by Bill O. A
Agent Tony went up to meet Mason that very instant.
“Let me have a look,” said Tony. “This is good, now we know the family that adopted the boy. Write down the details and send it to the office.”
“I will do just that,” replied Mason. Richard Jenkins came back from the restroom. “I see you have stopped your search. Are there any developments?”
“We have found the English family, the Taylors. Their address in the folder is in Quay Street, Manchester.”
“What of the boy? Is there a name for him?” asked Richard.
“There is nothing in the file. I am sure the Taylors would have formalised all that when they returned to England,” replied Tony.
“I have sent the mail, sir. All information is now with head office.”
“Good,” countered Tony. “Please is there a way we could make copies of the contents of the file? You never know when one would need it,” requested Tony.
“Sure. There is a photocopier upstairs, let us go and use it,” responded Richard.
Chapter 9
San Francisco, California
26th June 2015, 9:25 a.m.
Donald couldn’t wait for a week before the private detective George contacted finds the ghost man. He picked up his cell phone and called the historian.
“Good morning, Professor. I hope you slept well?”
“It was okay but could be better. I was at the golf course club with Mark late into the night. He has an array of friends.”
“I can imagine,” replied Donald. “I have had this feeling since my daughter’s experiences began. The night she had her first encounter was also the night she started her period. I don’t want to believe that is a coincidence.”
“Not at all. It is generally believed that a girl transforms into a woman when she starts her monthly cycle,” replied George, “and the curse is placed on women not girls, so your daughter needed to grow up biologically before the curse took effect.”
“What about the private detective? Any news from him?” inquired Donald.
“Mr Jones, please we have to give him some time. I believe he is working in conjunction with the police. This is more or less an investigation so we need the best hands on deck. Hello? Hello?” George was losing the call. “Donald I would have to call you back, there is someone knocking on my door.”
“Not a problem,” replied Donald. Then he hung up.
“Some goddess has given you a dashing guy and here you are blabbing about how you want your love life to be in your control. Just look at his face, isn’t he handsome?”
Sandra was throwing tantrums now. She remembered how she and Amy would always jest about finding love and how their love life would be like.
“He sure is a handsome guy, but think of it, would you have sex with a stranger just to be free of some curse?” Amy offered.
“Have you forgotten the first few weeks of your experiences and how you told me you wouldn’t mind suicide? Now the professor brings some temporary remedy and you are like what the heck with the curse. Amy this is a spiritual matter; the Greek gods don’t wish you well. You need to cancel the curse once and for all.”
“I am not underestimating the problem, but the sex part is what’s getting me all worked up. How do I live my life after the ritual is over?”
“Just the way the princess did. You grow older, fall in love, get married and live happily ever after,” replied Sandra.
“I am thinking of ending the curse.” Amy looked at Sandra. Her friend froze for a while.
“Do you mean you won’t have kids? I think you should take that up with Professor George, he can speak better about that.”
George peeped through the door hole and saw two men. From his experience he knew they were law-enforcement agents. He opened the door and spoke to the men.
“Good morning,” offered George.
“Morning. We believe you are George Holmes?” asked Agent Alfred.
“Professor George Holmes,” said George.
“Please take no offence. We have been trying to reach you for some time now. We are with the FBI. No one knew your new address in your former home area so we had to get to the University where you teach to get your current address.”
“I see. So what is the problem?” inquired George.
“We would like to come inside. The story you are about to hear deserves such attention,” replied Alfred.
“Please, come in.”
“Amy, Sandra. Please come downstairs. I need some help in the kitchen,” shouted Jessica from the foot of the stairs.
The girls had been upstairs ever since they came home from school.
“Sorry Mum, we were just doing our thing,” said Amy. She was sure her mum would understand.
“Sandra, you can help wash the used dishes, while Amy will help mix the cake ingredients and get it ready for the oven.”
Felix walked in. “Hi Mum. I am hungry, what can I have to eat?”
“You can take some of the cereal in the pack. There is milk in the fridge. You will have to make do with that till dinner is ready.”
“Thanks Mum, you are an angel.”
“Amy, you have to check Felix’s homework and make sure he is getting them right. I don’t want any low grades for him, okay?”
“Sure Mum, I will look into it.”
George went for his bottle of Vodka and poured a few shots into a glass. The story he just heard was disturbing; now he was some kind of target for a freak killer.
“Professor, is there anything you can recall from that day in South Vietnam?” asked Alfred.
“Well, you have everything. I don’t see what is missing,” said George. “The family was killed as an act of self-defence — I really don’t blame Daniel for his actions that day. The baby boy was adopted by an English family and that was the last we all heard of the issue.”
“We believe that a relative of that family is on a revenge mission but we can’t trace who it is yet,” replied Alfred. “All we have are just unrelated evidence.”
George knew where they were going with this; he had been a Marine for nine years and he knew the game when he saw one.
