“So, I’m planning to visit Aria tomorrow,” Clark told the other two.
“Yeah?” Tanya asked with her mouth full. “What are you going to tell her?”
“Nothing! I don’t want to give her false hopes. I was hoping we would have gotten some leads by now so I could tell her. But, since there is nothing new, I figured I won’t tell her yet about this.”
Sanjay nodded, “Yeah. No point getting her hopes up.”
“I am still sure we’ll find something about that stalker in one of those cameras. There is no way none of the cameras picked up anything on him. We must be missing something,” Clark added.
Tanya shook her head, “There are so many cameras! Sanjay and I have already gone through so much footage without success. Why waste our time on that? I think we should try looking for Ellen again.”
Clark rolled his eyes, “And how would we do that? There are absolutely no clues about who the intruder was and where he… or she… could have taken her.”
“But did anyone look at her things? She knew something. There has to be something in her house or on her computer. Right? She was Coon’s wife,” Tanya insisted.
Sanjay looked at Tanya, “The police did go through her house but didn’t find anything.”
“But maybe there weren’t looking for the right thing?”
Sanjay instantly stood up and went to his crime board. He then went through some files while Tanya and Clark exchanged glances. “What? What is it?”
“Tanya, you’re right. They were only looking for things to help them find the intruder. It was a totally different case. They didn’t connect it with Aria’s case at all,” Sanjay explained without looking up.
Tanya stood up, “You mean we might be able to find something in her house then?”
Sanjay shrugged, “It’s worth a shot. But I recall her laptop was taken as an evidence. It is probably still with the evidence. It might tell us something…”
“We may even be able to find Coon’s laptop or his files on her computer!” Tanya exclaimed excitedly.
Clark cleared his throat loudly and both of them turned to look at him, “Aren’t you guys forgetting something? Ellen’s house was sealed. The case is closed, so you can’t really barge in to have a look. And how are you going to get your hands on that laptop? What will you tell your boss? That you are secretly still pursuing this case?”
Tanya just stared at him speechless. Sanjay felt his excitement crashing down. There were plenty of risks involved in this. He already knew that. But he had to make the right calls. He can’t lose his job over this. His partner and superiors can’t know that he was still working this case. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
“We just need a good plan,” Sanjay insisted. “I am a detective after all. I can easily go through the evidence without anyone getting suspicious!”
“And how exactly are you going to hide the laptop?”
“I don’t know. I will think of something.”
Tanya looked skeptical, “Are you sure about this? You can get caught and you will probably get suspended or worse!”
Sanjay sighed. “We have to do something!” He was frustrated at the lack of progress they had made so far. He was thrilled when Tanya started helping out and then Clark joined them. He was sure that with the three of them, they would find something, especially since Tanya and Clark knew Aria well. Sadly, things were just getting more messed up. Just one lead. He thought to himself. They just needed a direction and they will surely find something. Right now, there were multiple possibilities.
“Umm… there is one thing we can do,” Tanya started uncertainly. “But I don’t know if you guys will like this.”
“What, what are you thinking?” Clark stepped forward. He already had a bad feeling about this.
“Well… we can search Ellen’s house at night when no one will notice. We can sneak in from the backdoor or a window. I am sure there would be a way in…”
“Are you serious!” Clark glared at her. “That’s breaking and entering!”
“If we get caught! Which we won’t. We will be careful,” she insisted, looking expectantly at Sanjay.
“I don’t know…” Sanjay was deep in thought.
“We have no other option…”
Clark looked at Sanjay, “This is crazy, right? You are a detective. You can’t possibly support this. Why can’t you request your department for another search of her house?”
“That will be suspicious. First of all, that’s not my case. It’s a missing person’s case and I highly doubt anyone is working on it now. The detectives on the case probably moved on to other cases by now. Second, I can’t really tell anyone that I am still working on a closed case. They might force me to stop.”
“Then what?” Clark folded his arms. “We are back to square one.”
Sanjay shook his head, “Well, not really.” He glanced at Tanya who broke into a sneaky smile.
Clark look at the two of them with wide eyes, “Seriously? We are doings this? You do know we are trying to help Aria get out of the prison, not join her there?”
Tanya chuckled, “Oh lighten up. It is the only way to find something and I have a feeling there is going to be something there. No one will find out if we are careful.” She turned to him, “You honestly don’t have to come along if you are not okay with this.”
Clark rolled his eyes.
Sanjay stood up, “Okay then. We are doing this.”
Tanya jumped up, “When?”
“In a few days. I am going to inquire a little about Ellen’s case, see what the progress is and if the house is in the clear. Just have to make sure no one will barge in while we are there. That will be hard to explain.”
“All right!”
Clark looked worried, “Are you seriously going to do this?”
Sanjay and Tanya nodded. “We have no other choice Clark. You know we have nothing going on right now. We have met only dead ends. If you want Aria out, we have to do this. If you don’t want to do this, we understand. You can sit this one out. But you can’t stop us. Okay?”
Clark sighed. “Fine!”
