NAVADA: RUMBLES OF WAR

Part 12

     That same night, Phil laid on his bed, looking worried. After being rubbished by the cop, he had a case to win in court if he didn't wanted to be behind bars and disappoint his family. A lovely wife and a little daughter were all Phil could cherish in this world. Nothing more was as fun or exciting to him as sitting beside his beautiful wife and looking at his adorable daughter as she played with her friends. But his ignorance had caused all of this to happen. Richard's phone now seemed useless to him as Steve's Diary was playing a key role in the cop's favour. James had all his evidence written in that book, which meant that unless that book isn't burnt to pieces, Phil will spend a life in prison, with his property seized and his family made homeless.
     Phil's crafty mind produced a plan. He decided to get two of his boys to do the job. One will gain access into James' house and carefully ransack it in such a way as not to arose any suspicion. Should the diary not be found there, the other would come in handy by breaking into the station and search for the book. Killing James never crossed this devil's mind. Phil thought killing James might arose too many eyebrows at him, so James was out of his death list. The book was more important to him, as the case would commence 5 days later. So he did make hay while the sun shines before time betrayed him.
     Laying his fears aside, he decided to watch the late night news. He got off from the bed and found himself in the living room. His wife was still sleeping, as well as his daughter in her room. As he sat on the couch, he turned on the tv and gazed at the holographic screen it displayed. He had a soft drink beside him, which he drank slowly as he switched from channel to channel, looking for his favourite, the Night Core. As he found his desired channel, he sat there shocked as he saw a newscaster reporting a death scene which just recently happened. The victim was James, as he heard it from the reporter himself. James had been attacked by an unknown assassin who also burnt down his house. Nothing at all remained from the fire. The ambulance came and carried James' lifeless body away. The fire fighters packed their things and left. Phil dropped his bottle on a table and stared at the screen. The last thing the reporter said before the commercials was:
     " Police suspect that Noah Philemon Jake, the director of HRO, is responsible for this murder as he was interrogated today by the victim and was suppose to have a case to settle with James in court on September 30th. However, no charges are made against him as proper confirmation is required. This is the Night Core speaking, and my name is Bob Castle. Good night".
     Phil sank on the floor, worried and depressed. If the cops found some evidence against him, then he was seriously in trouble. The big question was who is behind this murder, and why is the killer trying to frame Phil?
***
     Richard's heart knew no bounds when Lucy came into his life. They started off pretty well, with Richard showering her with the wealth left behind by his father. They visited the best restaurants in Heaven, shopped in the most expensive mails and looked adorable in an excellent photo they took in one of their outings. Richard gave up his lust for vengeance over his family's death. He felt he could spend the rest of his life with the beautiful Lucy who was seen as a the flower in his garden. He wanted to marry her right away, even though they had only been dating for less than 5 days. But the love was so strong that it looked as if they dated for two years. Indeed, love is unexplainable to many, but quite deceiving as well.
     Lucy invited Richard into her home. A nice apartment which was well furnished and neatly arranged. The kiss that greeted Richard gave him goosebumbs, and he smiled as he looked over the whole house. The place looked very nice to him, but he felt his money would make it more magnificent.
     Lucy went back to the coconut rice that she was preparing. The food was Richard's favorite, and as the aroma greeted his nostrils, he wished the food was done when he arrived. Nevertheless, he sat on the couch and waited for the cooking to be over. He looked at his watch and saw that 9:45 pm was the time. Then Lucy's sweet and pleasant voice invited him to help her serve the food. As he arranged the plates, he saw her throwing a book in the firepit, claiming it was useless. As she served the food, he tried to see whether he could get the name of the book. All he could get was a name which had an apostrophy, claiming ownership over the book. He read the words " Jordan's" and stood there shocked, remembering the Jordan family. Lucy asked him if anything was wrong, and he pretended that all was well. But as he took his seat and prayed, he opened his eyes and saw a masked figure sitting right in front of him, holding a weapon that now determined whether Richard would live or die.