“Listen.”
There was a low humming noise coming from up ahead.
“If I’m correct, they also keep the university’s computer servers here.”
“So?”
“So that’s why they have the security guard stationed here. That equipment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. There’s no way we are getting through that guard.”
Hyder hoped his reasoning might dissuade her. “I’ll be back,” Jessica replied instead.
She disappeared up the stairs before Hyder could say another word.
All alone, Hyder began to sweat. He was certain the guard couldn’t see him from where he was standing, but that didn’t alleviate his unease.
Ten minutes passed with no sign of Jessica. Hyder thought about going up but decided to stay put.
What if she showed up and he wasn’t there? This would really ruin their plan.
He then heard a noise. It sounded like it had come from an elevator.
He peeked around the corner and spotted… Jessica!
She was pushing a metal cart with a large brown box on top of it.
She said something to guard, who eyed her suspiciously. The guard then took her around the corner.
Two minutes later the guard returned to his spot, but there was no sign of Jessica.
Beads of sweat rolled down Hyder’s temples. His glasses slid down his nose and he pushed them up.
Every minute he didn’t see Jessica his heart pounded harder and harder. It was pounding so hard that he felt it might alert the guard.
Thirty agonizing minutes later Jessica appeared from around the corner. She was still pushing the cart with the box on top.
She spoke a few words with the guard, who smiled at her. She went inside the elevator.
Hyder leaped up the stairs and found her on the main floor.
“Grab the box,” she quickly said.
Hyder did. It was heavy.
As they were racing out of the engineering building, Hyder asked, “What just happened?”
“I found the metal cart and the empty box in one of the offices,” she said. “I told the guard I had come from the Registrar’s Office to drop off records. The guard asked for my ID and I made it look like I had forgotten it back at my desk. There was no way I was going to push this cart all the way to the other building. The guard cut me some slack and let me go inside the storage room. I also told him I had to bring back some old records. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find my dad’s file. It is super thick. It’ll take us forever to find what we are looking for.”
Hyder didn’t care. He was just happy that they now had it.
TWENTY-NINE
On the way back Hyder decided to stop off at the Daily Times.
He had received a call from Veronica. Dunny was looking for him.
Hyder told Jessica they’d have to take a detour.
He found Veronica in her cubicle.
“What’s going on?” he asked her.
“There was a board meeting this morning and it looks like the higher-ups are coming down hard on the newspaper,” Veronica told him. “The Daily Times has been losing money for some time now and we always thought we could turn it around. Doesn’t look like it’s happening fast enough. They want us to trim our budget and guess who came down to our floor to speak to all the editors?”
“Mr. Kroft?” Hyder took a guess.
“You got it.”
John Kroft, Jr. was the owner and publisher of the Daily Times. His family had run the newspaper for two generations now. Mr. Kroft’s father, John Kroft Sr., had started the paper from his home. It was told that one of the bedrooms in the house was used by reporters to type up their stories, whereas the living room was converted into an editorial room, and the basement was devoted to printing the editions. Kroft Sr.’s wife was the managing editor at the fledgling paper. But she did more than what her title had stated. She was also the secretary and handled sales. Kroft Sr. was the publisher, but he was also the chief editor and focused on distribution. There were times where he even substituted as a photographer when it was required.
Young John Jr. started at the family paper working as a delivery boy. Along with his older sister, he spent most of his childhood there. As he grew up, he took more responsibilities, working all the way up to becoming publisher once his father died. His sister, after getting married, had already begun to extract herself from the paper. She was satisfied with John Jr. running it. She did, however, still own a portion of it.
Once John took command, he began buying out the competition. It was a risky move, but one that paid off handsomely. He consolidated all the sales and distribution under one roof. This allowed him to cut expenses and make the paper profitable. Soon the Daily Times had become the largest paper in the city. At one point, over half the citizens of Franklin had subscribed to the paper.
But times had changed. More and more readers had chosen to get their news over the internet. Subscriptions were going down along with the ad revenues. The paper was no longer profitable.
It was inevitable that one day the boss would come down and heads would roll. The only question was: whose?
“You think Dunny will fire me?” Hyder said.
Veronica gave a weak shrug. “I don’t know, Hyder. But if I were you I’d make myself valuable.”
“How?”
“Do you have any stories Dunny could print?”
Hyder suddenly thought of Jessica. She was waiting for him downstairs.
“I think I’ve got one.”
Hyder found Dunny behind her desk.
“Hyder, sit down,” she said.
“Before you say anything,” Hyder jumped in. “I have something to tell you.”
Dunny dropped what she was doing. “I’m listening.”
Hyder spent the next twenty minutes telling Dunny everything that had happened to him and Jessica thus far. He even showed her the torn pages he had received from Freeland as proof.
When he was done, he waited for her to respond.
She stood up and went to the window.
