* * *
“Don’t blame Edgar. He doesn’t know James and I are close.”
“Did you call him?”
“What do you think?” Cooper narrowed his eyes.
“Shit.”
“I am going to kill him,” Arya murmured, fuming at Edgar.
“It is not going to help you here. Now spill your guts. When did Sania come back into your life?”
“Yesterday. Sania was here yesterday to file a case; her husband is missing,” Arya said, holding her gaze at Cooper.
“Who? The kid from NYU?” Cooper asked. “What’s his name? I forgot….” Cooper was searching in his head to recollect the name of the guy Arya’s friend was dating.
“Reza Tariq,” Arya offered.
“Yup,” Cooper nodded, recognizing the name from the past.
“Arya did not marry Reza Tariq; she married a different person,” Arya said, drumming her fingers on the table.
“Interesting. What happened to Reza?”
“I don’t know.” Arya shrugged her shoulders.
“What do you mean you don’t know? You didn’t ask your friend?”
“I did. But Sania was not ready to talk about him,” Arya said and went on to explain that Sania was pretty shaken up with the situation. She didn’t want to dig up the past. She had presumed it might have ended up painfully, given Sania and Reza were madly in love when she last saw them in that NY bar.
“I assume you were out this morning because you were on a little expedition for your friend?” Cooper asked, bringing the conversation back to the case.
Arya nodded. “Yes. Last night, Sania mentioned that Samir went on a business trip to LA, and he hasn’t returned any calls from her.”
“What did you find out?” Cooper asked, raising a glass of water to drink.
“He was no longer working there.”
Cooper’s raised glass stopped near his lips; Arya’s response clearly surprised him.
“Not just that, it seems Samir resigned in June.”
“So, he has been lying for a little over three months to his wife,” Cooper analyzed the situation.
“Yes. But that was not the surprising part,” Arya teased, setting up her big reveal.
“Sania had mentioned that Samir worked in their trading desk, but instead, I found out that he worked as a service technician in their Environment Division. He lied about the type of work he did there.”
“Why? Is this some kind of pride thing in that culture? Service technician vs. bigshot broker?” Cooper speculated.
“It was just not that,” Arya said, before going over all the details she found out from Ashton.
When Arya filled in about the other Samir Tariq, who worked in the trading desk, Cooper jumped in. “Are you sure it was not your friend’s husband?”
Arya nodded. “I saw the pictures they had on file; it was not.”
“Jeez, how many Tariqs we got here. Is that a common Muslim name?” Cooper asked, wondering if that explains why there were two Samir Tariqs in one office.
“No. I am not an expert, but I am fairly certain it is not a common name like John or Smith.”
“One more thing,” Arya started, before sharing details about what she found out about Omar Raqqa.
Upon hearing everything Arya found out so far, Cooper became highly intrigued. “There seems to be a lot of coincidences. Multiple identities, missing people, suicide, and a whole lot of lies.”
Arya nodded. “It is more complex than I thought.”
“Where did you say Samir go on his business trip? Is it NY?”
Arya shook her head. “I thought the same; that could explain him not being reachable. But no, he went to LA, the other coast.”
“Interesting. What do you think? Cheating husband, having someone on the side?”
“That is a possibility; it could explain some of the lies. But there are other holes which don’t fit, at least for now.” Arya quickly highlighted a couple of inconsistencies with the case.
“Okay, what do you need? I guess you already assigned this case to you,” Cooper asked, showing dissatisfaction with Arya’s approach.
“Sorry, I was not trying to take advantage of the situation. I was planning on reaching out to you, but yesterday you were in the headquarters,” Arya tried to explain.
Cooper nodded. “9/11, it changes everything. I was in a meeting with JTTF, and we heard all kinds of stuff. Everyone is scared; we don’t know when the next thing is going to blow up. Everyone is wound up pretty tight.”
Arya interjected, “I heard that one of the hijackers was in Philly.”
