“What!” Diaz exclaimed.
“Who’s that?”
“Sorry, James. This is Diaz, Aria’s lawyer.”
“The one who got kidnapped? Good lord woman, you are very fortunate, aren’t you? I am glad you are fine. It rarely happens that someone kidnapped is recovered or escapes after so long in captivity…”
“Yeah. I know,” Diaz said in a quiet voice.
Sanjay changed the subject, “So, you were saying Clark appeared out of the blue?”
“Oh, yeah… well, I got in touch with a real estate agent, and she told me he had all the papers in order and was already preapproved for the loan. He had glowing recommendations from his previous tenants and employers. I asked her if she checked up on the references, but she seemed sheepish. Upon probing her, I found odd that she was completely smitten by his looks and charms. Since everything was in order, she didn’t bother checking up. I checked up on those employers and tenants, but obviously, they don’t exist.”
Diaz looked at Sanjay, “But, doesn’t he have a job? I remember Aria telling me he worked as a real estate agent.”
“Yeah. The same thing happened there, as well. They loved his energy and charms and decided to hire him immediately. He started closing houses quickly, bringing in cash for the company, so no one was complaining. However, here’s the interesting part, Clark hasn’t been to work in the past few months,” James informed them.
“He hasn’t been working at all? How the hell is he surviving then?”
“No idea!”
“Did you happen to find out his real identity?” Sanjay asked.
“Well… I have been trying to find out, but since there is not much information, I can’t do much. I can try running an image search, or maybe we can get a hold of his fingerprints that would help a lot. Do you think you can do that?” asked James.
Diaz started, “He has been trying to get in touch with us. I just read his messages, saying that he wants to meet us. I can ask him to come to Sanjay’s house, and then we will be able to get some fingerprints, yeah?” She looked at Sanjay.
Sanjay nodded. His suspicion regarding Clark had been confirmed. He had a feeling that something was off about Clark. He thanked James and ended the call.
“I will give Clark a call,” Diaz told him. She tried a few times but couldn’t get through. “It’s not connecting. He is probably out of range or something. I will send him a text.”
Sanjay stayed quiet. He was furious. He wished he had done this way before. The truth is that even when Aria was being investigated, no one really bothered with her boyfriend. They all just felt sorry for Clark, young, handsome, and charming; they all thought he was just another unfortunate victim in all of this. They never even thought about investigating him.
“What do you reckon?” Diaz turned to Sanjay after sending Clark a text.
“I have no idea what to believe right now. I had my suspicions before, and I don’t know why I took so long to get a background check on him.”
“Come on. It isn’t your fault.”
“I am a detective, Diaz. I should cover all of my bases. Shit! Do you know how many times I discussed my strategies in front of him to help Aria? Nothing seemed to work. I somehow always ended up in a dead-end. Now I am wondering if Clark was the reason they were always one step ahead.”
Diaz looked skeptical, “But that doesn’t make any sense. He knew about the USB you found, the stalker, the emails we were trying to recover…”
“I never told him about the USB, and we still haven’t found out about the stalker, the emails… well sure he knew about them, but maybe he thought we would never be able to recover them?”
“There could be a logical explanation. Clark seems to genuinely care about Aria,” Diaz pointed out, “Kept asking me what I am doing to get her out to the point it got super annoying. Clark has always been here to help. Why would he stick around so long? If he was playing a part in this? Aria is in jail. He should have gone by now. There are no records of him so no one would have found anything about him or his intentions, and Aria would still be in jail.”
“Uggghh!!” Sanjay let out a frustrated sigh. “I have no idea what is happening. This is also a big mess, but I am going to get to the bottom of this if it is the last thing I do. He is involved in this. I don’t know how or what his goals were, but we will soon find out. He has no idea that we are on to him. We can confront him when he gets to my house.”
“But, should we find out more about him first? Get his fingerprints and find out his identity?” Asked Diaz as Sanjay started his car.
