The man had stopped protesting by now, but as Jake rushed towards the stairs, he came in action. As Jake entered the bedroom upstairs, he was greeted by the wild scream of a woman. Looking at the gun in his hands, she almost fainted.
Jake ignored her and looked under the bed and then inside the bathroom.
“Are you out of your mind?” he retorted. “If anything happens to my wife or kids, I’m going to file a report.”
“Where is the attic?” Jake ignored his warnings while looking at the ceiling.
“There is no attic,”
“Then there must be a basement,”
“We don’t have any hidden rooms. We haven’t done anything to anyone,” he screamed in nervousness.
By now, the woman had come out. “What… what’s happening?” she asked in a frail voice.
“He is some mad cop. His teammate is missing, and he thinks we’re behind it,” the husband replied in frustration.
“What?” she exclaimed. “This is insane. No one came here today.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell him but he is crazy…”
Jake came near them. “We tracked his phone to your house. Don’t tell me he didn’t come here.”
The kids had heard the commotion, and they came out to the hall.
“Daddy, she is saying that she saw someone near the big tree,” the young boy said before the father gave him a cover.
“What big tree?” Jake asked.
“Keep the kids away from this,” the mother cried.
“Okay… I understand,” Jake said. “Just tell me about the big tree and I’ll leave.”
The husband looked at the wife who gave her consent.
“You promise?” he asked.
Jake nodded. With that, the father turned to the daughter. “What did you see, honey?”
“A boy,” she replied.
“Was there someone else with him?” Jake asked softly.
“No, he was alone,”
“What was he doing?” Jake asked.
“He was talking to someone,”
Jake looked at the father and then again at her. “But, you said he was alone?”
“He was,” she replied, “But, he was talking to someone.”
“You mean on the phone?”
“No, he was talking like you are talking to me,” she said.
Jake’s face turned pale. The mother came forward and took the girl away from them.
“You are scaring all of us,” she said in a feeble voice. The kid's words had already shaken Jake. He ignored the mother and came near the father.
“Can you show me the tree?” he asked.
The father nodded. With that, he walked to the main door. Jake followed him while the mother took the kids to the other room.
The three officers were alerted as soon as he came out.
“What happened?” one of them asked.
“Nothing,” Jake said tersely and walked ahead of them. “Which tree is it?”
“That one,” the man pointed at a large red- oak halfway down the gravel path. Jake rushed towards it while the man went back to his house and bolted the door as soon as he got inside. The three officers followed Jake.
Jake looked around frantically and finally saw something near one of the bushes.
“Is that his phone?” one of the officers asked as Jake made way through the foliage.
Jake nodded and picked the phone.
“So, someone actually kidnaped him?” another officer mused.
Jake looked at him angrily and walked to the gravel path.
“You understand I’ve to report Carlson about your behavior at the house. We can’t break the law just at will,” one of the officers said from behind.
“Do whatever you like,” Jake said over his shoulder and continued walking. “Right now, I’ve only one thing in mind – making that bastard, Donald talk.”
There was not a single word uttered until they reached the division. Jake’s eyes were burning with anger. As soon as the car came to halt, he rushed to the building.
“Did you find him?” Donald asked as the door to the interrogation room opened.
Jake did not pay heed to his question and grabbed Donald’s collar. He banged Donald’s head on the table. He slapped him twice before the door opened again. Carlson came inside with one of the officers and pulled Jake aside.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted. “We are on the side of the law; not against it. See, what you’ve done?”
Jake looked at Donald whose nose was bleeding.
“That’s what I was telling you,” the officer interjected.
“NOT NOW,” Carlson shouted.
The officer threw his hands in the air and left. Carlson dragged Jake to the corner of the room.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“He knows everything. You give me five minutes with him. I’ll make him sing,” Jake retorted.
“You’re not going to touch him,” Carlson warned, “Or else, I’ll remove you from the case.”
Jake looked at Carlson. Carlson was serious. Jake shook his head in frustration. “We’re wasting our time. We’re dealing with a psychopath. He doesn’t deserve any mercy.”
“He is right,” Donald said before Carlson could’ve said anything.
Both looked at him with surprise.
“Whatever needed to be done has already been done,” he said in a low voice, “Nothing can absolve me of my sins, but at least I can give him some solace by telling that he isn’t responsible for anything.”
Jake came near him. Donald moved a little back in fear.
“I am responsible?” Jake shouted.
Donald gave a faint smile. “You don’t believe in the otherworldly powers, but I have seen them. They came to meet me again. They said that attacking me that night was a mistake. Their calculations had come wrong, and that’s why they left me half dead.”
“They said I further derailed their plans by going public. They put a curse on me the day I told everything to the media. The curse made everyone go against me within a day, and finally I had to run away from the society. But, they didn’t forget me. They waited and when I lost everything they left a message with James Reed, and you delivered it to me.”
