Kiara made some calculations. “So, Jason knows that Steve’s her lawyer?”
“Of course,” Carlson said as if it weren’t obvious.
“This is going to be fun,” Kiara mumbled.
“They are starting,” Carlson said and walked a step closer to the investigation mirror.
“I’m dying to hear it,” Kiara said and joined Carlson.
“So, what’s this all about?” Steve asked. “You guys can’t let a foreigner work in this country. Can you?”
“Whoa! What’s with the attitude?” Jeff retorted.
Jason patted on Jeff’s shoulder. “I got this.”
Kiara stifled a chuckle. Jason was behaving as if he was heading the interrogation.
“Your client or rather clients are prime suspects in some illegal activities,” Jason said.
“What sort of illegal activities?” Steve asked.
“You’re good,” Jason said, “You won’t tell anything until you’re sure we actually know your secrets. I knew that.”
Steve shook his head and looked at the interrogation mirror. “Seriously… Is this some TV show?”
Kiara looked at Carlson, who avoided an eye contact.
“Look, mister,” Jason said, “Your tactics aren’t going to work on me. I would appreciate if you listen to me completely before making these snide remarks. You don’t know how deep we have gone to collect these evidence.”
“Even I’m dying to hear about those evidence,” Steve said, “Let me know when that part comes.”
“Okay… so here it goes,” Jason said without realizing that Steve was mocking him, “Jannik Fisher is a notorious businessman with a shady past. Last time he succeeded in his scheme but not completely. So, he went into hiding and came up with a new plan where he didn’t have to face the law enforcement agencies again. And, the first step of that plan was to find someone who could bear the brunt if the plan fails. That’s why he found an incompetent businessman who would agree to any demands of his without knowing that he is the one who will go to jail while Jannik will take away all the money,” Jason said and pointed at Niklas.
Niklas was about to say something when Steve stopped him.
“Can you do this without the commentary?” Steve asked.
“Sure,” Jason said, “So, Jannik signed a deal with Niklas, who was under debt owing to the failure of his earlier business ventures. He was willing to sign any paper for money. Now, why would someone fund Niklas’s business, knowing that he doesn’t have the business acumen? And, why would they go a step ahead and pay off his debt? They must need something in return. To find that out, we got a copy of the contract between him and Jannik and studied it. That’s when we understood the whole game. Jannik has put all the liability on him, meaning if something happens to the business, he will be held responsible, and Jannik will get away scot-free. Am I right or not?” He said and looked alternately at Steve and Niklas.
“First thing, it’s not a deal between two individuals. The contract is between Berkley holdings and Mr. Niklas Abele’s restaurant business. And, secondly, there is nothing wrong with having such a liability clause in a contract if both parties agree to it.”
Jason lost the track for a moment and looked at Jeff, who nodded. “He’s right.”
“Maybe, but there’s more to it,” he said while putting a brave face. “Your restaurant business is running on a loss in Germany; still you’re expanding your business here. How do you justify that?”
“Every business needs time to turn profitable,” Niklas said tersely.
“I would’ve bought that argument if the deal is involved only the two of you. What about the business deal between Chris and Jannik? We know Jannik's Clientele funds the Connelly foundation.”
“What’s wrong in that?” Chris retorted, “He is helping me with my work, and I’m helping in his business. Everything is documented and besides, did you find any discrepancies in the funds given to our foundation?”
“You may be right here,” Jason admitted reluctantly and looked at his notes, “Yes…what about the money that Niklas is giving to Charles Miller, the Park Plaza Hotel owner? And, don’t feign ignorance. I’ve seen you carrying bags full of cash from your restaurant to his hotel,” he said and turned to Eva, “And, I also know about your late night rendezvous with him.”
“Don’t get personal,” Steve retorted, “She has a right to choose her friends, and even Mr. Niklas has a right to do whatever he wants to do with his part of the income from the restaurant. What’s wrong with investing money earned from the restaurant in Charles Miller’s business ventures?” With that, he pushed a file across the table. “All the transactions are documented here.”
Jason took the file reluctantly and gave it to Robert who glanced at its contents. “Seems legit.”
“They look legitimate because these are legal transactions,” Steve said and turned to Jason, “Any other stories you want to share or can my client leave?”
“I got nothing,” Jason said in a defeated tone and looked at Jeff.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Jeff said and stepped out.
“What’s happening?” Carlson asked Jeff.
“We have to let them go. All the transactions are legally documented,” he said.
Carlson nodded, “Tell them that we may call them in the future if needed,”
“Okay,” Jeff said.
“Wait,” Kiara said as he was about to leave.
Carlson looked at her.
“Sir, I can understand they haven’t done anything illegal as far as their business is concerned. But, why are they even carrying the documentation about the cash that Niklas has given to Charles Miller? How did they know that we’ll ask that?” Kiara asked and looked alternately between the two.
“Maybe, Niklas actually knew that you were following him,” Carlson mused.
A streak of anger ran across Kiara’s face, but she controlled herself. “Or, maybe they knew that since Jannik is involved, we’ll be keeping an eye on their movements and hence they have covered all bases in advance. As they say, being forewarned is being forearmed.”
