“Oh, Detective Clarke! It’s so good to see you again! Looking as fine as ever!” Harriet squealed from her desk and she spun a strand of hair around her finger.
“You too, Miss Williams,” Adam replied courteously. “We are here to investigate the murder?”
“Of course sir. But first I have a file for you. Detective Hans thought you’d want it.” She grabbed a file from her desk and hurried over to Adam.
“And what may this be?” He inquired, taking the paper from her hands.
“The check-ins and check-outs during the day of the murder. In case a suspicious name turns up.”
“I see. Thank you, Miss Williams.”
“Enough dallying!” Pigeon let out as he pushed Adam and Harriet aside. “I have a crime scene to look at. You may stay here Adam.”
“No, I may not.” Adam retorted. “And don’t touch anything unless I say.”
The room was permeated with the heavy, unmistakable stench of blood and metal. Thick, reinforced steel clad both the floors and wall. In the center of the room stood a metal chair equipped with straps around the arms and legs, pinning the late suspect firmly in place. The security here was far superior to that of Yoshida’s cell, a clear indication of the perceived threat level. Despite Yoshida being said to be the killer. It seems like even subconsciously the arresting officers didn’t view her as much as a threat. As least not as much as this man.
“It’s almost like paint!” Pigeon exclaimed as he lifted a finger. His other cupped his cheek in horrified curiosity. Adam's eyes followed. On the upper part of the wall behind the chair was a scarlet splatter of blood surrounding a small indent in the wall. Was it from a bullet?
Adam approached the victim in the chair. As he examined before, he was strapped to it. His right hand was in a fist and his head was leaning over his neck. From his left eye over was coated in blood. It dripped down his body like a waterfall of carnage, covering his sleeve and puddling on the floor beside the chair.
“Gross,” Adam remarked as he fished a pair of black leather gloves out of his pocket. After he slipped on over his left hand he cautiously tilted the victim’s forehead towards him with the tip of his fingers.
He mentally recoiled at the sight. As soon as he turned his head, half of the victim's jaw practically disintegrated. Held on by a few strained tendons and muscles. His eyesocket was left mangled and the eye itself was nowhere to be found. Reluctantly, Adam looked closer.
The left side was much worse for wear than the right. The right was mangled and bloody but he could still make out an exit wound on the higher part of the jaw but no bullet.
Pigeon stood in belief by the wall, gawking at his boss and the victim.
“Woah, you think he slipped?” He joked, after gaining his composure.
“No.” Adam stood up off his knee and wiped gore covered glove off on his coat. An action that he very much regretted seconds later. “He was shot. At close range too.” He jutted his finger behind Pigeon; at the dent in the wall. “I assume the bullet is in there. Look but don’t take it out.”
He obeyed as he examined the wall behind him. In the middle of the crater was a small, red-tinted, squished bullet.
“There sure is Mr. Clarke! Great job!” He unnecessarily praised. “I guess this makes our job easier, right? Only so many people can carry such a high-caliber firearm. And sneak it into a holding station. It is most likely an officer. All we have to do is examine the grooves of the bullet cartridge to validate that it’s a Metropolitan Police-issued gun.
“Maybe so. But this certainly muddles things. So, let’s test your investigation skills shall we?”
“A-a test? Right now sir? We have stuff to do!” He stuttered out.
“Don’t worry, it’s not like he’s going anywhere,” Adam replied, looking back to the corpse. “There is one striking contradiction in this crime scene. What is it?”
“Contradiction?” The younger man mused as he looked around the room. He’s been focused on each of the smaller details separately he’s forgotten to take in the bigger picture. What was wrong here? Or was Detective Clarke just pulling his leg?
Adam sighed impatiently. “You know, you are quite malicious towards young Mayla but she would have likely got it in half the time. Cecil was right; your investigation skills do need work.”
“Detective Hans speaks ill of me?” He cried, full of anguish.
He ignored him. “Look at the entrance wound. His left jaw. Logically the exit wound is on the right jaw. Yet the blood splatters and the bullet is right behind the victim and higher than his head.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. Clearly the victim was moved. But the question is why? And how did they overlook such a big mistake? You are right that it would be unlikely for a citizen to carry such a gun, it just unlikely for an experienced officer, other than you of course, to overlook such a thing while committing a murder of all things.”
“Perhaps they were in a rush?”
