The Silent Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #1) (16 page)

“I don’t think it was a robbery,” she said.  “I think someone came in looking for something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” She suddenly went silent.

“Jessica? Are you still there?” Hyder said, worried

“Do you still have the pages from my dad’s diary?”

“Yes, it’s in my backpack.”

“Do you suppose they came searching for that?”

Hyder thought about it.  It sounded plausible.  Suddenly he was concerned about his mom. “Do you think they’ll break into
my
house?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so,” she said.  “I’m Eric Freeland’s daughter. If he had sent it to anyone it’d most likely be me.  Do you get the feeling that someone’s watching
you
?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Exactly!” she replied. “I am, and it could be because of the pages from the diary.”

“But why? The pages are all gibberish. We had to come up with our own theory—one that we still don’t know if it’s true—just to make any sense of them.”

“Maybe they don’t know that,” Jessica said.  “Maybe they think the pages contain information that implicates them directly to the crime.”

“You may be right,” he said.

“This would make a great story for your newspaper, Hyder,” she said.

“About that…”

Hyder told her about his employment situation.

When he was done, she said, “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t know.”

He laughed. “Yeah, because I just told you now.”  He tried to brush it off, but it still stung.

“What if…” she started. “You were let go at the paper because it had something to do with my dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if someone knew you were helping me and to shut you up they had you fired?”

“You’re making it look like a conspiracy,” Hyder replied, laughing.

“What if it is,” she said, sounding dead serious.

Hyder stopped laughing. “I don’t know about that, but you’re sounding more like your father.  He thought everything was a conspiracy.”

“Ok, whatever,” Jessica replied. “I’m still sorry for what happened, though. So what’re your plans now?”

“I’m going to help you find out the truth about your father.  We will bring those guilty of this crime to justice.”  The words of the Imam were still echoing in his head.  “I’m going to go meet the remaining people on the list.”

FORTY-EIGHT

Jasmine Vicky Johnson lived in the suburbs in a house on top of the hills.

The house was shaped like a box.  It was probably influenced by some new modern look.  Hyder wasn’t familiar with the architecture so he wasn’t qualified to make any comment.

Hyder was thankful he had decided to take his Camry, or else the walk up the hill would have killed him.

He parked the car to the side and walked up the long flight of steps.

He was out of breath by the time he reached the front doors.

He never understood why anyone wanted to live this high up.  When he turned, he got his answer.

The view was breathtaking.  The sun had started to come down, and it had blanketed the city in orange.  It was magical and beautiful. 

He could see himself spending the day just staring at the scenery.  With a hot cup of
chai
in his hand, he would almost be in heaven.

His bliss quickly faded when he realized that it would soon be night, which meant getting back to the city from where he was would take time.  He had to conduct the interview as quickly as possible.  

He rang the doorbell and waited.

When he didn’t get an answer, he tried again.

Still no answer.  He walked around the house and peeked through the windows.  It was dark inside and looked empty.

Hyder thought about waiting but the drive through the winding path back onto the main road would be troublesome in low light. 

He would come back and visit Jasmine Vicky Johnson tomorrow.

When he reached his car, his cell phone rang.

Dunny was calling.

Hyder was confused.  Why was she calling him? She had already ruined his life. What more did she want from him?

He answered it.

“Hyder?”

“Yes.”

“It’s Caroline.”

Dunny rarely used her first name, especially with her subordinates.  Maybe it was because he no longer worked for her.

“What can I do for you?” Hyder’s voice was hard.

“Can we meet?” Her voice was low, as if she didn’t want anyone else to listen in on their conversation.

“I’m not sure why, though,” he replied.  “You fired me.  End of question.”

“I know and I’m sorry.” Hyder was shocked.  During his employment at the
Daily Times
he had never once heard her use that word.  “If you will please meet me, I will explain everything.”

Hyder wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. He was still angry about being let go.

“Just hear me out, please,” she said.  Hyder had also rarely heard her say that word before either.
This must be important
, he thought.

“Okay, your office, tomorrow?” he asked.

“No, tonight, by the city pier.”

“Okay, but how will I find you?”

“Do you know the Guildwood Yacht Club?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be waiting for you there.” Before Hyder could say yes, the phone went dead.

Hyder looked at the screen and shook his head.  He was baffled by what had just happened.

He looked up at the sky.  Darkness had suddenly swallowed everything around him.  He quickly got in his car and drove back to the city.

FORTY-NINE

The Pier, as it was known, was located east of Franklin.  It was on a small body of water and was surrounded by a marina, a water treatment facility, and the beach.  A boardwalk stretched from one end of the beach to the other, allowing easy access to the waterfront. 

Hyder had walked the three kilometer boardwalk many times.  In fact, his house was only a ten minute drive away. During the summer he enjoyed coming down in the morning and watching the water wash up on the sand.

He would see joggers making their early morning runs.  He would meet pet owners who were out to walk their dogs.  He would greet moms with strollers who wanted to get a few minutes of exercise before their hectic day started.

He found it all very peaceful.  It also allowed him to clear his head.

Today was not like that.  Darkness had fallen, leaving the boardwalk deserted.  The wind was chilly as it came in from the lake. 

