The Missing Ingredient

                            The Missing Ingredient.

Ramon walked across the parking lot and unlocked the vehicle with his electronic key. When he reached the car, he opened the door and seated himself closing the door as he fired up the circuits and engaged the drive.

The Bugatti moved out of the lot and in minutes he was on the highway to Pasadena. He had received a phone call from a lawyer whom he had met recently at a symposium in San Francisco. The man was distraught, cautious but did not want to say much on the phone.

The trip took Ramon 30 minutes in the traffic. Julius had a house in an expensive suburb near the Huntington Gardens. He drew the auto up in a cul-de-sac and parked in the turning circle adjacent the home he was going to visit. Ramon walked through the front gate of the mansion, along the drive to the front door. He could see Julius through the large glassed front entrance pacing in the lobby.

Julius saw him approaching, opened the sliding glass entrance-door and walked to meet Ramon. They clasped hands and Julius lead the way into the lobby to the elevator. They went to the third floor and Julius led the way again to a large studio that was furnished for business with computers, a screen with projectors and an office-lounge arrangement. When they were both inside Julius bent over the main desk and pressed a control which shut the door and activated a screen that hissed softly as it closed off the entrance and windows facing the house stairs and elevator.

Julius was first to speak. “I know that was rather short notice and I took a chance even though I know you are a busy man.”

“You do not have to worry. I was expecting your phone call after San Francisco, but I must admit not this soon.”

Julius continued as he seated himself behind the desk. “OK! I am indebted to you. I want you to know, I really appreciate your unconditional response and your helpful demeanor regarding my predicament currently.”

“Thanks for your acknowledgement. I am curious what prompted the sudden change or urgency?”

“I will come to what escalated the whole situation. But I first want to tell you what happened when I arrived back here from San Francisco.”

“Go ahead.”

“Well! While I was on the plane from ‘Frisco’, I had a text message that gave no details but said that my time has run out. I answered just saying that I would like a meeting to occur as soon as possible. Nothing happened for two days. So I figured it was a ploy to make me nervous or get agitated - which of course it did. After two days a taxi drove into the courtyard and a sheaf of papers was thrown onto the front porch.”

“What’s the message they wanted you to get from that?”

“You already know that I had two government cases for clients in which they sued the US Dept of Homeland Security for negligence and breaches of security. Well, the documents that landed on my front doorstep are seem connected to these cases. I won both cases after two appeals but the Supreme Court awarded me both cases and both my clients were awarded substantial damages. You also know of the threat to my daughter and the bomb threat at my offices 3 months ago. Now the threat has a date and the bomb is no longer just a threat.”

”I understand your position and the probable urgency and anxiety connected with the occurrences. Explain how the two legal cases are connected first and why you think this is related to this attack on you.”

“I do not know that they are connected. The documents sent to me mention the court cases. No specifics. There is also another anomaly which is a parcel was delivered to my office by a white van. I was not there at the time. The driver was captured on video and we traced his identity. Nothing much came of the investigation. He seemed to be a legitimate. That delivery was supposedly the first bomb threat

“So! Julius! At this point, has there been a demand of any kind. Like blackmail or a cash payment demand or threat that has occurred.”

“Well now is the time to tell you why I am suddenly pressured into panic. This morning, I did not go to the office as I had two witnesses arrive here in another case that I am trying. An explosion at my downtown office wrecked my office. Something thrown through the window from the parking lot and must have been some sort of percussion explosive as it detonated immediately on impact. A man was spotted by one of the locals throwing something before the explosion.”

“Hell! This is getting uncomfortable. Is there anything from the police or security yet?”

“ Well no! I was hoping I could get you involved as I am now terrified that something will happen to my daughter. I want to go to her work immediately.”

“Let’s go!”

In seconds the Bugatti swerved out of the side street with both men inside. Ramon typing in the address of Julius’ daughter’s work on the computer and Julius fastening his safety belt as they rounded the corner to the on-ramp south to the address in downtown LA.

“Phone your daughter.”

The highway was not as busy as Ramon had envisioned. There was no answer from Jane’s work. Julius asked for the manager of the unit where Jane worked. He said he’d check and call back.

Ramon pressed his emergency flashing light which started the blue lights outside the car flashing and the siren howled as he swept along in the fast lane increasing his speed.

Julius’ phone rang. Jane was not in her office. The manager said he was checking her whereabouts, questioning her colleagues and would keep in touch.

