by V S Vashist
"What?"
"Do as I said," Jake said and left in a hurry.
"Where did he go?" Kiara asked.
"Oh...nature's call," Uncle Phil made an excuse and got up. "I want to say a few words," he said and walked to the center.
"Of course," Uncle Joseph said while rolling his eyes.
While Uncle Phil was entertaining the guests, Jake was surfing on his cellphone. With each page, his face was getting tense. After twenty minutes or so, he came back to the hall. Uncle Phil was still going strong.
He walked to the table and tapped on Kiara's shoulder.
"Come with me," he said and then also gestured Uncle Phil to finish his speech.
"What's happening?" Kiara said with surprise.
"Need your help with something," Jake said while looking towards Uncle Phil, who handed over the mic to Uncle Joseph.
"Let's go upstairs," Jake said as soon as Uncle Phil joined them.
"What about the guests?" Uncle Phil asked.
"They have been taken care of," Jake said as the resort manager entered.
With that, Jake walked towards the dining hall entrance. Uncle Phil followed suit and so did Kiara.
"I hope you all enjoyed the wedding. I can sense that everyone is a bit emotional here. You can have another half an hour if any more speeches need to be done. And, yes.. another round of drinks is on us," the manager announced.
Everyone clapped and whistled.
"That cost me a fortune," Jake said as they climbed the stairs.
"Why is she coming?" Uncle Phil said in a low voice while limping through the stairs.
"No need to hide anything. I have told her about your story," Jake said as they entered the hallway to the first floor, "And, besides, I need her analytical skills to solve it."
"Wait," Uncle Phil said with surprise, "Have you found who did it?"
"Actually, I have found more suspects and I need Kiara's help in narrowing them down," Jake said as he pushed the door to his room. "We have four suspects now."
"What?" Uncle Phil was left dumbfounded.
"Wait a minute," Kiara confronted Jake, "So, that's why you were being extra polite during the toast. I knew you were up-to something. But, playing with someone's emotions. It is even low by your standards."
"Well, as per Samantha, I am the reason why this became the marriage of her dreams," Jake said without remorse.
"I am out of here," Kiara said and turned around.
"Wait," Uncle Phil said firmly, "No one is going anywhere. Whatever his intentions may be, he helped them realize their dream. I don't know how he did it, but I haven't seen Janine so happy in years. You should forgive him if he has used some deceitful means to make them happy."
Kiara looked at Uncle Phil. He was very serious. She knew Uncle Phil never took anyone's side until and unless he was hundred percent sure. She took a deep breath and walked to Jake who was standing near the window.
"Okay. I will forget it for a moment but I am not going to forgive you for this," Kiara said and paused, "What do you want from me?"
Jake pointed towards the couch. Uncle Phil and Kiara sat down. Jake walked across the room, putting his thoughts together.
"My guess was right. The first case that Uncle Phil narrated to me is his own story of how he got shot," Jake told Kiara.
Kiara looked at Uncle Phil who nodded back.
"Wow! He has been telling that story since I remember. You are the first one to crack it," she said with surprise.
"I suppose," Jake said at once. "As per Uncle Phil, he suspected Uncle Andrew to be the one who shot him."
"Again, you were right," Kiara said immediately.
"Yes, he was not on the patrol with Uncle Phil that day, but he was the one who took Uncle Phil to hospital. The bullet matches with his personal gun though we can't say that with certainty," Jake replied.
"Wait a minute," Kiara said, "Why would he shoot at Uncle Phil? You need to back up a little."
Jake took a deep breath. "Let me finish with my analysis. You will know everything about what happened that day as I progress."
Kiara looked at Uncle Phil who nodded. Kiara gestured Jake to go ahead.
"Okay, so as I was saying. Uncle Andrew is the first suspect. Now, he had nothing against Uncle Phil. We suspect that he actually shot at Ryan Reed, the son of the owner of this land to stop him from shooting Roberto Leon, the caretaker of the land. Roberto knew that there was a land dispute. The Reed family didn't have the right documents. Since they were here for decades, no one had questioned them. Once he came to know about it, he thought of making a quick buck."
"So, he was blackmailing them?" Kiara asked.
