The Case Puzzle

Chapter 11

"What do you want from me, Argus?" I said with a sigh, after minutes of silence. I turned to Argus who was sitting on the sofa beside me, playing with a knife.

He continued prolonging the silence.

"Everything you said to me was a lie, right?" I asked again, as peacefully as I could while eyeing the knife wearily.

He again remained silent.

"Look, I can help you if you have been threatened into-"

"Yes."

"Huh, yes what?" I asked, startled.

"Yes, I lied about everything. I was not threatened into doing this. And I feel sorry for you but then, you got yourself into this mess by playing detective. I'd advise you to stop now."

I rolled my eyes. He was right. But considering my situation, it was already late now.

"Was Argan being your brother a lie too?" I asked, ignoring what he said.

He stared at me. He must have been thinking whether he should reveal everything or not.

"You are already holding me hostage right now," I added, gesturing to my hands which I could barely move.

"He was my brother," Argus finally said and turned away.

"And? How is that linked to you doing all this?" I asked encouragingly.

"I made a deal for some people to get rid of him."

"Oh ok- Wait, what?" I asked perplexed.

"Remember what he was in prison for?"

"It was an assault case. He was charged by his girlfriend. How is that related?" I asked again, even more confused.

"He had been abusing his girlfriend both emotionally and physically for more than two years and blackmailed her into remaining silent. But she was not the only one suffering from such abuse. My brother always had violent tendencies. After my parents' death, he became more violent and used to take out all his rage on me," he said as he clenched his jaw. He must have been reliving some past memories.

Then he continued. "As I approached my eighteenth birthday, I wanted to escape from my home. But my brother warned me not to do so or else he'll find me...and kill me. So I secretly informed the police about him. One day, when he was beating up his girlfriend, the police arrived and took him away. This was freedom for me. I took all that I could and left for Italy."

"Oh, so this part was true," I mumbled to myself.

He continued, "Some months prior to his 'disappearance', he had passed a message to me through some gang member with whom he had contacts for drugs. He said that I better be at home when he would be released or else he will hunt me down. I can't have my past repeating so I made sure this time, he'll be gone forever."

"I sympathise with you a lot but you should not have taken the illegal way to get rid of your problem. I'm sure the police would have helped you. But what deal did you make? With whom? Like, did you just appoint someone to kill him? After all this, why did you file a case for his disappearance?"

"I can't tell you anything beyond what I just said. They won't spare you if you get to know more than needed."

Just then, I heard a knock on the door. I shifted my eyes to the door with hope. But seeing that Argus lazily walked over to the door, it seemed that he was expecting someone.

I held my breath as I stared at the door. Argus unlocked the door and four men entered. Argus swiftly closed the door and locked it. The reason I couldn't see their faces was because they all had caps on, with their heads down to not bring attention to them as they enter. But I could guess who they were.