“The girl, Isabella, had it but misplaced it. She appears to be forgetful at times. It’s stress related. We can assume Perdu thinks Isabella has something and that’s most probably why she’s after her.” Aaron stretched. “Well, Detective, it looks like we’re both chasing devices and we’ve no idea who’s got them.”
64 – A storm in a brain
AARON FELT A CLOUD HAD COME INTO THE ROOM. He looked at the remaining sandwiches, lined up pleading to be consumed. Would a bite to eat take away the doom and gloom? Detective Taylor pushed the plate towards him.
“Well, let’s brainstorm,” Detective Taylor said. “You tracked the girl to her grandfather’s property. It was the first time she ever visited him that you were aware of. And it appears you weren’t the only one following her. The occupants of a black car were also interested in where she was going.”
“This is good, someone painting the picture for me, because I want this cloud lifted,” Aaron said, looking at the sandwiches, diagonal cut quarters, grouped ready to march. An egg and lettuce one appealed to him.
“Helps me clear my mind too. Let’s continue. So the Professor jumps the prisoner from a prison in Queensland to a little country town in Victoria. But why? It appears that the prisoner wasn’t in on it. So why did the professor bring him into the picture?
“The granddaughter is the obvious connection. Whether she was meant to be at the property at the same time or not, I’m not sure. Her grandfather is starting to lose his memory. Maybe that concerned him, and he wanted to communicate something to this Lucas fellow.”
“But breaking him out of prison was a bit over the top if he just wanted to talk with him.”
“True, but he couldn’t just go visit him. He’s in hiding. And he isn’t well. His thinking is haphazard, random.” Aaron reached for his water as the analyst skimmed through his notes once more. He’d looked at the food and decided the sandwich would put him in siesta mode.
“I think there may be a protective element involved. The Professor wanted someone to protect his granddaughter for some reason, and there was this connection to this Lucas fellow,” Detective Taylor said.
Aaron took a sip and swallowed. “Could be, but if that’s the case then the protection isn’t about the storage device. The granddaughter didn’t get that until the fire, which was after Lucas escaped. And does Perdu even know about the recordings anyway?”
“You’re right. What is it, then?”
“Goes back to why the girl is being followed,” the analyst said.
“The spy background of Mrs Perdu worries me. And I’m leaning towards the transporting device being of interest to her. Could these other things be distractions? But then she’s bringing herself out into the open.” Aaron said.
One side of a sandwich fell down—lettuce and egg exposed. Suddenly it all became clear. “She’s trying to draw out the Professor, to bring him out into the open.” Aaron said.
“You could be right,” Detective Taylor said, standing up and heading towards the water stand. “But you now have him in custody. Yet, our friend the spy is still active and pursuing Isabella.”
<°)))><
“Let’s continue with this timeline of events.” Detective Taylor returned to his seat, sat down and opened his notebook. “They get jumped back to Isabella’s old home. Why?”
“Get’s back to the Professor’s state of mind,” Aaron said.
“The Perdu lady was quickly onto them,” the analyst said. “I would say with her background they tapped into defence or police communications and established they were at the house.”
“And then she tries to smoke them out. What did she want with them?” Detective Taylor said.
“I think she would’ve been happy to kill them. I think she just wanted to find Isabella’s grandfather. Trying to draw him out.” Aaron said.
“Maybe, but I still think there is some other motivation there.” Detective Taylor said.
“You could be right as it seems she’s quite content with killing Isabella. Depends how deep they penetrated into the defence communications—she would’ve known they already had the Professor.”
Aaron conceded and grabbed a sandwich. The analyst joined him.
Detective Taylor continued. “With the fire burning down the barn, they get jumped back to near the grandfather’s place with, we believe, the recordings of what took place. And then all sorts of funny things start happening.”
Aaron with his mouth full nodded.
“Your department previously tracked a vehicle to the professor’s property using some drone technology. How did Perdu know they were back there?” Detective Taylor asked.
“Same way she knew they were in the barn. There would’ve been a lot of defence activity in the area, she’d have no problem locating where it was happening,” the analyst said.
“But we didn’t know Lucas and the girl were back there. We got a call later,” Aaron said. “So Perdu wouldn’t have known either.”
There was silence in the room. Detective Taylor was rubbing his chin. He stared at his phone on the table.
Noises that were tuned out crept in: a truck made a loud gear change, a siren wailed in the background, car horns tooted.
The detective stood up. “If she didn’t know they were there. What was she up to? Why was she there?
The detective’s phone vibrated and danced on the table. It was ignored. Aaron wished he’d pick it up.
“Back to the timeline. So you get your man, the professor, and his granddaughter. We get the escapee who escapes again. Two police officers die. And we need to tie it all together: the death of the girl’s parents, the fire, the death of the officers. Yes, the storage device recordings are one important element that’ll give us a good idea of what we’re dealing with.”
Aaron looked to the detective’s phone on the desk. Relieved as he finally picked it up. Perhaps Taylor’s messages would add the finishing touches to the canvas.
Detective Taylor scrolled through the messages on his phone. He looked up at Aaron. “I need to make a call.” He left the room.
Aaron looked at the sandwiches. He pushed the plate towards the analyst.
“She’s after the device. The transporting device. You know that, Aaron.”
“I do.”
