The 5th Man

CHAPTER I

 

On the busy and drenched streets of Los Angeles, was a man swiftly pacing in search of a place to eat. He was a man, quite curious and fairly well-known, Nicholos Beige. After several minutes of searching, he had finally set his eyes on the famous restaurant “La Brigade”. Then again, he thought about the overpriced food there but considering the cold and harsh rains outside, he went in. After looking at the menu, he found that the cheeseburger was the cheapest at 40$, after a bottle of soda that is. He called over a waiter and asked politely for a cheeseburger. “Just a few minutes, sir” the waiter replied, smiling. Beige decided to look around while waiting for the food. He saw, to no surprise, posh tables, with elegant ambiance and a room on the other side probably a lounge or seating area. Seconds after, all the lights went off and since everybody thought it was because of the rains, they remained silent. When the lights were turned on, a loud, terrifying shriek was heard on the other side of the room. It sounded like a high-pitched, broken orchestra. While everyone rushed to the spot, Beige patiently trotted. When he reached, he saw a woman, her face horrified and pale, and on the table next to her a man lying, dead. And the most terrifying part was that in front of the murdered man there was a waiter, holding a blood covered knife, dripping red. The waiter looked a bit confused on why all the people were staring at his hand, but after turning his head toward it, he instantly realized and dropped the knife, with a loud clang as if echoing all over the streets nearby. It was clearly traumatising.

The manager and other staff were summoned to the place the victim was murdered. Beige carefully examined the body. There were gashes on the left side of his neck, a stab on the lower chest and two stabs on the exact place of the gut. The murderer was with no doubt smart. “His name was Griston Salem. He had come to Los Angeles for a business meeting. He stays in our hotel nearby.” said a deep voice in the crowd, rather calmly. Beige had turned back to see a tall man, with a blue tie and neatly combed hair. “I am the manager of the La Brigade, Cole Beckham”. “May I have yours, please? “Nicholos, Nicholos Beige.” he replied.

  

 

CHAPTER II

 

 

There were lights flashing, people swarming around the area and the police had arrived. The air was filled with a sense of darkness. They started to question the staff, who slowly walked out the kitchen in total fear and awe. The waiter was in shock, isolated in a room with two to three policemen would of course alert your senses. One of them had lighted his cigar and on the corner of his eye saw Beige, scribbling in his notebook. He looked quite suspicious so the man sent an officer to call him. Beige came and replied gently, with utmost confidence “Yes, sir”. “I wanted to know what you were doing,” said the officer. “Sir, if I may, the waiter did not do the murder.” The officer sent a confused look at his face. “But I have my reasons. Firstly, there were muddy footsteps along the side of the table. I had entered the restaurant at 8:30pm. At around 8:45pm, the janitor cleaned the floor. And nobody left or came in after that. So, the footsteps were from someone in the room who went out during the blackout and since the waiter never left the room it could not have been him. Secondly, the waiter was holding the knife on his right hand but both the stab marks were on the left side. There is no point to switch hands after a murder. Besides, the same waiter was holding a dish on his right hand and if he was right-handed the stabs would not have been precisely at the vital points with his other hand. Thirdly, the lights were off for five minutes and that is easily enough time for him to escape after the murder. If my assumption is correct, the murderer was in the room and when the lights were gone, he murdered the victim and ran away”.” Bravo! That was truly amazing. Are you a detective, young man?” asked the officer. “Unfortunately, no sir. But I do want to.”. “Say no more. I will get you a private detective card. Afterall, I am the chief of the Investigative Agents Organization. Come to the office at 8:00am sharp tomorrow. Do not be late”. “Thank you, sir” said Beige, gratefully.

Beige went to the manager and asked him what else he knows about Griston. “Mr. Salem came for a business deal with the chief executive of La Brigade. It was about investing in the company. He said that he had to wait for his three other partners to reach here. So, our boss insisted he stay here for the night.” replied Mr. Beckham. Beige thanked Mr. Beckham and started to his house.

 

CHAPTER III

After reaching home, Beige opened a bottle of red wine, poured it into a stemware and sat down, lost in thought. He thought to himself” The suspects are the manager and Salem’s business partners. Are the partners his friends? Or unknown enemies?”

