18 - The Ally

Chloe sits at her dining table in her kitchen deep in thought while she switches on her laptop. Eventually, she got curtains and hung it in front of every window except those in the attic. Damn! She forgot to get latches for those windows. The curtains look lovely against the backdrop of pine wood and the bamboo blinds and perfectly match the trophies in the sitting room. They have different hues of brown and mustard with a bushveld effect with the Big Five of Africa's wildlife proudly standing amongst the bushes and trees. She couldn't hang and admire them more hurriedly because something drove her towards her laptop. Lyle's words agitate her from the time she has left the hospital. She needs help as quickly as possible and she is going to use the laptop to search for a private detective that could help her. She has little confidence in the police and hopes to find a detective that can give immediate, personal attention. Chloe never before had the need for something like this and she tries the well-known South African website Gumtree to look for services like this in her vicinity. She clicks on detective services and an advertisement presents itself: "Hunter private detective at your service." She thinks back to instances when Tony's friend visited him on the farm. His name was Hunter. He was part of the murder and robbery squad at George and visited Tony from time to time when he had an investigation nearby. So more or less four times, she thinks. Tony's overwhelming joy when he saw the white Mercedes coming down the farm road was a clear indication that a close bond between them existed. Hunter also conveyed his condolences at the burial of Tony and earlier he had also attended Clea's burial. Could it be the same Hunter that, now he has retired, opened a private practice in their town? The address of this Hunter is in their town. Maybe he lives here now? Chloe takes her smartphone and dials the number in the advertisement. Maybe it is just coincidence that this detective is also called Hunter, but she is going to try. You'll never know. On the first ring, the phone is picked up. "Good afternoon, you're connected to Hunter Detective Services. How can I help you?" The voice sounds familiar but over the smartphone, she is not dead sure. "Good afternoon. This is Chloe Eastwood speaking, you are not perhaps ..." "Chloe! Tony's lovely youngest daughter! How are you, my dear? I don't hope you have problems. I saw you at Tony's burial, remember?" "Yes, it's me, uncle. I wondered whether you have retired and opened a detective service here in our town." "Yes, I am a private detective for quite a while now, but only moved here last month. This is where your granddad and I went to school together. I wanted to surprise him with another visit on the farm as soon as I had all my pigs in a row when I heard the sad news. How are you now, my dear?" "Something unholy happened, uncle, and I need advice soon and when I opened my laptop looking for a private detective, I saw your advertisement and wondered whether it is you." "What is wrong, girl?" "A truck pushed Zoey and Lyle deliberately over the edge of the cliffs in the mountain pass." "Good grief! Unbelievable! I heard over the radio about the disaster. They say it is a miracle that anyone could have survived that. How are they now?" "Zoey is still unconscious in the ICU. We don't know how long it will take and whether she hasn't sustained permanent damage. Lyle's injuries are not so serious and he will be released tomorrow. I visited him earlier and he told me a truck followed them and pushed them over the edge. He wants to keep it a secret until we can decide what to do next. Thus, only we two know about this and now also you." "Where are you now, Chloe?" "On a plot just outside town." "Give me the address and I'll see you in a short while, if it's okay with you." ~*~*~ Chloe hasn't expected Hunter's knock on the door so soon and she recognizes him when she opens the door. He is in khaki clothes with practical boots good for any terrain and looks rather like a game ranger. She now also recognize the classic 1973 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Convertible parked next to her Cooper and she remembers how Tony always ran up to him and hugged him like a dog that hasn't seen his master for a while. This special friendship always fascinated her and stimulated her curiosity, but Tony played it down to the fact that they were school chums, grew up together and went through tough times together in the army. He then usually chased her away from the adult's company. Tony and Clea always told her children are not allowed in the company of adults. She remembers so well: "What are you doing here, Chloe? Do you want to count teeth? Go and play. This is adult's company." Chloe happily smiles at the short but sturdy Hunter. He is looking good and muscly for his age with grey hair with a number one cut and his stomach is still flat at this stage. "Hello, uncle. You are really driving the same Mercedes! My father was beyond himself with joy when he saw you coming down the farm road." Hunter smiles back. "Yes, the good old days! I only wish that we were meeting under better circumstances, Chloe." "Uncle Hunter, I haven't expected you to be here so soon. How did uncle find this place so easily?" "Chloe, I