“Mr. Hansen, we have less than twenty-four hours with us before the ransom deadline ends. If you have anything to confess, do it right away,” Jake said.
“No, he has nothing to say,” James said and looked at Shawn. “Let’s get out of here first. We’ll discuss whatever you want to discuss at your place.”
“Don’t worry. It’s only going to help us,” Shawn said in a frail voice.
“But…” James tried one more time, but Shawn gestured him to keep quiet.
“I know what I am doing,” he said and turned toward Jake and Kiara, who were both waiting with bated breath to hear Shawn’s confession. “I am responsible for this mess,” Shawn said with tear-filled eyes.
“You’re scaring me. I just fought for you, and now you’re saying…” James tried one last time though he knew that it was not going to make any difference.
“It’s not what you think,” Shawn said while wiping the tears off his face.
“These people … the Mafia … I … I was helping them in getting their illegal money invested into legitimate businesses through a few of my clients. I was getting three times of what I usually get as commission; the businessmen were getting seed money for their businesses; and the Mafia were getting a chance to get out of their past and live their lives on legal money, which these businessmen had agreed to return to me from the profit.”
“Obviously it didn’t go as per your expectations,” Jake smirked.
“No … some of the investments went bad … Instead of making money, they went for a loss … There was no money left to pay back to the Mafia,” Shawn said.
“So, that’s why they’re after you. But, they must have gone after those businessmen too,” Kiara asked with some confusion.
“They don’t know yet who these businessmen are. I’m the only link between the two parties. Even the businessmen don’t know its Mafia money,” Shawn said in a feeble voice.
“That’s why such a specific ransom demand,” James said. “What have you done?”
“And, that’s why I want to come clean,” Shawn said. “I’m even willing to give it in writing.”
“That’s a bad idea,” James stressed. “Let’s discuss it tonight. We’ll find some other way out.”
“He can’t do that now that we’ve heard everything,” Jake said with a grin.
“You’re out of your mind. If her captors come to know that he’s turning against them, they may harm her, and we won’t be able to do anything after that,” James reasoned.
“But, this will at least stop them from accusing me of her kidnap and instead focus on her release. They’ll only pay attention to securing her release rather than wasting time in trying to find proof of my involvement.” Shawn said firmly. The tears and the frailness in his voice had all but gone.
James waved his arms in the air. “I give up. He’s all yours.” With that, he stormed out of the investigation room.
Carlson looked at him as he passed by and gave him a wry smile. James was too miffed to respond and rushed out of the office building.
“Mr. Hansen, you understand what you confessed just now will result in action against you,” Kiara said.
Shawn nodded. “Yes, but if it helps to secure Cynthia’s release, then it’s worth every punishment.”
“Okay,” Jake said and dragged a chair opposite to Shawn. “Yesterday, you said that you didn’t know Rafael. How does he fit in your story now?”
Shawn looked at him. “Rafael arranged the meeting with Lorenzo Oldani. He knew Lorenzo from some earlier assignments.”
“And, how did you meet Rafael?” Jake asked.
“One of the members of the Mafia … whose money I have lost had hired Lorenzo for getting the money back from me. He had given me warning that if I didn’t return their money before a month’s time, Lorenzo would come after me. Rafael was their local contact who had delivered the message. At the same time, Cynthia had planned the Europe trip. I thought it was an opportunity for me to meet these people face to face and settle everything for once and for all. I asked Rafael to arrange a meeting with the Mafia. He followed us to Rome … but…”
“What happened?” Kiara asked sensing a hesitation in Shawn’s voice.
“Instead of taking me to the Mafia boss, he took me directly to Lorenzo. I told him everything … where I’ve invested the money and how I lost it. He didn’t say anything. Maybe, meeting him was a wrong move on my part … He must’ve told it to his employers, who saw an opportunity and kidnapped Cynthia within two days of our trip. They knew that I’ll never part with the client list as I had made it clear to Lorenzo. The only reason I wanted to meet him was to ensure that it doesn’t hurt my career. I was willing to pay whatever money they wanted. I just wanted to make sure they don’t harm me or anyone in my family.”
“How did that work out for you?” Jake sneered.
“I … I got my fingers burned by meeting Lorenzo. He came to know about my terms and took the step that he knew would make me change my mind … I … I am the one who pushed Cynthia into it.” he said and started sobbing.
“You should’ve told us everything the other night itself,” Kiara said while passing a glass of water to Shawn. “It would have saved us a lot of time—time that we would have invested in finding Cynthia.”
Shawn looked at her with tear-filled eyes. “I was scared. I just wished that you’ll find her on your own, and that may help me save my career. But … but now I don’t care about that. All I know is that nothing is bigger than Cynthia’s safe release.”
“You seem to love her deeply,” Jake asked, making Shawn and Kiara look at him.
“Of course,” Shawn said firmly. “She means everything to me.”
“Then where does Amy Brooks figure in your scheme of things?” Jake came to the point.
Shawn began to shake nervously. He tried, but couldn’t say anything. It was not the reaction that Jake had expected.
“You all right?” Jake asked.
