85 Meeting Linda in jail

After Ivy left Daniel's office, she had a lot of time on her hands. She was quite free for now and didn't know what to do. Then an idea struck her. She remembered that Linda was locked up in prison. She could give her a visit and ask her why she had failed to keep up her presence for the interview. However, she knew going alone would not be safe. She gave a call to Max.

"Ivy, what do you want?" Max spoke with disinterest.

"Max, is this the way to talk?" Ivy rebuked, although she was not affected by it.

"Ivy if you have called only because you are bored, then I am going to cut the call. I have a lot of work to do, unlike someone who is whiling their time god knows where."

"Max I am also working."

"Oh where? At the motorcycle racing arena."

Ivy sighed. It was a known fact that Ivy loved to race. Whenever she was free, she would go racing with her fellow racers. She was quite well known among the racers as the Wind as she drove her motorbike as fast as the wind. If she was in the mood she would win the game without a miss. However, to keep up the fighting spirit, sometimes she would lose on purpose. The most interesting part was nobody knew that she was a girl, she always disguised as a guy while attending these races. She knew it was not safe as a girl to mingle with unknown people who were also involved with the drug lords and the mafia, so she had taken her precautionary measures.

"Max, I am not racing right now."

"Then speak."

"I want to visit Linda."

Ivy had told Max and Kira all that had happened in that cheap club, leaving the facts related to Joshua and the near-death miss. If she had told them about the fight, they would have lectured her again and reprimanded her for her carelessness,

"Okay. What do you want of me?"

"I want you to come with me."

"Ivy, I am a little busy. I have to finish editing the new documentary film for the new segment."

"Why are you doing it? Ain't it the work of the video department?"

"Yes, it is. However, they want my help in this as this is the first time we will be broadcasting a documentary on our channel."

"Okay fine. I'll go alone."

"No way. You could go with Cedric. He is quite free."

"No, it's fine. I can manage."

"Ivy."

"Okay. I'll wait for him in front of the police station."

After ending the call, Ivy rolled her eyes. She was actually chiding herself for even thinking of calling Max. She should have gone alone, she could take care of herself.

After forty minutes of riding her bike, Ivy arrived at the police station. Cedric was already waiting for her.

"So, Ives. You wanna meet that Linda?" Cedric asked as soon as Ivy went to him.

"Yes, I want some details from her."

"Come on. Let's go."

Ivy entered the police station and was met with a loud cry from one of the inmates. Ivy's eyes widened. It more or less looked like a torture room than a police station. She approached the officer in charge.

"Excuse me sir. I want to meet Miss Linda."

The officer looked up and carefully studied Ivy and Cedric.

"Who?" He asked with a gruff voice.

"Miss Linda," Ivy spoke clearly.

"We have nobody here by that name."

Ivy and Cedric looked at each other bewildered. How could it be? Ivy had clearly seen Linda being dragged away with the other girls by the police that day.

"Officer, she was arrested from a club a few days back."

"Ohh. Is she from that club? I am not sure if there is a Linda here. We have arrested a lot of women and the names they have provided us is fake. I'll show you their photographs. You find out who it is you want to meet."

Ivy nodded.

The officer opened a document and handed her a stack of photographs. Ivy went through each of them and finally found the one she was looking for.

"Officer, this is her." Ivy handed him Linda's photograph.

"Oh. Are you talking about Mindy?"

"What?" Ivy was confused and so was Cedric.

"Yes, her name is Mindy and not Linda. That is what it says in the database too. Sign this register."

Ivy signed on the visitor register and followed the officer till a room. It had two divisions separated by a glass wall. Cedric and Ivy sat on one side as they waited for Linda or Mindy, whoever she was, to come.

"Why did she lie to us?" Cedric asked.

Ivy shrugged. She too wanted to find out the same. There were a lot of things involved in this case and it was getting complicated at every step.

After five minutes, Linda arrived accompanied by a warden. Linda was wearing a light brown prisoner's uniform, her hands were handcuffed. She looked worn out and messy. She had become quite dark compared to the time when they had seen her pale face at their agency.

Seeing Ivy, Linda's face paled. However, she had no choice as the warden pushed her to sit on the chair. Later, she went and sat at her designated spot at the far end of the room near the door.

"Linda, I'll be straight forward. Why didn't you come to attend the interview?" Ivy looked at her without batting an eyelid.

Linda remained silent.

Ivy was not agitated. She had all the patience in the world. She had come to demand answers from her and she would get them at all costs.

"I will ask you again. Why did not come that day?"

Silence.

"I'll start with an easy question. Is your name Linda or Mindy?"

"Mindy?" This time she got an answer.

"Why did you lie to us?"

"I had no choice. I was being threatened every day by someone."

"What did they threaten you with?"

"I would get calls on my phone that if I disclosed the matter then they would kill me."

"Okay. But why did you change your name?"

"I didn't change my name. I merely used another name."

"What do you mean?" Cedric questioned her this time.

"Linda is my sister's name."

"Okay. How is this related to her?"

"It was she who became a victim of this heinous crime."

"What?" Both Ivy and Cedric were stupefied.

"Yes. My sister was the one they had operated on in that clinic. As soon as she found out, she wanted to retaliate. However, they kidnapped her."

Linda or Mindy chocked on her sobs. She had started to tear up long back.

"Then why didn't you go to the police?" Ivy said.

"I went to them. But my complaint was not even filed. They threw me out like garbage."

"So, then you came to us."

"Yes."

"Why did you lie then?"

"I was scared. I didn't want to get kidnapped too. I only wanted to find my sister and get her justice."

"If that was what you wanted, why didn't you come for the interview?" Cedric asked again.

"After I met with you the previous day, I got a call from someone. He threatened me to follow his orders or else he would sell off my sister. So I had no choice."

"So, you started to do as he wanted."

Mindy nodded.

"Have you found out about your sister?" Ivy asked carefully.

"No. They were testing me to see if I was not betraying them behind their back. But you came and foiled all my plans." Mindy got agitated all of a sudden. She got up and the stool toppled with a bang.

"You bitch. You came and spoiled all that I had done. I am going to kill you." She started to punch on the glass wall. The warden rushed to her immediately, however she could not control Mindy. It took two more people to subdue her. They immediately took her back to her cell.

Ivy and Cedric left with a heavy heart. Mindy's words were running in her mind like a cycle and she was filled with remorse. It was because of her, Mindy was unable to save her sister and she got locked up in jail. But what she did not know was that the truth was something else altogether.