The Runaway Reporter (A Police Procedural Mystery Series of Crime and Suspense, Hyder Ali #3) (29 page)

Hyder thought about it. “I’m not sure, but it’s a start,” he finally said.

ONE HUNDRED-EIGHT

The audience was filled with people from all walks of life.  He spotted doctors, lawyers, accountants, retirees, teachers, nurses, and even politicians.  Next to them were students, construction workers, waiters, cashiers, nannies, cooks, and even the unemployed.

They all came to listen to him.  They all came with questions, hoping he would have the answers.

As he looked out at the crowd, he couldn’t help but smile.

He would give them a speech for the ages.  He would show them the ills of society and how, if they followed his teachings, they could overcome them.

He would rail against the governments and how they used fear and disinformation to control their citizens. He would rail against the big corporations, starting with the banks who made people indebted to them so that they would never stray from the status quo.  He would rail against the pharmaceutical giants who were poisoning everyone’s bodies with medications that were far more harmful than the actual ailments they were being prescribed for.  Then there were the law enforcement agencies that were making sure that all drugs and narcotics were illegal, regardless of their benefits, in order to keep getting funding for their initiatives.

The list was vast and comprehensive, but he felt it was his duty to present it to them.  They had, after all, paid a handsome fee to be in the same room as him.

By exposing the lies that constantly surrounded them, he would be freeing them from the shackles of deceit.

They had been lied to from the very beginning.  It started from the moment they entered the education system.  They were taught to never question was they were told.  They were fed lies about history, about science, about religion, about everything.  History was written by the conquerors and it was, therefore, biased and incorrect.  Science was forever changing, and in most cases it was manipulated to satisfy the general presumptions.  Religion was even worse.  Only a country’s predominant religion was taught, while all others were pushed aside as false and blasphemous.

The host was in the middle of his introductions. Soon he would take the stage.

J. Robert Munn was preparing for this opportunity from the moment he had decided to take on his new name.

After tonight, he would bury his past forever.  Dr. Byron Smith would be no more.  He had vanished twenty years ago, but he had always lived on in him.  But not anymore. He was ready to move forward with his life.

He had enacted his revenge.  Devon Pharma had gone out of their way to destroy his reputation. Now their reputation was in tatters.

They would be forced into insolvency and very quickly some corporation would take them over for far less than they were worth.  Their name would disappear like his had years ago.

Creating a drug that made people homicidal was death for any organization.  Devon Pharma would live in infamy for doing just that.  No one would ever trust them, and no one would buy their products again.

The police had no idea he was even remotely involved.  Even if they did, there was nothing that would link him to what had happened.  He had planned it perfectly, and even with some minor hiccups along the way, it had been executed flawlessly.

Now it was time to forget about it.  He had lived with the anger for far too long.  He had shown a different face to his fans, one that was confident and without worry, but deep down he was forever haunted by what happened.  It had changed him.

He had a life that he had worked hard to create and it was all gone in an instant.  He had wanted justice, not for himself, but for that woman who had lost her child and, ultimately, her life.

Hopefully she could rest in peace now.

He regretted the deaths of those involved in his scheme, but it was a small price to pay for what he had lost.

The host completed his remarks and then called upon him to take the stage.

He walked up to the microphone with a huge smile on his face.  Today it wasn’t fake or fabricated.  Today he didn’t have to force himself to be happy.  He just was.

The audience got up from their seats and gave him an ovation.  Some even waved at him, hoping he would notice them.  He did.  Each and every one of them.

After a minute of continuous applause, he had to ask them to take their seats.  He had a speech to give and he was ready for it.

“I would like to thank you all for coming here today,” he said.  His voice boomed throughout the auditorium.  “Today is a great moment for me.  Today will be a great moment for you.  For today I will not only open your minds, but also your hearts, your spirits, your every being.  When you leave, you will not be the same person that came in.  You will be a new person. You will be reborn.  And through this rebirth you will see the world like you have never seen it.  You will be like a child who learned something that they never knew existed before.  So please leave your misconceptions at the door and come with me as I take you on a journey to enlightenment.” He paused, allowing the crowd to prepare themselves for what he was about to tell them.  “I will start from the beginning…”

There was suddenly a commotion.  It was coming from the entrance of the hall.

He spotted a woman with several police officers heading his way.

The crowd began to whisper.

“What was going on?”

“Why are the police here?”

“Is someone going to be arrested?”

The woman came up to the stage and flashed her badge.  “I’m Detective Marina Lopez of the Franklin Police Department.  Mr. Munn, we would like you to come with us.”

“What is this about?” he asked, putting a hand over the microphone.

“You will find out when you get there.”

“I have to make a phone call.”

“To whom?”

“My lawyer.”

ONE HUNDRED-NINE

They were in the interview room.  Munn and his lawyer sat on one side with Lopez and Pascale on the other.

She would’ve preferred to do this on her own, but with Pascale acting as her supervisor, she had no choice.

He wanted in on this, and she didn’t care.  He had given her the go-ahead to get Munn and she was grateful for that.

Munn’s high-priced lawyer was blasting Lopez for what she had done.  By physically removing his client while he was in the middle of his big presentation, she had harmed his reputation.  He would sue both Lopez and the department.

Lopez had dealt with his type before.  They were arrogant and smug.  They believed they could do whatever they wanted.  They weren’t afraid of the law.  They never broke it, but they were comfortable walking on the edge of it.

They knew the rules and the regulations inside out and were able to use it in their favor.

Lopez laid out the case like a deck of cards.  Each card represented one fact in the case.  The first card was Munn’s past and his desire to sabotage Devon Pharma for what they had done to him.

