CODED BETRAYAL

Chapter 5: The Number on the Slip

Julian called the records office during his lunch break. He checked the number from the audit notice against the photograph on his phone before dialling.

The woman who answered sounded busy.

Records office.

Good afternoon. My name is Julian. I submitted a request for archived dispatch records yesterday.

Do you have a reference number?

He gave it to her. Keys clicked at her end.

I'm not seeing it.

It was entered in the register at administration.

Then you need to ask administration. We haven't received it.

Could you check the paper register?

Sir, if it isn't here, it isn't here. I have other work to do.

She ended the call.

Julian wanted to call back, but he couldn't make her search a register she didn't want to check. He put his phone away and returned to work.

Two cartons had been placed in the wrong stack. He caught the mistake while checking the stock sheet and corrected the figures before the next count. Bako had seen him fix it.

At least you caught that one, Bako said.

It was in the wrong place.

I saw that. Your numbers have been better this week, but your attention keeps going somewhere else.

I'm doing my work.

Most of the time.

Julian put down his pen. If you have a problem with my work, tell me what it is.

Bako's face changed. Don't start with me. I'm telling you before somebody else does.

Somebody else who?

Forget it.

Bako walked away.

Daniel had sent another message about the trainee application. Julian had started filling it out the previous night but stopped to investigate the missing records. He called Daniel.

Did you submit it? Daniel asked.

Not yet.

Why not?

I've been busy.

Doing what? Looking for records from a business that closed?

Julian sighed. You don't have to say it like that.

Then stop making me ask the same question. I helped you get that application because you said you wanted the job.

I'm going to submit it.

You said that yesterday.

I heard you.

Then do something about it.

Julian nearly ended the call. Instead, he opened the application link.

I'll send it before the end of the day.

And don't tell me you've done it if you haven't.

Daniel ended the call.

Julian was annoyed, but Daniel had a point. During his next break, he completed the application, checked his answers, and submitted it. The confirmation appeared on his screen.

After his shift, he went to administration. Mr Sanni was sorting forms into folders.

You're back, Sanni said.

The records office hasn't received my request.

Sanni brought out the register and turned several pages. Your entry is here.

Then where is the request?

If I knew, I wouldn't be looking.

Julian looked at the collection box beside the desk. Who was supposed to send it?

Outgoing papers are collected from here. I don't personally carry every form around the building.

Can I see my form?

Sanni hesitated, then took a copy from a folder.

Julian checked the date and the request details. A signature appeared in the collection section.

Who signed here?

Chika. She collected a batch of outgoing papers that afternoon.

So she collected my request?

She collected the papers. That doesn't mean she filled out your form or approved anything on it.

I didn't say she did.

You were about to.

Julian looked at him. You don't know what I was about to say.

And you don't know what happened to your form. Don't jump to conclusions.

Julian turned back to the page. The emergency contact field was blank.

Why is this empty?

It came to me that way, Sanni said.

There's also a note about checking contact details against a previous file. What file?

I don't know. The note was already there when I received it.

Julian studied the handwriting but couldn't identify it.

Can I take a photograph?

Go ahead.

He took a photo.

Can you send the request now?

I'll follow up on it. A formal complaint would have to be recorded separately, and that could delay things.

Just follow up for now. I want to know where the request stopped.

I'll ask tomorrow.

Please don't let it sit there another day.

Then don't talk to me as if I've hidden it.

Julian nearly snapped back, but he had no proof Sanni had done anything wrong.

Tomorrow, he repeated before leaving.

Outside, he checked the photographs. The blank contact field was troubling, but the note about the previous file gave him nothing definite to work with.

His phone vibrated.

STOP LOOKING FOR THE PERSON WHO TOUCHED YOUR PAPER. FIND OUT WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM THE DISPATCH BOOK.

Julian opened the message. The sender knew about his investigation, but that didn't prove they had access to administration. Someone at the warehouse might have seen him there.

