Davenport Mysteries 03-Perfect Crime

by Varun Vashist

  Shawn looked at her while rubbing his hands in nervousness. “I was equally surprised when you mentioned it the other day. But with my mother coming into the picture, I think I know how that could have happened.”

  “You do?” Kiara asked with surprise.

  Shawn nodded. “But, before I tell you everything, you have to promise that you will be lenient with my mother.”

  “Absolutely,” Jake replied at once. He was too desperate to hear what Shawn had to say.

  “When Cynthia had gone to meet my parents, she forgot her phone there. My father returned it the next day, and I think...”

  “You think that someone cloned it?” Kiara asked with surprise.

  Shawn nodded. “But, I doubt that my mother could do it or even know that such a thing exists.”

  “That, we will find out,” Kiara said and got up. “I think we don’t have any more questions for you.”

  “Remember your promise of getting me out of here and being lenient with my mother. She did this out of love,” Shawn pleaded one more time.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll remember it,” Jake said while getting up. The officer waiting outside the room took a cue and came inside.

  “Let’s go,” he said. Shawn looked at Jake and Kiara once before getting up.

  Jake and Kiara waited till Shawn was escorted out of the room. Jake looked at his Kiara, who was lost in her thoughts.

  “What happened?” Jake asked.

  “He conceded too quickly,” Kiara said and looked at him.

  “He has no other choice. He has understood that giving away his life for his mother isn’t the solution,” Jake said while looking at his watch. “She must be at the division by now. We should leave. We’re on the verge of solving the case.”

  Kiara nodded. “You’re right.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “She confessed. She wanted Cynthia out of Shawn’s life,” Carlson said. “I got your message. You were right about the cloning of Cynthia’s phone too. She said that she learned about it from a magazine.”

  Kiara looked at Scarlet through the interrogation room mirror. She was accompanied by her lawyer and was speaking to him nervously.

  “And, how did she know about the money that Shawn transferred to Amy’s account?” Jake asked.

  “She says that it was a mere coincidence. She had asked Karl to follow Shawn, and when he found that Shawn was regularly visiting Amy’s house, she thought of them having an affair. She asked Karl to get Amy’s account statement … just in case,” Carlson explained.

  “Sounds really convenient to me.” Kiara was still not convinced.

  “Yeah … but the good thing is that she has confessed,” Carlson reasoned.

  “How was she so sure that Cynthia will be coming back?” Kiara asked the pertinent question.

  “She said that she has no idea who is behind the kidnapping. But, she was sure that Michael will get Cynthia back.”

  “Again a dead end,” Jake said ruefully.

  “What about Karl’s murder?” Kiara was desperate to find any clue.

  “Again she has no idea about that. She doesn’t even know who took away Karl’s phone. She had a grudge with Shirley Campbell; hence, the disguise,” Carlson replied. “See, I know this case is bothering you, but we have to take it on the face value. The kidnapping happened to hide Shawn’s illegal dealings. He hired Lorenzo and made it look like a ransom-driven kidnapping. He’s the one behind it. His mother, on the other hand, just tried to cash in on the opportunity. She has nothing to do with the kidnapping. I guess we should wait for twenty-four hours and then consider this case closed.”

  “I still believe Shawn is being framed.” Kiara was adamant. Jake looked at Kiara with surprise

  “Come to my office,” Carlson said in exasperation.

  “We’ve already gone through this multiple times. We have everything figured out. What do you want now? You want to keep this case dragging forever?” Carlson asked angrily.

  “He’s right,” Jake said, trying to rationalize the situation. “Scarlet Hansen did hire Karl Bennett, and she confessed to it too. There is not an iota of doubt there, and Lorenzo admitted that Shawn hired him. Shawn himself confessed that he had a meeting with Lorenzo. Where is any uncertainty left?”

  “There is a basic difference between Scarlet and Shawn’s account: Scarlet has confessed to the crime, but Shawn is denying it,” Kiara said though she knew it was a weak argument.

  “Seriously? Are you going to take Shawn at his word? He’s the guy who denied knowing Lorenzo initially. You think he’s telling the truth now?” Jake asked firmly.

  “What about the note that made him confess about the affair that he never had?” Kiara asked.

  “Well, we know that Scarlet left that,” Carlson said thoughtfully.

  “But, Shawn thought that Michael left it,” Kiara argued. “He feared that Michael will tell Cynthia about what he did for Shawn’s company, and Cynthia would leave him after that. Why would he agree to an affair that may result in his divorce, to conceal the reason behind their marriage that will also lead to his divorce?”

  “That really doesn’t make sense,” Carlson agreed.

  “Yeah, that’s why I still feel there’s something else that we’re missing,” Kiara said.

  “That could be only one thing,” Jake mused.

  “What?” Carlson looked at him.

  “The threat that the message carried was not what Shawn told us. It was about something else,” Jake explained.

  “What else does Michael know that could be used to blackmail Shawn?” Kiara asked.

  “Well, apart from Cynthia, it’s his career that Shawn loves the most. I guess he lied about the note. It was not about his and Cynthia’s relationship; the note was to threaten his career. And, if according to Shawn, Michael sent it, then there is only one thread that links them: the bailout of Shawn’s company,” Jake said thoughtfully.