Ramon pulled into an off-road bay in front of the building. Julius phoned the office again and spoke to the manager. He said he would meet them in the lobby in 5 minutes. Ramon switched on the hazard lights and rolled up the official detective shield in the windscreen and they left the car for the building lobby.

The manager arrived and they met. Jane had received a phone call and checked out of the office about an hour and a half ago. She said she was going to an appointment in the Plaza with a client.

Ramon pulled out his cell phone and made a call, giving Jane’s phone number and said, ‘Trace it and call me immediately!’

The three men crossed the street to the Shopping Center and jogged though the wide through-hall to the Plaza, which was an open seating area adjacent to three restaurants and takeaways as well as cocktail lounge for businesses. They split up with Ramon staying close to Julius so they could cover all the public spaces.

After half an hour they met back at the hallway. Ramon’s phone rang. He said, “Stay with it and let me know. This is a possible abduction.”

There was no answer from her phone and the last trace they had found was from this location one hour ago and nothing since.

The rest of the day was a brutal, Tantalus situation, in which no leads followed up delivered any new data. Julius’ office bombed and his daughter missing as well as the phone un-traced and no new data from the LAPD or the security at the lawyers’ office building.

The two men parted at Julius’s house and Ramon drove pensively home.

Ramon arrived home and wrote down all the failed and dead ended trails. He made two phone calls to request information, one to the lawyer that handled Julius’ divorce arrangements and agreements and the other to, Grace, a friend of Ramón’s that knew Avril, Julius’s ex-wife.

Julius’s lawyer said he would only speak to Ramon in private and Grace would meet Ramon for lunch the next day.

None of these delivered anything of any consequence that would lead anywhere, except Grace informed him that Avril (the ex-wife) was very bitter after the divorce; although there had been no unethical marital conduct from either that had caused the rift, except they were constantly at each other’s throats. That was a bad indicator. The other remarkable datum which Ramon got from his friend, Grace, was Avril knew about the disappearance of Jane but did not seem to be distraught or upset about the fact.

Ramon called a security officer and asked him to put a tail on Julius’s ex-wife and on Julius and collect people contacted and places visited and to tap both phones.

 He then went to the daughters work and interviewed Jane’s work mates.

She worked with 5 female employees and two male seniors. From the two that were closest to Jane; namely Cindy and Alison, Ramon established that Avril (Jane’s mother) was in communication regularly and had visited her at work a number of times; most of these were recently.

As Ramon was leaving one of the other girls, named Carol, came up to him and said that she had seen Jane at the plaza on the day she vanished. She was with a gent and Carol ever the tease had taken a photo of her with this guy to tease her at the office about her new Romeo. But with her disappearance she had forgotten the incident. She showed him the photo and sent him the copy.

Ramon sent the picture to the Security officer he had engaged and told him to get an ID immediately.

His phone rang before he got to his car, it was Jane’s senior. He had taken the recorded office messages and noticed that Jane had been called frequently in the last 5 days by a male using the name Jake. Ramon thanked him and asked him to send the recordings to his office.

Ramon went home. The security officer phoned with a report on the movements of both Avril and Julius. Julius seemed to be absorbed in his trials and court appearances and little else. Avril was another outpoint and becoming suspicious target.

She had spent a lot of time on the phone. She was a Travel consultant with offices in Pasadena mainly doing bookings for flights but also bus tours. In the last two days since the disappearance of her daughter she was out of the office on numerous occasions and had had meetings with ‘clients’ away from the office. There were recordings of conversations that seemed sketchy but nothing revealing except one call to a person named J or maybe Jay that was cryptic and short.

Ramon listened to the voice recordings from Jane’s office desk phone. Nothing special except the calls to and from her mother were tense, and Jane was often upset or not willing to talk. Another strike against Avril thought Ramon. He re-listened to all the calls again made to Jane’s phone including the phone calls from Jake.

Something bothered him but he took a break.

The next morning he had a call from his security man with the identity of the gent that was at Jane’s side on that auspicious day when she disappeared. Jake Ruben. Julius was J Ruben.

He phoned Julius at home to ask if he had data on Jake Ruben. Yes! It was his illegitimate son from a woman who was an actress and he was born before he was married to Avril. Julius wanted her name kept off the record and was reluctant to part with it for reasons that the association could embarrass both of them.

Ramon said, “Well if you want assistance tell me or I will no longer be of help to you on this case. Jake Ruben was seen with your daughter on the day she disappeared.”

