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

by Thomas Fincham

“Right,” Dante grinned. “Good thinking.”

  The footage went back to the incident. The camera clearly caught the plate number, but not the face of the driver. It looked like he had the visor down. Then, as the footage moved further, Hyder couldn’t help but feel like he knew the person in the baseball cap.

  When the man went over to examine Francine’s body, Hyder knew who he was staring at.

  It was Felix Dent, the new intern at the Daily Times.

  Before the accident, Felix never once pulled out his right hand from his pocket. He only did it when he went over to check on Francine. When he did, Hyder could see it was limp.

  A million thoughts flooded Hyder’s mind. He felt a headache coming on.

  But he had to control his emotions. He had just witnessed a murder and he had to think rationally in order to do something about it.

  But what could he do in his current situation? Normally he would have gone to Nolan with the evidence, but that wasn’t possible right now.

  There was still Lopez, he thought. He had already listened to her message several times now, the one where she said she believed him. Plus, after replaying what had happened in the Square, he was certain she was as surprised as he was about the ambush.

  He needed someone on the other side. He needed someone who could tell him who that license plate belonged to.

  She was now the only chance he had.

  He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number.

  EIGHTY-TWO

  Lopez was at the hospital when she received a call.

  “Detective Lopez speaking,” she said.

  “It’s Hyder.”

  Lopez’s heart skipped a beat. “Hyder, I’m sorry about what happened…”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I believe you.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “Where are you?”

  “I’m somewhere safe, but I need your help.”

  “Okay, tell me.”

  “I have a license plate number and I need to know who it belonged to.”

  “Can I ask what it’s about?” she said.

  “I’ll tell you everything later, I promise. Right now, I just need the name.”

  “Okay, give it to me.”

  He gave her the plate number.

  “Once I have the information, I’ll give you a call,” Lopez said.

  Hyder was silent for a moment, then he asked, “How’s Tom now?”

  “He’s still not regained consciousness.”

  Silence again. “When this is over, whether it’s good or bad for me, I would like to at least see him once.” Hyder said.

  “When this is over, Hyder, you’ll get to see him however many times you want.”

  “Thank you, Marina,” he said, and hung up.

  Lopez was on her way back to Nolan’s room when she received another call.

  It was from the courier company. The caller was the person who worked at the counter.

  “You had said if we received any more delivery requests from Devon Pharma that we should call you.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I just saw on our system a pickup request just came through for Devon.”

  “Who’s doing the pickup?” she asked.

  “Francisco Luiz.”

  Lopez’s back arched.

  “Can you tell me where he is right now?” Lopez asked.

  “He should be there now.”

  EIGHTY-THREE

  Lopez raced to Devon Pharma. Fortunately, the traffic was light, so she was there in less than twenty minutes.

  She knew something was suspicious with Luiz from the moment she spoke to him. But she didn’t have any proof to question him further, so she had to let him go. Now, she regretted it.

  It always bothered her that he was the one who had delivered both the packages to Rudy Jr. and Nolan.

  She felt it was more than just a coincidence.

  Unlike a hospital building, with many exits and entries, the shipping facility was rectangular in shape, which meant Lopez wouldn’t have much trouble finding where she needed to go.

  There was an employee parking lot on the left, just behind the building, with visitor parking near the front entrance.

  Lopez quickly drove by the entrance, but didn’t see any courier vans.

  Had she already missed him? It was a huge possibility. He was, after all, a courier. Their jobs required them to be moving all the time.

  She then decided to drive around the building, to survey the area one last time before she left.

  If she didn’t find him, then her next option was to go to his home. She would speak to him one way or the other.

  Something was going on and she wanted to know what it was. Innocent people had died for reasons she still didn’t know.

  Rudy Jr. was friends with Irma Ronston and Brendan Haddon, but that didn’t stop him from murdering them. Nolan was friends with Hyder, and he didn’t hesitate to attack him.

  There was more to this than she could put her finger on, and Francisco Luiz was the first piece to this puzzle.

  As she drove past the side of the building, she spotted it.

  The courier van was in front of the drop-off and pick-up zone.

  She didn’t go near it out of fear she might spook him. Instead, she stayed back and waited.

  Several minutes later, he came out.

  He was carrying what looked like a package.

  Lopez debated what to do next.

  She decided to follow him. She wanted to see what he would do next.

  EIGHTY-FOUR

  The drive back to the apartment gave Hyder time to ruminate on what he had discovered in the warehouse.

  He couldn’t believe Felix was involved in Francine’s murder. He was the one who had pushed her into the parked van.

  But why did he do it? Hyder wasn’t sure.

  On top of that, why did he join the Daily Times?

  This was even more baffling.

  But one thing was certain, though: Felix was behind everything that had happened to him thus far.

  Felix was the one who had told him about the connection between Devon Pharma and the murders on Riverfield Street. Had Felix actually received an anonymous tip? Or did he know something from before?

