Hello everyone! Sorry I took so long to update. This chapter was a BITCH to write. I had to start over twice. Once because I accidentally deleted it and again because it just wasn't working out. But it's up now and as you can see it's pretty long so I hope you enjoy it! Comments are appreciated but you don't have to comment if you don't want to.
5. Information
They ended up taking Saul's car.
The two men had two reasons for this. First, there as a good chance Doug's car was part of a crime scene. If that lock of hair really was Cadel's not only would that be considered evidence, but the car would as well, and Saul didn't really want to tamper with any more than he already had.
The second reason was that Doug was now dead and buried on the side of the dark road filled with trees. If the two men had left Saul's car at the scene of the crime, he would have been connected to the murder immediately.
That was if Doug's body was found anyway, which Prosper kept assuring Saul wouldn't happen.
Now it was almost three in the morning and the two men were driving down the highway. Saul in the driver's seat and Prosper as the passenger.
The whole drive Saul felt as if he was in a dream. He was convinced that soon he would wake up in his car which would still be parked on the side of the road. There would be no white van and there would certainly be no Prosper English because he was dead in the real world.
But when he pinched himself, Saul did not wake up. He remained in his car, driving down the highway at three in the morning. And Prosper English, the notorious criminal who had made his son's life a living hell, was still sitting right next to him.
Saul sighed in despair. This had been a long night and it was going to lead into an even longer day.
"What gave me away?"
The sudden sound of Prosper's voice in the silence caused Saul to start. "I'm sorry. What?" he asked.
"What gave me away?" Prosper asked. "I went through all that trouble to make myself unrecognizable. But still you of all people were able to figure out who I was. So, what gave me away?"
"Hmm." Saul said, taking a moment to think. "I think it was your voice."
"My voice?"
"Yes. Your voice is very distinctive. Especially with your accent."
"I see." Prosper said, turning back to face the road in front of him. "I suppose I'll have to remember to disguise my voice next time."
Saul grunted and turned back to the road himself. That was when he noticed a bright orange light on his dashboard.
"Looks like we're running out of gas." Saul said. "I'm going to have to stop for more."
"Fine. But make it quick." Prosper snapped.
Saul rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Instead, he got off at the nearest exit and pulled into a gas station. It was brightly lit but because of the time of night there was only one car in the parking lot.
"I'm going to be as quick as I can." Saul said as he unbuckled his seat belt. "Don't try anything funny."
"Do you think me an imbecile, Greeniaus?" Prosper asked. "Believe it or not, even I'm capable of not backstabbing people once I've made a deal. In fact, I should be asking you not to try anything with me." With that, Prosper pulled his fedora over his face so that from a distance he would look like he was sleeping. A clever ruse at this time of night.
Saul climbed out of the car and picked up the nozzle. He was just about to start filling the tank when he felt a slight vibration in his right pants pocket.
Saul froze. Already, he had a good guess as to who was calling him. Sure enough, when he pulled out his cellphone his wife's name shined on the screen in large white letters.
Saul's face grew hot as the shame and guilt crept into his heart. How could he have forgotten Fiona? And at a time like this too. It was almost three in the morning. There was no doubt that she was worried sick about him. And furious with him as well.
Well, there was no point delaying the inevitable. Fiona would yell at him no matter when he answered, and it wouldn't do any good to worry her more because he was a little guilty. With shaking fingers, Saul answered the call.
"Good evening, Fiona." Saul said sheepishly. Fiona, however, was not having any of it.
"Where have you been!?" Fiona screamed from the other end of the line and Saul winced.
"I'm sorry, Fiona." He said, and he really meant it. "I'm so very very sorry."
"Do you seriously think a 'sorry' is going to make everything alright!?" Fiona shouted. "Do you know how late it is!? Sunrise is in three hours! Where the hell are you!?"
"Uh, I…" Saul began but he didn't have a good answer to Fiona's question. He could hardly tell her about his current predicament. There was no way she would ever believe him. Especially since he himself had told her that Prosper English was dead not too long ago.
Speaking of Prosper, a quick glance at him revealed that he was giving Saul a rather pointed look. No doubt he was wondering who he was on the phone with.
"Saul?" Fiona's sharp voice pulled Saul out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Fiona. I'm afraid I can't tell you where I am right now."
"You can't?"
"Oh, yes, it's uh, official police business." Saul cringed even as he said this. He had never been good at lying.
"Really?" Fiona said, sounding skeptical. "Are you working on Cadel's case?"
"Yes." Saul answered.
"Well, then I don't understand why you have to be so confidential about things. I'm Cadel's mother! I should know what's going on!"
"We don't want to spread any false information, Fiona." Saul said. "We're still assessing the evidence. Trying to see what will actually lead us to Cadel and what are just red herrings."
"Okay. I see. You just sound like you're working very hard." Fiona said and Saul relaxed a little. Fiona seemed to be softening and that raised Saul's confidence somewhat. "When are you coming home?"
