Promised Box Set

by James Kipling

  Cole looked at the plans inquisitively.

  ”Tell me more about the project. What does it entail and how will it affect the small neighborhoods around it?”

  Mr. Wilkins explained with lots of enthusiasm.

  “It’s a project that will transform this whole town. It’s fresh and exciting with lots of amenities that will be beneficial to the community. Detective Cole, this project will expand our community and attract investors for our banks, business conglomerates, and much more.”

  “Is that why Tommy was killed? Was he was interfering with this dream?” Cole muttered sarcastically.

  “Detective Cole, I don’t know what you are assuming, but whoever killed that boy had nothing to do with our work,” replied Wilkins.

  “I need a list of the investors who are backing this project,” commanded Cole.

  “I will send it to your office as soon as I can,” a now nervous Mr. Wilkins replied.

  Mr. Wilkins knew that he was going to have to get a fake list to submit. Sending the real file the first time was a mistake. HE was nervous. And he was running out of time.

  “No, no. I’ll just wait here. No need for you to pay for a postage stamp or for me to dispatch any officers to come pick it up,” Cole said conversationally.

  “What? I will need time to look for them. They’re kept under maximum security, and right now I’m very busy. No, I don’t think I can do it right now,” he babbled.

  Cole could tell he wanted to buy some time, but Cole was more than ready for his games. His instincts were probably right; he was sure that Wilkins would do something fishy once he left.

  “I have all the time in the world, just look for them when you can,” he answered.

  Cole could tell that he was nervous, and this convinced him, more than anything, that he was hiding something.

  “Detective Cole, I know this is an investigation, but my job will not stop because of this, I will give you the names but you have to let me continue with my job.”

  Cole knew he was right and there was nothing else that he could do.

  “Alright, I won’t keep you. I need the names as soon as possible. Don’t forget to send me the list and I’ll know if it’s a fake. I’ll charge you for obstruction if it is.” He left. “Oh, and remember I’m getting to the bottom of this case. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.” Cole added.

  Mr. Wilkins was shocked – it was like Cole had read his mind, and knew he was planning to give him a fake list. What will I do now? He wondered.

  *****

  Mr. Wilkins drummed his fingers on his desk nervously. There was no one who he could talk to, this was a private deal and he regretted ever getting involved in it. But he had to do something. He had never dealt with the investors personally so it was hard to tell them what was going on. There was only one person who would listen to him. He picked up the phone and dialed Rick’s number. He picked up on the third ring.

  “He is onto us. If I go down, you’re going to go down with me,” Mr. Wilkins told Rick firmly.

  Cole’s visit had his nerves shot. Wilkins didn’t think he could take any more lying or deception or murder.

  It had all begun three months ago when he approved a project on the plains that had been pitched by established businessmen. At the time, he did not know all the investors involved. But when he got the list, he realized that most of them were gang leaders in Mexico and Russia. He was threatened and paid well for his silence. Wilkins regretted being ambitious but his family came first. They told him that he could forget ever seeing his wife and kids again if he told.

  It was too late to take back his words now; he knew that Cole would never go easy on him. He had been frightened the first time he was approached with this deal, but he never knew that things would get so out of hand. Wilkins blamed the investors. They had the power to make the police stop the investigation, but they were doing nothing. Now his family would get involved and he would get thrown in jail.

  Two weeks ago, Tommy had been to his office with his new findings on the project site. The tests he had organized had come up positive confirming that the proposed project site was contaminated with toxic chemicals and unfit for human occupation unless treated appropriately. But there was little that he could do at that point. He took the findings file but never took action although he promised Tommy he would “look into it.” A few days later, Tommy began pestering him about the project and telling him it was unethical and unsafe to continue. He swore that he would stop the project. Immediately, Mr. Wilkins called up his boss and told him about Tommy. After the brief conversation, the line had gone silent. The next day, he got a call.

  “This is Rick; I was told you have a problem,” a suave voice announced.

  “Hold on a sec, I can’t just talk to a stranger about my problems. Who are you?

  “My boss told me to call you. He said you would know what's going on. Something about a kid who can’t keep his trap shut?”

  “Well, one of my employees is becoming too inquisitive and he needs to be handled.”

  He had never handled such a call and felt nervous. Wilkins didn’t want to know how this Rick would handle his employee. He was feeling sick to his stomach. What if, what if they killed him?

  “Name?”

  The voice left no time for arguments.

  “Tommy Fokler.”

  He was trembling. Wilkins never wanted anything to happen to him and he could sense that he was going to be killed if anyone ever found out. He didn’t even want to know who he was talking to.

  “Consider him handled.”

  And the line went dead. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. No one was. He hoped nobody had heard the conversation. He had signed Tommy’s death certificate with that phone call. He felt like he had killed someone already.

