Finding Neil

When Henry August was rushing towards Daniel Brooke's room he bumped into someone else. "Sorry, sorry. I was in a hurry." He said these words without looking at the person and started walking. But before he could move two steps he heard a cold voice "Why are you in such a hurry? Is everything OK? Why do you come back so soon?"

He was startled by the voice and turned around only to see David Allen's questioning gaze. He wanted to explain everything to him. Just as he opened his mouth to say, a thought appeared in his mind and he closed his mouth.

David Allen was staring at him narrowing his eyes as if he was waiting for his response but after a while also when he didn’t hear anything from him, he asked worriedly "Why are you so pale? What happened?"

"Why do you care?" Henry August looked away from him and grimaced disdainfully.

"You are my nephew. Why won't I care?" David Allen sounded irritated.

Henry August chuckled and shook his head, saying indifferently "I need to meet Boss. Can you please open the door?"

David sighed deeply and asked helplessly "Henry, are you still angry with me?"

Henry August glared at him and said coldly "I have many important things to do. I don't have time for gossiping. Now please open the door."

David Allen shook his head hopelessly and went towards Daniel Brooke's room and opened the door.

Henry August went inside the room without glancing at him and locked the room from inside. Daniel Brooke was staring at him. When Henry August saw him, he hurriedly tried to explain "Boss...." But he was interrupted by Daniel Brooke "Are you all right?"

"Yes. On the way, someone followed me. It was a narrow escape."

"Someone followed you?" Daniel Brooke frowned even more deeply while asking this.

He sat down on the sofa and ran his fingers through his hair. His expression was perplexed. He looked tired and frustrated. Leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eyes and thought the situation had become more and more dangerous as the date of hearing approaches. Senator had suspected them and he would do anything to stop them. He had to be more careful and couldn't take any risk now. Silence swept inside the room and no one spoke for a long time.

"Boss, has the Senator sent people after me?"

Henry August was the one who broke the silence. He heard his Boss asking "Did you keep any documents related to the case at home?"

"No. All the documents are in the office and there is no record for this new evidence. If someone searches at the office also they will not be able to find anything." He paused for a moment before continuing "All the details are in the pen drive."

"Hmm... You stay here with me until the next hearing. It is safer here."

Henry August looked at him and said "But David is asking too many questions. If I stay here he will ask more."

"Don't worry about him. I'll deal with him.”

Henry August didn't say anything further and only looked at Daniel Brooke. After thinking something he nodded in agreement.

.......

In 'Y' city

In the afternoon, Anna Green landed in 'Y' city. She took a taxi and went to the nearest police station. She told everything about Neil Green to the officer in charge. She gave him a photo of his brother. The officer asked her many questions but as she didn't know where her brother lived, he refused to write the report. He gave an excuse to her that this was not under his jurisdiction. Actually, he was too lazy to pay attention to this case. To him, it was a baseless case. He even told her "Maybe your brother doesn't want to keep any contact with you. He is avoiding you intentionally."

Anna Green was very unhappy with the behavior of the officer. She didn't lose her hope, so she went to another police station. But there also she didn't get any help. She was going from one police station to another without any luck. All of their excuses were the same. This was not under their jurisdiction.

It was already dark and she was running around without stopping since she landed here. She was very frustrated and tired. She never thought things would be so difficult. She didn't know anyone in 'Y' city to whom she could ask for help. She was feeling so helpless that she started crying. She sat down on a corner of the pavement in a daze and looked at the busy road of the 'Y' city. Her mind was blank and her eyes were empty. There were no hopes left in her eyes.

........

In 'X' city

Carl Black picked up Lisa from her school and drove to meet the private detective. While driving he told her "He used to be my father's friend. Now he is living alone in his house after his daughter died. His work took his daughter's life. After that, he stopped this detective job."

Lisa stared at him speechlessly. She asked after sometimes "Will he help us?"

"We can try. I called him yesterday. He told me to come and meet him. Let's see."