“What are you implying?” Carlson asked.
“I have also observed a few things that no one knows about this case,” Kiara said, “Can I ask a few questions to them?”
Carlson looked at Jeff. “Well, we’re not getting anything out of them. What are we going to lose?” Jeff said.
“Okay, you’ve five minutes,” Carlson agreed reluctantly.
“That would be enough,” Kiara said and looked at Jeff, “Let’s go.”
“Can we leave?” Steve asked as soon as they got inside the interrogation room.
“Mr. Miller, I’m really sorry about the mix-up,” Kiara said with a smile and gave a stare to Jason who took his eyes away from her, “As you know, Jannik Fisher had a brush with law a few years ago, so we were being cautious.”
“You keep dwelling on the past. People change with time. Why can’t you accept that?” Steve said.
“Well, you’re no different than us in that regard,” Kiara said and walked to the middle of the room.
“What do you mean?” Steve asked.
“We called you today, but looks like you’ve been preparing for this meeting for quite some time,” she said and pointed at the file lying on the table, “You have a supporting document for every question we asked.”
“I knew you’ll call them sooner or later. I had to be prepared,” he said.
“I understand that, but you’ve even kept a record of the cash transactions between Mr. Niklas Abele and Mr. Charles Miller. Don’t you think that’s taking it too far?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Charles Miller has a lot of contacts overseas owing to his dual citizenship. That raises some doubts about these transactions. Can I know where he is investing your money?” she asked Niklas.
Niklas hesitated, and Steve noticed that. “It doesn’t matter where he is investing it. The tr
ansactions are legal, and that’s what matters,”
“I was right after all. Charles is helping Niklas send money overseas under the guise of investments,” Kiara said.
“I said everything has been done legally. Why do you keep saying the same thing?” Steve retorted.
“Okay.. let’s take a step back,” she said and looked at Chris Connelly, “Mr. Connelly, you’ve partnered with Jannik Fischer on the restaurant business and he is helping you with the funds for your foundation. So, how does it feel when you see Niklas siphoning off the money from the restaurant into his account?”
“I said no discussions on this,” Steve shouted. “They have their understanding, and they’re fine with it.”
“I know how good that understanding is. I’ve seen him fighting with the restaurant manager over the money Niklas is taking from the restaurant on a daily basis,” Kiara shouted back.
“What?” Chris asked.
“This Tuesday, I was at your restaurant when you had that argument with the manager. Now, I know what you two were arguing about,” she said.
“You don’t have to tell anything to her,” Steve stopped Chris, who was about to say something.
“Does Jannik know about this?” Kiara asked Niklas.
“There is nothing to be told to anyone. Don’t you understand?” Steve shouted.
“Then why were you threatening them yesterday?” she asked him and pointed at Chris and Eva.
“What?” Steve asked, but the anger had evaporated.
“I followed her when she met you yesterday at “The Blue Jasmine” restaurant,” she said and looked at Eva whose face had turned pale, “You still want us to believe that there is nothing more to the transactions between Niklas and Charles?”
“You don’t know anything,” Chris said.
“Oh.. I don’t?” Kiara asked, “Then, what were you doing at his house? And, you came within twenty minutes of his call; those papers must be really important to you.”
“You met him?” Eva spoke for the first time. “But, you said you were supporting me in this.”
“They met just after the meeting between you and Mr. Miller,” Kiara added.
“Is she right?” Eva shouted.
“We can discuss this later,” Steve intervened.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Eva retorted, “I thought you had changed, but Dad was right. You’re still the same evil brother of mine.” She said to Chris, who didn’t know how to respond to it.
Eva began to sob. Niklas pressed her hand.
“What’s happening?” Robert asked.
Kiara too was stumped by the sudden shift in the whole scenario. She looked at Chris, who had guilt written all over his face.
“I knew there was something wrong the way they were projecting themselves,” Jason smirked while looking at Jeff.
Steve was about to say something when Kiara stopped him. “This is their family matter. Have you found anything incriminating against them beyond your theories?” she asked Jason.
“Well….”Jason was taken off-guard by Kiara’s question.
She turned to Steve. “I think this meeting is over. You and your client can leave. By now, you must be aware that anyone dealing with Jannik Fisher would be a person of interest for us. You can call it discrimination, but we can’t take any chances.” She said and turned to Eva, “I’m sorry to have brought your personal matters into this discussion. Though, I don’t know the reason of this whole dispute between you and your brother, but if it’s of any solace, your brother didn’t accept his proposal. In fact, he went to meet you right after meeting Steve, and I guess he took you to the Park Plaza hotel to settle the things with Niklas.”
Eva wiped her tears and looked at Chris. “Really?” Chris nodded.
“You know it’s not your call,” Steve reminded them. “Edward isn’t happy about it.”
“If it doesn’t concern us, you can discuss it at home,” Kiara interjected before Chris could’ve said anything.
Steve nodded. “You’re right. Let’s go.” He said and got up. Chris, Eva, and Niklas too got up.
Kiara stepped out and walked to Carlson, who wasn’t sure of his feelings right now. He looked at Kiara. “You think she is leaving the country with Niklas?”
