“Why would a guy so smart and so brilliant give up everything and work in such mundane jobs? Why would he get paid so well for doing routine desk jobs?” John asked, but he was really just thinking aloud.
“That’s what bugged me, too. Even stranger is the fact that all this information was carefully hidden. It’s like someone went to a lot of trouble to hide this guy’s past. What do we do next?” asked Drake.
“I have a thought. Here, this is all the information about my client. Run a background check on her. Confirm to me if she is indeed this guy’s sister. I am heading over to her hotel room now. How long would your background verification of her take?” asked John.
“Ten. May be fifteen minutes at most. Unless, she also has a fishy history like this, in which case it may take longer.” said Drake.
“Another thing, Drake. I need you to find out more about all of his employers, including the current one.” said John.
“I will do so, John. Anything else?” asked Drake, itching to return to more work.
“That is all for now, Drake. Call me once you have more information.” said John, heading to the exit. John reached his car, and turned it toward the hotel where his client was staying. He called her up to inform her that he was on his way and that he had some questions for her. She agreed to meet with him. John had some serious questions in his mind. This information provided by Drake had changed things drastically. He loaded both his guns with bullets, hid them on his legs, and got out of his car. Ms. Luck’s room was on the tenth floor. He would reach there quickly by elevator.
Once inside an elevator, John turned around to press the button for the 10th floor. Just as the door was about to close, he noticed something about one of the people who was sitting in the grand hotel lobby. John extended his hand out quickly to stop the elevator doors from closing. Responding to the presence of his outstretched hand, the door detectors stopped closing and started opening up again. John stepped out of the elevator and casually pulled out his phone. He pretended to be on a phone call and walked along the floor until he reached one of the lobby chairs. John then pretended to be disappointed that his phone call was not answered and collapsed onto the leather sofa. The seat he had chosen faced the elevator and gave him a slight view of everybody else who was sitting in the hotel lobby. John’s attention was on the woman who was sitting about ten feet from him.
John had a distinct feeling that he had seen her somewhere. He just could not figure out where. He did not want her to know that he was watching her. He looked around the hotel lobby to check the position of cameras. He found one that was pointed right at him. He also found two more cameras that were on either side, hidden inside a cleverly designed art monument. John had an idea. He got up, and walked up to the reception desk which was manned by two folks. One of them was already speaking to an elderly lady who would probably take a while. John decided to talk to the second fellow, who was speaking on the phone. Seeing John approach his table, he returned the phone to the receiver.
“Hello, sir. How may I help you today?” he asked.
“Hi. I need to speak to your security officer.” said John, showing his detective license badge.
“Just one moment, sir.” said the receptionist. He picked up the phone and then spoke to someone. It took a few seconds to get a reply. He then returned the receiver back to the box and turned to face the detective.
“Mr. Russo, I would like you to go straight and then take a left. I could ask one of the bell boys to escort you to the room.” said the receptionist.
“I will find my way. Thank you.” said John, heading in the direction indicated by the receptionist. He went straight and then took a left, and saw a door which read ‘Security Manager’. Just as John was about to knock on the door, an older man in his late fifties opened the door with a smile. John noticed a scar above his left eye, and the posture suggested that the man was probably in the Navy. John smiled back and walked towards the guy. The security manager kept the door open for John to enter. Once they were both inside, John was offered a seat.
“I am Alec Carter. How can I help you?” asked the security manager.
“Hello, sir. Thank you for taking the time out to meet with me. I was wondering if you could provide me with access to the security tapes of the lobby. I am investigating a case and one of the people who is probably involved in the case is sitting right here in the lobby. Here is my license card. That should help you verify that it’s for real.” said John, handing over his license to the security manager.
The security manager got up and went into the office marked ‘Staff Only’ and disappeared. John kept looking around the office to see what was going on. The office was simple and everything was organized. It was clean. The desk was located at the center of the room. There was one chair on the one side, and two on the other side. John was sitting on one of them. He noticed that both the chairs were made of wood, and it appeared as if nobody sat there. John figured that the security manager did not get many visitors.
