“I don’t know, but whatever you guys are working on, I would like to be part of it.”
Hyder looked at him. “I don’t know.”
“I am the detective working on Eric Freeland’s case. And if I remember correctly, you did come to me first.”
“And you turned us away.”
“My bad.”
“And…”
“Yes?”
“You’re a drunk.”
“True, but I’m a high-functioning drunk.” Nolan gave him a smile.
Hyder didn’t look convinced.
“Listen, two heads are better than one. Three heads are way better than two. If all three of us got involved, we just might be able to find out what the hell is going on.”
FIFTY-FOUR
Hyder was showing Nolan the pages from the diary when Jessica came in. They were in Hyder’s basement.
Jessica said, “Are you okay? Your mom just told me.”
Hyder had told his mom about Dunny’s death. He had learned a long time ago to always be honest with her. She was one the most important people in his life. Naturally, Mrs. Ali was very upset and worried for him. But Hyder assured her that everything was fine, now that Detective Nolan was on the case.
“I’m okay,” Hyder said, reassuring Jessica.
Jessica turned to Nolan. “I’m glad you finally believe us.”
“I always believed you, but not really.” He gave her a smile.
“What do you make of the pages?” Hyder asked.
“It looks like it was written by a crackpot.” He then saw the look on Jessica’s face. “I mean a very intelligent crackpot.”
Jessica turned to Hyder. “Are you sure about him?”
Before Hyder could respond, Noland said, “Hey, I’m the guy with the badge, so whether you like it or not, I’m the best hope you’ve got.”
Hyder nodded. “He’s right.”
Jessica sat down and crossed her legs. She didn’t look happy about it.
Mrs. Ali came down the stairs. She was holding a tray. On it was a plate of samosas, a plate of pakoras, and another plate of hand cut potato fries. On the side were chutneys, both sweet and sour.
“I thought you guys might like some snacks,” she said.
She placed the tray on the table.
Nolan’s eyes were wide. “Mrs. Ali, you did all this yourself?”
“It didn’t take me long to fry them, and please call me Fatima,” she smiled at him. Hyder was taken aback. Was his mother flirting with Nolan? “I hope you like them,” she said.
“Are you kidding me? I’m gonna love them,” he clapped his hands and dove in. With his mouth full he looked at Jessica and Hyder. “You guys want any?”
They both raised their hands and said in unison, “We’re fine.”
Nolan chewed, burped, and licked his fingers as he finished what was on the plates.
“I wish I had made more,” Mrs. Ali said.
Nolan thumped his chest and put his hand up. “That was more than enough for me.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“I loved it. It was delicious.”
Mrs. Ali smiled and took the empty plates and tray upstairs. “Let me know if you want anything else.”
“I will,” Nolan said.
When his mother was gone Hyder looked at Nolan.
“What?” Nolan shrugged. “I was hungry.”
“Can we get back to work now?” Jessica said.
Hyder pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Nolan. “The following words were underlined in the diary.”
XLX Ltd.
JVL
Whistleblower
Bribes
Murder
Catch Them in the Red
Student
Money
Auditor
Don’t Trust
Pandora box
Hold Them
Nolan said, “In the car you told me briefly your theory regarding these words. I have to be honest with you. I had no idea what you were talking about. So, do you mind giving me another crash course?”
Hyder proceeded to explain what he believed the words meant. JVL was a student of Freeland’s. He or she may have been working for XLX Ltd. JVL may have found out that XLX Ltd. was providing bribes and he or she was tipped off by an auditor. This auditor blew the whistle and, subsequently, they were murdered. A lot of money was involved and Freeland wanted to catch them red handed and hold them accountable for the crimes. Freeland knew this information that he had been given would be a Pandora’s Box for those involved and he wanted Hyder and Jessica to trust no one.
When Hyder had finished, Nolan didn’t say a single word.
He closed his eyes as if he were thinking.
A few seconds went by, and then minutes.
Suddenly, a noise erupted from him. He was snoring!
Hyder and Jessica looked at each other.
Jessica stood up and slammed her hand on the table.
Nolan woke up, startled. “Where is he? I’ll strangle him!” When he saw where he was, he relaxed.
“Enjoy your nap?” Jessica asked sarcastically.
“Yes, it was quite lovely, thank you. I was dreaming that I was prancing in a field of sunflowers. It was almost magical.”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
Hyder said, “Did you listen to anything I said?”
“I heard everything,” Nolan stood up. “I agree with most of your theory; well, it sounds plausible the way you present it anyway, but I think you’ve made a mistake in two instances.”
“Which two?” Hyder inquired.
Nolan turned to Jessica. “Is it correct to say that your father was a conspiracy theorist?”
“Yes, but he wasn’t crazy, I want you to know that.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t, all loonies think they are sane.” Nolan began pacing the room. “The words Catch Them in the Red and Hold Them are not what you think they are.”
Hyder and Jessica leaned forward in their chairs.
“Freeland wasn’t referring to catching them red handed and holding them accountable, he was making a play with the words.”
