ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR

SHIMMER'S POV

Sitting in my office, I told myself that I needed to call Papaya the private investigator. He was reluctant about coming to the hospital, insisting that it was going to be safer if I was the one to go to him. The man was very particular about hiding his identity, and he also was careful to hide his clients' identities. He had an office at the back of a bookshop. The bookshop was usually not busy at all, for it was way out of town. It seemed like the owner was using it as a face, otherwise I believe he or she had other shady businesses; for on its own, there was no way that bookshop would have survived. Some money laundering was honestly going on; but it was none of my business. We used the back entrance to access his office, which was a tiny but clean room at the end of the hallway. When we sat down, I handed over to him my phone, playing the video of Lisa having a mini fight with Anisha.

"Yes? What should I do about the video?" he raised his brows at me.

"Find the woman in that video. Her name is Lisa. I understand her husband is Gareth Everdeen, he owns some detergent-making company. That Lisa works at the ice-cream shop. So I need her contacts, I will need to meet with her."

He stared at me and nodded his head for me to go on. When he saw me silent, he laughed a bit and said, "you did not hire me for this, did you? There must be more. I mean, why on earth would you spend such a lot of money for such an easy task?"

"OK, there's more…" I said in a low voice. "It's all about Anisha Meyerton."

"I know," Papaya smiled. "But what I need to know is; what is it this time?"

"That woman, Lisa, is related to Anisha. But they are not in good books. I therefore need to know if there is any loophole that I can use."

Papaya smiled and said, "use her for what? You need this Lisa woman to do some dirty work for you; since she already hates Anisha?" he laughed.

"Please don't make it sound so bad. I just need to scare her off my son. Nothing too bad."

"You're just like your dad." Papaya laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked him.

"Like father like daughter. Your dad can be ruthless; but I aint telling you nothing that you don't already know." he leaned back in his chair and chuckled.

"Is it allowed to talk about other clients?" I feigned anger.

"I didn't say anything. I just mentioned one fact: the man is ruthless. And it's a fact that you probably got to know way before me; because you grew up with him."

"OK enough talking, Papaya. Please get me Lisa Everdeen."

"Consider it done doc," he yawned and then asked, "Anything else?"

"That's all."

Papaya smiled and said he had expected a lot of hard work from me, but all the same he promised me that he would get back to me soon, for the task was just but too easy.

***.

While I waited for him to get back to me, I started putting my house in order. I could not afford to make any errors, so I wanted nothing to be traced back to me. The issue of Logan scared the daylights out of me, and so I could not afford to make an error. I knew that I needed not even one transfer of money from my account to anyone. I also could not afford to use my usual number for any calls…in short, I had to act invisible. The image of Israel unexpectedly flashed in my mind, and I found myself smiling. As funny and weird as it sounded, I had taken a liking to the young man. I liked his guts; his courage, his determination to do whatever he would have set his mind on.

Feeling strong and ready to act, I called my banker and informed him that I was visiting the bank on the next day, for more cash. But I still had a problem…I did not want to be the one to make any calls? Who was going to do that for me? Oh, how I wished Israel was around. He had told me the code for getting him back…donating fifty wheelchairs. But then, I felt like my issue was small. I feared to anger him. Israel was too big to be called in for something petty…I needed someone. Who could I use? Iris? Iris would never agree to it; unless if it tricked her into doing it. Or one of the hospital employees….who?....Oh! Toast! I could use Toast!! On the day that he left, didn't Israel say he was going to send me an audio explaining how to get in touch with Toast? I could even see him vividly in my imagination; seated in his wheelchair and speaking in a low voice, "If you ever need some small jobs done, get in touch with Toast. I will send an audio on your phone, your usual number, listen to it for instructions on how to get hold of Toast."

Did he send the audio? I never checked for it! My phone...my phone…where is my phone? I fumbled through it with shaky fingers. Of course I had deleted Israel's contact, but then…what if….what if the audio was there in my storage? Could it be there? Was it there? My breathing started to get heavy, the room was very cool but I felt hot. I scrolled through the phone, and realised I needed a date. There were a number of audios in my phone. The date …the date…the date…it must be the day on which that boy Logan died? Or maybe a day after? I quickly checked the de Milo Group online bulletin, in which the news of Logan's 'suicide' had been published. After getting the date, I rushed through my phone.