have been summoned to help with the family murder that took place here. That was one of the times that I could surprise your dad with a visit. I was very amazed to hear that you've moved in here. I remember this place very well." "Please come in, uncle. What will you have to drink?" "That strong coffee your father loved so much will be just fine, Chloe." "Let's go to the kitchen. We can sit at the dining table while I boil water for the coffee, uncle. I hope instant coffee will do. That's all I have here." "Perfect." Chloe closes the front door and they go to the kitchen. "Chloe, why are you here and not on the farm?" "I just ran away from the farm, the memories of my dad and two jealous men." Hunter pulls out a chair at the table and sits down: "Jealous men?" Chloe fills the kettle and puts it on the gas stove. She ignites the stove. "On the evening of my coming of age party Leo asked me to marry him and later that evening Ronnie assaulted Leo and now they hate each other. The day when Zoey and Lyle departed, I heard about this place that was immediately available. I came and had a look. Then Quinn assaulted Zoey and Lyle and raced away with their car. Zoey had to take Lyle via the mountain pass back to school. Now Lyle believes it is Quinn with his underworld contacts that tried to murder them. Two trucks followed them all the way since they had left town. One overtook them to clean the pass from traffic and a monster truck followed them closely and pushed them over the edge at the top of the pass." "Could it be that the boy is confused by the trauma?" Chloe takes her place opposite Hunter and intensely looking into his eyes, she says: "Uncle, we planned that Zoey should phone at seven-o'-clock before she departed from the school and I would have met her at the garage outside town and brought her here. We planned to live here together until she and Quinn sorted out their difficulties. When she never phoned, I went and searched for them along the same road. Just past the top of the pass, I saw the brake marks down the decline ending at the place where they burst through the barrier wall and went over the edge. Only when Lyle explained to me what had happened, did I understand. They were pushed the whole way along the steep decline until they went over." Hunter's eye widen in surprise: "Goodness Chloe, thus someone wants to eliminate your only remaining family! I am so glad you contacted me; it was a wise decision." "Will you help me, uncle? I shall pay for your services." "Chloe, please do me a favor. You are not this young girlie of yesteryear but a special, beautiful, adult woman. Leave the ‘uncle'. Just call me like everyone else, my dear. I am Hunter, okay?" "Okay, uncle ..." Hunter points with his forefinger playfully at her and shakes his head as if he warns a naughty, disobedient girl and she grins embarrassed. "Okay, Hunter." "That's better. Now tell me precisely why Lyle thinks his father is behind this whole thing." "Lyle told me he overheard when they were fighting that Quinn does business with people in the underworld and that he washes their money through his motor trade. He owes these people money. He was desperate and wanted to borrow money from Tony but Zoey prevented that and threatened to divorce him. Lyle believes the timing was too coincidental. When Zoey prevented him from getting a loan from Tony, he threatened to get rid of them because then he would inherit part of the farm. Just before they would have gone home he assaulted them and drove away. "Lyle believes he had his sinister plan in place and would have cancelled it if Tony gave him the money. But then Zoey prevented it and he carried out his desperate plans. I must say for me this makes sense because Quinn acted very strangely at my party. I saw them in a fierce quarrel and Zoey confided in me and told me later on and what she told me correlates with Lyle's thinking. They fought a lot, he used drugs, he gambled and lost most of their money. He gives no attention to Lyle and in heated arguments he alleged that Lyle isn't his child. She also mentioned his underworld friends and the money he owes them." "Chloe, he is definitely a suspect. Have you had contact with this man?" "No one can trace him. To tell the truth, I didn't even try and I am going to fetch Lyle from the hospital tomorrow. He wants to go back to school because he is now behind in his work. I want to take him and promised him that I will go and get him as soon as Zoey comes out of the coma." "You want to take him back, but how?" "With my Cooper and I also want to take big presents with for the two heroes that I contacted when we were in dire straits. They helped me and saved Zoey and Lyle, thus I want to hand over their presents personally to the headmaster because he and his son in law helped us." "You are surely not going to drive over the same pass?" "Hunter, you are right. Maybe we should rather take the toll road around the mountain. It is a vast distance but the road over the pass might unnerve Lyle." "Chloe, is it true that Quinn will inherit part of your farm if your family is wiped out?" "It is true. Their family owns half the farm. They are married in community of property and Tony bequeathed half of the farm to each daughter." "Do you realize that if something happened to all three of you, the farm