The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 5

4 years ago

The Hole in The Wall - Season 1 - Episode 5

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It was comical really, it felt like we were acting a comedy skit. The manager touched the door gingerly and slow and the creaky way it opened conveyed his shock and disbelief.
He saw Andy first and his mouth opened in surprise.

“Who…what….how?”
“That has been the question of the day believe me” I spoke up and he whirled in fright at the sound of my voice. He hadn’t seen me before, all his attention had been on Andy.
“Who the hell are you!” He sounded pissed now. Pissed and surprised. “How did you get in here, What are you doing here?”
“We’re investigating a murder, we need to see the-”

As Andy replied him I considered the three questions he had just asked. Those same questions had been plaguing me, but in my case Who was this assassin impersonating my wife? How did someone drill a hole in the wall and shoot the deadliest of all the shadows in the head and also, What the hell was going on?
The manager was shaking his head when I refocused. “Are you trying to tell me that you broke into my living quaters to check security footage? And you’re supposed to be cops?”
I studied his “living quarters” as he called it. If he was really serious about security to the point that he didn’t trust the security anymore, the evidence on the table stated otherwise and as if to agree, the CPU gave a short dying beep. I studied the bed at the other end, it was without a crease but it wouldn’t be wise to assume he hadn’t slept in because of that alone since it was almost noon but then again the maid obviously hadn’t done any other cleaning since she stumbled on the body two floors down.

“I happen to be a lawyer and I know for a fact this is totally an infringement of my rights as a recognized, registered and upstanding individual-” he went on looking at Andy, to me, to the screens then back to Andy.
I could tell he was tensed and I suddenly had a view of what was going on with the man. Or I hoped I did.

“-….golden whatever it is you call yourself one would think given the kind of work you engage in you would know the repercussions for such actions but-”

I stood up and interrupted him. “My friend stop making noise. Are you not aware someone was killed in your hotel?”
“Yes…the clerk on duty just called me, I had to rush in here from a very important meeting just now”
I looked at Andy, He looked at me. We both burst out laughing.
The manager (Mr Silvanus according to a plaque on the wall) went red in the middle of his bald head.
“What’s so funny! Oh…you people think this is funny..?you’ve met your match!”
“Hehehehe…you know you don’ fu-Ckd up right” I said with a wicked smile.
“The only thing that is funny is you refused to stop digging yourself in deeper” Andy told him and pointed to the screen where the clerk still sat snoring away. “Your clerk has been sleeping for quite sometime so I think you made a mistake….who called you?”
He fell silent and blinked. He stared at the screen and I saw him wage a war within himself and I was suddenly convinced of my suspicions.

“Oh….the eloquent orator is quiet?” I said a bit too loudly when he fell quiet. “You better start talking…how did you find out about the murder?”
“It….I received an anonymous call….just seconds ago”
“Anonymous call!” Andy echoed disbelievingly.
“Yes….it was a private number and….” His eyes brightened as a better lie obviously occurred to him “yes a private number….began asking me all sort of questions I knew it must be a reporter or one of these bloggers.”
This man was lying through his teeth and i knew just where to get him. “We need to see the tapes dating the past 24 hours…that’s what we’re here for” he faltered for a second, just a flash but I noticed it and knew my suspion was spot on. There was no video clip.
And Detective Dagnet entered before either of us could say anything.
She looked at us accusingly. “I thought you guys were behind me”
I waved a hand like it was absurd. “There was no need you surely had it covered.”
She glanced round the room and her eyes fell on the screens. “Well, what have we..have you seen the clips?”
The man looked extra worried.
“Actually….I just serviced our system and the storage has been out so the clips don’t save for up to-”
“Hehehe…does it look like we’re wearing diapers? See the rooster and bull story this one is saying. Does this garbage look like something that they serviced recently?” Andy said clapping his hands in exaggerated wonder.
“Kiss the truth mister, the cameras aren’t working are they? They’re just there for decoration” I added and the manager broke into a sweat.

