Mystery at the Hedge Fund

by Eleanor Kittering

  “America's Got Talent.” Colin corrected.

  “Whatever. Listen, I'm trying to conduct a criminal investigation here, and what are you doing? Fooling around. How are we going to catch the bad guys, huh?” Roger asked, impatiently.

  “With a net?” Colin asked smiling.

  “You're pushing it Colin. Anyway, let me go wake up sleeping beauty. I'm trying to do something here so she doesn't feel left out, and what does she do? She's taking a nap. Oh Lana, Colin's here.” He said in a sing-songy high voice.

  “Oh. I took a nap to be refreshed for tonight's activities.” Lana said.

  “A sensible girl. Did you take a nap Roger?” Colin said.

  “Nah, I'm too wound up. I gotta play a hunch.” Roger replied.

  “So Colin, here's what I'm thinking. Let's go to this investment firm, which is pretty close by and perhaps you can help us find the way. I'm new to this part of the world and certainly never get out, except with Mandy. However in our trips in the car, I've seen the investment firm and it's really not that far.

  “It's actually relatively close.” Colin said.

  “Ok, good. So I wasn't imagining it. Now my question to you is how are we going to get there?” Roger asked.

  “I'll take us all.” And with a wave of his hand Colin teleported both Roger and Lana so that they were outside the investment firm.

  “What happened?” Lana asked, a little scared.

  “Hey, that was pretty good Colin. Wasted no time getting here.” Roger said impressed.

  “Well, we don't want to spend all night doing this. We want to get in and out as quickly as possible.” Colin said.

  “The next question is, now that we're here, how do we get in.” Roger asked and he saw that the place did not have a basement window and no back door.

  “Well, I'm going to get you into the air ducts, and you'll find a maze of tunnels that lead to different parts of the company. From the ducts you can jump out and see what going on in the office.

  “Hey, that's a great idea. I really thought this place had a window to the basement and we'd get in through it, but I can see that this place has no windows. At least not down here.”

  “Yes, architecture for commercial spaces has changed over the years. You lived in a different era, back in the 40s. Now, these buildings take great pains to make sure that it's very hard for an intruder to enter.” Colin said.

  “Anything that makes it harder for the crooks to do their work, is fine by me.” Roger said.

  “I knew it met with your approval. Which is why you need my help to get in, otherwise, you'd never get in, especially as cats.” Colin said.

  “Yes, I can see that everything here is designed for humans and with no plans for cats to navigate the place.”

  “Yes, they don't get many cats as tenants.” Colin said. Roger did not respond to that since he knew Colin was baiting him.

  “So, how do we begin?” Roger asked instead.

  “Let me scan the facility.” Colin closed his eyes and focused in finding the best place to send the two cats.

  “Got it. You'll find a duct that connects to different ducts that lead to different rooms on the floor. They're all at an incline, apparently, they thought that was a better solution than right angles. I'm going to transport you to the main one, you'll see different holes along the way leading to the other ducts.” Colin said.

  “Main ducts leads to other ducts. Great. Just follow the main duct to the other rooms.” Roger said, making sure he grasped the strategy.

  “I'll also remove the duct covers at each of the rooms. You may want to observe from above before making a decision to go in the room. Remember getting in may be easy, but getting out could be hard if you have nothing to climb on.” Colin explained.

  “Yeah, you're right. My main interest is getting into the room where the body was found. I want to look in that closet. Once I'm on the ground, I can walk to the other rooms. Then find a way back up.” Roger said.

  “That's another tactic. Probably the best way if to find a room that has an easy climb in and climb out. That way you have an escape hatch. Explore all the rooms first before going into the room.” Colin said.

  “Good idea. Well, we'll see what the layout of this place is.” Roger said.

  “How do we get into the investment firm?” Lana asked.

  “Oh Colin is just going to send us there. Being a guardian angel, is something he can do. I don't know how he does it, but he does.” Roger said.