He started typing a reply, then deleted it. Instead, he saved the message.

Etim had told him the original dispatch entry showed a truck collecting eighteen cartons, while the system later showed it had left empty. He had also mentioned the old carbon copies.

Julian sent him a message.

Can we meet? I need to ask you something about the dispatch book.

Etim replied while Julian was on the bus.

Where?

Julian suggested a food stall near the main road, away from the warehouse entrance. Etim said he would let him know.

Daniel called again.

Did you submit it?

Yes.

Finally. Are you still planning to meet that man from the old business?

Etim.

Whatever his name is. You can't keep risking your new job over something you can't prove.

I'm not risking my job.

You went to administration again today, didn't you?

Julian looked through the bus window without answering.

That's what I'm talking about, Daniel said. You get an idea in your head, and nothing else matters.

I asked about a request. That's all.

And if they tell you nothing?

I'll look somewhere else.

Exactly. That's what worries me.

Julian wanted Daniel to understand that the business hadn't failed in a way he could simply accept. The dates didn't fit, and neither did the dispatch entry. But Daniel had helped him when he had little to offer in return.

I've submitted the application, Julian said. I'm keeping the job. I'll be careful.

Daniel took a moment to answer.

Just don't make me regret helping you.

The call dropped.

When Julian got home, he found a message from Etim.

Call me. Don't come to the warehouse looking for me.

Julian called. Etim picked up after a while. Voices and the sound of something being dragged across a floor came through the phone.

What do you want to know? Etim asked.

The carbon copy. Do you still have it?

No.

Where is it?

I gave it to someone.

Who?

Someone who said he could get the discrepancy checked.

Julian sat on the edge of his bed. When?

After I raised the issue at work.

Why would you give him the only copy?

I didn't know it was the only copy at the time.

Did he return it?

No.

Did you ask for it back?

Of course I asked. He said he was still checking.

Julian started breathing heavily. You gave an important record to someone you can't even name?

I know what I did.

Then help me understand it.

I was trying to get somebody to look at the entry without making another complaint that would get me into trouble. I thought I was doing the right thing.

You thought?

Etim's voice rose. I made a decision. It was a bad one. What more do you want me to say?

Julian had expected resistance, not an admission.

Did the person work at the warehouse?

I'm not saying more until I check something.

Check what?

Something I should have checked before I gave him the copy.

Etim, this is serious.

I know.

Then tell me who you gave it to.

Not over the phone.

Where do you want to meet?

I'll tell you.

When?

When I'm ready.

Julian felt his temper rise. You can't keep giving me half an answer and expect me to wait.

And you can't keep pushing people until they stop talking to you.

Julian had no quick answer. He remembered accusing Etim of losing a receipt that had later turned up in the wrong file. He had been wrong then, and it had taken him too long to admit it.

Don't come to my house, Etim continued. Don't ask anybody at work about me. I'll contact you when I've checked what I need to check.

The call ended.

Julian wanted to call back and demand a name, but Etim had made his position clear. Pressing him might only make him disappear.

His phone vibrated again.

ASK ETIM WHO KEPT THE CARBON COPY.

Julian checked the number. It was different from the one that had sent the earlier message.

The timing bothered him. The message had arrived after he asked Etim about the missing copy. The sender might have guessed what he was asking, or someone might have heard part of the conversation. Julian couldn't prove either explanation.

He saved the message beside the first one and noted the time.

The person who took the carbon copy had not returned it, and now someone else seemed to know about it. Julian opened his contacts and looked at Etim's number. He could call again and risk pushing him away, or wait and risk losing the only lead he had.

Then another message came in. This time, it wasn't from either of the unknown numbers.

It was from Daniel.

Don't go to the warehouse tomorrow. I need to tell you something first.

Julian read it again. Daniel had spent the day telling him to stop digging, but he had never asked him to stay away from the warehouse.

What had Daniel found out, and why hadn't he told Julian during their call?