by V S Vashist
Uncle Phil, on the other hand, was on a mission. Nothing could deter him.
"So, where were we?" he said and paused as Jake took a sharp turn.
"Right, as the Robert family was moving out of the state, they happened to stop at Chesterfield for lunch. Noel overheard people discussing about how Titus was trying to sell the land for years but without luck. Noel saw an opportunity and thought of meeting Titus with a proposal. He offered to work on the land and in return give half of the produce to the Barker family. Titus laughed at him, but Noel insisted. Titus called his two sons - James and Ryan and discussed the proposal with them. James was against it as he knew it was going to be a futile exercise and people were going to make fun of their attempt. Already, their inability to sell the land was a popular discussion topic amongst the townsfolk. Ryan, however, smelled an opportunity. He had always lived under his elder brother's shadow. If he could prove James wrong, he could make a name for himself. He convinced his father that Noel had good credentials and there was nothing to lose as the land was not giving anything to them. Also, he told his father about the condition in which the Robert family was living."
With that, Uncle Phil turned towards Jake, "What do you think the father did?"
"What?" Jake replied. "He ….he agreed to the younger son's plan."
"That's right," Uncle Phil smiled, "Isn't the story really exciting?"
"It sure is…to a ten year old," Jake said in a low voice. With that, he gestured towards his watch.
"All right… I will not keep you hanging," Uncle Phil said while rubbing his hands. "Listen to this part carefully."
"Titus agreed to Ryan's suggestion but on one condition - Noel had to show results within one year. Everyone agreed to it, including Ryan. Noel was happy that he had a chance to start afresh, but after looking at the land, even his enthusiasm evaporated. The condition of the land meant that no one could work on it bare handed. He could not go back to Titus either for money. After much speculation, he finally decided to give up and leave Chesterfield. However, he wanted to thank Titus for giving him a chance before leaving. While going back to the Barker Estate, he happened to meet Ryan Barker. After knowing that Noel had given up so early, he decided to help him out. He gave Noel some money to buy the equipment on the condition that no one would ever come to know about it and he could use the equipment only at night. Noel did not want to hide things from Titus but he had no other option. He finally agreed to Ryan's plan. He bought the equipment from a far-off place. And, with the leftover money, he bought a gun for the protection of farm."
"Life would have been so simple if everything went as planned," Uncle Phil said and sipped water from the bottle.
"What?" Jake came out of his thoughts.
"Pay extra attention to the next part. It's where all the action happens," Phil said, looking at an exhausted Jake.
"Seriously? Even more action than what you already described," Jake said with a fake sincerity. "This is one heck of a case."
Uncle Phil was far from understanding sarcasm. Jake's words excited him more. He threw the bottle towards the back seat and gave a warm smile to Jake.
"Ryan was not sure that even with the equipment Noel would be able to do anything as they had already tried everything. However, luck was on their side. It rained more than normal that year and Noel's work on the land helped it soak more water than the unused land could absorb. Within three months, the area started to look greener than anyone had seen in years. People started talking about the transformation. Noel, on his part, used the equipment during the night while pretending to work bare handed during the day. Even Titus was surprised and paid a visit. He was really happy with Noel and told him to live there as long as he wanted."
"Last twenty miles," Jake interrupted one more time.
"Don't worry. We can continue even after reaching the resort," Uncle Phil said. Jake looked at him with surprise. There was nothing that could deter him.
"Ten years went by. Noel Robert had become a legend of sorts. The produce was increasing year after year. He built a house for himself and slowly transformed the area into a sprawling farm - and all this without signing a lease with the Barkers. What more could he have asked for. However, someone was not happy with all of this. Ryan had really high hopes from his plan; but he hadn't gained anything out of it. His stature had decreased within the Barker family instead of increasing as he had thought. He convinced the Barker family that it was the right time to take the land back from Noel. Also, their other businesses were not doing very well. Titus was initially reluctant but they were in need of money and with the success of the farm, the land price had increased manifolds. He summoned Noel and gave him a month's ultimatum to vacate the land. Noel was taken aback. He had thought that everything was fine and he never expected such a thing from Titus. He disagreed and told them to do whatever they wanted to. Finally, the Barkers filed a case. Now it was an open and shut case as they owned the land but fortunately for Noel, the judge was also from Texas. He heard Noel's pleas. Noel insisted that he was the one who singlehandedly made the land so fertile. The Judge agreed that the case was for the Barkers to win but he asked the Barkers to either give Noel some more time or give him some compensation as he was entirely responsible for transforming a barren piece of land into a farm. However, when Ryan told the Judge about how he had helped Noel with the equipment and his argument that he alone was responsible for the transformation was wrong, the Judge had to rule in favor of Barkers. He ruled that both Noel and Barker family were equal party in the makeover of the land and hence Noel can't take the whole credit. He was told to vacate the land in a month's time."
"I am sensing it is not going to end well," Jake said while taking another turn.
"Yeah….three days later, Titus Barker was found murdered in his bedroom. He was shot and ballistics reports matched the bullet to Noel's gun. I was assigned to investigate," Uncle Phil said and paused for a moment, "Now, I want you to become the detective and ask me questions that could lead you to the answers. You can only ask the questions till we reach our destination."
