Chapter 10 - Not as it Seems

"Everything is not as it seems," Danika declared once they settled into the company car, as they were returning to the office. Here they had finally escaped the prying ears of the city.

"What do you mean?" Amber asked, caught off guard by Danika's sudden confession.

"That was all just a charade—an act, an attempt to feign cluelessness about the culprit behind the crime," Danika explained.

"Oh? Well, this is a revelation. Please, enlighten us," Amber commented.

"Are you sure you want to get involved in this? It goes deeper and darker than you would expect. One thing that Mr. Bass said is most definitely true. People have disappeared over this case, once you are in, there is no turning back."

"This is what I live for," Amber smirked, unexpectedly confident. It appeared that Malcolm shared her enthusiasm, as he was already invested, sitting beside Jason, licking his lips in anticipation of the juicy new information.

Jason hoped Amber knew what she was doing. While he was pretty sure he could defend himself against any regular powers, he wasn't certain he could protect others.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you… Mr Bass suspects his wife. The child was conceived before they met, to his previous wife, who tragically died. What the letter doesn't mention, known only to Mr. Bass and myself, is that after a year has passed, the curse will take Laquita's life. Originally, it was set for two years, but as the healers tampered with the curse in an attempt to remove it, the curse adjusted itself to one year. If one of Mr. Bass or Laquita were to die, his wife would stand to benefit greatly. The problem is, no one can prove it. Additionally, one of Mr. Bass's assistants is a mole, reporting any movements and updates to the kidnappers so they can react," explained Danika, a serious look in her eyes.

"Well isn't that a convoluted situation. So who has the wife got to do her dirty work?" Asked Amber. 

"That we haven't discovered for sure yet, but we believe it to be a group supposedly called the Upper City Illuminati," replied Danika, her tone laced with hate.

"I am familiar with them," replied Amber, nonchalantly. 

Amber's response obviously shocked Danika, who took a few moments to recover her composure before she continued.

"I have only heard ghost stories, and haven't been able to actually confirm their existence," replied Danika, her tone still betraying her surprise.

"They exist, trust me," replied Amber, a hint of displeasure subtly in her tone.

A heavy silence enveloped the car as Danika's explanation was completely derailed by Amber's unexpected knowledge.

Out of the silence Malcolm spoke to Jason, "I have a burning question. Can you ask it for me?"

Jason nodded at Malcolm. 

"How did Mr. Bass's original wife die?" Asked Malcolm.

Jason was perplexed by the question, but echoed it aloud to Danika.

"Her sky limousine fell from the sky due to a mechanical failure. Why do you ask?" questioned Danika, also confused by the significance of the question.

"How soon after she passed did he remarry?" asked Malcolm, to which Jason echoed once more.

"I was not working for him back then, but it was within a year or two," replied Danika. 

Jason could now see where Malcolm was coming from. If Mr. Bass suspects the wife for the kidnapping, she is likely more than capable of murder to get into the family.

"Curious," said Malcolm aloud. 

Amber nodded, understanding his line of thought, but redirected the conversation back to the case.

"So why doesn't he divorce his wife?" she asked.

"She has something on him. He believes she would ruin him if he tried," Danika sighed.

Jason now understood why they had been warned about this case—it was going to be a challenging and treacherous journey.

~~~~

On their return to the office, Jason was greeted with a pleasant surprise. He was not the only other employee of A.W. Consulting; there were indeed two more. A middle-aged man with one eye, grey hair, and a weathered look who reluctantly introduced himself as Ranch. Amber explained that Ranch was an ex-detective, and his role was to advise her on investigative strategies and handle much of the legwork for Amber's visions. The second was a young woman, a part-time university student and part-time administrative assistant named Pearl, who happened to be Amber's cousin. Like Amber, she possessed fiery red hair and commanded attention with her captivating looks. While she was there, she would handle day-to-day administrative tasks like answering the phone and replying to holo-mail.

"This? Is your office," Danika inquired, her voice laced with disbelief, obviously privileged with living in the Upper City with her boss.

"Yes, it isn't often an inner-city office becomes available, so we took it, but we are always looking to upgrade," replied Amber defensively.

"It's quaint," stated Danika, obviously not impressed. 

"Anyway… May I take another closer look at that note, please?" asked Amber.

Danika took the note out once more and handed it to Amber. Amber stood in the middle of the room, staring at the note for about thirty seconds before speaking once more.

"This was printed at a print shop from an online order, and picked up on the way to returning the girl. Unfortunately, I can't tell which shop. It was folded up by a man… Pearl! Please draw the following description,"

Amber described, in excruciating detail, the appearance of the man who had folded the note, while Pearl used facial construction software to render his face. The man had short brown hair, freckles, brown eyes, and it appeared that he had recently broken his nose; these were some of the highlights. Once Pearl was done, Amber nodded, confirming that was who she had seen, so Pearl holo-printed it to Amber's phone.

"Where was Laquita found?" asked Amber. 

"In the back alley behind the hotel we travelled through to get here," replied Danika. 

"I can see it. A grey van transported the note for about twenty minutes before dropping her in the alley. The man was alone, and it was dark. She was found naked, with the note placed underneath her. Unfortunately, I can't trace her clothing to identify the kidnappers' location. Was she wearing any jewellery?" Amber inquired.

"Unfortunately not," replied Danika. 

"We need to locate the print shop where that note was produced and question the staff. Pearl, search for any print shops within a twenty minute radius of the hotel," Amber instructed.

This was Jason's moment to shine. He could use Malcolm's origins power to pinpoint the note's origin.

"Before you do that, may I have a look? I might be able to help," Jason interjected.

"Oh?" Amber raised an eyebrow, handing him the note.

Jason activated his Origins power and saw that the paper had originated from a tree in China, and had been shipped to Cloud City in bulk. It was then distributed to a company called EZ-Print in a location within the small business district.

"The paper was printed at an EZ-Print shop in the small business district," Jason stated.

Pearl quickly searched and confirmed that there was only one EZ-Print in the small business district, it was exactly twenty minutes away. It had to be their location.

Amber's eyes widened as if asking, "How did you do that?" To which Jason just winked at her.

From that point onward, they meticulously sifted through the remnants of the evidence contained within Danika's dossier, finding themselves entangled in a web of dead ends and conjecture. The note was the only lead. But one lead, they knew, possessed the power to unravel the entire mystery. Besides, they still needed to visit the girl in hospital, visit the alleyway and retrace her steps on the day she was abducted. Amber's conviction lay with the note as the linchpin of their investigation, thus, they resolved to commence their quest first from this elusive clue.