The Runaway Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #3)

by Thomas Fincham

  But this wasn’t some dream. This was real. Nolan was fighting for his life and Hyder was somewhere running for his.

  She rubbed her temples. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

  The doctor came into the room and she quickly stood up.

  She studied his face, to see any signs of regret which would indicate Nolan had not made it. “There’s nothing to worry about, he’s in stable condition.” The doctor said instead.

  She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” she said.

  “Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hit any major arteries, but he has lost a lot of blood. We are monitoring him, but I expect him to make a full recovery.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

  “Can I see him?”

  “Of course, but he’s heavily sedated right now.”

  “I just want to see him. Please.”

  “Follow me.”

  The lights were low when she entered the room. Nolan was lying in bed with tubes sticking out from his body. There were several monitors around him. She knew one was for his heart and the other for dispensing pain medications and antibiotics.

  Nolan’s eyes were closed and his mouth was open.

  When the doctor left, she finally allowed herself to cry. They weren’t tears of sadness, but joy.

  Nolan would make it. He would live. She would help him get better, she told herself. She would do everything in her power to get him back on his feet.

  She went over and kissed him on the forehead.

  SIXTY-ONE

  Pascale and Halton showed up.

  “How’s he doing?” Halton asked.

  “He’ll make it,” Lopez said.

  She couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad or indifferent.

  “Did he tell you what happened?” Halton asked.

  As per Nolan’s instructions, she couldn’t reveal anything. Plus, there was still so much she didn’t know herself.

  “I found him shot and then called for help.”

  “No matter,” Pascale said. “We’re certain it was Nolan’s weapon that was used against him. We’ve sent it to forensics and very soon we’ll get a match on the fingerprints.”

  Lopez’s heart sank. She didn’t have much time. She had to get to Hyder before they did.

  SIXTY-TWO

  Hyder stood across from the house, but he didn’t dare go in. It had started to rain. His clothes were wet and stuck to his body.

  He shivered and wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve.

  He didn’t know where else to go but come here, his home.

  His left shoulder stung from the cut. He had managed to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but he would examine it in detail when he had some time.

  Right now, his mind was reeling from what had happened earlier. It was sudden and unexpected. It was as if it had not happened to him. Instead, it seemed to Hyder like something he had seen in a movie.

  One minute he was talking pleasantly with Nolan and the next Nolan was attacking him. Had he not grabbed the gun and fired, he was certain he would not be here right now.

  But he wasn’t too concerned about his own life. He was more concerned about Nolan’s.

  Had he killed him? The very thought made him physically ill. He wanted to throw up, but if he did, then his fast would be broken.

  He shook his head. Breaking a fast couldn’t be worse than shooting a person. But what else choice did he have? It was done in self-defense, he told himself.

  He hoped and prayed that nothing happened to Nolan. The last thing he wanted was to hurt him.

  Hyder was a pacifist at heart. He didn’t believe violence could solve anything. He preferred open dialogue to resolve issues.

  But in this case, there was no time to discuss anything. It had happened too fast. All he could do was react to it.

  He wiped the water off his face. The rain had mixed with his tears. He had shot his friend and he would have to deal with the consequences.

  I should turn myself in, he thought. However long the sentence would be, he would serve it.

  He did the crime and he should pay the time.

  He then spotted someone in the window. It was his mom and she was in the kitchen. She was preparing for Iftar.

  She would expect him to be home soon so they could open their fast together. But that would not be the case tonight.

  He couldn’t control his feelings anymore. He began to sob.

  He thought of his mom and what would happen to her once he was sent to prison. She had already lost a husband. Now she would lose a son.

  “Oh, Allah,” he whispered. “Please help me. I am lost. Please guide me through this.”

  He didn’t have anywhere else to go, but he didn’t want to go inside and involve her. She shouldn’t become an accomplice to his crime. He couldn’t go to his brother, either. After what happened with the Monkey Murders, he didn’t want him part of something like this.

  He saw a car approaching the house. A woman got out and he immediately recognized her. It was Lopez.

  He felt terrified, thought: They are after me! They knew what I have done!

  Hyder took a deep breath. He had to think straight. He had to think logically. He couldn’t give himself up now. It wouldn’t solve anything.

  It wouldn’t tell him exactly what happened at Nolan’s house.

  He needed to find out for himself.

  SIXTY-THREE

  The only other place Hyder could think of going was the masjid.

  It was open twenty-four hours a day and was known to welcome people at all times.

  It was getting closer to Iftar, so the masjid was filled with worshippers. This meant he could easily blend in without attracting too much attention.

  He went inside and found plastic sheets already placed on the floor. People were sitting on them with plates of dates and jugs of orange juice before them.

  Hyder quietly sat beside a man with a long beard. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving. The end of the fast was usually the most difficult. People hadn’t eaten for most of the day and were therefore looking forward to their meals. It was why, according to Islam, prayers at this time were more likely to be answered by Allah.

