“It … It didn’t go down well,” Jake said in a low voice. “He wants to speak to me once the case is closed.”
Kiara burst into a laugh. “I would love to be there when he does that. I’m already picturing your red face.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Jake mocked her and started walking to his car.
“Wait … wait,” Kiara said. “You were right about Carlson.”
Jake turned around and looked at her face. “You’re not trying to pull my leg again?”
“No, I’m not,” Kiara said. “All he wants is to keep this case under wraps. He’s been instructed to protect the Campbell family’s name. That’s why he ordered us to speak with Amy and to pressure her not to go public with her statements.”
“I knew it!” Jake pumped his fist in the air. “You didn’t believe me. Now, who has the last laugh?”
“You’re going to rub it in my face. Okay, you won,” Kiara said.
“Now, you’ve taken away all the fun from it,” Jake said with disappointment.
“That was the plan, actually,” Kiara said and paused. “There’s something much deeper to this case, though. It’s not just a kidnapping as it looks on the surface. I still believe Shawn was pulled into it by someone … someone who knows everything about his personal and professional life. The person behind this knew about Shawn’s affair and also about the financial losses of his clients. It was just a matter of timing. As soon as Cynthia got kidnapped, Shawn was blamed for that. But, as the case progressed, and Lorenzo made the ransom call, he was removed from the list of suspects. However, the person behind it didn’t like that. As Shawn was about to be exonerated, the story about his affair was leaked to the media. It brought the needle of suspicion back on him.”
“But, that would mean Karl Bennett was not working on his own. He was hired for getting the proof of the affair between Shawn and Amy,” Jake said thoughtfully.
“How can you say that?” Kiara asked with surprise.
“As you said, the timing was the most important part of the plan. If Karl was working independently, how would they know that he had Amy’s bank statement and without knowing that how did they time the release of the proof so perfectly. And…,” Jake said and stopped midway.
“What happened?” Kiara asked.
“We were right. It’s not about the proof that Karl had gathered. It’s about the message,” Jake said in exhilaration.
“What about the message?”
“I agree that the proof pointed at something, but they were not strong enough. Yes, for the media, they were sufficient to generate juicy news, but as a proof they could easily be disproved. And, Shawn too knew that. Amy is his secretary, so no one could prove the calls weren’t official. Also, he would never transfer money from his personal account to Amy. He’s too smart for that. That’s why he refuted all the claims made by us. But, the message would have never made any sense to him without the phone bill and the account statements. That’s why Karl was hired. The message warned Shawn that there are much stronger proofs other than the bills that could do irreparable harm to his image. He has only one choice, and that is to come clean about his affair.”
“So, Karl was murdered, then?” Kiara asked.
“Either he was murdered, or he was forced to commit suicide. His client knew about his medical condition, and maybe he used that against him. He knew that if Karl was not on his medicine, he was going to harm himself,” Jake explained.
“Wow! This is a perfect crime. You just have to manipulate people, and they will do everything you want them to do. Now, I feel that even Rafael was a victim of a similar plan, and his drug addiction was the weakness that was exploited to eliminate him. Even Amy’s disappearance could be an orchestrated one.”
“Maybe,” Jake said. “The only missing point is that where does Carlson fit in the whole scheme of things.”
“Well, we can only guess. We don’t even know if he speaks to Michael Campbell directly or gets orders via the top management.”
“The only way to know more about the case is by meeting the families,” Jake suggested. “Maybe someone from the family is also involved in it.”
“You’re right,” Kiara said before pausing. “But, Carlson won’t allow us to question them. He had given us a chance, but we missed it.”
“What if we had a valid reason to meet the families?” Jake suggested. “He can’t stop us, then.”
“What do you mean?” Kiara asked.
“What if we convince him that Cynthia’s release depends on getting some information from the two families,” Jake made a wild guess.
“That could work, but what could be such a reason? If someone from the family is behind her kidnap, then they won’t answer or questions, and we don’t have any legal ground to pressure them,” Kiara said, “If we start asking uncomfortable questions, they will not cooperate. Eventually, Carlson will come to know about it, and we’ll be in deep trouble for nothing.”
“But, this is our only chance,” Jake insisted. “I completely agree that we might be wrong, and this may be just a theory—a wrong theory. But, just think about it this way. The reason behind the kidnap is not ransom. Otherwise, the news of Shawn and Amy’s affair wouldn’t have made public at this time. And, Shawn’s reaction to the note left by Karl confirms that it’s not a coincidence. It means that there is a great chance of our theory being right, and if it’s right, then there could be only one motive behind Cynthia’s kidnap - it was done only to defame Shawn and get him out of Cynthia’s life. It means someone from the Campbell family has to be involved. They were opposed to the idea of their marriage from the first day itself. And, if they don’t cooperate, it will only prove that we are on the right track.”
Kiara was still not convinced. “This is just beating around the bush. There can be someone else behind it—maybe Shawn’s business partners or the people who didn’t like his sudden rise. Or, maybe Amy did this. If Shawn is right and he never transferred any money to her then how did the money came to her account? She could’ve done it herself. She has access to all the details about Shawn—whether financial or otherwise.”