"I…" Saul began but he was briefly distracted again by Prosper English. By now he had abandoned any attempt to fool any passerby that he was sleeping and was looking rather miffed. Through the window Saul saw him mouth the words, Greeniaus, I swear to god, if you're calling the police.
For a moment Saul's emotions got the better of him. "I'm not!" he shouted at Prosper.
"Don't take that tone with me, Saul!" Fiona's voice scolded from the other end of the line. "What do you mean you're not coming home!?"
The small amount of confidence Saul had evaporated on the spot. At that moment he felt like the worst spouse of all time. He flashed a quick scowl at Prosper before turning around and saying to Fiona, "I'm verry sorry, Fiona. I wasn't talking to you. I'm afraid I will be away from home all night though."
"Saul!" Fiona shouted, but this time there was worry in her voice.
"I'm sorry Fiona. It's just… I really need to find Cadel right now."
"I know. So do I."
"Yeah. Maybe you should stay with Judith and Sonja for now. So, you're not alone in the meantime."
"Yes. Yes, that's a good idea Saul. But you'll tell me if something comes up in the case, won't you?"
"Of course, I will. I promise, I will."
"Please get some rest, okay." Fiona urged. "Cadel's missing but I'm worried about you too. I know how you are at work even during the best of times…"
"I promise I will rest Fiona." Saul assured his wife. "You should get to bed too."
"Alright. I will. I love you, Saul."
"I love you too, Fiona." He spoke. Fiona cut the connection and Saul returned his phone to his pocket. All in all, it could have gone worse, but it could have gone a lot better as well.
Saul was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a car window sliding down. Saul sighed and turned around to find Prosper scowling at him through an open car window.
"I thought you were supposed to be asleep." Saul said as he put the pump nozzle in his car's tank.
"Who were you on the phone with?" Prosper asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That's none of your business." Saul retorted.
"It wasn't the police, was it?"
"I already told you. I wasn't talking to the police."
"Just making sure." Prosper said.
"Saul sighed as he took the nozzle out of the tank. His car was done filling up. "You know, not everyone is as untrustworthy as you, Prosper. Besides, it wouldn't make any sense for me to sic the police on you. Not while we still have our deal."
"Yes, I suppose you're right." Prosper finally conceded with a nod. "Speaking of deals," Prosper said as he pointed out the window. "I think it's a about time we fulfilled it. Don't you?"
Saul followed Prosper's finger with his eyes. Across the street, stood a diner with its lights still on.
Saul and Prosper turned out to be the only patrons in the diner which wasn't very surprising considering the time of night. The only other person in the dining room was a tired looking youth whose gaze was fixed on the cell phone in his hands. Saul was forced to ring the bell on the counter to get his attention.
"Table for two, please." Saul said when the teen finally made eye contact with them.
"Alright." The teen said rather unenthusiastically. Within a few minutes Prosper and Saul were seated and set up with menus. "Your waiter will be with you shortly." He said and left.
"So," Saul began getting straight to business. "What do you know about Cadel's case?"
"Why must I be the first to divulge my plans?" Prosper asked. "This was your idea, Greeniaus. You go first."
Saul's face began to heat up with anger. They had a common goal! Why did Prosper have to be such a pain!?
"Look here, Prosper…" he began but he calmed down. He couldn't expect reasonableness from a notorious criminal. He would have to be the bigger person and go first. After all, the sooner they exchanged their information, the sooner they could each go their separate ways. Saul took a deep breath and began.
"We found Cadel via the telephone signals that came from his phone." Saul said as he pulled out his laptop. Yesterday Hamish had sent Saul his findings in a file. Saul pulled it up as he talked to Prosper. "Every time Cadel attempted to call someone it would be registered by the nearest cell tower. But it was never registered by the same tower, meaning that Cadel was on the move."
Saul passed over the laptop to Prosper. He looked it over in silence for a while as he played with the screen with his finger. "Yes, I see." Prosper said. When his gaze returned to Saul there was a glint in his eyes. "How clever of Cadel. I wouldn't have expected anything less from him."
"Good evening y'all! Or should I say, good morning!"
Prosper slammed the laptop shut just as a plump woman came waddling toward their table. She had ginger hair, blue eyes and a smile that was far too bright for the time of day. "Welcome to our restaurant! I'm Jenna and I'll be your server for tonight!"
"Can't say we get too many customers at this hour!" Jenna said jovially. "Must've been all that extra coffee, huh!?" Jenna burst into laughter. Prosper and Saul laughed too, just to be polite, but it was very very awkward.
"Wow, you sure have a lot of energy." Saul said with a plastered-on smile.
"Really? Thank you! I'm a big fan of coffee myself. I guess we all have that in common." Jenna laughed again. "So, what can I start y'all with? Drinks?"
"I'll just have a glass of water, thank you." Saul said.
