INSOMNIAC: ALAN SMITH #2 (Alan Smith series)

by ARKOPAUL DAS

  Alicia had smartness in her voice, which made her win every discussion. You couldn’t just deny the logic she shows in every argument she’s a part off.

  Alicia paused, grabbed her breath and Henderson also looked down back again at the paper weight thinking about the problems ahead. Then he took a deep breath shook his head and said ‘I am still not sure if this would be the right thing to do’

  ‘You don’t know because you’re scared. Just admit that’ she said roughly.

  But Henderson was not offended. He looked down taking his time before giving the final answer. But his mind was puzzled up and confusion was gulping him away. He knew that Alicia was somewhat right but he was in such a position that he could neither deny it, nor could he tell them to whatever they want, just like that. But agreeing with Alicia means letting her proceed with the case, but was it the right thing to do?

  ‘Ryan, say something. You were all quiet all this time’ he thought it might be good to get a suggestion. And Ryan was reliable.

  ‘It’s for you to decide’ said Ryan in a defending manner.

  ‘What do you think?’ he asked to Kevin now.

  ‘Can I tell you something?’ but it was Alan who answered.

  ‘Sure, tell me’ Henderson was eager to get any kind of suggestions at this point.

  Alan was also quietly listening to the argument all this time. But he thought now was the time that he take charge of the situation. He couldn’t waste any more time.

  ‘Mr. Henderson. Relax. I got this’

  These simple soothing words of Alan really made Henderson relax no matter what he meant, he was sure that Alan could see this through. On the other hand, it made Alicia more annoyed. Alan’s one sentence satisfied Henderson what Alicia failed to do in the whole 20 minute argument.

  ‘Splendid, just don’t involve me if anything occurs’ said Henderson and turned to look at the blinds.

  ‘Sure, I’ll back you up’ replied Alan.

  ‘Okay then, you all get out of here now. I need some space’

  Alan gave a benevolent smile as they made their way out.

  ‘Kevin you got the location with you?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah...’ he rechecked the files and continued. ‘It’s 39th west street’

  ‘Who lives there?’

  ‘Hall Donovan. And I hope this man will also be there too’

  ‘I see’ Alan nodded as if it was nothing interesting and picked up a bottle of water. ‘Okay I’m gonna go and talk to him’

  ‘No you can’t do that’ Ryan and Kevin both nearly said at the same time.

  ‘Seems like you got a good reason to say that’ Alan kept the bottle back.

  ‘It’s too dangerous. We’ll come along with you with some more back up’ replied Ryan.

  ‘Back up, huh.’ Alan smiled at himself. ‘You really zest. Back ups are of no use. He’s a dangerous man’

  ‘That’s what we are saying. He’s dangerous, so more backup is important..’

  ‘No no...you don’t get my point.’ Alan said. ‘He’s so dangerous that if he wants to do anything bad say killing me or someone, then he will do it anyway. The bonus thing? The back will try to shoot him down, in turn getting themselves shot. So my main point is that if he wants do something he will do it no matter how tough your back up is’

  ‘So what do you suggest?’

  ‘I already suggested. I will go alone, in an un-formal, unofficial way. I will small talk with him; get to know the man first, then we will act accordingly later. That’s the best we can do now’

  ‘No, but you don’t need to go’ Alicia spoke. ‘I will go then. I will talk to him. I knew him from before. So it’s the best if I talk with him’

  ‘No no, you’re not appropriate for this thing’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You have a tendency to be more aggressive in this situations’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Alicia fumed again. ‘It was me who argued with Henderson or else we would be in no position to move forward. He would have dropped the case, what’d have done then?’

  ‘But it’s me who settled things down. Or else the debate would never have ended’

  Alan smiled cruelly to Alicia.

  It was true of course Alicia thought, but this thought didn’t help her to calm down at all. ‘You know what Mr. Smith, you think you’re too clever but while in real, you suck!’

