Chapter 30

Chapter 30
Jimmy had the same shocked expression. What was that news about? They haven't found Laila! Or had they sent someone else in search of her?
"Jimmy! You are not saying anything. What's going on? How come we are still on the case if they had closed it? Why didn't anyone call us?" Thompson asked, turning off the radio.
"I don't understand," Jimmy said shaking his head. He was as confused as the young detective beside him.
"I am calling Carter. He can't keep us on the road with no info! If he sent another team over to her, he should have told us!" Thompson snapped taking out his phone but Jimmy stopped him.
"What?" Thompson yelled, pulling his hands away from Jimmy's grip.
"Don't call him. They are playing a game. Elena didn't commit suicide and I am starting to think, Laila didn't kill her either. Something else is going on and whoever is involved, just paid his way out of prison, but not on my watch!" Jimmy said, his voice dangerously low.
Thompson stared at him as if he had grown two heads. "What do you mean by all of that? Even if someone bought their way out of prison, if the department closes the case, we have no right to continue it! We have zero resources! How are we going to continue?" Thompson barked
"Look at us! We have been roaming the streets of New Orleans like criminals, living under the shadow, avoiding other patrol cars! We haven't even been able to track down Damon Michaels!  What if they have found him already and he-" Thompson stopped talking as the whole thing started clearing out in his head. "Wait!"
"If they have found Damon Michaels and somehow they are saying the case is closed, could Damon be the killer?" Thompson asked gazing at Jimmy for a response.
"You never know. But I am almost certain that's what happened!" Jimmy said fixing his eyes on the road. Just at that moment, they heard a deafening howl, like some animal had gone mad!
"What's that!?" Jimmy asked and Thompson immediately started the car in that direction not waiting to discuss it with Jimmy. Their car flew down the road and fast to a small isolated house by the corner.
Thompson jumped out of the car and Jimmy followed, the both of them holding down their guns. They searched around the perimeter of the house and found a hole in the wall. Thompson stared at Jimmy and the latter nodded signaling to him to enter.
Inside, the hole, they found a very scattered house. The place was thrown inside out. There were broken plates on the floor and the chandelier was all over the place.
"What happened here?" Thompson asked.
"Keep it low!" Jimmy snapped stretching his ears to the room, everywhere was quiet except a low whimpering noise. He followed the noise and it led him down a corridor. He saw a shadow of a man sprawled on the floor.
"Call 911 now!" He yelled at Thompson as he ran to the man.
It was an old man, barely holding on to his life as he took pained breaths. There was a long gash on his neck and he was holding on to it as blood gushed out of it like water in a fountain.
"Emergency, we need an ambulance! Downtown New Orleans, eighth street, we need it now!" Thompson barked into his phone.
"Hold on, help is coming, " Jimmy assured the old man, going on his knees beside man. He tore a piece of his shirt and pressed it down on the gash, hoping to apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding.
"They know he was here. They are coming." The old man mouthed and Jimmy furrowed his brows wondering what he was saying.
"Who is coming?" Jimmy asked him and the man held his right hand with the strength a dying man shouldn't be having.
"You need to find..." The old man said wheezing out in pain.
Jimmy lowered himself to the man's mouth level to listen to the words he was saying properly. "Stay with me, stay with me!" Jimmy said adding pressure onto the man's neck.
"Damon... Find Damon..." The old man said before his sharp eyes stopped moving and he was no more.
"Hey! Hey! No no, stay with me !" Jimmy shouted, shaking the man but he was already long dead.
"Shit! Damn it!" Jimmy cursed.
"What's wrong? An ambulance is coming..."  Thompson was saying as he moved closer to Jimmy and saw the old man sprawled on the floor. He saw the state the man was in and he understand, the man was dead.
"He is dead," Jimmy whispered as he sat on the floor.  He had hoped they could save the man.
Jimmy sat on the floor watching Thompson go over the dead body for details while he was unable to move. The old man was attacked. The condition of his house explained that much. But the things he was trying to say, Jimmy couldn't understand clearly.
He wanted him to find Damon... Did Damon do this? And who was coming?
The front doors barged open with a large bang and a group of suited men came inflowing to the corridor where Thompson directed them. They took pictures of the body and carried it to a stretcher, then started moving it outside.
