who was he ?

Chapter 8

Next day all the local newspapers were filled with last night's events highlighting the bravery and hard work of the police men who raided all the illegal places in the town. The local media surrounded the police head quarters waiting for Vance's statement on last night's activities. He had not given his public statement till now and this made the local reporters even more curious.

The townsfolk wanted answers now.

" What did the police find ?"
" What was the reason for yesterday's raid?"
" Is there a threat to the town?"
" Is it regarding the mysterious disappearance of Alice Whittaker?"
" Did the police get any key to Alice's disappearance?"
" Did the kidnappers contact them?"

While these questions were yet to be answered the Whittaker mansion had been eerily silent since the disappearance. This "disappearance" had now been termed as "kidnapping" as it was more than a day and a half since she was last seen.

The police was constantly on guard around the mansion and the clearing had been sealed. No body was allowed there. Thomson had ordered " if anybody is seen going through this area then he or she will be termed as tress-passer and will be charged with the offence of disrupting crime evidence ."

Thomas went to the mansion early in the morning when all the Whittaker's were having there tea.

" Hello, Sir Thomson" Ellie greeted him courteously and ushered him to the living room where James , Peter and Adam were sipping their tea . They all welcomed him and offered him tea to which Thomson unexcitedly refused. James took Thomson to the library and escorted him inside to have privacy while they talk.

" So , Sir Thomson what brings you here this morning . Did you receive any lead regarding Alice?" James asked trying to be as calm and composed as possible; after all it was her grand daughter who was kidnapped.

" No Sir . But I have some serious matters to discuss with you , which I will after you have your breakfast and satisfy your appetite. Meanwhile I would like to know your mansion's layout and I request you to appoint one of the servants to help me around."

" Yes yes sure. Ellie" he stood up and found Ellie in the kitchen " please tell Jake to come and meet me in the living room right now" with this he turned back to Thomson and said " Jake Dantes is one of my oldest and most loyal friend , Sir Thomson. He helped me when most of my friends , who claimed to never part from my side , left me. This is so ironical , isn't it Sir? The one's whom you trust the most will sell you down the river earliest ."

" I do not believe this at all Sir. If this was true then Brady would have left me by now . Moreover , if he wanted to back stab me ; he got more than a thousand opportunities to do that ; but he did not. I believe it is all about trust . If you trust a person you do so whole heartedly and do not question them ever . I think trust is the basis of friendship and if there is no trust there can not ever be friendship , which I suppose is the basis of all relationships. "

" I do not agree with you" James replied annoyingly.

" And what makes you do that Sir" Thomson squinted his eyes in confusion .

" My history" With that James turned towards the window telling that the conversation had ended here .

After a few minutes of waiting Brady and Jake entered simultaneously and they left the library to draw the layout .

The mansion had four floors and it was basically rectangle. It had a large fountain on its entrance and was surrounded by a huge garden on its left side where the ladies planted their flowers . On the right side there was another garden which was used for parties and social gatherings. The back side consisted of two parts horizontally. The first part consisted of a huge swimming pool and swings. It was the ideal place in summers for the children to spend their afternoon. The second part was more interesting . It had a huge tree house which only James could access and near it was an old grave .Beyond the grave there was a small wooden door which was one of the ways through which one could enter the surrounding forests. The epitaph on the tombstone had deteriorated over time and now the words could hardly be read. It was a worn out gravestone.

" Brady bring a huge sheet and pencil. I guess I have some interesting work to do here " Thomson told Brady and rubbed his hands ." and don't forget my gloves.."

" Whose grave is this Jake " Thomson asked Jake curiously who shrugged in reply and swayed his head from left to right . " I do not know . No one knows about this grave but there is a prophecy that says if anyone tries to move this grave or try any mischief with it then the person would be cursed and would die within a month "

" And what makes you think that I would believe these old sayings ?" he asked Jake distracted by his new interest .

" Sir , I do not have any intention to argue with you but I would only precaution you before hand that there are many stories about this tomb which you would always wish you never knew after knowing them . If still you want to know them I would request you to ask Sir James , who I suppose will give you more information on it than me. Now, I suppose I should be moving as I need to water the plants. When you are done you can call me and i will help you with the rest of the mansion."
With this Jake bowed and exited the place muttering some words under his breathe.

Thomson took a soft dry brush from Brady's bag and started cleaning off the flakes and soil which had settled on the tombstone.He rooted out some weeds and started to clean it a little more cautiously.

Then he sat on the grass beside the tombstone and appeared to be lost in a thought. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice Brady standing in front of him holding a paper , pencil , a large mirror and a bulb.

Brady cleared his throat which pulled Thomson out of his trance.

" Oh, Brady you are back. Good you brought all this stuff with you or I would have called it afterwards. " And then he patted Brady.

Then, he took the paper and placed it on the grave. Brady gripped the paper from the top while Thomson started rubbing the pencil sideways over the engravings.

" Elizabeth Smith "