“That is the prelim info. We are going to get more details shortly. We are going to fucking canvas the area; turn every source we got and see if we can confirm that.” Cooper sounded angry and determined at the same time.
“These fucking jihadis chose the wrong kind of people to fuck with,” Arya echoed Cooper’s anger.
“I know you got your friend’s case in your mind, but let me tell you straight,” Cooper stared at her and said, “The 9/11 investigation is the absolutely the top priority here.”
“Understood. It goes without saying,” Arya replied, gazing at Cooper.
“I will let you run your friend’s case until we hear more from JTTF. We are going to start with the Unis; they are going to canvas the area. We then need the seasoned detectives hit the sensitive areas – like mosques, restaurants, and stores frequented by Arabs.”
“Can’t wait,” Arya expressed her feelings.
“You can pull Edgar and chase the leads on your friend’s case. But....”
“No need to say, 9/11 is the top priority,” Arya completed Cooper’s thoughts.
17
“Here, this is for you.” Edgar pushed an icepack towards Arya as she neared her desk.
Arya catches the icepack as it was about to fall off from the edge of the desk. “How thoughtful,” Arya said sarcastically.
“Was it bad?” Edgar changed his demeanor and now expressed concern.
“At first, LT ripped me apart.” Arya made a gesture to let Edgar know that she got a real beating. “But then he came around once he saw my ways.” Arya blinked her eye playfully and smiled.
“What does it mean?”
“It means you got to get off your ass and do some real police work,” Arya engaged in playful banter.
“Don’t tell me he assigned the case to you?”
“No, not to me. To us.” Arya punched him playfully on his shoulders.
Edgar pretended like the punch hurt him. “What about the canvasing?” Edgar asked, wondering about the 9/11 canvasing to be done in the neighborhood.
“You got to learn to walk and chew the gum,” Arya said, pulling his hands to get him off the chair.
“Where are we going?” Edgar asked, standing tall next to Arya.
“To your momma’s house. Let’s go,” Arya said, as she already started walking towards the door.
“What do you think?” Arya asked, as their cruiser turned right on to Ridge Pike, heading north. As usual, Edgar was on the wheel, and Arya was the spotter. Typically, among partners, one has more seniority than the other, and the decision who gets to drive resolves naturally. The person who has more years under their belt gets to decide. However, that was not the case with Edgar and Arya. Their situation was slightly unusual. You rarely see two people who got out of the Academy at the same time get paired up. There were murmurs earlier on that Arya pulled some strings with LT Cooper to make it happen. It was not entirely unfounded; Arya did nudge his favorite uncle – LT Cooper – to get her the pairing she wished. Cooper reluctantly accepted with the condition that he would be watching like an eagle. If things seemed to go sideways, he wouldn’t hesitate a moment to break it off. Arya took the deal, and the rest was history. It couldn’t have gone any better.
“You know what I think,” Edgar said, not looking away from the traffic.
“For the first time in my life, I feel happy to see
the Pike clogged with traffic,” Edgar said, turning slightly towards Arya.
Arya nodded, expressing her understanding of Edgar’s sentiment. It was good to see the people of Philadelphia living their everyday lives and not feeling arrested in their own confines with fear. It was a way that everyone could make their statement to the terrorists who attacked the country; you can attack us, but you cannot frighten us. The country is strong, and the American spirit will prevail over evil.
“Samir is probably shacking up with his mistress.”
Edgar’s words hauled Arya back to the present. “You mean Samir ran away,” Arya asked, clearing her throat.
“What do I always say? There is always an affair when a husband goes missing, or a wife gets murdered.”
“How original!” Arya rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t claim it to be, but that doesn’t mean it is not true. Check the stats,” Edgar pronounced.
“I am not sure,” Arya hesitantly said, gently tucking a flock of her hair behind her ear.