She tapped her fingernails on the glass. “This could be very big, Hyder. If what you are telling me is true then we could have a very large corporation involved in murder.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you can handle a story this size?” she asked. “I can get someone to partner with you.”
Hyder felt like this was the break he had been waiting for. He also didn’t want another reporter hijacking his story. “I can do this.”
Dunny thought about it.
“Okay, but keep me updated.”
THIRTY
Instead of going to Jessica’s apartment, they decided to go to Hyder’s home.
On the way to his house, Hyder wasn’t sure how he would break it to his mom that he was bringing a girl home.
He knew the reason why, of course. Someone was watching Jessica’s apartment. It wasn’t safe taking the student list there. But, how did he tell his mom that?
He parked the car and checked the time.
His mom was still at work. Mrs. Fatima Ali worked as a librarian, which meant she returned home whenever the library closed. Today, she would return later.
He wondered if his brother was in.
The house looked dark. He hoped it was empty.
Hyder’s brother was very traditional, even though he was born in America. His fiancé had only come once to his house and that was when she came with her family. If his brother found out he had a girl in his house he would have a fit.
Hyder would deal with him when the time came.
He grabbed the box that contained the documents from the university and escorted Jessica inside.
“It’s nice,” Jessica said, examining the interior of the house.
“Thanks. It’s small, though,” he replied, slightly embarrassed by the size of his home.
“I like it, it’s cozy.”
“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.
&nbs
p; “I’m fine. Thanks,” she said.
“You must have something,” he said. “In our religion, we are taught to be hospitable towards our guests. Plus, if my mom found out I didn’t give you anything she would be very upset. Trust me.”
“What do you have?”
“Nothing alcoholic, I’m afraid.”
She smiled. “I know. Your religion forbids it.”
He nodded. “How about tea, coffee, juice, pop? I think we even have ice cream.”
“I’ll keep ice cream for later. Juice is fine.”
He stuck his head in the fridge. “Apple or orange?”
“Boy, you ask a lot of questions.”
Hyder was nervous. It wasn’t every day a girl was in his house. “Sorry.”
“Apple is fine.”
Jessica walked over to a TV stand. She picked up a small picture frame. The photo inside the frame was black and white. A man with thick hair, dark eyes and a thin mustache was smiling brightly at the camera.
“Who is he?” Jessica asked when Hyder returned with her drink.
“That’s my dad,” he said.
“Does he live with you?”
He shook his head. “He died when I was very young.
“Oh my God,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. It was a long time ago.”
“What was his name?”
“Karim Ali.”
“I can see where you got your good looks,” she said, trying to brighten up the mood.
Hyder smiled, handed her the apple juice.
“We should start looking at those records,” he said. “It’s going to take us quite a long time to go through them.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The front door opened. Mrs. Ali walked in with plastic bags in each of her hands.
“Assalamu alaikum,” she said with a smile. She then saw Jessica standing in the living room and nearly dropped the bags.
Hyder quickly grabbed the bags and escorted his mother into the kitchen.
“What is a girl doing in our house, Hyder?” Mrs. Ali asked.
“She’s a friend.”
“Just a friend?” Mrs. Ali eyed him.
“Ami, she’s not my girlfriend, if that’s what you mean.”
“What’s her name?”
“Jessica.”
“Is she Christian?”
“Why is that important?”
“Answer me, Hyder.”
“She’s Jewish.”
“Jewish?!” Mrs. Ali’s eyes went wide.
“Ami,” Hyder started. “There is nothing wrong with people who are Jewish.”
“I never said that,” she said, shaking her finger. “Our neighbor, Mrs. Cohen, she’s Jewish, and she’s lovely. But you couldn’t find a nice Muslim girl to be friends with?”
“It’s not like that, and Islam allows marriage to people of the book, which are Jews and Christians.” He was aware that she knew this better than anyone, but like most traditional mothers they preferred their children marry within their own faith. Hyder shook his head. “Why am I even arguing with you about this? There is nothing between Jessica and me. I’m helping her.”
His mom looked at him, suspiciously. “How are you helping her?”
Hyder proceeded to explain who her father was and what happened to him.
When he finished she put her hand over her mouth, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji un.” (Surely we belong to God and to Him we shall return.) It was a verse from the Holy Quran that was recited by Muslims upon hearing of a death. “That poor girl, I had no idea,” his mother said. “I had heard you mention Professor Freeland many times. Didn’t we meet him at your convocation?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Let me go and hug that poor child.” With that she was gone.
Hyder went over to the sink and filled a glass with water. He gulped it down. Mothers, he thought. They are so emotional. One minute they are berating you and the next minute they are cuddling you. Go figure.
He went out and found his mom sitting next to Jessica.
“Are you hungry?” his mom said to her. “You are staying for dinner, right?”
Jessica looked over at Hyder as if to say, Am I?
