Her Silent Cries Read online

  Collins sighed.

  They resumed their journey on the dirt road. It took them two hours to finally find another wide concrete road. There was no establishment in sight. It was practically in the middle of nowhere. Collins checked his mobile; there were still no signals.

  “I think this road goes to Pitmedden from Jacobsville.” Fox said thoughtfully.

  “No, I think this road comes from Pitmedden to Jacobsville.” Collins mimicked him.

  “Let's go. We may find a good place to rest along the way.”

  ◆◆◆

  The motel was only forty miles away from where they started. The man at the reception immediately recognized a picture of Ursula Bates.

  “They had come late at night three days ago.”

  Collins asked, “who was with her?”

  “I don't know. He was wearing a hoodie, so I didn't get a proper look of his face. Initially I thought they were a couple but I saw his hands, and they were quite young and delicate, so I thought may not be a boyfriend.”

  “Not many couples come this way?” Fox queried.

  “No, sir! I was actually surprised to see them at such a late hour.” The old man stammered talking to Fox. He had that influence on witnesses which Collins envied. People took him lightly and manipulated him during questioning.

  “Had they stayed the night?” Collins asked.

  “No. They only asked for dinner and then left immediately.”

  Collins sighed. He could not understand why Shyla came this way of all the places. Fox broke the silence.

  “Do you remember the make and model of the vehicle?”

  He chewed his lips. “I didn’t see it properly but for an instance-I thought-they were in a state car.”

  Fox face suddenly lit up with a glow. He bent down on the reception counter and whispered slowly.

  “Are you sure that it was a state car?”

  The man's face darkened by fear. “Sir, I think I saw a flag on the bonnet but I am not sure.”

  There were no security cameras at the motel or id checking for diners. Both officers came out of the motel and got in the air-tight warm atmosphere of Impala. Collins felt irritated by the excitement Fox was emitting.

  “You should be ashamed of being so happy on a crime.”

  Fox chuckled.

  “If she had planned to run away, the state car would have never been used. It is the easiest car to recognize anywhere in the world. And why use a second car at all? Two vehicles mean two clues. Double chances of getting caught. It proves my theory that she is kidnapped. She met the kidnapper on her way to school.”

  “Wait a minute? Where is T123 where the car was found?”

  “Further along the way near to Pitmedden.”

  “What are we going to do now? I don't think Home Office will share Vehicle Use Log with us.”

  “We will request anyways but I doubt it too. Our best bet is to trace the access of state cars by anyone at school.”

  4

  None of the Ursula's friends or colleagues were able to recognize the red fabric. An official search of her house also didn't give any clue to the origin of the mysterious red fabric. As per Collins, they could not even prove that the red fabric had any connection to the case. However, Fox had stored it with all other clues of the case. Collins had to go through another round of interviewing of all people connected to Ursula including her friend, her family and her ex-husbands.

  “Do your father use a state flag on any vehicle?”

  He asked PomTom on one of their hang outs together. They were in the balcony of a disco near Pom's penthouse. Collins didn't want to ask him for official investigation as they knew each other for a long time. PomTom was trying to make a girl drink directly from a whiskey bottle. He was clad in a black silk chiffon coat with a slit revealing his bare-chest. The loud screaming music of the disco was not helping them to have a friendly conversation. He had to yell his question to him.

  “Why are you asking that?” He suddenly snorted at him. “Do you always stay on duty?”

  “Look, Pom! I didn't want to call you to the station.” Collins said apologetically.

  “Fuck you, man.”

  He jumped from the balcony on a pole, slid down and made his way through the crowd of swirling bodies on the dance floor. After a while, Collins tried to catch him again while he was bumming a smoke in a corner.

  “How would I know, man?” He screamed all of a sudden. “Why do you ask me such questions? Do you think I took the girl? What a nasty person you are. Bothering a fellow-that too in a club.”

  A strong hand came from behind and held his elbow. “Come with me.” PomTom got stunned at the tall, muscular man dragging him by the elbow as if he was a child. Fox carried him to a small sitting area near the entrance where the sound was slightly lower. Collins tailed behind them feeling slightly angry at himself for not calling this douche bag officially.

  Fox practically pushed PomTom on a purple velvet couch and stood in front of him hands crossed on chest.

  “Do you tell anyone else about Ursula's identity as a writer?” He asked calmly.

  PomTom kept shaking his head restlessly. It was the effect of Fox's grand stature that everyone feels small in front of him. PomTom was no better.

  “What it has to do with the case?”

  “Leave it to us. We will find the connection.” Collins said with a stern face.

  “I told some friends but I didn't know that she would get kidnapped. Did I?”

  “Do you remember the names of people?”

  “No, Fuck no. I said it in a way like, look how wild this girl is-that sort of thing. How would I know who was there and who was not?”

  Collins wanted to kick him in the ass at that moment. Fox looked at Pom's face gravely and suddenly asked.

  “Where did you get the money to buy the guitar?”