  ‘Right right. Now that was the kind of attitude I was talking about’ Alan smiled a little more widely.

  Alicia knew that she lost this mini debate too, so Alan went over to the chair took his blazer and wore it. Then he turned to them and said. ‘An Army might bring more harm than intended. So I want to keep this meeting friendly, I’m not seeing this as a confrontation. So please don’t try to show your stupid faces over there. You got it? Great!’

  As he went out on the lawn outside McRae stood up hurrying towards him. . ‘Did you find anything about Jake?’

  ‘We did, yes’

  ‘What did you find?’

  ‘I now know who abducted Jake.’

  ‘Who’s that?’

  ‘I will talk to him. I will inform you later who’s that when I get to know him myself’

  TWENTY NINE

  It was nearly 1 in the afternoon when he went out and put the key in Ryan’s car. The sky was now overcast with some white and some greyish clouds hovering around blocking the sun. That was a relief. If it rains, then it will be a different kind of relief.

  He drove through the streets with mild traffic; it becomes milder when you get the opportunity to exclude the heat.

  He then drove on and pulled over exactly at the address, Ryan had given. He checked the surrounding, made sure this was the right place before getting out and surveying the area for another time.

  This portion of the city had more garages than a residential complex or a shopping mall. This place had more gas pumps, car-manufacturing factories and this sort of buildings. He stepped over the sidewalk and walked, he soon passed an average sized grocery store and a petrol pump. Then after a few metres or so, he came near a large brick building. The building looked old with some chunks of brick and cement falling apart, and some portions covered with undergrowth. It looked like as if it might fall anytime.

  He came near the main door, a narrow passage actually, with a steel door in the middle. He looked for a calling bell expecting none, but there was a switch, which he soon discovered. But when he pushed the door, he found it open, so he didn’t mind pushing the calling bell. He entered, closing the door behind him quietly and silently. There was a deadly silence inside, and he didn’t want to disturb it.

  As soon as he stepped inside, he could bet that he had seen a building so luxurious only a very long time ago.

  The floor had glassy white tiles, which was sparkling and reflecting with every drop of light that was falling on it. The walls were coloured in blue, and the colour was so vibrant that he felt like it was in HD mode. There were four doors on the side he was standing and four on the other side. In the middle was a medium sized swimming pool with perfect clear blue water. There was no roof overhead and ample of sunlight would have came inside by now if there was any. The sky was now a little greyish so there was no chance of it. And he could tell that the building was also quite tall, meaning that there was more floor above this ground one.

  He walked carefully, so that he doesn’t slip and fall down. He thought about checking the rooms, as he thought if the main door was open then these doors would also be open. But he was not sure what’s there inside and which room should he enter. And it would look really informal.

  The silence was still there and he was felling weird now. Was there no one present in this building? If not then why was everything so open? There got to be someone inside. But should he call out? But he wasn’t sure if it would be the best thing to do, to alert whoever was inside. As they might mistake him for some enemies and may shoot him down.

  So without calling anybody he just s
tood at the edge of the swimming pool staring at the clear blue water, and weighing the possibilities at the same time.

  Someone suddenly said from the back. ‘Admiring the pool, I see?’

  Alan quickly turned to see a man standing, leaning actually on a wall with a smile on his face and his hands crossed.

  He was just slightly shorter than Alan but maybe he was like 6 foot or more. Alan didn’t know what to say so he kept quiet. Now the man stood straight and walked relaxingly by the edge of the pool.

  ‘Yeah, it’s nice isn’t it?’ he answered the question himself, as he knew Alan was in doubt about something and he was not gonna answer.

