by V S Vashist
"It...It was a mistake. I was desperate. My…my whole life was falling apart," he said, crying. "Are you going to reopen the case?" He looked at Uncle Phil.
Uncle Phil didn't say anything and walked towards the parking area. Jake looked at Kiara and gestured her to follow him. With that, he turned towards Daryl.
"He was the best detective in the whole precinct. He was climbing the ladder real fast. Your bullet halted his journey. He had to content with a desk job. He became a captain just a year before his retirement. You pulled his career back by at least fifteen years and you expect him to forgive you. Just pray to God and don't try to make it worse by fleeing the town," Jake said and left at once. Daryl fell on his knees, covering his face in his palms.
Chapter 9
By the time Jake reached the car, the whole Davenport family was waiting for him. Uncle Phil was already in the car.
"What happened to him?" Thomas asked Jake.
"Oh...he must be tired. I will cheer him up on the way," Jake said with a forced smile.
"Shall I come with you guys?" Kiara asked.
"No…no… we will be fine. Besides, you must spend this time with your family. We will be leaving tomorrow quite early," Jake said. Kiara knew there was something that Jake was hiding. But, then she thought that she was overthinking it. Everything had come to an end and Uncle Phil had finally got the answer that had bothered him for thirty years.
"Ok... see you at home," Kiara said and got inside the car.
"Let's' go," Thomas said while turning the ignition on.
Jake kept looking till Kiara's car disappeared out of sight.
"So, you must be relieved now?" Jake said while getting inside the car.
"It's as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Uncle Phil said with a smile. "You did what no one could in the last thirty years."
"I am glad I could help," Jake smiled back and started the car.
As they passed the garden, they saw Daryl looking back at them. He was still shaken and his whole face was covered in sweat.
Uncle Phil looked at him and then out the car window. Jake did not say anything till they came out of the dirt road into the main street.
"What are you going to do with him?" Jake asked finally.
"I've known Daryl for the last thirty years. We are not that close though and now I understand why. Despite all of this, he is a nice person with a family. As a human being, I would have forgiven him but as an ex- law enforcer, I need to assist in punishing the guilty. This is a really old case and I don't know if conviction will happen so easily. However, by reopening the case, he may lose the government contracts that he has and he may even lose his license. At his age, it may not affect him financially that much. But, I guess that will amount to an apt punishment without hurting his family."
Jake shook his head, "You know better than me."
"I don't think so," Uncle Phil replied, "You are much smarter than I had thought. In fact I can see a younger me in you. You will be a perfect match for Kiara."
Jake looked at him but hid his emotions. "That's so nice of you."
"And, that way I will be able to meet you frequently and we could discuss more such cases," Uncle Phil said with a smile.
"What? Are there more of such cases?" Jake said with exasperation.
"I don't even have the count," Uncle Phil winked at him.
Jake knew Uncle Phil was pulling his leg. They kept talking for some more time before Uncle Phil fell asleep. Jake looked at him - how he had wondered that Uncle Phil was so restless while coming to the wedding and now he was so relieved. It was visible on his face.
"We are here," Jake shook Uncle Phil's shoulder as he parked in front of Uncle Phil's house.
Uncle Phil opened his eyes and adjusted his glasses. He looked around. Most of the town had gone to sleep.
"You want a cup of coffee?" he asked while getting out.
"I am fine," Jake said with a smile and stepped out. "I have been meaning to ask you something. That's why I didn't let Kiara join us while coming back."
"Yeah, sure," Uncle Phil replied.
Jake came near him. "Don't get angry about what I am going to say. I may be wrong."
"Is it something about you and Kiara?" Uncle Phil asked anxiously.
"No, it's about you and Aunt Barbara," Jake said while looking into Uncle Phil's eyes.
"What about us?"
"In the second story, Aunt Barbara was there for a reason. Wasn't she?" Jake asked, anticipating a backlash but Uncle Phil's demeanor didn't change.
"Tell me whatever you have interpreted," Uncle Phil asked.
