The Last Option
Chapter Nineteen: The Suspicion

That same afternoon, Captain Todd West entered Bernard's room followed by one of his detectives, who was holding a tablet in his right hand. He took a quick glance at the baby in his crib and then looked at his subordinate with an "I didn't know this" air, refocusing his attention on the convalescent.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Bernard. This is Detective Joseph Scanlon," West pointed to the man beside him. "As soon as we heard you regained consciousness, we wanted to come and ask you what you remembered from the incident where the Hicks died."

Bernard was lying down and got up a little with difficulty on the bed, trying awkwardly to place the pillow on his back.

"Let me help you," Detective Scanlon helped him set the pillow behind him. Bernard thanked him for the gesture.

"It was my entire fault," he said, with a self-reproachful tone. "I resisted, first they hit me and then they shot me, when Nathan, sorry, Mr. Hicks saw they had hurt me, he wanted to help me, and they shot him too."

"We have a security camera footage near the area where we can see that one of them is the one who kills them all except Mrs. Hicks, who was fatally wounded by a stray bullet," West said. "We want to know why an attempted kidnapping suddenly turned into a multiple execution. Don't you remember they said something that caused that last minute change of plans? Did they argue, maybe? Why did one of them kill the others?"

"I just remember when that guy shot Mr. Hicks, one of them strongly protested saying that wasn't the plan, the man said something I don't remember and shot him too, and then the other. Everything happened very fast."

"Okay. The one who shoots them doesn't look good in the video, it seems that he knew the location of the camera and didn't show his face. In contrast, the other two kidnappers were brothers of Italian origin who were engaged in murder- for-hire for the mafia. It's the first time they were seen kidnapping, almost the same situation as Billy "the bully", dedicated to doing something they are not used to and are not good at."

"Do you remember the face of the murderer?" Scanlon asked. "Any particular detail? Scars, tattoos, anything."

"What most caught my attention were his blue eyes."

"Would you recognize him if you saw him again?"

"I'm sure, Detective. I'll never forget that face."

"That's very good," West said, gesturing to Scanlon, who turned on the tablet and handed it to Bernard. "We bring you some pictures for you to see."

West turned his attention back to the baby as Bernard began flipping through the photos one by one.

"I didn't know about your wife and son. I offer you my sincerest condolences. You've been through a lot. At least the baby is fine."

"Thank you, Captain," Bernard was flipping through the photos, which caught Scanlon's attention.

"Take your time," he said, "look at them carefully, we aren't in a hurry."

Hearing that, West turned to see his detective.

"He knows what he's doing," he told him. "In the navy they teach men like him to detail a whole scene and memorize it with just two seconds of seeing it." Scanlon made an annoyed gesture and turned, beginning to pace the room.

"Thank you, Captain," Bernard said, still looking at the photos. "That man, despite being very careful about his appearance, hadn't shaved his chin well that day. Of course, that isn't a detail of importance." West and Scanlon saw each other again. The latter shrugged.

"He's not here."

Bernard handed the tablet to Scanlon, who hastily reached for it again, searching various folders for more files. "Well, he's not in that group," West said. "Let's deal with the most wanted by the FBI."

Scanlon opened the file and handed the tablet back to Bernard, who began going through the new set of photos.

"I've noticed one thing," West commented, approaching Bernard in bed, "this man, Mr. Hicks, a successful multi-millionaire businessman, did not have a hired bodyguard or protection service; a man of his position must have thought at some point that someone would try to kidnap him for ransom, and yet he did nothing. Don't you replace that curious?"

"I thought the same", Bernard said without stopping looking at the photos, "but I only limited myself to commenting on my position as a driver, since he didn't have me at his disposal twenty-four hours a day like any other millionaire. He had a schedule and he himself drove his cars when I was free. He considered having a driver available 24 hours a day as a triviality. I imagine that in terms of protection and safety he thought the same."

"And we already saw what happened," Scanlon said. "Sometimes the one who has the most is the one who spends the least, not even on his person."

The comment fell heavy on Bernard, who was about to stop looking at the photos to claim him. Nathan a miser? Don't even think about it! He and the baby next to him were the best example that Nathan Hicks was no mean miser! He preferred to continue looking at the photos and hide how upset he was.

"I think you're wrong about that, Joseph," West said, recalling part of his investigation. "Remember that according to what we have investigated Mr. Hicks was a staunch defender and promoter of social causes. His mining company has at least four charitable foundations and he devoted a portion of his personal earnings to sports activities for children and young people. He was a natural benefactor and philanthropist."

Hearing that, Bernard felt better, and deep down he appreciated West's words. He handed the tablet back to Scanlon.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I don't see him in any of those photos."

This time it was West who was hesitant, despite his earlier words about the memory of a Navy Seal and all that. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. Maybe it's someone who still stays out of the radar of justice. Someone very good."

"Maybe," West said. "Our database is very large, by his partial description we can approximate his identity, and precisely you had in your hands all the possible identities of that murderer. A person like that and of his apparent age cannot go unnoticed by the radars of justice, as you say, because he must have a lot of experience, and despite that, he must have left some trace or clue about who he is. Everyone makes mistakes, and sooner or later everyone reveals their identity. Even with spies from other nations."

"Well, what can I tell you? I don't see him there. Maybe if you brings a new set of photos."

"Okay," West said. "We'll be back with more photographs to see if you identify our killer."

Minutes later, West and Scanlon were in the elevator, heading out of the Mercy.

"You know there are no more photos," Scanlon said quietly. "Can you tell me what do you think, Captain?"

"I think our friend isn't entirely sincere. It's difficult that the murderer isn't in one of the groups we show him."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Keep investigating, of course. It's very rare that in all these years nothing has happened to Mr. Hicks until our convalescent friend arrived to work as his driver."

"Now you consider him suspicious? The man received a bullet that almost cost him his life."

"It's true, but given the facts, I can't help but think there's something else we're not seeing. We will keep an eye on our friend and continue to investigate."