  What about when Hyder refused to print the connection? Was it Felix who had then passed that information on to the Franklin Herald?

  It was also Felix who had given to Hyder his story about Ross’s son being the suspect in the Riverside killings. It was an explosive piece. Any upcoming reporter would have jumped at that opportunity. So why would he pass it on to him?

  Did Felix know he would then go to Nolan’s house to confirm the story? Did this mean Felix had set him up for murder?

  If so, then how?

  Hyder didn’t know, but he was certain now it was Felix who had taken the newspaper clipping from his desk. And the simple reason for that was…

  Felix murdered Francine!

  “Stop the car!” Hyder yelled.

  Dante braked hard.

  “What’s going on, man?” DeShawn said from the passenger seat.

  Hyder was in the back with Tiny next to him.

  Hyder said, “I have to go to the Daily Times.”

  “The cops are looking for you,” DeShawn said. “You go anywhere near your place of work, they’ll be waiting for you.”

  “I have to find the guy on that security footage.”

  “And he works at the Daily Times?” DeShawn asked.

  Hyder nodded. “I want to know what he’s up to.”

  DeShawn thought about it. “You can’t go there on your own, man. The cops will have you in handcuffs in an instant.”

  “I have to do something,” Hyder said. “This guy has ruined my life and I want to know why.”

  “Then we’ll take you,” DeShawn offered.

  “No,” Hyder replied. “You’ve already done more than enough for me. I can’t ask you for more.”

  “You’re not asking, w
e’re volunteering,” DeShawn said. “Plus, the cops will be looking for a guy that matches your description and not three black guys in a white SUV.”

  Hyder thought about it.

  Tiny said, “Listen to the man, he makes sense.”

  Hyder nodded.

  They drove to the Daily Times and parked across from the building.

  “Look,” Dante said, moving his head forward.

  Up ahead, on the adjacent street was a parked police cruiser. They were waiting for Hyder to show up.

  “Told you,” DeShawn said with a grin.

  Hyder realized they couldn’t sit here for too long. It would attract attention.

  He had an idea.

  He called Lester.

  “Bro, what’s up?” Lester was whispering.

  “Is Felix there?” Hyder asked.

  “Let me check.” There was silence. “Yeah, he’s at your desk.”

  “Okay, good. Call me when he’s leaving.”

  “No problem.”

  Hyder hung up and said, “We’ll come back later.”

  They drove around and then stopped in front of an ice cream parlor. Tiny was hungry and hot, so they decided to grab something to eat while they waited.

  Hyder felt guilty for not fasting, but he was grateful to have something cold to combat the heat.

  The temperature had hit over 90 degrees. With the humidity, it felt even hotter. This meant that his ice cold fruit smoothie was the perfect thing to cool Hyder down.

  Almost an hour later, Hyder received the call.

  They drove back to the spot across from the Daily Times’ building. A few minutes later, Hyder spotted him leaving the entrance.

  Felix had on a baseball cap and he was carrying a backpack. His right hand was in his pocket as he made his way down the block.

  They followed behind at a safe distance.

  He went inside a pharmacy, but was out in a matter of minutes.

  He walked past several blocks and then turned left.

  “What if he gets on a bus?” Dante asked.

  It was a reasonable question, Hyder thought. “Then we follow the bus to see where he goes.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to find out where he lives and just go and talk to him there?” DeShawn asked.

  “I don’t want him knowing that we are on to him,” Hyder replied. “I don’t believe he is doing this alone. I want to know who else is involved.”

  “What if he enters the subway?” Dante asked.

  Another reasonable question, Hyder agreed. “Then I’ll follow him myself.”

  “We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” DeShawn quickly replied.

  Hyder knew DeShawn wouldn’t let him go after Felix by himself. He would have Dante or even Tiny do that.

  Regardless of his past transgressions, DeShawn was loyal to a fault. His loyalty to his sister transferred into his loyalty to Hyder.

  He would do anything and everything to help Hyder, even if it meant going back to jail.

  Hyder would never let it get to that point. He would give himself up before that happened. He, too, strongly believed in loyalty. He was now loyal to the people who were protecting him.

  They watched Felix walk down the street until he abruptly stopped and pulled out his cell phone. He then looked around and hurried his steps.

  “Where’s he going?” Hyder asked.

  “Don’t lose him,” DeShawn said.

  Dante accelerated, but still kept a fair distance between them.

  Felix then entered a phone booth.

  “Why is he using a pay phone when he has a cell phone?” Hyder said, squinting across at the booth.

  Each person in the SUV had the same question.

  Felix hung up and left.

  Dante put the SUV in gear when Hyder said, “No, wait.” Hyder reached for the door when Tiny’s hand grabbed him.

  “Where you going, man?” DeShawn said.

  “I’m not going after him,” Hyder said. “I just need to confirm something.”

  “Okay, but be careful, man. The cops are out there.”

  “I know.”

