Arbitrage

by Thomas Ransom

  Diaz decided to head back home and have a look at the entire case from this new perspective. The company was clearly hiding something. She needed to figure out what. She also needed to talk to Tanya. She could use her to get information about the other employees. Diaz knew she has to find something quick. The trial was getting closer and she still didn’t have anything solid to work off of.

  When she reached the apartment, she noticed the door leading to her balcony was slightly ajar. That’s weird, she thought, I remember closing the door this morning. She shrugged it off and proceeded to make a sandwich.

  Her mind was racing with theories. She grabbed the plate and made her way towards her desk. Before she could reach it, she heard a sound. “What was that!” she said out loud.

  She stood still and tried to listen.

  “Uggh! I need some rest,” she told herself.

  “The hotshot lawyer trying to meddle with things she shouldn’t,” the voice started Diaz. The plate crashed on the floor. She was about to turn to see who it is.

  “Not so fast!” the calm voice snapped.

  Diaz felt something against her back. A gun!

  “Make another move, and that will be your last.”

  Diaz gulped. Her mind was racing, “What… what do you want?”

  “You have caused enough trouble.”

  That voice. It sounded familiar. Diaz thought. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean it is time for you to stop meddling.”

  “Look,” Diaz started, “Let’s just calm down and talk about it.”

  She turned to take a look, but was immediately hit in the head and fell to the ground.

  “I warned you.”

  Diaz felt dizzy. Her head was throbbing and her vision got blurry, “Wait,” she whispered. She tried to get up but she felt another blow on her back, and everything went dark.

  Aria was getting restless. She hadn’t heard anything from Diaz yet. Was Ellen okay? Has she been found? The trial was approaching, and she had no idea what was happening. No one was telling her anything. She had tried to ask the guard if she could talk to Detective Sanjay, but he just scoffed at her and walked away. Kelly had whispered in her ear, “There are ways to make them listen, you know.” Something about her tone had sent chills done her spine. She was trying to keep her distance from Kelly and the rest of the inmates. She was sure Diaz would get her out of here. Just one day at a time. She kept repeating to herself. Take one day at a time.

  Diaz was coming to visit her almost every day, even if it was just for a quick chat. She had been keeping her updated about everything. It was highly unusual that she hadn’t visited for two days now. She was hoping she would come in today with good news.

  The minute she got the chance, she gave her a call. No response. She then made a call to Clark. Thankfully, she got through.

  “Hey love! How are you holding up?”

  Just listening to his voice made her calm down. “I am okay,” she whispered.

  “Are you okay? Anyone giving you trouble…?

  “No… I am fine. But I just want this to be over soon.”

  “I know.”

  “Listen. Have you… have you heard from Diaz?”

  “Uh, no. She doesn’t really get in touch with me about anything.”

  “Oh!”

  “What happened? Has there been any update? Did she find anything?”

  “I… I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her in two days. She checks in with me almost every day and I just… I don’t know… I am worried.”

  “Oh! I am sure she will update you soon. She is probably busy with the case, you know. The trial is approaching and she needs to be prepared.”

  “Yeah. Of course. But…”

  “Come on Aria. Don’t overthink this. I am sure she will visit you today or tomorrow. She needs time to get things straightened out for the trial.”

  “Yeah… yeah, you’re probably right.”

  “What did she tell you so far though? For some reason, she keeps ignoring my calls. I am worried about you Aria. I get so anxious not knowing what is happening. I want to help, please tell me how.”

  “I know. I just… Please just try to get in touch with Diaz. Tell her I need to talk to her…”

  “About what?”

  “Umm… about the case of course.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, but what about the case?”

  “Clark… I just want to know if she has found something and where I stand. And after Ellen… I am just worried about Diaz.”

  “You know about Ellen?”

  “Yeah. Diaz came to see me when she found out. It’s horrible! I am so scared for her.”

  “But why was Diaz meeting Ellen?”

