Dead Presidents (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 3) by Thomas Ransom (that summer book txt) 📕

getting a hold of the truth, something happens. I know they did something to Wayne. This is… this is bizarre! The minute he got better, he wanted to talk to you. He knew something and wanted to share it with you. They knew! Somehow, they knew. He was getting better. How could he suddenly die like this? If there were any complications, the doctor and the staff would have noticed.”

Sanjay pressed his temples. At this point, he had no idea what was happening. Everything felt like a whirlwind that was leaving behind a bigger mess. He sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes.

“We have to do something!!” Diaz told him.

“We have been trying to do everything we possibly can, Nicole,” replied Sanjay in frustration. “Nothing seems to be working. We keep on hitting dead end after dead end. Innocent people are losing their lives. These people… these vultures … they don’t give a shit about how many bodies they leave behind. The more we try to find something, the harder they hit back!”

“You can’t give up. That’s what they want us to do.”

“I am not giving up. I am just … I don’t know honestly. Just when I think that it can’t possibly get messier than it already is, they push us into an even bigger mess.”

“I know,” sighed Diaz.

They sat there quietly, blankly staring at the people moving around in the waiting area. Diaz stood up suddenly, “Let’s go.”

“Wha… where?”

“Wayne’s house. I know Jake said they did a thorough sweep, but I have to go take a look. I don’t care. I have a feeling we should go and check the place ourselves.”

Sanjay sighed and nodded. He knew there wouldn’t be any use arguing, plus he needed something to do. He wasn’t too hopeful about finding anything there since Jake and the team had already looked. Within a few minutes, they were standing outside Wayne’s apartment building. As someone was walking out of the building, Sanjay and Diaz raced up the stairs and entered the front door.

They made their way up using the elevator and Sanjay led the way to Wayne’s apartment. Diaz tried the doorknob. It was locked. Shit! She thought. They hadn’t thought of that. They could have asked the hospital to give them his things. He probably had the keys with him. Sanjay nodded at her and moved closer to the door, pulling out a swiss knife. He fiddled with it for a few seconds, and they heard a click. Sanjay turned the doorknob and the door opened.

“Nice!” Diaz sounded impressed.

“Quick, before anyone sees us.”

They locked the door behind them and looked around. The place did look like it had been searched, but thankfully they didn’t leave a mess behind. It was a two-bedroom apartment with a sleek kitchen and a large great room. There was also a walk-in closet near the entrance, a spacious bathroom, and a small balcony. Wayne had turned the smaller bedroom into his office.

“I will look in the office and you can take the bedroom,” Sanjay said.

Diaz nodded and silently went into the bedroom, looking around. Wayne had good taste in furniture and, by the looks of it, preferred minimalism. That would work to their advantage, thought Diaz. There won’t be a mess to go through. She suddenly felt sad, realizing the owner of this apartment would not be returning. His things would most likely be given away or sold. To think his entire life was ahead of him, and he was doing so well in his career. He just had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The guy could have started a family and enjoyed more success and happiness, Diaz thought as she picked up the only picture frame in the room. A younger Wayne was standing in the middle with a wide grin, his arms around a woman and a man, most certainly his parents. Diaz stared at the picture and gently placed it back. She had a big lump in her throat. Life is too unpredictable!

She should get to work, she thought. The closet seemed like the logical place to search first. She opened it and started looking around. In the next room, Sanjay had already gone through the drawers in Wayne’s desk. The laptop wasn’t there. He figured it was in the evidence room by now. There were a few files sitting on the desk and he started to look through them carefully.

After more than an hour, he sighed and leaned back on the chair. He had gone through each and every file on the desk and had even checked the books lined up neatly on the shelf to see if anything was hidden between the pages. There was nothing there. He thought they should probably head home before someone realized they were inside Wayne’s house. Just then, he heard a shriek from the next room.

Startled, Sanjay hurried to the next room, “What! What happened?” He found Diaz’s legs popping out from under the bed. “What? Nicole! What is it? Are you okay?”

“There is a loose board here!!” came her muffled reply. “I can’t…”

“What??”

Diaz got out, her hair a mess but with an excited look, “Quick! Help me with the bed.”

“Are you sure?” Sanjay said as he bent down to grab the bed. Together they moved the bed to the side so they could see the loose board clearly. They sat on the floor and Sanjay used his knife to take up the floorboard.

They both gasped. There was something lying inside wrapped in cloth.

“Wait!” Sanjay warned as Diaz reached in to pick it up. “Let me do it,” he said as he took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on before picking up the cloth. It was a pillowcase.

“Is it empty?” Diaz asked, confused. Sanjay gave the pillowcase a shake