"Okay….What if I prove that this case is the real one? Will I be spared from the rest of the cases?" Jake asked the pertinent question.
"Firstly, you have to find the answer to the case to prove that it is real and secondly, you can't tell me the answer until you have heard all the three cases," Phil said in a stern voice.
Jake took a deep breath, "I am trapped."
"Did you say something? You need to speak up, young man."
"Okay…You took Noel into the custody. He is the only one having a motive to kill Titus," Jake said the first words that came to his mind.
"No, he had an alibi. He was at the local bar the whole night. Ten locals testified that including the bartender."
“Okay…so what about the gun?"
"It was at the same place where he had left it."
"And, the fingerprints?"
"There were three of them - Noel's and his two sons. They used to take it out and play with it sans the bullet." Phil was answering promptly, as if rehearsed.
"Who gives guns to their kids for playing?" Jake said and looked at the dashboard. They were still ten miles from the resort. He had to humor Uncle Phil for some more time. "Who else was at the house at the time of murder?"
"Now you are asking some good questions," Uncle Phil patted on Jake's shoulder, irritating him further.
"The murder happened between 9:30 to 11:30 in the night. James Barker had gone out of town for the day. He came around 12 o' clock in the night. As per him, he went straight to the bed. He showed the train ticket receipt also. Ryan was in the house at the time of murder but as per him he was watching television in his room. He talked about Jeopardy and all the other shows that took place at that time in detail. We even spoke to Titus's daughter - in - laws and his grandchildren, but everyone was in their rooms and nobody heard the sound of a gunshot. Since, Titus used to retire for the day at around 9 o' clock; nobody noticed anything till
the next morning."
"And, there was no forced entry to Titus's room either?" Jake asked.
"He used to keep the windows open for the night during summer. So no need to make any forced entry and since he was sleeping, no signs of any struggle either. The murderer walked inside easily, shot him in his sleep and left as if nothing happened."
"And, to whom was Titus supposed to bequeath his property?"
"He had already divided it equally among his sons even before his death. He was leading a life of retirement. So, no chances of property dispute either. Even the land near the hills was equally divided among James and Ryan," Uncle Phil said with a smile. With each question, his confidence towards Jake's failure was increasing manifold. Jake could sense that. But, failure was what Jake was looking forward to. His plan was to ask standard questions and concede defeat.
"That's our cue," Jake said.
"What?"
"Casa Morada," Jake said while pointing at the sign, "That's the resort - only half a mile from here."
"Wow! We reached so soon," Uncle Phil looked at his watch.
“Yeah...your case made the time fly by," Jake mocked him. "Now, if I could survive just two more minutes."
"Yeah, only two minutes for you to ask any questions that you have?" Uncle Phil was unperturbed.
"Well, I am really dumbfounded. I have asked whatever I had learnt at the academy, "Jake said thoughtfully. "I don't think I will be able to solve it."
"Then you won't have my blessings," Uncle Phil nodded, "All clues are hidden in it. You can think till tomorrow. Come on…show some spirit for Kiara's sake."
"Yeah, I will ruin my weekend on it," Jake mumbled.
"What?"
"We are there," Jake said, pointing at the large gate with Casa Morada written over it in blue and white.
As they entered, a guard pointed towards the extreme end. Jake nodded and crossed the back of the resort towards the parking. The resort was indeed located at a picturesque location as Kiara had pointed out. The hills made a nice background on one side and the sunlight reflecting from the pond on the other side made the blue and white theme of the resort look even brighter.
The parking was in an open area near the kitchen. As Jake parked, he could see the bride's parent inside the kitchen speaking to the chef. As he was about to get out of the car, he happened to notice the back of a woman standing near the chef. She was wearing a jacket over her red floral dress with her hair nicely done in a pony. Jake kept looking at her for a moment, thinking about how to approach her when Uncle Phil came behind him.
"She is not going anywhere. Help me carry my bags," he said.
"No…no... I was just…wait...what?" Jake fumbled and looked back again. Kiara had noticed him and came out of the kitchen. Jake kept looking at her for a moment.
"You look...feminine," he said while looking at her from head to toe.
Uncle Phil punched him on the shoulder making Kiara chuckle, "Is that how you speak to a woman?"
Jake gave a muffled grunt and pulled the bags out of the car.
"How was the drive?" Kiara asked softly.
"We need to talk about this plan of yours," Jake shook his head while closing the back-door. "He is killing me."
"What's taking you so long?" Uncle Phil shouted from the front.
"See you later. Enjoy," Kiara chuckled and left. Jake kept looking at her till she disappeared at the corner.
"Let's go," Uncle Phil said and walked in front of Jake. Jake noticed that he was walking with a slight limp. But, it was not an excuse to not carry your own luggage. Jake looked at the four bags and took a deep breath before pulling all of them together.
Chapter 3
As they walked towards the main entrance, Jake could see that there was no other establishment in the vicinity. He could see the pond till some distance and then large tracts of land till the horizon. Even the hills on the back side of the resort were not far from it. The other side of the resort where he had parked the car had a dense canopy of trees overlooking it.