“I think the English family have to be found, and then you guys should also send a team to Vietnam for fact finding,” said George. He was hoping this would persuade them to let him off their yet unspoken plan.
“The killer is here in the USA and we cannot afford to lose the advantage we have now. Our plan is simple — create a wall of protection around the remaining targets and wait for him to start snooping around. Once he does, then we will know who he is and get him.”
“This is a game for a young man. I am not up to this, and interestingly I have an important assignment I am working on.”
“You don’t need to bother yourself too much about it. We have solved the hit list riddle and we know who is next after each kill. As it stands, you are number six, Tom Flint is number five. The team’s lead has moved base to Miami, Florida where they will be implementing the same plan, we have for you and the rest of the targets, but we are not taking any chances. You will have a four-man team with you all the time. They will be invisible so don’t worry, they will actually be watching your environs and wherever you go regularly.”
“I know the drift and know how this works,” replied George, “but my main concern is that there is a family that is relying on my every move at this time. You see there is this girl…”
Amy opened the front door to their guest. It was Doctor Mark.
“Good evening, Doctor. It’s dinner time for us. Would you be joining us?”
“Never give a rain check to a princess. I will be joining you, thank you.”
Donald was pleased to have Mark around for dinner. He had become a sort of family friend since they met him.
“So Amy, have you had any experiences since we accepted the ghost man?” asked Mark. He was hoping it will be a smooth one for her.
“I am completely fine and everything is back to normal.”
“Everything isn’t normal yet my child. You are living an artificial life. What would happen if your school needs to go on an excursion and you have to spend some nights outside the house? Will you transport your room as well? Or what if there is any other matter that might take you away for some time? You are a prisoner, my dear, so you see why there is urgency in finding your ghost man.”
The table was quiet; the reality of things was said abruptly.
“Come on Mark, Amy is fine with her life as it is. With the level of technology in the country, John Doe would be found sooner than you think.”
Mark remained silent, not to spoil dinner for everyone, but his mind was working.
“What would be the legality of an under-aged girl having sex? The law says you must be eighteen and above to indulge; will some kind of court approval be needed? Come to think of it the court doesn’t believe in magic and all those sorts of things. Will the girl have to wait for another three years to perform the ritual? Things were clearly not as simple as it looks and, to add more mystery, the ghost man is yet to be found,” said Donald.
Mark nodded and agreed with Donald.
“You can say that again. I hear the Germans are our only competitors when it comes to technological advancement.”
Everyone at the table laughed; there was a breath of fresh air again.
Dinner was over at seven thirty-five p.m. Amy helped her mum clean up the dining room and kitchen, Felix went to bed, while Donald and Mark went to the living room. The Supreme Court had ruled that the constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage; it was a five-to-four decision. Donald was happy with what he just heard from Mark.
“I can see that our democracy is true and fine. When was this ruling?” asked Donald.
“Today. I watched the news in my office. The whole country has been agog. I am sure there is relief in all quarters,” replied Mark.
“This calls for a celebration. I believe I have a bottle of champagne somewhere in the kitchen, let me go fetch it.”
“Moet and Chandon. Just for you, Mark.”
“All right, pop it open,” Mark responded.
David Jones heard the good news about his granddaughter, but he had made a promise to be with his son’s family. He was travelling light; one leather all-in-one roller bag and a knapsack. He waited patiently in the queue. The flight was for eight p.m. in the evening; he planned to touch down at San Francisco International Airport at ten p.m.
Chapter 10
Miami, Florida
27th June 2015, 11:35 a.m.
“This is the third day sir, and still no sign of him,” said Brad, visibly disturbed. “Tom has given us his daily schedule and still agents can’t find him.”
“We are dealing with an intellectual and highly skilled individual, it is only normal we remain patient,” replied Jack. “If you recall, Brad, there was a two-month interval between the third murder and the fourth. I am quite sure that was the time the killer used to study his target.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Now concerning other matters, you are yet to contact the CIA in London. We need feedback concerning the Taylors and their son. The CIA have located the Taylors — they still reside in Manchester, but their adopted son Nathan is living here in the country according to his parents. He visits his parents once a year around Christmas although his actual residence in the USA is unknown to his parents, but we got his name to work with. I need you to engage with Delta Airlines and gather intelligence on Nathan’s trip with them to and from the UK.”
“I am right on it, sir,” replied Brad.
“I need something within the next twenty-four hours; we can’t afford to lose steam at this rate.”
Scott Thomas had a set of fresh IDs; this would be the fifth time he would be changing identity. Isaac Ford was his new name. He had to drop Scott Thomas after the Omaha episode. He walked into Jupiter’s Bar and took a seat at the end of the hall. He had studied the picture of Tom Flint all night and needed to see him in person before he built a strategy for the strike.
“Good afternoon, sir. Please what would you like to have?”
Isaac looked at the waitress and thought how sweet she will be in bed. “I’ll have a blue margarita,” he replied.
“All right, sir. Coming up right away.”
