Authors: Thomas Fincham
But how to do it? He wondered.
They knew they were up against forces far stronger and more vicious than them. Murder was not beneath their opponents. Who knew, if things had gone the other way, if Hyder and Jessica would still be alive?
Hyder’s mom came down, asking if anyone wanted anything to eat.
They all said no, even Lester. They had lost their appetite.
Nolan was the first to get up and leave. Hyder feared he would go and drown his sorrows at the nearest bar. But there was nothing he could do to stop him.
Jessica was next to get up. Hyder put his hand up when she said, “I’m fine, I just need a walk to clear my head.”
Hyder nodded. He would give her the space she needed.
Lester looked at Hyder. “I would go,” he said. “But I really don’t have any place to be, so can I stay?”
“Of course you can,” Hyder said, getting up. “Whenever you’re hungry, come up and I’ll ask my mom to warm something up for you.”
“I like the sound of that.” Lester gave him a thumbs up.
Speaking of his mom, Hyder thought, he should go and speak to her. Whenever he needed to sort something out, he found talking to her really helped.
She was sitting at the dining table cutting vegetables.
He came over and sat next to her.
“What’s wrong,
beta
?” she said. She could always tell when something was upsetting him.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
She put the knife down and said, “Tell me.”
He wasn’t sure how much he should disclose to her. He was worried it might upset her, or worse, might put her in a difficult situation later. It was better if she was kept in the dark, this way she could always deny having any knowledge of what was going on.
He chose his words carefully. “
Ami
, we were working on something, but now we are stuck and we don’t know what to do next.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked. He had briefly mentioned to her that they were searching for someone. He never said that it was James Vander Lee.
“Yes, but what we found will not be much help to us anymore,” he said. Vander Lee was dead. He could no longer be used as a witness against TriGate. The data he left behind would require a long investigation, one that could take years, and who knew what TriGate would do to cover up their tracks by then.
“So you are stuck, right?” she asked.
He nodded.
“I’ll tell you something, Hyder,” she said. “When your dad passed away, I was stuck too. Until then I had been content with being a mother and housewife. My entire world revolved around the walls of this house. I never imagined having to raise two boys on my own, but you know what? I did. I knew that it was up to me to take care of you and Akbar. Even with your uncles and your aunts willing to help out, I knew they couldn’t do it forever. Instead of waiting for something to happen, I made it happen. I went to our local library and I told them I needed a job. I told them I would come every day and even if they didn’t pay me, I would work for free. I wanted to put that experience on my resume. By the Grace of Allah, they soon hired me. I’ve been working there ever since. I only hope I was able to give you both the best life I could possibly give.”
Hyder held her hands. “
Ami
, there was nothing lacking in our life growing up, and
you
made it all happen.”
Hyder kissed her hands and got up.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“Instead of waiting for something to happen, I’m going to make it happen.”
SIXTY-FOUR
Jessica had returned from her walk and even Nolan came back. He wasn’t drunk, as Hyder had feared. He just needed to drive around the block to clear his emotions. Lester was still behind his laptop when Hyder came down to the basement.
“I think I have a solution to our problem,” Hyder said. They sat around him as he paced the room. “What if we make it look like that we have the file?”
“But we don’t?” Jessica said.
“I know, but just think about it. To make a scheme this big work, you’d need a lot of people to work cohesively. You need the lie to keep moving from one person to the next, and you need to hope that no one breaks the lie or else the truth would be exposed.” Hyder could tell that they were not following him. He pulled up Lester’s laptop and showed them copies of the various checks. “You can see that these were signed by different individuals, which means that many people had their dirty hands in the pot. What we need to do is pressure one of them, just one, so that he would break the continuation of the lie.”
Jessica twirled her hair.
Nolan rubbed his beard.
Lester scratched his head.
They were all mulling over what Hyder had told them.
“Who do you have in mind?” Nolan finally asked.
Hyder pulled up a check on the screen. “Terry Scott, President of TriGate Management Group. His signature is on almost all the checks. This means he has more to lose than anyone if the truth ever came out. This also means that he would be willing to make a deal to save his life, if the opportunity was ever given to him.”
Hyder looked at the group for approval.
One by one, they all nodded.
SIXTY-FIVE
Terry Scott took a sip from his martini and then took a puff from the cigar. He was in his mid-fifties, with receding hair that had been dyed, and wrinkles on his slim face.
He was married once, but after the messy divorce, he never made the same mistake again. With money he was able to go through a revolving door of women. They were much younger than him and that was how he liked them. They wanted financial security and he wanted their youth. Even if he never married them, he always made sure to shower them with expensive gifts. This, he found, made his life much simpler. They got what they wanted and he got what he wanted.
Scott was lounging in the back room of a classy establishment when the maître d interrupted his reverie. “Excuse me, sir. A Mr. Hyder Ali is here to see you.”
“Hyder Ali?” Scott replied. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“He said he’s a reporter and it’s important that he speaks to you,” the maître d explained.
Scott mulled this over. “A reporter?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, send him in.”
Scott placed the martini down and took a long drag from the cigar. Two minutes later a man walked in.