  As he came near him, Alan saw that his body was quite compact and slender when compared to Alan. Otherwise, if you compare his body with anyone else, he would look much slimmer. But his body was rigid as he wore a black tight fitted blazer, and Alan could totally get the idea about the size of biceps he had when he folded his hands. Although the biceps were also quite slim and rigid matching his posture. But not like what Alan had. His trousers looked like it was made by some high quality brand, and it was of the same colour, so was the red tie. He wore a satin soft white shirt underneath and there was a high quality wayfarer sunglass tugged in his beast pocket of the blazer. His boots were black, office shoes, looked highly formal and polished, reflecting the images of the surroundings.

  His face was square shaped, the skin was white and as if a thin layer of plaster was pasted on the cheekbones. His eyes were completely dark and black, not bluish like Alan, but it matched the other facial features and the rest of the body. His hair was neatly combed to the back, but in a fashionable manner. And when he talked his voice was cold but soft, not that hard like Alan. He came a little more near as Alan finished checking his personal appearance.

  He looked like a perfect gentleman, not quite what he expected from a gangster. His face was white and fresh than ever, not a single drop of sweat present in it. And his face muscles near his lips were always twitched, as if he, most of the time, had a cruel smile attached to his face.

  ‘Detective Alan Smith’ said Alan and threw his hand, realising that he should keep a conversation going.

  The other man shook his hand instantly with the left hand tugged inside his pocket. ‘Hall Donovan’ he said happily.

  ‘So Mr. Smith, have we met before?’ it was an unexpected question from Donovan. As Alan thought, it would be he who would take charge of the questions.

  Alan swiftly looked around and replied. ‘I doubt that. Well why do you ask?’

  ‘Actually I met a lot of cops and detectives and agents in my life. So I thought I might have met you too’

  ‘Negative’ replied Alan again. Then he changed the topic. ‘This building is quite peculiar’

  ‘Isn’t it?’ Donovan said turning around as if he knows that the building was peculiar and he intends to keep it that way.

  ‘It’s quite different from what people see from outside’

  ‘That what makes it unique’

  ‘Oh, it’s like a five star hotel or a resort’

  ‘Thank you for that’

  ‘And it’s quite tall I see’

  ‘Yes, four floors’

  ‘I see’ Alan wanted to get more details about the building, in case they need to raid it for some reason, they would have a good idea, where to enter or where to take cover. But Donovan was good with this. He was not going to give the details away. Alan understood that.

  ‘So you live all alone here?’ he asked trying make out how much backup would he need to bring all of them down or how many men did he have here.

  ‘No, actually I live everywhere, not just here’ said Donovan. ‘Anyway at present, me and some of my boys live here’

  ‘Your boys?’

  ‘Yes, not my sons. It’s some boys who work for me’

  ‘So you have a gang?’

  ‘You may say that. But I don’t like that term. It is so 1960s’

  ‘Right. But I can’t find a substitute word for the word ‘gang’ so I will stick with gang for the time being’ said Alan as he knew his mind wasn’t working in the way it was supposed to be. ‘So you control this gang?’

  ‘Yeah’

  ‘So what do you do anyway?’

  ‘You mean my profession?’

  ‘Yes’

  ‘But you know what, I don’t understand something’ said Donovan tilting his head sideways.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Alan.

  ‘I don’t understand’ his voice grew more cold than it was. ‘Why would I say everything to a stranger who I met just a few minutes ago?’

  That was what Alan was thinking. How was he talking so freely to someone who he met just few seconds ago? Sorry, few minutes.

  ‘You’re right Mr. Donovan’ said Alan in a cool voice. ‘If I were you I would also have thought about this. But what I must say is that you should answer my questions to clear your name, or maybe the slightest bit of suspicion that is hovering inside by mind right now’

  Alan carefully waited for his reply, which he thought, would be negative. But his face remained expressionless as usual. He then nodded and said ‘I see what you’re saying. But I must say I don’t want to clear my name. I’m all okay with this. But you’re talking about something else, something that occurred maybe recently, isn’t it?’

  ‘Oh yes it is. You guessed it right’

  ‘No I didn’t guess it’

  ‘Okay?’

