Dead Presidents (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 3) by Thomas Ransom (dark books to read .txt) 📗

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“I was talking, and you just stood up and left!”

“You were creating a scene Jake…”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Jeez, Jake! What is up with you?” Sanjay sighed. “Okay, I am sorry, but that was the only way to get you out of there without letting you get yourself into more trouble than you already are.”

“Oh please!”

“Look, man,” Sanjay started cautiously. They were sitting in a bar, and Jake had already chugged down two drinks. “You honestly need to mellow down a bit. I know things have been hard on you for the past few months, but you have started to become unreasonable…”

“What the hell do you mean by that?!”

Sanjay sighed again, “Please. I want you to calm down and listen rationally. Everyone in the precinct has been very patient with you, considering what happened. However, you have been rather difficult, and people are becoming irritated. Even the captain has been noticing your attitude…”

“Oh yeah? You all been talking behind my back, have you?”

“No, Jake. No one has been talking behind your back, but I am pretty sure someone is bound to file an official complaint soon. You need to be careful. I know making a mistake like that can be hard to swallow, and it takes time to recover, but you have to understand that it wasn’t your fault. There were powerful people out there determined to blame Aria for the murder. They did everything to mess with the investigation. Anyone could have made this mistake.”

“You didn’t. You kept telling me that it wasn’t Aria, and I didn’t listen to you,” said Jake in a low voice.

“Jake, that’s what I keep telling you. Anyone could have made a mistake…”

“But you didn’t. You didn’t, did you? You were right all along. I should have listened to you. I should have been the one to notice there was something not right in the investigation…”

“I would have made the same mistake, Jake. I almost believed it was her. All the evidence, every single thing, was pointing to Aria and the only reasons…”

“But…”

“The only reason I felt there was something odd was because I spent more time with Aria. I had talked to her more, learned things about her, observed her, and she certainly didn’t seem like someone who could suddenly feel the urge to kill her boss, even though she already got his job and was doing so well in the company. I just couldn’t see the connection. The motive.”

“I should have noticed that too. She had to spend months in a prison for no reason at all. All because I wasn’t paying much attention and was only focusing on the evidence.”

“That’s what we are supposed to do. Come on, Jake. We have seen the most innocent looking people, with clean records, murdering someone in a sudden fit of rage. There have been cases in which the culprit looked nothing like we could have imagined even in our wildest dreams. I easily could have been wrong myself. Mistakes like these are not unusual.”

“These mistakes shouldn’t happen…”

“Of course! But we all try our best. You didn’t do it deliberately, did you? It was certainly unfortunate for Aria, but she is getting better and gradually adjusting back to her life. She has even started working…”

“You are in touch with her?”

“Yeah, and her lawyer. Diaz is still working on the case. She wants to go after these people to get justice for herself and Ellen.”

“Oh! Of course. You all helped her in the case. I should have been a part of that.”

“Stop beating yourself up about this more, Jake. This is only going to affect your judgment and decision-making skills. I honestly feel you need a break. Take a few days off and cool down. Get better and then return to work.”

Jake was silent for a while, and then nodded.

“I will think about it. Thanks!”

“Anytime. I just want my old partner back. You have been going slightly crazy for a while now.”

Jake chuckled, “Yeah, I guess.”

“It will be fine from now on. Don’t worry about it.”

“How far has that lawyer gotten on the case?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think she has a lot to work on yet. However, she is determined to go after them. I have tried reasoning with her, but she doesn’t want to listen. I think this is why she has stopped updating me about her progress.”

“I want to help her.”

“What?”

“Tell her that I can help with whatever she needs. I am going to do whatever I can to help her go after these people. It seems like they have been causing way too much trouble. Of course, they are most definitely the ones behind Whitney’s murder too. I am guessing there might be a connection with the recent murder too.”

“Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines.”

“Okay then. Make sure you tell Diaz to get in touch with me. We can meet up and discuss the case and I can see how I can help her.”

Sanjay patted Jake on the back and smiled, “Welcome back, my friend.” It is best to meet her in person, I will give her a call and see if she can come meet us here.”

“Slow down, Tanya,” Aria laughed. “What is with you today!”

Tanya sighed. “Nothing. Nothing. But don’t you think it’s weird that Wayne was suddenly asking about you. He seemed to be worried about you. What’s up with that?!”

Aria shook her head, “Come on, T. There was definitely a rivalry between us, but Wayne isn’t exactly an evil person. He is a nice guy, who wanted to beat me in order to get that project and the promotion. That is it. He probably never saw any of this coming. No one did.”

“I don’t care what you say. I think