User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki Chapter 8

Alexa was laid down on her sofa, relaxing from the stresses of the day that she had just had. Jamahl and Timothy had arrested Teddy, and she had been forced to point out that he couldn’t be responsible for the boy who died dying before they would let him go. She had considered asking him around here, but they hadn’t formalised their relationship yet, and she was certain that asking him to hers would seem too forward.

She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what Orion would think of Teddy. She wasn’t sure if he would like him. She was confident that he would want what was best for her. Would he think that Teddy was the best that she could do, or would he be jealous of him? She wasn’t sure how Orion felt for her, and if he did like her then it was his fault for not saying sooner. Teddy was a nice guy. She liked him.

He wasn’t as ruggedly handsome as some of the guys that she had known in high school, but he was cute. The way that he frowned as he pushed his glasses back up his face, or the way that he ruffled his hair when he laughed. He was funny, too, but in a nerdy way. She liked that about him. She got some of his jokes, but all the sciency ones went over her head. He told her that they were funny, though.

It was as she was thinking of Teddy and Orion that she heard a knock on the door. It was late, so she wasn’t sure who would be wanting to talk to her. She hoped that it wasn’t Jamahl here to shout at her about letting Teddy go. It wasn’t. When she opened the door she was surprised to see her aunt Laura, dressed in a black dress and crying.

“ Can I- Can I come in, darling?”

She moved out of the way and gestured that she was welcome inside her home whenever she wanted. Alexa’s flat was no penthouse, but it wasn’t cramped either. It had been a birthday present from Banfa- That was something else she liked about Teddy. He had been there for her when she was crying and had probably looked ugly. Orion had been too busy asking questions to comfort her.

“I’m only asking because you want to know.”

That was what he had said. He had been so insensitive to her needing time to mourn. Banfa had basically raised her when she needed him. She couldn’t remember much about her childhood, but she remembered the loving look that Banfa had given her when she was named to the force.

“Where have you been, Auntie?”

“I- I just- I just got back from visiting him, Alexa darling.”

She was confused. Who had she been visiting?

“Visiting who, Auntie?”

Laura sniffed, and tried to compose herself.

“Banfa, He deserves more than a hole in the ground.”

Auntie Laura knew Banfa? She hadn’t known that. Why had she only gone now, though, and not at the service that had been held in his honour by the police? Had she decided that she wanted to mourn him privately.

“I don’t know what Banfa told you about me, Alexa, but- but just before I left me and Banfa dated. He was in love with me and I ran. I loved him too, I think, but I was too young- too young to realise that.”

She was taken aback. She hadn’t known that her aunt and Banfa were so close.

“That isn’t the whole truth, Alexa. Before Banfa- I dated someone else.”

That didn’t susprise her. Her Aunt Laura had always had a different man on her arm whenever the two had met each other. She never married any of them. Some she hadn’t even called her boyfriends. They had just been friends, or so she had been told.

“I wanted to tell you before somebody else found out. I am worried they will think that I did it, but I didn’t.I would never hurt him. It’s the truth.”

Alexa gulped. She had to ask the next question, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

“Auntie, who did you date?”

Laura sniffed again.

“Drakan.”

-

It was dark, and Hoagy was worried that he had, somehow, managed to lose Dan. He had been following him through the trees for an hour now, and all he could see of his prey was a light that he was carrying. He was a decent distance in front of Hoagy, but he didn’t want to risk getting too close and alerting Dan to his presence. Who knew what Task’s older brother was capable of.

The woods were wet from when it had rained earlier that night. Hoagy was wet from when it had rained, too. Dan had brought an umbrella, so he was dry. He had clearly planned on making this nighttime journey in advance. Hoagy thought that it was mighty suspicious. He had heard Dan on the phone earlier that day, and had decided to tail him.

Suddenly he reached the edge of the treeline, and he had to jump behind a tree. Dan turned then, and held the lamp up, as if he had heard something. He was clearly satisfied that nobody was following him, as he lowered it and carried on moving.

Hoagy barely recognised the place that Dan was visiting. It was the Fugi shack, where all the cool kids from the older years met up to smoke and fuck. Of course, Dan had been part of the popular crowd when he was at High School. He would have come here with his friends to do all those things. All the things cool people do. When Dan started talking, Hoagy could just about overhear him.

“Did you bring the goods.”

Hoagy couldn’t quite make out who he was talking to. They were clearly standing behind the house. He could just about make out Dan.

“My boss won’t be happy, Dan. I only just got this promotion. I don’t want it being spoiled now. I thought we had stopped all this shit back in senior year.”

Dan laughed.