“Yeah … I’m fine. I had strayed a bit during the last year of our marriage. Maybe, it was the pressure of work or maybe, because I was spending the whole day with Amy. But … after this incident, I’ve realized what Cynthia means to me. I just want to forget about everything that I’ve done in the past and want to rebuild my life with Cynthia.”
Kiara was about to say something when there was a tap on the door. She looked at Jake, who stepped out at once to check. She turned toward Shawn.
“Mr. Hansen, I understand that you love your wife and whatever you tried to do was to save yourself and her. But, by hiding this from us you’ve only increased Cynthia’s problems,” Kiara said.
“Yes … I know, and that’s why I wanted to come clean before it went beyond control,” Shawn said apologetically.
“You should’ve told us earlier, because, by coming clean, you’ve also proved that you have no motive behind her kidnap and are also a victim like her,” Kiara said, shaking her head. “You can go home, but we will be keeping a watch on all of your movements. So, don’t try to hide anything else from us, and don’t try to use any other channel to get help for Cynthia.”
Suddenly, the door opened drawing their attention.
“He needs to leave immediately,” Jake said hurriedly. “Someone leaked the news of his affair with Amy to the media. They will be here any moment.”
“What?” Shawn stood up in a shock and started walking across the room. “Who could do this to me?”
“Where do you want to go, Mr. Hansen? Your parents’ house or some friend’s place?” Kiara asked.
“No … I can’t go to my parents’ house,” Shawn said immediately. “I think I should go to my apartment.”
“The media must be swarming the place by now. Will you be safe in there?” Jake asked and looked at Kiara, who was also not sure why Shawn wanted to go to his apartment.
“What? Yes … yes,” Shawn said while thinking about something. “I think I should leave.”
“It’s your wish,�
� Jake said, shaking his head. “The media must have created a ruckus in your apartment by now.”
“Once I’m inside, they can’t reach me,” Shawn said and walked to the door. “Oh God! What have I done?”
“Shall I come too?” Kiara asked.
“No … Carlson needs to discuss something with you,” Jake said. “Here’s a tip. Don’t believe everything that he says.”
“Will you be able to get past the reporters?” She asked ignoring Jake’s words.
“There’s no difference between you and Carlson. You both think that I’m an incompetent jerk.” Jake said and stormed out of the room. Shawn followed him immediately.
Kiara came out and kept looking at them till they stepped out of the building. There was no sight of Cynthia’s release, but the case was going in spirals.
With that thought, she turned around - What was there that he wants to discuss in Jake’s absence? She thought as she walked to Carlson’s office.
Carlson was walking across his office while making some calculations. In between he was glancing at the television that was running the latest development in the case. With the news of Shawn’s affair, the news channels had enough ammunition to portray Shawn as a villain. They were now correlating each and every event of Shawn and Cynthia’s relationship, including how they met and how Shawn used Cynthia as a ladder for his success in the corporate world. Everyone in the Campbell and Hansen families was now being approached to shed some light on the issue though there were no official statements from either family yet.
Cynthia’s kidnapping had gone into the background, and now the only thing in the reporters’ minds was to portray it as a scandal that could boost the ratings of their shows.
“They left?” Carlson asked as Kiara entered.
Kiara nodded. “What’s happening?”
“We were wrong about Shawn. Weren’t we?” Carlson asked. “He’s not innocent after all. His stupidity resulted in her kidnap.”
“Yes, but he’s not the one who—” Kiara tried to put her point across but was cut short.
“That doesn’t matter now. He wasted our time. The ransom deadline ends tomorrow and with the kind of coverage it is getting, the kidnappers would be alerted by now,” Carlson said while pointing at the television.
“You’re right. They can’t possibly be thinking about the ransom now. It has become so big, with the FBI, the Italian intelligence agencies and the media across two continents involved in it. And, maybe that’s what they wanted from the beginning,” Kiara said thoughtfully.
“Again one of your conspiracy theories? I was just speculating,” Carlson said, shaking his head.
“Sir, Shawn did confess everything, but only after reading the note left by Karl Bennett,” she explained. “Maybe, there was some hidden message in that note that made him confess.”
“You still believe he’s innocent?” Carlson asked in disbelief. “So, according to you, he made up the whole story. Didn't he know Rafael? Didn't he have any dealings with the Mafia? He didn’t have an affair with his secretary?”
Kiara knew Carlson was under tremendous pressure, and her words were only making him angrier. She took a deep breath.
“I just wanted to explore some more options before arriving at a conclusion. But, you’re right. That’s not the scope of our case. Our case is to find Cynthia, and we haven’t made any progress on that,” she said and paused. “Any news on Lorenzo’s whereabouts?”
“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. I didn’t want to say it in front of Jake, as he doesn’t like me speaking with Michael Campbell.”
“Michael Campbell has … I mean, he had a good hold on the Italian-American community. When I approached the Italian authorities, I also reached out to him. He talked to a few people in the community, and some of them knew Lorenzo. With the local authorities and Michael’s contacts, we found out two possible hideouts of Lorenzo. They raided the first place, but he wasn’t there. They’re going to raid the other place today. I hope they find him there, and everything settles down before anything happens to Cynthia. I’m getting daily calls from the top management, and I don’t know how long I can keep telling them that we are doing our best.”