The phone was quiet for some minutes. Ramon heard something fall on the other end, then, “Oh God! The phone went dead. Ramon raced to his car and phoned the security officer and told him to meet him at Julius’s house.

It took Ramon almost 40 minutes to get out to Julius’s house and his security chief, Albert, arrived just behind him. They stormed up to the house, pressed the bell. Nothing! Ramon tried repeatedly to phone his office and his two home numbers but there was no answer.

The security officer scaled the drainpipe to gain access to an open 2^nd floor skylight window. Within 10 minutes he was at the front door to allow Ramon in. They found Julius lying in the study or his executive office on the 3^rd floor. Ramon called for an ambulance. It arrived in 5 Minutes with 2 paramedics and Julius was put on oxygen and a stretcher and raced to the hospital.

Julius Ruben died two days later without having regained consciousness.

The Security officer arrived at Ramón’s home early with a full report on the surveillance of both Avril and Julius up until Julius’s sudden death. The Security officer arrived at Ramón’s home early with a full report on the surveillance of both Avril and Julius up until Julius’s sudden death.

“I have the address of Jake Ruben and I have had a man out there watching the place since yesterday.”

“Good, leave the paperwork on my desk there and I want you to come with me. I want to do a thorough search of Julius’s house. Do you have a forensic kit. I know the police have already done their work and they have not come up with anything aside from the fact that his place was burgled 2 weeks ago but the alarms and fast police response scared off the perpetrators off.”

“I have the kit in my van. I’ll get it and I’m ready to go.”

The two men arrived at the Pasadena home of the deceased lawyer and entered as the response came in on Ramon’s phone from the Police detective giving Ramon approval to enter and investigate.

They split up the security chief starting on the ground floor and Ramon started from the 3^rd floor.

The security chief had completed most of the house and arrived in the executive lounge where Ramon sat at the desk.

Ramon stood up and said, “He was sued twice by his wife without result. They were married with an anti-nuptial contract and signed agreements for ‘with accrual’ but he disputed her claims and she harboured a grudge due to this ever since.”

Albert said, “ I contacted the coroner and he says he died from heart arrest. At this point there are further tests he needs to perform to establish if there were any chemicals involved. He did not have any history of heart problems and this is verified by his doctor.”

“I think it is time to pay Avril a visit, but before we go take a plastic bag and put everything in Julius’s medicine kit into it and get it to a lab. I want to know what he had in there.”

The Bugatti was off the Avril’s apartment address.

She was home and looked tired and reluctant to have visitors especially from police and the law. She offered them tea and coffee with a snack and sat down in the lounge with them. Her eyes were slightly red but she was pleasant.

Ramon was surprised at her demeanour and attitude about Julius. Avril was pleasant and unrestrained when it came to talking about her ex-husband. She was open and answered questions easily and without any remorse or resistance. She still had some feeling for Julius but it was over.

Albert received a call from the detective at Jakes apartment. He was home with a girl.

The two men took their leave from Avril.

They were off again to see Jake. This time it was Hollywood. They arrived and knocked on the door. The male answered and gave his name as Jake. He allowed them in without any resistance or query. They were obviously lawmen.

Jake introduced the two officers to Jane as his fiancée.

Both men were taken aback and surprised at this revelation. They were offered drinks and snacks but they explained they had just been to see Avril.

After some explaining and further banter regarding the missing person, it became clear that Julius’s relationship with the women was strained in fact very strained. Jane wanted to get away and the last threats on his business and life were enough she did not want any more pressure to fit some sort of mould that Julius envisaged for her.

Albert left the room on a call to the coroner who told him the cause of death was most certainly a large dose of arsenic.

He returned to the room and nodded to Ramon.

Jake was explaining, He is, or was my father. Back some years ago we were both taking drugs. That was then and then we both quit. My father took the cartel to court and had some of them jailed. He told me once that the drug lord had threatened him saying that they would eventually get even with him and he could count on being a target until his death.”

“Apparently this guy has now been reprieved and is free again.”

They left the house and returned to Ramon’s home.

Ramon said, ”So cause of death was arsenic poisoning. Do you also realize this is a suspected suicide. Get that bag of chemicals you took from his apartment analyzed and I will guarantee you will find arsenic which is known as ‘King of poisons and the poison of kings’ but the missing ingredient is LSD and I am sure you will find he was still taking it.”

                                                        END