Her Silent Cries Page 4

  “What is the next step?”

  Fox smiled mischievously.

  “Isn't it obvious? You are going to see the ghost yourself.”

  Collins jumped from his chair stretching his arms in excitement. The idea of running away from the Central was always welcoming.

  “Just one thing ...”

  “Nothing.” Collins stopped him in the middle. “If you ask me to chase werewolves and vampires in Pitmedden along with a ghost, I would do that too. Just let me go.”

  “If you don't want to listen, fine. But I was just saying that don't go alone or it would look suspicious. Take a friend with you. Actually, take Nancy.”

  “Hurrah!” Collins jumped and kicked his heels. “But what will you do all this time? Are you planning to spend Christmas alone?”

  “I will be working.” Fox said in the driest possible voice. Fox was not really into holiday traditions, but they sometime went to midnight mass together. However, it was extremely difficult to find the sentimental side of Fox especially when they had a case.

  “Wait a minute. What about the old hag?” Collins suddenly remembered.

  “Who ... Mrs. Nelson?”

  “Yes.”

  “Leave her. She will never confess anything about the Home Minister. I will ask Nathan to set up surveillance on her.”

  “Do you think ...,” Collins hesitated putting his thoughts into words, “she-I mean, Ursula-do you think she can be alive?”

  “I wonder, Collins. I wonder if she will be not.”

  9

  Pitmedden was an island located in the icy north. It was one of the biggest and most exotic tourist spots of the country, connected to mainland few decades ago. The single-level yellow suspension bridge was a famous sight for people traveling to Pitmedden. Originally called as Maiden's Pit, the island was used as a market by white slave traders in eighteenth century. The whole island was surrounded by tall pines with the populated areas in the middle.

  Collins brought Nancy for the Christmas. They were staying was in the most luxurious five-star hotels of Pitmedden, The Iceberg. Whoever named it, did a great job naming it. The whole hotel looked like a giant iceberg from distance or a fairy tale castle; tinged with blue, the exterior was entirely white surrounded by snow-covered trees. They had got a luxury suite with two bedrooms on the tenth floor.

  Collins watched the white steamer which was anchoring at the northern wharf visible from his window. Pitmedden had an air of its own; a vibe of aristocracy touching mediocrity-just to appear modest.

  He took the print out of the article from his trouser and read it. The man claimed to see a ghost on the window of the old castle on the same night when Rebecca did. He was a fisherman drinking on his steamer with his friends when he saw it. None of his friends acknowledge seeing it themselves.

  Collins gritted his teeth after reading it. He considered it an insult to be productive in any manner after getting a decent amount of alcohol in his system. He hated these idiots who did not even get drunk properly. Now it was his job to extract useful information from his drunk hallucination.

  He marked the man as the first step of his investigation. Although, Fox had not asked him for anything other than attending the Governor's party, but he was feeling energetic after arriving at the scenic place like Pitmedden and was in the mood of investigation. The second step was to make inquiries about the old castle of Pitmedden.

  The castle was abandoned for a long time. He tried to search about its last known owner but failed. It was too large to be maintained as a governor's residence. The amount of expenses required to hire staff to run the place must have exceeded the administrative budget of the governor house. In fact, the current Governor House was an extended modern wing of the same building.

  The real question, however, was that how could anyone saw anything in the window of an old dark building at night. He was lost in his thoughts when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

  Fox was calling him.

  “Hilda has come with Rebecca for Christmas party.” Fox said on the other side. “Ask Nancy to get in touch with her and take the names of her medicines ... especially the ones she only takes here at her father's house.”

  ◆◆◆

  The guy's name was Whittle and it was not difficult to find him at the wharf. Collins found him on his steamer talking to some guys. The sea water had a thin layer of ice on the surface as far as he could see.

  “I know what I saw.” The guy become defensive about his statement after dismissing his fellows. “That damned building is haunted for ages. Last year, my friend saw lights in there on Christmas Eve. Cops also don't care enough to take any action about it.”

  Collins asked, “If it is haunted, what can police do about it?”

  “They can at least barricade it. Teenagers go there all the time for the sake of adventure. It is not safe for them in there. The building is old and can be collapsed any time.”

  Collins cut short his interview. He derived the conclusion that the guy was an attention seeker and created this hoax just to complaint about the local police officers. He walked out of the wharf and strolled along the sidewalk aimlessly.

  The case was started from the kidnapping of a school teacher. A state car was used to carry it out. A man was blackmailing her. Her ex-boyfriend had threatened her on the breakup. He searched his mind again for the most likely theory. What if she went away on her own accord? What if this was her plan all along to get vanished while the police file a missing person report? What if she planned her own kidnapping?

  But this theory did not hold water. A woman who gets blackmailed by PomTom could not be bright enough to formulate such a plan. He was absorbed in his own thoughts when someone called him from behind. He turned to see a heavy man with blond hair limping towards him, holding a heavy turkey in his hands who was gobbling calmly like a Zen monk.

  “Sir! Pardon me for calling like that. But I heard that you were talking to Whittle. Can you please give me a moment in private? I have some valuable information for you-about that Whittle guy.”