  The man next to him was doing exactly that. He was praying for whatever ailed him. Hyder took this opportunity to do the same.

  He prayed for forgiveness. He prayed for himself. He prayed for his family. But above all, he prayed for Nolan. He prayed for his health and his speedy recovery. In the end, he prayed for a way to get out of the situation he was currently in.

  The adhan (call for prayer) was then recited. The fast had opened. Plates of dates were passed around, along with glasses filled with juice. The worshippers quickly filled their stomachs and then lined up for the Maghrib (evening) prayer, which would be followed by the Isha (night) prayer.

  After performing it in congregation, they once again sat down on the plastic sheets. Plates of rice, lentils, and yogurt were quickly placed before them.

  Hyder finally ate a full meal. He wasn’t particularly hungry, though. He had lost his appetite when the incident had happened, but still he needed something to regain his energy.

  Slowly, the masjid began to empty as worshippers headed for their homes.

  Hyder couldn’t take their lead. Instead, he grabbed a medical kit and went straight to the washrooms. He removed his shirt and checked the wound on his shoulder. The bleeding had stopped, but the cloth was now stained red. The cut didn’t look too bad from his observations. He cleaned it and then applied a fresh bandage over it to avoid any infections.

  When he went out, he found the masjid completely empty save for a handful of people who were performing their Itikaf. It was a practice where worshippers voluntarily retreated to the masjid during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, in order to spend the time in the act of worship.

  These people ate and slept in the masjid, which meant it wouldn’t look odd if Hyder slept there too.

  He found a spot in the c
orner and someone from the masjid gave him a pillow and blanket.

  It had been a long and trying day. He was completely and utterly spent. Before he fell asleep, Hyder prayed that, come tomorrow, all his worries disappeared.

  SIXTY-FOUR

  Hyder woke with a stir. He blinked and then realized he was still in the masjid. He hadn’t slept well last night. He missed being in his own bed. In fact, he missed being in a bed, period. The floor, although carpeted, was no match for a mattress.

  But he couldn’t complain. He was, after all, a fugitive. One who was seeking refuge in a house of God.

  There were many stories of war where people hid in churches, temples, and synagogues, but this was nothing compared to that. He was a criminal who would be charged with the attempted murder of his friend.

  Hyder shut his eyes tight. He wished yesterday were nothing but a horrible dream. But it wasn’t, and soon he would be faced with the harsh reality of his actions.

  He couldn’t believe how one event could change the course of his life. He didn’t know if he would be able to see his family again, or even get married and have a family of his own.

  The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to curl up and shut out the outside world.

  He wished he could go back in time and change what had happened, but he would have to deal with whatever came his way now.

  He felt movement, realized that the masjid was slowly beginning to fill. It was time for Sehri. Worshippers were arriving to pray and close their fast.

  Hyder debated whether to keep the fast or not. Since becoming an adult, he had never willfully missed a day of fasting. He had missed a day or two, but they were due to an illness or other health related reasons. He prided himself in fulfilling his obligation for the entire month.

  Today felt different, though. He wasn’t sure how it would go. He knew the police were out looking for him. Why would Lopez come to his house if they were not? Maybe they were outside the masjid right now waiting for him.

  He didn’t know, but he would eventually find out.

  He sat up. There was still so much he wanted to find out. Why did Nolan attack him? Did he survive his injuries? What about his mom? Did she know what he had done?

  He couldn’t find the answers while he was not eating. Plus, his mind was already too distracted with matters at hand. He would just be starving himself, and wouldn’t be fulfilling the true purpose of the fast, which was to focus on God and to perform good deeds.

  He decided to not have Sehri. He also decided to leave before the masjid was completely filled with worshippers.

  If the police were after him, he didn’t want the people in the masjid involved.

  SIXTY-FIVE

  Lopez was back at the hospital. Nolan had still not regained consciousness, but the doctors had assured her that it was nothing to be concerned about. Nolan would get better, but he needed time to do so.

  She wanted to speak to him. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. She wanted to say those words to him, and she knew he would want to hear them, too.

  She couldn’t believe how strongly she felt for him. She hadn’t felt this way for anyone before. They had a connection, something she couldn’t put into words, but it was there.

  When she had first met him, she had never thought in a million years that they would end up together. She had just started on the force and he was in a new relationship with the woman who would become his wife. They were at a police event, and she remembered he was loud, brash, and even crass, but what stuck out the most about him was that he was never demeaning. Unlike the other officers, who thought the only reason she got into the force was because she was a good looking female, he looked at her like she belonged there.

  Years later, when she asked him about his behavior or why he acted the way he did, he always said that it was never intended to be mean spirited. He just didn’t like people who thought they were better than him. He loved his job, but he would never bend over backwards for anyone to get ahead.

