34 More riddles and new secrets

Chloe had enough time to prepare a proper supper before they hug each other passionately at the front door.

Later on, Isaac smiles at the dinner table. “The food went down nicely. I was very hungry. Thanks so much, Chloe.”

Chloe smiles at him. “I had enough time after I have finished my administrative chores on my laptop and when you arrived the meal was just ready. How was your day at the hospital?”

The hospital reminds her of the fact that she has for some time heard nothing about her sister’s progress. “Isaac, you have for a time told me nothing about Zoey. I’m becoming anxious. I hope you will be honest with me. Isn’t it so that the longer a person stays in a coma, the more difficult is the recovery?”

Isaac looks right into her eyes. “Your timing is perfect, Chloe. I have news about Zoey’s recovery but you must not get too excited about it. It is still too early to know whether she will recover fully and how long it is going to take.”

Chloe jumps up and with her hands on both sides of her plate leans over. “What is going on? I hope I read correctly between the lines that she came out of the coma.”

“Chloe, her eyes opened and her pupils showed the correct signs. She is starting to react to requests and we could ascertain that she has feeling in her hands and feet and we even got her to move her fingers and toes slightly. They are good signs, but she is not able as yet to say a word. She is slowly emerging from the coma and she will probably have serious amnesia. We will monitor her very closely because she is in a delicate and fragile state and I am afraid, you will still have to be patient for a while. There is a very good possibility that I can inform you better about her chances of recovery by tomorrow evening.”

“When can I see her?”

“Chloe, I don’t want to make an empty promise, but I might get an idea tomorrow when she will be ready to see you.”

Chloe runs around the table, grabs Isaac and kisses him warmly on his cheek. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Isaac looks worried. “Relax, Chloe! We know too little. Sometimes it takes a long time for a patient to recover. Maybe she’ll have to learn to speak and walk again and so on. Or maybe we are lucky and she recovers quickly. It is too early to become too excited, my darling.”

Chloe gives him a little hug. “Her eyes opened! Thank you for looking so well after her.”

“How else?”

Chloe sits down to eat. “I have also interesting news from Hunter. They planned to lead Quinn into a trap and to arrest him and then they found him where he hung himself with a suicide note in which he pleads for forgiveness because he had pushed them over the cliff.”

Isaac is amazed. “Really? So, he was guilty! So, it probably means that you are out of danger? What do you think: why did he do it?”

“Financial troubles. He owed dangerous people lots of money. Zoey cut him off when he wanted to borrow money from Tony and she threatened him with divorce and we think he wanted to claim their share of the farm. If he could also get rid of me, he would have inherited the whole farm. That is why Hunter was so worried about my safety.”

“So, probably he heard that Zoey and Lyle survived and he would not be able to escape the police and that mob of creditors. Maybe he, at the last moment, had remorse over what he did and hence the suicide and letter.”

“Isaac, Hunter is remaining in George to follow up on leads and this was strange for me but I now realize that four people were responsible for the accident. A lorry with three men closed the pass so no one could witness the accident and I think Hunter is looking for Quinn’s accomplices.”

Isaac nods. “That’s probably the reason.”

“We couldn’t talk freely, because he phoned when I had lunch with Ronnie and Leo on the farm. He said he will phone soon again so that we could talk further, but before he ended the call he divulged some things that confuse me. He said I must not relax my vigilance, because his investigation is not over yet. I can tell people about Quinn’s suicide but I must keep quiet about our relationship and no one must know that I had hired him.”

Isaac frowns. “This is strange. He's staying in George makes sense as he probably wants to find Quinn’s accomplices, but why keep quiet about us and that you hired him? Why is it important?”

“Yes, I don’t understand why our relationship should be hidden. On that one, I have already slipped up.”

Curiously Isaac asks: “What did you do? Did you tell someone?”

Chloe smiles naughtily: “Susan on the farm knows and Hayley, my friend at our shop in town. Today during lunch I told those two silly men about my interesting and attractive neighbor they would probably meet soon to pull their legs. It really was Susan’s idea when I asked her advice about what medicine I can feed those two jealous louts so that they can make peace.”

Isaac has a broad smile on his face. “Naughty girl, you!”

“I only tickled them with a small seed to ruffle their hots for me. I didn’t say we are in a serious relationship but only that I have an interesting neighbor. I just wonder why Hunter wants to keep it a secret. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“How did they react to the news?”