“Diaz! Do you honestly think we have that much time now? The appeal has started, and it seems like we are already losing. He must know something that could help us.”
“Yeah. You are right. We don’t have much time. Let’s go. Clark might already be there by now,” Diaz answered. “I better tell Tanya to be careful too in case he gets in touch with her.”
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Diaz and Sanjay were sitting in Sanjay’s living room, discussing the next trial date. They froze the minute they heard the knocking. That must be Clark both of them were thinking. They hadn’t heard back from Clark since the morning, and they couldn’t reach him on his cell. His phone was switched off or out of range. The knocking grew more urgent, and Sanjay jumped up and went to open the door.
“What the hell is going on!!”
It was Tanya. Sanjay stepped back as she stormed inside, looking at both of them. “What do you mean I have to be careful with Clark! What’s going on? What did he do?”
Diaz and Sanjay sighed, “Calm down, Tanya,” said Sanjay. “Here. Sit. We will explain everything.”
Sanjay told Tanya everything that James had shared with him. Tanya was stunned. “But! How? I don’t under…”
Sanjay nodded his head, “And we can’t get hold of him now. He was calling and texting us since the trial today, but suddenly it’s quiet now.” Just then, Diaz’s phone started ringing, and everyone looked at her. She checked the phone and took a deep breathe, “It’s not Clark. I have to take this, though. It’s from work.” Sanjay pointed towards his bedroom, showing where she can talk in private, and Diaz walked in and closed the door.
“Honestly? I always had this bad feeling about him. Not sure why. He didn’t like me much either. We were just tolerating one another for Aria’s sake Tanya spoke up, her head buried in her hands. “Wait!” she suddenly looked at Sanjay, confused. “How did your friend find out about Clark?”
“He is a detective…”
“No! I meant how did he know Clark, and why was he investigating him…? Wait …. Did you?” Tanya raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, I did. I had a feeling. I needed to make sure that Clark was who he says he is and… Well… you too…”
“You had me investigated too?”
“I am sorry, Tanya. I had to make sure. We kept reaching dead end after dead end. Every lead seemed to lead us nowhere. They were always one step ahead of us. I suspected that someone was intentionally or unintentionally leaking out information. So, I had to. I am sorry. I might have been right … we have no idea what Clark is up to.”
Tanya glared at Sanjay, but her expressions soften up, “It’s okay. I do understand. You were doing your job and trying to help Aria. I am glad you did.”
“I just wish I had done it sooner, you know?”
“You wouldn’t have known. He did seem genuinely concerned about Aria. Also, we aren’t completely sure he is behind it all, right? Maybe there is some other logical reason?”
“Could be. But, it seems too much of a coincidence.”
“Umm, guys!” Diaz walked back into the living room, looking worried.
“What happened?” asked Sanjay.
“We have a major problem,” she informed both of them.
Tanya asked, “Oh God! Now what?”
Diaz cleared her throat, “There has been another murder. They are blaming it on Aria.”
�
�What the hell!” Tanya jumped up.
“How is that even possible!” Sanjay exploded, “She has been in prison for months now!”
“Yeaah… well, they have found a decomposed body, and they think the actual murder happened at the same time Coons died. The body has similar wounds. The trial has been postponed until the investigation is complete.”
“What the hell!!” Tanya repeated.
“This case keeps getting messier, doesn’t it?” Diaz sighed. “I have to go talk to Aria now. She has to know what’s happening.”
“Can I come with you, please?” Tanya pleaded with Diaz, who looked at her for a moment and then nodded. Tanya breathed a sigh of relief. Sanjay announced he would heading to the precinct to find out more about this new case.
“What does that even mean?! They are accusing me of another murder now?! I have been in prison for God knows how long for something I didn’t do, and now they are pinning another murder on me!?” Aria snapped.
Diaz had just explained everything to Aria, who had sat in shock for a few minutes before exploding. She had tears in her eyes, but also looked livid. No one could blame her. Things seemed to be getting worse for her. Just when she had some hope, it was snatched away from her within a heartbeat.
