👉Read Chapter 5👈
Now, Chapter 6
Carla arrived at the Indian restaurant named Vikram's. It was a little after eight in the morning and when she entered the establishment, her nose twitched. It had a peppery earthy smell, much like curry but it was mixed with subtle sweetness and spice. Many of the walls were covered in glass, making it feel much larger than it was and at this time of the morning its emptiness made it seem hollow. The tables were meagerly set and devoid of people, except for one in the middle of the room.
He was sitting at a table, sipping some tea and looking at papers in front of him. Assuming it was her contact or that he would know where her contact was Carla walked over to him.
The cup walked stopped halfway to his lips the minute he saw her approach. He placed it back on its saucer and gave her a slight nod, inviting her to take a seat.
"Mr. Roy," she asked as she accepted his invitation.
"May I offer you some tea, Agent Genny?"
Normally she would decline but this time, she decided to indulge. "I'll have what you're having."
"Creamy turmeric tea," he stated simply. "Spicy, sweet, delicious and good for the body, the blood."
He called for one of the servers, quickly rattling something in what she presumed was Hindi.
Carla took out her notepad and clicked her pen. "I believe you have some information regarding the disappearance of Cass Baxter from the Port of Miami approximately two to three years ago. Is that accurate?"
As she was about to grab her pen, her tea arrived. This was what she smelled when she walked in and up close, it was even more inviting. She took a sip and let her tongue get used to creamy, spicy sweet mixture.
"Not bad," she commented before taking another sip.
Dev smiled as he encased his tea cup with both hands looking at it and nodding. "You know, Agent Genny, life is funny. That day was like any other for me, unfortunately. It wasn't unusual for me to be a little lax in my duties or in any other part of my life. I never thought it was much of a big deal."
Carla knitted her brows, "Please explain."
He lifted a hand and waved it at the walls. "You see all of this, Agent Genny? This belonged to my parents. They worked to build this business for me and my siblings. Took a lot of years and sacrifices and despite the comfort it provided me, I resented it. It was so...traditional. So Indian. I was born at a hospital not too far from here to be precise. I always thought I was more modern and better than my parents because I knew more. I rebelled in many ways, even more severely than my brothers. They eventually came around and I wasn't about to give my parents the satisfaction of proving me wrong. I went to a good school. Got good grades and then I just let it all go. I turned my back on this place. Got into the more hedonistic nooks of life, which included alcohol."
"Are you saying you were inebriated that day?" Carla asked bluntly.
"I was a drunk. I can count the times when I actually showed up to that place sober but I was a lucid drunk who lived on breath mints and gums. That day was no different. There was this truck that came up. A man got out of it and offered me some money if I let him in quietly. No papers, no trail. He said he was with some TV show that wanted to catch a woman's husband cheating with some girl live. He told me he had a camera crew waiting. When I saw a woman on the passenger side just staring ahead, I thought it was legit.
Carla wrote furiously. "Can you describe this man a bit more?"
"The guy was Latin with an accent that was pretty heavy. There was another guy that came from the back with some wires. He looked white though. Both of them were average height, dark hair. The latin guy had much darker hair. Both clean shaven, really, regular-looking. You'd pass them on the street without a blink. The woman? I didn't get a good look but she was older but not drawn down. She looked rich."
"What do you mean, 'looked rich,' Mr. Roy?"
"Like she was above it all, you know. Too busy kissing the clouds, I call it." Carla nodded as she took notes. "So I thought this was some rich old guy that was going to be taken to the cleaners by her..."
"So you let this van in without proper papers? Do you remember anything distinctive about the vehicle. License plate, scratches, emblems."
"It was a plain white van. Nothing distinctive, no logos or anything. I didn't even see a license plate in the back, really. There was writing on the place where the plate was but it looked indented. I thought was strange at first but I guess that if you wanted to catch some guy in the act, you wouldn't advertise it, you know. The indentation ended in 'KR.'"
"So, a woman trying to catch her husband cheating with a television crew. Salacious? Sure. But what made you think that this van had anything to do with the disappearance?"
"I was patrolling when I heard a loud slosh. Like something heavy hit the water. I thought it was the wake of the ship but when I looked around, I saw the van shut the back door immediately. I heard one of the guys yell in Spanish, 'we got him' and got in. As they drove off, they hit another car pretty hard and just kept going."
Carla looked up suddenly. "Do you have any paperwork from that vehicle? Name of the owner? Make of the car? Anything?"
