the original murder weapon was bought, and he also knew that we might reach out to the store salesman – so, he used someone else to purchase the saw. That debunks our original theory,” Jake said and looked at Ryan, “That just like his victims; Donald doesn’t have anyone else in his family or friend circle. We need to find the boy who helped him. And, for that we need to visit the store tomorrow,”

  “The boy,” Ryan wrote down. “Also, the day when he bought the saw; only two people in the store noticed him or rather, the cashier noticed him and told the salesman. I’ve spoken to the Sale
sman, but not the cashier. We need to have his version of the story too.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” Jake agreed. “What about the manager?”

  “I don’t think he knows anything,” Ryan said.

  “Let’s see how he behaves tomorrow,” Jake mused, “Anything else you noticed?”

  Ryan thought for a moment and then shook his head.

  “Okay… let’s move to the victim’s part,” Jake said, “So far, we’ve visited only James’s apartment. I found the similar idols there. Also, he hadn’t paid the rent for some time, but he was very confident of paying the rent the day he was murdered. There must have been some reason behind him saying that.”

  “Need to find who had promised him money,” Ryan jotted down.

  “That and one another thing,” Jake said while thinking about something. “Where is his file?”

  “It’s here,” Ryan said and opened the drawer, “What are you looking for?”

  “His call records,” Jake said and came near him. “If he was supposed to get money from someone, he must be in contact with that person. If Donald is that guy… then our case will become fool-proof.”

  “You’re right,” Ryan beamed as he flipped the pages of James’s file. “Here is his call record.”

  Jake snatched the file from Ryan and went through the call records multiple times. All the excitement evaporated in an instant.

  “This is not going to be that simple as I thought,” he said with disappointment, “The guy never called anyone besides his leads.”

  “What about the calls made to him?” Ryan asked.

  “They were made from the office desk phone,” Jake said with disappointment. “Again, official calls.”

  “What if he had another phone connection?”

  “He doesn’t have any other registered number and before you say that it might be under some other name, I’ll urge you not to complicate the matter, and focus on what is available to us right now.”

  “I was just speculating,” Ryan said sheepishly and made some notes.

  Their concentration was broken by the loud ring of Jake’s phone; its voice echoing through the empty hall.

  “This is Agent Carter,” Jake said and waited with bated breath for a good news.

  “We followed the lead you got from the central bus station. We got hold of the cab driver that your suspect had hired. We’re bringing him to the precinct for interrogation,” Lieutenant Jonah said.

  “Well, that’s a great job, Lieutenant,” Jake said with excitement. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Okay. I’ll wait for you, then,” Jonah replied.

  “Okay,” Jake said and disconnected.

  Jake looked at Ryan as he kept the phone in his jacket pocket. “Let’s go. We’ve the cab driver.”

  “Great,” Ryan said and got up at once.

  “Come on. We don’t need your journal for this,” Jake said as he saw Ryan struggling with his bag. It was the first time he was going to see an interrogation and his fingers were trembling with excitement.

  He left the half-opened bag at the desk and ran to the main door. Jake had already stepped out and was waiting for him.

  “Is that him?” Jake pointed at the young man sitting on one of the chairs.

  “Yeah,” Lieutenant Jonah said, “He says that he didn’t notice anything. For him, your guy was just like any other customer.”

  “Let us check if he is lying,” Jake said and walked to the cab driver. Jonah and Ryan followed him.

  The man seemed to be in the early twenties and looked as if he hadn’t slept or bathed in days. He was shaking nervously while looking at the floor.

  “Hey, Alec; this is Agent Jake Carter. He wants to talk to you,” Jonah said bringing Alec out of his thoughts.

  “I… I didn’t do anything. I swear,” he said at once as his eyes met theirs.

  Jake pulled a chair opposite to him. “We know you haven’t done anything. However, the man that traveled with you – Donald Coleman is a wanted criminal. If you help us, we’ll be able to nab him, and I’ll make sure your help doesn’t go unnoticed.”

  Alec looked at him while wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.

  “What… what do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Where did you drop Donald?” Jake asked. Jonah and Ryan came forward.

  “He got down a few blocks from the bus station. He… he said that he had some errand to run before going to his destination and had forgotten about that while calling for the cab,” Alec replied.

  “That’s it,” Jonah asked with a surprise.

  “Did you notice where he went after getting down?” Jake ignored Jonah.

  “He stood on the sidewalk till I left,” Alec said.

  “That’s a dead end,” Jonah said. Jake looked at him angrily making him take a couple of steps back.

  “Was he carrying anything?” Ryan asked this time.

  “Yeah… he had a small bag that looked empty; I mean it was folded,” Alec said and paused, “Another thing… he said something about coming back to the city after a long time.”