  ‘I knew it’

  ‘I see’ Alan said watching him carefully.

  Donovan started pacing the space on the side of the pool then stopped in front of a door. He pushed the door open and said ‘Come over here, Mr. Smith. Let me show you something’

  Alan walked there and peered in. Then he remarked. ‘You have a large collection of arms I see’ as the room was full of Guns, cartridges, ammo and other arms, some kept in open, some were in glass show pieces.

  ‘I do yes’ said Donovan. ‘That’s what I am focusing on right now. Buying guns and weapons. I even sell some of them sometime’

  ‘Yeah, sure you have a great collection. You’ll surely make money if you put them in auction.’

  ‘Yes, some of them are classics and vintage’

  ‘Yes I can see that’

  ‘So what about you, you love guns?’

  ‘Well to be frank, I am not really an arm fanatic. But yes I do love some of them like a Glock or Remington just because I need them, and they make me feel safe’

  ‘True. But I do, I love guns. I don’t know about safe or anything’ said Donovan and went inside. ‘Well you wanna check out some?’

  ‘I better not’ said Alan.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I’m a little short in time today’

  ‘Oh, that’s a shame’ he said and came out unhappily. Alan could even smell the light fragrance of the lavender flavoured perfume Donovan was wearing.

  ‘Do you also keep, say sniper rifles?’ Alan asked suddenly.

  ‘Oh, yes why not? You’ll get all kinds of variety here’ said Donovan. ‘But why?’

  ‘Just asking’ said Alan wondering around trying to find a way by which he could transfer the conversation to the main topic.

  ‘So you like sniper rifles?’

  ‘Not really’

  ‘But they’re quite effective you know. They can shoot accurately from quite a distance’

  ‘You’re right, they sure does’ Alan said. He looked at the watch, it showed 1:05, and not much time he had with him.

  Donovan glanced at him carefully.

  ‘It’s a little hot today’ said Alan.

  ‘Oh really? Maybe yes’ said Donovan, was he really not aware of the heat or was he just pretending not to notice it? But his body showed no sign of temperature or humidity. And when he touched his hand it was dead cold.

  ‘Maybe you should have something’ said Donovan and before Alan could say ‘what?’ he yelled out. ‘Hey, we got a guest here’

&
nbsp; Within a minute two men appeared in one of the front doors of the left side of the pool. One of them wore sunglasses, and both of them were of same height and didn’t have much difference physically. One was wearing a suit while the other one was wearing a jacket.

  ‘We got someone here’ said Donovan again. Then he turned to Alan. ‘You want a drink Mr. Smith?’

  ‘I will pass, but thank you’ said Alan nicely.

  ‘Then glucose, cold coffee anything? You just came from the sun, you should drink something.’

  ‘It's cloudy today’ said Alan. ‘Okay cold coffee’. Alan hardly refuses when cold coffee is offered to him.

  Both the man nodded as he heard him and went away inside again.

  ‘So Mr. Smith’ Donovan started clasping his hands and with his voice a little more serious than it was. ‘You were saying something about me .That I should answer your questions to clear myself, or something like that. Should we return to that topic?’

  ‘Yeah right’ Alan thought about where to start. ‘That’s the main reason for me to come here. I’m investigating a case at this moment and something came up that involves your name, I’m afraid’

  ‘Naturally’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Most of the cases involve my name. Nothing new to me. Anyway, which one is this?’ Donovan patted his back without any reason and started pacing the room.

  ‘Okay one minute’

  ‘Sure’

  Alan took out the picture of the boy and gave it to him.

  ‘Mm hmm?’ he said not taking the picture but looking at it.

  ‘You know this boy?’

  ‘Nope’

  ‘You haven’t seen this boy?’

  ‘Nope’ he shook his head briskly again clasping his lips this time in a weird manner.

  ‘Okay’ Alan didn’t want to think if was lying or not so soon. He took out another picture and showed it to him again. ‘How about this man?’