A STEP AHEAD

A STEP AHEAD


Michael’s POV

Samuel’s visit might be what we needed to make a breakthrough in this case. As someone who has known Savanah for about two decades, it’s safe to say he’s our lead man right now.

An hour later, the police chief and Tony, the mercenary leader walked into the living room at the same time. I had called and invited both of them to my residence.

“Please, sit,” I said when they entered the living room.

They say right next to us.

I cleared my throat loudly and presented Samuel. “This is Mr. George. The man I told you both about,”

They both nodded.

I had already informed them when I called that there was a man who could give us leads on Savannah’s whereabouts since we already figured out that she never left the city.

I turned to Samuel. “Over to you,”

He cleared his throat loudly and picked up the pen Georgia had earlier delivered to him. “First of all, we need to make of list of all the properties owned by the Greens. I’m sure you guys have listed the properties known to the public and checked them but they own a few properties that are illegal and hidden,”

“Illegal?”

Samuel nodded. “For instance, the vineyard they seized from an old farmer and the drug syndicate Mr. Green is running in an old warehouse,”

I sighed heavily. That explains their source of wealth. Not only was the money in their family account larger than their income, but there was just something fishy about it the last time I checked.

“What’s the plan?” The police chief asked.

“I say we split our search,” Samuel responded. “Your team can be checking out the properties I mentioned,” then he turned to the mercenary leader. “While you and I can probe some people I have on my list,”

“What people?” Tony asked.

Samuel smiled. “It’s impossible for Savannah to run this whole operation alone. I’m sure even her parents had allies when they launched that kidnapping act but even if they are no longer with her now, we must make sure we list out these potential allies,”

I turned to Samuel. “Do you have anyone in mind? We interrogated their domestic staff and they don’t seem to know their whereabouts. Even the soldiers we caught don’t know their whereabouts,”

“I do know a few people Mr. Green worked with. A few people whose hands are dirty and might be accomplices in this game. I also know a guy called Damon, a guy Savannah trusts with her life,” Samuel replied.

I hummed.

“Sounds cool,” Tony remarked. “How did you manage to know all of this?” He asked.

Samuel turned to Madison and me. “I didn’t just choose to cut off the engagement with Savannah because she was vile. I also looked up her family and realized that they were never honorable so trust me, I know a lot about them,”

I sighed and turned to Madison. For a moment, I had completely forgotten that she was seated right next to me.

“Can you guys excuse us for a moment?” I said and stood up. I reached for Madison’s hand and helped her to get up. “You can continue with the meeting,” I told them and led Madison away from the living room.

I wouldn’t want her to sit there and digest all the conversations that were happening among the security team. The last thing I wanted her to have was post-traumatic stress disorder.

We got to the hallway and I stopped and turned to her. “Why don’t you go to our chamber and get some rest. Or do you want to go shopping with Georgia?”

Madison sighed heavily. Perhaps this wasn’t the right time to suggest an outing.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps clicking toward us and we immediately turned around. Carissa, who had just entered through the living room was marching toward us.

Madison beamed at the sight of Carissa.

“Well, if it’s not the newly weds then who do we have here?”

Madison rushed toward Carissa and immersed her in a hug.

I walked up to them. “Why don’t you two catch up? I’ll join the rest in the living room,”

“Of course,” Carissa replied and took Madison’s hand. “Why don’t you begin by telling me how that wedding night went?”

I heard Madison laughing out loud as I traced my way back to the living room.

\~~~

I sat in the car and waited for the clock to hit 9 pm before I stepped out of the vehicle and marched toward the beer parlor.

This was the first time I was setting foot in this particular beer parlour. It was considered one of the oldest in the city and was located at the outskirts.

The parlor is mostly patronized by the elderly men in society and tonight, it didn’t matter whether I was young especially for the sake of what brought me here.

When I got into the beer parlour, I scanned my eyes and caught a VIP booth at the end of the room. I smiled when I spotted him drinking, all by himself.

I cleared my throat loudly and walked up to him. He was just dropping his glass of empty beer glass when I sat in front of him. His eyes widened in horror.

“Hello, old friend,” I flashed a confident smile.

His brows began to furrow and I knew uneasiness was creeping inside him but he managed to put a straight face on.

“If you’re here because of the article then you better get going. I’m not retracting anything I said,” Frazier said.

A waitress appeared with another glass of beer and cleared the empty one. Immediately after she dropped the full glass, I snatched it from the table and raised it to my face. “Cheers,”

Frazier clenched his jaw.

I took several gulps from the glass and dumped it in front of him then I cleared my throat loudly and positioned my hands on the table.

“I’m not here for the article,” I began while looking him straight in the face. “I’m here for the person who asked you to grant that interview,”

He held up my stare. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I gave that interview on my own accord. Nobody asked me to,”

“So it took you ten years to realize that you’re mad at me for fucking your wife and you bedded public sympathy?”

He tightened his fists.

“Let’s get things straight. You did that because someone wanted you to provoke me and ruin my wedding. I’ll give you 30% of my shares and you know what that means,” I said.

His eyes doubled in size. His fists loosened.

“I won’t just give you 30% of my business shares, I’ll enthrone you as a board member in my company and if you’re still the smart man I used to know, you’ll be balling in a couple of months and then you’ll be out of debt and won’t have to sit in a bar that smells like piss,”

His eyes began to roam wolfishly around me.

“Give me a name and location and we have a deal,”

“40% shares,” Frazier spat. “That should be enough to compensate me for all the pain you caused me in the past. Give me 40% shares and we have a deal,”

I smirked. Such a greedy man. I stood up. “Perhaps, I’ll just figure this out on my own,” I turned around.

“Michael, wait!” He called out to me.

A sinister smile appeared on my face. I knew he was going to call me back. I turned to him.

“Fine. I’ll take the 30% and we have a deal but first,” he took off his hat exposing his grey hair. “You need to draw up an agreement,”

I smiled and slipped my hand into my jacket. Then I pulled out a document and slapped it on the table. “Already covered. I appended my signature too,”

I was already a step ahead.

Frazier quickly pulled the document toward him.

“Now, start talking,”