  “Oh. Does it hurt?” Lana asked, a little nervous.

  “It's completely painless Lana.” Colin assured.

  “Ok, are you ready to be teleported?” Colin asked.

  “Ready as we'll ever be.” Roger said.

  “I guess.” Lana said.

  Before they knew what had happened, they found themselves in the air duct.

  “Wow, that was strange.” Lana said, feeling uncomfortable at finding herself in a new place instantaneously.

  “Yeah, it's a little strange, no question about it. But, here we are, if we had to climb in here, who knows how many problems we would have encountered. You're not sorry you came along?”

  “Oh no.” Lana said, not quite sure she wasn't sorry.

  “Alright. Let's get an idea of what's going on here.”

  They looked around and saw the four holes in the ducts leading to other ducts.

  “Let's try this one.” Roger said.

  As they entered the duct, the incline was steeper than they had bargained for and they slid all the way. The duct cover had been removed, and now a large hole led directly into the room. Not having anything to grab onto to, they continued to slide down, with Lana stumbling into Roger and they were basically rolling down the duct. Lana rolled over Roger and went to the edge of the duct hole. She hung by her nails at the edge of the duct.

  “Roger, help me. I can't hold on too long.” Lana yelled.

  “Hold on.” Roger thought, how is he going to pull this cat out, he has no hands. Then he got an epiphany, grab her by the scruff of her neck with his teeth. He stood his ground with his two front paws and pulled Lana up until she was able to scramble back into the duct.

  “Ok, I made it.” Lana said, scared and out of breath. Roger sat back and felt the hairs on his tongue. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he should have come alone, he said to himself.

  “Good, good. I don't know where I got the idea to grab you by the neck, I got this epiphany up there. I guess it's the part of me that's a cat.” Roger said.

  “I haven't been carried like that since I was a kitten.” Lana said.

  “Well, it got you out of the tight spot.” Roger said.

  “Let's look through this hole and see what's down there.” Roger said. They carefully stood around the hole. He looked around the room and saw that a large closet in this room. Was this the closet where they found the body, he asked himself. He would have to check out the other rooms. But without Lana. He didn't want a repeat of what happened.

  “Listen, I'm going to check out the other ports to find out if this place has any other closets. Chances are this is the one, but I want to make sure. Stay here, I don't want you slipping again.” Roger said

  “Oh, you won't get an argument out of me. After that experience, I've had my fill of exploring these ducts.” Lana said.

  “Ok, I'll be back soon.” Roger said.

  Roger carefully climbed back up the duct and tested the hole for duct number two. The duct had less of an incline, but he carefully measured his footing as he walked. He looked out the hole of the vent. No closet in that room. He did the same thing with the other two holes. No closet. Roger thought to go back, but had to figure out how to get into the office. A shelf close to one of the ducts, turned out to be as close he could get. He would jump onto the shelf and then, make his way to the floor. He wasn't bringing Lana. He didn't know what her climbing abilities were and he didn't want to find out here. The playground, yes, here no. Still, he would apprise her of
his plans. He went back to the first duct and found her sitting looking through the duct.

  “Hi.” Lana turned her head at hearing Roger. “Listen, I think I found a way to get in there. I think it's best if you stay here, no use in trying to jump back and forth. We don't know how that's going to work out. You'll see me walking around from your vantage point. I gotta look in that closet and see what I find.”

  “It's ok. I'm happy right here. I don't want a repeat of falling into the place. Are you going to be able to get out?” Lana asked.

  “Yes, the shelf is pretty close to the duct, I'm sure I can jump back up the duct.” Roger said.

  “Ok. Hurry back.” Lana said.

  Roger climbed up the ramp to the main duct. Then he went to the duct closer to the shelf. He jumped and he made the shelf easily. He managed to climb to floor and headed to the room with the closet. Once he learned the lay of the land, he made his way to the closet. How could he open the door, he asked himself? Luckily, the door wasn't locked. The door opened if you pulled on it. He managed to get his paw in from the bottom and the door opened. Luckily, the lights were on in the office.

