DELANCY: Secrets in the Shadows

CHAPTER 34

It was a Friday afternoon when I looked over at my old friend. I could tell by the

expression on his face he was feeling sorry for himself. He had a frown on his face

and was deep in thought. I had known him for a long time and could tell something

was weighing on his mind. What was it? We were in a small office in downtown Syracuse

N.Y. He had been a private detective for the past 10 years. “You have always liked to

help people in a jam,” I said. Finally, he opened up and told me that when he first

got his license to become a detective, it was the best day of his life.

He could be his own boss, work for himself and pick who he wanted to work for.

As time went on, spying on marriage partners to get evidence against them in court

added up being hated by a lot of people, he said.

Just then we heard a knock at the door. Henry answered the door and was faced

who looked like he hadn't slept for a couple of days. How can I help you? Henry said.

The desperate-looking man told us his name was Steve Arnold and he needed help in locating his missing brother.

Have a seat, Henry said.

His story began when he and his brother were on a cruise ship. They had boarded

and got settled in their cabin. His brother Harold went over to the refreshment

area to get them a cold drink. He never came back. Mr. Arnold said that he decided to go looking for him.

At the refreshment stand, the crew

member didn't remember him when I described what he looked like. I then notified the authorities on the cruise ship to explain that my brother was missing. A photo of my

brother

was given to several crew members. Please help me find my brother. I think something

awful may have happened to him. Henry introduced me to the man and we shook hands.

Henry was interested in the case. Money was discussed and agreements were made

Day two

came and went. We located the Cruise Ship, Royal Caribbean, and were granted

permission to board. The captain was shorter than m. He had a warm smile and was overweight. I asked to speak to the captain and was shown where his quarters were. The captain said that he was sure my brother would be found shortly. I explained my anguish to a passenger in the dining room. Her name was Ms. Blankenship and she mentioned you, known as the cheap detectives. Henry looked at me

and said, “Why do I keep hearing this about being a cheap detective.”

Okay, Henry said, “We'll take the case.”

We contacted the cruise ship and the police department to see what either of them had

found if anything. Neither of them had found anything. asked for the name of the

missing

brother of our client. It was Harold Arnold. “Did he have any enemies?” we asked his

brother, Steve? Not that he could think of. No one had remembered seeing him on the cruise ship, the captain reported. “Was he suicidal; could he have jumped overboard”? “I don't think so

Steve said.”

We went back to the refreshment bar and spoke to the crew member aboard the ship along

with Steve. Steve said his brother always liked lemon-lime soda. Ah, yes, the crew member said

he now remembered a request from a young man for a lemon-lime drink and he was out that day.

But, he also recalled a young lady standing nearby him who interrupted Harold and

said that she had some lemon-lime saved in her cooler and would be glad t share with

him.

The last the crew member saw them they walked off together. Would he

recognize the woman if he saw her photo? “Maybe,” he said. We went to the captain of the cruse-ship and asked for all the photos of everyone on the ship and went over the pictures of

all the passengers on that cruise. The crew member picked out four photos. We got the names of the four and went online to find out more about them. One of the four was a known felon. We found her address online and went to her residence to speak to her. She had been arrested along with another man as kidnappers. We received a cold expression on her face. She wasn't telling us anything. Did she want a ransom if she had kidn*pped Harold? Once we had her residence we watched what was going on late every night from a distance. Three nights went by and it was pretty quiet. Then the fourth night about 11:30 PM, a workman showed up. Two men got out and went into the house. Ten minutes later three men came out. One of them was Harold. His hands were tied behind his back. We called the police on our cell phones. We already had the license plate number on the work van. One of the men saw us parked nearby and headed toward us. He had a g*n and was about to take us into custody. He motioned us inside the house. The man with the g*n asked us how we found them. I said we went online and also looked at some photos of the passengers on that particular cruise. and learned about the past record of the woman who offered our friend a beverage. When we approached her she turned us away so we knew she was hiding something from us,

We knew we were in trouble. What we didn't know is that we had been followed by the police.

Two policemen knocked on the door and said open up, it's the police. They took custody of the four men . We looked at the two Arnold brothers and felt relieved.

The next day we sat down with the two Arnold brothers. It was time to get ready for another case.