  “What did he say?” Jake asked.

  “As he got inside; he said that he missed his old home and shouldn’t have left it,” Alec said thoughtfully.

  “He lived here some time back. Anything else?” Jake asked. By now, he had given up all hopes, and that showed in his voice.

  “Nothing. That’s it. Can I leave now?” Alec asked.

  “Yeah,” Jake said tersely. Alec looked at Lieutenant Jonah, who nodded too.

  “Just one last question,” Ryan asked as Alec passed by him. Jake and Jonah looked at him.

  Alec’s face turned pale. “Yes,” He said reluctantly.

  “He took the cab without telling where he wanted to go, and you still let him hire you?” Ryan asked.

  “I… I,” Alec’s throat dried up. Jake and Jonah looked at each other with surprise. “He said he had a couple of places in mind, and he’ll decide on the way. Before, I could’ve asked anything, he told it was his last visit to the city, so he’ll pay me double.”

  “What?” Jake shouted, “Why did you hid it from us?”

  “See, man… I’ve not done anything wrong. I drive a cab for a living; I don’t help criminals get in and out of the city. The man offered me extra money for my work, and I agreed. I knew he was up-to-something but I didn’t know he was a big criminal. When the cops got hold of me, I knew I was in a big trouble. So, I made up the first part. I haven’t hidden anything else. I swear.”

  “But, he got down after a few blocks. That means you didn’t make any money. What was the point in hiding it, then?” Ryan asked with raised brow.

  “He… he kept his promise. In fact, he paid me five times of the fare and told me that I’ve been a very important part of his journey, and I deserved it,” Alec said while unable to see Ryan eye to eye.

  “I don’t get it,” Ryan said and looked at Jonah and Jake.

  “I do,” Jake said with disappointment. “He knew we’ll get the camera footage from the bus station. He used Alec to get away from there and must’ve taken another cab from where Alec dropped him.”

  “He has planned everything,” Ryan said with a scare, “What are we going to do now?”

  Jake turned to Jonah, “Take the location details from him and see if you can find anyone who noticed where he went.”

  Jonah nodded, “Will do that. Anything else?”

  “That’ll be enough,” Jake replied and looked at Alec, “You almost lost your license today by hiding things from us. I hope you don’t know anything else.”

  Alec squirmed a bit. “I… I have told everything.”

  “Take care in the future or next strike will be your last one,” Jake said and left. Alec fell on the chair while Ryan walked behind Jake.

  “What’s our next step?” he asked as they came out of the building. “If he has planned everything, then we don’t have much time.”

 
“If I were him, I wouldn’t be that stupid to commit a crime when the whole city police are on my trail. He may be able to finish the job, but then getting out of the city will be impossible for him. I think, he is going to play a waiting game,” Jake said, “But, then you can never trust a psychopath.” With that, he looked at his watch. “It’s almost three o'clock. Let’s take some rest at the division and then we’ll go to the store. Let’s hope we get some lead this time.”

  “Yeah, I am feeling a bit drowsy too,” Ryan said sheepishly. Jake gave a faint smile. “Let’s go.”

  Jake woke up as the morning rays filtered through the glass walls of the building. He looked at his watch while trying to open his eyes. It was half past seven. He looked at Ryan’s desk, but he wasn’t there. He got up from the chair and stretched his arms. While stretching, Jake noticed that Ryan was sleeping on the floor while using his journal as a pillow. He smiled and walked to the cafeteria.

  After splashing some water on his face, he made two cups of coffee.

  “Hey! Wake up. It’s ten o'clock. Everyone is staring at you,” he shouted, startling Ryan, who got up at once and looked around in surprise.

  “What? When?” he asked with embarrassment, before realizing that only the two of them were there.

  Jake chuckled and held his hand out. “Here, this will help.”

  “You are mean,” Ryan retorted and snatched the cup from Jake.

  “Okay,” Jake raised his hands in defense, “No calls from the police, meaning nothing happened last night… hopefully.”

  “Yeah… hopefully, but that also means that Donald is still at large,” Ryan mused.

  “You’re right… as always,” Jake said and looked at his watch. “I suppose the store opens at nine. Get cleaned up and be ready with the questions.”

  “Okay,” Ryan said and got up.

  While Jake and Ryan had to wait till the store opened, Kiara had already started executing her plans.

  “Sir, I have a mild fever. Would need a day’s rest,” she read the text a few times before sending it to Carlson.

  With that, she got out of the bedroom and rushed to the bathroom. After getting ready, she looked at her phone screen, but there was no reply to her text. She gave a muffled grunt before throwing it in her handbag.