  “Ummm… She… well… I don’t know Clark.”

  “Come on Aria. Tell me.”

  “I honestly don’t know Clark. You have to go ask her yourself. I have shit to deal with.

  I don’t know where my lawyer is, Ellen has disappeared, and, oh right! I am in jail for being accused of murdering my own boss!!!”

  “Jeez Aria, I was just…”

  “Uggh! I know, I know! I am sorry. But I would much rather you are here to listen to me then act like another detective trying to get answers about things I don’t know. Okay?”

  “Yeah. I am sorry. Look, I just want to know…”

  Aria felt a push from behind. “Stop hogging the phone!!”

  “Clark… I gotta go.”

  “No! Wait, Aria…”

  Aria slammed the phone and turned to the woman standing behind her, “Happy?”

  “I would break your jaw right now if I didn’t have a call to make newbie,” the woman glared at her. Aria took a step back and hurried off to her cell without looking back.

  Tanya finished up her meeting with a client and returned to her office to find Whitney waiting. She gulped. This can’t be good. She thought as Whitney turned to look at her. “Close the door.” Tanya slowly closed the door. Yup. She thought. Definitely not good. She sat opposite her.

  Whitney gave her an intense stare, before speaking, “I know Aria was your friend and you are under the illusion that she is innocent." She held up her hand when she saw Tanya was about to protest. “The evidence is clear. It can be hard for close ones to come to terms with the fact that the person they knew could actually do something so horrific. Maybe it was an episode or something, a moment on insanity? The bottom line is that Aria is in jail for murder. I know you want to support your friend, but letting a lawyer come in the office when I specifically asked you not to, is not acceptable.”

  Tanya started, “But I…”

  “You should have known better,” Whitney raised her voice. “You are aware that the company is struggling due to all of this mess, right? Yet, you disobeyed a direct order. And for a murderer!”

  “She is not a murderer. She has been wrongfully accused,” Tanya couldn’t take it any longer. “Helping her will actually help this company uncover why Coons was stealing from the company.”

  Whitney stood up suddenly, “He was stealing from this company because he was a selfish and greedy man. I came here to give you a few days off so you can get your head straight. But I can see now that that would be of no use. I want you to clear your things and be out by the end of the day. This company is done with you.”

  With that, Whitney stormed out of the room, leaving Tanya gaping after her.

  “I need to talk to him!!!” Aria yelled at the guard.

  “Yeah! Tell him sister!” someone yelled.

  “Go at him!” came another voice.

  Aria was furious. Four days have gone by. Her trial was two weeks away and Diaz hadn’t shown up. She had been asking the guards to get her in touch with Detective Sanjay but to no avail. Two days ago, one of the guards got annoyed and took her phone privileges away. Aria was going insane. She couldn’t take it anymore.

  She started screaming at the guard on duty. “Get him to me right now!!!”

  “You need to cal
m down!” The guard glared at her.

  “Why! What are you going to do? Hit me!? That’s all you guys do here, right? Beat the women here just because you can!”

  “Yeaaaahhhh!!”

  “Give him a piece of his own medicine!”

  “Hit him!!”

  Aria tried to ignore the commotion all around her. The other inmates were getting excited. She figured she should probably stop but then she saw the guard looking a bit nervous. Maybe this could work her way. She thought. She started shouting even more. “Don’t you think it is about time this stopped?” she turned to the other inmates. “The brutality? Being in the prison doesn’t mean we should be treated like this!”

  “Yeaahh!!”

  “Enough is enough!”

  Aria smirked at the guard and stepped closer, “I can go on and on. I got time. Look around; by the time the other guards get here, you'll get beaten to a bloody pulp,” she whispered.

  The guard glared at her, “Or I can drag you to the isolation room and you can rot there until your trial.”

  Aria scoffed, “I got nothing to lose at this moment. If you start dragging me, they will come with even more force.”

  The guard stayed quiet for a few seconds.