Agent Bobby was the new bartender. Tom went along with the plan because he spent a period of about six out of ten hours in his bar. Bobby noticed three men sitting alone. His glasses had a camera fixed on them; tools of the FBI. He took pictures of the three men; the shots went straight to the Miami FBI covert office. None of the men looked suspicious.
Isaac called the waitress and ordered for another drink. Bobby went to the inner room where Tom’s office was and told him to come out to the bar area. Tom came out and sat close to the bartender. He called a waitress gave some instructions and began to sip his shots of Hennessy.
Isaac recognised Tom the very minute he sat down. He looked around and saw that the bar wasn’t full, and thought to himself this looks too easy there must be something wrong. He decided to approach Tom some other time.
Bobby noticed that only the customer at the end of the hall reacted to Tom’s entrance; he left the bar area and radioed in to the agents outside in their car.
“We got that Bobby. We will trail him when he comes out. He is wearing a blue jacket, right?” asked Agent Sophie.
“Exactly,” replied Bobby.
Isaac noticed that the bartender had left the bar twice in a space of ten minutes. He suddenly felt uncomfortable; he picked up his bag and walked towards the exit. As he got to the bartender section, he had one more look at Tom. Tom also turned to have a look; he tried to remain calm as he noticed the man leaving had an Asian look about him.
“Hello.” Isaac was trying to be friendly.
Tom smiled back. “Hi. I hope you had a nice time.”
“Sure. The drinks are on point and the music is excellent.” Isaac finally left the bar.
Tom practically ran to his office. Bobby was waiting there for him.
“He looks Asian with an American accent.”
“Don’t worry, the team will trail him.”
Isaac stepped out of the bar and stood by the road waiting for a cab. He brought out his cell phone and looked into it. Seven minutes later, a cab pulled up beside him and he spoke to the driver.
“Leamington Hotel, please.”
“That will be twenty dollars.” Isaac nodded in agreement and got into the car.
Sophie told Agent Ken to wait for the second SUV and hold fort while she trails Isaac.
Five minutes later, Isaac noticed a dark blue SUV following the cab. He told the driver to make a left turn at the next junction, the SUV still followed them. He thought of what could he do, then saw a mall ahead.
“Please, I’ll like to get off at the mall.” The driver looked back and thought to himself, some crazy ‘Charlie’.
Isaac walked casually into the mall. He didn’t look back. He went straight to the gents and began to change his disguise.
Sophie didn’t want to draw attention so she parked the SUV and hastened her steps into the mall; the place was crowded, she just needed to find a man with a blue jacket on.
Isaac started shopping; he bought some groceries, paid for them and left the mall. Sophie spent the next hour searching for the man with the blue jacket. After a while, she gave up and called in.
“I lost him.”
“Don’t worry we have got the cab driver. It seems he was initially going to Leamington Hotel, we are on our way there. I think you should join us.”
“I got that sir. I will be on my way.”
Brad walked into the Delta Airlines branch office.
“Hello, my name is Special Agent Brad Murphy. I would like to see Jennifer. I spoke to her about an hour ago.”
The receptionist knew the drill. “Please, have a seat, sir. I will call her and inform her of your presence.”
Jenn
ifer walked into the reception and called Agent Brad.
“Please follow me. Our finance team can help you with your request.”
At the back of the building was an office with the sign ‘FINANCE’ on the entrance.
“Come right in Agent Brad. I want you to meet Mike. He will sort out the data for you.”
“Hi Mike,” said Brad.
“Hello,” replied Mike. What I did was to pull out the e-form Nathan Taylor filled online while purchasing his tickets for the past three trips, which obviously means each December from 2012 to 2014. Here, have a look.”
Brad took the files and glanced through them. “These are hotel addresses,” commented Brad.
“Yeah, I know but he made payment using a Visa card and the names on the cards aren’t Nathan. Apparently, he used three different names on each occasion and each Visa card worked. Here are their names. I printed them out so that you can have a copy.”
“Thank you, Mike. The FBI will continue with this lead.”
Isaac was scared to go into the hotel. He wasn’t sure how the cops got onto him; he had been diligent all this while, what mistake could he have made? All that wasn’t important now. How he would retrieve his rifle and belongings in the hotel was top priority. He just couldn’t tell if the cops were laying siege for him. He sat in the coffee shop opposite the hotel and looked on.
A dark blue SUV stopped at the entrance of the hotel. Three men came down and the SUV drove off. Two men walked into the hotel whilst the other stood outside. Isaac was now curious; how was he seen, he thought to himself.
“We would like to see the head of security,” offered Jack.
The lady attending to guests at the front desk was shocked at the rather rude and demanding request.
“We are with the FBI.” Both men flashed their badges.
“I need to inform the manager before I treat your request. I am sorry but this is the hotel rule.”
The manager approached the front desk.
“I understand you would like to see our security tapes. Confidentiality is part of our business and…”
