“Okay, I’ll make the arrangements,” Carlson said and took out his phone.
“What about Shirley and James?” Jake inquired.
“Let’s talk to them,” Kiara replied and walked hurriedly toward the door.
Jake looked at Carlson, who gestured him to follow her. “She’s not going to wait for you.”
Jake knew he was right. He rushed to the door at once.
CHAPTER 13
“Is this some joke?” James fumed as he saw Jake and Kiara. “The case has been closed, and you’re still summoning the family and on top of that, you made us wait for half an hour in this excuse of a room that doesn’t even have a proper ventilation.”
Jake and Kiara both ignored his rants and pulled chairs opposite them.
“We have a few questions for our report and after that we won’t disturb you,” Jake said calmly.
“What is it now?” Shirley asked James, who gestured her to keep calm.
“Whatever it is, finish it in the next ten minutes. This is the last time I’m letting you disturb us. Next time, I’m going to sue you,” he said sternly.
“I don’t think so. There is an excellent chance that you may lose your license before that,” Kiara sneered.
“Oh, so now you too are threatening me…”
“Why did you make Amy tell all those lies?” Jake had enough of it.
“Another flight of fancy of yours?” James said firmly.
“We had a visit from her a few hours back … but, you already know about it, Right? She claims to have hired Karl Bennett’s services on Shawn’s behalf, but we know that she’s lying,” Kiara explained.
“I … I don’t know what you’re saying,” James said immediately.
“According to her statement, when she met Karl, the collage of newspaper cuttings was not on the wall of his house. That means it was placed later to show that he was obsessed with the case,” Jake said.
“Maybe, he was,” James retaliated. “So what?”
“There is a hole in that theory. During our investigation, we found that the woman who hired Karl Bennett met him in his office and not at his house. Now, if Amy were that woman, how would she know what his house looked like from inside if she never went there? And, before you try to act smart, she confirmed that she met him only once.”
A sheen o sweat covered James’s forehead. He wiped it off immediately with his handkerchief.
“She lied, huh?” He said while trying to keep a brave face.
“I told you not to act smart. As we speak, she’s being questioned by another team, and I’m pretty sure that she’s going to tell us your name. You are finished, Mr. Lawyer,” Jake smirked.
James knew he had really dug himself into a hole with his plan against Shawn.
“I … I am willing to cooperate in whatever capacity you want me to. Please, don’t ruin my career,” he pleaded.
“You should’ve thought that before planning this scheme of yours. But, I must say that you’re a great actor. As soon as you saw that we’ve found out about your secret, you shifted your allegiance from the Campbell family in a heartbeat,” Kiara said with a smile.
“No, please don’t do this to me—” James tried one more time.
“That was a great show; I must say,” Shirley Campbell interrupted. “I understand that you summoned me to lure him here. Can I leave now?”
“You are right, Mrs. Campbell.” Kiara smiled. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience. Shall we drop you off somewhere?”
“That won’t be necessary. I brought my car,” Shirley said, getting up.
“Oh … you came by your black Mercedes?” Kiara asked.
“How do you know?” Shirley asked with surprise.
“Well, we heard about your fascination toward the color black.”
“Oh … yeah,” Shirley said with a smile. “I love it. In fact, all my cars are in black.”
Kiara smiled and looked at Jake, who was also smiling. James had no clue what was going on. He sat there motionless while trying to find a way out of there.
Jake turned to him, “You can also leave. But, we’ll need you as a witness in this case. The DA may go soft on you if you cooperate. I don’t have to explain that to you,” he said.
James nodded and followed Shirley out the door.
“You understand that you’ve to take a cab. I have nothing to do with you from now on,” Shirley said firmly as they walked across the office towards the main entrance. James nodded and followed her like a defeated man.
“We should also leave,” Jake suggested. “Carlson must’ve made arrangements for our meeting with Shawn.”
“Yeah, I’ve done that, and I got another bit of information for you,” Carlson said from behind, making the both of them turn around with surprise.
“What information?” Kiara asked.
“You wanted to know why Shawn transferred the money to Amy, Right?” Carlson asked. “She has confessed that they never had an affair. Shawn had asked her to bring the files of his Italian clients to his house and paid her for not telling anyone about it.”
“What?” Jake asked with surprise. “There was no affair. That’s why Cynthia didn’t divorce him after knowing about the affair from the media. He must have told her the real story behind it.”
Kiara nodded. “You’re right. She didn’t forgive him; she knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, and he didn’t tell us the real reason for giving Amy the money because that would’ve brought his illegal transactions with the Mafia to the limelight and ruined his career.”
“That means Scarlet Hansen caught a lucky break. She didn’t know there was an affair. She just assumed that they had an affair, and Karl Bennett found the details of the money that Shawn gave Amy for something else and everyone assumed that they had an affair,” Jake said with confusion.
“It’s too obvious to be a coincidence. She’s involved in this somehow—”
“I guess Shawn will be able to answer all these questions,” Carlson interrupted. “You should meet him before we question Scarlet. We don’t have much time with us.”
Kiara and Jake knew that he wanted them to leave.
