Behind The Pseudonyms

7: The Evidence

Brent closes his eyes and rests his head at the back of the swivel chair as he thinks of his girlfriend. The woman he's falling inlove with had an intriguing series of police investigations in the past. What other tales would he believe from Nikola who used pseudonyms to erase the footprints of crime behind her?

My parents died in an accident. They were burned to death in their own house and she was the prime suspect. Freddie Wan, a rich Malaysian entrepreneur wasn't even her real father but her mother's second husband. She was released because a schoolmate testified that they were together during the incident.

Diego was a customer at the club which my father owned. Mr. Wan never owned a club. He worked as a petroleum engineer before becoming an entrepreneur with oil-equipment fabricator shortly after marrying Nikola's mother.

Why would she choose to elope with Diego when she had all the money from Mr. & Mrs. Wan after their deaths? Why would she allow herself be thrown into prostitution? Even his real father was rich. Larry Clayton ran the largest independent steel tube manufacturer in New York until he died of heart attack when Nikola was 14. The inheritance she gets from her parents could make her live a life without worrying about money.

Brent creases his forehead. This is giving him a headache. He opens his eyes to review the CCTV footage from his computer.

Nikola was leaving The Rooftop, the victim was following her while calling her name. She pushed him away when he got close. She walked to the car park, he's still following and that's it. No more footage. The man died but no footage at the car park alley? Why did Lara forget to include it?

On the other roll, Nikola was seen stepping out from the car of the victim at McArthur Park. The car did not speed away once she's out. It was just there as she ran to Mid-Wilshire apartment. After a few minutes, she was seen hailing a taxi with a duffel bag. In half an hour, a beggar approached the victim's car. The window was rolled down halfway. The man looked like sleeping on the seat so the beggar tapped his shoulder to ask for coins. It shocked him when his head fell and hit the steering wheel. The car honked. The side of his neck was oozing with blood. The honking called the attention of a traffic officer.

Perhaps Simon can give some light from these footage. He might have the missing parts. He starts to clean his desk when his phone rings. It's Simon.

"Why didn't you call me back? I was about to go to your place!" Brent blurted out.

"It was a long story last night. I got excited with Lara. But I have a tape recorder taken from the Cargill's house. It was found by the new owner under one of the cabinets in the house when they removed some furniture. The realtor gave it to me. Meet me at Paseo Chapin. I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Man, it's almost lunch!" Brent chuckles.

"Well, we can have brunch. Got busy on decoding the voice file from the recorder, kinda muffled. There's another person in the room aside from the couple. What's more, I got Nikola's number from her realtor. She'll be signing documents today to get her money from the purchased house. I already asked her if she knew this recorder."

"And...?" Brent doesn't know how to feel about Nikola's lying stints. He loves her but he cannot put up with so many lies unless he already had forgiven her? Foolish heart!

"Well, she said it's John's fetish to record their sexual encounters then replayed it before they sleep together. She forgot all about it. I heard their voices, kinky. Perhaps, the old man forgot to turn it off, there was a long silence til I heard another voice coming into the room. Haven't finished listening but am now transferring the file to your inbox from my laptop then I'll bring the recorder so you can have it as evidence. I already invited Nikola to join us. Should I call Lara  too? I haven't told her anything yet."