Jake was taken aback by the last sentence. “What?”
“Remember, you told me how James told the Doctors about them coming for him again,” Donald said and gave a cold look to Jake. “That message was for me.”
“They came back for you?”
“Yes… the eight Suns,” Donald said with a blank stare, “And, not only that. This time they also accompanied them.”
“Who accompanied whom?”
“James Reed, Mark Harris, and John White,” Donald said and looked at Jake whose face had turned pale.
“Did you speak to them?” Jake asked.
“Seriously, you’re falling into his trap again?” Carlson intervened.
“I heard something at the house this evening that has shaken my belief and then there are other things….” Jake said and stopped mid-way understanding he was not making sense. “Let me hear him out, please.”
“Unbelievable,” Carlson said and walked to the corner shaking his head.
“Did you speak to them?” Jake asked again.
“No, they talked to me,” Donald replied.
“Who talked to you?”
Donald gave a faint smile. “You can’t see anything in the light of eight suns… no one can. I only heard James’ voice saying the exact words that you told me. He kept repeating them. Then a voice came from behind. It was the same voice that I had heard when I was captured the first time. It was a distant sound - it said that they had come to take me and this time they weren’t going to fail.”
“Then why didn’t they take you?” Jake smirked.
A bead of sweat fell from Donald’s forehead on the table.
“That’s where you come in the picture,” he said in a frail voice.
&nb
sp; “I don’t understand,” Jake said.
Donald looked at him. “I’ve fought a lone battle for seven years. I knew you were keeping an eye on my whereabouts. Wherever I went, you followed me. And, when I read about the first murder; I knew you would come to me. I… I hatched a plan to use your visit to my benefit.”
“What plan?” Jake was at his wit’s end by now.
“The biggest setback for me in all these years was the complete abandonment by the law enforcement agencies. And, it reached its height when I was declared to be on drugs. I have a question for you – what did the lab report say?”
Jake looked at Carlson. “What do you mean?” Carlson asked with surprise.
“You’ve to be truthful, or I’m not going to help,” Donald declared and looked at Jake. “You know my rules.”
“He isn’t going to budge,” Jake said.
“You… you were clean,” Carlson said with difficulty.
Donald punched the table in exhilaration. “I knew you made me a scapegoat.” With that, he gave a chuckle.
By now, Jake knew there was no point being angered by Donald’s behavior. He gave him a moment to regain his composure.
“Sorry, it’s been years since anyone has supported my theory,” Donald said, “So, as I was telling – everyone had abandoned me, but I wanted to reach the end of it. I knew for sure that some powers from beyond had reached out to me on that fateful night. But, without the help of law enforcement agencies, I wasn’t going to get the answers. So, when you came to meet me, I hatched a plan.”
“I heard that the first time. What was the plan?” Jake asked irately.
Donald gave a faint smile. “The only way to start the investigation was to let you believe that there was a link between the other victims and me. Therefore, I bought the old saw from the hardware store a day after the first murder. I showed you my injuries and made you believe that some saw like object caused them.”
“What? You knew that. But, how would you know that we’ll notice the saw?” Jake asked in disbelief.
“I know… it wasn’t a fool proof plan. But, then I noticed something,” Donald replied. “I saw how you two… you and your partner were behaving. You were the more straightforward guy – to the point, and he was analytical – noting down everything. I knew what role I wanted the two of you to play.”
“Roles?”
Donald nodded. “I knew I could make you believe in the supernatural if I pushed hard, and I also knew if your partner could get some evidence, he would analyze it and make a practical theory. That’s why I asked him to step out. What did he do after going out?”
“What?”
“What did he do?”
“He looked around for evidence,” Jake said reluctantly.
“And, what did he find?”
“The saw.”
“And, when all of this was happening, what were you doing?”
“Listening to your baseless theories,” Jake said.
“You didn’t think they were baseless. Did you?” Donald asked with a raised brow. “The wound, the similar experience, and the knowledge that my reports were doctored made you think the way I wanted you to think. And, I believe you must have seen many things during the investigation that have shaken your belief further. Haven’t you?”
Donald’s words made Jake look away from him for a moment. “What about those idols?” Jake asked after a few seconds.
“Oh… you did find them in other victim’s house. Didn’t you? You were looking for a pattern. It’s right there. Old men with little source of income will do anything for money.” Donald sneered. “We’ll come to that later in detail. Let me finish the part where my plan came to fruition.”
“I made you and your partner do what I wanted the both of you to do. You went to the store and must’ve gone to the other victim’s house too. You must have tried to find a link between the saw and the murders and between what you observed in my house; the idols; my behavior etc. and would’ve tried to find something similar in other victim’s house. Am I right?” Donald asked while grinning.
Jake didn’t want to massage his ego further by telling it was Ryan who went alone to the store while he went to James’ house. They had fallen into his trap much deeper than Donald had even imagined.