  Hyder jumped out of the SUV and raced to the phone booth. He grabbed the receiver and pressed re-dial.

  The telephone rang on the other end, which was followed by a voice prompting him to enter a password.

  Hyder jotted down the number he had re-dialed, and left.

  EIGHTY-FIVE

  Lopez followed the courier van. It made several stops. At each delivery, he would take the package up to the front door and have someone sign for it.

  Lopez made sure to record the addresses. She would do a background check on the individuals living in those houses.

  Following a courier van was not exciting, but Lopez saw no other choice. She had to find out what was going on.

  Was Devon Pharma involved in all of this? It was their drug that both Rudy Jr. and Nolan were on when they committed the crimes.

  But before she made any allegations against a company of that size, she wanted to cross-out all other suspects.

  Luiz had become a suspect. He had made deliveries from Devon to both Rudy Jr. and Nolan, and if the recipient of his next delivery from Devon became violent, then she would know Devon and Luiz were in it together.

  She hoped that would not happen. She didn’t need another innocent victim to prove her theory, but she did need some evidence to prove it.

  The van stopped at the corner of a street. Several seconds went by and nothing happened.

  “What are you doing?” Lopez whispered.

  Luiz emerged from the van. After making sure no one was around him, he went over to a garbage bin and placed a package inside it.

  He returned to the van and drove off.

  Lopez didn’t follow him. She wanted to know what he had dropped off.

  She was tempted to go up to the garbage bin and check, but she felt like something bigger was at play.

  She decided it was better to observe than get involved.

  She didn’t have to wait long. A beat up station wagon pulled up to the spot where the van was parked.

  A man came out and walked over to the garbage bin. The man was slightly overweight, with a protruding belly, and he was sporting a shaggy beard.

  The man reached into the bin and retrieved the package.

  He then got back in the station wagon and drove off.

  Lopez followed him all the way to an old, dilapidated house.

  The man parked and went inside.

  Lopez got out of her Acura and moved toward the house.

  EIGHTY-SIX

  Hyder looked at the telephone number in his hand, but he didn’t know what to do with it. It required a password. He didn’t have it. Maybe he could force Felix to tell him. He could, after all, use the footage to persuade him.

  Hyder was back in the SUV. They were heading back to the apartment.

  But what if Felix didn’t talk? Hyder wondered. What if he knew by giving the password he would incriminate himself further, then what?

  Every fiber in his body wanted to make Felix pay for what he did to Francine and for what he had done to him. He had never wished ill on anyone, but today he felt different.

  He could use DeShawn, Dante, and Tiny to get to him. They would make him talk. They would make him suffer.

  He shook his head at the thought.

  For one thing, he didn’t want the people protecting him further involved. It was his problem, not theirs. They never asked for it and they shouldn’t have to deal with it.

  Secondly, there were more people involved in this than just Felix. Someone had left a message that they only wanted Felix to be privy to.

  Who were these people? Would Felix give them up if pressure was applied?

  Hyder didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to hurt another human being to find out. It would be wrong in many ways. Torture was not something he would ever approve of. It was an inhumane way to gather information and he wanted no part of it.

/>   He would have to find another way. He would have to go back and start from the beginning.

  Why did Felix push Francine to her death? What did she have against him? And who was the person in the van? How was he involved?

  Go further back, a voice in his head said. What was Francine doing? She was a reporter… what was she working on? She was working on a story on…

  … J. Robert Munn.

  Huh?

  It didn’t make any sense.

  So what if Francine was doing an exposé on Munn? That didn’t mean she was murdered for it. Or was she?

  Hyder took a deep breath. If Francine was killed because she had something on Munn, then the only way to confirm this was to find the file she had on Munn.

  Every reporter had a working file on their stories and they made sure to never destroy it. It allowed them to prove or disprove anything that came up after the story was printed.

  Where was this file? Hyder wondered. Was it at the Franklin Herald?

  Then something occurred to him. They were the words of Francine’s editor, Irving Richer. Hyder tried to replay them in his head.

  “France was secretive when it came to her stories, even with me sometimes. She mostly did her work from home. She believed it was best not to reveal anything until she was certain of it.”

  Hyder grinned when he realized what he was searching for.

  “She mostly did her work from home.”

  Hyder turned to DeShawn and said, “I need you to take me somewhere.”

  “No problem. Where?”

  Luckily for Hyder, he knew Francine’s address.

  EIGHTY-SEVEN

  The condominium building rose twenty floors up to the sky. It was made of steel and glass.

  Hyder knew the apartment number, but he didn’t know if any of her stuff was still there. She had died more than a month ago.

  “I have to do this alone or else it would attract too much attention,” Hyder said.

  “You sure you don’t want Tiny with you?” DeShawn said.

  “I’m pretty sure,” Hyder replied. If the police somehow missed him, they would definitely not miss Tiny.

  Hyder went up to the building, but made sure to keep his head down. He didn’t want the security cameras to get a full shot of his face.