Both Jessica and Hyder were at the edge of their seats.
“Hold Them is a word play for Holden, as in Holden Caulfield. And Catch Them in the Red is a word play for Catcher in the Rye.”
Hyder’s mouth nearly dropped.
Jessica shook her head. “I think you got it wrong. It sounds too farfetched.”
“No,” Hyder said. “I think he’s right.”
“What?” Jessica was surprised. “You actually believe him?”
“Yes, because Catcher in the Rye is referred to as the conspiracy theorists’ bible. It has been linked to many assassinations. Jessica, your dad was a huge conspiracy theorist; if he was being cryptic or was leaving us clues then I think we may find the answers in the copy of The Catcher in the Rye that your dad owned.”
“Where do we find this copy?” Nolan asked.
“I think I know where it could be,” Jessica said.
FIFTY-FIVE
They were in Eric Freeland’s house.
“It should be here,” Jessica said. “This is where he keeps all his books.”
They had gone through the bookshelf next to Freeland’s desk. It was the same desk that the suicide note had been placed on.
“Your father has a lot of books,” Nolan said, scratching his beard.
“He was an academic. Books were his life.”
“Right, my bad,” Nolan said.
Hyder said, “We should look again. We may have missed it. You don’t mind if we pull them out?”
“My dad’s gone,” Jessica said. “I don’t think he’d mind the mess.”
They began grabbing the books off the shelf one by one. They threw them on the floor until there was no room left for them to walk.
“It’s not here,” Nolan said.
“And we went through it twice now.”
Jessica dropped on the so
fa with her head in her hands. “I don’t get it.”
“Do you think your dad kept books in other parts of the house?” Hyder asked.
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“Then we split up and search the entire place. Jessica, you take the upstairs, the bedroom in particular. Detective Nolan, you take the garage and I’ll check the other rooms.”
“Why do I get the garage?” Nolan asked, sounding annoyed. “As you can see, I’m in no condition to do any extraneous activities.”
“Okay, then I’ll take the garage and you take the other rooms. Check every nook and cranny.”
“Even the bathroom?” Nolan asked.
“Really?” Jessica replied. “You think my dad would keep a book in the bathroom?”
“I read all the time on the toilet,” Nolan shrugged.
“You’re disgusting,” Jessica said.
“Forget the bathroom, but thoroughly check the other rooms from top to bottom,” Hyder said.
“Got it, sir,” Nolan gave him a salute and disappeared.
Jessica rolled her eyes. “And you wanted to bring him?”
“He was the one who told us about the book, remember?” Hyder said.
“So far we haven’t been able to find the book to confirm if he was right, remember?”
Hyder put his hands up. “You win.”
Hyder spent the next thirty minutes going through the entire garage. He pulled open every box he could find. Freeland had kept a lot of material from the university. Hyder saw old syllabuses, exams, solutions, teacher’s notes, textbooks, and many other materials. What Hyder didn’t find was the book.
Exhausted and sweating, he went back inside.
He found Jessica alone on the sofa.
“Where is Detective Nolan?” Hyder asked.
He then heard a flush and out came Nolan from the bathroom. “I don’t think the pakoras settled too well.” Nolan tapped his stomach.
“What now?” Jessica asked.
Hyder sat next her. He wasn’t sure either.
“Maybe, it could be in my dad’s office,” Jessica said.
“If it was,” Nolan said, sitting across them. “It’s no longer there.”
“What do you mean?” Hyder squinted.
“I was there earlier and it’s been cleared out.”
There was silence.
Hyder felt like a headache was coming on. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. He opened them and abruptly got up.
“What is it?” Jessica asked.
Hyder bent down and picked up a heavy book. He began flipping through it.
Nolan said, “If you think the book is hiding in that big one, then you should start drinking… speaking of which, I’m thirsty.” He licked his lips.
Hyder was intently flipping the pages.
“What have you got there?” Jessica asked.
Hyder stopped on a page. “I think I know where the book might be.”
Both Nolan and Jessica sat up eagerly.
“According to Greek Mythology Pandora’s Box wasn’t actually a box, but a large jar, which contained all the evils of the world. When opened, it would release things that had severe consequences.” Hyder turned to Jessica. “Your dad wasn’t just saying that by opening Pandora’s Box we would be unleashing the truth onto the world. He literally meant that the truth was inside Pandora’s Box.”
“I don’t get it,” Jessica said.
“I don’t either,” Nolan added with a shrug.
“Wait.” He looked around the room. “There,” he pointed. A large vase sat on the floor near the entrance.
He rushed over and put his hand inside. When he brought it out, in his hand was a copy of The Catcher in the Rye.
“The book was in a jar.” Nolan marveled with wide eyes. “Now I get it.”
Hyder came over and sat down.
He slowly began flipping through the pages. On one page was the letter ‘X’, on the next ‘L’, then ‘X’, then ‘Ltd’, then ‘=’, and finally, TriGate Management Group.
XLX Ltd = TriGate Management Group.