would probably be his?" Chloe's eyes widen in amazement: "You are right. I've never thought about that." "And now you want to travel along the same dangerous road alone with Lyle! I am very uneasy about your safety. Is Zoey still in the ICU?" "Yes, she is monitored carefully." "It is good that Lyle wants to go back to school because he is much safer there and we must warn him and his school that his father must not be allowed to fetch him. Zoey should be reasonably safe in the ICU. But Chloe, I am the most worried about your safety alone at this desolate place." "Hunter, Tony taught me many things and I can look well after myself." "Definitely not good enough! Were you sure it was me when you opened the door?" Chloe is flabbergasted. It is true! She hadn't even looked through the blinds to find out who was parking before she unfazed opened the door. "You are somehow right, Hunter, I only now contemplate the full implications of our family's situation." "Your front door isn't even equipped with a peephole but I see you have at least curtains in front of the windows. I see no alarm system or even doors to the inner rooms. Chloe, I feel very uneasy about your safety because the same people that attacked them on the mountain pass may have plans to eliminate you and are just waiting for the right moment. Are you living here all alone?" "Robert can quickly be reached with the ring of the bell at the fountain and I have also a neighbor that has moved in recently into the other house. Isaac is luckily also the doctor that is attending Zoey and Lyle in hospital and he promised to keep me in the loop with their recovery." "Chloe, you are going to sleep in my guest room in my flat tonight. I am not going to allow you to sleep here alone. Tomorrow I will take you over the mountain pass to the school. I shall have a chat with Lyle and want to see the brake marks when we pass there. I am now your bodyguard till we have you safe and then I shall investigate everyone in your life. You are now going to tell me everything about the people in your life." "It is unnecessary, Hunter, I don't want to steal all your time. Tony taught me valuable tricks, you will be surprised, and I have a 9mm Parabellum always nearby. Why do you want to investigate all the people in my life? What are they going to think of me when you arrive and they find out that you think they are suspects in an attempted murder case and I asked for your help? In any case, I can think of no one in my life that would do such a thing. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that it must be Quinn and his contacts." "Chloe, I have been in this game for a long time and you will be surprised. You needn't be embarrassed. I shall make your friends and family understand that I am a detective from town that investigates a case of attempted murder. We are going to surprise them by telling them that you are also a suspect." His words slightly ease her mind. "This could be a good plan, but I think it is a waste of your precious time because none of my beautiful friends or family will do such a thing. They all love Zoey and Lyle." "Chloe, our first priority is to get all of you safe and then I shall visit each and every one in your life face to face and then I shall hit the road and search for Quinn if he is still missing. Where is this motor trade of his?" "They stay in George, your old town. It is Wiggil Motors." "I've got many contacts in George and it will help me tremendously in my search for Quinn. His underground contacts might be behind the accident but he could have jeopardized his family's safety unknowingly. Maybe they expected him to be in the Venture and then Zoey and Lyle were without him in the targeted vehicle. But it could also be something quite different. Detective service taught me to investigate all leads and work through the most obvious until you eliminate one after the other and then everything points in one direction." "What must I pay you, Hunter?" "Chloe, what did Tony tell you about our days in the army?" The water is now boiling and Chloe gets up, kills the gas stove and starts to make coffee. "My father never talked about his army days. I only know that he got a medallion for bravery that is in one of his drawers. Clea showed it to me years ago. It was presented by then president PW Botha but he never told me why he deserved it." Hunter rises and coming close to her where she is preparing the coffee, he says: "Chloe, look at me." Chloe turns to him and he takes both her hands in his and looks earnestly deep into her eyes. "Chloe, your father and I were not ordinary soldiers. We were engaged in very special and dangerous situations. We earned those medallions during one of our operations. I was the leader of 12 soldiers tasked with blowing up a bridge deep in Angola. We all survived but if it wasn't for Tony, I would not have made it. We earned our medallions, but Tony's bravery had no limits and he saved my life on different occasions out of the most impossible situations during that operation. I shall tell you the whole story later on but I hope you understand why you owe me nothing at all. Nothing will stop me. I shall protect my bosom friend's family even if it is the last thing I do on this earth. My investigation starts now and here. Tell me everything about everyone in your life."