"Well, I don't think Aunt Barbara was with you when you saved Linda from the car crash. It was more of a metaphorical thing pointing at your affair with Linda. Aunt Barbara knew about it. The part in the story where she keeps calling you back is about the effort she put in getting you back from Linda," Jake said with great difficulty. He was not too sure about his interpretation.
Uncle Phil kept looking at him for some seconds and then started sobbing gently. Jake came forward and gave him support.
"Linda was completely shaken from the crash. She was inconsolable. Since I was the only one who had witnessed the crash, she would tell me everything. She would ask if her husband was in pain before death or whether she could have done anything to save him. I was the only one to whom she would talk about the crash. The doctors advised me to spend some time with her while she was in trauma. She opened up to me and told me things that she had not even shared with her husband. Slowly, I started getting drawn to her. I would spend all my time with her, including the weekends. Barbara loved me more than anything in her life, but even she started hearing stories about me and Linda and finally found out herself when she saw me meeting Linda at her house. I, on the other hand, kept lying to her that I was going to the precinct. She asked me again but I lied again. She… she was a great woman. Even after catching me red handed, she told me that she loves me and would accept me even if I had strayed for a moment. She kept giving me chances. I, on the other hand, had gone blind. But, fate had something else in store for me. Linda came out of the trauma and slowly began to become normal. Her behavior towards me changed completely. She did not need me anymore. Also, she got a huge sum as damages from the insurance and the car company. Finally, she started avoiding me. I only understood it completely when her marriage with Dr. Kirk was announced. By then, I had become a complete stranger to her. I finally returned to my Barbara but it was too late. She was diagnosed with cancer and had very little time left with her. I lost everything to my foolishness and now I have no one to share my grief with. It was not only Linda's husband who died in the car crash; it also killed the most beautiful relationship that I had."
Jake patted on Uncle Phil's shoulder who had now begun to cry uncontrollably.
"How long you have been dying to tell this to someone?" he said softly.
Uncle Phil looked at him."The day Barbara left me."
There was a momentary silence.
"Why don't you give your sons a call?" Jake said softly. "They may not like you, but Aunt Barbara loved you and that would mean something to them. It's time that you tell your stories to your grandchildren and not to some stranger like me."
Uncle Phil smiled while wiping tears of his face. Jake looked at him and smiled back.
"Thank you. You don't know what you have done," Uncle Phil said.
"You don't have to say that so many times," Jake said and looked at his watch. "I better get going. Kiara must be waiting for me."
Uncle Phil shook his head.
Jake got inside the car and looked at Uncle Phil one last time before turning the ignition on. Uncle Phil kept looking at Jake till he disappeared at the corner of the street. After so long, he knew he was going to sleep properly. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.
Jake, on the other hand, was thinking how the last two days had panned out. It was a trip that he was never going to forget. Maybe weddings were not such a
bad thing after all.
While Jake was warming up to weddings, Kiara was fighting against it. As Jake parked the car, he heard the commotion inside Davenport residence. He walked slowly and pushed the door gently. The door, however, made a creaking sound. Jake closed his eyes in exasperation.
"Is that Jake?" Marsha shouted from the other end.
"Yes, Mrs. Davenport," Jake replied.
"Come here," she shouted back.
"What are you two doing?" she asked sternly as Jake entered the living room.
He looked around. Kiara had covered her face with a cushion. Thomas, on the other hand, was shaking his head. Jake knew Kiara had created a new trouble.
"You have to be a bit specific," he said tersely.
"She says that you two have a pact about getting married to each other if both of you don't find a life partner till forty," she said angrily.
"According to her, it's a common thing among the youth these days," Thomas said while still shaking his head.
"Yeah..if you live in a sitcom world," Jake murmured.
"What?" Marsha shouted.
"But, that does not mean we will stop looking for love," Jake said, feigning a smile. Kiara removed the cushion from her face and looked at Jake with surprise. She knew Jake was going to pull something that was going to increase her troubles.
"What do you mean?" Thomas asked.