“You are not thinking straight,” Edgar alluded that her personal relationship with Sania was clouding her judgment. “If I take your friendship with Sania out of the equation, you would see it from a different angle.”
“I know,” Arya conceded to Edgar’s argument. “But you didn’t see the way Sania talked about her relationship with Sam.”
“Sam?” Edgar asked, hearing Samir’s nickname for the first time. “You mean Samir?”
Arya nodded. “Sam was his nickname. It seems everyone around here called him Sam,” Arya recounted what she had heard earlier from Sania and Ashton.
“You know Sania wouldn’t be the first wife who swears that her missing husband was not having an affair.” Edgar turned sideways towards Arya. “You know I am right. The wife would typically be the last person to know about the man’s affair.”
“Check the stats.” Both of their voices echoed that sentiment at the same time. Arya knew that Edgar would turn to the stats to bolster his stance.
“Finally, you are starting to see through the maze.” Edgar playfully punched Arya on her shoulders, and both of them smiled.
“Do you think your stats would hold up if the wife is pregnant?” Arya asked evenly.
“What? Are you saying Sania is pregnant now?” Edgar exclaimed.
“Why are you shouting?” Arya was taken back by Edgar’s abrupt reaction and reacted by closing her ears. “Jeez, what has gotten into you?”
“You didn’t say Sania is pregnant,” Edgar badgered on.
“I am telling you now. Sania’s tummy is as big as a pumpkin. She is ready to pop anytime now.”
“This is a game-changer,” Edgar emphatically said, tapping the steering wheel a couple of times.
“What do you mean? You don’t think he ran away now?” Arya asked, trying to understand Edgar’s position.
“Not at all. I am now almost certain that Samir had an affair,” Edgar said with conviction.
Arya stared on, gesturing with her hands for Edgar to explain.
“You know which season is most ripe for husbands to start cheating on their wives?” Edgar asked, with his eyes wide open.
“Go on; I know you have an answer,” Arya said sarcastically.
“Yes, I do. The pregnancy season. Most husbands cheat when their wife is pregnant with a baby.”
“I now see where you are getting your wisdom, the celebrity gossip magazines,” Arya said dismissively.
“That doesn’t mean it is not true. Check the VICAP, and you will know that I am not blowing these stats out of my ass,” Edgar said, bolstering his argument.
Every law enforcement official in the country knows about the VICAP. And, thanks to the countless law enforcement shows on TV, regular folks across the country have come to know about the program as well. VICAP stands for the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It was created by the FBI in 1985 to track crimes of a particular nature; sexual assault, kidnapping, missing persons, homicide, and serial killings. The program is now widely used by state and local law enforcement officials while investigating crimes that fit specific criteria. They use it to compare similar cases, find correlations and patterns, track across jurisdictions, and solve cold cases. The tool has become invaluable for identifying and tracking serial killers, where separate victims might not otherwise be connected as part of the same pattern.
When Edgar invoked VICAP, Arya knew he was on firm ground with his argument.
“Okay, you might have a point here,” Arya said reluctantly. “For Sania’s sake, I hope you are wrong here.”
“Take a right here,” Arya said, as they neared the exit for Norristown.
“Do they know that we are on our way now?” Edgar asked, switching to the right lane to make an exit.
“LT had a word with their sergeant; they should be expecting us.” Arya referred to the detectives in the Norristown precinct, who were in charge of the Omar Raqqa missing person case.
It was half-past one when Edgar and Arya walked into the Norristown precinct. The precinct was a little larger than theirs, but not as tidy.
Norristown is a borough in Montgomery County, about fifteen miles from Center City. During the height of its popularity, the Norristown area used to be the prime location for various industries – retail, banking, and the government center. After World War II, the region gradually lost its popularity to nearby towns and has declined ever since. However, one thing is on the rise – the crime rate. As per FBI crime data, Norristown has one of the highest crime rates in the state of Pennsylvania. Every cop in the city is aware of the notoriety, and they act differently when they encounter a suspect from the area.
