by Cindy Bell
“I haven’t heard from him.” She sighed. “But, I have an idea of where he might be.”
“Oh?”
“I think he might have been after Clive Hiller. He thought he was on to something. I don’t know for sure if he went to speak to him and maybe see if he could take a look around his house, but he mentioned that he wanted to.”
Samantha’s heart sank as she recalled Jo’s refusal to break into Hiller’s place. Would Walt really have gone off on his own to do that?
“If you hear from him, please let me know. I’m very concerned about him.”
“I will.”
Samantha hung up the phone just as she heard a knock on the door. She rushed over and opened it to find both Eddy and Jo on the doorstep.
“I think we have a big problem.”
“What is it?” Eddy frowned. “Did you hear from Walt?”
“No, but I did call Madeline. She thinks he might have tried to speak to Hiller and try to see if he could find any evidence. I think that maybe he even tried to break in, since we refused to.”
“Walt.” Eddy groaned.
“What is he thinking?” Jo shook her head.
“He’s thinking that he wants to solve the case. Let’s just hope that he has his phone turned off for that reason, and not because he’s been harmed in any way,” Samantha said.
“What are we going to do?” Eddy lifted his hat and ran his hand back across his head. “We don’t even know if he really went after Hiller.”
“I know one thing we can do. We’ll go to Hiller’s place and I’ll break in if necessary. If Walt was there, I’ll know it,” Jo said.
“But Jo you said…”
“I know what I said, and now things are different. Walt’s life might be at stake. I’m willing to risk whatever I have to, to find him.”
“Let’s go.” Eddy nodded.
Chapter Nineteen
Jo fiddled with the window. It was harder to get into Hiller’s than she had anticipated. However, with a little patience and a good tool she was able to break through the lock on the window without setting off the alarm. Once she had the window open she slid inside. As soon as her feet touched the floor she raced for the alarm to shut it off. However, when she reached the panel by the door she was surprised to see that it was already off. Had Walt turned it off or was someone home in the Hiller residence?
Jo flattened herself against the wall and edged along the hallway until she reached another room that had its door open. It looked like a study. Inside she saw a tray with glasses on it. One looked like it had recently been used. She knew that Walt wasn’t one to partake, especially while breaking into a house. Someone was there, recently. Did they find Walt? Or was Walt scared off? She gritted her teeth as she reminded herself that she had no idea if Walt had ever even been there.
As Jo started to walk through the room she noticed that a corner of the rug was curled up. The closet door hung open. From the indentations on the rug it looked as if the couch had been shoved a little. Her heart sank as she realized that there had been an altercation in the room. When she saw a pack of antibacterial wipes on the floor near the closet her heartbeat quickened. That meant that Walt had been there, and since he hadn’t called any of them, it was likely that someone did something to harm him. Jo rushed to search the rest of the house for clues as to where he might be, but before she could get anywhere her phone buzzed with a text from Samantha.
Hiller is in the driveway.
Jo’s throat tightened. There wasn’t time to hide, she had to make a bold escape. In the middle of the hallway there was only one place to escape through, a door that led out to the garage. She hurried through it and closed the door behind her. As she drew in a heavy breath to calm herself, she noticed that the garage was empty. On the concrete floor was a stain that was still wet. A car had been there recently. She crept closer to the stain. Jo stared at it. A moment later she slipped through the garage door that led outside. When she joined Samantha at the car she was out of breath.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more warning, Jo, Hiller came out of nowhere.”
“Don’t worry about that. We need to find Walt. Someone took him.”
“What? Do you know that for sure?”
“I can’t be positive, but there was a fight inside of that house, and a car recently left that garage. I also saw antibacterial wipes on the floor in the area where it looks like there was a fight. I don’t know for certain, but I have a very strong feeling that whoever was here took Walt.”
“Was there any sign of injury?” Samantha held her breath.
“Not that I saw. But you know Walt would have put up a fight if anyone touched him.”
“Yes.” Samantha frowned. “We need to get the police involved.”
“Why?” Eddy walked up to them. “What did you find?”
“It’s what she didn’t find. Walt is gone, and Jo thinks someone took him.”
“Who? It couldn’t be Hiller, he just arrived.”
“Unless he’s left him somewhere. I don’t know who else it could be.” Jo frowned. “How can we even begin to look for him if we have no idea who took him?”
Samantha grimaced. Then she glanced at the road in front of Hiller’s house. Across the street was a mansion with several cameras pointed at the front door and street.
“I think I know how we can find out. Jo, are you up for one more break-in?”
Jo nodded. “Anything for Walt.”
“Even a mansion with security cameras and eight foot high walls?” She pointed to the camera.
“Oh.” Jo smirked. “My specialty.”
“Enough of that.” Eddy shook his head. “I can’t allow this. That’s too big of a risk.”
Just as Jo opened her mouth to protest against his declaration, the sound of police sirens filled the air.
“See?” Eddy narrowed his eyes and ushered them both out of view before the police car squealed to a stop. Clive Hiller walked out of the house and met the officer at the end of the driveway.
