“What lifeline?”
“They told me to continue with my plan of fooling you. I was told that my plan was meant to bring them under your grip, but if I had to save my life, the plan had to be reversed. I had to lure you to their grip,”
“Lure me?” Jake asked with wide eyes.
“The voice told me to leave the house with the saw and to leave clues that could lead you to my old house. I remembered telling the hardware store cashier that if the cops asked; he could say that a boy had purchased the saw to work on his old house. I told the same lie to the cab driver, and you fell for it… rather your partner fell for it. It was you who they needed, but your partner saved you by giving away himself.”
Jake covered his face with his palms. It took him a few moments to gather himself. Everything that had happened in last few days flashed through his mind – the way they found Donald, the discussion he had with Donald and the way Ryan found the saw; everything was done to lure him, and poor Ryan fell for it. That reminded him something.
“Why did you surrender?” he asked.
“I was told to surrender by 5 P.M.,” Donald said and paused, “I believe they wanted me to narrate everything to you so that you’ll know what you are up against.”
“And, you think you’ll walk out of here a free man?” Jake asked.
“I don’t want to,” Donald replied at once. “They might have spared my life for now, but they’re going to come back. I know they’re powerful enough to do whatever they want to do; wherever they want to do, but I’ll be safer in a cell than in my house… hopefully.”
“We’ll deal with that later,” Jake said, “So, you are saying that beyond those voices you know absolutely nothing about them?”
“No one can,” Donald gave a terse reply.
“Any places they might have mentioned. Anything?” Jake stressed.
“Haven’t you heard what I said?” Donald said in disbelief. “You’re not dealing with anything from this planet. Their powers are beyond our imagination. Who knows by now what they would’ve done with your partner?”
“No, Ryan doesn’t fit their profile. He has nothing in common with you or the other victims. And, you said they were after me, not him. That means only one thing.” Jake said and got up. “I crossed paths with them somewhere during the investigation, and that made them angry and that’s why they changed their plan and came after me.”
“Whatever you want to say, you can; but how do you explain everything else?” Donald asked.
“You’re not supposed to ask questions in here. It’s the other way around,” Jake replied drily, “Remember one thing; if anything happens to Ryan, I’m going to make sure that you rot in the cell for the rest of your life.”
Jake left at once. Donald looked at the door as it closed with a thud and started murmuring some prayers.
“What do you think?” Carlson asked as Jake walked out of the interrogation room.
“I need Kiara on this case,” Jake said ignoring Carlson’s question.
“Kiara?” Carlson asked with a raised brow.
“He is playing with my mind. If I work alone on this case, I’ll start believing all the things he is saying… you’ve already seen its effect. I need Kiara as she is more analytical than I am. I can’t function without her. You made a mistake by making us work separately.”
“I understand your predicament but don’t drag me into it,” Carlson said firmly.
“I won’t. Please, give her permission to work on this case with me.”
Carlson looked at Jake. He looked completely shaken. “Okay,” he agreed. “Anyway, she isn’t doing anything these days.”
Jake gave a faint smile. “Yes, she is completely free.”
Carlson noticed the smile but ignored it for a moment. “There is another thing you need to do before she arrives.”
“What’s that?” Jake asked.
“We had to inform Ryan’s parents about what happened with him,” he said. “They want to speak to you.”
“Why did you tell them?” Jake asked with disbelief. “You could’ve at least waited for a day.”
“You know the nature of this case,” Carlson replied. “I didn’t want them to know it from the news channels. This is their number. Talk to them while I call Kiara.”
Jake nodded. He didn’t have a choice.
CHAPTER 9
Jake took a couple of minutes to compose himself. He didn’t know what Carlson had told Ryan’s parents, but he only wanted to offer them hope.
He dialed the number and waited patiently.
“Hello,” a man’s voice came from the other side.
“Hi, this is Agent Carter. I am Ryan’s partner,” Jake said while hiding his emotions.
“I know who you are. You’re the one responsible for my son’s situation,” the man shouted.
“Mr. Davis, I’m really sorry for what happened to Ryan. But, I don’t understand why you’re putting the blame on me,” Jake said.
“I should’ve listened to my son when he told me how you treated him,” Mr. Davis retorted, “How could you send him alone to such a dangerous place?”
“Mr. Davis. I didn’t send him alone. I was about to join him…” Jake said and paused, “I’m sorry; you don’t have to hear my excuses. I promise I won’t let anything happen to Ryan. I know, I could’ve handled the situation better, but I’m going to make amends and bring your son back to you.”
Jake’s words helped as Mr. Davis mellowed down a bit.
“You know he was so excited with the case. He didn’t tell what the case was, but I hadn’t seen him so excited since he was a child. He said that he had studied it as a kid and was fascinated by it. By solving it, he was having a childhood passion come true. I was happy for him, but I was wrong.” With that, he began to sob.
“Mr. Davis. Please, calm down,” Jake said. “We’ve made some progress in this case, and I believe they aren’t going to harm him. They want something else. Just give us some time. Please.”
“I don’t have a choice. Do I?” he asked in a frail voice.