Edgar was the first to notice the front desk officer walking back to his post and gestured to Arya. As they reached the officer’s station, they both flashed a smile.
“We are from the Germantown precinct,” Edgar started to introduce themselves but didn’t go far as he was interrupted by the desk officer.
“Edgar James and Arya Martins?” the desk officer asked with an inviting smile.
They both nodded, expressing that the officer got their names right.
“I guess you are here to see Jimmy and Lyndsey.” The desk officer referred to Jimmy Russel and Lyndsey Tanner, the detectives who worked the Omar Raqqa missing person case.
“You got it,” Arya quickly confirmed.
“They are at Katie’s,” the desk officer flatly said.
“Katie’s?” Edgar asked, not knowing what it meant.
“Katie’s Diner,” the desk officer clarified. He went on to explain that both Jimmy and Lyndsey are at the diner, having their lunch. “They are expecting you guys,” he said.
The officer went on to give directions to the place; it was not that far, just a few blocks away from the precinct. Both Edgar and Arya exchanged pleasantries with the officer before heading out towards Katie’s Diner.
When Edgar and Arya pulled into Katie’s Diner, they didn’t expect the parking lot to be packed. The restaurant was located in a strip mall right next to an Asian nail salon. As Edgar was pulling into a ‘Salon Customers Only’ parking spot, Arya pointed towards a Honda that was pulling out from a parking space that was right in front of Katie’s Diner. Edgar put the car in reverse and backed about a hundred yards before pulling into the now open parking space.
As Edgar and Arya walked in through the wooden door, they were overwhelmed by the smell of tasty food. Arya could feel her stomach growl and felt glad that she had walked into the right place at the right time. If you got to describe the ambiance of Katie’s Diner in a phrase, it would be ‘Student Ghetto.’ The hangout was basically a college sports bar. It overflowed with TVs that either played recorded or live sports. It had countless draft stations, several foosball tables, and banners of nearby universities that decorated the draft house. The place even had a ‘Hump Day Party’ banner displayed prominently on top of a make-shift podium. It was definitely a great hangout place for college kids.
“What the heck are Jimmy and Lyndsey doing in a frat house?” Arya said, just loud enough for Edgar to hear.
Edgar broke into a smile. “I guess they know how to party.”
“There they are.” Arya pointed her hand at a table that was next to the draft house.
Edgar looked at the direction Arya was pointing and found a man motioning his hand towards them.
Arya and Edgar walked up to the table, barely avoiding bumping into a college kid and spilling his beer.
“What a scene, huh,” one of the men said, slightly chuckling.
“Got to admit this is different than I thought,” Edgar replied, as they took the seats across from the Norristown detectives.
“Jimmy Russel,” one of the Norristown detectives introduced himself by extending his hand to both Edgar and Arya.
“Lyndsey Tanner,” the other Norristown detective followed Jimmy by introducing himself.
“You must be the Germantown detectives. Let me guess – you must be Edgar James, and you are Arya Martins.” Jimmy pointed at Edgar and Arya as he said their names.
“Jeez, you must be Sherlock,” Lyndsey said exaggeratedly, rolling his eyes and teasing him for pointing out the obvious. “What did you think? Edgar was a woman?” Lyndsey asked.
“You never know. Look at you, Lyndsey!” It was Jimmy’s turn to take a jab at his partner for having a popular women’s name. That started a round of back and forth between Jimmy and Lyndsey.
“Do you have to start this in front of the guests?” Lyndsey finally asked, shaking his head and expressing disappointment with Jimmy for starting this argument.
“I didn’t, you did. Maybe you forgot because of your age,” Jimmy countered.
“Oh, right! You are getting younger every day, and I am getting old,” Lyndsey pushed back.
To Arya, they looked like an old couple bickering with each other, almost in a cute way.
The Hunt for Truth Page 8
