Unraveling Secrets Of The Devil

Chapter - Four

    “Chief, all the four cars were the same car with fake number plates. The muddy tyre prints found in two cases have matched and in other two cases the same car was caught on the cameras” Mason informed while giving me the related files. “What about the footage Stella?” I asked while glancing through the files. “Chief they could track down the cars in two cases and as they followed them the cars ended up going inside the dense forest in the outskirts of Seattle. They informed the forestry department to track down the cars, but they didn’t find the cars after that and the cases were left unsolved” “So, either they changed the appearance of the car or there's someone helping them out in the forestry department” I said while they nodded. Ansh entered the room with a lady. She looked liked she was in her late fifties. “Chief, she’s the mother of Ronak Smith” Ansh informed. “Please take your seat ma'am” she nodded and sat silently.

“So, when was the last time you met your son?”

“Before he went to meet one of his clients in the afternoon. He texted me saying that he wouldn't be coming for dinner since there was a small get together party. So after eating I slept off since I was tired. When I woke up in the morning I didn’t find him in the room. I called him and his phone was switched off. I called his colleagues and they said he left early. That’s when I filed the missing compliant and he is still missing from then” she started crying and Stella consoled her.

“We know that it’s hard time for you but we need all the answers to find him as soon as possible” she nodded as I continued. “We have information that he was a savant. What was his talent?”

“He was born with autism so he was quite different from many kids. After few years we realised that he had skills in understanding the mechanics of instruments and things easily. He could easily analyse it’s process and try different experiments alone in his room. When we consulted a neurosurgeon, he said that Ronak had savant’s syndrome. Because of autism from childhood, he hardly enjoyed his childhood while playing outside and mingling with people. And with this talent, he always preferred staying in his room and doing experiments. That's when I decided that it was time for him to change his lifestyle. We made him pursue architecture where he could interact with people and learn many things”

“That was a good decision ma'am. From when did you start consulting Dr.Ethan?”

“Last year, the neurosurgeon whom we were consulting all these years was bed ridden due to his old age. So we had to search for another good neurosurgeon. So he suggested to visit Dr.Ethan and we came here”

“Ok, thank you for your cooperation ma'am. We'll do our level best in finding him soon” She nodded with a smile and left the room with Stella. I leaned back and sighed. How did these kidnappers get information about all their talents? Either Dr.Ethan and Dr.Hazel are involved in k********g or any of their assistant who can access to their files is helping the kidnappers in leaking the information. Whoever is behind these kidnaps is either highly influential or wealthy enough to bribe as many people he wants.

“Hello sir, I’m Oliver’s younger brother, Denzel Kane”

“Hello Denzel, please have a seat” he nodded and sat in front of me. He seemed pretty young, maybe in his early twenties.

“So, when was the last time you spoke with Mr.Oliver?”

“The day before he disappeared. We both had dinner together as usual and he said that he had to leave early in the next morning for important work. I tried asking about what the work was but he didn’t reply properly. He just said that it was some confidential work from the department and changed the topic. By the time I woke up the next morning he had left. I tried calling him in the afternoon but the call was not reachable. His phone was switched off in the evening and that time I called his close colleagues to ask about him but nobody knew anything about him. That’s when I filed a missing compliant” he sighed with a sad look.

“Why did you guys shift from New York to Seattle?”

“Due to his sudden transfer. I still didn’t understand why all of a sudden they transferred him here. I tried asking him many times but he just replied he had no idea”

It seems like he doesn’t know about his brother's savant syndrome. It’s either that or he is trying to hide that fact from us. “Umm, did you know that your brother had savant syndrome?”

“What? How is that possible, I mean, he would have told me if he had” he was surprised and confused. He wasn’t ready to believe that his brother hid this fact from him. It’s hard to digest when you get to know about hidden facts from a stranger.

“Denzel, we know that it’s hard to believe but it’s the truth. He used to consult Dr.Hazel and that’s the reason why you both got shifted to Seattle. Infact, according to our investigation, he has been kidnapped because he is a savant”

“What the hell do they want from my brother? How is that even related to this syndrome?” he was frustrated, curious and worried in what condition his brother could be.

“We are trying to figure that out. Don’t worry, we'll find your brother as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation, you can leave now” he just sighed and walked out along with Mason. It should have been too hard for him to handle so much together. I grabbed the files on the table and started checking Oliver’s case to find some clue. There has to be something which I’m missing out. One clue, only one is enough to change the whole direction of the case.

“Chief, it’s already 4 pm” Stella spoke as she entered the room. “Yeh I know that. Even I have a watch Stella” I replied by pointing my watch at her while keeping my eyes on the files. “Ha-ha very funny. We didn’t have our lunch Chief” “Yeah, you can go and have with others. They left to cafeteria few minutes back” “And what about you Chief?” she asked by crossing her arms. “I’m not that hungry so it's fine. I still have to go through few of these files and-” she cut me off in the middle “Chief.. I know that there’s a lot of work and we are under stress because many people’s lives are at risk there, but that doesn’t mean we should get involved to such an extent that we forget about ourselves. We have been working continuously from morning, you should take a break for a while and enjoy the yummy food” she grinned as she took the file from my hand and placed it on the table. I just nodded with a smile and followed her.