“I… I’ll keep you informed of any new developments,” Jake said. “Thanks for hearing me out.”
The call was disconnected from the other end. Jake kept looking at the phone for some time and then punched the table in frustration.
“WHY?” he shouted, drawing attention from the nearby desks. He ignored them and sat down. He pulled a blank sheet of paper from the drawer and started scribbling down.
“Couldn’t solve a case without me?” Kiara asked as she reached his desk.
Jake gave her a blank stare. “What did Carlson tell you?”
“A question for a question, what’s happening? He said that you were stuck with your case and needed me. And, as I’m not assigned to any case ‘officially’, it shouldn’t be a problem for me.”
“And, you agreed so easily?” Jake asked with surprise.
“Oh… I got something in return,” she said in a low voice.
“What?” Jake asked.
“Nothing. Carlson said it was urgent. What happened?” she asked.
“Ryan is missing,” Jake said making Kiara stop where she was.
“Did I hear it right – Ryan is missing?” she asked with wide eyes.
Jake nodded. “My… my brain is not working anymore. I… I need your help. If anything happens to him… I don’t know what I’ll do to myself.”
“Hold on. I don’t understand,” Kiara said and pulled a chair next to Jake. “How did this happen?”
“This case… as I told you has already consumed three lives. Seven years back, Donald Coleman alleged that the aliens attacked him. They attacked him with a sharp weapon, but he survived. The other three weren’t that lucky. They died, but not before telling about the ‘eight Suns’ they saw before getting attacked.”
“Eight Suns?” Kiara asked.
“That’s what all of them admitted. Apparently, no one saw who attacked them, as the light was too bright. As p
er Donald Coleman, he heard a distant voice – he can’t make out if it was a male or female voice, but the voice told him they were there to take him with them. We don’t know what the voice told others.”
“You don’t believe in any of this. Right?” Kiara inquired.
“I didn’t, but I’m not sure now. I have seen things… that’s why I want you to be with me; to be my rational voice,” Jake said.
“I’ve never seen you like this,” Kiara said, “What did you see?”
Jake took a deep breath.
“When Ryan and I went to meet Donald at Pine Hill, we rubbished his theories. He, on the other hand, played a game with us. He told Ryan to step out of the house while he spoke to me. He told me exactly what others had said – about the eight Suns. He showed me the scar that was similar to the injuries that others had. He also knew that unlike what our reports suggested, he was not intoxicated at the time of the attack and the reports were fabricated. And, during the investigation, I’ve seen things myself….”
“What things?”
“All victims were into some rituals – I found some idols with two of the victims that look devilish. And, today…”
“What happened today?”
“Ryan and I had divided our work. I went to the victim’s house, while he went to the hardware store from where Donald had bought a saw – a saw that matched the profile of the murder weapon and when we went after him, he gave us a slip. He fled Pine Hill for New York. We chased him, and he led us to his old house – where he lived seven years ago when he was attacked. I was supposed to meet Ryan there, but Donald surrendered at the same time. I was so excited by the development that I forgot to inform Ryan. He went to Donald’s old address and since then he is missing. I tracked his phone back to that house, and while investigating, the daughter of the current tenant told me that she saw Ryan speaking to someone.”
“That’s great. Who was it?”
Jake looked at Kiara. “He was alone. She didn’t see anyone else.”
“So, he was talking to himself?” Kiara asked.
“I… I don’t know. The last few days have shaken my belief,” Jake replied.
“I can’t believe this. You, of all people, believe in these things?” Kiara said in disbelief. “When was the last time you slept?”
“I slept yesterday for a couple of hours - you think its tiredness?” Jake asked with frustration. “Can’t you see, Ryan is missing, and there are no traces to follow? Even Donald doesn’t know who made him do this. This guy is willing to spend his whole life in a cell just because these powers are after him. That has to mean something.”
“You aren’t thinking straight,” Kiara said, “Where is he? Let me talk to him.”
“No,” Jake replied at once, “I understand what you’re feeling. I was also of the same opinion a couple of days back. I don’t want you to turn into me. You will not talk to Donald. He will play with your mind too. I’ll tell you what I want you to help me with.”
With that, he pulled out a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket. He opened the folds and flattened it out on the table.
“I’m too deep in this case to think anything beyond what I have investigated. I’ve noted down every single step of the investigation. I’ll narrate it to you, and you’ll ask me questions. As per Donald, I was supposed to be kidnaped in place of Ryan, but he was unlucky and happened to be at Donald’s old house when I was supposed to be there with him. I believe I crossed paths with the killer somewhere during the investigation or maybe I found something during the investigation that they didn’t want me to know. They wanted to kill me because I may be closer to them than I know.”
“That’s possible,” Kiara said and looked at the sheet. “Let’s start.”
“Okay,” Jake said, “The first point of the investigation was Donald’s house. He lives alone, and as I said, he talked about his experience and how he believed that it would happen again.”
Kiara gave it a thought, “He lived far so that he could be away from the limelight that the case had brought. Do you think of any other possible reason for him staying there?”