Audio…audio…audio where are you? About seven audios appeared for the two days; the date on which Logan died, and the day after. I started feeling like I was being watched. I wanted to be alone. I needed to be alone. Of course I was alone in my office, but I needed a more secluded space. Without wasting any time, I went downstairs to the executive basement. Only seven people parked there, and at that time, no-one was in the basement. The security guards greeted me and I just nodded as I made my way to my car. I got inside, made sure all my doors and windows were closed, then I started playing the audios.

In the first one, Arianna's voice rang out, "Hie mum! I need a favour…"

I quickly stopped it and played the next one. "Mamma please check for me…" Arianna again.

Next audio: "Mum, today I won't come…." Arianna again!!!

Next audio. A low, deep voice boomed. Just what I had been looking for. It was he himself. Israel Bassard.

"Her Royal Highness. To get Toast, log into www.iwantthisjobdonetoday It will immediately give an error message which says 'the requested URL cannot be retrieved'. Give it three seconds and a small box will pop. In that box, type a number. One. Three. Seven. Nine. That's Toast work code. Enter it fast. It appears for only five seconds and shuts down. No errors; the code only works once for each user! Use a new cell phone number, not your usual phone. And when you do it, you must be at the place where you want to meet with Toast; for it will automatically send him your location. Within that same hour, he will arrive."

Oh wow! Really? I played the audio again. I started to feel very scared. So…I was able to get Toast any minute I wanted? Back in my office, I requested for someone to get me ten new cell phones. They were to be in the name of ten cleaners. I told them they were gifts to show appreciation for their hard work. Within a while the phones were in my office.

Around 3PM on the next day, the private investigator called me.

With shaky hands, I answered the call.

"Madam, that lady's name is Lisa Everdeen, just like you said. She is the wife of Gareth Everdeen. He owns the detergent making company, and she works at the ice cream shop. They have two sons, ages nine and eight. Gareth has been running his business for seven years now, that is after he resigned from his job at the 7th Street mall, where he was the head of the cleaning department."

"Ok," I encouraged him to go ahead.

"Lisa was a stay at home mum since the time of their marriage. She took care of her sons until the youngest was five, then she got a job at the ice-cream place. Besides that job, there is no other work history for Lisa. Her cell phone number is 548872, and the ice cream shop business number is 235578. I will take that again; 548872 is her cell phone number, and the business line is 235578.

Then umm, about that girl Anisha Meyerton. I just looked deeper into her. The matron who raised her now lives in Hallowcave. That's her home country. Apparently they used numbers back at Olga, and hers was 0028. She has a virtual twin sister, Valentina Meyerton. And then like I said before, there is nothing on her love life. Only that Carter taught her music, but they were never romantically involved. You will be happy to know that I found Carter's cell phone number. It's 54856. He is now a tutor a tutor at the same university where Anisha learns. He's in the fine arts department. His number, I'll repeat again; is 548586."

"Now that they are at the same university, is there a chance of them getting involved? Anything that could have happened, maybe?" I asked as a smile formed on my lips.

"No. They hardly ever talk to each other." he said.

"Oh, I don't know how to thank you!" I could not help but smile broadly. My smile was so wide that I am sure the investigator must have felt it through the phone. My happiness could not be hidden.

After saving both Lisa and Carter's numbers in my phone, I sat down quietly, taking time to plan properly how I was going to get the job done. Failing to control myself, I continued to smile to myself. And I found myself speaking out aloud, "let's see how you will get out of this one, you little bastard!"

Seeing that Roderick was working late again, I left the house with Iris and she drove me to Cloud Nine Restaurant. I preferred Iris to my usual driver. I said to her I just wanted to eat out and she was accompanying me. After informing Iris to go ahead and order her meal, and promising to join her soon, I sat in the car. With shaky hands, I searched for that website using one of the new phones. My hands continued to shake wildly as I watched the message popping up: "the requested URL cannot be retrieved". And then the little box popped. One. Three. Seven. Nine - I typed in quickly. And the cell phone screen went blank. I quickly switched off the phone; it was ready to be destroyed. I looked around and let out a heavy sigh. Sweat balls formed on my forehead. Toast; are you on your way already?