“But that introduces more questions,” Clarke sighed. “Why and where? Suppose he was fleeing from the secretary and guard, there is only one route; towards the front desk. The only place he could have run is towards them. Unless to another cell, but those are also locked and all have separate keys. But even if they did manage to open one the perpetrator would have to flee eventually, still having to pass them. The other question is how he had time to move the body and flee the room.”
“But Miss Williams and the guard couldn’t have known until they saw the victim or killer. So how did the killer get out unnoticed?” Pigeon huffed. “It’s like they’re shinobi.”
“Not quite. These walls are very thin for security reasons. Years ago when I was working on a case Harriet and Paul rushed to my aid from the front desk just because they heard the suspect yelling. And it only took a few seconds. If they could hear yelling they had to of hear a gunshot. They would have been in the room in seconds. Meaning the killer would have killed the victim, moved the body for whatever reason, and escaped unnoticed in under a minute. It’s impossible.”
“Indeed. Plus, they made no mention of hearing a bullet or rushing to the room. They didn’t even tell us when they found the body!”
“Quite right. Though it pains me to admit it, it is suspicious. Both Harriet and Paul have to be likely suspects. They either heard the bullet or weren’t around when it happened. But again, they made no mention of leaving which would be pretty vital information to give out based on the situation.”
“Oh, dear.” Pigeon sighed, turning around. This is the first time Adam has seen the man take on any serious demeanor. “You don’t think it was them, do you?”
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“I don’t know,” Adam admitted. “I’ve known them both for a long time and I couldn’t fathom either of them doing such a thing, but the evidence is not looking too good. We may have to process their arrest.”
“Arrest them? I, well, you’re the boss, Boss.”
“Yes, it’s not a happy situation. But we need to finish our investigation here first before anything. We know the victim wasn’t in this position when he was killed. And based on the height of the blood he was likely standing. There had to be some reason for the killer to move the body. Search for signs of struggle.”
“Got it sir!” Pigeon dropped to his hands and knees as he scrutinized the floor below him. “There has to be something…” He mused.
Adam rolled his eyes but did not object. Instead, turning his attention to the body. The wound was brutal. Such an injury could only come from a close-range shot and a powerful gun. Things were looking very grim. The only positive was that Pigeon was right about the grooves. Each gun has a unique print, much like a fingerprint that it leaves on a bullet. If they can examine the gun and figure out that it doesn’t match the model that Harriet or Paul carry, that’d be a lot of weight off his back. But that still wouldn’t explain how they didn’t see the killer.
A memory flew into Adam’s mind from ten years ago. The Mickey Andrews case. A very similar situation happened. Someone snuck into Andrews's cell. His blackmailer. After the altercation, when he visited him, he had a breakdown. The Yard went crazy trying to figure out how and who got into the cell, but it turned out they slipped in when Harriet and Paul were meditating a situation outside. Could it be a similar situation? No, it couldn’t be. They would have certainly mentioned that especially after the event all those years ago. Plus there is still one unanswered question from then that bleeds into now. How did they get the keys to the cell if the only spares are at Scotland Yard?
Adam stumbled as Pigeon raced past his leg towards the body, still on all fours.
“Careful!” He exclaimed. “But what did you find?”
“The victim, look at his hand!” Ambroise had his hand in a tight fist. Strangely only one of them. “Perhaps he grabbed something off the killer in a struggle?” Pigeon suggested as he pried open his fist. Adam watched in interest.
Price grunted as he snapped each finger back. “Ugh, this is so gross!” He repeated over and over until the deed was done.
“Well?”
“Ah? Ah! Look at this!” He cried. “Looks like I was right. You might wanna rethink that evaluation of my investigation skills, dear Clarke!”
Pigeon stood up and dusted off his knees as he swung a small object in front of Adam’s face. A small golden chain.
“Cool huh? You think I can pawn this after the case is solved?”
Adam snatched it from his hand.
“Hey! You better not steal my idea!”
Adam gaped at the locket. A rosegold locket. Like the one ten years ago. He opened it with shaky hands and peered at the picture. It was Mickey Andrews.
The Lotusburg manor appeared exactly as it was when we left. Its majestic structure was cordoned off with yellow tape and crowded with officers and parked carriages with horses that kicked and neighed in an agitated manner. It seemed like they had been working tirelessly for days. Unfortunately, no new information has emerged from their efforts.
“Here we are.” Cecil sighed motioning to the manor before us. “Not sure what else there is to here.”
He was right. The place was searched from top to bottom by the entirety of Scotland Yard. No new evidence was suddenly going to appear. Even so, we must come up with something. There is a killer on the loose. Or, even worse, multiple killers. That being said, there’s no way someone can pull off so many crimes flawlessly. There must be clues somewhere.
