23
“I knew this would happen.” Lieutenant Dupree said to Adams on the phone.
“Nobody must find out about the truth,” Adams voice cracked through the receiver.
“I’m sure it won’t do any harm to inform his parents,” Dupree objected.
“They are the last ones who should know what really happened . There is always a change they’ll speak to the wrong person,” Adams said.
“Thus we keep a lid on it then.”
*
Long after midnight, a taxi dropped Anthony off at Martin’s residence. Despite the late hour, Martin was still up. He gazed at Anthony for a long time when he entered the living room. Ashamed of himself Anthony cast his eyes down.
“I’m going to have a shower and then I’ll go to bed,” straight after he said this Anthony disappeared. In the shower he let the hot water run over his body.
What have I done? I wish I never signed the contract in the director’s office at St. Joseph’s I wanted to get better, be normal like everyone else, but at what price? I haven’t even received the money yet, they used me. Will anyone ever believe me? If I only could remember my own phone number, then I could ask May what to do. Who else can I ask for help?
Quickly he stepped out of the shower and dried himself. Only wearing his boxer shorts, he descended the stairs, half way down he stopped to listen, everything was quiet, except for Mr. Tyler. He was snoring. Anthony carefully picked Tyler’s mobile from the coffee table and sneaked upstairs to his bedroom. Reading the number from a piece of paper he’d kept in his trousers pocket he dialed Anika’s number. It rang.
“It’s Anthony, can you talk?” Anthony whispered.
“Yes, I’m all right. Why are you whispering?” Anika asked.
“Listen, I have done something terrible,” Anthony said.
“What happened?” Anika asked, wide awake she rested against the pillows in bed.
“I killed a man, one from the elections.”
“You’ve what? You’ve killed a politician?” Anika asked. She couldn’t imagine the man she’d met in the garden the other day to be a murderer. He had been so gentle and kind to her.
“I don’t believe you,” she replied.
“The voices in my head were driving me crazy, so the doctor at the Delphi Clinic encouraged me to keep my microchip on day and night. This did help for a while, but then this one voice which is following me everywhere returned and told me to obey.”
“Was there anyone with you when you killed the man?” Anika asked she still couldn’t believe her ears.
“Yes he had a bit of an accent, I sounded if he was from Russia,” Anthony answered. “I don’t know what to do, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of it,” Anika reassured him.
*
Jose called for a taxi after Sarah left. He had been disappointed that she’d left so abruptly, he’d hoped she would spend at least a few moments with him. He’d told his wife some new developments about the circumstances of their son had surfaced. He didn’t know why he’d used the boy as an excuse but at the time it seemed the best available option. The topic was still very sensitive and the relationship between him and his wife yet unstable. Bringing up Rodrigo was bound to give him a green light to leave and stay away for a few hours. He wanted more than quick love making with Sarah. He also needed to confide in her. This was something he didn’t find in Sophia any longer. They had grown too far apart. If it wasn’t for their son’s sudden death they would still live separated from each other, he in LA and she in Sao Paulo.
When he returned home, Sophia was surprised to see her husband back so soon.
“There was misunderstanding,” Jose lied.
“What. They drag you to the police station late in the evening and send you off again without telling you anything?” Sophia asked.
Glimpsing into his wife’s eyes Jose spotted the look she got when she didn’t believe him.
“Don’t be fooling me. I know you’re seeing someone. You were with her, weren’t you?”
“Why do you always think the worse of me?”
“Because that is what you do. You had enough time. Did she satisfy you? I bet she is one of those young sluts who go around with their faces hidden under a layer of make-up.”
“If you must know, I went to see a friend, but I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me,” Jose said.
“Hum, it’s obvious you can’t be trusted. Why did you say you were at the police station?”
“Look here now, you’re making me all nervous. It was a stupid thing to say, I admit.”
“It was very mean. Don’t you have any feelings?” Sophia cried. “I’m after losing my son and you are using him as an excuse.”
*
David Jacobs stood on the verge of making the most difficult decision in his life. Leaving Anika almost broke his heart. After escorting her to the clinic, he went home and packed his suitcase. He thought it a pity he couldn’t be with her on the evening before her operation. While taking in a taxi to the airport, he wished her all the best for the future. He would have loved to stay with her, but with the cops breathing down his neck and the assignment accomplished, he couldn’t permit himself to hang around any longer.
The taxi pulled over at the LAX building after a 45 minute ride. A security guard checked him over at the entrance. He regretted it that Anika never knew his real name. He consulted his watch seeing there was enough time for a pint of beer. He climbed the stairs leading to the restaurants and bars. He chose one and settled himself on one of the stools.
*
In her room in the Delphi Clinic, Anika put her hand in her pajama pocket, producing a mobile phone she swiftly tapped in a number. Just as she done so, the door of her room opened. Quickly she put the phone back in her pocket hoping nobody had seen it.
“Hi Anika,” a good-humored female voice came near. Anika saw a dark shape approaching her. “This is going to be your last meal before you have your operation tomorrow. Let me help you back into bed.”
“Thanks, but I can manage myself,” Anika did her best to sound normal.
“Are you sure you are all right? You look a bit off color,” the woman asked. “Come and let me help you. You don’t have to be ashamed to ask for help.”
While the woman talked Anika prayed she would leave the room soon. “Well you’re right and I certainly will ask for help if I need to I’m only anxious about the operation. It’s not every day I get a chip implanted in my brain. Imagine if I start doing weird things,” Anika said, smiling nervously.