“I understand, sir,” Kiara said. “What do you want me to do?”
“The original idea was to find Cynthia and get Lorenzo prosecuted for the kidnap. That way, the media would’ve accepted it as a normal kidnapping for ransom. But, with this new angle of Shawn Hansen’s affair, things are going out of our control. They were already spreading the theories about how Shawn hired someone to kidnap her. And, with his affair going public, it’s now going to become an even bigger case. The media doesn’t care if the truth is far from what’s being projected. They only care about the ratings. We need to clean this mess before it gets any uglier. And for that I need ideas, but no conspiracy theories, please.”
Kiara knew what Carlson meant. His job was in the line of fire—thanks to Michael Campbell’s involvement. Maybe, he had orders that this case should not impact the Campbell family’s reputation. Jake was right about Carlson’s allegiance toward Michael Campbell after all. She had to tread with caution.
“Sir, I think we should reach out to Amy Brooks first. If she did take money from Shawn, this is an excellent opportunity for her to cash on this further. Before the media buys her out, and she tells her story publicly, we need to get her out of the picture,” Kiara suggested.
Carlson nodded. “You’re right. I need you to stop any rumors about the family’s involvement from spreading out.”
“Anything else?”
Carlson shook his head. “No.”
Kiara left at once. She couldn’t believe what Carlson had just asked her to do. Jake was right in saying that Carlson was using them as Michael Campbell’s personal army.
Carlson looked at the door and once assured that Kiara had left; he dialed a number.
“It’s being done as per your wish,” he said and listened to the voice from the other side carefully.
CHAPTER 7
While Kiara was trying to decipher Carlson’s intentions, Jake was fighting a different battle. As expected, Liberty Plaza was swarmed by the media. As their vehicle arrived, the media ran toward it like a mad crowd. Jake didn’t slow down, making them run aside. As soon as the security guards recognized Shawn, they opened the gates. The time taken in opening the gate was enough for the reporters to reach out to the car.
“Mr. Hansen, what do you have to say about your affair?” one of the reporters shouted. Jake gestured them to step aside, but they didn’t budge. Some of them started to bang the windows. Shawn was shaking nervously.
“Where is Cynthia Hansen?” another reporter shouted. As he heard the words, Shawn’s face turned pale with fear. Jake looked at him and gave a wry smile.
“This is nothing. Wait till you see the news,” he said and drove to the parking area. As they drove away from the crowd, the shouting of the reporters turned into muffled grunts. Jake parked at the extreme corner and came out of the car. Once assured that no one was around, he knocked on Shawn’s window. Shawn was still scared.
“Don’t worry. No one is here. You can’t even see the gate from here,” he said. Shawn looked out the window and once satisfied, came out of the car.
As they walked to the elevator, Jake looked at the gate. He noticed that the police had arrived and were trying to scare the reporters away. Shawn saw it too and felt a bit relieved. As they passed by the security guard’s office, Jake noticed a car entering the gate though he couldn’t see the faces of the driver or the passengers.
“They’re the Maloney family. They live on the fifteenth floor,” Shawn said, bringing Jake back from his thoughts.
“What car is that?” Jake asked while still looking at the car with admiration.
“It’s a Bentley. He … he remodeled it,” Shawn said as they entered the building and walked to the elevator.
“Forgive me, Mr. Hansen,” Jake said sheepishly. “
I lost my focus for a moment.”
“Its fine,” Shawn gave a faint smile. “It’s a great-looking car.”
Jake didn’t say anything and got inside the elevator. He was in a wealthy neighborhood, and that had distracted him. He knew that Shawn would have laughed at him had he not been in this situation. The only salvaging factor was that Kiara was not there. Otherwise, he would’ve never heard the end of it.
Kiara kept thinking about her meeting with Carlson as she drove toward Amy Brook’s house. She had texted Jake but hadn’t heard back from him. As she turned the corner and headed toward Amy’s house, she was surprised by the empty street. She glanced at the address one more time. She was at the right address, but no reporters were surrounding the house. She slowed the car and looked around the street, but everything seemed to be normal.
As she drove closer, she saw Jake sitting on the steps to Amy’s house. He pointed her to the parking area at the end of the street. He walked behind her car as she looked for a parking spot.
“What’s happening?” she asked as he reached the car.
“She’s not here. Not since the news became public,” Jake said. “I checked with the neighbors. They don’t have a clue where she went. It seems the media too waited for a couple of hours and then left.”
Kiara nodded and came out of the car.
“We should check with her parents,” she suggested.
“I already did that. They don’t know where she is, and they don’t want to discuss it,” Jake said.
“You did all of this in twenty minutes?” Kiara asked while looking at her watch.
“Well, Carlson may think I’m useless, but I do know how to make things happen,” Jake replied in a bitter tone.
“Oh … so this special effort was to prove a point to Carlson?” Kiara smirked. “And, how will he come to know about this?”
“I already reported to him,” Jake said sheepishly.
“Wow!” Kiara said with surprise. “What did he say?”
Davenport Mysteries 03-Perfect Crime Page 8
