The Houdini Effect

The Houdini Effect

Mike knew he could hold his drink. He had been drinking for the last one hour. He smiled as he remembered his technique to drinking and not getting drunk. He dances as he drinks this tends to make him feel less drunk. It was Dr. Ril's birthday. They have known each other since their days in the university.

It was only proper he attends his birthday party since they are living in the same city and Mike is someone that loves his alcohol.

There is, even more, a reason to drink and be happy that night, Mike recently sold his old car and bought a new one just two days ago. So it was a double celebration. The music blaring from the speaker changed to a popular song and everyone inside Club 57 happily shouted. That was a good life, and these people here are living it.

Dr. Ril could not stand the cigarette smoke and just took permission from his Mike to stay in the non-smokers corner. Mike could not understand how he could endure cigarette smoke as a nonsmoker and the Dr. Ril the smoker could not. It was a puzzle he does not think he would get a solution to anytime soon.

Mike checked his wristwatch, it was 3.45 AM, and he decided it was time to go home. He found Dr. Ril easily in the nonsmoker's section sitting in one corner and half asleep. He shook him awake and they both walked out of the nightclub.

The cool morning air was invigorating, Dr. Ril was fully awake. Mike walked with a slight stagger indicating he was a little tipsy. His friend noting this said,
"Mike, there is no way you are driving this night in this state. Kindly give me the car keys let me drive."

"I know you have been itching to drive my new baby. Well, now you've got an excuse."

Mike said laughingly, as he threw the key of his Mercedes M-class SUV to the friend.

"Yeah, you got me, I may as well see what it feels like to drive a Mercedes compared to my Toyota Camry." Dr. Ril replied as he caught the key thrown at him.

They began the about 50m meter walk to where the big car park of the club was. As they approached the car park, Dr. Ril removed the car keys from his pocket and pressed the alarm button. He waited to hear the beep response from the car to locate easily where they parked.



^Source


He did not get any response. Out of range, he thought. He should wait till they are closer to press it again.

"Do you have loose change with you which we could tip the security at the gate with?" Dr. Ril asked

"No, I gave them a tip as we are driving in, if everybody here gives them a tip coming in and going out they'll all be richer than us," Mike said amidst laughter.

Now they are at the car park gate Dr. Phil pressed the car key alarm and got no response.

"Hey Mike, what's the range of this your car keys or is the battery dead?" Dr. Ril asked.

"The range is long enough, I could press it from the club, and it would work just fine, the battery is good," Mike replied.

"Oh, I'm wondering why it's not responding, guess something is blocking its frequency or something." Dr. Ril murmured.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not that drunk, I still know where I parked my car." Mike laughed loudly, patting his friend on the back. His laughter echoed through the vast car park. Mike walked ahead with Dr. Ril in tow. They came in together but Mike was driving so he is in a better position to find where he parked.

After about twenty minutes of crisscrossing the park, it was no longer fun.

"Mike are you sure you parked the car in this park?"

Mike slightly irritated replied, "How many parks do you see here? Did I not come in here with you? Of course, I think I'm standing at where I parked it."

"I think it is best we invite the club's security to help." Dr. Ril suggested. Mike reluctantly agreed as he believed it is just something they could resolve. The security post was about sixty meters away.

They started trekking towards the gate; muffled music could be heard coming out from the club they left about thirty minutes ago. After some walk, they arrived at the gate and met only one security awake. His name was Jack. But the entrance gate to the club was shut. So no one could leave without the security's consent.

After being briefed by Mike about how he could not find where he parked his car the security said it usually happens. People always get a little disoriented after drinking and may easily not find their car in the vast parking lot. Mike replied in a terse tone that he was not drunk neither is the friend. The security guy quickly apologized that he did not say they were.

Jack woke his colleague and told him to man the gate. He collected a long flashlight and followed Mike back to the parking lot. He was walking a lot quicker than both of them. Mike and his friend found themselves a little out of breath trying to keep up with Jack's stride.

