Crime At Northland Lake (Completed)

Twist at the Club

The weather got windy and cold. As Nick drove, he heard thunder and noticed dark grey clouds getting together for a widespread pour. After crime, rain seemed to be the last thing anybody would expect in South Shields at this time of the year. By the time he reached the club, it had started to drizzle.
Nick glanced at the muddy path towards Mr. McMillan's bungalow. "Would be empty." He thought disappointingly. The club, Nick thought, was almost half the size of any small airport. But what fascinated him was the lighting and structure. The parking was barely full indicating very less visitors.
The glass door automatically opened to a wide spaced lounge. Nick went towards the front desk where a middle-aged man sat on the leather seat. "Good afternoon sir." He greeted. "How can I help you?"
"Good afternoon. I'm Nick McAllister from the police department. I'd appreciate if you could spare some time to answer a few questions." Nick said with a smile.

"Definitely. Anyhow, we have very less costumers today." The man said. "I'm Zachary Oliver." He introduced.
"Well Mr. Oliver, were you working on Friday evening?" Nick asked.
"Yep. I was the one behind this front desk from morning till midnight." Zachary replied.
"So you must be knowing who visited the club?"
"Not precisely. But my record book will have it all." The man smiled.
"At about nine or nine thirty in the evening, a few employees of the Gen-X company had a get-together here. Are you aware of that?" The detective enquired.
"Oh Gen-X!" Zachary exclaimed. "I've maintained close contact with them since a pretty long time."

"Can you be a bit more precise on that?" Nick asked.
"Gen-X has get-togethers in our club every month. So they book their reserves by contacting me. But the entire company doesn't come. It's always one group that manages the international stocks." Zachary explained.
"So it's that particular group that has get-together parties every month?"
Zachary nodded confidently.

"What time did the group leave?"
"It was between eleven thirty and eleven forty-five. All of the members exited the building together."
Nick thought of how the two women might've disappeared and gotten into the hands of the blackmailer.
"It's strange that an officer has come to enquire like this. What happened?" Zachary asked, getting up from his seat. He gestured Nick towards the black leather sofas on the other side.

"I'm working on a case." Nick replied. "Two women from the mentioned group have gone missing from Friday night. They're believed to be kidnapped from the club while they were heading back home." He explained.
"Two women missing!" Zachary exclaimed. "I've known every member of that group personally. What are their names?" He asked.
"Judy McMillan and Sarah Mathews." Nick answered. "Did you see where they exactly went after their get together?" He asked.
"Mrs. McMillan lives in a walkable distance from here. But I was really surprised when I saw a white jeep come to pick her up. She was rather forced to enter the vehicle. And I clearly remember that her husband doesn't own a white jeep." Zachary explained. "What was the other name?"
"Sarah Mathews." Nick replied. There wasn't an answer from Zachary. Looking at his confused expression, it seemed like the man was in deep thought. "Are you sure the name is Sarah Mathews? I've known every member in that group and I'm sure there is no Sarah Mathews."

"It's definitely Sarah Mathews. She's the wife of Simon Mathews." Nick said.
"Woah!" Zachary exclaimed. "I've never heard of her. You can check the record book as well." He got up from the sofa and came back with a rather thick, well maintained book. Nick opened up to Friday's record. The entire list of names who belonged to the Gen-X group was written with presumably a black point.
Nick thoroughly went through it, "Lisa Thompson, Judy McMillan, Owen Grady, Grace Harris, Paul Rudy, Koran Reaves, Parker Hastings." However, the required name wasn't there. "How's that possible?" Nick frowned.
"Sir, I've known this group since almost a year. There has been no Sarah Mathews in it. You can check the previous dates as well." Zachary flipped the pages back to the previous month's list. Nick once again thoroughly went through the list only to find the exact copy.

"See sir." Zachary said. "I remember these people's name by-heart. They're really close to me. I would've definitely known if there was a Sarah Mathews. Trust me. A woman with such a name has definitely never come here. If you say this person has gone missing on Friday night from the club, then I'm sure you're mistaken or someone has given you the wrong information."

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