“I don’t think so. He planned everything only after other murders. But, he has been living there for past two years. So, his living at Pine Hill has nothing to do with the other attacks or Ryan’s disappearance,” Jake said thoughtfully.
“Okay… did you find anything odd beyond what he said? Anything you noticed in his behavior?” Kiara asked.
Jake closed his eyes for a moment. “Right side of his body is much weaker than the left side…. rest is what I told you. I’m not sure how it will help, but I’ll take anything that could give me some hope.”
Kiara noted it down against the line where Jake had mentioned about the visit.
“The idols – I found the similar idols at James Reed’s house, but not at the other victim’s house. It could be a coincidence, but nevertheless a common factor between the two.” Jake added.
“What did he say about the idols?” Kiara asked.
“I tried, but he keeps saying that it’s not what I think,” Jake replied.
“Nothing else? Where he got it? And, if it’s not an idol, then what it is?” Kiara asked.
“I have tried every possible way and with Carlson stopping me from harming him physically – I don’t have many options left,” Jake said.
“Don’t worry. Carlson hasn’t forbidden me.”
“I told you not to talk to him,” Jake reminded her.
“I have to, eventually, in case we don’t find anything on our own,” she replied.
“Okay. But, not before that,”
Kiara nodded. “Anything else about his house that raised suspicion?”
“While I was talking to him, Ryan looked around the house and found the saw. But, it was a ploy to lure us into his trap.” Jake said.
“Yeah, you told me. Nothing else?”
Jake thought for a moment. “That’s it.”
“Okay, so let’s move to…,” Kiara said and looked at the sheet, “Ryan’s visit to the hardware store. What happened there?”
“There is nothing much to the store visit – it was all a ruse. Donald fooled us by planting the saw and bribed the salesman and the cashier to misdirect us. They told us a story that sent us on Donald’s trail. Nothing more to it,” Jake said irately remembering how easily Donald had fooled him.
“Did Ryan meet both the salesman and the cashier?” Kiara asked.
“Only the salesman and the store manager. The cashier was off-duty that day,” Jake replied.
“What about the manager?”
“What about him?”
“Do you think he has anything to do with it? Did you get his background check?” Kiara asked.
“Nothing beyond the fact that he inherited the store from his father,” Jake said, “Anyway, as I said this whole thing was to fool us. So, there’s no point in investigating it further.”
“Still, I’ll note it down,” Kiara said and noted it down.
“Okay. I’ll hang on to any hope right now,” Jake said.
“What’s next?” Kiara asked while glancing at the sheet. “Visit to James Reed’s house?”
“Yeah. He is the only victim among the three who had some life left before he reached the hospital,” Jake said and paused. “He told the hospital staff that the eight Suns will come back for him.”
“Okay,” Kiara said. “What did you find at his apartment?”
“They… they came back and took Ryan away,” Jake mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m too tired,” Jake said.
“You want to rest for some time?” Kiara asked.
“Not until I get Ryan back,” Jake replied and rubbed his hands to increase the blood circulation. “By the time I reached James’s house, cops had already visited and after their visit the landlord had cleaned the house. However, I found that something had been removed from the bedroom – a large box. The landlord denied it at first, but after
I had put some pressure, he mentioned about an old box. He had hidden it in the storage room so that he could sell the stuff that was inside it and recover the rent that James owed to him. As I said, James also kept idols similar to the one that Donald had. They were in that box.”
“Okay, so you got one clue from there… the idols,” Kiara casually said while noting it down.
“No, I found two clues,” Jake said drawing her attention. “The landlord told that James hadn’t paid rent for some time, but on the day of his murder he had assured that he was going to pay everything by evening.”
“Oh… you followed the lead?” Kiara asked.
“Yes, I found it wasn’t only James, but all the other victims were also in need of money. They were lured to their deaths under the guise of help. I tried, but couldn’t find anyone who had met any of them in the last few days. Then I got an idea; what if they hadn’t met this person face to face. I checked James’s call data record, but he had an uneventful life. Apart from the official calls, there was nothing else on the record. So, we went to meet his employers. We met his boss, Travis Nelson…” Jake said and stopped.
“What happened?” Kiara asked.
“I forgot that I had asked Ron to get information about Travis Nelson,” Jake said and dialed his number, “He came across as a ruthless manager. He was about to fire James, and James knew that. Maybe, that was a reason he agreed for the money offered to him and… Hey, Ron. Any updates?”
“I was about to call you,” Ron replied. “Then I thought I had another hour left before the deadline agreed with Carlson ended. So, thought of calling you after that. You want the update now or shall I call after an hour.”
“No, I want to know whatever you have seen till now,” Jake stressed.
“Okay, but I’m not going to stay one more hour after this call. My work is done here,” Ron said casually.
Jake was irritated but controlled his anger somehow. “All right.”
“Okay. So, I followed Travis, yesterday evening and the whole day today. He spends most of his time at his office. He was at the office until eight P.M. yesterday and went straight to his home. He lives with his wife and two kids. Today, he came directly to the office and didn’t even step out for lunch. I think he had a working lunch.”
Davenport Mysteries 04-Loose Ends Page 15