“I could see it was unnerving. Ronnie immediately inquired whether you moved in with your family and I told them you are a bachelor and I could clearly read the concern on their faces.”

“Chloe, I think we must phone Hunter right now. We must, in any case, relate to him the funny, inexplicable things that happened here in your home.”

“I told him in a previous call about the smoke and salami which we found in the kitchen and he told me something very personal that happened during the bush war and he ended the call abruptly. I think he found it very disturbing.”

“Have you told him of the heart and the letter L of roses on your bed?”

“No, I haven’t had the chance.”

“Give me his number and I will phone him directly and I will put my smartphone on loudspeaker here on the table so that we can converse together and I shall store his number afterwards.”

Chloe gives him the number and he dials and puts his phone on the table. “Hello, Hunter here. Who is calling?”

“Hello, Hunter. This is Isaac and Chloe who phone you over the loudspeaker. We are sitting here at the dining room table in her place. How are things at your side? Are you free to talk at this moment?”

Chloe throws in a “Hello, Hunter.”

Hunter sounds pleasantly surprised. “I’ve just wanted to phone you in a short while and now you have my number also, Isaac.”

“Yes, I shall store it as soon as we disconnect. But Hunter, Chloe told me about Quinn’s suicide, the truck at his place and his letter of acknowledgment. We are wondering: are you staying in George to look for his accomplices? We don’t understand your requests to Chloe to keep me a secret and also that she hired you.”

“Oh yes, I understand. I couldn’t divulge everything before she hadn’t privacy, but now we have the opportunity. There are a few finer points that hindered me when we found Quinn. I keep it to myself, because according to my old colleagues, it is suicide. Maybe they are right and the case is closed and probably you are safe now, Chloe. However, if it is true, what about the accomplices who shut the pass for him? At least three suspects are roaming free and I can’t interrogate Quinn. Thus, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

Chloe concurs. “I told Isaac the same. It was a team that did the dirty work in the mountain pass. But you said something is bothering you about the suicide, do you think it could be murder? Did perhaps the other guys murder him?”

“Chloe, I’m the only one who suspects it was murder, but I have no concrete evidence and I keep my suspicion secret. But there is another thing that also bothers me.”

“Something else?”

“Yes, actually there are a few things that bother me except the fact that the accomplices are still free; so, this case is far from concluded, Chloe.”

“You are making me curious, Hunter. What is going on?”

Isaac feels it is the right time to throw something else into the conversation. “Hunter, we must tell you something weird and I feel it is important for you to know. It is one of the reasons I wanted to make contact with you. Chloe told you about the smoke and salami in the kitchen. One evening we came from my place and found a big heart with the letter L decorated in red roses on her bed and the alarm did not even go off. We deactivated it when we went in.”

There is a short silence before Hunter answers: “Thank you, Isaac, it is important news!”

Chloe is highly curious: “What is it, Hunter?”

“Chloe, I only work with suspicions and must find proof for my newest theory if it wasn’t Quinn that pushed them over the cliff. What Isaac has just told me strengthens my suspicions even more. I am going to visit the jail near George tomorrow and it might confirm or refute my suspicions. Believe me, it is not the right time to confuse you with what at this stage only seems like a mad theory. By the way, how is Zoey, Doctor?”

Chloe answers quickly: “My sis came out of her coma today, Hunter!”

“What? I’m so glad! Fantastic news! What is her chance of complete recovery, Doctor?”

“It is too early to know for sure, but I shall know much more tomorrow, Hunter. There are good signs. She has feeling in both her hands and feet and reacts to requests.”

“I am só glad to hear this and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a surprise tomorrow. Another request to you: don’t let others know she came out of the coma.”

Again Chloe is mildly surprised: “Why not, Hunter?”

“Yvonne is coming. I must go, but listen quickly. If it wasn’t Quinn who pushed them over the cliff, and his suicide was murder, it may be very important to keep the following secret, people: Number one: Don’t tell anybody you hired me. Number two: Keep your relationship secret. Number three: Don’t tell anybody that Zoey came out of her coma.”

Chloe doesn’t understand. “Why not, Hunter?”

“Sorry, I must go now. We’ll talk again.”

The phone is quiet. The call has ended.