(787)464-2326
The next morning, as Howie worked on trying to figure out what code to crack, Kevin made his way over to the phone company. There in the lobby of the main building he met a man who escorted him down the hall and into a small room. He felt like he was getting ready to be interviewed, that’s how uneasy everyone made him feel as he passed by.
As Kevin sat in the bare room he placed his hand on his chin, trying to figure out exactly what to say to these people. He couldn’t come right out and show a picture of Scott Wilson because technically he was no longer on that case and just for the very same reasons he couldn’t say this was an official FBI matter. If word got back to Rob he was once again pursuing this case, there would be no guarantee he would still have a job by the end of the day. So he made up an excuse for being out of the office, told Rob that he has a doctor’s appointment and off he went.
I wonder if my father ever broke the rules like I am? Kevin found it almost impossible to believe that his dad would ever handle a situation like this as badly as he was. Not that he ever got to work with his father, but Kevin’s dad was a very play by the books type guy. He was no doubt rolling over in his grave by the way his oldest son was acting.
A brief flashback of his father standing over him in the pouring rain telling him he was a loser came to his mind. Why even now was his dad’s opinion of him so important?
“Mr. Randall?” Kevin looked up at the woman, he was so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t even heard the door open. He quickly stood up and extended his hand to her which she accepted and smiled gesturing her hand to the chair as she walked to the other side of the table.
“Sorry about the interrogation room feel of this place, there was flood in the bathroom right above my office so I’m relegated to this place until that mess is cleaned up…so what can I do for you?”
“Yes, I was wondering if you could help me out. I was sent from the main office…”
“Oh, how are Marty and the gang over there?”
“All good, busy as usual.”
She smiled and crossed her legs, “Tell him I said hello.”
“Sure thing…anyway they sent me here on a search for a few employees. Seems like there is a discrepancy in their bank roll accounts and it’s affecting their pay.”
“Why couldn’t that just be resolved over the phone?”
“I have to have them sign something in person. I have to watch…”
“Oh I see…okay let me see this list, maybe I can help.” Kevin pushed the paper over towards the woman who placed her reading glasses on as she read through all of Lisa’s aliases. He hoped more than anything that his hunch was right and that in fact she did work here even if only for a brief period of time.
Just as it seemed like a lost cause, Kevin watched as the woman stopped on a name and handed the list back over to Kevin, “Kathryn Barnes is one of ours but she no longer works here.”
“Oh really? She was a part time worker wasn’t she?”
“Yes, very part time. She would temp here for us.”
“Do you have any idea how to get in touch with her?”
The woman moved to her rolodex and started flipping through the names, “Okay I don’t have her name in here but if you go down to the billing department they would be able to help you. That’s where she worked most of time as a secretary.”
She jotted the name of a man Kevin should speak with on a piece of paper and once again shook his hand, “I hope you find her. She seemed like a nice girl the few times we talked.”
“Thank you for your help.”
As he made his way to the elevators he hoped that his visit wouldn’t spark a call to her good friend Marty, if so he would be busted. So he hoped that dear old Marty was an out of sight out of mind kind of guy.
It took two tries before he found the man he needed to speak with, the head of the billing department a very generic John Smith. “Kathryn was a real nice lady; I always tried my hardest to convince her to come to work for us full time.”
“Do you know why she only worked part time?”
“Not sure, I think she was living off an inheritance at least that’s what her boyfriend always said.”
“Boyfriend?” The word stung Kevin harder then seeing Lisa in the morgue did.
“Yeah Ryan works in repairs, that’s how we found Kathryn. She was quite a find.”
“Does he still work here?”
“Sure does but he has the day off I think.”
“Maybe I should talk to him?”
“No need, I have her address right here.” He said handing Kevin the emergency card Kathryn filled out upon being hired.
Kevin smiled and nodded, “Thanks so much for this, I’m sure she’ll be happy for the correction.”
“Not a problem, I’m glad I could help.”
“Mr. Smith…what is Ryan’s last name?”
John stood for a moment trying to recall and then finally said, “Simmons”
“Thanks.” Kevin walked off to the elevators and quickly rushed out of the building, heading over to his car and calling Howie.
