Chapter 4

Back at Alexanders mansion, Fat Joe and Steve meet Alex at the poolside, "Did you get the job done neatly?" Alex asked as he made the backstroke swim... "Yes boss" They both replied. " Good, so I have your word that you left no trails, yes?" Alex asked, "Yes of course, we left no trails, even a tracking dog would have no clue." Fat Joe replied. Alex smiled. "But, I found this!" Fat Joe brings out the wallet from his pocket, "What's that?" Alex asked curiously, "I found it in Bradway's pocket, I thought you might wanna take a look at it". Alex swims closer to him and grabs the wallet, he opens it and brings out the photograph.

He takes a moment staring at the photograph intensely, "Whose the blonde?" He asked... "Well, she might be their daughter!" Fat Joe replied. "Would you like us to erase her as well?" Steve asked, Alex takes a deep breath and grabs his glass of wine, "Does she know about any of this?" he asked as he took a sip form the glass, Fat Joe and Steve stared at each other and back at Alex, "Well, we have no idea" Steve replied. Alex flipped the picture, behind it was written 'We love you Eleanor'.

 Alex smiled as he took his gaze off the photo, "How about their phones? Did you find any phones on them?" He asked as he dropped the wallet on the floor and continued swimming. "No sir, just the wallet" Fat Joe responded.

"Alright then, don't worry about it, I'll handle it from here" Alex replied. "Okay boss" they turned around and left.

A couple of hours later, Alexander gets to his study and puts on his Pc, he looks up the name 'Eleanor Bradway' on Facebook. A couple of names and images pops up, he finds a striking resemblance with one of the persons online, he compares the lady online with the lady in the photo in his hands, a smile locates his face... He adjusts his hair off his eyes "She's beautiful". He looks further and sees her address and services, "She's an artist, Now this is getting interesting...I'm coming for you darling"... Eleanor halts by an eatery and steps out of her car, she walks into the building and heads straight to the counter. "Good morning, what will you like to have? the attendant over the counter asked... Eleanor remains mute, "Hello!" The attendant called, Eleanor stared blankly at the photo of a police officer on the wall just behind the attendant. The attendant taps her in order to get her attention. Eleanor's gaze comes upon the attendant, "Are you okay Ma'am?" the attendant asked, Eleanor takes a deep breath, "Yes... Yes I'm fine, sorry." She said as she wiped her face with a kerchief. The photo on the wall reminded her of her brother who had gone missing over a year ago just the night before his promotion as a sherif. "What will you like to have?" The attendant asked again, not certain what could be bothering the lady standing before her. "Uhm!" Eleanor glances around for an option, "I'll have the hamburger and chips with an orange juice". The attendant fetches her orders. Flashes of her brother pops up in Eleanor's mind as she gazes upon the picture. She's unstable... "You know what? Don't worry about it" She says as she leaves. "Wait!" The attendant called out as her gaze remained catatonic.

Eleanor gets back in her car and begins to cry bitterly. "I'm sorry brother Eric, I'm so sorry, I can't do it..." She quickly wipes off the tears from her eyes but can't help it as more tears drop, wetting her soft pink lips. "I can't keep the family together as you asked me to".

"I can't. Everything's gone sideways since you passed on".. She brings her self to stop crying. With her eyes reddened, she picks up her phone and tries to dial her mothers number, but she relents, lost in thoughts and feeling enigmatic, she drops the phone and drives off.

She gets to her parents residence down town, the neighbourhood is as quiet as every other day, she steps out of the car and walks to the entrance door. Indolently, she knocks the door and takes a deep breath. Waiting for a response, she scans the premises, Something about it feels absurd, the neighbourhood is normally quiet, but just that this time, it felt empty, especially her parents apartment. Her father is a retired officer, at least he should be home listening to some old time music as was his culture. She knocks the door again, but still, no response. "Dad! It's Ely". There is no response. "He's probably out with old friends" She says in a low tone... She exhales as she turns around and walks back to her car. Soon as she gets into the car, she drives off. A few cars behind her's was Alexander's car, parked by the road. He sat still and observed her until the moment she drove off. He smiles, "Well, here comes the early bird" He says as he follows her from a distance, he grabs his phone and calls Fat Joe, "Hello, Fat joe, I am going to text you the address of the lady's parents, I mean the lady from the photo, Get there and make sure there are no traces that could connect to us." He hangs up the phone and drives on, tailing Eleanor.

A few moments later, Eleanor rolls up at the front of her compound and steps out of the car with her items. "Hi Ely, I came checking up on you this morning, seems you were out early!" Sarah her neighbour said as she trimmed the flowers at the front of the building. "Yah, you know I have a lot of jobs I need to tidy, So... I had to rush out and get some items to work with" Eleanor replied. "Well, how's that holding up for you?" Sarah asked, "It's draining, I fear that I may loose the contract." Eleanor replied, Sarah stopped trimming, "Oh really? And why is that?" 

 Eleanor took a deep breath with a faint smile, "Well, If I am unable to deliver the paintings before the deadline, the gig's gone." She said. Sarah moved closer, "But, last week, you told me you had contracted a few hands to assist you with the paintings" She said, Eleanor stared at her blankly, " I did, but those crooks, lazy and slow.. They were too non- chalant for my liking, I got rid of them" "Wow, that must have been a waste of money yeah?" Sarah asked. "Yah, you can bet it actually was." Eleanor replied. "I've got to go, need to get back to work soon as possible"

"Alright, I'll check up on you later in the day." Sarah said "Would you like some chicken soup? She asked, "Yeah, sure, who wouldn't?" Eleanor replied. They both laughed out as they went their separate ways.