"In a way, yes. I had my doubts when I saw that there was no development in the entire area. With a little research, I found that the dispute is still going on and now the court has been involved by other people from the Reed clan. Anyway, we will come to that later. So, the first suspect in Uncle Andrew. The second suspect, as per Uncle Phil, could be Dr. Kirk Chatfield," Jake was about to say something but was cut short by Kiara.
"What? How can he be possibly linked to it?" Kiara asked immediately.
"Well, it's mostly based on a hunch. Uncle Phil had an ongoing issue with Dr. Kirk over a case. They had confronted each other on that day and to add to our theory, Dr. Kirk's whereabouts during that period are unknown to the people at the hospital," Jake explained.
"That's a weak argument. Isn't it? And it can't be even investigated now after so many years," Kiara said while looking at Uncle Phil, who raised his shoulder.
"Well, he is a suspect. I didn't say he did it. Even I have my reasons to believe that he didn't do it. But, my reasons are different," Jake said, bringing Kiara and Uncle Phil back to the original discussion. "We will come to elimination later. Let's first chalk out the list of suspects."
"Who are the other two?" Uncle Phil was eager to know what Jake had found.
"Well, I wanted to know more about the suspects during the dinner. However, my plans were thwarted when I was asked to give a toast," Jake said. "But, after much deliberation, I decided to use it as an opportunity. I talked about Uncle Phil's attachment to this place intentionally to see the reaction on Uncle Andrew and Dr. Kirk's face."
"Oh.. that's why," Uncle Phil said, understanding Jake's real intentions. "What did you find?"
"Well, Uncle Andrew had the expression saying 'Not again'," Jake said, "He was more bored by my words than getting anxious for his secret getting revealed in public. So clearly, he is not the one who did it or maybe he is a master of disguise."
"I will go with the first conclusion," Kiara said.
"What about Kirk?" Uncle Phil asked hastily.
"He didn't give any expression. He was indifferent- as if he didn't even know what I was talking about," Jake said.
"Maybe he is not even aware of the fact that Uncle Phil was shot here," Kiara said.
"Okay...but you said there are four suspects. Who are the remaining two?" Uncle Phil asked and looked at Jake in anticipation.
"Well, when I was going through the room; I saw a streak of anger run through Byron Hyde's face," Jake said softly.
"What?" Uncle Phil almost jumped from his seat.
"Well, you had an issue with Byron? Didn't you?" Jake asked.
"It was just a prank and then it was not only me. Andrew and Joseph were also in it," Uncle Phil tried to reason.
"Is this about that bloody nails prank?" Kiara asked, remembering the story.
Jake nodded, "Well, for you it was a prank, but for him it changed the course of his life. He did not forget it. He stopped talking to Uncle Joseph who was his best friend. Even now they are just cordial. As far as Uncle Andrew is considered, Byron was the one who gave him the blunt hammer and the crooked nails. So, in a way Byron started it. Andrew didn't have anything against him. Besides, they were not on good terms since childhood. They had fought several times earlier also. That only leaves you."
"But, how would he c
ome to know that I was coming here that day?" Uncle Phil asked the pertinent question.
"It happened at the same period when he had sold his store and had vanished from Chesterfield. No one in the town knew where he was during that period and what he did?" Jake added to his theory.
"That's right. But, this will need meticulous planning. You will have to know my routine. You have to know that Ryan Reed was going to shoot Roberto and at the same moment I would be there. Plus you have to shoot at the same time when I was having a scuffle with Ryan so that I will suspect it to be Ryan," Uncle Phil said in a single breath.
"That does leave a shred of doubt. But, his reaction at the toast means there is something," Jake said and paused for a moment. "There was someone else who too reacted to my statement. In fact, his was the strongest reaction."
"Who is it?" Uncle Phil asked anxiously.
"Daryl Langley," Jake said and looked into Uncle Phil's eyes.
"Daryl - the contractor," Kiara said with surprise.
"Daryl Langley. But what does he have against me?" Uncle Phil asked. Kiara was equally surprised.