The next morning, Beige left for the IAO office at 8. On reaching there, the chief welcomed Beige and gave him his very own private detective card. Beige thanked the chief and went to the La Brigade headquarters to meet the chief executive to find information about Salem’s business partners. After getting there, Beige took an appointment and waited for 45 minutes before being called. He entered the office and took a seat. “Nicholos Beige, isn’t it?” asked the chief executive. “I was said that you wanted to meet me. I am Andrew Sifger.”. “Good morning Mr. Sifger. I am Nicholos Beige, private detective. I wanted to meet you regarding the business partners of Mr. Salem.”. “Mr. Salem, yes, he was the one who wanted to invest in La Brigade. His business partners…. no, I do not know them but I do know his address. I have his card, I think…”. “Perfect. That will do,” said Beige. Mr. Sifger gave Beige the card and Beige thanked him and went to Salem’s house.    

It was a long drive from Los Angeles, but not overseas. It was in a city nearby and would take not more than 4 hours to get there. So, Beige left with only a bottle of wine and a packet of chips. On the way Beige stopped for breakfast at around 10. There he had some coffee and drove away. Finally, he reached Salem’s house. It was not too shabby but quite large. When he went in, he saw a woman with hefty strands of grey, at around her 50s. She heard the creak of the door and said hoarsely “Who is that?”. “Sorry for disturbing but I came here regarding your…son?”. Her face turned pale. “He has not spoken to me in years. I had recently learned about his de-” she stopped and shed a few tears. “I am very sorry” After a few minutes of silence, Beige continued “Do you know anyone who was Griston’s friend or enemy?”. The lady replied with a breaking voice “Yes, he had three other best friends in college and they recently even had a meeting”. “Can you give me their addresses?” asked Beige. The lady nodded and went into a room, bending her weak back. She came out with a photo and writings on a few pieces of paper. “This has all the information about the three. This is also their college graduation photo”. Beige once again thanked the lady and set out for finding Salem’s friends.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER IV

 

After a brief yet long drive, he reached the first friend’s house. His name was Cedric Bolek. He had a rich, unusually smoky and enormous house, more like a 5-star mansion. On entering, a young man came outside a room in the never-ending hallway beside the hall. He was a little short, had blonde hair and a small goatee. “May I help you?” he asked. “Yes, I was wondering if you knew anyone called.... Cedric Bolek?”. The man put down his head, sadly, as if he lost a beloved thing. “He was my loving brother. We have a chain of limestone factories on the other side of our house. “So that’s where the smoke was coming from” thought Beige. “He was really the best” said the man, in a sorrowful tone. “Was?” asked Beige. “He was taken away from the house the day before. I saw it with MY OWN EYES,” cried the man. “It’s alright” said Beige, soothingly, “We’ll find him” he continued, “We will!”. After a few minutes of despair, Beige thanked the man and left to the next friend’s house.

The next one was named Alson Dores. He lived quite near to Cedric Bolek’s house so it wasn’t such a long drive. But before starting, Beige popped the packet of chips for some energy. After finishing them, he immediately started for Alson’s house. This one looked like a mix of their houses. It looked rich but the paint was just worn out a little bit, especially on the sides. He rang the doorbell and stood there for a few minutes. In those minutes, he heard a noise of dragging an object and saw a small eye peep out the eyehole. The door was opened and Beige saw a little girl standing there, her eyes watered. Beige slowly approached the child, bent down and softly asked “Do you know the man from this photo” and showed her the man. The child’s eyes flooded with tears and she wailed, sobbing continuously “Dada! DADA!”. Beige felt distressed that such a small child was separated from her father. He gently hugged the child. She squeaked “They took him! DADA”. The child gripped Beige tightly on the shoulder. Beige patted her and left away.

On the way to the last friend’s house, he thought of all the stress their family members were facing. He excepted the last man to be missing too.