“Wait…no cameras how?” Dagnet glanced thoughtfully at the desk where the monitors continued displaying different angles of the hotel.
“This is some kind of recorded video, it keeps on looping over and over after sometime.” I said confidently.
We studied the screen while the manager danced on the spot.
“Manager are you trying to tell me there is no footage of yesterday’s killer because you disconnected the security camera?” Dagnet had all her attention and ice on the manager now I knew the cuffs would come out soon.
“Why did you disconnect it so that we won’t have a clip of the killer shey!” Andy shouted
“What….no…it has been like this for almost a year now”

“Who do you work for?” I asked.
“Work for…how, I don’t understand…last year some guests were getting robbed and we found out it was an inside job, the security were in on it, that’s why no one noticed anything strange. That was what made me take interest in the video footage”
We all looked at the monitors again. This time the clerk was up but upright in his chair, sitting.
“haa…I’m just coming from downstairs and there’s a small army of reporters downstairs and at least two cops” Dagnet said and squinted at the screen. Finally convinced that it was indeed a recording, she whipped out her handcuffs

“I’m going to charge you with interfering with an ongoing investigation and also attempting to hide-”
“I’m not hiding anything….I’d tell you what I know” his voice was suddenly high and even as I considered these thoughts he was looking at me differently.”Sometime ago, I received a visitor in the dead of the night..and just like you did he broke into my quarters and woke me with his gun.” He touched his Adam’s Apple gingerly “That was the beginning of my nightmare”
“Who was it?” Andy asked.
“I don’t now I haven’t seen him facially. He always contacts me, he has different ways”
“What did he want?” I asked him trying to fit the murdered man into the profile.
“He wanted you”
“Sorry?”
“Yes..This was about two years ago, he ordered me to sit up at night and told me you had lodged in with your family in my hotel but had checked out almost immediately. He said you were going to come back and I should contact him”
“Me?” My voice betrayed my shock.
“I didn’t even know you so I had to watch my cameras everytime. Not until the news broke out that I felt somewhat free”
I scratched my head. Now this was confusing.
“And you didn’t go to the police because…” Dagnet asked.
His eyes fell to the floor and I knew why. The shadow had some kind of hold over him.
“Blackmail” I said “he had something over you, what was it?”
He looked at me and his eyes held panic but he said “nothing of the sort, he just scared the hell out of me. He had details of my family, intimate details and he threatened them harm. He was very convincing”

Andy held up his phone showing him the official picture we had of the last shadow. His official photograph from the Sunrise Steel records.
“Is this the man that visited you?”
He studied the picture “I never saw his face, somehow it was always dark in the night and he woke me from my sleep. Once even in my family house that was full with people”
“Where were you around 12 last night?” I asked him. I had read the report and while the coroner hadn’t given a specific time yet, he had specified the range.

“I slept over at a friends place, its not far from here and truly it was his call that had me rushing here” he pointed at the motionless clerk in the screen.
“Is he aware of all these rubbish?”
“No…he doesn’t know a thing, he just does his work and receives his daily tips and salary at the end of the month”
“You have to follow me to the station” Dagnet told him
“But I cooperated!” He cried in his whiny voice

“Which is why I’m not cuffing you. Don’t give me a reason”
The manager became more submissive. I decided to get Short Sam to dig into his Internet life. If there was something he was hiding then it was as good as found.
“How about the guest that was getting aggressive?” Andy asked Detective Dagnet.
“He’s been taken care of. He’s a suspect so he’s at the station for questioning. Same with the girl who found the hole”
“You mean the body?” I asked
“Yes the body” she replied tight lipped.
I said “we’d like to interview them”
“Its no problem, you know where the station is. She marched to the door with her hand on the manager’s shoulder then stopped. ” one more thing, don’t get in my way”
With that she stormed out of the room with the manager requesting she not touch his shoulder and announcing his lawyer was on his way. Seems he wasn’t his own lawyer anymore but that wasn’t my business.
“Tough lady” Andy remarked
I agreed “she’s a good cop” I looked round the room “we should tear this place apart, we may find something”
Andy smiled “you know that’s what I love to hear”
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