Tanya looked sympathetically at her best friend, “I am sure they won’t find evidence against you, Aria. They are just trying to cover their own incompetence by quickly covering up a months-old murder by blaming you.
Diaz nodded, “Listen. We are not going to let them do this. I am not going to let them do this. So, just keep your head down and hope for the best. We will get through this, okay? Sanjay is going to find out more. He went to work as soon as he heard. I will come back with more news tomorrow. Before you know it, this will all blow over. Okay?”
“Sure. If you say so,” Aria replied. She looked beaten as if she had already lost all hope.
Tanya and Diaz looked at one another. They didn’t know how to comfort Aria. They couldn’t even imagine what she must be going through. They sat in silence with her until the time came for them to leave. When they got back their cellphones at the gate, Diaz saw there were missed calls from Sanjay. She immediately called him back.
“What happened?”
“Well, you were right. The body that has been found has similar wounds as Coons. They even think it might have been done by the same murder weapon. However, it is too soon to tell. There will be an autopsy done, and then we will find out what actually happens. We will probably know something by tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks for the update. Let’s see what happens.”
“Yeah. I am going to stay here for a while. You guys should go home and get some rest, okay? We still have to work on the trial. So we will regroup tomorrow.”
Diaz and Tanya drove back in silence. Things had gotten complicated in a mere few hours. They had no idea what to do or where to start. They discussed Clark for a while, and they both tried calling him, but there was no response. “Should we try finding him? He might know something about this.” Tanya wondered out loud.
“If Clark knew something and wanted to help, he would have done so by now. He wouldn’t have waited for things to get this bad,” Diaz replied.
The next day, the news of another body found had made it in the media. According to a few news channels and newspapers, the body might be of another financial head of a leading company, who had been missing for a few months. Diaz shook her head as she listened to the news. “So many speculations. I hope they don’t find out the link they are making with Aria’s case. That’ll be a disaster.”
Just as she had spoken it, she saw Coons face flashing on the screen. Diaz groaned. “Great! Just what we needed!”
Tanya came into the living area. Diaz had suggested she stay over at her place since she had a spare bedroom. They both didn’t want to stay alone last night, and Tanya had quickly agreed. “What did we need?” Tanya asked before letting out a big yawn.
“Have a look for yourself,” Diaz sighed and pointed at the TV.
Tanya watched the news, and her jaw dropped. How did the media get hold of this news? Is this true, though? Is he another financial industry leader, like Coons was?”
Diaz shrugged, “No idea. The autopsy will be completed today, and we will find out exactly who he is and when he was murdered. Let’s just hope it happened after Aria went to prison. We really can’t deal with this on top of everything else. It will start another investigation with the current one.”
Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door. Diaz and Tanya froze. “Were you expecting someone?” whispered Tanya. Diaz shook her head. The pounding continued. “What the hell!” Diaz exclaimed.
“Nicole?” someone called out. “It’s me, Sanjay. Hurry up!”
Diaz sighed with relief and raced to open the door. She immediately jumped back as Sanjay struggled with another guy, whose face Diaz couldn’t see. “Get inside and shut up!” Sanjay told the guy as he pushed him on the floor.
“What are you doing?!” Tanya exclaimed. “Who is this?”
Sanjay checked the handcuffs on the guy's hands to see if they were secured. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” He pulled him up and threw him on the nearest couch.
“Clark!” Tanya roared when he saw the guy’s face. He had bruises all over his face. Diaz hurriedly locked the door behind her and stood next to Sanjay. “Where did you find him?”
“I was heading to the precinct this morning and saw him lurking a few blocks away. I tossed him in the car, and your place was closest. I didn’t want to take him to holding in case his buddies might be working there.”
Clark groaned, “You don’t understand…”
Sanjay slapped his face, “Don’t give us any of your crappy excuses. Start talking right now and tell us everything you did to get Aria framed. Otherwise, you’re gonna be sorry.”
