The Raven Conspiracy

Chapter 26 - We Learn More About the Conspiracy

Chapter 26 – We Learn More About the Conspiracy

“We’re not going to Jared’s?” I asked Kairo, turning around and slamming the car door closed. Mr Blackwell climbed out of the driver’s seat, arguing with the crutch the doctor gave him.

“F*ck this stupid thing,” he grumbled.

“No, we’re not going to Jared’s.  This place is more private and I don’t think Jared needs to know everything,” answered Kairo.

I nodded and we strode into the shopping mall. We walked into a large, franchise coffee shop and took a table near the entrance. A bored-looking waiter took Mr Blackwell’s extensive order, while Kairo and I settled for bottles of water. Food was an unnecessary distraction and Kairo refused to drink coffee from anywhere other than Lane’s Cafe.

“Okay, your demands have been met so far. It’s time to answer my questions,” said Kairo to Mr Blackwell. The latter leaned back in his chair, resting the ankle of his right leg on the knee of his left and scratching the back of his neck.

“Fine. What do you want to know about that b*tch who’s my sister-in-law? How she swindled me out of my inheritance?”

“Actually, I’m more interested in a statue that belongs to your family. Solid gold, in the shape of bird? Sound familiar?”

He paled.

“Why are you interested in that, huh? Who told you about it?”

His hands balled into fists and his glare full of outrage.

Kairo held up a hand in a calming gesture,

“It happens to be the object we’re looking for. It was stolen from my client.”

“Stolen? Figures. Beth would have been that careless with my family’s prized...Wait a minute. Are you sure it’s stolen?”

Mr Blackwell raised an eyebrow and his eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean? My client...was very anxious about it being missing. She showed us the cabinet that it was taken from.”

“Ha! Knew it was Beth. You said she!” He grinned gleefully at the confirmation of his guess. His expression changed to one of sudden confusion.

“What cabinet? The statue is kept in the family safety deposit box that can only be opened by my brother and I together. There’s no way it was taken from there without me knowing...If my brother was here, I’d take you to the bank to prove it, but he’s visiting family. No-one else knows about the safe – never mind the contents. It was left to the two of us in my grandfather’s will.”

“I don’t get it,” I interrupted. “Why would Mrs Blackwell pay your tripled fee with money that she doesn’t have to solve a crime that didn’t happen? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

They both stared at me for a moment.

“That’s the key to this whole case. Finding out the why. Mrs Blackwell had a photo of the statue that she gave us – do you have it, Maya?” said Kairo.

I fished around in my bag and handed the picture to him. He glanced at it before passing it to Mr Blackwell.

“This the same statue?”

“No, this is a fake!” exclaimed Mr Blackwell. “It’s f***ing obvious. She must have had this fake made at some point, because that’s not the real statue.”

“Are you sure about it?”

“I’m positive. I’d know the real one anywhere – it’s the only part of my inheritance that Beth couldn’t steal.”

“Maya – I think we need to go and have another chat with our client. Thank you so much for your help, Mr Blackwell. Do you think you will be able to contact your brother and find out if the real statue is still safe?”

Mr Blackwell nodded,

“I’ll see what I can do, but he’s made it difficult to be found. Oh, and detective?”

“Yeah?”

“If you guys need anything else, I’ll be happy to help. I always knew that Bethany was trouble and I’ll be glad to see her behind bars. Oh – and watch out. There’s word of some dangerous people behind all this gold going missing.”

He murmured the warning. Kairo said nothing in response; I wondered what his reaction would be. Jared had given him similar information, but I didn’t think that he would be deterred. He just nodded slowly and dropped some money on the table as he stood up.

“Thank you for your co-operation, and I’m sorry about shooting your leg – I wasn’t aiming for it.”

 Mr Blackwell nodded his acknowledgement and called over the waiter while we left. As we walked away, I looked up at Kairo with a thought in my head and a question on my lips.

“I think you were right about his innocence. So now Mrs Blackwell’s our main suspect?”

“Not until we find her motivation – maybe she didn’t know that the statue she had was fake. There have been other thefts too and it might be the same people behind it.”

I was silent as I considered his words.

“Kairo?”

“Yeah?”

“Where were you aiming when you shot at Mr Blackwell?”

“I was aiming for his heart,” he answered nonchalantly, increasing his pace. “Come on, we’re have to move.”

I slowed down, letting him walk in front. I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms and shook my head with a grin. Even with all the uncertainty about this case, there was something I knew to be true – my life would never be dull with Kairo around.