  Wilkins told himself that he didn’t have a choice; billions of dollars had been poured into the project. He had signed all the papers and this made him very nervous. If something went wrong, it would be his fault and the gang leaders were ruthless. When he heard the news about Tommy’s death, he choked on his food. It was hard to hide from his family that there was something wrong with him. His wife thought that he was being oddly distant with her. Wilkin knew, even then, that he couldn’t handle this any longer.

  “Mr. Wilkins, are you okay?”

  Rick said from the other end of the line. He was still thinking of the first day that he accepted this project. Rick’s voice brought him back to the present.

  “I was telling you that I can’t take this any longer. The detective just left my office and it seems like he has some clue about what I know,” he said.

  He was tapping on the table anxiously when his secretary knocked on the door. He opened the door and waved her away.

  “If you say anything to the officer, consider yourself dead. Before I kill you, I’ll kill your family first,” Rick threatened.

  “Please leave my family out of this, I didn’t say anything. That’s why I called you to warn you. Do something about the officer,” he pleaded.

  He knew that Rick was not a person to joke with, he was watching his every move and wouldn’t hesitate to kill his entire family. He loved his wife and kids. He and his wife met in high school and fell in love, getting married almost instantly.

  Wilkins had to make a choice. The detective was already breathing down his neck. He knew the investors had money and would work their way out of this mess without mentioning him. After all, he had dirt on them too. Wilkins knew what he had to do. He had to give out the list.

  *****

  Cole grinned when a package from Mr. Wilkins arrived. The list was long. Some names looked familiar from previous cases in Russia and Mexico. He took the list to his assistant and asked him to run background checks on everybody on it.

  “Do whatever you need to, just get me some answers.”

  After a while, the assistant came to his office with a grin on hi
s face.

  “It’s all crystal clear, sir. We’ve got the culprits.”

  “Go pick up Jenna.” He ordered his senior officers. “Be careful, but bring her in. I have a feeling that she is finally going to confess,” said the detective.

  Detective Cole knew that Mr. Wilkins was scared and he was going to use that to his advantage. He knew that Wilkins would confess if pressured. That was the only way to get to the truth. And if it meant scaring Wilkins to within an inch of his life, he would.

  The detective took two of his officers and went back to Mr. Wilkins’ office. When they arrived at the office and entered the elevator, Cole briefed them. When the gold-colored elevator doors opened, and Cole stepped into the meticulously decorated expanse that was Mr. Wilkins’ reception area, he could hear the gasps of amazement from behind him. Wilkins was rich. The main reception desk, solid mahogany wood and weighing about two thousand pounds, was unmanned.

  “Sir, each pound of wood in that desk if worth 50 dollars,” an officer whispered. “Why does a receptionist need a desk that pricy?”

  He shrugged and walked down the broad hallway, turned right and opened the solid-oak door to Mr. Wilkins’ office. In the background, the sound of phones ringing off their hooks could be heard. He considered the building. Why would such a rich man be involved in the crime that his assistant had described?

  Eight floors, well over ten thousand square feet in one of the best addresses in the country, downtown housing, one hundred highly compensated attorneys, with a three story library, fully equipped sauna, showers, lockers and conference rooms. He sat down at the desk opposite Mr. Wilkins, opened a cup of coffee, and looked him in the eye.

  “You know this is a private office and I can sue you for barging in like this. I want you to get out or else I’ll report you to your superiors,” Wilkins bluffed.

  “We have a warrant for your arrest, you have a right to remain silent, anything you say will be used against you in the court of law, and you have the right to an attorney, and if you can’t afford one you will be assigned one by the court. Cuff him,” he said.

  Mr. Wilkins moved to the left and tried to walk out, but one of the officers blocked him. He didn’t know what to say or do.

  “Let me call my lawyer,” he demanded.

  He wanted to call Rick and update him. Cole knew his strategy and wanted to deal with him personally because he looked frightened.

  “You will call one after we reach the station. For now you just have to remain silent and make our work easier.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” he pleaded. The officers ignored him as he was being led outside. The other workers watched as their boss was escorted outside. Everyone wanted to know why he was being arrested but no one said a word.

  The drive back to the police station was silent for a while before Mr. Wilkins started screaming. The car drove slowly up to the police station, stopped, and Cole stepped out of the car with a sigh. He couldn’t deal with such horrendous screaming. Cole turned up the collar of his coat. The afternoon was warm and brisk. The other officers also walked around the car and stood next to Cole as they leaned against the car. Cole looked up at the sky, and he had to admit that this was a beautiful feeling. The case was finally being wrapped up.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he was screaming.

  Cole looked at the back seat, and then smiled at Mr. Wilkins.

  “We won’t do anything about your whining, but we can make you shut up by force,” he chuckled.

  Wilkins stopped screaming and the officers dragged him out of the car and into the police station.

  At the station, Jenna was already in custody and one of the police officers in charge of the case was questioning her. Jenna was beautiful, and the interrogating officer kept on leering at her. It was hard for him to ask her some questions.

  “I have the right to a phone call, I want to call my lawyer,” Jenna stated.