“We can’t just sit around and follow Carlson’s orders quietly,” Jake said in frustration.
“Even if we start the investigation on our own, we’re going to need some serious amount of time to gather all the details. There are too many threads to follow: the families need to be questioned; we need to find who killed Karl and Rafael and where did Amy go? I don’t think we’ll reach the end of it without getting noticed.”
“Will Bob be of any help?”
“No. He has direct orders to report immediately if we ask for any help from him. And, you know Bob very well. He’ll do anything to get a pat on his back from Carlson,” Kiara replied.
Jake got so frustrated that he punched the hood of his car. Kiara was equally agitated, but there was nothing that she could do about it. Suddenly, she remembered something.
“Bob may not be of any help, but we could behave like him and may get something out of Carlson,” she said.
“Seriously … you want me to … No, forget about it,” Jake said in disbelief.
“This is the only way. If you have any better ideas, you are welcome,” Kiara said.
“Okay. Let’s not waste time here, then,” Jake agreed reluctantly.
With that, they got into their cars and left at once. Kiara knew if they massaged Carlson’s ego just the way Bob did; there was a slight chance that they could get the permission to interview the families. But, it was just a slight chance.
Carlson was talking on the phone as Jake knocked at the glass door of his office. He gestured them to get inside.
He disconnected as they pulled the chairs opposite to him.
“I heard that Amy’s gone missing too,” he said with a slight disappointment in his voice.
“Sir, we were a bit late to reach out to her,” Kiara said sheepishly.
“No, that’s fine. As long as she keeps quie
t, we don’t have anything to worry,” he said and turned to Jake. “How’s Shawn doing?”
“He is doing fine. He is a little bit agitated, though,” Jake said tersely.
“He has to be. When the dust settles, he may have to forego his position as the Campbell family’s son-in-law,” Carlson smirked.
There was a momentary silence. Jake looked at Kiara, who took a cue.
“Sir, you said about a raid being planned on one of Lorenzo’s hideouts?” she asked.
Carlson looked at his watch. “I’m expecting a call anytime now.”
Kiara nodded. “I hope we find Lorenzo this time.”
“We have to. Otherwise, I will have no place to hide,” Carlson said in a frail voice.
Kiara tapped on Jake’s wrist.
“I … I’m sorry for my earlier behavior, sir. You’re under tremendous pressure, and I just added to your woes,” Jake said as softly as he could.
Carlson took a moment to digest what he had just heard. “You don’t even have the slightest idea. Half of my day goes in pacifying the top management and the other half in justifying our efforts to Michael Campbell.”
“We can’t help you with the former, but can definitely help you with the latter,” Kiara said immediately as if rehearsed.
“What do you mean?”
“Sir, Michael Campbell is a big guy. He directly reaches out to your superiors. They can only assure him that we are giving our best effort. However, they don’t know the details of the activities happening on the ground, and that’s what is bothering Michael. If you allow us to meet the Campbell family, we will tell them everything that we have done in detail and how we’re ensuring that no harm is done to Cynthia.”
Carlson was about to say something but stopped mid-way. His hesitation was enough for Jake to know that they had put doubt in his mind.
“Sir, we can also assure them that their family name won’t be dragged into this scandal, and as soon as Cynthia returns safely, we’ll close the case by declaring it a typical kidnapping. We’ll also give the assurance that Amy Brooks won’t be able to reach out to the media.”
Carlson nodded. “You’re right. That will certainly make my life easier. But, you have to be cautious. You can’t ask them anything that would anger Michael or any other member of the family. I can’t afford it.”
“We will keep that in mind, sir,” Kiara said.
“I will speak to Michael Campbell’s office and see if he is available,” Carlson said and started scrolling down his phonebook. A momentary silence ensued.
“Again, I am sorry, sir,” Jake broke the silence, causing Kiara to groan in angst. He was overdoing it, and she just hoped that Carlson would tell them to leave.
“It’s fine,” Carlson said and gestured them to leave, making Kiara heave a sigh of relief.
She got up at once and stepped out of Carlson’s office. Jake followed suit.
Kiara looked angrily at Jake.
“What?” he asked.
“Why were you overacting?” she asked.
“What? Me? No … no. I was being polite,” he said as they walked to the main entrance.
“Is there something going on?” Kiara asked, raising her eyebrow.
Jake stopped and looked around the office floor.
“I think Carlson knows Amy’s location,” he said in a low voice.
“That is ridiculous,” Kiara said. “That’s why you mentioned about assuring the Campbell family that Amy won’t be able to reach out to the media?”
“Yes. And he completely ignored it. He just talked about how his life will become easier. He didn’t even ask how we’re going to ensure Amy won’t go to the media. We have nothing against her that could stop her from doing that. She can tell it to anyone without any fear. If no one could stop people going public with their affairs with the president of the country, then who is Shawn Hansen?”
“You are over reading it,” Kiara said as she fumbled with the car keys.
“Let’s have a deal. A hundred bucks says that Amy will resurface as soon as Cynthia comes back tomorrow,” Jake said and held his hand out.
Kiara pushed it aside. “How do you know that she’s coming back tomorrow?”
