Chapter 26: Chapter 26

What Kade doesn't say is that it also means my sister's Boyfriend is from Sinclair family or at the very least, they know him.

'I want to make sure that Jack is connected to this family', I said deep in my thoughts.

'You mean, before targeting them?', he interpreted my statement.

I shrugged nonchalantly. A million thoughts are circulating my mind.

' how to make sure?', I projected my doubt. He was quiet for such a long time, I thought he didn't hear. I opened my mouth to repeat but he interrupted by saying,

'we can't say. The only way I see right now is to dig the dirt on this family. To search the skeletons in their closet. And pray that one of these leads to Jack. And even then, if we catch him, it's not like he will be the murderer. We are doing guesswork here Erica. A hell of a lot of guesswork.'

I started pacing, 'let me get this straight, A) we are not sure Jack is related to Sinclair family. B) if he is related and we find out who is Jack, what then? it's not like he is the murderer. C) if he is really the killer then we don't have enough proof or how to find said proof. And these are all positives I'm talking about; do you get it? If we can't find who this Jack is or whether he is the real killer or not or...you know. Uhh... I get it, I'm repeating myself, but did you get the point I'm trying to make here?'

'clearly. You are thinking of ways to justify the Sinclair name. You are popping doubts that were never there before. I know what you are trying to do here. You are thinking like a lover, not a sister. Even though they are valid doubts, let's just concentrate on finding who Jack is.

Is he right? Am I justifying Raphael's family? What if Jack is from his family? Shit, I don't even know his family members or how many are there! Better not to go deep.

‘You are right. Let's find out the skeletons.'

'I will contact you when I find out'

'fine with me. Just so you know, I will also try to find out. I have to take advantage of working for their company'

He nodded very...very reluctantly.

'off the grid', he warned me.

'sure dad', I dragged as much as I can.

After what I found today, it was difficult to face Raphael without giving it away. Luckily, Raphael had an emergency which made him leave for a week to Tokyo. Because of the time difference, it was difficult to be in contact with him. However, he calls me at night before I go to sleep. I don't want to magnify it, but this is the first time he has shown he cares about me. I wanted to call him back at night-time, but I was scared he would cut me down. Scared. Scared of rejection. Me. Who used to fight for a living! Who knows?

When his call came at the usual time, I tried to be as nonchalant as I could. I don't know whether I succeeded or not. Fortunately, he was busy. So, I cut the call saying I too was tired.

On Sunday morning, I called Rose to meet me at our regular bar. Now all I must do is draw the information about the Sinclair family, out of her, without her knowledge. Easy. Not. Rose has some prior meetings, so we both decided to meet in the afternoon itself.

going out with rose

I sent a message to Kade, about my whereabouts for the afternoon. No need to be defiant, when nothing is going on, except maybe, pretending drunk. He would know what I'm trying to accomplish.

The bar is a mix of both classic and atypical. The designer tried to catch both the essence, without making it look dowdy.

I started with small talk, already one drink buzzing in my veins. I had my customary drink to avoid suspicion. Not that Rose is suspecting anything, she is too busy gulping the drinks to take notice.

'I didn't know Nathaniel Sinclair is so friendly. I wish I was working for him instead of Raphael', I gave a fake sigh wistfully.

'Look who's talking? I would totally kill to work under Raphael. Not that Nathaniel is not handsome. They both are in their own league', she says with real wistfulness emitting from her. Focus Erica, she is joining La La land.

'Nathaniel is a mouthful, don't you think? I won't be able to hear 'Nathaniel' all the time if it's my name. There must be a nickname for him, like Nathan perhaps?', I probed gently.

Surprisingly it was easy for Rose to unwrap after that. If an award is ever declared for gossiping, she would win the award of 'office gossip' unanimously.

'No silly. In the office, he is called Nate. But don't tell anyone, at home he goes by Jack. You are wondering, how do I Know? His sister told me.'

'Sister? You know about their family?', I asked instead of dwelling on the fact that just revealed.

Nathaniel is Jack. My sister's boyfriend, Jack. Funny, devil may care attitude Nathaniel is the Jack we are searching for. Why all the secrecy?

'Yes. First, there is Raphael, then Nathaniel and last Charlotte. She is the baby of the family. Of Course, there is Diana and Edward William Sinclair, their parents. And their paternal grandparents Henry William Sinclair and Lillian William Sinclair. As far as I can tell that's the whole family.'

'Sounds interesting. Such a big family. Do they live together?'

'No. But recently, some family drama happened. I don't know much about it. Charlotte is being tight-lipped about it. But the gist is, Nathaniel got himself into some trouble. Edward got angry hearing it. Basically, Nathaniel's antics are quite harmless. But this time it all bowled. Daddy dearest got so upset that he had a heart attack. You must have heard about it. It's about the time when you started working for Raphael. Anyway, what I'm saying is, because of his health, at present all the family is living together.'

I digested all the information making the dots. It must be around my first week of working as his assistant. I faintly recall him leaving the office in the afternoon in a hurry. That same night I got a call about Sophie's murder. Is that the time Edward Sinclair got the heart attack? Do these both situations connect in some way? Say, Nathaniel?

I need to know when he got sick, the exact date.

I diverted the topic to the one nagging in my mind. 'How do you know Charlotte?'

Rose started to answer, the only problem is, she was drinking, which led to her splattering the drink on our table. Thankfully, nothing ended on me.

'Sorry, wrong pipe. God, what a mess! I better clean this up.'

'Good idea. Anyway, it's getting late for your next meeting. We better leave now.'

‘You sure? We were having such fun talking.'

'ya, I know. I know. Maybe some other time. You better take a cab'

'What about you?'

'It's okay. I will take a sub'

'But it's four blocks away.'

'I know a shortcut. Don't worry about me. You go ahead.'

'See you on Monday then. Bye'

I took the shortcut aka alleyway. Even though it's New York, this alleyway looks deserted as if people know to avoid it. Alas, I'm not smart, because halfway there, three people were talking. Based on their looks, they seemed to be in some bike gang. Use your brain sometimes Erica

One of them who supposedly looks like their leader yelled, ‘You are making noise'

Slowly, others started shouting at me, 'Stop making noise'

I turned to go back the way I come from, only to realize that I'm surrounded.

There are 5 people now surrounding me, making a circle.

All the time the chanting didn't stop.

'Stop making fucking noise'.

From their faces I can clearly see, I'm their target. Shit. Someone paid them for this. I can feel it in the bones. I can also feel that I'm screwed.