  “Fine! I will give him your message.”

  Aria backed away.

  “That’s it!”

  “I thought she would punch him!”

  “Ugh she’s just a newbie.”

  Aria took a deep breath. She might have just worsened her situation in prison and might have lost the chance of talking to detective Sanjay. She had no idea if that guard would actually talk to Sanjay. She was merely winging it. The guard was new though, so it might work. Some other guard would have definitely dragged her to the isolation.

  By the end of the day, she had lost hope. She had no idea where Ellen was and now Diaz has disappeared. God knows what happened to the two of them. Her body started shaking. She couldn’t help but picturing them lying dead somewhere. “Please be safe. Please let them be safe!”

  “Who?”

  Aria jumped. She realized she was speaking out loud. It was Kelly.

  Great! Just what I needed. She thought.

  “Nothing.”

  Kelly looked at for a while, “You know what. I like you.”

  Aria looked up. Kelly was in deep thought, as if deciding what to do with her. Aria’s heart started pounding loudly.

  Kelly then nodded her head, as if she had decided something. “Yeah. I definitely like you. It was cool what you did back there. They don’t have any rights to treat us like this. Even if some of us have done nasty things,” she grinned.

  “Umm… thanks?” Aria was unsure what to do. She wanted to run away but Kelly was blocking the only exit. She couldn’t exactly run away from her in a prison. She shrugged.

  “But the way you abruptly stopped. That was pretty weird,” Kelly glanced at her suspiciously. “He agreed to talk to that detective guy, didn’t he? You got him to agree?”

  Aria nodded.

  “Atta girl!” she smacked Aria on the back, catching her by surprise. She then plopped down next to her, “See. I knew you are different. Smart. I like smart. Not like most of the other chicks here.”

  Aria stayed quiet. Still unsure of the situation.

  “So, what you want to talk to that detective about?”

  Aria hesitated. She didn’t know what to do. However, it did seem that Kelly was trying to be nice. She had no one else to talk to right now.

  “I think something has happened to my lawyer.”

  Kelly seemed taken aback.

  “She always visited to keep me updated about my case. There was someone who agreed to help her, that person knew something. But they never showed up at the meeting spot. My lawyer knew that something might have happened. She made that detective go have a look in their house. There were clear signs of struggle there. Someone didn’t want them to talk to my lawyer. And now my lawyer has disappeared. I mean, I hope she is just busy. But, it’s not like her. She isn’t even answering the phone. That’s why I want the detective to check and make sure she is okay.”

  Aria sighed.

  “Jesus!” Kelly replied. “That’s a lot!”

  “Do you think I am just overthinking this?”

  Kelly shook her head, “From what you have told, she could be in trouble.”

  “She was the only one helping me. I don’t know what to do. My trial is in two weeks!”

  Kelly gave her a sympathetic look, “Yeah. But, look. I am sure that idiot guard will give your detective the message. Hopefully he'll find your lawyer.”

  “And what if he doesn’t? What will happen then? I won’t have a lawyer to defend me. Everything is already against me. Without a lawyer I have absolutely no chance.”

  “Well. I am not gonna lie. That could happen. But you can always appeal the verdict, you know.”

  “That’s not the point! The appeal will do no good. All the evidence is against me. I don’t know how they did it, but they set me up. Everyone thinks I am a murderer!”

  Kelly scoffed.

  “What!” Aria snapped.

  “You ain’t no murderer. A girl like you. No offense. But you don’t have what it takes,” Kelly smirked.

  Somehow, that made Aria feel a little better. “Thanks,” she smiled.

  “There ya go!” Kelly gave Aria another smack on her back. “Don’t worry. Give it another day. I am sure your detective will be here.”

  Aria nodded.

  “You want my advice?” Kelly stood up. “If I were you. I’d be making friends here. Staying isolated never helped anyone in prison. You think this is bad? Wait till your verdict is passed and they transfer you to another prison. Women here are still well-behaved, because they are waiting trial and don’t want to mess things up. There? It would be hell for you. Make friends here, that will help you later on,” Kelly stated and started walking away.