On the desk, there was the usual assortment of trays filled with documents, and there was one portrait. The portrait had a photo of a couple - the security manager was standing next to a good looking woman, who was probably his wife. John reached out his hand to pick up the portrait, but the door to his left, the one marked ‘Staff Only’, opened. The security manager came out and returned to his chair. John returned the portrait back to where it was.
“You have a lovely woman for a wife, Mr. Carter.” said John, justifying his meddling with the contents of the table.
“Thank you, Mr. Russo. God, in His wisdom, did not think it would be fair to give us any children. She has always been unhappy about that.” said Alec Carter, taking back his seat and passing along a tablet which had a video on it. John took the tablet, and played the video. It was footage of the lobby, ten minutes earlier. John waited patiently for the video to play out and then, the woman walked into the view. She still had that distinct red lipstick on her. The video was a little fuzzy, and it prevented John from making out her features. A few seconds later, John came into view in the video. The video stopped playing.
“Do you mind if I transfer a copy of this video to my phone?” asked John.
“Not at all, detective. I have already verified your credentials and have made a copy of the identification card you provided for me. That should be enough for me, if anyone should come asking about what you are doing.” said the security manager. John sent a copy of the video to his phone, thanked him, and left the room. Then, John walked up to the elevator, got in, and pressed the button for his client’s floor. As he got out of the elevator to reach her room, John’s phone rang again. It was Drake.
“Drake, what do you have for me?”
“She is clean. Nothing like her brother. Before you ask, yes, he is indeed her brother. I have confirmed information from the hospital records where she was born and related legal documents which prove that he is, in fact, her brother. There is only one thing which does not add up.” said Drake, over the phone.
“What is that?” asked John.
“Her finances. She does not even have a job. She works at a local charity organization which does not pay much. The last time she held an actual job that paid her was over six years ago. She does not have any criminal records against her, either. You also told me about the bill she is footing for your services. These things do not add up.” said Drake.
“I hear you. What about this missing guy’s employers? Did you dig up any dirt on them?” asked John.
“Still working on that. As with anything else that has to do with this guy, his employers also have fishy business dealings. Their balance sheets are convoluted, just like him. They all seem to be in the money, although they don’t have any products or services to sell. It’s kind of crazy. I will continue working on that. I will call you when I have something.” said Drake.
“Sounds good. There is one more thing you need to do for me, Drake. I am sending you a video. It is a little fuzzy, but I am sure you will be able to do some of your techno magic and get it clear. There is a woman with red lipstick in the video. I need a clear image of her. Once you have got that, your next job would be to find out any information you can about her. Do this first and then give me a call. Later, you can return to working on that guy.” said John.
“Got it, John. Anything else?” asked Drake.
“That is all for now.” said John, hanging up.
John was now in front of Rita Luck’s hotel room. He rapped twice on the door, there was some movement inside, and his only client in the last six months opened the door. Her eyes were red, and so was her skin, as if she had been crying all day and night, and she had just wiped some fresh tears before opening the door.
“Please come in, detective. Do you have some news for me?” she asked, letting him in. She seated herself on the bed, while the detective relaxed on a chair next to the television. The room was well lit, and the windows were open. There was a pleasant breeze that was refreshing.
“I have nothing new to share about your brother. I do have some questions for you.” said John, his voice trying its best to remain neutral.
“What questions, detective?” she asked.
“I found out in the course of this investigation that you have not held a job in almost six years. Yet, here you are, staying in a nice hotel, and paying me well for the services I am rendering. How exactly are you making this kind of money?” asked Russo.
“All this money was given to me by my brother. My parents died when we were kids, and we grew up in a government sponsored facility. I decided to drop out of school and take up work. I wanted my brother to have a good life. Six years ago, he finished school and landed in a nice job. He insisted that he would take care of me and forced me to leave my job. Ever since that day, he has been giving me money.” said Luck, her voice weak with periodic crying over the last few days.