  PomTom's eyes got bigger and his face looked spooked as if it was a ghost standing in front of him, not Inspector Fox. The music was bursting in their ears and people were enjoying themselves not knowing that PomTom was trapped in a corner getting grilled.

  “Which guitar?”

  “The one you bought for $200,000 from Suzanne Inc. Where did you get the money for it?” Fox was in no mood of listening to his beating about the bush.

  “I didn't-not mine-I was just-I thought-it was a joke-you see.” He broke down.

  “You thought blackmailing was a joke?” Fox grimaced.

  Collins startled at the word blackmailing but this was not the occasion to ask any questions from Fox.

  “I didn't. It started as a joke. I thought about messing with her only but then-then she started to pay. I swear to God I never harmed her.”

  Fox left him behind babbling at the porch of the disco club.

  “Aren't we arresting him for blackmail?” Collins asked Fox in amazement sitting in the Impala.

  Fox smiled with pride. “Where is the proof that he blackmailed her?”

  “But you-you just accused him.” Collins looked confused.

  “I was just testing a theory.”

  “We have a confession.”

  “That confession is as stale as the coffee in the pot you didn't wash last night.”

  “You are not in mood of talking.” Collins chuckled. “What about the guitar? Who spends $200,000 on a guitar these days?”

  Collins asked while Fox put the key in ignition and turned the engine on.

  “It was a diamond guitar. He may have it at his place. You may get a chance to hold it in your hands if you request him nicely.” Fox knew about his craze for guitars but his sarcastic tone was hard to miss.

  “Damn. I am never going to request him for anything again-that blackmailing scum.”

  Fox laughed mockingly. “You have a soft heart johnny boy. Just admit it.”

  “But how do you know that he is not complacent?” Collins changed the topic.

  “He was in the city the day Ursula went missing. I have already checked his ali
bi.” Fox looked at the snow falling on the windshield. He turned the wiper on. “But now we know one thing that she was getting blackmailed seriously. When PomTom started it, she must have thought it was him blackmailing all along. Otherwise, who would pay a dime to this idiot.”

  “But what about the state car? Tom can use anyone from his state to carry this out.”

  “Except that he didn't. He is not allowed to enter within a mile of his state limits. His father is so much fed up with his activities. Also, none of the cars in his father's possession matched with the description of the car at the motel. I showed the pictures of all state cars in use to the receptionist. He has specified one make and model only.” He took a pause.

  “We have to search for a Mercedes-Benz S350.”

  5

  Fox put his team to screen school teachers and students for any probable connections with government officials. He put Collins to check security cams on highways, toll plazas and inter-state entry points. A Mercedes-Benz could be easily recognized on cam footage. So far, he was hopeful about the outcome of the case, he was just not enough hopeful about the survival chances of the victim.

  He was working on two theories. It was either a serial killer activity or it was a personal vendetta. For some reason, he refused to believe the serial killer theory. The involvement of a high-level government official or bureaucrat was an indication of a personal and spontaneous crime.

  He kept thinking playing with the Chinese puzzle box in his big strong hands. He was fascinated with puzzle boxes since his childhood and always preferred them to Rubik cubes. Every piece has to be in a different shape and performs a unique function to keep the mystery of the box intact.

  On the other hand, Collins always despised menial work. He thought this stuff was for junior and detective should only spend their time theorizing and brainstorming over the nature of crime. He kept murmuring something under his breath going through the footage of security cams. After few hours of mindless scrolling, he took out the book from his drawer and started flipping its pages. Contrary to what Fox thought, he was not used to of reading erotica. But Shyla Cox was a big name in the genre. He turned pages not reading anything in particular as his minds wandered away over the details of the case when his eyes got stuck on a page.

  His face was like a mask, his charm was like a task;

  His voice to my aching heart felt like an overflowing cask;

  The dragon beneath the surface slithers atop unask;

  The crimson fire howls and mauls, but still had time to bask.

  Nathan, the other assistant of Fox, entered the room with a list of school officials, teachers and students with possible government connections. Fox gestured him to sit down and went through the list quietly. A lot of them were associated with junior-level employees but there were three of them which could have had access to a state car. The first was the daughter of the Governor of Pitmedden who lived with her mother in Central after the divorce of her parents. The second was a teacher who attended college with the local public prosecutor; there were rumors of their romantic involvement. The third was also a teacher, a nephew of lord of the state of Comilimah.

  All three statesmen had access to a Mercedes-Benz.

  He asked Collins to hand over the footage screening to Nathan and pay a visit to the high school. Collins had an air of harmlessness around him that women specially liked. He was more likely to extract information from people in a casual friendly manner.

  Collins first met Rebecca, the daughter of the governor of Pitmedden. She was outside on school grounds watching her friends play licorice in distance. She was a fifteen-years old petite girl with an innocent face and pearl gray eyes. She was out of city to meet his father on eighteenth November, the day Ursula got vanished. His father usually sent him the official vehicle to pick her from her mother’s home. The drive from her home to Pitmedden was around 2-3 hours long. She often took her friends with her for vacations at the Governor's place, but not that night.