“I don’t know what happened, but when I arrived my alarm was off, it looks like there’s been a scuffle inside, things are out of place.”
“Someone broke in?”
“It seems that way, but I don’t see how. There are no broken windows and the doors weren’t forced open.”
“Did anyone else have a key or access to your security system?” The officer asked.
Clive shook his head, then frowned.
“Actually, yes. I gave a key and the code to one of my employees earlier today. I asked him to stop off and get some records from my home office.”
“What’s this employee’s name?”
“Hilly, sorry I mean Chad Hillwick. Actually, he manages one of my smaller companies.” Samantha’s eyes widened. Hilly was the person asking about Kent.
“Do you have any reason to suspect he’s responsible for this?”
“Maybe he just had a hard time finding the files, and made a mess looking for them. I guess he forgot to turn the alarm back on. I’m sorry, officer. I think I may have wasted your time.”
“Why don’t you give him a call, just to be sure?”
“Good idea.” He pulled out his phone. As the officer waited he dialed the number. After a few seconds he shook his head. “He’s not answering.”
“Well, then we can’t be sure what happened here. I’ll get some crime techs to look the place over if you’d like.”
“Do you think it’s really necessary?”
“Yes I do. Do you trust this Chad?”
“Sure. I guess.” He shrugged. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Well, it’s still better to be safe.”
“All right, that’s fine. I’ll keep trying to reach him.” He put his phone back to his ear.
Samantha tugged on Eddy’s arm.
“I know that name, Eddy. He was on Jimmy’s baseball team. He’s an ex-employee. That must be who he’s with.”
“Yes,
Walt asked me to ask Chris about him, but we crossed him off the suspect list because he has an alibi.” Eddy grimaced. “He was at the baseball dinner with Jimmy.”
“The bartender also said a man named Hilly was asking about Kent, too. I thought that maybe it was Clive Hiller, but maybe it was Chad. He might have been trying to find out when Kent went to the bar or if Kent actually saw anything the night of the murder.”
“It’s the best lead we have,” Eddy replied.
“Maybe I can find out some information about him.” Samantha pulled out her phone.
“No, that’s going to take too long. Let me call Chris.” Eddy dialed the number before Samantha even had a chance to object. “Chris?”
“Eddy, I’m off tonight. My one night off, in about ten days.”
“Chris, I need a favor.”
“Yes, I know that, Eddy. I know that every time you call me.”
“Chris, I’m serious. This could be life or death.” Eddy scowled.
“What is it?”
“I need you to find out what kind of car Chad Hillwick drives and his plates.”
“Okay. Give me a minute.”
“I thought you had the night off?”
“Like I ever take a night off when you’re concerned, Eddy.”
Eddy smiled. “That’s what I like about you, Chris.”
“No, you like all of the favors I do for you. Like this one. I’ll text you the details. Why do you need the info?”
“I think he has Walt.”
“What do you mean has him?”
“I think he’s the murderer. I don’t have time to explain now, Chris, but I need you to pull some strings and get a bolo out for this car.”
“Eddy. I don’t know.”
“Chris, I know it’s asking a lot. I wouldn’t ask, but it’s Walt.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do, I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t. Can you let me know if anyone spots the car?”
“Yes, I’ll text you any locations.”
“Thank you, Chris. I owe you one.”
“You owe me like three hundred. I’m still waiting on that steak dinner. Now, go find Walt.”
Chris hung up the phone. Eddy turned to face Samantha and Jo.
“I have the details.” Eddy flashed the screen of his phone towards them. “I don’t know what else we can do right now. We have no way to find him until someone spots the car.”
“I might have a way.” Jo pulled out her phone and took Eddy’s phone from him. She stepped away from Eddy and Samantha. After a few rings the line picked up. “I only have a minute. I need your help.”
“Where were you when I needed you?” Jo immediately recognized the deep male voice.
“I was in jail.”
“As if that’s an excuse.”
“It kind of is. But I don’t have time to argue with you right now. You owe me, and I’m calling in the favor.”
“I owe you.” His voice darkened, then he sighed. “All right fine. But this is it. What do you want?”
“I need you to locate this car, and fast.” She rattled off the plate number of Chad’s car.
“It’s only going to work if the car has GPS.”
“I’m sure it does. It’s a new model.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Ben, I need this as soon as possible. A friend’s life is at risk.”
“So, now you have friends?’
“Are you going to help me out or not?”
“I didn’t say no did I? Stay by your phone.”
Jo frowned and tucked the phone back into her pocket. She turned back to find Samantha and Eddy closer than she expected. She handed Eddy back his phone.
“Who was that?” Eddy raised an eyebrow.
“Someone who can find the car.”
“How?” Samantha queried.
“Does it really matter right now?” Jo looked between the two of them. “I was about to break into a mansion, I don’t think we can rule out using illegal methods, do you?”
Eddy grimaced. “I can’t believe that I let this happen. If Chad has Walt, he only has one thing in mind. We might already be too late.”
“Don’t say that.” Samantha glared at him. “Don’t even think it. Walt is the smartest man I know, he will find a way to keep himself alive. He knows we’re coming for him.”