"Aren't they going to introduce themselves, who are they?" Jimmy whispered to Thompson. "Are you sure this is 911? Why are they wearing suits? Are they the FBI?" "Jimmy asked, getting to his feet.
The line of suited men soon parted and a familiar face walked through.
"I don't know what the hell is wrong with you boys, why didn't you return to southern California, when I asked you to?" Captain Carter barked and the two officers stood rt abruptly saluting their boss.
"Sir, we are sorry. But we couldn't let the lead go. He was the only one we had for the case." Jimmy explained.
"And now we heard the case has been suspended and nobody even called us, we figured we will stay here for a while until the department remembered us!" Thompson said with a click of his tongue.
"That has nothing to do with the case! you are both to be queried for refusing to accept a direct command from your senior! "  Carter growled, turning to walk away from them.
"Is it true the case has been closed?" Jimmy asked again and Carter stopped moving.
"Listen the both of you, I am the one to ask the questions here and not the other way around. My team and I are very busy now, you may return to California where your sanctions are waiting for you!" He growled kissing his teeth in frustration.
"But sir, what are we to do? " Thompson yelled, making Carter pause for a second.
"I will deal with you when I am done here!" He mumbled to himself. He turned around and walked out of the house.
Jimmy stared at his retreating frame and wondered what had come over him. Carter was acting strange. He had always been a great detective, fighting till they got to the last of details. Yet, in this case, he seems to want to push it down the carpet
Jimmy got up and walked to the little bathroom to clean himself up. He had blood all over him and he was still in confusion. The old man dropped him a message. But what did the message mean? Did he have to keep looking for Damon? Was Damon the killer?
"Jimmy, are you alright?" Thompson asked popping his head into the bathroom.
"I am good, thanks," Jimmy replied, wiping his face with a wet napkin. He turned and looked into Thompson's eyes. "what do you think we should do now?"
"I don't know," Thompson shrugged.
"The old man said I should find Damon that someone was coming. I don't know... Should we just go home and forget all of these happened?"
"Damon? The same Damon Michaels? Why does he keep popping up?" Thompson asked.
"I don't know, Thompson. I don't know. One thing I know is that I won't stop. Not until I get a hold of Damon Michaels."

Damon had finally gotten the strength to drive away from Jonathan's place and just as he was going he heard a police car approach from a distance and he changed direction. His pained gowling must have attracted their attention towards him.
He took a different route and drove as fast as he could to their packhouse. The news had already gotten to his pack by the time he got home. They were all standing by the entrance of the house waiting for him. When he alighted the truck, Henry walked up to him.
"Alpha we heard what happened, is it true?" Henry asked.
"Yes, Jonathan Martin is dead..." Damon said heading into the house but Henry held him back.
"Alpha you can't go in there," he said, bowing his head.
Damon could not understand, he looked at the rest of his men and they all carried long faces. "What's going on?" Damon asked them.
"The council has released a warrant..." Henry muttered.
Damon pushed past him and entered the packhouse. There was a pile of papers on the floor. But that wasn't what made Damon freeze. It was the interior of the house. There were scratch marks and hateful words written on the walls.
He picked up one of the flying papers and read through it, his frown deepening the further he read. "What is this?"
The paper was a picture of him and Jonathan. He was bent low while Jonathan held a sword above his head.
"Alpha, the people are demanding your head," Henry said.
"What?" Damon asked not believing his ears.
"The council said you killed him. They have pictures of you entering his house and he was fighting you...". Henry was explaining, but Damon could not understand a word he was saying.
How could the council stoop so low?
"They killed him and now they are blaming me for it?" Damon was devastated. How could they do that?
"This picture was taken when I got there. We weren't fighting. He was only trying to defend himself. He thought I was someone else!" Damon stated.
Henry held his shoulder gently. "Alpha, we know all of this is a lie. A big frame-up. You don't have to explain anything to us. We have seen up close what the council can do. But right now, you need to leave. Return to Southern California, find Logan, and together find out the truth about Laila. That is the only thing that can clear your name."
Damon stood frozen, lost in his world. How did Dearkson turn things around like this?
"Alpha, there is no time, you have to leave. Right now!" Henry urged him, leading him by the arm to a different truck.
"Everything you need is in there, just drive as fast as you can and stay away from council patrol. We will try and keep things steady around here. When the coast is clear, we will send you a signal."
Damon only nodded. He was too numb to respond. This was never what he thought things would turn out to be. Laila was his only hope now.