This house was different. It had lovely flowers and a garden outside. But it was part of a neighbourhood of such houses. Beige knocked lightly. This time a man opened the door. The same man in the picture. “Are you Sam Red?” asked Beige surprisingly. He responded “Yes, that would be me. What do you want, sir?”. Beige was happier than ever. One of them was still here. He asked the man hastily “Tell me who your friends are? Why are they all gone? Who else do you know relating to Salem?”. “Calm down, sir. One question at a time. Come in”. Beige took a seat. Then the doorbell rang. “Allow me,” said Red. He went to open the door and as soon as he did, a hand grabbed him by the neck and took him away! “Red!” exclaimed Beige, worriedly. But it was too late. A van left the residence and before Beige could say anything, the vehicle was long gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 CHAPTER V

Beige was regretfully muttering and babbling on the way home. He was filled with immense dissatisfaction about not saving Red.

After reaching home, he poured the wine and sat down again, closing his eyes. He thought “If all of them were strangely taken away, the kidnapper must be the murderer. The hand had something peculiar on it, a scratch or a sting perhaps. If I can find what it was then probably.... yes! It was an injection mark. It was quite fresh, maybe a day or two. But a topic so vast, millions of people get injections every day, then he had a small letter in a bill in his small pocket on the sleeve, a peculiar symbol, a ‘w’. The mark for W hospitals! Probably a patient there.”

The next thing in the morning, Beige left to W hospitals. He went straight to the reception and showed them his card and took permission to see through the files of everyone who had taken an injection in the last two days. There was a list of probably twenty people so Beige took a picture of it.

After leaving a sudden thought struck his mind, about the mother saying they were in the same college. Beige quickly took out the graduation photo and looked at the date. It was 21/6/14. Beige went to the college, thinking they had the same principal from their year to get information.

He went to the reception again, and asked “May I meet the principal of the 2014 batch, please?”. “A minute please,” said the receptionist. She told him to sit on the couch while clarifying. The receptionist asked him to go straight, take a left and then a right. Beige thanked her and followed the directions.

“May I come in, sir” asked Beige. An old yet fit looking man said “Yes, young man”. “I wanted to know about the 2014 batch,” said Beige. The man bent down and brought up a file. “This is their batch. Who do you want to know,” said the man. “Griston Salem, Cedric Bolek, Als- “, said Beige interrupted by “Oh, they were naughty those five”. Beige’s eyebrow raised. “Five?” asked Beige, sternly. “Yes, they were five friends but they had a fight and the fifth one broke away,” said the man. Beige was shocked and thought “So the fifth on maybe the killer!”. “May I have their names?” he asked. The principal agreed and continued “Griston Salem, Cedric Bolek, Alson Dores, Sam Red and Fredrick James”. Beige quickly realized the possible murderer, kidnapper and unfamiliar name – Fredrick James. Beige thanked the principal and left, stunned.

 

CHAPTER VI

 

Beige scoured through the list for the name ‘Fredrick James’. But nobody was found. He got irritated. “How is this murderer getting away with everything!” he screamed, knocking off the lamp and pencil stand on the table. The killer was definitely smart.

The next morning, Beige found himself asleep on the couch with ruffled hair and rugged clothes. He brushed, took a shower and went to ‘La Brigade’. On reaching, he saw that the restaurant was filled with black mass. Beige was surprised. This never happens. He kept aside the strange fact and went home. He picked up the morning newspaper and read the headlines. “La Brigade burnt inside out!”. Beige was terrified. He tried to call Mr. Beckham and Mr Sifger. But no response. He feared the worst. And could not hold the guilt if anything happened to them because of him.

After that Beige sat on the couch, slowly, trying to calm himself down. “How did all of a sudden La Brigade come to ashes?” he thought frantically. He saw the floor, messy and untidy. Beige started to clean it, but then something caught his eyes. It was the graduation photo. Out of the blue, he thought “If all of them had the same graduation day, then even James must have been present!”. He picked it up, searching Fredrick James. But he was not there. He left for W hospitals again.

This time he searched the people who had come for operations, fractures or mental problems in the last twenty days. The list was given to Beige, as he frantically looked for it. Finally, the name was seen. But James had come here for mental instability and got discharged fifteen days ago, but had to take an injection every three days for a month. That’s when he must have planned the kidnap and murder.

“But why was he mentally unstable?”. The thought hit Beige. “If he had a problem, and then got it, it’s understandable. But his medical history is clear. Not even a sign of a common fever”.

He got home and felt dizzy. He dropped there and fell down.