"We will come to that later. So, now we have four suspects - Uncle Andrew, Dr. Kirk, Byron Hyde and Daryl Langley. Now we need to eliminate three and find the real culprit. As I said earlier, the case happened almost thirty years back. We can never be too sure of who actually did it as we lack the evidence. But, we can come closer to establish the strongest motive that will help us find the prime suspect."
"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" Kiara asked.
"What?"
"You already have done all the work. You just want to tease us," Kiara said ruefully. "That's why you are not revealing everything at once."
Jake's face turned a little tense, "Actually, it's not like that. It's just that during the course of studying these cases, I have come to know more than what Uncle Phil wanted me to know. I just want to make sure that my inferences are right."
"What do you mean?" Uncle Phil asked.
"Let's start with Uncle Andrew," Jake ignored Uncle Phil's question.
"There is no motive: only a chance of him missing the shot. But, he only fired once and that too from his official gun. The bullet that hurt Uncle Phil was from another gun - a gun similar to the one that Uncle Andrew has at his home. Another thing that goes against him is that the search party couldn't find the bullet that he says he had fired from his official gun."
With that, Jake walked near the window.
"I made Uncle Phil walk upstairs so that we can have a good look of the crime scene," Jake said and pointed towards the botanical garden in the backyard near the pond. Uncle Phil and Kiara joined him.
"Uncle Phil was standing facing the forest with the pond towards his back. I checked on the internet for an old image of this area and found that the pond was there at that time but the botanical garden wasn't. That means when Uncle Andrew, who was hiding in the forest had taken the shot, the garden was not there to stop his shot. The bullet might have missed Uncle Phil and went inside the pond water directly."
"Maybe, that's why search party never recovered it," Kiara said thoughtfully.
"Also, Uncle Andrew's reaction says that he didn't do it," Jake said and walked back to the center of room. "What I am trying to say is that he has the least chance to be the culprit."
Uncle Phil nodded his head, "That's what I feel too."
"I never believed it from the start," Kiara shook her head.
"Yeah you did. Let's move on to our next suspect: Dr. Kirk Chatfield," Jake said and sat down on the bed. Kiara and Uncle Phil sat on the couch opposite to him.
"Well, what I am going to say may hurt you. But, you have to bear with me," Jake said looking at Uncle Phil.
Uncle Phil's face turned pale. Kiara looked at him, "What is it?"
"It's the bone of contention between Uncle Phil and Dr. Chatfield. During the research, I found the real interpretation of Uncle Phil's second story," Jake said in a low voice.
"You stop right there," Uncle Phil said in a stern voice.
"Don't worry. Kiara won't tell anyone," Jake said and looked at Kiara who nodded.
"But…" Uncle Phil tried one more time.
"Rest assured. It won't harm you in any way," Jake said and took a deep breath.
"Just like the first story, the second story has a deep meaning. When I researched it, I found that there was indeed a crash for which Uncle Phil was an eyewitness. Only difference was that it was a car crash. The husband died on the spot, but Uncle Phil pulled out the wife at the right time. You know who she was?" Jake looked at Kiara. Uncle Phil had already buried his face in his palms.
"Who?" Kiara asked.
"Linda Chatfield," Jake said calmly. Sweat drops started to glisten on Uncle Phil's forehead.
"What?" Kiara said with surprise. "But you said that the husband died in the car crash?"
"That's because this happened before she married Dr. Kirk. Am I right, Uncle Phil?" Jake asked.
Uncle Phil looked at him and just nodded.
"Uncle Phil couldn't save her then husband but saved her on time. During investigation, it was found that the accident happened because of the faulty gear box. A case was filed by Linda on the car company. The car company insisted that the car was being driven at very high speed and that was the real cause of the accident. Since Uncle Phil was the only eyewitness, he had to attend all the hearings and tell the same story time and again. But, there was another angle to the story. Had there been no casualty, the car company would have paid some money through insurance or they might have replaced the car and that would have been the end. But, Since Linda's husband died, they had to take the responsibility of the death if they were convicted. So, they played another game. They blamed Uncle Phil for the delay in bringing the victim to the hospital. And, guess who agreed to that."
"Dr. Kirk Chatfield," Kiara said with surprise and turned towards Uncle Phil, "That's why you two couldn't see eye to eye."