“Why are you saying this?” The woman asked.
“I don’t know it must be the nerves. I guess I’ve read too many horror stories.” Anika bit her lip.
“There is nothing for you to worry about. You’ll be safe in the hands of our surgeons. OK, I will leave you be then. Don’t forget to call me if you need any help.”
*
“I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me Narette,” Edgar Ellis’s voice was still weak. To Narette’s delight he’d fully recovered consciousness during the last couple of days. Eager to get out of bed she assisted him to the toilet. Although still very weak on his feet he made it without falling.
“What else could I have done? I couldn’t let you die.” Carefully Narette adjusted the pillows behind Edgar’s back.
“This one is all crooked.” Bending over him she smelled the sweaty odor of his body. She gently kissed his neck.
“Never mind that now,” Edgar protested putting up a hand. His eyes stood serious while Narette gazed at him.
“You’ve been taken for a ride and that is partly my fault. The Delphi Clinic has been nothing but a cover up.”
“Do you mean the illegal experiments?”
“No, I don’t mean those. I actually believe the doctors can do a lot of good things with Caryo.32 once we got the combination right,” Edgar answered.
“So what are you talking about?” Narette was eager to know. Listening to Edgar, she was glad she had not signed him into the clinic as a patient after all.
*
The sun stood high on the horizon when Frank Clark woke. Seeing the time on his watch, he stepped out of bed, releasing a curse he slowed down and he got dressed. He had been a little bit too hasty getting up after all he wasn’t a teenager any more. Still he rushed as much as his body permitted to get ready, breakfast had to wait, he was late enough already.
When he entered Joe’s establishment 15 minutes later, there were only four people in the place. Joe was nowhere to be seen. Frank walked towards the four punters who were sharing the same table. Stretching out his hand he introduced himself. They weren’t the old crew, but they would do.
*
“You should go to the police,” Anna looked at her freshly varnished finger nails.
“And get him arrested for murder? I’d like to know who locked me in that room in the hotel. If it wasn’t Peter who was it?” May hissed between her teeth, she was anxious about the other guests sitting on the patio of their hotel.
“See there is another reason why we have to go to the police. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We’ve both agreed we witnessed Anthony leaving the hotel yesterday evening.”
“Yeah but telling the police my husband is involved in a murder? I didn’t recruit Mr. Black for nothing. We should call him and ask him what to do,” May said.
“Do you remember the taxi company?” Peter Black asked the women later when they were sitting in his office. He was thankful Santovitz had left the office for a late lunch. This was a delicate situation. The last thing they needed was a nosy associate.
“It was a yellow one,” Anna replied.
“I guess you didn’t take the license plate? Peter asked.
“No what do you take us for?” May frowned.
“As a matter of fact, I remember the car had a number on the roof. You know on the thing which says TAXI. There was a number on that,” Anna said.
“What was the number?” May pressed.
“Goodness May, I am trying to think here. Be quiet for a minute.” Anna closed her eyes trying to reconstruct the previous night. In her mind’s eye she once again envisioned Anthony and another man dashing out the hotel, hurrying towards the taxi. It seemed like if they were running away from something. Then she remembered the other man held a small black object against Anthony’s back.
“He had a gun.”
“Who had?” Peter asked.
“The other man,” Anna answered.
“Are you sure?” May asked. She moved to the edge of her chair.
“I’m pretty sure,” Anna confirmed.
“That is a very good sign,” Peter said.
“What do you mean?” May asked.
“It may have been a coincidence your husband was in the hotel at that particular time. The murderer must have taken him hostage,” Peter explained.
*
“I’m telling you this place is giving me the creeps,” Tobias Collins rested his head against a bundle of pillows he looked at the men in his private hospital room.
After Anthony and Victor Rogozihn had left him for dead in his hotel suite, the hook to which the rope had been connected plunged down from the ceiling along with a piece of plaster. Though a part of the ceiling fell on the Senator, it had still been his lucky night. Barely able to focus, he managed to reach his mobile. Minutes later medics found him unconscious among the debris on the floor.
“Once the doctor gives you the all clear, we will move you to a safe house,” Dupree said. He pointed at two men standing by the door. “Burnett and Adams will look after you while you’re here.”
“We make sure you’re all right,” Burnett confirmed.
“Furthermore, I will personally lead the investigation,” Dupree added.
When the men were about to leave the room, Adams took Dupree by the arm and said,” The shot gun shell found near the Mendez crime scene appears to be from a 244 Magnum.”
“That is a classic, the gun must be at least 80 years old,” Dupree replied.
Walking back to his car Lieutenant Dupree dialed a number on his phone. A few days ago he had divided his team. The murders on Mr. Kinsella, Rodrigo Mendez were assigned to Adams and Burnett. Dupree and his team were searching for Edgar Ellis. However, more than a week after the first murder, they still weren’t any closer to an arrest. The moment Adams mentioned the classic Magnum Dupree remembered Detective Garnham had showed him his private gun collection a few years ago. Among several other vintage guns and pistols, there had been a 244 Magnum present. It was worth checking out, although it could be a coincidence. If it really had been Garnham who killed Mendez, the man must have an awful lot of nerve. Why would an experienced officer like him leave a piece of evidence where anyone could find it? With nothing else to go on, there was only one thing he could do.
What should have been a routine job was actually less simple than it appeared in the first place. After a short briefing, a warrant was issued to search Detective Garnham’s residence. They found a cabinet with several classic pistols and shotguns. The place where the 244 Magnum should have been was empty.