  “But, we already know everything about that,” Carlson said in frustration.

  “We only know that Michael bailed him out, but we don’t know how he did it. He’s rich, but not rich enough to pay for a company’s debt. We need to find out how he financed it. I’m pretty sure that the files that Amy brought for Shawn had something in it that he doesn’t want us to know either,” Jake said.

  “You’re right. Now I’m wondering why they had the press conference the same day she was discharged from the hospital. They didn’t need to come in public or even if they wanted to; they could’ve waited till she recovered completely,” Kiara said.

  “So, what’s next?” Carlson asked. “I need to close this case in the next twenty-four hours. That’s the last deadline.”

  “I’ll put Bob on the trail to find out who financed the bailout, and while he’s working, we’ll pay a last visit to Cynthia,” Kiara said. “Don’t worry. We’re almost there; this is just a final step.”

  “I hope so,” Carlson nodded while cursing his luck.

  “You understood what we need?” Jake asked Bob, who looked at him with surprise.

  “I had been doing this before you even learned how to spell research,” Bob smirked. “And, remember, without me you wouldn’t have reached this far in this case.”

  “He’s right,” Kiara tried to massage Bob’s ego. “He’s the one who found Rafael for us—our very first lead.”

  “Yeah,” Jake said in a mocking tone.

  Kiara ignored him and turned toward Bob. “How much time will you need?

  “Shouldn’t take more than half an hour. All the data must be in the public domain,” Bob said at once.

  “I don’t think so. The names of the investors would be front for someone else. Michael Campbell would’ve taken care of that. He must have used his contacts for the bailout. But, he didn’t want his name to be associated with it,” Kiara explained. “I need the names till the top of the chain.”

  “Okay,” Bob said thoughtfully and then made some calculations. “Give me four hours then.”r />
  “I can give you only two,” Kiara bargained.

  “Three,” Bob said immediately and held his hand out.

  Kiara shook his hand. “Three it is.”

  With that, she and Jake walked toward the main entrance.

  “You know that he adds an extra hour every time because he knows you will negotiate,” Jake said.

  “Just shut up and think about what we need to ask Cynthia,” Kiara said angrily.

  “Okay. No questions about your relationship with Bob from now on,” Jake said with a smile.

  Kiara shook her head and barged out of the building.

  Jake didn’t utter a single word throughout the drive while Kiara was engrossed in her thoughts too. They were at the far end of the case, but there was something amiss—something that could point them in the direction of the mastermind, but they weren’t able to put a finger on it yet. And, Carlson’s ultimatum was making them even more nervous. They had only one day before he filed the final report.

  “What are you thinking?” Jake finally asked.

  “That we are coming here too frequently,” Kiara said while looking at Liberty Plaza building.

  “What?” Jake asked with confusion.

  Kiara pointed at the guard. “Look at him. He’s so delighted to see us.”

  Jake looked at the guard, who was smiling and waving at them.

  “I don’t think so. He’s not opening the gate,” he said.

  As soon as the car came to a halt, the guard came running toward them. Jake lowered the window.

  “No one is at home,” the guard said. He was the short guard they had met when they came to Liberty Plaza for the first time.

  “Where is Cynthia?” Kiara asked.

  “She is at her parents’ house,” he replied.

  “Now we have to go across the whole city in this traffic,” Kiara said with frustration.

  Jake knew she was exhausted, but there was no other way around. He turned on the ignition.

  “You could’ve saved us a lot of time if you had told us that Amy, Shawn’s secretary, was with them when they came back from the airport after their trip,” Jake said while rolling up the window.

  “No, only Mr. and Mrs. Hansen came that day,” the guard said with surprise. Jake stopped mid-way. He turned the ignition off and kept staring at the guard for some time. After a moment of contemplation, he stepped out of the car and walked to the main gate. He kept staring at the Liberty Plaza building

  Kiara was equally surprised by the guard’s statement. Amy and Shawn both had confessed that she accompanied him to Liberty Plaza. But, the guard was saying otherwise.

  Jake’s reaction had also surprised her. She was further thrown into a surprise when Jake turned around and gave a beaming smile to her. He walked to the guard.

  “You’re sure that only two of them were in the car that time?” he asked.

  “Yes, I saw them,” the guard said confidently.

  “And, by any chance did Shawn leave the building with Cynthia in the evening—say around eight o’clock?” he asked and looked at the guard with anticipation.

  “Yes!” the guard exclaimed. “How do you know?”

  “It was just a guess,” Jake said and got in the car. He started the car, and before the guard could have understood anything, their car left the street.

  “What just happened there?” Kiara asked. “And, why are we going in the opposite direction?”

  “Because, we need to summon Cynthia for interrogation,” Jake said.

  “Why?” Kiara asked. “Is this has something to do with what the guard just said?”

  Jake nodded. “Yup,”

  “How?”

  “Shawn arrived from the airport when the morning shift handover was going on, and he also left in the evening when the shift was changing. Do you think it is a coincidence?” Jake asked.

  Kiara took a moment to understand, and once she realized what Jake was pointing at, her eyes lit up.