“I’m a busy man so I don’t like being disturbed,” Scott said. “But what can I do for you?”
Hyder went over and sat down across from him.
This threw Scott off balance. This reporter was not only intruding on his leisure time, he was also rude.
Scott held his tongue.
“Mr. Scott,” Hyder started. “I am working on a story that involves corruption, fraud, and even murder. I am here to clear up certain facts from you before I publish this story.”
Scott’s back tensed. “What are you talking about?”
“I won’t waste your time, as I know you’re a busy man,” Hyder continued, unable to resist a jab at Scott’s earlier comment, “but this involves not only you but also those working at TriGate Management Group.”
Scott swallowed hard.
Hyder proceeded to lay out the entire scheme. He dropped several names: Amanda Hansborough, Eric Freeland, and everyone else whose signature was on the checks.
He went further by outlining the use of the internal accounting code.
When he was done, the color had drained on Scott’s face. Beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. He bit his upper lip and tried to rub the beads of sweat off, but they reappeared.
He coughed. “Ahem… I’m not going to confirm what you just told me…”
“But you won’t deny it, either,” Hyder said.
Scott loosened his tie. His shirt collar was damp. “I don’t know where you got this story, but I can tell you that if you publish it, our company will sue you and your publisher for defamation.”
“So are you going on record to say it is false?” Hyder asked.
“I’m not saying anything on record,” Scott claimed. “But I can assure you that what you have told me is nothing but pure fabrication, and unless you have proof, you should be very careful about what you print.”
“But I do have proof.”
Scott’s mouth went dry.
From his backpack Hyder pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and held it up for Scott to see.
“It’s a copy of a check signed by you,” Hyder said. “As you can see, it was made out to someone working for the city.”
“I write a lot of checks,” Scott said. “It was probably for a charity or something.”
“Call it whatever you want, but the letters ‘PPC’ at the bottom indicate the money was for other purposes. In my story I will refer to them as a
bribe
.”
The cigar nearly fell out of Scott’s hands. He coughed, this time loudly. His face was red, as if he were choking.
“These are very strong accusations,” he said between breaths. “And we will fight against them vigorously.”
Hyder looked at him and then nodded. “That is your prerogative. My duty is to verify the facts before I publish them, and it is why I was here to speak to you.” Hyder stood up to leave.
“By the way, where did you get that check?” Scott asked.
“I have many more. In fact, I have an entire
file
filled with these and other documents.” Hyder made sure to emphasize the word ‘file.’
“Thank you for your time Mr. Scott.”
When Hyder had left the room, Scott immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
SIXTY-SIX
Hyder nodded to Nolan, who was sitting in his car outside the restaurant, watching.
Hyder walked down the street and turned the corner. He waited a few minutes, then, as if on cue, Scott came out the front door and headed straight for the parking lot.
Scott got behind the wheel of his Mercedes and drove away.
A few seconds later, Nolan’s car followed.
Their plan was now in motion.
Scott was clearly shaken up by what Hyder had told him. They were hoping that he would then do something drastic that would expose the lie TriGate had been hiding for so long. They weren’t sure if this would work, but it was worth a shot.
Hyder had done his part. Now it was up to Nolan to do his.
It had been decided that Nolan would see through the last part of the plan. He was, after all, a member of the police force. Whatever came next, he would be better suited to deal with it. Hyder and Jessica had already dealt with so much. Jessica had been chased by the man in the suit and Hyder had almost been shot by the same man. It was better to leave the rest to the professionals.
Hyder rode his bike back through the streets.
He wasn’t sure if what they were about to do was enough, but he was satisfied that he had tried his best. There was nothing more he could have done. He had rattled Scott, and he hoped Scott would lead them to the others who were involved.
He parked in front a coffee shop and went in.
Jessica was waiting for him. She was sitting in the back. She smiled when she saw him.
“Did he take the bait?” she asked immediately.
“Oh, yeah,” Hyder replied, grinning. “He was sweating like a pig. For a moment I thought he would pass out.”
“So, did you plant it?” she asked eagerly.
“Yep,” he smiled. The plan also included placing a small microphone the size of a watch battery in Scott’s coat. On the way out Hyder had spotted the coat hanging by the door. He slipped the microphone into its front pocket and left.
Nolan would get close enough to Scott and hopefully record whatever incriminating information he revealed.
Jessica looked relieved.
Chloe came over and asked if Hyder wanted anything to drink. “On the house,” she said with a smile.
“Well, in that case,” Hyder said. “I’m going to order everything on the menu.”
“Don’t get carried away,” Jessica said with a smile. “You’re a friend, not a boyfriend.” There was a twinkle in her eyes.
Hyder smiled. “In that case, I’ll have a medium coffee with two creams and two sugars.”
“You’re allowed a snack as well,” Chloe teased.
“I wasn’t aware of that, but that’s good to know. Then can I also get a triple chocolate muffin?”
“Coming right up,” Chloe said and walked away.
Hyder and Jessica sat down. .
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For everything you’ve done for me.”
He shrugged. “Ah, it’s nothing. I do this all the time.”