Clark looked at Sanjay and then at Diaz and Tanya, who were standing right next to Sanjay, glaring at him with their arms crossed. He hesitated. Clark didn’t know where to start. He knew he messed up badly; this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He had no idea things would fall apart like this. He loudly groaned as Sanjay hit his face again. “Okay, okay! I will tell you everything!”
Sanjay snapped, “You better. Don’t you dare leave anything out.”
“I just… I don’t know where and how to start,” Clark moaned.
“Do you really want to do this?” Sanjay spat, “You are testing my patience right now.”
“Start with your name,” Diaz suggested. She knew they had to get information out of him fast so they can help Aria’s case.
“What! He even lied about his name!!” Tanya exclaimed.
“My… my name is David. I am a realtor. That’s not a lie. But I wasn’t doing so well in the past few years. I was almost homeless and out of work because I fought with my boss. A friend of mine connected me with some guy who used to give me odd jobs. It was quick money, and I needed to pay my rent and bills. So, of course, I took them. It was temporary work until I could get a job.”
“What kind of jobs?” asked Sanjay.
“All kinds. Started small, like transferring a package somewhere. Standing watch on a random place, driving someone around, and so on,” David noticed Sanjay about to ask a question. He hastily added, “I had no idea what was inside any of those packages, no idea what I was watching over, or who I was driving around. I never asked questions. It wasn’t my business. I was only concerned about money. I think that’s why they started trusting me more. I got bigger jobs… don’t ask me what. I just… it’s better you don’t know these things. These people find out everything and are not afraid to clean up any messes.”
“Fine Clar… David. Go on.”
“Well, I started doing well and eventually did find a good job. The jobs started getting fewer. It’s probably because they weren’t giving me small jobs anymore. One day, they told me I have to relocate to a new state. I was getting a house, a job, and a n
ew identity. I honestly wasn’t very keen on doing it. I was happy at where I was, but they threatened to get me into trouble at my work, and they also doubled my pay. So, I reluctantly agreed.”
“They mentioned Aria?” asked Diaz.
“No. Not really.. I was told that I have to keep an eye on someone living across from me. I had no idea who it was and what exactly they wanted me to do until I moved there. For a few months, I kept my distance from her and started my job. I thought ‘this isn’t so bad.’ I was doing well in the job, and since the house was already paid for. I didn’t have to worry about the payments or rent. I was saving up,” he sighed.
Tanya, Diaz, and Sanjay waited for David to continue.
“Then… then they told me that I have to get close to her. Get her to fall for me so that I can get more information… about what, I don’t know. As I told you, I never asked questions. I did as I was told. We were soon a couple.”
“I knew it! Clark… David, whoever you are! I knew the minute I met you that there was something fishy about you and that relationship. How dare you do this to my best friend…” Tanya yelled.
“Easy, Tanya,” Sanjay warned her, “Let him finish. Then you can have a go at him.”
David gulped, “Tanya. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t know what they were planning, and I honestly care about her. I … I love her. I really do.”
There was silence for a few minutes.
“I actually fell for her. She is amazing. I tried to get out, but the thing is I figured out they were planning something for her, and I knew whatever it was, it can’t be good. I thought if I kept on working for them, I would be able to save her. I just… I didn’t know what they were actually doing. I had no idea there was going to be a murder involved or that they would frame Aria. If I had known, I would have saved her somehow. I just thought it had something to do with the company she was working with.”
David stopped and stared at a distance. Diaz got him a glass of water. They all patiently watched as he gulped down the water in one go. He cleared his throat and started talking again, “Then, when I found out… that… they were planning a murder… I tried to back out. I was planning to disappear and take Aria with me. But you know how they are. They have eyes everywhere; they found out. They threatened to kill Aria if I tried to tell her. I begged them not to hurt Aria in any way. I told them I’d do anything. They… they agreed.”
Capital Crime (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 2) Page 11