  He guided him to a deserted alley near the street. Collins walked beside him but the guy soon left behind due to his limp. After entering the alley, Collins turned to wait for the guy but-something heavy was suddenly thrown at his face with wings and a gobble.

  “What the...,” he was about to get angry, but then he heard a laughter, “fox.”

  “It is a turkey.” Fox laughed again. He looked nothing like himself in this disguise. If he had not laughed in his usual sarcastic style, Collins would not have recognized him at all.

  “Holy moly! Are you going for a film audition?” He threw the turkey on the ground who walked away solemnly.

  “You should be a school teacher. You joined the wrong profession.” Fox made fun of him.

  “Dressing up like a clown is the height of investigation.” Collins sneered his nose.

  A weird ruffling sound came from the garbage bins and Fox hurriedly picked the turkey from the ground.

  “Sir! This way sir, you would like my turkeys very much.”

  Surprised at his changed behavior, Collins followed him to the shore where a white dinghy was waiting for them. Fox gestured him to get in while he took the peddles in his hands. It was difficult to paddle through the ice water moving hands against the cold wind. Soon his hands got numb but Fox paddled solemnly as they sailed away from the shore.

  10

  “Are you in mood of telling me something?” After a while, Collins felt irritated with his silence.

  “I don’t like the local police chief.” Fox looked grim. “There are rumors of his involvement in certain criminal rackets.”

  “That’s why you are in disguise?” Collins asked.

  Fox nodded.

  “So why am I roaming around in open? I am not famous enough to be recognized? Oh yeah, I forgot. I am not the legendary Fox.”

  Fox laughed at his envious remark.

  “Actually, you have been recogni
zed. There was someone stalking you.”

  “At the hotel?”

  “Since you checked in. When you were in your room, the guy was in the lobby. He followed you to the wharf, and he was keeping an eye on you when I called you.”

  “Really? I didn't feel a thing.” Collins was amazed.

  Fox stopped peddling and waited for few seconds. Collins turned to see the shore in the distance. They were so far that he could not make it whether someone was there or not.

  “Richard is an old friend of Alexander Jackson.” Fox searched his pockets for a cigarette. “I wonder if he would be at the party or not.”

  Alexander Jackson was the governor of Pitmedden. He was the only son of the previous governor of the city. They belonged to one of the most well-loved and prestigious families of the country.

  “Old money-huh.”

  “That’s how they probably got to know each other but they are not of the same age which makes me wonder.” Fox said solemnly. “There is also something that I want to show you.” Fox started peddling again but this time their direction was different.

  After sailing for fifteen minutes, Collins saw the shore in front of them again. It was a different coast of Pitmedden covered with grass fields and pine trees. Fox stopped the boat behind a rock quite far away from the shore. He took out binoculars from his coat and gave it to Collins.

  “Two o'clock.”

  Collins watched on; Fox waited silently. There was nothing to watch except for an old log cabin on the farther side of the shoreline. There was not a single person in sight as far as he could see. He set aside the binoculars and looked at Fox mockingly.

  “What was I supposed to see?”

  “The cabin.”

  “Ah, yes. The cabin. I wonder why there are no such cabins in our city. I will file a written complaint to the city government after going back.”

  Fox did not reply to his sarcastic comment. He took out his mobile phone and dialed a number.

  “Is he here?” He said on mobile, “Alright,” and cut the call.

  “Who is here?” Collins asked.

  “Richard Brenguoahm.”

  Collins startled. “You mean he is inside the cabin?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why?”

  “You will be more surprised to know who owns this cabin.”

  Collins looked at him in disbelief. “Is this also a clue?”

  “Obviously.” Fox eyes shone with pleasure. “I told you I was more interested in the third guy-the guy behind the hoodie and apparently we have found him.”

  “But how did we find him? And what is the connection of this cabin with our case?”

  “Richard Brenguoahm is the connection. He is frequently visiting this cabin in last couple of weeks assuming that the police are not tracing his activities.”

  “Do you mean-er-she is here too?” Collins felt his blood pressure rising up. Are we going to catch the criminals? He tried to control his excitement.

  Fox laughed erratically. “Do you think he is one of those psychopath ex-boyfriends who kidnap his girlfriend on breakup and torture her? I doubt the story that Ursula and Richard were dating. We have found zero proof of their dating life so far.”

  “Richard himself confessed it.”

  Fox looked grave now. “Honestly, I am still trying to figure him out. It is obvious that he lied to you. He is up to something, and I don’t know what.”

  “Are you going to tell me who owns this cabin or do you want me to swim back to my hotel?”

  Fox snorted.

  “You call yourself a detective and have no patience. What a shame! I don't know whether he is the kidnapper or not but Richard Brenguoahm is an interesting case study.”

  “I am not interested in studying this case in minus three degrees.” Collins squeezed his hands under his armpits.

  Fox took a long drag on his cigarette and threw the butt away in the water. “Whittle is the third guy. He owns the cabin. Now you can put two and two together.”

  Collins was confused to his deepest brain cell. “It is not two and two. It is more like two by sin theta five plus y.”