Hyder pulled his jacket collar up. His ears were cold to the touch.  He rubbed his hands and blew hot air on them. His fingertips were becoming numb from the cold.

He wished he had worn his hoodie, but he wasn’t sure what type of meeting this would be. 

Dunny had asked him to meet her at the yacht club.  The club was almost eighty years old and one that still required members and non-members to dress a certain way.  Behind the club was the club’s restaurant, which also followed the required dress code.  Hyder assumed that Dunny might have wanted to conduct their meeting over dinner or at least over some light drinks.  So, he had put on a nice dress shirt, dress pants and dress shoes.  To ward off the cold, he had put on a light jacket.  Now that jacket was doing absolutely nothing to shield him from the bitter wind. Worse, sand had made its way into his shoes. 

This is no place to meet,
he thought,
not on a night like this, anyway.

He had found parking on the other side of the beach, which made his walk even longer.

Hyder cursed and grumbled as he ambled over the boardwalk.

He spotted the club in the distance.  He was now shivering.  He hurried his steps and reached it in less than a minute.

He looked around. When he did not see Dunny, he decided to go inside.

It was a weeknight so the restaurant was mostly empty.  A man at the front desk eyed his attire from top to bottom.

“Welcome, sir,” the man said.  “Do you have reservations?”

“I’m actually meeting a friend of mine,” Hyder said.  “It may be under her name.  It’s Caroline Dunny.”

The man scanned his computer screen.  “I’m sorry, sir.  We don’t have any reservations under that name.”

“What about under Hyder Ali.” Hyder spelled out his name.

The man shook his head.  “I don’t see anything.”

“Um, okay,” Hyder scratched his head.  “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“How about I get you a table?  We are not fully booked today so it would be no problem. If your friend shows up, I’ll send her right over to you.”

“Yes, that sounds great.”

The man escorted Hyder to a table by the windows.

A waiter immediately came over. “Wine, Sir?” he asked.

“No.” Hyder shook his head.  “Just water.”

The waiter dropped off the menu and left.

Hyder glanced at his watch. 
Dunny must be running late
, he thought.

He grabbed the menu and when he saw the prices, his mouth nearly dropped.  There was no way he could afford these meals.  Plus, he was now unemployed. He ordered something from the appetizer menu and waited.  He dialed Dunny’s number and heard it ring on the other end.  It then went to voice mail.  “Hi, it’s me, Hyder.  I’m here, so please give me a call.”

The appetizer came, which consisted of marinated shrimp with garlic sauce.  They smelled delicious, and it made his stomach gurgle.  He decided to dive in.  He was glad he did, because it was the best shrimp he had ever tasted.

Hyder glanced at his watch again and then took his time finishing the appetizer.

Why did Dunny want to meet him? He wondered.  And why did she choose this location?

He wasn’t sure, but his mind was conjuring up all sorts of answers.  Maybe Dunny had had a change of heart.  Maybe she wanted Hyder back at the
Daily Times
.  This would explain why she had apologized to him.  Or maybe it was someone higher up who had persuaded her to bring him back. Hyder had, in fact, been wrongly accused of something he had no knowledge of.  Who this higher up was, Hyder had no idea. As far as he was concerned, he was another temporary reporter at the
Daily Times
who came through the revolving door like many other fresh graduates with a journalism degree.

If, for instance, he was correct in thinking Dunny wanted him back, then this location somehow made sense.  To save face, she had decided to meet here, knowing there would not be many people around to see it.  She could beg, plead, or do whatever it took to get him back.  That sounded good to him. 

A smile crossed Hyder’s face.

He wouldn’t make it easy for Dunny, either.  He would make demands.  If he did decide to come back, then he wanted it to be on a permanent basis.  Also, he would request his own desk.  On top of that, he would request a raise.  And if she did agree to his terms, he would tell her he would think about it.

He would let her stew for a bit before he told her his decision.

Right now, it was Hyder who was stewing.  The waiter had already walked by his table twice.  It was time to order his main course.   

Then reality sunk in.   Dunny wasn’t going to show up and she wasn’t going to offer him his job back. This was just a sick joke, one he suddenly felt terrible for getting duped into.

He glanced at his watch one last time and decided to leave. There was no point in sticking around.

He apologized to the waiter, explaining his date had stood him up, paid, and left the restaurant.

Outside, the wind was bitter and chilly.  Instead of walking back through the boardwalk, he decided to take a shortcut and go through the pier.   He walked past a row of parked boats and decided to call Dunny one last time.

He was fuming. He would give her a piece of his mind. Job or no job, this was insulting.

He dialed her number and heard it ring on the other end.

He was walking past the boats when he heard a noise. It was a ringtone and it was coming from one of the boats.

He hung up and realized the ringtone ended as well.

Something wasn’t right.

He dialed the number again.

The ringtone sounded from somewhere close by.

He began moving around the various boats, listening carefully.  The ringtone was coming from a small boat covered with a blue tarp just ahead of him.

He reached it and pulled the  tarp up.

What he saw underneath nearly made him scream.

Hunched over, with her eyes open, was the body of Caroline Dunny. She was staring directly at him.  Her skin was pale and her eyes were vacant. There was a hole in her forehead from which blood trickled down her face.  She was dead.