"It's probably in the office files. I think they had to keep them for a certain number of years. Plus, I heard the owner was mad and tried to sue."
Carla took notes while Dev looked on.
When she was done, she looked at him.
"Is that all you can remember from that day, Mr. Roy?"
Dev nodded.
Carla closed her notebook and sat back, looking at him. He looked like he was in his early forties. His was thin and sinewy. "I have to ask, Mr. Roy, you've had this information all this time. Why now? Why didn't you say anything back then?"
"About a year and a half ago, I nearly died. The booze was rotting me from the inside out. That bender I went on after I finally got fired was the straw." Dev stopped, pulled his chair back slightly and lifted up his shirt slightly. Carla could see the top of a plastic container next to his skin. His eyes were cast down on the table when he spoke softly. "The doctors tell me my insides were blocked and knotted. They gave me this bag. Some say it's forever, others aren't sure. Either way, it's my reality now." He lowered his shirt and continued. This time he looked straight at her. "That forced me to clean up, join AA. One of the steps is making amends. I did that with a lot of people, my family, friends. Dealing with this, now's the time. I read the papers about the guy disappearing and saw that other woman crying her eyes out. It took me a while to put it together but I started thinking maybe that lady in the truck did something else to the guy. Maybe she offed him and I let her and her people in to do it. If this guy is dead, and I had a hand in that...I just want my conscience clean."
"Would you be willing to give an official statement of what we just spoke about?"
For a moment he was quiet and then nodded. "Yes. I'll do this officially."
"Mr. Roy, you know that if this goes to trial, your alcohol abuse is going to come up. I've seen this before and I know it can mess people up, especially those who have worked to get their life back. They can have relapses...it's a mess."
Dev smiled cryptically. "One way or another, Agent Genny, we get what we deserve." He patted the side of his shirt that he lifted. "I'm paying for my sins. They can put me through whatever hell they want. I guarantee, it's not worse than being told that I may have to shit in a bag for the rest of my life."
"Understood, Mr. Roy. We will be in touch. Thanks for your time and the delicious tea."
Carla finished her notes and got up. She shook his hand and left the restaurant feeling more hopeful about finding Cass than she had in the more than two years the case had been going cold. Carla's first thought was to tell Grayson but she wanted to have more.
The last thing he needed was shallow hope, especially now that Virgilia was back and working on a new chapter in her life with Kyle and Mama Avery's. She had to be sure.
* * *
There she was, he thought. Finally, she was alone. This was his sign. He knew that if he waited long enough, it would happen. It was meant to be. Now. He made a u turn and quickly planned his move.
Carla sat in her car and began looking at her notes again, trying to put the pieces together. This mystery woman, the damaged car, the partial plate that was like an indentation...it was more than they had from the initial scene. She put on her seat belt and was about to put the keys in the ignition when a sudden force pushed her forward. Her head hit the top of the steering wheel hard. Carla moaned as she lifted her head slightly trying to get up and see what happened. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow block the sunlight.
Turning her head, she squinted at it but was not fast enough to dodge the fist that collided with her jaw.
Carla's head slumped on the steering wheel unconscious.
Zach looked around and saw a couple of people looking suspiciously.
"Oh my god," he cried. "Honey, are you alright?"
He checked her neck for a pulse, looking around to make sure they were looking. Someone yelled that they were going to call the paramedics. That was the last thing he wanted.
"No," he yelled. He opened the driver side door and unclipped her seat belt. "I can drive her to the hospital faster." Zach leaned in and gathered her limp body to him, inhaling her scent deeply. She was his now and he was excited.
"Hey," one of the witnesses yelled as he approached. "Man, you can't take her. She could have some neck injury that could get worse. My mom's a nurse and I've seen a lot go wrong---."
"Back off," Zach snapped. The man jumped back, his eyes wide. "She's mine and I will take care of her."
The man stepped back slowly, as he held his hands up as a weak barrier.
Zach looked at Carla, making a low shushing sound as he walked back to his car. "I'll take care of you, darling. I'll never let you go again. I swear."
He loaded her in his car's passenger side gently leaning her head against the car door and securing her belt. He quickly got in and reversed, paying no attention to oncoming traffic in either direction, excited about having his love so close to him.
Cars stopped abruptly and honked angrily with drivers fisting the air and yelling obscenities.
He didn't care.
He looked at Carla's unconscious body and smiled.
Just when he thought his day couldn't have gotten better.
