Chapter 4 – The Assignment
The top
sheet was a letter to him. It was undated. Fred read silently to himself.
Dear Mr. Forchelli,
I apologize for having to put you through
all the events of this morning. Since you are reading this, that means that you are
both inventive enough and interested enough have gotten this far.
I need your assistance in helping to
right some wrongs and bring some perpetrators to justice. I believe that the
individuals involved have gotten away with their misdeeds for too long and need
to be stopped. I do not have definitive proof of this, and I am not even sure
how many individuals may be involved. I cannot participate in this as the
damage to my career and to others around me if I were to be found out is far
too great. So, I will have to remain anonymous at this stage – even to you.
I do not want to prejudice you with
my opinions at this point, so I am only attaching a few helpful hints to get
you started in this investigation. I cannot promise that if you pursue this
that you may not be in danger. However, I feel that you have the capabilities
and instinct to get you through any situation.
I know that it may sound like an echo
of the old TV show, “Mission: Impossible,” but the phrase “your mission, should
you choose to accept it” comes to mind. I have attached a check that I believe
sufficient to reimburse you for your time and expenses for the next two weeks.
Should you choose not to accept, I believe you have the integrity to just
destroy the check.
Thanks for your assistance,
The letter
was signed in that by now familiar script but simply said, “A Friend”.
Fred thumbed
through the attached pages. There were a few copies of articles from the local newspaper
that spanned several years. There was a copy of a police report from a few
years ago. And there was a grainy picture showing two men shaking hands. But
there did not seem to be any obvious consistency in the identities of any of
the people named in the articles or on the police report. The final page was a
cashier’s check that was larger than any that Fred had ever had the opportunity
to hold. It was made out to him, but like a typical cashier’s check only
contained the name of the bank and not of any individual. The other pages may
have intrigued him, but this last one was truly shocking. Someone was willing
to pay a lot of money for his services.
Fred put the
pages back into the manila envelope and sat there for several minutes pondering
what to do next. Then, making up his mind, he put the envelope in his briefcase.
He ordered some lunch to go including a large diet Pepsi, and when the waitress
brought it to him he left a larger than typical tip and made the 15-minute trek
back to his office.
By late
afternoon Fred had managed to clear up all his affairs. There was now only one
manila folder on his desk – the one that he had presciently labeled “The
Mystery” that morning. It was now slightly thicker as the letter and
attachments were added to it. He had
completed the notes on his other recent cases and filed those folders in the
bookcase. He had also made the follow-up calls to other clients and given them
a status report on his findings – while indicating that he would be tied up in
other business for a few weeks. One of them had required that he send a few
documents to the client. He had gone down to O'Brien's Office Services to
make the necessary copies but had foregone setting up an appointment with
Jennifer to get a cover letter typed up – choosing instead to handwrite it. He
had left it in the outgoing mail bin at O'Brien's.
He had made
a quick trip across the street to the branch bank on the corner where he had
deposited the cashier’s check. And, acting on instinct, he had withdrawn
several hundred dollars in cash. He didn’t know where this case was going to
take him but having cash in his pocket seemed like a good idea.
Finally, he
had made one other significant – for him – decision. Inspired by the cleanliness
of the office after his straightening spree of the morning, he had gotten out
his laptop and signed on to Amazon where he ordered an appropriate fan for his
windowsill. There were no longer any loose papers on the desk or bookshelf or
any folders on the visitor’s chair. And with no other cases to be involved in,
the visitor’s chair was apt to be unused at least for the next couple of weeks –
as was the hot plate and coffee pot – so plugging in the fan when it arrived in
the next few days would not be an inconvenience.
Fred took one last look at the solitary folder on his desk. Yes, the label of “The Mystery” was certainly appropriate. More excited than he had been in a long time, Fred closed and locked the door of his office. Tomorrow would be a busy day.
No comments:
Post a Comment