"Uncle Phil is setting me up with one of his nieces in New York. Let's see if it works out. I already like Uncle Phil so there is a chance that I will like her too," Jake said with all the softness that he could muster.
Kiara's face turned red. She looked angrily at Jake but not for long.
"See, this is what people do at weddings," Marsha shouted, "Even he is not going to be available for long."
"I need to pack my stuff. You guys continue," Jake said and left. As soon as he came out, he burst into a laugh. Kiara, on the other hand, had gone back to her original position - face covered under the cushion. Jake could hear Marsha shouting at her till he reached his room. He knew he was going to get a beating from Kiara tomorrow morning, but this was going to give him a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Marsha kept giving advice to Kiara till they got in the car. Kiara was looking at Jake angrily the whole time and as soon as they got out of the driveway, Jake got a punch on his shoulder.
"You know that it hurts?" Jake said angrily.
"Not more than my mother's words," Kiara replied back angrily.
"So, when is the wedding?" Jake asked teasingly.
"Do you want another punch?” Kiara asked while looking out the window.
"Okay. Let's leave it behind. So how was the weekend for you? It totally rocked for me."
Kiara turned her gaze towards him, "That reminds me of something."
Jake knew he was in some sort of trouble, "Let’s not talk till we reach New York."
"You can't play these tricks on me, Jake Carter," Kiara said, "You know who came back with us yesterday night?"
"I really don't want to know," Jake said while looking at the road.
"Janine and Kent," Kiara was unfazed.
"You really are not going to stop. Are you?" Jake tried one more time.
"Janine was really surprised how you caught Samantha's grandmother's trick. The page on which Samantha's mother's fake message was written looked as old as other letters and even the handwriting looked like a complete match." Kiara said and stared at Jake.
"What?" Jake said in frustration.
"I really want to know how you came to the conclusion that the granny had planted the letter," Kiara said while bringing her fist near Jake's shoulder.
"I may have spoken to her and convinced her to tell this story," Jake said slowly.
"You did what?" Kiara shouted making Jake take his ear away from her.
"Well, I just wanted them to have a good marriage and Uncle Phil's story gave me an idea," Jake said honestly.
"Really, you want me to believe you," Kiara said and was about to punch him when he gestured her to stop.
"I wanted to find the guy who shot Uncle Phil. I feared Samantha may create a scene, taking attention away from my plan. Luckily for me, it worked and I was even told to give a speech. It helped me in a way," Jake finally confessed.
Kiara smiled, "Grandmother's story about Samantha's mother's reluctance on having a baby was a nice touch. It would have sealed the deal for Samantha and Janine."
“Oh... that wasn't me. Grandma improvised that part," Jake said with a smile and looked towards the road.
Kiara smiled back. It indeed was a wedding to remember.
Other books by the author
The Davenport Mysteries Series
1. Missing Link - Available for free on all retailers.
Three Crimes: One Common Thread
Agent Kiara Davenport was sent undercover to unearth the wrongdoings within Cooper Industries. However, when she reached Kingston, she started to find things that pointed at something bigger than what she had anticipated. And, then suddenly another crime happened that she felt was linked to the whole racket.
She had to uncover the whole crime syndicate against her orders while she was being followed by the criminals as well as the local police.
Will she find the reason behind the happenings? And, how are all of the threads linked to each other?
2. Double Cross
One move: Last move
Agent Kiara Davenport and Agent Jake Carter found antiques worth millions at a car crash, but no one came forward to claim them. With no leads, they had to not only find the person behind it, they had to find a whole network that was working without anyone's knowledge and that too for years.
And, when they come to know about how deep it was, they had to decide if they could put their lives on risk and that too without telling their boss.
Will they find who was behind it and that too while running for their own lives?
Do Visit Author Page on Amazon -
US - http://www.amazon.com/V.S.-VASHIST/e/B00B4RYPYA
UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/V.S.-VASHIST/e/B00B4RYPYA
Canada - http://www.amazon.ca/Missing-Link-Davenport-Mysteries-Detective-ebook/dp/B00B30IW4W