He woke up, his hands and legs tied to a chair in his house. He saw a letter on the ground and was eager to look at it. He first jumped in the chair toward the dining table and finally took the knife on it. After countless cuts of desperation, the knot was loose. Beige went towards the letter and opened it. It said “If you are reading this then you are definitely Nicholos Beige. You are probably wondering how I had you unconscious. I had mixed a little something in your wine. My message to you – STOP LOOKING FOR ME OR MEET THE SAME FATE OF THOSE MEN”.

 

 

 

 

 CHAPTER VII

 

Beige went to his room, thinking about the letter, ceaselessly. His eyes were red and face blue. It was becoming dark and the stars shone bright. This time, Beige took the wine outside, to enjoy the beautiful scenery. As he poured the wine in the glass, he thought about the handwriting on the letter. He found it familiar. After sitting down in relaxation, He calmly went into thought “How did he get access to my drink? And how did he leave the house without a trace. That van that day, there was something off with it. It was black and purple with a dash of green. Where have I seen it...? Was it a van from the hospital? No, it was from the college!”

Beige rushed to the college in the morning, with a coffee in his hand. Upon reaching, he sharply asked for an appointment. This time they let him in faster. He entered the room, trying to control his enthusiasm. “Yes, Mr. Beige, why this sudden visit”. “Sir, has anyone taken a van from the college lately” asked Beige. “Yes, someone has taken a van recently. But returned it yesterday evening. Left without a trace. No address or number”. On hearing this Beige was elated, but his face was kept blank as he missed a chance to catch the culprit. “Can you show me that van?” he asked. “I will ask someone to show it to you,” said the principal. Beige was taken to the back of the school and was shown the van. That was the same one he had seen in Red’s house.

On the way home, Beige thought about the handwriting. It was stuck at the back of Beige’s head.

He reached and went to his room again. He took the graduation photo and stared at it. He saw that James was not there in the photo. But after some time, he noticed that the handwriting of the address of the photographer was the same as the letter! Beige checked the letter once again and confirmed it. If the address was written in the same handwriting, then the photographer was also him. And after searching, he found the name of the photographer on the bottom of the card, clearly given as Fredrick James. It was surely him. But did he still live there?

Beige was utterly confused about the motive of the killer. Why take away four innocent people from their loving families? Why did he want to make them suffer?

Beige reached home, sad and cold. He then remembered the letter sent to him. Beige racked his brain and finally came to a conclusion. That day he went to W hospitals on a cab. The cab driver had a scar along his nose but the rest of the face was covered. On the way, Beige stopped for a drink. The driver too got down. He said that he would get the drink and of course Beige accepted. Beige told him to ask for a red wine, only a glass of it. The driver came with the drink. The driver must have been the person who wrote the letter. And then he remembered the reason he took the cab. It was because his car had run out of gas. This must have been the murderer’s act too.

 

CHAPTER VIII

 

After a few hours, he left to James’ house. He was a little scared to meet the possible killer. When he had reached to the house, his arms rattled and his legs shook in fear. He finally mustered the courage to ring the doorbell. He rang it several times but no one answered. Beige was about to leave, but then the door opened. A man stood there, with surprised eyes but then changed to a face of confusion “Do I know you?” he asked. “I am looking for Fredrick James.” said Beige. “He left the house 15 days back. I am new here. I think the old owner lives in the next street”. Beige thanked him and left to his house.

If the killer was in the next street, Beige had to go house to house and the murderer would easily get to know before Beige could reach. So, he couldn’t do that. Besides, the killer is way too smart to live in the street next to his original house, despite knowing that Beige was looking for him. Just then he remembered the news of La Brigade, the fire. He called Mr. Beckhem and got to know it was only a short circuit. Beige was relieved.

Slowly, Beige started to think “How do I know the killer is still here? Maybe he fled the state or country.”. But Beige did not give up. If the killer sent a letter to him just yesterday, then he could not have left today. Beige was too deep in to get out.

Then a sudden thought struck him. “Why would the old owner of a house tell the new one where he lives? And if he was the killer, he would definitely not tell him. So.... the man was the possible killer”. Beige turned around in a swift whoosh. But thought that if he directly confronted him, he would not get the motive of his murders. He needed to approach the killer differently.

Immediately, Beige decided to disguise into someone unexpected. Maybe a delivery man or police officer. But if he was a policeman, James would panic and try to flee. So, a delivery man was the best go.