“And what, Timothy? You going to arrest me for it? You wouldn’t want any of the things that I know about you to come out now, would you? Good boy. Keep doing what I say and they will remain in the shadows. We were friends in High School. Surely we can keep it that way now?”

“I will have no part in the actions you are doing, but I will make sure that I keep Jamahl and Max off your back. If they find out that you have been back two weeks longer than you said you have…”

Then there was another voice.

“Why would they find out? We have been careful. Moe told me that your police buddies have nothing on Dan, and that they aren’t even investigating him.”

Hoagy didn’t recognise that voice.

“And you better keep it that way, Timothy. I don’t want any snoopy police on my doorstep, unless it’s a young stripper playing the police role, got it? Good. That is enough for tonight. You wanna come to my place and watch a home movie, Jorn? I got quite a good one about a jock and a popular girl.”

“You know it. We can drive back, though. I’m not walking through those woods for an hour.”

Then there was a short delay and the revving of engines. Dan and his two companions drove off into the night, and Hoagy was left alone, wondering why Dan had managed to snare a police officer.

-

Carson had also managed to find himself hiding, although in his case he was cowering behind a dumpster. Duke was stood down an alleyway, and had been for an hour now. He was with Jag, the jock from school that had hooked up with Kylie. The two had been stood mumbling and smoking the occassional cigarette. He was starting to suspect that tailing Duke had been a waste of time.

Duke had been let out of the police station approximately three hours ago. He had spent an hour back home, before sneaking out through his window and over to Jag’s house. The two of them had then left, and, after an hour of aimless walking, had come here. They had been here ever since, and neither one of them had left.

Then there was the sound of a metal door opening, and the brief sound of german dubstep, like the kind that you get in some nightclubs. Not that Carson had ever been inside one. He just knew the kind of music they played from the time that he spent on the internet. A new figure had entered the alleyway, one that Carson didn’t recognise. This wasn’t a boy from their school. It was a man in his mid-twenties, with messy black hair and a wirey frame.

“Why did you call me here, Dragon? It has been a stressful week. Can’t you just leave me alone for a couple of days?”

The new man shook his head to Duke’s request.

“The boss is dead, boy. His boss has named me the new boss, and has told me to tell you that you and all your suppliers are out of a job. This school scheme has caused enough publicity. We are giving up on it.”

That caused a curse to come from Jag, and a shocked look from Duke.

“Professor Raatz is- The operation- He wouldn’t want it to finish. He would want it to carry on.”

“What he wants doesn’t matter. Your operation has fucked up. It is over. You are done and can defend yourself from the police and whoever my boss sends after you.”

Dragon left first, and then Duke and Jag, with Jag still cursing under his breath. Carson stayed behind for a few minutes thinking. Professor Lee was innocent. Professor Raatz had been responsible, and he was dead. Task’s murderer had been killed. He didn’t know whether to feel happy or angry.

He felt nothing.

-

Shop stood at the window looking at the taxi that was carrying Dion away from his large home. Jose would do it usually, but he still hadn’t turned up. He was starting to really worry, although he had been hiding it for Dion. He put his fingers up against the cold glass as the car left his sight. He wanted nothing more than to be in the back of it with her. He was stuck here, though. He was waiting on an investor and-

He collapsed.

-

Tim was sat at his desk, his computer in front of him, the screen bright and bathing his face in light. It caused a glare to come out of his glasses. He closed the email that he had just received, a smile on his face. It was good news. A new story would be coming his way soon, an exclusive. He had also been told that Matthew was expecting an announcement on Kung’s future soon enough. Max would be forced to release him.

“Hey. Tim. Could I ask you a favour?”

Trent was stood in his doorway. The boy had been quieter recently. Ever since the incident at the Town Hall he had been more reserved. Tim wasn’t complaining. He had gotten used to the place being quiet for the last few years. Trent constantly badgering him about potential stories had been getting to be a bit tedious.

“Sure. Come on in, Trent.”

The boy came in, but didn’t take a seat. Instead he stood just inside the room, not even closing the door behind him.

“See, the thing is. I have had a thing come up, and I was wondering if I could take the week off. I promise that I would be back in next Wednesday.”

That caught Tim. The boy was never absent. He had been promptly in for work every day that he had been here. What sort of thing could cause for him to want the week off? A couple of days, sure, but a week? On the other hand, he liked the quietness of an empty office, and he wouldn’t be against getting a week to work on a couple of stories.

“Sure, Trent. Provided that you can promise me that you will be back when you say. I couldn’t do without you.”

Trent smiled at that.