“Treat is on me for the special person who enlightened me about the truth of life today” she said dramatically as we climbed down the stairs. “Truth of life huh? Isn’t it slightly over dramatic?” I asked. “Yeh, side effects of the enlightenment” we both started laughing while glancing at each other. “But honestly Chief, if you wouldn’t have spoken with me, I don’t think so I would have ever forgiven myself and moved on. So, thank you” I saw sincerity in her eyes, genuinely thanking me for making her a better person. “Friends don’t thank each other, they give them a treat in their favourite restaurant with their favourite food” she smiled and nodded.

After having lunch we came back to the headquarters and started going through the files again and again with the hope of finding some clue. Mason entered the room with his phone clenched in his hand . “ Chief, I got the details of the savants from Dr.Hazel and Dr.Ethan” he said. “ Read it out”

“There were eight people on the list among which we already know about three people. So the rest five are

Ms. Aarya Smith, 27 year old autistic savant, works in an MNC

Ms. Cecelia Brooks, 38 year old dancer .

Mr. Dominic King , 32 year old business man. CEO of KING COMPANIES AND CLUBS

Ms. Helena Kane, 23 year old graduate.

Mr. Ingrid Rink, 34 year old botanist ”

“ We have less time, so Mason go meet Aarya Smith and let her know about the danger she is about to get in and ask her about her abilities. Sarah , you go meet Dominic King, and I’ll meet Cecelia Brooks along with Stella. Ask Sameer to meet Helena Kane and Ansh you meet up with Ingrid Rink . We’ll meet up back here tomorrow evening and discuss all the information we have got. If there is any suspicion or emergency don’t hesitate to call me ” I said. “ Chief, you have a video conference with Mr. Mark Akeeshoo , brother of Eva Akeeshoo tomorrow at 8 am” Ansh informed me. “Oh ok. I’ll talk with him and then meet Ms. Cecelia.”

I started my car when I heard a knock on the window. It was Stella . “ Hi chief, can I hop in ?” “ Sure get in” I replied and she got on the passenger seat. “ Home?” “ No, Restaurant. I actually have a date tonight.” She exclaimed. “ Ohh nice” I said without giving a hint of disappointment . I don’t know why I felt jealous and angry when she said that . I think I’m falling for her and getting possessive about her. Suddenly she started laughing. “ Wow chief . You looked like I told that there was a blast in your street.” She laughed continuously. “ It was a joke Chief. Of course I’m just going home” she said as she subsided her laughter. She almost had tears due to laughing so much . “ Ha ha very funny” I commented and drove silently. I was soo much relieved knowing that it was just a joke. “ So chief, I’ve observed that you never spoke about your family.” She broke the silence . “ Oh. No one asked. My parents live in California. They have a bakery there which they love more than their children.” I commented sarcastically and continued “So, they are basically happy there. My younger brother is in Florida . He works in some MNC and lives with his girlfriend . My younger sister is already engaged and also lives in Florida. That’s pretty much about my family.” I said. “ Nice . Happy family” she said as she grinned. I knew she was still worried about her family . She misses her dad. “ It’s ok Stella. I’m sure you’ll find someone who will take care of you just like your dad.” I consoled her. “ Thanks Chief. And by the way where did you learn mind reading ?” She asked. “ Oh I have that talent from birth” I said and we both laughed. I dropped her off at her house and drove back to mine. It was a tiring day and as soon as I entered I didn’t even bother to eat. I just changed my outfit and slept off.

I reached the headquarters at around 7:45 am. I overslept after such a long time. I sat in my desk and started thinking about the list. I don’t know who is behind all of this but I’m sure that I’ll catch them soon. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I got a notification. I received the call. “ Hi Mr. Lee” Mark greeted. “ Hello Mr. Akeeshoo. Nice to meet you. Getting to the point. When and why did you file the kidnap complaint ?” I asked him . “That day she actually thought of proposing to her boyfriend. So she left early in the morning to get all the preparations done. As usual I went to work. I didn’t think of it much when she didn’t return that evening. I thought she must have been having a good time with her boyfriend. But then he called me at around 12 at night asking if I knew about Eva’s whereabouts. I told him everything about what she had planned. But he just told me that she had asked him to come there at 8 pm but then she never arrived. That’s when I started worrying. She does have a few enemies and so I filed a complaint.” He said. “ Oh. Did you know that she was a savant ?” I asked him and he nodded. “ She had a terrible accident three years back and then she was discovered to be a savant. She was more interested in robotics from then and she usually worked on it whenever she got time at home. She had few enemies from work so we decided to keep it a secret.” He explained.

“Ok, so why did you meet Dr.Ethan ? I heard that you were meeting a therapist back in Alaska?” I asked him. “ No, we didn’t meet Dr.Ethan and ya we had appointments with Dr.Reeva back there in Alaska. We had come to Seattle because Dr.Reeva had recommended Dr.Hazel since Eva was having severe and frequent headaches from a month almost. We visited her and then the k********g happened.” He said . But I didn’t understand one thing. “ I wanted to know another thing. You are from Alaska and her boyfriend is here in Seattle ?” “ Oh . His family stays here in Seattle . He had come here for his sister’s marriage.” He clarified my doubt. “ Ok. Thank you for your valuable time Mr. Akeeshoo. We’ll soon contact you” I said and hung up.