  “Great. Can I meet your friends who went with you?” He asked Rebecca closing his notebook.

  Rebecca looked at him with fear. “Why?”

  “It will be good to have a confirmation of your statement. You don't have to worry about anything.” Collins tried to console her.

  But she remained worried.

  “Look. We know school students are not exactly saints. They don't do things they tell their parents, and they almost never tell their parents what they really do. And we, police officers, have a good grip of this reality.” Collins smiled for a reassurance.

  “It's not about me. You don't know the dirty politics of high school.”

  Collins rolled his eyes. “Yeah, never heard of that.” He was not in mood of listening to temper tantrums of a hormonal teenager. That too standing under open sky on a snowy day.

  “Believe me. They will tell you weird stories about my father. I had a breakup with one of my friends and since then she is spreading rumors about him just to get back at me.”

  “Fine. Tell me her name and I will specially not believe her.”

  “Sofia.”

  “And why exactly did you break up with her?”

  Rebecca took a deep breath and turned her face away from him. Collins kept scrawling in his notebook.

  “So, it was for a guy.”

  Rebecca looked at him annoyingly, “You know what? You are too cocky to be an officer.”

  Collins chuckled.

  “I am also a high-school girl by heart. Now please give me the names of all of your friends who went with you during last year.”

  The next person he met was Sofia who was actually standing just few feet away with a skeptical face watching them. Before he could ask her anything, she burst out.

  “Whatever that skank told you, is a complete lie.”

  Collins took a deep breath. Screw you, Fox.

  “She said that you spread rumors about her father.”

  Her expressions changed all of a sudden. She smiled coyishly. “Oh that-that were not rumors.”

  “So, what is the scoop?” He raised his eyebrows in a secretive manner.

  “It is not entirely a secret. All the girls in the group know. I don't know why Rebecca gets so frisky about that.” She spoke with confidence as if she was talking about a scientific fact.

  “And what is she frisky about?”

  “That her father's house is haunted. Duh.” She rolled her eyes. “All the girls know that. Even Nick believes that.” She emphasized on Nick as if Nick having the knowledge of something was the biggest proof in the world. “But little Miss Whiny pretended to be afraid of ghosts.”

  “Wait a minute. How do you know that the house is haunted?”

  “Because I heard a girl screaming at night-actually every night I was staying at her place. Last summer, we were all there playing with a Ouija board at night, and then we heard the screams. We all got really scared.”

  Collins watched her thinking how much to believe. The person he talked with was Nick who was a toned and muscular basketball player.

  “It is haunted. No assumptions there.” He talked with an air of confidence as if ghosts are new basketball techniques.

  “How do you know that?” Collins wondered how many times he was going to ask this question today.

  “Because I saw it-this close.” He waved a hand on his face. “For a second, I thought it was Felicia.”

  “Where did you see it?” Collins started scrawling on his notebook again.

  “In the castle. We had sneaked in the old castle to make out when we saw her.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You know I always look for something risky and adventurous.”

  “Can you tell me the exact location?”

  “Oh no. That thing is huge-gigantic actually. I remember we were looking for a courtyard at the center of it, and then we saw a statue of a horse-it was a headless horse. That's where we found the staircase to the basement.”

  “What time was that?”

&nb
sp; “We had started after lunch.”

  “How did the ghost look like?”

  “She was in white clothes and had put on a lot of makeup. As she opened her mouth, we ran away.”

  “Sofia didn't tell me anything about seeing a ghost.” said Collins trying to not look at girls drooling over Nick standing few feet away from them.

  “Oh, it was not Sofia. I was dating Rebecca those days, but she got spooked that day. When we ran, she was kind of slow to catch up with me. Poor girl, I think she left behind alone with the ghost and screamed. I thought she got possessed the way she was screaming her own name again and again, so I broke up with her.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “Last Christmas. Can I go now?” Nick asked smiling at his fan club.

  “Yeah. Just one thing. You said she looked like Felicia. Who is Felicia? “

  “Oh, that was a girl in our last-to-last batch. She never came back after the school year.”

  6

  “They saw a ghost which looked like their class fellow.” Fox said thoughtfully. Collins called him immediately after interviewing all the students who had been to Pitmedden with Rebecca.

  “And they all confirmed hearing the screams except that Sofia said she heard it every night. While her other friends said they only heard it once. She can be exaggerating it a little.” Collins said looking at the high school building. He was standing in the parking lot. He had yet to interview the teachers.

  “You finish your interviews there. I will catch up with her mother.” Fox cut the call.

  Collins took a deep breath. He was feeling particularly exhausted after interviewing the school girls. His own childhood was not exactly memorable and high school was a special hell for him. It was the worst period of his life. Not having control over anything, specially not on his own mood swings during puberty, and to top it all, an oppressive father at home who bullied him every day. He felt it all coming back to him again. He thought of eating something before continuing the interviews or his bleak mood might become a deterrent.