“I promise, sir. The thing that has been troubling me shouldn’t take me too long to resolve. I might even be back earlier than I said.”

-

“Hey, Hoagy!”

Hoagy was walking up to school when he heard the voice behind him. When he turned, he saw Dan running towards him. Dan was smiling, although it looked fake. Hoagy wondered why he was up and about so early in the morning. Task had told him once that his older brother never woke up before noon if he could get away with it.

Now that he had turned he had to stop and wait to hear whatever Dan had to say even though there was nothing that he would rather do. He had been thinking about the meeting Dan had last night ever since he had seen it happening.Why would Dan be blackmailing a cop? Was he trying to cover something up? Why would he have lied about when he arrived back in town? There was so much about Dan that didn’t add up.

“Hey, Dan.”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You looked really shaken up at the funeral. I know you and Task were close-”

“I’m fine, Dan. It isn’t your job to keep tabs on me.”

Dan did something that surprised him then. He hugged him, giving him a tight squeeze.

“And you don’t have to keep tabs on me. Don’t ever follow me again. Got it?”

That was said in a whisper so nobody would overhear it, but those words sent Hoagy into a pale shade. Dan pulled away then.

“You don’t look so well, dude. Are you sure you should be going to school today?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then have a good day. And remember what I said. It is important that you remember.”

-

The restaurant that he had brought the two of them to was nice and swanky. It was a posh place, with dim, purple lighting and thick purple tablecloths. Some of the other diners were here in suits, but Teddy was wearing a navy blue t-shirt and a black, unzipped hoodie. She was wearing a little black dress that her Aunt Laura had leant her for the occassion. She didn’t have many clothes for these kind of things, but her aunt had loads of them.

“We will take an order of scallops, spring rolls and a garlic naan bread to start, thanks. What would you like to drink, Alexa?”

She looked up and saw that Teddy was ordering for the two of them.

“Oh- I’ll just have a diet soda, thanks.”

“And another for me, thanks, sir.”

The waiter nodded to them and walked away. He was a tall man, with a thin but slightly twirled moustache. He had a thin face, with a pointed nose and was bald on top of his head, with a line of dark grey hair around the sides of his head.

“I hope I ordered right. You said the other day that you like scallops, and I am partial to spring rolls. They are part of my culture, after all.”

She smiled at that. He was cute. She was happy with what he had asked for. She was a sucker for scallops. She didn’t have them very often. They were too expensive for her budget.

“Was your day?”

Teddy shook his head slightly.

“I had Class 7B twice today. They are only thirteen, and there’s only twenty of them, but I swear, they could all be the antichrist. None of them remotely care about learning Pythagoras. It is not fun teaching when they are in moods like that. How was your day?”

“Same as before. Max is trying to avoid putting me on any strenuous cases. I think he is worried about how I am reacting to- You know. Orion says that he is just being nice. I dunno. I would quite like to be able to get into a case and take my mind off recent events.”

“There can’t be too many meaty cases that aren’t involved in all the crazy things currently going down. You mentioned Orion. When am I going to finally get to meet the legendary Orion?”

That confused her. Had Teddy really never met Orion.

“You met him the other day, remember. He was at the station when you came to pick me up for our first date. Did he not say hi to you? That was quite rude of him. I apologise to you on his behalf.”

Teddy waved that away.

“”I can understand him being frosty. He was probably upset that I was stealing you away for the night. I would be if someone told me that they were going to make it so that I couldn’t talk to you for a whole evening.”

He reached out for her hand then, and she blushed as she accepted it. He squeezed it over the table. She was starting to feel the romance, and then it was interrupted.

“Your name is Teddy Lee?”

She looked up. Someone was stood by the table. He was wearing a trenchcoat and dark sunglasses. Was this guy some stalker? Who was he? Why was he approaching Teddy like this? Could it be a joke being pulled by one of his students?

“That is me. Who are you?”

“A friend. A protector. I will come to you again. Be safe until then. They are watching. They are always watching.”

-

“I just don’t understand why I have to be here, Matthew. I told you that I didn’t do it. I agreed to let you represent me because I thought that you would be able to help me avoid ending up in here, not so that I could spend a week behind bars.”

Kung was sat in the interrogation room, with Matthew sat opposite him. Matthew had brought some clean clothes from Kung’s place with him, so Kung had been able to change into clean clothes for the first time this week.

“Listen, I want to prove that you have nothing to hide, and that you are willing to work with the police. We both know that you are innocent. Let them investigate you and soon they will have no reason to suspect you either.”

Kung frowned and tapped his shoes on the hard concrete floor.

“It just seems like that could be achieved without me being in here. I want to know why you are so confident that this is the best choice.”