  “You know Miss Jenna, only Detective Cole is allowed to administer those rights,” he answered. But he really wanted to help her and decided to break the rules for once. “But, of course, let me get you the phone and you can make that call to your lawyer right away,” he continued.

  The officer didn’t know that the phone was tapped. Cole left orders for all the phones to be tapped to avoid suspicion but he knew Jenna was connected and he had to stay ahead of her. The call was to be recorded.

  He got her a phone and Cole held up a hand and ushered the two officers holding Wilkins into an interrogation room. Someone had given Jenna a phone. He listened. The first call she made did not go through and he knew she was panicking. She made a second call and a strong male voice answered.

  “Hello, who’s this and how did you get this number?”

  “My name is Jenna. I did a couple of jobs for you. I need your help. The cops have arrested me.”

  “Well, you knew what you signed up for. Sorry, but that was the end of our working relationship, please don’t call me using strange numbers. Be careful with what you tell the police or else I will kill you myself.”

  She was trembling; Rick had promised her that they would have her back no matter what. She felt betrayed, but she still had time to deny everything, Jenna consoled herself.

  “I killed Tommy and the other guy for you, and now you don’t want to help me? You know you are dealing with the killer herself right?” she threatened.

  “I know who you are, and I don’t care.”

  “But……”

  There was a click and he hung up. She banged the phone back to its cradle. Detective Cole celebrated on the other end. She didn’t know that they had heard her entire conversation. They had caught the murderer.

  *****

  Mr. Wilkins was at the other side of the police station. Detective Cole was in charge off his interrogation.

  “Mr. Wilkins, confess your dealings with the drug lords, and I promise I will help put you under witness protection. Otherwise, you will go to jail for many, many years.”

  Mr. Wilkins replied nervously, “I want my lawyer present; I am not saying anything until he gets here.”

  “Mr. Wilkins, I’m trying my best here to make sure that you get a fair hearing. Will you or will you not cooperate with us?”

  He shook his head mulishly. Detective Cole looked at him and left the room to deliberate with one of his officers.

  As they looked through the interrogation room window, Detective Cole asked his officer what else they had on him.

  He handed him a piece of paper and continued, “That is Mr. Wilkins’ bank statements. A month ago, he received a deposit of $500,000 in his account. As you can see, there are huge regular deposits in this bank statement. I believe that he has been paid to keep his mouth shut.”

  Chapter Nine

  The police station was filled with people running around frantically, trying to get everything done. Detective Cole was giving orders left, right, and center. He was using all the resources accorded to him as a senior officer and detective to finally close the case. But the one thing he needed most was a confession from either Jenna or Mr. Wilkins. The recording of Jenna’s phone call was simply not enough. At that moment little had been revealed from the two suspects. But either way, he had all the time in the world to make them crack. Admittedly, Jenna was a tough nut. Wilkins wasn’t.

  “Detective, detective, in the interrogation room, the lady……” the exasperated officer trying his best to relay the message as Cole barked orders. “Sir, it’s urgent!” He shouted at the Detective.

  “WHAT?” Cole bellowed.

  “She cut her hands and she is bleeding rather heavily.”

  “Did you give her a knife or sharp object?” he asked as they ran to the interrogation room. The water cup on the desk was cracked and Jenna was holding one of them and using it to slit her wrists. It was like everything was in slow motion as he lunged for her.

  “I can’t go to jail. The people I work for are ruthl
ess and you are a fool to try going after them. They will kill you.”

  He was too late and she sliced open her own throat. A muffled scream tore from her lips as she smiled. She breathed her last.

  They called the coroner to take her body away. Detective Cole went back to his office a distraught man as he tried to think what Jenna’s last words meant. He sat on his desk looking at the list of investors that Wilkins had given him. At least the list wasn’t a fake. He shoved thoughts of Jenna to the back of his mind. He had tried to stop her and it wasn’t his fault.

  He went back to Wilkins and to try and negotiate for information.

  “I’ll give you the option of witness protection if you give us the locations of all the prime investors on this list.”

  “No.”

  “We know about everything. We’ve connected the dots.”

  “You don’t know everything.”

  “We know that you were approached with a multimillion dollar deal by a handful of trusted investors. You Okayed the project and then you found out that they were gang leaders looking to make a profit. For some reason, you didn’t come tell us. Instead, when Tommy came to tell you that the land was unsafe, you ignored him. Tommy didn’t give up. And since Arnold was in the room the next time Tommy came to pester you about it, you had him and Arnold murdered. Did I miss anything?”

  “How do you know all that?”

  “It turns out that, as part of a security backup system, you had cameras installed everywhere in your building. Including your office. You see, Wilkins, you can’t hope to win. Why not just cooperate?”

  “He threatened my family.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “The investors, the gang leaders, threatened to kill my family if any word of the project that could link them to it came out.”

  Cole frowned. He supposed that was a pretty good reason not to talk. “And the investors?”

  “I’ll write them down if you give me pencil and paper. There’s no way I’m going to say the addresses out loud.”