“Yeah… stop gloating. We’re short on time,” Jake said while hiding his emotions.
Donald nodded. “I couldn’t do anything about other victim’s house as they were already under the local cops’ vigil, but I knew what I needed to do at the hardware store. I made the…”
Jake got up with his face flustered. “You staged everything. You fool.” He said in anger and grabbed Donald’s collar. “Now, I understand everything.”
‘You paid the salesman to tell that story to Ryan, and you knew we may come back to reconfirm his account. You even paid the cashier. The salesman mentioned his name on purpose and like fools, we talked to him too. Now I understand why the cashier began to shake nervously when I mentioned him about the attack on you seven years back. You didn’t tell them why they had to say those things and whether it was linked with some murder.”
“Attaboy,” Donald said while getting out of Jake’s grip. “You’re almost there barring a few finer points. Yes, I needed two people, so that they could corroborate my story. But, there was another reason for it – they used to come in shifts. I could control their words but not the timing of your visit. So, either you would have visited when the salesman was there or maybe when the cashier was on the shift, or there was a rare possibility that both of them were there. I had to cover all bases. And, you’re right – I didn’t tell them about any of the murders. They wouldn’t have co-operated after knowing about that.”
Jake kicked the table in anger. “I knew we should’ve gone after the boy who bought the saw. He would’ve led us to you.”
Jake’s words made Donald chuckle. He rubbed his hands in astonishment.
“There is no young boy. The salesman is the young boy.”
“What?” Jake asked with surprise.
“I left a hint for you. I based the young boy after him – who was in his early twenties, but looked much younger.” Donald said with a victorious smile. “What could have happened if you had followed that lead? Fascinating… now that I think about it.”
Jake looked at him angrily. He was about to punch him when Carlson words came to his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Where is Ryan?” he asked. “Where have you led him?”
“I haven’t; you have,” Donald said.
“What have I to do with it? You know you don’t make any sense,” Jake replied.
“I actually do. Had you believed in their existence, this wouldn’t have happened,” Donald said and raised his arms defensively. “Before you get enraged, let me explain.”
‘As I said, my plan was plain and simple – I knew someone out there attacked me and the others for a reason. Just like you, I also found a lot in common with the three victims. I wanted you to hold on to that thread. I knew if that could be the starting point, it could lead you to those forces and would absolve me of all that was said about me. And, everything went as planned – you came to my house; I showed you evidence of the commonalities between me and the other victims. Ryan led you to the store where you made up your mind as me being the killer and to confirm it further you visited the other victim’s house. I knew by pointing everything towards me; I was not helping my cause. But, I had a belief that once you would visit the other victims’ houses and talk to the neighbors, you’ll definitely find something amiss - something that would tell you about the actual motive of the attack, something that couldn’t be traced back to me. That would have let you look at the whole thing with a new perspective. And, you were definitely going to visit me and interrogate me further, and that would have firmed your opinion about something powerful doing all of this. But… I was wrong. To err is human…” he said and gave another chuckle.
“I
know you’re enjoying our misery. I was impressed by your plan until you told about the end. We were never going to look anything in a new light. You were… are still our prime suspect.”
“I’m not talking about that failure,” Donald said. The smile had all but evaporated. “I’m talking about the failure to think that I could do it without them knowing it. They knew everything- every step that I planned; every move that I made. And, they waited till I was trapped in my plan.”
“What do you mean?”
Donald looked at him. “You need to listen to me to the end if you want to find anything about your partner. Don’t get angry or do anything stupid until I am finished. And, remember they’re listening to everything that I am telling you. In fact, surrendering myself was also part of their plan.”
Jake shook his head. “There’s no one else. It’s all in your mind.”
“It’s not going to work if you don’t co-operate,” Donald warned.
“Okay,” Jake said in a defensive tone.
“All right,” Donald said.
“They knew I had lured the two of you in my trap, and they also knew that you were going to come after me. I… I was enjoying being the puppeteer without knowing that I was the puppet. Three nights back, I was about to go to sleep, when suddenly I heard the distant voice that has haunted me all these seven years. Suddenly the whole house was engulfed in a white haze. Before I could’ve realized anything, the eight Suns had covered me in their glow. The voice told me that they had come to take me away. I begged, but I was told that I had invited their wrath, and there was no way out. They asked me to think of how I had wronged them. And, then I heard all the plans that I had deployed to fool you. The voice told me everything about you and Ryan and whatever I had made you two to do.
And… and then, James Reed’s voice came and told me his last words. And, then the same words came from the other victims -Mark and John. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew my end was near. I pleaded and told that I had suffered enough. But, James kept repeating his last words.
I told them that I would do anything if they spared my life. Suddenly, everything went silent.”
Donald looked at Jake. “They heard my pleas. They… gave me a lifeline,” he said in a frail voice.
Davenport Mysteries 04-Loose Ends Page 14