After more than an hour of the drive, they reached in front of an old Gothic house. They both went to the house and he pressed the doorbell.

Ding... dong...

The door was opened after some time by a middle-aged man. He was in his fifties with gray hair. He smiled widely to see Carl Black and hugged him and said "Long time no see Carl."

"Long time no see Andrew. How are you?"

"Hahaha... I am fine my boy."

He looked at Lisa and asked, "Who is this beautiful girl?"

Carl Black looked down at her with a smile and said "She is my fiancee, Lisa."

Andrew extended his hand and greeted her with a smile "Nice to meet you, Lisa."

She took his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Andrew."

"Come inside."

They all went inside and sat down on the sofa. Andrew brewed coffee for them. Very soon all of them were sipping coffee.

Andrew looked at Carl Black and asked "Tell me, how can I help you?"

Carl Black sipped the coffee, put it down on the table, and said "We need your help to find someone. His name is Neil Green. Lisa will tell you in detail."

"Hmm... OK Lisa, tell me in detail."

Lisa looked at Carl Black momentarily, then shifted her gaze at Andrew and said "Neil is Anna's stepbrother. He used to call her daily since he moved to 'Y' city. But for a few days, he was not contacting her and his phone was also switched off."

He was listening very attentively and hummed shortly. He then asked, “Can you tell me where he worked in 'Y' city?"

"I don't know exactly where he worked. But Anna told me that he was working in an IT company there."

Andrew nodded and said "OK. Give me the photo and last active phone number of Neil Green. I'll see what I can do."

Lisa then messaged the photo and number of Neil Green to Andrew. Andrew looked at the photo carefully and asked "Where is this girl Anna now? Why didn't she come here?"

Lisa said, "She went to 'Y' city today morning."

Andrew chuckled and said "Poor girl." He paused for a moment and said "See, I left this job a long time ago and I have lost many contacts. So I can't promise that I will find him out. But I'll try my best. I will try to contact some of my old friends. It may take time."

He looked straight at her and said "Tell your friend to not run around. It's not safe."

Lisa nodded in response. They waved Andrew after that and came out from there.

......

In 'Y' city

When Anna Green was sitting on the pavement, her phone started ringing. She was so much lost that she didn’t hear the ringtone of her phone. One young man, who was passing by, happened to hear the ringtone and saw her, sitting like a statue. He tapped on her shoulder and said, "Miss, I think your phone is ringing."

She was snatched back to reality by the action of this young man and asked with a puzzled expression "Huh?"

"Your phone is ringing."

"Oh. T-thank you."

The young man nodded and walked away leaving her alone there. She took out her phone from her bag and saw several missed calls from Lisa. When she was staring at her phone, she received her call again.

She answered the call "Hello."

She heard her anxious voice from the other side of the phone "Thank God Anna, finally, you answered the phone. You scared me to death. What makes you take so long to answer the call?"

"Mm... I- I was tired, so I slept for a while."

"Oh. Sorry to disturb you. Mm... the thing is that we met a private detective. He will help you to find Neil. So don't worry OK. Just take care of yourself."

Anna Green almost choked in shock and she shouted "Wait. What?"

"His name is Andrew. Mr. Black asked him to help to find Neil, so he is ready to help us. I gave him Neil's photo and phone number. He told me that you need not run around. He will find him out."

There was a pause for a long time. Lisa couldn't help but ask "Hello Anna. Are you there?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much, Lisa. I'll never forget this. I owe you a lot."

Anna Green’s throat constricted as tears welled up in her eyes and she bit her lower lip to control her emotion. She heard her saying "Don't say like this. We are friends. Don't thank me. OK. I'll hang up first. You take care."

After hanging up the phone, Anna Green felt much better. Hope arose in her mind. She was not as sad as earlier. She took a taxi and went to a nearby hotel. She booked a room there and went inside the room. After taking a long shower, she laid on the bed and fell asleep very soon.