“Yes, mom, but we have a lot of work to do first.”
THIRTY-ONE
Nolan woke up in a cold sweat. He pulled off the bed sheet and sat on the edge of the bed.
He rested his face in his palms but refused to shut his eyes.
The incident had appeared to him again. Like many times before, it had come in the form of a nightmare.
He reached across and grabbed a bottle. He didn’t care what was inside it, only that there was enough of it to soothe his pain.
He took a swig and felt the liquid burn the back of his throat and numb his mind.
Whenever he did not know how to cope, he reached for it. He had come to rely on it. It was now his best friend, a friend that was both helping and killing him.
He threw the bottle across the room. He got up and went for his gun. He cocked the hammer and placed the muzzle in his mouth.
All he had to do was pull the trigger to end his suffering.
His hand began to tremble and he began to sob. Hot tears covered his entire face.
He felt like a coward for not going through with it. He had tried to commit suicide many times before, but in the end, he didn’t have the guts to go through with it.
He dropped the gun and curled up into a ball.
The pain was a constant reminder of what he had lost. It had seeped through every cell of his body, leaving him a shell of his former self.
He thought about his life and what it had become after the tragic event. It definitely wouldn’t have involved him crying on his bedroom floor.
He lifted himself up and slowly went over to the dresser. Women’s make-up and jewelry were neatly placed on top of it as if it had not been touched in over a year. It hadn’t.
In the middle was a small box. On top of it were two rings. One belonged to him and the other to his wife.
Simone Helen Nolan was not even thirty when her car was involved in a horrific crash on the freeway. Her SUV had slammed into an oncoming truck, after the truck had been involved in a collision with another vehicle.
She was five months pregnant.
Nolan kissed her ring and held it tight in his hand.
The tighter he held it the more he felt like he was holding her.
But this was not true. She was gone, leaving behind this object that was once a sign of their love.
Nolan remembered what he was doing when he had found out.
He was in bed, the same bed he had just woken up in.
It was early morning and he was fast asleep when he received the call. Simone was on her way to work when the accident had happened.
She worked at the department of social services. A job she loved and was devoted to. But more than that, she was looking forward to taking time off. She wanted to spend it with their daughter.
Once they had found out it would be a girl they had started work on a nursery. They had already painted the walls pink and were in the process of filling it with furniture. They were even supposed to go shopping for baby clothes on the day of the accident.
Now the nursery, along with the furniture, lay covered in dust.
Nolan didn’t have the heart to go in there. It brought back too many memories of what could have been.
When he had received the call he didn’t believe it at first. They were lying, he had told them. They probably mistook him for someone else. But they confirmed his name and address.
The drive to the accident scene was a blur. He couldn’t remember much of it and was glad for it. He was probably in shock. He kept telling himself that this didn’t happen to people like him, it happened to others.
But it did happen and it changed his life for the worse.
When he reached his destination, what he saw was forever etched in his memory.
&nbs
p; The SUV had been crushed from the front end. There was zero possibility the driver inside could have survived.
Nolan was asked to identify the victim.
He wished he didn’t have to. It was his wife, and she was dead.
From that moment on, Tom Nolan had stopped wanting to live anymore. There was no point to his life.
While he didn’t have the courage to end it, he wished the alcohol or someone else would.
THIRTY-TWO
Jessica left her apartment with a mission on her mind.
The previous night she and Hyder had spent several hours in his basement going over the student records taken from the university. They had started from the earliest years and worked forward.
Her dad had taught for almost twenty years, which meant there were thousands of students who were in his class.
Luckily, for Hyder and Jessica knew who they were searching for. They focused their efforts on students with the initials JVL.
The letters J and L was very common, but not the middle letter V.
They then conducted a search online to see if any of the people with those initials were still living in the city. This narrowed their search to seven names:
James Vincent Lowry
Jennifer Valerie Little
Janice Voila Landon
Jonathan Vess Lanham
Jasmine Vicky Johnson
Jacob Volker Lett
James Vander Lee
Jessica had taken the first three names on the list while Hyder took the remaining ones. Jessica wasn’t sure what to expect when she met them. Would they deny ever knowing who her father was? Would they even be the person they were looking in the first place? And, would they be willing to go on record to prove there was a conspiracy that included murder?
There were a lot of ‘ifs’ but she had no choice. She had to forge ahead. She had to prove—at least to herself—that her dad’s death was not in vain.
Someone had killed her dad because her dad was close to finding out the truth. What was this truth?
It was up to Jessica to find out.
Hyder and Jessica had at first thought to call the names on the list, but soon they decided against it. What if the person they were looking for refused to even answer their call? Even if they did, Hyder and Jessica would never know if they were telling the truth. The best approach was to meet them face to face. They could decipher from their body movements whether they were being honest or not.
The Silent Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #1) Page 8