Kiara nodded, “I believe Edward Connelly doesn’t trust his son, and that’s why he made Eva the head of the board. If she leaves the country, the board would want to have a new person heading it, and Chris isn’t going to be that person. I guess Chris is putting pressure on her to sign some legal documents that will give him that power. And, Edward won’t let Eva resign if Chris gets the power after she leaves. He is using Steve to put pressure on both. But, Chris seems to have changed his mind now, so we can’t say anything right now.
Niklas was taking Charles’s help in transferring a large amount of money out of the country, so that, he and Eva can live comfortably after leaving the country. Jannik must be unhappy about that, hence, the argument between Niklas and the restaurant manager that day.
These are all guesses. The real picture will become apparent once she leaves, and the media covers it.”
“Looks reasonable to me,” Carlson said, “But, we’ve to keep an eye on Jannik.”
“Yes, and after this interrogation, I don’t think he’ll make any mistake of going against the law. He may even pull out of the business.”
“We’ll see,” Carlson said and smiled, “You saved the day,”
“Yeah,” Kiara said tersely, “So, Jake and I are back together now?”
“I’ve to think about that,” Carlson said, “Not an easy decision to make.”
“They left?” Jason interrupted the discussion.
“About that,” Carlson said, “I think you need to shadow a few more cases before you get inside the interrogation room again.”
“What?” Jason wasn’t able to believe Carlson’s words. He looked at Jeff and Robert, who had just joined them.
“We’re also of the same opinion,” Jeff said while looking at Robert, who nodded.
“I can work with you. Right?” Jason asked Kiara.
“I don’t think so,” Kiara said and looked at Carlson.
“Yeah, I’m planning to get her back with her old partner,” he said and looked at Kiara, “It’s not final yet.”
“I understand, sir,” Kiara said with a smile.
“Very well, then,” Carlson said and left. Jeff and Robert went to the cafeteria while Kiara walked to her desk.
“Come on,” Jason said in frustration looking at all of them.
Kiara smiled and called Jake.
“Hey,” Jake said. “Good Morning,”
“Still in bed?” she asked.
“Yeah, and not planning to leave it for another couple of hours,” he replied in a groggy voice.
“What time you got back home?” she asked.
“Can’t remember,” he said and paused, “You solved your case?”
“It was a wild goose chase. Anyhow, I called you for something else,” she said, “I spoke with Carlson. He may reassign us as partners soon.”
“That’s awesome,” Jake said, “I can’t sleep after such an exciting news. We need to celebrate this. What are you doing on the weekend?”
“I’ve something planned,” she said in a low voice. “Going out of the town.”
“Where?”
“Leave that… so, where did you party yesterday?”
“Wait a minute. You’re avoiding my question. Oh my God!” Jake exclaimed, “You’re accompanying Bob to his cousin’s wedding.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Kiara said sheepishly.
“You’re his date?” Jake chuckled.” I knew if he was working late on my case, he was definitely going to ask a favor from you. This news has made my day.”
“I’m disconnecting,” Kiara warned.
“You can disconnect the phone, but you’ve to see me in the office,” Jake said and paused. “Okay, enough with this… have
fun at the wedding and stay away from Bob.”
“Sure,” Kiara said ruefully, “The last few days have been stressful. I hope the wedding helps in forgetting some of it.”
“It’ll, only if you stay away from Bob,” Jake said.
“I heard the first time,” Kiara said.
“Okay… On a different note, Ryan is at his folks place, and he has decided that he will forget everything and come back as soon as possible. Carlson has also decided to keep him away from live cases for some time.”
“That’s great to hear,” Kiara replied.
“So, see you on Monday,” Jake said, “Have a nice weekend,”
“You too,” Kiara said, “Bye.”
“Bye,” Jake said and disconnected.
Kiara put the phone in her bag, and as she looked around the office floor, her eyes met with Bob’s gaze. He gave a beaming smile. Kiara forced a smile, thinking what was going to be worse: going to the wedding with Bob or hearing the endless jokes about that from Jake.
-The End-
Other books by the author
“Perfect Crime” Excerpt
When the wife of the Managing Director of a leading financial institution goes missing, and police don't find any clues; the whole suspicion is drawn towards the husband. Suddenly, a ransom call is made from overseas derailing the investigation and bringing all the family members under suspicion.
As Agent Kiara Davenport and Agent Jake Carter investigate it further, they find that the case is not just about the ransom.
Everyone is a suspect, including Special Agent in Charge Carlson.
Will Kiara and Jake find who is behind all the mayhem and that too when their boss could be the one behind it?
CHAPTER 1
“This is my daughter.” The old woman passed the photograph, her long, white fingers shaking with nervousness.
Karl Bennett’s face turned pale as he recognized the face in the photograph.
“Mrs. Campbell, you understand that this is a high profile case, and the police won’t like any interference,” he said while adjusting his glasses.
“They are almost done with their investigation and are most likely going to conclude it as a missing case,” Mrs. Campbell replied at once while sobbing gently.
Davenport Mysteries 04-Loose Ends Page 22