  Aria stood up, “Hey! So, can I count you as a friend then?”

  Kelly smiled. “You bet! I need someone smart with me. We can rule the prison girl.”

  Aria smiled. At least something worked out for her. People here were scared of Kelly. If they knew Aria was her friend, they wouldn’t touch her. She thought. Maybe Kelly has a point. She should start preparing for what lies ahead, instead of worrying.

  Luck was on her side the next day, the guard had kept his word and Detective Sanjay arrived early in the morning. It was a huge relief for Aria when she saw the kind and concerned face of the detective waiting for her in the interrogation room.

  The minute the door closed, Aria blurted out, “You need to find Diaz!”

  “Wait, what?” Sanjay was taken aback.

  “I don’t know where she is! I think she is in trouble. You have to find her!!”

  Sanjay looked at Aria’s widened eyes and ashen face, “Are you okay? Why don’t you take a few deep breathes and tell me what happened, okay?”

  Aria tried to calm herself down. This was her only chance. If Sanjay didn’t believe her, no one would help her. She took a deep breath and paused for a while to collect her thoughts.

  “Look. Diaz has been coming to talk to me regularly, you know, to keep me updated and help me prepare. But she hasn’t been here for the past four days!”

  “Well, maybe…,” Sanjay stared.

  “No! no maybes,” Aria interrupted him. “I know something is wrong. She isn’t just busy somewhere. Come on. You know what happened to Ellen…”

  “You know that?” Sanjay interjected.

  “Of course! She told me. I was the one who told her Ellen might help. Diaz went there to talk to her but she refused to speak to her. Then, I don’t know what happened. Maybe Ellen felt guilty or she finally wanted to get the real murderers of her husband, she messaged Diaz that she wants to meet up and talk to her. We finally thought that we could actually win the case because Ellen would probably know something important. Coons must have told her. First, she disappeared, and
now Diaz. She was the reason you checked up on Ellen, right? And she turned out to be right all along, didn’t she? Now she is the one who is missing. Can’t you see? Either she found something or she was close. That’s why they went after her too. You have to do something!!”

  There was a pause. Aria was breathless but thankful she finally let it out. Sanjay was deep in thought.

  Aria couldn’t take the suspense, “Soooo??”

  Sanjay nodded, “Okay. Yeah, I am going to check up on her. It is rather odd that she disappeared like this and after what happened to Ellen…”

  “Have you found anything about Ellen? Is she safe?”

  Sanjay shook his head, “Whoever did this is good. They didn’t leave behind any evidence. We are still looking though, don’t worry. Something is bound to come up.”

  Aria let out a sigh, “I just… I don’t know how it all came to this. Everything changed in a few days. I never could have…” she closed her eyes.

  “Hey!” Detective Sanjay looked at her, “You have to stay strong, okay? I am going to everything I can to find Diaz and Ellen. You have to keep on fighting.”

  Aria nodded, “Yeah I know. Thank you for coming to see me and believing me.”

  Sanjay smiled at her sadly, “Of course. I will keep you updated.”

  Detective Sanjay left the facility and got back in his car. His mind was racing. What the hell is happening. He couldn’t figure it out. Where was Diaz? Is this linked or just a coincidence? He hoped Diaz and Ellen were both fine. What he never told Aria was that he was still working on Coons murder during his off hours. There was something there that made no sense. Yes, all the evidence pointed towards Aria but it all seemed a little too clean and easy. What about the motive? Aria had no motive to just one day kill her boss, and that too on his retirement party. She was already getting his position. Things were going well for her, then why do such a drastic thing? He knew she didn’t do it. He was trying to make sense of the situation. There was something much bigger happening and Aria just got in the way. Ellen could be the key as she was Coons wife and probably knew something. That’s why they took her.