“Oh! I am sorry if I came across a little rude, Ms. Luck. It is just that, we are having a tough time figuring out his past life, I thought you may have been lying to us. I am sorry about that.” said Russo, in a tone that implied a generous apology.
“What do you mean, hard time, detective? Is my brother in trouble? Has something happened to him?” said Luck, getting a little agitated.
“He is...” began Russo, when his phone rang. He held his right hand up, asking her to hold, and answered the phone with his left. It was Drake again.
“John, I have found out something about his past employers. They paid him handsomely for almost no work, because each and every company he worked for was a front company. Another curious thing I found out. Remember how I told you that he was paid handsomely. Well, it turns out he never spent a single cent of it. His account is set to auto remit his total earnings to his sister’s account. If you were wondering how she got all that money, now you know.” said Drake.
“Thanks, Drake. I will let you know if I need any more help. Bye.” said John, hanging up the phone.
Drake’s information confirms what Luck had just told him. She was indeed his sister, and she had no history of criminal activity. Her money situation was also explained for and confirmed from two sources. So far, some things were becoming clearer, while others were getting murkier.
“Ms. Luck, I am sorry for not trusting you completely. I think my search should continue elsewhere. Thank you for your time. Goodbye for now.” said John, getting up and walking to the door.
“Is my brother dead, detective?” asked Luck, her voice barely a whisper now.
“No, Ms. Luck, he is not dead. All I can say is this. He might be in some kind of trouble. I don’t know what kind. If he is in trouble, I will save him and get him to you. Take care.” said John, closing the door as he left the room. He reached the car park, got into his car, and headed to his office. On the way, he called up Sheila, told her not to leave for home. Not until he had discussed what had happened so far.
Sheila was waiting for him at the office, with two hot cups of coffee. John collapsed on the couch, his usual seat of thinking, weary after the day’s hectic travelling. It was almost dinner time. He looked at the two cups of coffee, and then picked up one of them.
“You worried that coffee might kill you, Boss?” said Sheila.
“Something like that. On the plus side, at least we have something to look forward to in terms of actual work, Sheila.” said John.
“I have more coffee in the pot if you want me to get it. Where are we with finding the missing brother of our client, Ms. Luck?” asked Sheila.
“We are no better off than we were two days ago. Although, now I do know what is going on with this case. Based on all the information that our client has given us, and combining that with what Drake has unearthed, I have come to the only logical explanation I can think of.” said John, almost finishing his cup of coffee.
“What is that, Boss?” asked Sheila. She was always curious about how the process of detection worked. It was one of the many reasons why she liked her job and also, to some extent, admired her boss.
“I think that this brother character is some kind of a guy who is working above the law.” said John Russo.
“You mean like a criminal?” wondered Sheila.
“Could be. I cannot be sure, because there is something about his sister and the companies he has worked for. It is too organized. A criminal would not leave so many bread crumbs to follow. There is something else, and until I am sure, I cannot just conclude that he is a criminal. I need one more level of confirmation to come to a final conclusion.” said John, putting down his empty cup of coffee.
“You want one more cup of coffee?” asked Sheila, ever observant of everything that John did.
“Not really. If you could order some dinner, we could have dinner and leave for the day.” said John, happy with the day’s work.
Sheila got up from her seat, picked up the two empty coffee mugs, and returned to the kitchen. She ordered for food delivery, while John continued to think of ways to confirm his last suspicion. Is this missing person a criminal, or something else entirely? He could not be sure. He wanted to know what kind of a guy this person was. He could ask his sister, but the response was going to be biased. He could not be drawing his conclusions based on biased information. That was not the way it worked. As he kept thinking, dinner had arrived. Sheila laid out the table, they had a good dinner, and they both left for their respective homes.