"How can anyone even find this resort?" he wondered as they walked the steps towards the main hall.
By the time he reached the large Mahogany door, Uncle Phil had already vanished. He thought of leaving his bags outside, but Kiara's instructions made him stop. The door had glass carvings in the center making it difficult to peek inside. However, from the sounds coming from the other end, it was certain that there were at least twenty five people inside. That meant the whole clan had reached before him. He was going to enter alone, making him the center of attention. He cursed the forty miles an hour rule and pushed the door. To his chagrin, the door made more noise than he had expected. Everyone went silent. He looked around to find everyone was staring at him.
Kiara walked towards him, immediately followed by her father and took the bags from him. Everyone went back to their business immediately.
"How was the ride? I hope Phil didn't bother you much," Thomas asked while pushing the bag towards the reception.
Jake could see Uncle Phil staring at him from the corner of his eye.
"Well, he is an interesting man," he said diplomatically.
Thomas knew what he meant. He smiled and looked at Kiara.
"You can leave the bags at the reception. Mr. Crawford…the manager will send them to our room," Kiara said at once.
Jake shook his head and then realized something, "What do you mean by our room?"
"You must be thirsty. Why don't you have something first?" Kiara tried to avoid the question.
Thomas took the cue. "Excuse me, I need to speak to Marsha…about something."
"What's happening?" Jake asked in frustration.
Kiara held his arm and took him behind the stairs. Uncle Phil was keeping an eye on them the whole time adding to Jake's frustration.
"You told your parents that we are not together. Right?" he asked while Kiara gestured him to keep his voice low.
"Aunt Janine… Samantha's mother booked the resort. She has been trying to help my mother in finding a right match for me for years. She saw an opportunity and so…"
"So she put me through this. I hope you were not aware of this before coming here," Jake said and looked at her with question filled eyes.
"Of course not… otherwise I would have told you," Kiara said, avoiding eye contact.
"The whole town is behind my back as if I am going to run away. They are judging me… Putting me in awkward situations," Jake said in exasperation and then remembered something. "Where is Uncle Phil's room?"
"His room is downstairs. He can't take the stairs… He got shot in his hip during the service," Kiara said with a smile.
"Lucky me," Jake said with a forced smile. "So what's the plan now?"
Kiara looked at her watch, "It's five thirty now. Rehearsal dinner is at seven. But we all have to meet at the banquet hall at six thirty. Samantha's mom is going to tell us about how things are going to take place tomorrow and the seating plan, of course."
"Ok," Jake said thoughtfully, "So what are we going to do for the next hour?"
"Let me introduce you to the guests. They have been asking for you since morning," Kiara said.
"Seriously?" Jake raised his brow.
"Come on. They are nice people," Kiara replied.
"Yeah… Who knows better than me?"
"And, besides I will be there to save you," Kiara said with a smile, "A little nice talk goes a long way. They will stop disturbing you once they come to know how nice you are."
"That's again a trap," Jake said with suspicion.
"Not at all. You are being paranoid," Kiara said and put an arm around him. Jake looked at her but before he could have said anything, she dragged him across the hall towards the bar.
Jake scanned the bar as soon as they entered. To his relief, Uncle Phil was not there. Some of the men were sitting on the bar stools while the other families were at the tables spread across the room. Luckily this time they did not behave as if they had seen a
n alien and continued what they were doing. Kiara walked him across the room quietly towards the bar where her father was already waiting for him and the look on his face told that he had already prepared for the discussion.
"Hello Dad. Jake wants to join you," Kiara said, making the two old men accompanying Thomas turn around.
"So, you are Jake?" one of the old men asked in a scruffy voice.
"Yes...Uncle Joseph… he is Jake," Kiara said and turned towards Jake, "He is Samantha's Uncle."
"And, also yours," Joseph replied back.
"You sure are," Kiara said and turned towards the other old man, "He is Uncle Andrew; Uncle Phil's best friend and his partner from early days in the force."
"Hello," Jake said with a smile hoping that Andrew would be different from Phil, though he was not sure if that was even possible.
"I heard you came with Phil. I hope he did not tell you to solve the cases," Andrew said while gulping the last drops of whiskey from his glass.
"He actually did," Jake replied at once.
"No way… You know there is no answer to his stupid stories….He says there are, but there are no clues," Andrew stopped midway. "I don't want to ruin it for you. He has this old habit. Even when we were partners, he would bore me with such stories. And, when I would trash them, he would say that those were real. I believe he has lost it." With that, he gestured towards his head.
Jake gave a forced smile and looked towards Kiara who understood his plight.
"I better introduce him to others," she said hastily.
As she turned around, she saw Aunt Janine walking towards them hurriedly.
"Kiara, I need to borrow you for a moment," she said in a low voice.
"Is everything all right?" Kiara asked with a concern.
"Well…Samantha is in her room trying the wedding gown and you know…"
"I understand.. I will go and talk to her, "Kiara said and turned towards Jake, "Dad will help you get acquainted. I need to rush."
"What?" Jake was flummoxed. But, before he could have said anything, Kiara had left. There was a pat on his shoulder. He turned around.