“Does he?” Eddy shook his head. “I doubt it.”
“He knows.” Jo crossed her arms. Her phone rang. She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear just in time to hear an address before the line cut off. “Eddy, call one of your police contacts and give him this address, I have a feeling we’re going to need back-up.”
Chapter Twenty
The car lurched to a stop. Walt stared at the trunk above him. These were his final moments. He’d spent most of his life believing that if there was a problem there always had to be a solution. However, he couldn’t find a solution to this problem. The trunk popped open and Chad reached inside. He clamped a hand over Walt’s mouth, then wrapped his arm around his body. He jerked Walt out of the trunk and tossed him down on the ground in front of him.
“Help!” The shout that tore out of Walt was so rough and loud that his chest ached in reaction to it.
“Scream all you want. No one is going to hear you. Take a look.” He pointed a finger over Walt’s shoulder. Walt looked to see that he was crouched on his knees right in front of a huge landfill.
“Oh no, no, no.” Walt tried to stand up. Chad kicked the backs of his knees. When he crashed back to the ground Walt tried not to touch the trash littered dirt, but he had no choice. Chad sighed and kicked dirt in Walt’s direction.
“Stop whining.”
“Not here, please, anywhere but here.”
“Trust me, in a few minutes you won’t care where you are, Walt.” Chad pulled on gloves and looked over at Walt. “Just take it easy, all right?”
“Chad, this doesn’t have to happen. Just think it through.”
“That’s the problem. I have no choice. There’s no way I’m spending the rest of my life in jail, over a peon like you.”
“It was you all the time, wasn’t it?” Walt glared at him.
“What?” Chad raised an eyebrow.
“There’s no point in pretending now. I know it was you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“When I first worked for Magnus I pointed out a flaw in his financial system. He never figured out who was responsible for it but it was you, wasn’t it? You left before he found out it was you? That’s why Hiller eventually gave you your own company, because you told him about the weak points in Magnus’ system and you stole for him by altering the computer program so it gave his company discounts.”
“You’re a smart one, you know that? Too bad Magnus wasn’t as smart as you. Back then, Clive treated me like a son. When I came to him with a way to get back at Magnus over some silly spat they had, he loved the idea. All it took was a little tweak in the computer system and voila, discounts on how much he had to repay for Hiller Brothers as well as a few other companies to avoid suspicion.”
“Is that why Magnus refused to work with Hiller Maximum?”
“Magnus was clueless. He refused to work with me because he wanted to steal the company out from under me. But that didn’t work out for him either, because I got Jimmy on my side, and Jimmy worked with me privately. He gave me all the connections to finance the company that I needed. I was always in charge of Hiller’s accounts and so Hiller thought I was making the repayments to Magnus.”
“But you didn’t. You saw a chance to steal from Hiller.”
“He stole from me first. The entire time he profited from the tweak on Magnus’ financial program, he never once gave me a dime. So, I took the opportunity to get what was owed to me. I was meant to pay off the account for Hiller Brothers each month but I didn’t. I just pocketed the money and let Hiller Brothers go into the red.”
&n
bsp; “But then things went south right? You knew Magnus would confront Hiller about his debt soon enough.”
“Not if I eliminated it. Then no one would ever know.”
“But Magnus caught you.”
“Apparently, after you pointed out to him all those years ago that someone stole from him he got a little more paranoid. He installed a security system on his computers that alerted him if anything strange occurred. Since I logged in with your old login details, I guess that flagged it as a problem.”
“So, the whole reason I’m involved in all of this is because of you? Were you trying to frame me?”
“Oh please. You’re not that important, Walt. I needed employee details to get into the computer. I didn’t want to use Jimmy’s, even though I stole his keycard from him at the baseball dinner to get in the building. I was worried that if I used Jimmy’s details or my old details it could get traced back to me. Lucky for me Magnus never updates anything, so your employee details were still active, and it got me into the system just fine.”
“That’s why he wrote down my name and Hiller Brothers’ client number. But how could you have been at the dinner and killing Magnus at the same time?”
“I managed to slip out for a while. No one noticed. The only problem was I was delayed because I had to kill Magnus so I wasn’t able to put the card back in Jimmy’s wallet in time. If I did he would never have known that his card was missing.”
“Why didn’t Magnus write down your name?” Walt asked.
“He didn’t even know it was me.” Chad shrugged. “I heard him enter the office so I hid. When he walked up to look at the computer I hit him from behind.”
Walt shook his head. “All for money.”
“No, it’s for much more than that. If Magnus found out I was stealing, then Jimmy would find out, and so would Hiller. Any one of them would have ruined me for much less. I had no intention of killing anyone, but Magnus just had to be paranoid, and really when you think about it, this is all your fault.”
“Mine?” Walt’s eyes widened. “How do you figure that?”
“If you had left it alone all those years ago, Magnus never would have realized that he had a thief in his midst, and he never would have installed the security program that alerted him and brought him to his death. I guess you could say, that this balances the books, doesn’t it?” He smirked and pulled out a gun. “Now, I’d rather this wasn’t messy. Have some dignity, old man.”