Matthew sighed and steepled his fingers in front of his face.

“As I said, we need to show that you are compliant-”

“You aren’t answering my question, Matthew.”

“Listen, Kung. We both know you didn’t do it. Max disagrees with us. He is a dangerous man, and we need to prove that you didn’t kill Drakan. The best way we can do that is by building trust between you and the police. Max may not be convinced, but the others can be. We can do that by you staying here.”

Kung sighed. There was an exasperated look on his face.

“I had one last question. Why are you so sure that I didn’t kill Drakan? The police suspect me for a reason, right? They say I did it to avenge Brandon. That is the motive they have given me. Why don’t you believe that?”

Matthew paused.

“Look, Kung. In my job you get to be quite a good judge of character. I don’t think you are a murderer. I can tell that just from talking to you, but there is more. I know you can’t have killed Drakan- Because I know who really did it.”

-

Jude was sat at his desk, typing out a manuscript. He was a bit of a part-time novelist when he wasn’t protecting members of his flock. He was almost finished with this one. He used a typewriter, naturally. He had never been able to get his head around computers, although he did own one, so that he could e-mail members of his community and some of his other associates.

His eyes kept turning to the book that the dead police officer had given him. He was worried about it. Had Banfa been killed because he had seen it? Was he next on the hitlist for whoever this person was? Banfa had been a fit and trained police officer. He was just an old priest. There was no way that he could withstand anybody that had been able to kill Banfa.

The doorbell rung then, and then quickly a second time. Whoever was at the door was clearly impatient to get inside. He finished his sentence before getting up and shuffling over to the door. When he opened it he found an unfamiliar face stood outside.

“Hello, sir. My name is Officer Jamahl Grimes. I was the partner of Officer Banfa Munk. He told me that he gave you an important piece of evidence in the Drakan murder case. I would like to see it.”

Jude hadn’t known that Banfa had told anybody else that he had the book, but he could hardly turn away an officer of the law. He, therefore, let the man in and directed him to the desk where the book was located.

“This is curious. You were one of the people to visit Drakan? Who are the others? Eyes Theyall? Starla Icks?”

“You are familiar with these people, officer? I hadn’t heard the names-”

Jamahl grunted that he was.

“These are people that could be connected back to one of the most dangerous men in the town. If they were visiting Drakan then we have to know why. I doubt it was just a simple social call. Who is this name?”

Jamahl pointed to a name that Drakan had scrawled in twice in the entire book. Jude had spent a long time trying to work out what it said. It wasn’t very clear.

“I wasn’t sure, officer. I think, and I stress that I am not sure, that it says Dan Master.”

“The brother of the boy that found him? That is strange. Thank you for your help, sir. I will leave the book in your care. Find whoever it is that Drakan felt the need to scribble out. I will come back in a few days to check on your progress.”

-

“You saw him meet up with a police officer? What did they talk about?”

Carson and Hoagy were crouched behind some bushes across the street from the hotel that Dan Master was staying in. This was the second night of them trailing him to see what he was up to, and now they were worried that he may have been involved in the killing of Professor Raatz, who had been found dead that afternoon.

“Not much. I don’t know. They were friends from High School, I think. The officer said that he didn’t want to be involved in whatever Dan is up to, but Dan and the other guy… John? Jorn? Something like that. They threatened him. Told him to keep the police away from investigating Dan.”

“You think that he was trying to cover up killing Professor Raatz?”

“I think that is a possibility. Dan would certainly have the motive if Raatz was the person that supplied the drugs to Task. If he even cared about Task in the first place, that is.”

Hoagy had been starting to suspect that maybe Dan hadn’t cared what happened in the life of his younger brother. If he did then why didn’t he come see Task sooner after what happened? Why wasn’t he on the Master doorstep the morning after Task found a body hanging from a tree? He didn’t care.

“There he is!”

Carson pointed across the street and, sure enough, there was Dan, getting out of a black cab, an older woman on his arm. She was attractive enough, and wore a red dress, that was slit to just above the knee. She was in her late thirties, Hoagy estimated, but hadn’t lost her figure. The two of them shared a long kiss, before Dan invited her inside.

Hoagy frowned.

“We need to know who that was.”

Carson turned to him, a look of shock on his face.

“I already know. That is my cousin Laura.”

-

A fire crackles away in a fireplace. A gloved hand appears, holding a book. The gilt writing on the front labels it as being Drakan’s Guest Book. The gloved hands flick through some of the pages, and then they nonchalantly toss it on the fire, and the book slowly burns, the paper setting alight with ease.

Darkness.