Duskwood: And Beyond

33. New Information III

JAKE

I watched as Anabelle drove away from our house. I was not allowed to hack unsupervised. It was the most important article of my agreement. But I couldn't help the urge to get my old computer back.

Back in the day, when I was running, I hid one of my laptops in the basement. I didn't inform anyone about that and to my luck, Oryn never discovered it when I was gone. I made sure Anabelle was not returning for some last-minute emergency. Then, I went down to the basement and grabbed my computer. While this computer did not have all of my tools, it was equipped to help my needs. But the best part about this computer was that the FBI had no idea it existed. It was never on their radar and they never traced it back to me.

I took a deep breath and turned it on. Nymos welcomed me and all of a sudden, all of the cameras around the house (including the ones in Oryn's former house) were in my view. Back in the day, I used this computer to track Oryn and Anabelle. I wanted to keep that separate so that my pursuers wouldn't link me to them.

When I returned, I decided not to activate this computer but now someone was breaking into our house and sending flowers to my girlfriend. I wanted to make sure I was aware of our surroundings. I quickly linked the computer to my phone. This was a huge risk but I made sure it was unnoticeable to anyone checking my phone activity.

Now there were only two things left to do, hack into Oryn's new phone and hack into Ashton's equipment. The first one was simple and it took me a couple of minutes since I already installed all the necessary things beforehand. The second was not only hard but also dangerous.

I contemplated before deciding to not go through with it just yet.

I grabbed my keys, lock the door, and went to work. On my way, I stopped at the Rainbow Cafe and picked up some coffee for Alan and me. I noticed Mrs. Sully watching me intently. I gave her a nod before exiting the Cafe.

I arrived at my office and decided to start working on Richy first. I had been searching Richy for a while and there was nothing. It was like he evaporated. I was getting frustrated and desperate. Maybe he really did die. They found no trace of him in the fire, but there was no trace of him anywhere else either. I grabbed my ball - Caden gifted me a little ball to help me relax - and started throwing it to the wall. This was part of my daily routine now, whenever I was frustrated I threw the ball to the wall and caught it again. My office was in the basement, there was no one else except for the evidence lockers so I didn't bother anyone.

The evidence lockers...

I must have been missing something. I decided to go over everything once more. I signed myself into the lockers and realized I was not alone.

"I was not expecting to see you here,"

Ashton turned towards me and lifted Richy's file.

"Are you here for this?"

I nodded.

"Well, we can share."

I joined him and we went through the files. After an hour, Ashton excused himself. He informed me that he had a thing to take care of at home. I was glad he was leaving. Seeing him was making me tense.

I was about to finish my research and go out for lunch when I realized something was off.

I read this file over and over again. I read it so much that I knew it had exactly 84 pages. Most of them were photographs and background information. And now, I was sure something was missing. I went over the file again and realized the part about Oryn was gone.

Since Oryn was a major suspect back then, there were 20 pages about her relationship with Richy, text messages, and meetings they had. Now that was gone.

I signed myself out and decided that it was time to talk to Alan. Alan was not in his office but he left a file on his desk. It was a case they were working together with Ashton about a murder in Colville. That was the reason why Ashton was here - well, that was the excuse. I couldn't help but feel like there is something off about Ashton. I knew I was not allowed to hack any government building so I came up with a plan to find out more about him.

"Hello?" Jessica sounded like she recently woke up.

"Hello, Jessica. I am calling to ask you for a small favor."

"You will not stop calling me Jessica, will you? Is everything ok?"

I filled her in on our current situation. I thought she would freak out, considering that she left Duskwood because she was having a hard time, but she was calm. I asked her to go to the police station Ashton was working with and ask about him. I told her to wear a wig and contact lenses so her description wouldn't be obvious. She agreed to everything and noted what I wanted her to ask.

"I will inform you when I have any information," she said.

"Thank you, Jessica. And... We are missing you here." I hung up.

I was getting some coffee when I received a message. I hoped it was Oryn but it was Anabelle.

Anabelle: Is Mr. IaminvestigatingOryn there?

Jake: Haven't seen him in a while. Why?

Anabelle: No reason.

Jake: ...

She stopped responding. I decided to talk about it when we returned home. She told me about her visit to Ashton. Ashton was also kind enough to inform me about his meeting with Anabelle.

For the next few days, I focused on Richy and some additional cases that were irrelevant and practically useless. One day, Dan applied to be part of the force. His initial interview was successful and he came over to celebrate with Anabelle and me.  He was preparing for his other exams, which were taking place next week. Every day, after work, I joined Phil in his research about the flowers but there was not a single place that sold them. At some point, Oryn mailed her belongings. I carried them to her room and fought the urge to open the boxes.

I tried to get a hold of Jessy since the last time we spoke but she was ghosting me. And that was worrying me. I asked Phil if she was in contact with him but learned that she was ghosting him too. Angela told Phil that she was mostly in her room. I couldn't help but feel guilty. I must've pushed her too far too soon.

I decided to give her some time. The day before Oryn came back, Alan assigned me to Oryn's case. He asked me to find anything I can find about the flower guy. He also asked me to do it unofficially. I was searching for any particular tool to grow these flowers when a soft knock interrupted me. I was surprised to see Jessica. She looked like she was not sleeping well.

"Hello, Jessica. I was unaware of your arrival."

She smiled and hugged me.

"Can we go somewhere private," she whispered while hugging me. I nodded. I informed Alan about Jessica and told him I would be taking the rest of the day off. I took her to my house. After some small talk, she informed me about what she discovered. I could feel the anger building in me the more she talked about Ashton. By the end, I was furious, but Jessica asked me not to act too soon. She also asked me to keep this to myself. She wanted to be the one to tell everyone. Before Anabelle returned, I dropped her at Phil's. Keeping this from Anabelle was the hardest, but it was just one day. I went to bed early even though I was unable to sleep.

The day Oryn returned, Anabelle picked them up. I was at work and it took everything in me to not confront Ashton. We agreed to meet in Aurora after work. I asked Jessica to join us. I finished up my work for the day and picked Jessica up from Phil's. She was silent as we made our way to the bar.

__________________ 

I thought I published this, but I was wrong. 

I hope you like it :) 

Thank you for reading. 

XX