After twenty minutes of fruitless search, it dawned on them that the car was not in the parking lot. Mike was getting frustrated with each passing minute. The security explained that the situation was still under control as car theft in the club was virtually impossible.

"Let us go back to the security post, there is a CCTV camera monitor unit that covers the car lot," Jack told the two friends.

At least, some comforting news.

The walk back to the gate appeared twice as long as it took them to get to the park. Jack informed them there was a security vehicle he uses for patrol, but that it was out of order.

They finally arrived at the security post, and sure enough, there was a CCTV monitor showing various areas of the vast club. But there was a little problem, the parking lot's CCTV camera had failed. The security said he just checked it yesterday and it was functional.

Jack assured them there was nowhere to drive out could a car that is not yours without the tag and him opening the gate. He asked Mike whether he left his exit tag in the vehicle. Mike said it is still in his pocket.

Fortunately, the two cameras at the gate are working. Mike was getting tired of these assurances, he just wants his car to go home. By now all hopes of ever going in time home was gradually evaporating.

First, they need to find the car. So they sat down ready to watch the security footage and the recording was rewound till they drove in. It was monotonous watching different cars drive in and out of the club. But that was not for entertainment as they were only interested to ascertain if any of them was a white-colored Mercedes M Class SUV.

The bright floodlight at the gate, plus the color of the missing car helped to easily differentiate it from other cars entering or leaving the club. White is a favorite color, but that day in the club, there were few white-colored vehicles.

They were watched the security footage till daylight. It took almost three hours for them to be up to date. The security footage was fast forwarded in some places. But nobody drove out in a white Mercedes SUV. The club was fenced, and the only way out was the guarded gate. How did the car disappear? This is looking more mysterious with each passing minute.

Mike is now clearly distraught. The car has no insurance yet. He was still planning to do one. His friend that handles car tracking is yet to fix one for him too. Things are not looking good, for him at the moment. One more time, he searched the car park and the premises of the club, to be sure. He reluctantly went home to bath, and prepare for the next course of action.

Mike hated the police, but today he would have to deal with them. After taking his bath, he dressed and went to the police station, where he reported the car as missing.



^Source


Sergeant Pidu was assigned the case. He was a tall slim man with a skeptic's face. Mike wondered if that is how his face was or just his way of making criminals tell him what he wanted to hear.

Sergeant Pidu did not waste time in bringing the two security on duty to be questioned. The interrogation yielded no result. The police took the CCTV recording for further investigation.

Mike was told to go home that he would be contacted if there was a break in the case. He was skeptical that there would be.

Three days later he got a call from the police, and Sergeant Pidu said simply, "We got them." Mike nearly dropped his phone in excitement. He dressed hurriedly and rushed off to the station.

He was so excited he overpaid the cabman who took him there. He was taking the stairs three at a time as he ran upstairs to the Criminal Investigation Department. Sergeant Pidu received him and ushered him into his office. His face still has a cynical look of a man who never believes anything.

"In my over fifteen years of experience, I have never encountered criminals like those that took your car." Sergeant Pidu paused here for effect. He continued, "I watched the CCTV video more than four times till I noticed something. There was a truck that delivered twenty KVA generator to the club that night that your car disappeared."

Sgt Pidu continued, "I did not think anything of it till I realize it has a hydraulic system of bringing down those heavy generators. While we were busy looking for your car, your car was hidden in plain sight in the truck!"

The police were able to trace the driver and he confessed to having used this method to steal over ten cars. He works with four others who help in attaching tow chains and lifting the cars into the truck. He uses the cover of a generator delivery man. That makes it easy for him to operate in plain sight with no one noticing. They disengaged the car's battery rendering the alarm useless.

It took a day for Mike to see his beloved SUV again. The thieves slept in the truck and left the next day while the police were busy combing the compound for clues. Mike's SUV was just thirty meters away from where he was searching. Such balls!

## Authored by: @greenrun