They started finishing off their food, while Sanjay and Tanya discussed how they would enter Ellen’s house and possible places to look. There was a renewed energy between them. Both of them were sure that they would find some important evidence in Ellen’s house. They were hoping to get their hands-on Coon’s laptop or any other devices, even a secret notebook. Sanjay knew they could potentially hit a jackpot if they could find something that can help them point to the person, or people, who were threatening Coons. All he needed was strong evidence that someone else was behind Coons’ murder and they would be able to get Aria out on bail. The case would then be reopened and he would be able to conduct thorough investigation.
Clark was quiet throughout the discussion. Playing with his food, deep in thought. He didn’t know what to do. Should he join them in their adventure? It would help him know more about what’s happening. It would also keep him updated about any new things the other two found. Who knows if they would actually keep him on this team after this? He would have no way of knowing what was going on then. At least, this way he was aware of the situation.
“Clark!”
Tanya’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. “What!?” He saw both of them giving him a look.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. What happened?”
“Sanjay asked you if you are sure you don’t want to join us?”
“Yeah… well… I don’t think it is a good idea. But I also don’t want to miss this, especially if there is a chance that we might find something to help Aria.”
Sanjay gave him a nod, “Great! Thank you. This will give us a chance to cover more area in less time. It is important that we move quickly and get out of the house as soon as possible. The longer we stay, the more chances of us getting caught.”
With nothing else to do, the two left for home. Sanjay cleared up the tab
le, his head buzzing. What they were about to do could be dangerous, not just because they might get caught by someone, but also because the people behind Coons’ murders and the disappearance of Diaz and Ellen might be keeping a watch on the house. Right now, no one except the three of them knew that Coons’ murder investigation was still going on. If they found out that Sanjay was still investigating, they might try to harm him, or go after Tanya and Clark. They might even try to destroy any possible evidence they might have left behind and then all the efforts they made would be a waste. He needed to make sure things went smoothly and as quietly as possible. He sat down at his desk, took out his notebook and started jotting down ideas.
Sanjay had planned to visit Aria the next day but decided to postpone it as he wanted to find out more about the Ellen case. Sleep-deprived and exhausted, he was functioning on caffeine and the hope that their plan would work. He shuffled through paper without paying attention. He was merely trying to look busy while he waited for the detective on Ellen’s case to return to his desk.
Detective Adam returned from interrogation room after a few minutes and started writing up some report. Sanjay waited for a while and made his way to his desk. “Hey! How’s your case going?”
“Just got the confession. Been working on my perp for hours!”
"Great! Another case closed.” Sanjay congratulated him. This was good. He thought to himself. He has just closed a case, which means he would be in a chatty mood. “By the way, what happened to that missing persons case of yours?”
“Huh?” Adam asked distractedly, his eyes fixed on the papers.
“You know the Ellen case?”
“Oh! Your murdered guy’s wife, right? Good job on that case, man.”
Sanjay fought the urge to roll his eyes. That was not a good job. An innocent woman was falsely accused and the team let that happen. However, he smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I was just wondering. That’s pretty awful, isn’t it. First, the husband gets murdered and then the wife goes missing… did you guys find anything?”
Adam looked up at him, “Yeah, I know. It’s pretty messed up. The case is still open though. Unfortunately, we haven’t found any new leads. We exhausted every lead. That woman seems to have vanished into thin air. Then other urgent cases started piling up. We have to add that one to the cold cases.”
“Ah!” Sanjay figured as much. “Did you find their next of kin? Who will be taking care of their house?”
Adam shook his head, “Not really. Both their parents had long since passed away, they don’t have any kids. Coons had no siblings; Ellen has a sister but we haven’t been able to get in touch with her. The house will stay as is for now I am guessing. Hopefully, Ellen might return or we get a new lead.”
“Strange how there weren’t any fingerprints in the house. Did you guys check all the rooms?”
Adam raised an eyebrow, “We checked the ground floor, mostly the living room where the struggle happened. It seemed like a quick job; we don’t think the kidnapper spent much time in the house. He was in and out within a few minutes.” He gave Sanjay a suspicious look, which was a cue for Sanjay to stop interrogating the detective.
“Yeah, of course. I was just wondering. You know since I actually met her after her husband’s murder. All of it is rather strange... Anyway, I will let you get back to your report.”
He hurried back to his desk to find Sergeant Jake waiting for him, “What was that about?” he nodded towards Adam.
“Oh! Nothing. I was just asking about a case of his.”
“The Ellen case?” Jake gave him a look.
“Yeah. What? I was just wondering what happened to her. How could she suddenly disappear like that?”
Jake sighed, “Sanjay. That’s not our responsibility. That’s not our case. We closed our case, remember? It might seem to be connected to that case for you, but it isn’t. That possibility was ruled out. There doesn’t seem to be a connection. She probably went away on her own for all we know. After what happened to her husband, I don’t blame her.”
“Yeah… but…”
Jake looked at him intently, “Let it go. Focus on the case at hand. Did you go talk to the witness I asked you to a few hours ago?”
Sanjay stood up and grabbed his jacket, “Yeah I was just going there.” He had completely forgotten about his current case. He rushed out of the room before Jake could say anything.