Beige decided to leave the next day. He was both nervous and thrilled to meet James. But why was he doing the murders? That was the most important. If he was doing it out of shear revenge or because he was hurt, Beige wanted to hear the story. So, he packed some Chloroform spray with him.

 

 

CHAPTER IX

 

Beige left at around 8:45 after having a short yet filling sandwich and putting on his disguise. He finished a cup of coffee and took out his car. On the way, Beige’s hands were sweating and his hair stood up. He reached James’ house with a small package and a bill.

Beige thought about how he would approach James on the way and if he was still at home. There were many things that could go wrong but with proper execution and luck, he may pull this off. Beige’s plan was simple. First, Beige would hand over the package, then while James is opening it, at the right time, Beige would have to spray the Chloroform on his face. After this Beige would have to shift James in a separate room and talk. 

He rang the doorbell again. The same man opened the door, with drowsy eyes and shabby beard. “Are you Fredrick James?” asked Beige, his heart beating rapidly. “Yes, that is me” responded James. With an unsteady hand, Beige handed over the package. While he was opening it, Beige’s fake beard ripped along the side. This is where things took a turn. With a small flinch, James threw the package at Beige and ran away, frightened. Beige chased him down the street, into the alley and finally reached a corner. As Beige slowly approached James, he took out pepper spray and sprayed it aimlessly, all over the place. Beige was facing a few moments of difficulty, but still managed to run after him with a closed eye.

Beige was is serious pain. His arms and legs started to hurt and slowly it seemed that James had vanished.

Beige had started to his house, with disappointment in himself. He did not even take the Chloroform out and now James would definitely not stay in that house. After reaching home, he heard wails of extreme agony behind the house. When he went to check, it was James! He held a bruised leg with his hands, sitting in a crouched position. When James saw Beige, he rose to his legs and ran towards Beige, limping continuously. James reached his hand to strike a blow but then unexpectedly kicked him in the stomach. Beige returned it with a punch in the face and a kick on his knee. James faltered and fell to the ground. Beige even though in suffering, instantly took out the Chloroform and profusely sprayed it on James.

 

 CHAPTER X

Beige put James in a sack and took him to his room. James woke up with tied legs and arms and a muffled mouth. “WHY, WHY did you make the families suffer? WHY did you take their loved ones away. Answer!!” shouted Beige angrily.

Beige took of the muffle “I did not do anything. I locked the other three in a room but killed one of them. The room is next to my house. I just made them pay for their sins. Let me explain” he said slowly. “It was the final year of college. We all decided to go somewhere enjoyable on the last day to create a memory. But then Griston said that we would go to an island. He said his uncle owned the island. And that we could sell half of it to get money and go to the Maldives or some other exotic place. So, we all agreed. Ten days later, we all went to the island on an amazing cruise. We reached and saw a man standing there waiting for us. We all thought it was Griston’s uncle but then realized it was the buyer. We reached at the morning so we had a lot of time to talk. We discussed about the price and negotiated to each of us gets half a billion. The sun was setting and the buyer gave us the money and left. We decided to stay there for the night and set up camp. While I was setting camp, the four of them were murmuring awkwardly. But I ignored it and slept.

Then next morning, I woke up ready to go. But then I realized that no one was there. I searched every nook and corner for a whole day but could not find them. I thought that I had missed the boat but when I went into my tent, I realized that they took my food and money! My heart dropped. They left me. I could not handle it. I still remained stranded for three days until a fisherman rescued me. It took me two months to regain my mental stability and cure hypothermia and intense fever. Griston made the real plan so I killed him”. Beige was shocked at this.” But James, you have to get punished” said Beige, in sorrow. “ME? THEY leave me on an island, THEY take my food and money, THEY forget me and I get punished? That’s just pure blasphemy”.

“But they already got punished. You punished them. Now it’s your turn”. Saying this Beige slowly left the room. He was passed by a few policemen and heard sirens outside. He heard the faint cries of James in desperation from behind.

After an hour it was night time. Beige ate a filling meal and sat on his chair. He remembered his father, taken away from him because he was framed for something he did not do. He was confused whether he was right or wrong. The families were in peace but James was not. He took some wine in his glass and sent a small smile at the black and starry sky.