“Flimsy and without merit,” the lawyer scoffed. “What evidence do you have to substantiate this?”

The second card. “We have bank records from Francisco Luiz that show deposits totalling half a million dollars from a bank account registered to a company that Mr. Munn controls.”

She slid the bank statements in front of them.

Without touching them, Munn scanned them.  He then grinned.  “That is indeed my bank account, but if you look closely, it’s registered to a charity.  I use it to disperse money to those who need it.  Mr. Luiz may have been suffering from some hardship, and in order to help him, I may have extended some funds to him.”

“Funds of over five-hundred thousand?” she said.  “Isn’t that a bit too large of a donation?”

Munn shrugged.  “If you check my account history, you will see I have made donations larger than that, so this shouldn’t be an anomaly.”

Lopez didn’t know what to say.

Munn put his fingers together.  “Why are you so interested in Mr. Luiz?  And how relevant is he to me?”

“We know he delivered a modified version of the drug to Rudy Ross, Jr. and to Detective Tom Nolan.  This drug made them commit acts that were dangerous, and in some cases, deadly to others. To top it off, this very drug came from Devon Pharma, whom you’ve had a bad history with.  What do you say to that?”

“Okay, so you know my real identity,” Munn said.  “That doesn’t make me a criminal, though.  Devon Pharma did ruin my life, but now, as you can tell, I have everything a man could ask for.  I have money.  I have fame.  And I have power.”  He then looked her straight in the eye.  “This makes me a formidable person to go against.”

“Is that a threat?” Lopez asked.

“Absolutely not.” He shook his head.  “It was just a comment and nothing more.  Why don’t you ask these very questions to Mr. Luiz?  I’m sure he could tell you what you want to know.”

“He’s dead,” Lopez said matter-of-factly.

Munn didn’t even flinch.  “Well, I guess you’re out of luck then. Sorry I can’t be of any more help to you.”

Lopez had another card up her sleeve.  “We have Felix Dent,” she then said.  “He, too, received money from you, amounts similar to Francisco Luiz.”

“So?”

“So, it makes me question the fact that two people who happened to receive money from you were then caught on footage with murdering a reporter of the
Franklin Herald
.  Her name was Francine Robeault.  And if that name doesn’t sound familiar, she was the one who discovered your previous life.”

“What are you saying, Detective?” he asked.

“I’m not saying anything. I’m just putting the pieces together.”

Munn gave her a hard look.  “Why don’t you round up every person I have ever donated money to?  You can then charge all of us with this conspiracy that you believe we are involved in. If you like, you can even throw in this reporter’s murder for good measure.  I would like to see what a judge thinks once it reached the courts.  If you have proof, then please charge me, and I will let my lawyers refute any and all claims made against me.  If not, then we have nothing to talk about.”

Lopez didn’t have a response.  She had used all her cards and she had lost the hand.  He was right.  She didn’t have anything substantial on him.  Whatever they did have would not hold up in any court of law.

“Are we done?” Munn asked.

She had no choice.  “Yes.”

“We’ll sue the department for false accusation,” Munn’s lawyer said.  “You not only embarrassed my client in front of his devoted fans, you also tried to ruin his good name.  You’ll be hearing from my office soon.”

When they were about to leave, Lopez leaned over and whispered to Munn, “I know you’re involved.  You destroyed the lives of three young people. You also shattered their families, which included my captain’s.  You then tried to use someone I deeply care about to hurt a friend of mine.  I will do whatever I can to make your life miserable.”

Munn snorted.  “Do what you will, Detective.  I’ve been through worse.”

Lopez put her face in her hands once they’d gone.

“I’m glad I’m not you right now,” Pascale said.

Thanks for the words of comfort
, Lopez thought. She also wished she was someone else right now.

ONE HUNDRED-TEN

From his bed, Nolan gave a deposition about the effects of the drug on him. He made it clear that it was he who had attacked Hyder first and that Hyder had shot him in self-defense.

Hyder was able to return home.  His mother was naturally upset, but, after seeing her son free, she was more than glad to have him back. His brother, Akbar, was not as forgiving as their mother.  He gave him an earful for what he had put them through.  But in the end, he, too, was grateful that his younger brother wasn’t in jail.

Lopez took a statement from Tim Ersham on how he modified the drug that altered both Rudy Ross Jr.’s behavior and Detective Tom Nolan’s as well.  This not only supported Nolan’s testimony, it also refuted any wrongdoing on Devon Pharma’s part.  Devon Pharma was still looking for a buyer, however.

With the information now public, Captain Ross finally spoke to the media.  He was flanked on either side by the parents whose lives his son had taken.  He apologized to the families for not coming forward earlier.  He wished he could have his son back and they could have their children back.  They forgave him as he, too, had lost a child, and they wished that nothing like this ever happened again.

Hyder went back to the
Daily Times
and wrote about his ordeal as a fugitive.  In his story he also wrote about Felix Dent and how he was now serving life for the murder of Francine Robeault.  He then wrote a subsequent piece and, with Veronica’s approval, personally hand delivered it to Irving Richler, editor at the
Franklin Herald
. His piece spoke about J. Robert Munn, or, more specifically, Dr. Byron Smith.  He made sure not to mention Munn’s connection to the Riverfield Murders.  Munn was never formally charged and any reference would put the paper under a lawsuit.  He gave full credit of the story to Francine Robeault.  At the time of her death, she was working on it for the
Franklin Herald
, so it made sense for the
Franklin
Herald
to print the story.