  Now that she thought about it, what attracted her most to him was his honesty. He was honest with his work, his friends, his family; but above all he was honest with himself.

  He was not going to be someone he wasn’t.

  When they finally ended up together, he never promised her much, except that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

  This was more than enough for her.

  As she watched him lay there, with his eyes closed and his chest slowly rising and falling, she couldn’t help but want to wake him.

  She had a lot of questions about what happened. She couldn’t believe Hyder had hurt him.

  But why? This was something that had kept her up all night.

  What would push him to shoot Nolan?

  Lopez had already been to his house. She had spoken to Mrs. Ali. They had met at Hyder’s brother’s wedding, so she knew she could speak to her without raising any alarms. She didn’t tell her what had happened because it would’ve been too much for her. But Lopez asked her to tell her son to call her as soon as possible.

  She wanted to get to Hyder before Pascale or Halton did.

  SIXTY-SIX

  Lester looked at the rectangular box and then opened it. He was in his cubicle at the Daily Times. It wasn’t unusual for him to receive packages at work, so he wasn’t too concerned about its contents. He knew it was probably a demo version of some product a company wanted him to review.

  When he checked, he realized he was right. The pamphlet inside told him the company was testing software meant to monitor people’s health. There was also a card with a username and password on it. Next to it was something that looked like a floor mat. The mat had the outlines of feet printed on it.

  The instructions on the pamphlet told him to use the username and password to sign into the company’s mobile application and then stand on the floor mat.

  Lester made a face. He wasn’t too keen on trying health products; even if they were the next biggest thing on the market.

  “The things I do for my job,” he muttered.

  He removed his shoes and socks and then placed his feet on the mat.

  Using his phone, he signed on to the company’s application software and waited. It took several minutes, but slowly the application began to tabulate data on the screen. His weight popped up, then his heart rate, then his cholesterol level, then his body fat, and so on.

  Lester could sense what was going to happen next. The screen then went red and told him that he was overweight to the point of obesity and that he should seriously consider dieting or exercising. The program then laid out the steps he needed to take in order to accomplish this goal. Healthy meal menus popped up on the screen, which included lots of fruits and vegetables, salads, little or no meat, and much more. Then exercise regimens popped up on the screen, telling him how much walking and running he should do per day.

  This was then followed by a video of a muscular man. The man looked like he could be in charge of a boot camp. He pointed at Lester and said, “Listen, you piece of human waste, I’m going to turn you from the sad sack you are, and into a fine piece of human specimen. I’m going to push you, I’m going to cuss you, but overall, I’m going to make your life a living hell, until you start losing…”

  Lester quickly exited the program. He was utterly scared. He shivered at the thought of this program running his life.

  But then the software popped back on again. The man was even angrier than before. “You can’t turn me off, you lazy ass piece of human excrement. I’m not going anywhere until you shape up and change your life…”

  Lester powered off his phone and then left his cubicle.

  He was now beyond terrified. He couldn’t imagine this man yelling and screaming at him all day.

  Forget losing the weight, he would lose his mind. Whoever thought this would push people to get healthy? He thought. In fact, it made him want to eat more, not less.

  As he was walking to the washroom, he spotted someone f
amiliar.

  He remembered meeting her somewhere, but where?

  She caught him looking her way. She smiled and came over.

  “You’re Lester, right?” the woman said.

  Lester’s eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

  “I’m Detective Lopez, we met at a wedding.”

  Lester remembered. “You mean, Akbar’s wedding?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking around. “I was wondering, have you seen Hyder?”

  Lester shook his head. “He hasn’t come in yet.”

  “Do you know where I can find him?”

  “No idea,” Lester said. “He could be out on a story.”

  Lopez went silent, as if thinking. “If you see him, can you ask him to give me a call? It’s urgent.” She pulled out her card and handed it to him.

  “Sure, no problem,” he said.

  He watched her leave. He had never seen Detective Lopez come here before. The only other person that ever came was Nolan. He had a feeling something was not right.

  He hurried back to his cubicle, stopped. Sitting on his desk was his phone. It was shut off, but he feared turning it back on.

  He reluctantly did, fully expecting the man to pop up and start cursing him again, but this time he didn’t reappear. Lester wasn’t going to take any chances. He uninstalled the application and then threw the box and floor mat in the garbage bin.

  He shivered when he thought of the foul-mouthed man.

  He speed-dialed Hyder.

  After a few rings, he picked up.

  “Hey, bro, what’s happening?”

  “How are you, Lester?” Hyder replied. He sounded distant and tired.

  Lester told him about the visit from Lopez.

  After a brief pause, Hyder said, “Did she say anything else?”

  “No, why? What’s going on?”

  There was silence. All Lester could hear was heavy breathing.

  “Bro, you know you can trust me,” he said. “If you’re in trouble you have to tell me. You know I can help.”