“You’re right, sir,” Kiara said and looked at Jake, who nodded.
Carlson kept looking at them as they walked towards the main entrance, thinking how long it was going to take before they got hold of the real culprit.
“What are you thinking?” Jake asked as they waited for Shawn to be brought to the meeting.
“About who’s lying and who isn’t,” Kiara said in a low voice.
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
Kiara looked at him. “Cynthia was kidnapped because Shawn lost the Mafia money. But, then he tried to destroy the files that had the details of those transactions. Why would he do that? What was in those files? Scarlet Hansen hired Karl Bennett while posing as Shirley Campbell to keep her identity safe. How did she know that Shawn had given Amy money even though she wasn’t aware of their alleged affair? How did she know that we’ll somehow come to know that someone hired Karl, and the evidence will point towards Shirley? Her plan depended on how we were going to react to the findings. How was she sure that the investigation team will do exactly as she had planned? And finally, why would a mother want her son to be convicted of something he hasn’t even done?”
“I don’t know why she would’ve done it, but I know why they had to plan every step so meticulously. The Campbell family is one of the most influential families in New York. Anything done by them or to them can’t remain anonymous, and that’s why they took so much care in planning everything.”
Kiara nodded and was about to say something when the door opened. A police officer walked in, followed by Shawn, who was almost unrecognizable. The graying beard made him look ten years older. He gave a faint smile as if he was expecting them.
“Your visit means the case is still open. I hope it’s a good news for me,” he said as he sat opposite to them while the police officer loosened his cuff
s.
“It depends on your answers,” Jake said wryly.
“You still have questions for me. I thought you had figured out everything,” Shawn sneered.
Jake’s face turned red with anger. Kiara tapped on Jake’s wrist, trying to control his emotions.
“Mr. Hansen, do you remember the note that we recovered from Karl Bennett’s house?” Kiara asked.
Shawn’s face turned pale. “How can I forget it?”
“Well, we found out who sent it to you,” Kiara said.
Shawn looked at both of them as if his fears had come true. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
“And, thanks to this discovery, we now know why you confessed,” Jake smirked. “You wanted to protect your mother, but you won’t be able to do it any longer.”
“What?” Shawn asked. “I don’t understand how my mother is linked to it.”
“Mr. Hansen, your mother hired Karl Bennett, and she’s the one who sent that note to you,” Kiara said with confusion. “I thought you knew it and were protecting her.”
“You thought it to be someone else?” Jake was equally stumped.
“This … this is not possible. You must’ve made a mistake,” Shawn said while shaking his head. “Why would she do this to her son?”
“We thought you would answer that for us,” Jake said with confusion.
“Mr. Hansen, we have an eye witnesses that saw her meeting Karl. And, he also mentioned about her in his journal,” Kiara said. “We’re 100 % sure that it was her.”
“Wait,” Jake said. “If it wasn’t your mother then why did you confess? Who did you think had sent that message?”
Shawn looked at him. “You know how I met Cynthia?” he asked.
“She was covering the collapse of your company and during those interviews you became closer,” Kiara said, “But, it seems you have a different account of your meeting.”
“It wasn’t a chance meeting. I lied when I said that I didn’t know who she was before going on our first date. My company was crumbling, and my father had also denied me a job with his company. Initially, I did think of Cynthia as an ordinary reporter, but someone in the office mentioned about her background during one of the chats. I thought it to be a perfect opportunity. I befriended her, and before we knew it, we were dating. Once she confessed her love for me, I proposed marriage. She agreed immediately as I had expected. I used this opportunity to meet Michael Campbell, who by the way loves her unconditionally. I … I used this opportunity to mention the financial woes of my company and how passionate I was to work there. The next day, Michael proposed to bail the company out. I showed my reluctance to take advantage of our relationship, and that made Michael even more eager to help. So, I made him promise that he won’t tell Cynthia about it. As far as Cynthia is concerned, she believes that I single-handedly changed the fortunes of the company, and I was rewarded for that, but in reality Michael was the actual reason that the company still exists.”
“And, you think that Michael sent the note?” Jake inquired.
Shawn nodded. “Michael helped me because he thought that I was in love with Cynthia, but the reality is that I courted Cynthia only to reach out to him. My parents know that too, and when the media started portraying me as an opportunist after Cynthia went missing, Michael confronted my father, and my secret slipped out in the heat of the moment. I somehow managed the situation before it went out of hand, but my relationship with Michael wasn’t the same as before.”
“That’s why you believed Michael had hired Karl Bennett,” Jake said thoughtfully.
“I still believe that it’s him. He’s powerful, and he still holds a grudge over how I fooled him. And, besides, the thought of my mother behind it is just ridiculous,” Shawn said.
“I understand that it is difficult to believe, but, unfortunately, it’s the truth. There are only a couple of loose ends that we need to tie up, and that’s why we’re here,” Kiara said.
“You want my help in framing my mother?” Shawn asked angrily.