  Once inside he snooped around the floor of the closet for any clues. He saw nothing at first but finally he found what he sought, although small and scant and certainly, something police would not have caught. Next he had to find out where this had come from. Somebody had to have this on their desk. Who could it be? So, he started looking on top of desks until he came across something that seemed like maybe he wasn't so crazy after all. But he needed more. He needed to find out who sat at this desk.

  All the while, Lana had been watching Roger from the ceiling, sitting by the ventilation shaft. What was he doing? She asked herself. As she watched him go around the office from the desk to desk, she said to herself that police work is one of the most boring things she had ever seen. She thought this would be exciting. Instead, she almost fell and hurt herself, luckily Roger retrieved her before she fell. After that she lost her enthusiasm for the whole thing, particularly when she didn't know what was going on.

  After Roger had snooped around a little more, he decided he had enough for one night, and went to the room with the bookshelf. He found the room he discovered earlier and climbed up the bookshelf which wasn't as easy as going down. Now that he climbed on top again, he figured with one strong jump, he could get back inside the ventilation shaft. He jumped and got into the airshaft but part of his body still hung out. With his powerful front legs and maneuvering, he managed to get inside the ventilation shaft. He thought to himself, he should have gotten Colin to drop them off inside the office. Lana could have gotten hurt. He worked his way back to the original ventilation hole, where Lana sat waiting.

  “So, how did it go? You were wandering around looking for something.” Lana said.

  “Well, I was looking for a clue and I think I found it. It's not always fun work and sometimes it's like a game of hide and seek, but I got something. I just have to get in here when people are working to find out who sits where. That will give me an idea on a suspect. Well, we'll try again on another day.” Roger replied.

  “I think I had enough excitement for one night. After almost falling, I don't think this is my idea of fun.” Lana said.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. Not knowing the layout, that first step was definitely a doozy.” Roger said. “Now, we just have to get Colin to get us out of here. Colin? Colin? Can you hear me?”

  Roger and Lana found themselves outside where they had been before. Colin was there waiting.

  “So, did you find what you were looking for?” Colin asked.

  “I think so. Now I just have to figure out who sits where. We may have a suspect then.” Roger replied.

  “Well, I guess we'll just have to come back at some point.” Colin replied.

  “Seems that way.” Roger said.

  They walked home and the night air felt nice after being inside. Lana felt better out here since the night air felt so nice. She had forgotten about her mishap inside. She thought that night time made everything so still and tranquil. The three of them walked down the solitary street, but if anybody looked out their window, all they would see was two cats.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning found Roger and Lana sleeping peacefully. Mandy had gotten up early and when she saw the two cats sleeping, she didn't bother them. She figured when they got hungry, they would wake up and ask for food. She started to plan out her day, how to contact the hedge fund, investment firm, whatever they called themselves and make an appointment. She thought things might be complicated with the death of Michael. But sometimes, it was business as usual at these places, since there was so much money at stake.

  Thinking who she should call, she figured Jake Wylan would be the best bet, since he is the owner, and also Jennifer's boyfriend. It's possible Jennifer told him she was interested in investing, since he was always open to new business. Plus, he had given her the guided tour, he was the logical choice. She dialed his number at the office. She got an automated system asking for the last four digits of an extension. She put in Jake's extension numbers. The phone rang.

  “Jake Wylan.” The voice answered.

  “Oh hi Jake, this is Mandy Cummings. I visited your firm prior to Michael's death and met with Michael regarding investments.”

  “Yes, of course I remember, Jennifer's friend. Are you still interested in investing your money?”

  “Well, yes, and rather, getting a better understanding of how the investments will work. I've been distracted with other personal things in my life, and when I thought of reaching out to Michael again for an explanation, well this unfortunate event happened.” Mandy explained.