“Because this kidnapping is a sham. It’s been orchestrated by someone from the family,” Jake declared, making Kiara nervous.
“Meeting Michael Campbell looks like a bad idea now,” she said worriedly.
“Why?”
“You’re going to create a scene there,” she said as they got into the car.
“I won’t do that. I’m not that stupid,” Jake said and pulled his seat belt angrily.
“Just act normal and make them believe that you care for them. That’s our only chance of getting any information,” Kiara pleaded.
Jake looked at her angrily and then stared out the window. Kiara gave a loud grunt and turned the ignition on.
Kiara kept thinking about what they were going to ask Michael Campbell that could give them a lead. Carlson had made them work on the case as per his wish. But, now was the time to steer it in the direction they wanted it to go.
Another thing that she feared was keeping Jake under control during the meeting. He was even more restless than her, and if he felt that they were wasting their time, he could snap. She needed more energy than usual for the meeting. With that, she looked at Jake for a moment, who was still staring at the scenery.
Michael Campbell had given a half-hour slot, according to Carlson’s message. The villa was located at about an hour’s drive from the main city. By the time they reached the “Campbell Villa,” they had only two minutes left for the meeting. Kiara looked at the villa. It reflected the riches of Campbell family. It was overlooking a lake, with a golf course at the extreme corner.
The security guard disregarded their position and treated them no different from any low profile visitor. Jake was visibly frustrated but kept his cool somehow as their car was screened. Even after a thorough check, they had to leave the car outside the main gate. Two armed security guards escorted them to the central hall.
“He’s much more powerful than I had anticipated him to be,” Kiara murmured as they waited for their turn. They could hear Michael’s voice from the adjoining room.
“More power means fewer chances of getting any information,” Jake replied.
“Remember, we don’t care about the answers. We have to find any clue that could guide us to the mastermind. Also, he shouldn’t come to know about the actual ransom demand,” Kiara said.
“Don’t reiterate Carlson’s instructions. I’m not a fool,” Jake said with exasperation.
Their discussion was disrupted by the sound of footsteps coming their way. Both looked at each other and went quiet.
“You’re late,” Michael Campbell said as he walked to them. “I took another call while waiting for you.”
Kiara and Jake got up at once. Michael gestured them to take a seat while he adjusted the chair opposite to them.
“You report to Carlson?” he asked, looking at both.
Kiara nodded. “Mr. Campbell, we’re here to assure you that we are really close to securing Cynthia release. With Rafael’s phone and travel history, we have enough proof to link this to Lorenzo Oldani.”
“Lorenzo … yeah … when is he going to get caught? After we lose Cynthia?” Michael asked.
“No, Mr. Campbell. We’re closing in to catch him. We already raided all of his hideouts and operating offices. We’ll have his custody anytime soon,” Kiara replied softly.
“I’ve been hearing that for the last two days. We don’t even have a clue whether Cynthia is alive or—”
“Believe us, sir. It’s just a matter of time,” Kiara interrupted before Michael could have completed his sentence.
Jake was getting restless by the moment. They could keep massaging his ego all day without reaching anywhere. “Mr. Campbell, we had a few questions for you,” he said before Kiara could add anything to the investigation status.
<
br /> “What questions? We know who did it and why it was done!” Michael Campbell thundered. “Carlson assured me that tonight we’re going to hear some positive news. So, what’s now left to investigate? I need the results, not the questions.”
Kiara looked at Jake. They had come here to ensure that the illusion of investigation remained alive, but the plan seemed to be backfiring. She had to think of something, fast.
“You’re right about the ransom demand, but we’re still not sure about the reason for the kidnapping,” Jake said.
“She’s rich. Isn’t that enough of a reason for you?” he roared.
“There are many rich people in Italy too. Why to take pains to kidnap an American citizen and complicate the process of transferring the money from one continent to another?” Jake wasn’t going to give up so easily.
Michael Campbell’s face turned tense for a moment, but he recovered in a flash.
“What does your expert analysis say?” he smirked.
“There is no analysis, Mr. Campbell,” Kiara pitched in before the situation could have gone out of hand. “We just wanted to know about your ties with the Italian-American community.”
“You think that my falling out with them is the reason behind Cynthia’s kidnapping?” he said sternly and got up. “I’m not going to sit here and let you insult me.”
“Well, Shawn is also of the same opinion,” Jake said as Michael Campbell was about to leave.
“That son of a…” Michael controlled his emotions somehow. “What did he say?”
“According to him, you tried to patch things up with the Italian-American community, but they warned you against reaching out to them again. They even threatened you with dire consequences. You stayed away for some years, but with the impending elections, you ignored their warnings and tried one more time earlier this year. He believes it to be the reason behind Cynthia’s kidnapping,” Jake explained.
Michael Campbell sat down and looked at them for a moment. His face had turned a crimson red, and all the arrogance had faded away.
“He … he’s right about my issues with the Italian-American community, but they won’t go that far. And besides, they asked for money and that too from Shawn. They should’ve approached me instead if they wanted to teach me a lesson.”
Davenport Mysteries 03-Perfect Crime Page 9