“Well, Miss Davenport should still be here, no? Maybe she can shed light on a few things since she was here during the time of the crime.”
“She should be,” He twirled his tie around his index finger as he looked over the rolling green hills in the distance.
“It’s weird she isn’t considered a suspect though.” I tapped my finger against my chin as I ran the heel of my boot in the gravel beneath me. “Other than Violet Yoshida, she was the only other one here during the time of the crime. Shouldn’t she have been arrested?”
Cecil shrugged. “Ironheel gave us specific orders not to. It’s not my business.”
“Yeah, but… Shouldn’t it be standard protocol?” I suggested carefully. I sighed out in frustration and placed my hands on my hips. “Even if she isn’t the killer, she could provide some vital information if she is the only worker here. Speaking of which…” I looked around the building again. Marble pristine pillars and painted glass reflected the sunlight in a variety of colors. The carefully trimmed hedges and flowers surrounding the building looked extremely well-kept. Not a stain on the stone, or even a weed was in sight. “Isn’t it sorta’ weird to have a single worker to protect a noblewoman and maintain the home? Does Lotusburg not have any family?” Well at least not anymore. I thought back to the mysterious file on Alice Lotusburg.
“I mean, Miss Davenport could have easily thought up a plan to kill Agatha Lotusburg. Once the deed is done, there would be no other possible witnesses to testify against her. Plus, don’t forget the poison found in her system! Davenport is the only one who could have slipped it to her.”
“Perhaps.” He answered lackadaisically. “Though it seems likely it could be her, the more you think about it the less sense it makes. As you said, Davenport was the only one in the house. If she truly did kill her she would be a prime suspect. Until Yoshida came along of course. Who, was an unaccounted-for variable? There was no way for her to know Yoshida was coming. So from her perspective, Agatha Lotusburg’s corpse was to be found in her bedroom. The only other person who had easy access to her bedroom, as well as being the only other present at the time of the crime is Davenport herself. Ergo, it would be a very open and shut case. Additionally, she is but a maid. She lacks the experience, and motivation, to pull off such a clean-cut crime and get away with it.”
Damn, he was right. Though at first glance Bernice Davenport seems like the most obvious suspect, the pieces just don’t fall into place. Yoshida and Davenport were the only known individuals to be at the crime. Excluding the victim of course. So if it wasn’t them, who could it be?”
“It’s also worth mentioning Davenport was here when Neil Ottenburg was killed. So even if she did kill Lotusburg she couldn’t have possibly killed the CEO. So that still leaves one crime unsolved.”
I groaned. “Well, maybe you are right. Though I don’t retract my statement that it’s strange she wasn’t arrested. She could be a vital part of solving this case. So if you guys don’t want to question her, I will!”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” He said tersely. “There is a reason the Chief didn’t find it worthwhile to arrest her. No reason to waste time.”
“Hogwash!” I declared. “Leave no stone unturned! You should know that, Detective.”
“I’m just say-”
“Excuse me you too!” An officer hurried towards us from a carriage parked on the road behind us. She had an envelope outstretched in her hand. “I got an urgent message from Detective Clarke for Detective Hans!” She stopped shortly at Cecil’s shoes.
“A message from Adam?” I inquired, leaning over her shoulder. “What is it?”
“Sorry ma’am! He said it’s confidential!” She snatched the envelope away from me and placed it into Cecil’s hands, not letting an extra second before she raced back towards her carriage.
“Ugh, are you joking? We haven’t even got inside the manor and Adam’s already whining about something!” He backed up a few steps from me before he opened the envelope. He read it over for a few seconds with a neutral expression before slipping it into his back pocket.
“So, what’s it about?” I asked leaning to the side.
“Dinner plans.”
“Oh, uh, ok.” He walked swiftly past me, leaving an insufferable scent of cologne in his wake.
“Come along now. Hurry this up. I have some business to attend to.”
I huffed. “The chief stationed us here. Plus, I already told you I was going to question Davenport but you were complaining about that.”
“‘Complaining’ is a strong word.” He remarked. “I just think you should focus on more ‘forensic scientist’ appropriate duties. I don’t need you here.”
“I don’t need you here!” I shot back. But before he could open his mouth to respond, I turned around and headed towards the manor. Clearly I wasn’t going to get anywhere conversating with this man. “I’ll be back!” I waved my hand back at him but didn’t turn around to catch his response.