Hyder flipped through the rest of the pages but there were no markings on them.
“Isn’t TriGate one of the largest construction firms in the city?” Jessica said.
“Yes, so does it mean they are involved with bribes and murder?” Hyder said.
“According to my dad, yes,” Jessica replied.
“Where’s Nolan?” Hyder looked around.
The front door was open. When they went out to check he was already gone.
FIFTY-SIX
Nolan drove like a madman. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He was furious at himself. He wanted to slam the car into a pole, the car ahead of him, the bus shelter he was passing, anything. The pain inside him had erupted and he feared he might not be able to ease it back down.
He heard the rattle of the bottle underneath the seat as it rolled back and forth.
Keeping an eye in front of him, he quickly leaned over and in one swoop, snatched it.
With his teeth, he unscrewed the cap and took a long, deep drink from it.
It felt good as it soothed his nerves.
He exhaled loudly.
Why didn’t he see it before? Why didn’t he make the connection? It was right there all the time. All he had to do was put it together.
He knew the answer and it was simple. There was no need to make a link.
He never once doubted the official report he had been given. It made sense and he believed it. Had he been suspicious even once he would have followed through.
It was why now he was driving like a lunatic.
He had to douse his suspicion or else it would fester and spread like a virus throughout his body.
He parked the car in front of his house and ran in.
“Where is it?” he mumbled to himself. “Where did I put it?”
He searched the living room, the kitchen, the basement; finally, he went to the bedroom.
Next to the bed was a pile of reading materials.
He quickly went through them until he found the folder he had been looking for. It had coffee stains on it and the edges were bent or ripped. Right after the accident, he had spent a month filling the folder with information. He didn’t know why but it somehow gave him a focus. It had helped keep his mind off the pain, until the pain became intolerable and he had to relieve it with alcohol.
He flipped the pages until he stopped on a single sheet. It was a brief obituary cut out from the newspaper.
When Nolan read it, he nearly lost his breath. He was suddenly angry at himself again. He wanted to punch something or someone.
He saw the side table and rushed to it. He pulled open the drawer, found several smaller bottles scattered inside. He had kept them there in the event the nightmares reappeared again. They were his emergency supply in case he couldn’t tolerate the pain anymore.
He snapped a bottle open and swallowed it down. He opened another and another, until his head began to spin.
He sat at the foot of the bed and put his face in his hands.
Raw emotions were running through his head and he knew if he didn’t control them they would take over. He could end up sitting in his room drunk for days. He couldn’t allow that. Not right now, at least.
He went into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.
His eyes were bloodshot. He splashed cold water over his face.
He dried his face and went out.
He had to make sure the reason behind how he felt was true. The only way to do that was to go out and confirm it.
He drove straight to the office of Pilster Insurance Company. It was located on the seventh floor of a commercial building.
It took Nolan a couple of minutes to find it, but then he saw the company plaque outside the door and went in.
He flashed his badge and was immediately introduced to Irwin Campbell.
Campbell
was in his forties, with receding hair and a big mustache.
When they were seated in his office, Campbell said, “How can I help you, Detective?”
Nolan rubbed his beard. “I need to see an insurance report, but it’s a year old.”
“That’s not a problem,” Campbell said. “We store all our paperwork in this location. Do you have a file number or even a name?”
Nolan pursed his lips. “Yes, it’s for… Amanda Hansborough.”
“Hansborough,” Campbell nodded. “I’ll be right back with the file.” Campbell left.
Nolan leaned back in the chair and stared out the windows. The sun was at full strength and Nolan had to squint to see outside.
A couple of minutes later, Campbell returned, looking pale. “I’m sorry to say, but we don’t have the file.”
“What do you mean?” Nolan nearly stood up.
Campbell rubbed his hands. “We can’t find it. It’s logged in our system, but the actual file is not where it’s supposed to be. However, when we log a file into our system we make a brief note regarding the file. This helps us know what the file was about without actually pulling out the hard copy. ”
He handed Nolan a printout.
Nolan scanned it and looked up at Campbell, “Is this correct?”
“Yes, the agent who reviewed the case made that conclusion based on the information he received from various sources.”
Nolan’s head was reeling.
He got up and without uttering a word left the office.
He went back to his car and pulled out the folder he had brought from home. The folder was filled with information on the Hansborough family. He lifted the newspaper obituary of Amanda Hansborough. On it, it clearly stated where Hansborough had worked at the time of her death. It further stated what she did for them.
When Hyder had revealed the identity of XLX Ltd, Nolan’s mind had flashed to Amanda Hansborough. What triggered this flash was not only the name of the company, but also Hansborough profession, which Freeland had mentioned in his cryptic notes.
Amanda Hansborough was an internal auditor for TriGate Management Group.
Nolan lifted the print out from Campbell. At the bottom, in the comments section, were the following words: CAUSE OF DEATH, FAULTY BRAKES.
Amanda Hansborough didn’t have an accident, she was murdered.
The Silent Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #1) Page 14