  “Yes, we are very saddened at Michael's untimely death. He was a great guy and a great investment manager. He will be missed by all here.” Jake said.

  “Even though I didn't know him personally, he was very nice and had a great knowledge of investments. But since this is new to me, a lot of it went out of my head in the days after.” Mandy said.

  “Perfectly understandable. Investing money is a subject that's not easy to navigate and not something to be taken lightly. It should be advised. So don't feel bad if it's overwhelming at first. I don't understand everything about it, that's why these experts work here. They're really the ones keeping the firm moving forward.” Jake explained.

  “That's re-assuring. Could I make an appointment to get a better understanding?” Mandy asked.

  “Well, with the confusion surrounding Michael's death, it has taken us off our regular hours. That being said, this afternoon is pretty open. Why don't you come in and I'm sure Cathy will be happy to help you.” Jake said.

  “That would be great. Thank you so much Jake.” Mandy replied.

  “No problem, we'll see you this afternoon.” Jake said.

  Jake welcomed the interruption of having somebody come over. The police, while going over calls Michael had made, had finally tracked down Robert, the counselor he had hired to talk to Michael. And they wanted to talk to him. Which meant once Robert said he Jake had hired him to talk to Michael to leave his wife, it wouldn't be long before the police would want to talk to him. And he wasn't too keen on that conversation. I mean, it's not like he wanted Michael dead. But still, police are police, and it would make him a suspect because he would benefit from Michael not being in the way. Still the police had called it a suicide. However, it didn't make him feel any more comfortable. He asked himself why did he open a business, he could have lived off his trust fund. Because of boredom, that's why. Next time, he thought, choose a harmless hobby not involving people. Too late now. And he liked the hedge fund. It made money. He just chalked up this experience to one of those unfortunate accidents of life.

  Mandy called Fred to tell him she had made an appointment.

  “Hi Fred, just wanted to give you an update on how things are going so far.”

  “Hi Mandy, nice to hear from you.”

  “I was fo
rtunate and they gave me an appointment his afternoon. I figure, I'll just see what the atmosphere of the place is like after the death. And what the people are like.”

  “Well, if you sense anything dangerous, just step away and tell me. And take Roger with you, I feel better when that feline is with you. He's a good protector.” Fred said.

  “I'm definitely taking Roger along.” Mandy said.

  “How is Roger anyway, after getting hit by the truck?” Fred asked.

  “Well, he seems ok, I took him and Lana to the park yesterday and he acted his regular self. Every now and then he makes those strange meows, and sometimes it seems as though he's answering me. So, that part hasn't seen much progress.” Mandy explained.

  “Well, maybe something happened in his brain and those are his new meows. There are all kinds of situations out there, where people suffer head injuries and afterwards they do things they never did before. One guy realized he could paint beautiful paintings after waking up from a coma, induced by a blow to the head in an accident. He never painted before the accident. So, maybe now this meow of his is going to be the new normal. As long as he doesn't start tap dancing, I'm sure he's going to be ok.” Fred said.

  “Well, if he ever tries tap dancing, you'll be the first to know.” Mandy said, laughing.

  “Well, then he can really become a money maker for you. You can take him on talk shows and get him to perform on television.” Fred said jokingly.

  “Let's hope I don't have to buy him a top hat, white tie and tails.” Mandy continued Fred's joke.

  “Yeah, he'll be a regular Fred Astaire.” Fred said. “But seriously Mandy, be careful when you go to this place today. I get the honor of questioning Michael's former boss, Chester Brady. He sounds like a barrel of fun. The first words out of his mouth after I told him I worked with the police were “I didn't do it”. I just said I wanted to go by and ask a couple of questions about Michael and he went into this whole diatribe.

  “I guess we'll compare notes afterward and see how things develop. I'm going to see Cathy Styles, who I met briefly when I went there first. I'll see how she feels working at the place now Michael is no longer there.” Mandy said.