"A glass of water. Okay." Jenna wrote the order down in her notebook and turned to Prosper. "And what can I get for you, sir?"
Prosper smiled. And cleared his throat. Then he said, "I'll take a black coffee, eh?" in a flawless Canadian accent.
"Of course, sir!" Jenna said. "Your drinks will be ready in a few moments."
"That's how you decided to disguise your voice?" Saul asked as Jenna waddled away.
"I've no idea what you're talking aboot." Prosper said. "I've always sounded like this."
Saul rolled his eyes. Now he knew Prosper was messing with him.
Prosper opened the laptop back up and cleared his throat. When he spoke again it was in his regular British accent.
"So, Cadel left a trail of telephone signals. You know, we could use this information to determine just where our useless friend, Doug dropped off Cadel." Prosper looked up at Saul. "What else do you have?"
"Oh. That's it." Saul said with a shrug.
"Really? That's all you have?" Prosper closed the laptop and pushed it back to Saul. "Well, that was hardly worth it."
"We still have a deal, Prosper." Saul said and Prosper sighed.
"I know,Greeniaus." Prosper scoffed. "I'll tell you…"
"Here are your drinks, sirs!" Both men jumped at the sound of Jenna's voice. They watched as she set a black coffee and a glass of water on the table. "Are y'all ready to order your food or do y'all need to take a few more minutes?" she asked cheerfully.
"Oh." Saul said. He hadn't even touched his menu. "I think we'll need more time."
"That's quite alright." Jenna said. "Just call on me, when you're ready." Jenna waddled off again.
Prosper took a sip of his coffee thoughtfully. "Not bad." He said as he put it down. "But I've certainly had better. At least the service is speedy."
"That's probably because we're the only ones here." Saul deadpanned.
"Yes, you're probably right." Prosper picked up his menu. "I found Cadel via SCATS."
"SCATS?" Saul repeated. Of course, it would be SCATS.
"Yes. Or more like, Vee did. Vee's been helping me with a lot of things lately."
"Vee's out of jail?"
"Vee's been out of jail for a few years now. He got off for good behavior."
"Of course, he did." Saul said with a sigh. It seemed to Saul that bad guys were getting their just desserts less and less these days.
"So anyway, I employed Vee to keep an eye on Cadel-"
"You were spying on Cadel!?" Saul shouted, absolutely appalled.
"Keep it down." Prosper barked. "I wasn't spying. I was looking out for him. Keeping an eye on him, as I said."
"You were spying."
"I wasn't! And it ended up paying off in the end. Anyway, if you'll let me get a word in edgewise, I was saying that Vee and I had knowledge of Cadel's daily routine. For example, how he always visited Sonja on Sundays without fail."
"Okay…" Saul said. He wasn't sure where Prosper was going with this.
"So, on Sunday morning Vee is inspecting SCATS as usual. We know that Cadel normally takes the bus to Sonja's neighborhood at around nine in the morning. Well, we noticed something peculiar in SCATS around that time last Sunday. And that was that SCATS had been tampered with."
"Really?" Saul asked, his voice dripping with skepticism. "You sure it just wasn't you and Vee forgot about?"
"No. We checked. It had nothing to do with us. It was the traffic lights that had been tampered with. Two red lights went on at once, causing an accident right on Cadel's route."
"Hmm. That is suspicious." Saul said.
"I agree." Prosper said. "We figured something had to be up. But we didn't know what to make of it all. Not until we found out that Cadel had been listed as a missing child. Then Vee and I deduced that whoever had messed with SCATS did it to gain an opportunity to take Cadel.
But how you may ask? By preventing Cadel from getting on the bus, perhaps? That was the most likely scenario to Vee and I. This meant that whatever had happened to him it had to have been at the bus stop!"
From there Prosper launched into an explanation of how he and Vee had tracked down Doug's car. The bus stop in Cadel's neighborhood didn't have any cameras but the many of their neighbors did. Using the footage on these cameras Vee and Prosper were able to catalogue every single car that had come in and out of the neighborhood at around the time Cadel would have been waiting at the bus stop. Then using SCATS, license plate numbers and the process of elimination, the two men had narrowed it down to one culprit.
A dirty white van.
Prosper and Vee had tracked this van and determined where it would go next. Prosper had staked out the van's predicted location and encountered Doug.
And the rest was history.
"Well, you guys seemed to be pretty thorough with your search." Saul commented.
"We were." Prosper replied smugly. Saul rolled his eyes.
"So, if you used the license plate number to track Doug's car that means you still have it, right?"
"I'll have to ask Vee about that. But I'm pretty sure it he still does."
"That's good." Saul said. "A license plate would really help us figure out what's going on. Doug claimed to be working for someone else. Maybe he was using a car that was given to him by his employer."
"Yes. That is a possibility." Prosper said. "Well, I think I know what our next stop is. We're going to go Dr. Vee's house."