Clark rubbed his hands together impatiently as he waited for the guard to bring Aria to the visiting room. He hadn’t seen her in about a month now. He felt guilty for not coming to see her regularly but he had been busy trying to help her case with Tanya and Sanjay. He was also struggling to manage his job as well. He had other things to worry about to. He pressed his temples and tried not to think about it.
“Clark!”
He heard Aria voice and looked up. She was smiling at him as she sat down. Clark couldn’t believe how different she looked. She had the same beautiful smile and pretty eyes but the smile seemed forced and her eyes had lost their usual sparkle. She looked exhausted. He noticed her cheek was slightly red as if…
“Did someone hit you?!” Clark asked, alarmed.
“What?” Aria looked surprised and then she touched her cheek, “Oh! Yeah no. that’s nothing. I just fell down.”
“Aria…”
“Clark! Don’t worry about it. I am fine,” she smiled at him. It was good to see him after such a long time. “How are you? How is your work going? Tell me everything!”
Clark shook his head, “I am here to hear about you Aria…”
“Please?”
Clark sighed but gave in. He realized Aria wanted to know more about the outside world and things happening in his life so that she can distract her mind from the things happening in her life. He avoided telling her about how hard it was for him to focus on work, but instead, narrated his latest funny experience with a client while he showed them a house. By the end of it, Aria was laughing. He could see the glimpse of the old Aria but that only lasted for a few seconds.
“You always had such weird clients,” Aria smiled at him.
“Tell me about you. Is everything okay in there? Are you safe? Please tell me the truth. Is someone hurting you?”
Aria shook her head, “No Clark. I admit it is tough. Of course, it is. There are some unique characters inside but I try to stay away from them. There are some good people too. My roommate is nice. I mean, I haven’t really become friends with her but I think I am getting around. Oh! I also have a job in here.” She chuckled. “It pays a few cents every hour.”
Clark smiled, “Do you want more funds in your account? I mean I know you can buy a few things like ramen and all if you have the funds in your account, right?”
Aria nodded. “But I am good for now. Thank you.” The visiting time was almost up. Clark wished he could give her a hug and tell her things would be fine soon. “You know you don’t have to make these visits. I understand. You have a lot going on… and… Clark… if you find someone… if there is someone you start liking, please go for it…, I am in here for good. It makes no sense for…”
“Aria, don’t say that…”
“Clark! Please let me finish. Life outside here goes on. It makes no sense for us to be together now. Our lives have changed and we can’t really plan or live together, can we?”
“Ariaaa…”
“I know it’s hard for you to take time out for this visit. I know you are busy. Please don’t feel obliged to come and visit me. It is also so far away from town…”
“Aria! Yes, I am busy. I am busy trying to find something in your case that can prove you didn’t do it!” Clark blurted out. He couldn’t stand the thought of Aria thinking he had forgotten her or doesn’t care about her anymore. “I wasn’t going to say anything. I have been working with clients and then I go meet up with Tanya and Sanjay to work on your case.”
“What!” Aria was taken aback.
“Don’t you see? You just might have a chance. There
are people out there, who are still trying to help you out. Please, please, please don’t think you are alone and that everyone has abandoned you or given up on you. You hear me?”
“But… why? Tanya too?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Sanjay? Detective Sanjay!”
Clark smiled and nodded, “I didn’t want to tell you anything about it until we had something solid to work the case. So far, we have been disappointed. But, we aren’t giving up.”
“Really? You guys are really doing this… for me? You know you really don’t have to do this…” Her voice trailed off when she saw the look Clark gave her.
“You are innocent Aria. You have nothing to do with this. Someone has clearly and very cleverly framed you for this. You don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t be in there. We are doing everything possible to get to the bottom of this.”
“Oh God!” Aria wiped her tears away. “You have no idea how much this means to me. I can’t thank you all …”
“Don’t!” Clark moved closer, “We aren’t going anywhere, don’t worry. Thank us all when we have proof that someone framed you. And you can thank me properly when you get out of here.” He gave her a lingering look that made Aria feel alive again.
“Time’s up!” a guard announced loudly. “Time to go now, inmate.”
Clark put his hand on the glass and watched Aria being led away, she glanced back at him before going through the door. He sighed and reluctantly turned to leave. He knew he shouldn’t have told Aria about the secret investigation, but he was glad he did.
Chapter 3: The Fight
Aria’s heart was pounding loudly after the visit. She felt revived, a feeling she had almost forgotten. With just a look, Clark could make her weak in her knees. Her mind drifted to Tanya and Sanjay. She couldn’t believe how the three of them were still trying to help her when she had thought that everything was over. She had accepted the fact that this was her life now. This is where she would be spending the rest of her existence. She made her way back to her cell to rest for a while before she had to go and work her stupid job. That’s all Aria had been doing since day one. They only gave her the job of cleaning up bathrooms. It took her over a week to clean that nasty one from the first day. She was hoping a newbie came along soon so she could move on to other, more interesting jobs.
Capital Crime (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 2) Page 2