  “It’s the time when the guards are away from the gate. They are in their office, exchanging the logs,” she said. “But, the guard said that they could see any movement from there.”

  “And, he’s right,” Jake said. “When I came here with Shawn, I happened to walk past the security office at the same time when one of the cars … an amazing Bentley … entered the main gate. I noticed everything about it, from the accessories to the license plate.”

  “But?” Kiara asked.

  “But, I couldn’t make out who was inside. The office is at such an angle that the glare from the cars’ windows casts a shadow. You can see how many persons are inside, but you can’t identify them with certainty. Maybe, the same thing happens in the evening with all the streetlights around the gate.”

  “And, Shawn knew it. He sneaked Amy in and out of the building without anyone knowing that she was there,” Kiara said with a smile.

  “Now we just need to know from Cynthia what she thinks of this and how this could’ve happened without her approval. After all, Shawn brought Amy in her disguise: for the guards, they only saw a man and woman coming inside and assumed that it was Cynthia and Shawn.”

  “You’re right; we need to get her in for questioning,” Kiara said as they entered the division premises. “I just hope that Bob too has something for us by now.”

  “I hope that too. Though I don’t trust that guy,” Jake said as he parked the car.

  “He’s the one who brought us this far,” Kiara reminded him.

  Jake shook his head and got out of the car. He could deal with the case, but not with Bob.

  Bob looked at his watch as they entered the division.

  “I need to go home. What took you so long?” he asked while pulling out a bunch of printouts from his desk drawer.

  “Traffic,” Kiara said tersely while looking at the papers. “Why are there so many pages?”

  “Oh … you need to see the summary page only. The other pages are all the research that I had to do,” Bob smirked. “You need to know how much work I’ve done, right?”

  “Right,” Kiara replied.

  “Is it for Carlson to know or for us?” Jake quipped, making Bob’s face go red with anger.

  “I’m not going to help you next time,” Bob said as he struggled to get out of the chair.

  “Just ignore him,” Kiara said while going through the report. “Wait … there are four investors. Shawn said there were only three.”

  “Don’t undervalue my research. If the report says four, then there are four investors,” Bob said angrily. “You can go through all the other pages. I have profiles of all the people who invested in the company.”

  “No … no, I didn’t mean that,” Kiara said at once. “I meant why he said there were three when there is an additional investor.”

  “Maybe, he was trying to hide this guy,” Bob came forward and put a finger on one of the names.

  “What makes you think so?” Jake asked while removing Bob’s finger from the page.

  “Because of two reasons,” Bob said. “Firstly, Michael Campbell had arranged the three investors, but Shawn arranged this one and secondly, his is the only Italian name in the list.”

  “Wow!” Kiara said with surprise. “You’ve outdone yourself, Bob. This indeed is a great find.”

  “Why are you so surprised?” Bob asked with pride. “I do such revelations day in and day out.”

  Jake took a deep breath. “If you two have massaged your egos enough, then can we proceed with the case?”

  “Yeah … I’m leaving. Even I don’t want to see your face,” Bob said and pulled his bag from the desk.

  “Thanks, Bob,” Kiara said.

  Bob nodded and left. Jake kept looking at him till he got out the door.

  “What a snob,” Jake said and turned around to find that Kiara was calling someone.

  “If you’re done with your adventure, can we get Cynthia for interrogation?” she asked and waited for the call to be answered. To her surprise, Jake lunge
d forward and snatched the phone from her.

  “What the hell?” she screamed. Jake looked at the office floor, but everyone had left for the day. He heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Let us first link our findings with the kidnapping and then make a move,” he suggested while giving back the phone.

  “What’s on your mind?” she asked while checking whether the call had been disconnected or not.

  “We now know that this fourth investor is the bone of contention. Shawn not only fooled everyone by pretending to save his company and get a promotion in return, but he also made a bigger fortune by arranging a shady investor. He would have received a huge percentage of the profit that this investor made,” Jake said.

  “Maybe, during the first year, but not after that. The company isn’t doing that well right now— he said that he lost a couple of big deals, and that’s when everything started,” Kiara added. “And, I believe these deals were taken by him to benefit this secret investor friend of his.”

  “But, that would make Shawn an enemy of this investor instead,” Jake said and thought for a moment. “So, Shawn lied to us about the Italian Mafia blackmailing him. It was all about this investor, and he was the one who hired Lorenzo—”

  “Stop,” Kiara interrupted.

  “What?” Jake asked surprisingly.

  “You’re right. It’s about the money, but not the investment that he made in Shawn’s company,” Kiara said with excitement.

  “Then how am I right?” Jake asked.

  “It was great that you stopped me from summoning Cynthia,” Kiara said and patted on Jake’s shoulder. “We need to call everyone for interrogation.”

  “What? Everyone?” Jake asked with surprise. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “No, I am not,” Kiara said hurriedly. “We’ll also need Bob in the interrogation room.”

  “What are you trying to do?” Jake was now at his wit’s end.

  “Everyone is a part of the chain. Either they know what happened, or they know why this happened,” Kiara said and looked at a confused Jake. She took a deep breath.