"I almost lost my job due to that jerk. He did not acknowledge that I saved Linda. She could have died just like her husband," Uncle Phil said in a brittle tone.
"But, how come he was the only eyewitness? Aunt Barbara was there too." Kiara asked remembering the story.
"No, she wasn't. Uncle Phil added that to make the story more ambiguous," Jake said. "So, as I was saying, Dr. Kirk Chatfield became a part of this case and he had to attend the hearings too. During the course of the case, Dr. Kirk and Linda became close and Dr. Kirk altered his statement later. He said the accident had punctured the lungs and even if Uncle Phil could have brought him on time, the chances of his survival were only ten percent."
"That would have exonerated you?" Kiara asked, looking at Uncle Phil.
"It did. But, it also helped Linda win the case and she got a sizable compensation. And, within six months of the verdict, she married Dr. Kirk," Jake answered before Uncle Phil could have said anything.
"But, you were still angry with him. Why?" Kiara asked while trying to put all pieces together.
"Of course, I was. It was the same time when Barbara was not keeping well and because of Chatfield, I had to go on leave without pay for three months," Uncle Phil said angrily.
"That's not what she is asking," Jake said, "What Kiara meant is that it was you who had an issue with him. But, he never had an issue with you. He may have been wrong morally on telling that you took more time in bringing Linda's husband, but he was technically right. It was a doctor's unbiased opinion."
"Having nothing against you means he didn't have the motive to shoot you. He may not have an alibi for that time but that doesn't mean he followed you." Kiara stressed.
"Yes, and that's why he is second last on the list of suspects," Jake replied.
Uncle Phil was relieved that Jake had moved on to the third suspect. He didn't want to remember what happened between him and Dr. Kirk Chatfield.
"Byron Hyde, as I said, wasn't the same after the bloody nails incident. He sold everything aft
er his father's death and moved out of the town. No one heard from him for two years. I found that during those two years, he travelled across the country. He tried to get into several jobs, but couldn't make a mark. Finally he had no option left but to come back to Chesterfield. After all, it was his town too. The only issue was to face Uncle Phil, Uncle Andrew and Uncle Joseph on daily basis. As I said, he had removed Uncle Joseph from his friend circle as a punishment for that incident. It was hard on him too since Uncle Joseph was his best friend, but he knew that it was equally hard on Uncle Joseph too. So, in a way, this punishment was enough for Uncle Joseph. As far as Uncle Andrew is concerned, they were fighting since childhood. So, it was nothing new for him. The only person to whom he wanted to teach a lesson was Uncle Andrew."
"Yeah we got that. But, what about the gun?" Uncle Phil asked.
"Unfortunately, I am not able to find the records. So, I am not too sure if he had any guns at that time," Jake said ruefully.
"So, it's inconclusive, then?" Kiara asked.
"Yes. But he is a strong suspect. He left the town following the prank that these guys played. He was so angry, that he even sold off his property. Plus, his reaction to my statement at the toast adds an element of suspicion to my theory."
"Still, we can't be too sure," Uncle Phil said, shaking his head.
"And, that's why I am not ranking him as number one in the list of suspects," Jake said and looked at them. "We have a tie for that position."
"Daryl?" Uncle Phil and Kiara said in unison.
"Yes, I believe Daryl Langley is also the prime suspect along with Byron Hyde," Jake replied.
"How is he linked with Uncle Phil?" Kiara asked.
"He isn't. But, he was linked with Roberto Leon and I believe he also had the same gun," Jake said and looked at their confused faces.
"Uncle Phil told me the story up to the point he got shot but there is more to the story. Roberto was blackmailing the Reed family. He himself didn't want to go to the court. Because, even he was not sure that he would win the case. Reed family was definitely against the court case. However, when the blackmailing persisted, Ryan Reed took matters in his own hands and thought of threatening Roberto. However, this backfired because through Uncle Phil's injury, the police came to know about it. Roberto got another chance. He filed an attempt to murder case against Ryan Reed. His case was airtight and he had eyewitnesses. Finally the Reed family had to agree to an out of the court settlement and let Roberto take the piece of land. And, that's why the resort has a Mexican name and it is still owned by Roberto's family. But, you know what happened to Daryl during that period?"