When Howie picked up the phone he sounded like he did when he was a teenager and in the middle of winning a game of chess. He didn’t want to be disturbed.
“Any luck on the code?”
“Nope, nothing as of yet, I mean it could be so many things Kev…endless possibilities. It might be a combination to something or a location. I think it’s a phone number…so I am trying Lisa’s number to see if anything comes up. Maybe it’ll spell out something”
“Good idea…and Howie I want you to run a name through the computer for me.”
“Found another alias?”
“No, but Kathryn used to work here as a temp.”
“So you WERE right. She has a phone company connection.”
“Yes.”
“And who are we running?”
“Her boyfriend.”
Howie paused for a second, knowing that this new information had to be hard on his best friend, “Oh, I’m sorry man.”
“Seems like I picked a real winner.”
“So what’s his name?”
Kevin regrouped his emotions, “Ryan Simmons.”
“Ryan Simmons…got it, okay just give me second.”
“Okay.”
“There are five matches to a Ryan Simmons.”
“Narrow the search by occupation.”
“Okay…got him. You want an address?”
“I want a picture and an address.”
“He took one hell of an ugly driver’s license picture.”
Kevin smiled as he opened his laptop and plugged into his cars electric outlet, “Can you send it to me?”
“Sure.” Within a few minutes Kevin received the information in his inbox and opened it up to look at the man who was courting his girlfriend. He looked much older than Kevin, almost pushing forty and missing two of his front teeth.
“Wow is it wrong of me to be jealous of this guy?”
“No, its natural…again I’m sorry. What’s your plan?”
“I’m going to go to his house and then I’m going to wait for him. Hopefully he’ll have some answers for me”
“Kev…be careful.”
“Always D…and Howie, maybe you should try playing around with this number…” Kevin paused, closing his eyes recalling the number that came from Jack Roberts’s house to his cell every time. “(787)464-2326…that’s the upstairs number at Jack Roberts house.”
“Okay I’ll start working on that one right away.”
“Thanks and let me know if anything turns up okay?”
“Sure thing and again be careful Kevin.”
“I will Howie.”
After getting off the phone he looked at the address on Ryan’s driver’s license and made his way over to the house, trying to concoct a believable story along the way. By the time he rang the doorbell, he had one all planned. He felt his heartbeat quicken though as the screen door opened and the man who Lisa had dated as Kathryn came into full view.
“Yeah?” He said not in the best of moods.
“Excuse me are you Ryan?”
“Who wants to know?”
“My Name is Kevin Barnes, I’m Kathryn’s brother.”
“What the hell? She never told me she had two brothers.” Kevin tried not to act surprised.
“She’s kind of a secretive my sister.”
“Yeah no kidding, well she’s not here.”
“I know, I’m kind of worried about her, she hasn’t called me in a few days. Do you have any idea where she would be?”
Ryan finally opened his door and allowed Kevin to walk inside, now standing in the house of the person who very possibly might have killed his girlfriend. He was still in his pajama bottoms wearing an old and badly stained rob. His house smelled like cigarette smoke.
“Kat disappears from time to time. She’ll tell me she is off to some exotic place and then I won’t here from her for a few days.” Kevin smiled, hoping that the guy at the phone company was right.
“Yeah she enjoys living off of dad’s money.” When Ryan laughed Kevin felt a little relief.
“Yeah you got that right.”
“Ryan this may seem like an odd question, but did she ask you to do anything odd before she disappeared this time around?”
“Odd? How so?” He asked going into his fridge and taking out a beer. Beer for breakfast, interesting guy.
“Like did she ask you to hook up a phone line to someone’s house?” Ryan glared over at Kevin and for a second, the detective felt the need to start reaching for his gun, but he quickly stopped when Ryan’s face went slack again.
“Your sister is quite something else. Always willing to help out people.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She asked me if I’d do a favor for her off the books, help her add a phone line to this poor jerk’s house. Told me if I did she’d bring me to Aruba with her.”
“So you helped out Jack Roberts then?”