  “Wait a minute. If they have not kidnapped her because of the breakup then why? Why did they kidnap her at all? For money?”

  “Richard Brenguoahm is rich enough to buy a publishing house. He doesn't need to blackmail a writer.” Fox started peddling back from where they came.

  “Then why did they kidnap her at all?”

  “Do you know there is a village behind this cabin missing its idiot. When did I say they kidnapped her?” Fox finally got irritated with his questions.

  Collins was about to pull his hair. “Then what are they doing together?”

  “They are guarding something important.”

  11

  Fox spoke slowly. “The real problem I faced in this case was that I was unable to find the big bang moment. Every case has this one special moment from where everything sprouts. The crime itself is usually just a link of the chain reaction that happened usually long after the big bang. I kept tracing the life of the victim and the suspects to search for that singular moment. What caused Ursula to be a writer? Why did she get easily blackmailed by Tom? Why Tom started blackmailing her? Why Richard Brenguoahm joined the high school? This was where I got some interesting information. Before joining the school, Richard claimed to be in Switzerland for a long time. He was not in touch with anybody here except his family. But we were not able to find any clues about his activities over there. The only evidence of his Switzerland story is his passport. We did not find a single soul over there who could confirm the story.”

  “What did he say about it?” Collins asked thoughtfully. The boat was floating over water; Fox was not in a hurry on the return trip. He kept the boat along the shoreline and peddled it slowly.

  “He claimed to be hitchhiking-yes-hitchhiking for ten years. As strange this story may sound, there are more unbelievable facts around Richard Brenguoahm. Turns out, he and Alexander attended the same boarding school, but they were not friends at that time. Richard met him around the same time he came back to the country and joined the school. It is just a guess but I think it was Richard who introduced Ursula to him.”

  “But you said they were not dating.” Collins asked hesitantly. Finally, Fox was sharing his perspective with him, and he didn't want to interrupt his flow.

  “No, but they knew each other very well. I would have taken the liberty to call them friends but Richard does not make friends. People, like him, make plans.”

  Fox watched the sunset in the distance lost in his thoughts.

  “There are many small things about him which can be explained separately. But when you put them together, it gives you a strong vibe of unfamiliarity. Do you know the biggest thing I have found about him? Make a guess. It is nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one knows him for a long time. He has got people who know him just for one sport or one hobby. No one know him completely. No buddies, no girlfriends, no friends with benefits. It is like he is sprouted out of earth all of a sudden.”

  “Dionysus!” Collins whispered to himself.

  “What-you said something?”

  Collins felt slightly embarrassed. “I don't know why, but he reminds me of Dionysus-you know the Greek God.”

  “Dionysus of Thebes? An interesting observation.” Fox remarked without paying attention. He was still lost in his thoughts.

  “The God of Wine.”

  Fox looked at him with a grave face, “Also, the God of madness.”

  ◆◆◆

  The Christmas evening brought a lot of color and aroma to the Governor House of Pitmedden. Under the bright fancy lights, everybody looked surprisingly at ease with the polished faces and slithering cocktail dresses. Collins roamed around the small bunches of guests holding Nancy's hand on his arm. Collins put on a dinner jacket with a saffron tie to match with Nancy's dress of the same color. There mobile phones were confiscated before entering the house. As he was a
ttending the party in personal capacity, he could not even have a word with the security staff.

  However, Fox had a way out of it. He had given him a tie pin which could be used as mouth piece. He could easily control it with his smart watch and stay in touch with Fox wherever he was.

  Alexander Jackson, the Governor, himself in his muscular body looked exactly like the city of Pitmedden; old but energetic. To his extreme surprise, Rebecca's mother was also attending the party. The new Mrs. Governor apparently didn’t mind the presence of ex-Mrs. She was a young college graduate who looked hardily a day older than Rebecca. Collins thought about the reason of divorce of Rebecca's parents watching her taking sips from her champagne glass. Flora ex-Jackson had confessed that she did not want to live at the Governor's house due to its spooky nature. She confessed she was scared out of her mind in the last few months. Until that time, the hallway connecting the modern house to the old castle was not barricaded. The staff often used that area to store extra supplies and it was quite common for guests to visit the historical architecture. Rooms were often transformed into temporary guestrooms on occasions.

  Things changed some ten years ago when the Head of Staff took the decision to declare the area as unsafe and barricade it. However, this did not change the problem. She continued to hear screams at odd hours of night and to see apparitions of a girl jumping from a window. It could have been any window of the castle. She did not include the apparition part in her early statement before Fox asked her about Rebecca's ordeal last Christmas which was suspicious for Collins.

  Collins saw Flora leaving her chair and going out of the hall and he immediately decided to follow her.

  “I am coming in a second.” He told Nancy before leaving the hall.

  Flora walked through the beige-marbled corridors calmly. She did not look like a woman in haste. She was oozing the confidence of being the lady of the house who knew everyone and everything. The managing staff treated her with as much respect as the governor. She took a turn to the less crowded area of the house and entered a room with mahogany doors. Collins waited outside trying to pick any voices from inside, but he didn't hear a thing. The doors were heavy and completely blocked all the sound. He slowly opened the door and slid inside.