Jake gave a faint smile. “See it this way, Mr. Hansen: You’re going to prison for life for a crime that probably you didn’t commit. Your mother, on the other hand, might be just a small player in the whole scheme of things. If you try to protect her, your whole life might get ruined, plus she’s going to suffer too. On the other hand if you help us, you may save your life, and we may have enough evidence to put pressure on your mother to give the name of the people behind it. She may be punished, but it will be a much lighter sentence compared to what you will get while trying to protect her. Mr. Hansen, you are a seasoned investment banker. You know how to differentiate between a deal that has high returns and the one that is going to fail.”
“I … I need some time to think. I may have to speak to James,” Shawn said in a low voice.
“You will be surprised to know that he was working against you too. He used Amy to frame you,” Kiara said.
“That son of a…” Shawn yelled.
“Mr. Hansen, right now, you’re the best judge of what you need to do,” Kiara said.
Shawn nodded and looked at the ceiling blankly.
“Okay. Now that Michael isn’t behind it, I don’t have to fear for my life or my parents’ well-being. I … I guess I should cooperate if it helps me get out of here.”
Kiara smiled at hearing what she wanted to hear for the last half hour.
“You are making the right choice, Mr. Hansen. There are a few things that we haven’t understood yet. The first is obviously the reason behind your mother trying to frame you.”
“I will come to know the real reason once I speak to her, but if she did this then she did it to get Cynthia out of my life,” Shawn said with tearful eyes. “She never approved of this alliance and after knowing that I married Cynthia just to advance my career, she was further assured that Cynthia was a bad influence on me. But, now the situation is different. Cynthia even met my parents a few months back and tried to patch things up. My father has finally come to terms with our marriage, but my mother still hates her. When Cynthia went missing, and I was being blamed for it, she must have thought of it as an opportunity to put doubts in the Campbell family’s minds. She knew that I will never leave her, but what if Cynthia decided to leave me? That thought might have made her do such a thing.”
“But, how did she know that Cynthia would come back safely. Why would your mother bring your affair in public when everything was happening on its own?” Kiara asked.
“I don’t understand,” Shawn said and looked at them with confusion.
“Mr. Hansen, your divorce would have happened only if the kidnappers didn’t harm Cynthia. How would your mother know that Cynthia was coming back?” Jake asked.
Shawn’s face turned red with anger. “Are you accusing my mother of the kidnapping too?”
“We’re just analyzing the facts at hand,” Kiara said firmly.
“Well, your analysis is wrong,” Shawn replied angrily.
“There’s another thing that makes us believe we are right in our analysis,” Jake intervened.
“What’s that?” Shawn asked.
“How did your mother know that you had transferred the money to Amy’s account? How could she specifically ask Karl to access Amy’s account statement within twenty-four hours of hiring him?” Kiara asked. “That can only happen if she already knew about the money transfer.”
“I … I don’t know. Only Amy and I were privy to this information,” Shawn said.
“Maybe, we need to ask your mother directly,” Kiara said thoughtfully.
“And, while we’re on the topic of Amy’s account, we now know why you gave her that money,” Jake said with a faint smile.
“What are you saying?” Shawn tried to feign ignorance.
“Mr. Hansen, Amy confessed that she never had an affair with you. You paid her to get the files of your Italian clients and gave her the money to keep it a secret,” Kiara said.
A sheen of sweat covered Sha
wn’s forehead hearing Kiara’s words.
“I … I don’t know how much of a career I am left with at this moment. Please don’t let this information go out, or I’ll get blacklisted for life,” Shawn pleaded.
“Mr. Hansen, your career should be the last thing on your mind,” Kiara said wryly. “What was in those files?”
“It had the details about my transactions with the Mafia. I had already deleted the digital files. These were the last pieces that pointed everything toward me,” Shawn replied with difficulty.
“Involving Amy in it was not a very smart move, though,” Jake said.
“I was desperate. This was the first thing I did after coming back from Europe,” Shawn said.
“Mr. Hansen, we understand that you were desperate and whatever happened to Cynthia was done to blackmail you into giving away your client details to the Mafia. But, why did Lorenzo identify you as the one who hired him?” Kiara asked the question that had been bothering her for some time.
“I … I don’t have any idea. That’s why I’ve been saying that it’s a frame-up. Someone doesn’t want me to be in Cynthia’s life,” Shawn said with anger.
“Your mother won’t go that far. And, apart from her only Michael had the motive, but he won’t hurt Cynthia too,” Kiara said with confusion. “Who else could be involved?”
“I have no idea,” Shawn replied and covered his face with his palms. Jake looked at him and then at Kiara.
“I guess that’s it for now,” Jake whispered. “Mrs. Hansen will be able to bridge the gaps now.”
“Wait,” Kiara said at once. “I don’t want to take any further steps without having all the information beforehand.”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked with confusion.
Kiara turned toward Shawn. “Mr. Hansen, we have already established your mother’s involvement. We also know that she tried to pose as Shirley Campbell to avoid suspicion. One thing we don’t understand even now is that she gave Cynthia’s number to Karl and as per Karl’s journal, he spoke with her on that number for two days. But, you said that Cynthia’s phone was with you all the time. How is that possible?”
Davenport Mysteries 03-Perfect Crime Page 17