“How the hell did you know his name?”
Kevin nodded, “He’s an old friend of the family. That was nice of you.” Kevin said but was thinking, ‘too bad you could go to jail for a very very long time for aiding and abetting a criminal.’
“So since you mentioned my brother I am assuming you’ve met him?”
“Lou? Yeah actually he came with us that day to hook everything up.”
“He did? And was Jack home at the time?”
“No, he let us in, said that Jack gave him the key. You guys all look nothing alike.”
“Yup that’s what everyone says. When was the last time you saw Lou?”
“Probably that day.”
“If you see my brother again tell him Kevin says hi. I’m sure he’d be happy to hear that. I have a feeling you might be seeing him soon.”
“Yeah sure thing man and when you find Kat, tell her I want my trip to Aruba.”
“I will.” Kevin smiled and shook this man’s hand. He couldn’t be mad at him. He actually felt sorry for the guy, not knowing that while he had plans to go to Aruba, his girlfriend was lying dead in a federal morgue.
Life was not fair. As he walked back to his car and made the drive back to the office, Kevin hoped that when Scott went back to visit Ryan, he wouldn’t kill him. He figured out that since this was a game and Scott seemed to be living for the adventure that this puzzle was bringing him it seemed only natural that he would try to get in touch with Ryan to see if Kevin had made the connection. If Kevin had a billion dollars to his name he would have bet it all on the fact that Lou was Scott Wilson.
As he rushed in the door to get to Howie he was intercepted by Rob, “Hey Kevin…how are you feeling?”
“Much better, thanks.”
“How did the appointment go?”
“Everything is all good.”
“That’s good, and how’s the case coming?”
“Good.” Kevin was getting annoyed, as he kept walking towards his office and Rob kept following him.
“Is there something else Rob?”
“You smell like smoke.”
“Yeah? Sorry if that bothers you.”
“Kevin did you really have a doctor’s appointment?” He asked as Kevin opened the door to his office and stepped inside.
“Last time I checked Rob, I was allowed personal time for anything I wanted.”
“That’s fair.”
For some reason the questioning made Kevin mad, “Why did you tell my mother about the case?”
“Pardon?”
“You told her you took me off of a case, why would you do that?”
“She called me worried Kevin; you need to have better communication with your mother.”
“You know that’s not your call to make Rob!”
“Why is it whenever we are in a room together we are always fighting these days Kev?”
“Because you took me off a case that you know damn well I should be in charge of for a reason that doesn’t much seem fair to me.”
“Kevin you weren’t following rules.”
“That’s not why you did it. You said you were worried about me. That’s a wrong reason to take someone off of a case.”
“Not that you are listening to me anyway.”
“What?”
“Oh come on Kevin…I know you and I know you have been working on this case even when you weren’t supposed to. Why did you go down to the morgue?”
Kevin feeling trapped looked down at his feet, “Rob…get me back on this case.”
“Did you find anything out?”
“I found her boyfriend.”
“Her boyfriend?”
“Yes he works for the phone company; he also said he is the one that installed the other line in Jack Robert’s house.”
“And you went to see this guy?” Kevin nodded, seeing his career flash before his eyes.
“Alone?”
“Yes…I said I was her brother. He has no idea I was working for the FBI.”
“Tyler did a thorough search of the Halifax girl and we couldn’t find any information at all, no family, friends, let alone boyfriends…care to tell me how you managed to find that stuff?”
“I…” Before he could finish, Howie came rushing into Kevin’s office. He looked anything but calm.
“What’s the matter?” Kevin asked as he and Rob both looked towards the door. There was a slight hesitation on Howie’s part but knowing how suddenly dire the situation was he didn’t care if what he was about to say got Kevin into trouble.
“I cracked the code and we need a team pronto!”
“You did? What is it?” Howie took a deep breath and handed the paper over to Kevin knowing his friend was not going to take the news of his finding well.
“Oh God…NO!!” Kevin said dropping the paper on the floor and running out of the room.
Were you able to crack the code? If not i'll be back on Wednesday to let you know what it said lol i'm SO mean aren't I?
