I kept pacing around the block, waiting for Derrick to arrive. Whilst pacing around restlessly, I was thinking of how to solve the riddle as quick as possible.
As I kept on playing back Charlotte's words in my mind, one, and only one question kept making it's way to my mind.
"David died before Nia arrived. Ella on the other hand stepped into the kitchen the moment she handed over the keys to David. If Nia and Anthony are both innocent, then who killed David?" I asked myself aloud.
"That's exactly what I have been thinking about all night." Derrick's voice emerged from behind. "And there's just one way to find out." He said again
"Which is?" I asked curiously
"To go back to the hotel." He said
"But your team ransacked the whole room that day, before arresting Anthony." I said. In reply, he kept mute, since he had no replies.
"Wait.... Don't tell me you didn't check the room. What! Didn't you all check the room?" I asked curiously
"No! We didn't. In as much as we saw Anthony there, holding the knife, we assumed that..." He tried to finish but I cut him off before he could justify their actions.
"Then you assumed he could have been the killer." I completed
"I am afraid yes!" He responded
Just then, my phone rang and I placed it on speaker.
"Elsa what's up?" I asked
"I heard Chief and Mr. Jake Clark talking about Anthony’s execution before your arrival." She said and hung up.
"No... No... No... This isn't happening!" I yelled and threw my phone towards a moving car.
"Watch it lady!" The driver yelled and drove off.
"Ella! We don't have time to waste here." Derrick said, panting heavily while trying to touch me.
"Don't you dare touch me! If anything happens to Anthony... you will...." I silenced myself before saying anything that could implicate me.
"I am sorry!" He kept pleading.
I walked towards the middle of the road while I fagged down an approaching cab. I waved my hands up and the driver pulled over. Without thinking twice, I hopped into the cab and so did Derrick.
"To where ma'am?" He asked
"Just move!" I ordered.
*Ten minutes interval*
I made sure the driver pulled over a little distance away from the hotel.
"Hey man! Wait here for us!" I said and ran towards the gate
"Wait up!" Derrick yelled from behind.
I made my way into the hotel and walked towards the receptionist’s desk, panting heavily. On sighting Emily, my face brightened up. She gave me a confused look but couldn't say a word.
"I need the keys." I said breathlessly
Without any objections, she reached out for the lower drawer, pulled it out and began her search for the keys. She seemed so confused at first, then she made a signal of ‘come-closer’.
"What?" I asked curiously
"The key is missing." She said
"What!" Derrick yelled and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
"How's this possible?" I asked, as my heart kept pumping blood in an unusual manner.
"Some thing is fishy ma'am." She said
"What do we do now?" Derrick asked
"Break down the door." I said without thinking and made my way to the elevator
The elevator was crawling at a snail’s pace, or so I thought at that moment, but I patiently waited for it to make its steady decent till it reached our destination, then we exited from it, like it was going to be the last time we would ever utilize it. As we made our way to the room, the three of us in our own individual ways kept looking for an alternate way of opening the door without the presence of a key. As all plans proved abortive, I was left with just one option.
"Break it down Derrick!" I said calmly
"What!" He yelled. "I can't do that. We could get reported and have our licences taken away by the hotel." He tried to reason again
"Do I look like I care?" I asked. "Well... Since you won't man up, then I will do your job." I said and made my way towards the door.
I kept shoving the door furiously till Emily joined me. This gave Derrick no other option but to comply. After a few minutes, we succeeded in forcing the door open.
On opening it, I stood pinned to the wall as well as Derrick. I turned to look at Emily with amazement as she shrugged her arm. The room had been tidied up obliterating any clue whatsoever.
"What is going on here? Are you sure this is the room?" Derrick asked curiously
"Yes! No one was given access to this room except me. And I clearly can't recollect anyone coming in to demand for the key." She said
I didn't know what to say and I was amazed. I suddenly started to laugh out loud.
"Ella! This isn't funny." Derrick said
"This is a game Derrick! Think! Who tidies up a room under investigation? Who suddenly changes the date of execution? If you aren't thinking, well I am." I said, with tears flowing freely down my cheeks
"How sure are we that Anthony hasn't been executed?" Emily asked innocently
"Derrick! Take pictures of this room and make a short video of it." I ordered.
"Why?" He asked
"Don't ask questions! Just do as you're told!" I yelled again
I watched as Derrick took pictures and videos of the room as I tried to monitor Emily with my other eye but there was nothing to pin down on her, so I just had to let go of my suspicion.
I tried searching for my phone to make a quick call and realized I had earlier smashed it at the oncoming car, out of my deep frustration.
" I am done." Derrick said, staring at me.
"What's next?" Emily asked
I ignored her questioning looks and kept pacing around the room. I tried to think really hard, but nothing positive came to mind.
"Was Charlotte lying to us?" Derrick asked
"No! Trust me, she had no clue as well." I said with confidence
"But who could have had access to this room without my consent?" Emily kept asking herself silently
"Are your CCTV cameras working?" Derrick asked
"Yes Sir!" She said
"Let's go!" He said again, pulling me alongside.
We made our way to the elevator and boarded it one after the other. We patiently waited for it to make its usual slow decent to the ground floor and when it eventually stopped, I became restless. Emily made sure she had a look around before making her way into the room with her pass card.
"There you go." She said, closing the door quietly.
I stood behind Derrick as he tried to hack his way into the computer.
"Password... Password..." He kept muttering to himself.
"Password." Emily said
"What?" I asked
"That's the password." She said again
"What do you mean lady?" Derrick asked restlessly
"Just type Password..." She said
"Oh!" He said and typed it.
The computer was finally unlocked and Derrick started scrutinizing the apps. He finally made his way to the CCTV cameras and we started looking at the videos one after the other.
"There it is!" I said pointing to a particular clip.
He clicked on the video but to our amazement, nothing popped up.
"File has been formatted." Derrick said
"Meaning?" Emily asked
"It has been deleted." He responded.
"Nice try! But I won't give up." I said smiling
"They knew we would come here." Derrick said
"This was well planned, just to get Anthony into trouble. But trust me, I will find out." I said
"What's next?" Emily asked
"Nothing! Let's go." I said making my way out of the room
We made our way back to the main entrance.
"Emily, say nothing about this to no one." I said
"Trust me!" She said
"At this point, I trust no one. Am sorry!" I said and walked out of the hotel.
We walked out of the hotel directly towards the cab.
"Where are we going to ma'am?" The driver asked
"Just drive!" I ordered.
"Derrick!" I called out
"Put a call through to Elsa." I said
After a few minutes, he handed over the phone to me.
"Hey Elsa! What's the situation of things there?" I asked
"The case against Anthony is really strong. They have decided to execute him at the actual date that was initially scheduled and that should be tomorrow." She said
"Good! Tell no one you heard from me today. Okay?" I ordered.
"Yes!" She responded and hung up.
"Hey, stop!" I ordered the driver.
"Ella! This is my house. Why are we here?" Derrick asked
I ignored his question and hopped out of the car.
"To answer your question Derrick, I know we're at your house." I said
"Why?" He asked
"To wait!" I responded
"Wait?" He asked again.
"Yes!" I responded again
"What's the time?" I asked again
"Past 7." He replied
"Good! Let's go in." I said and smiled at him.
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BREAKTHROUGH
Mystery / ThrillerAnthony Benjamin, a young Black American was accused of murdering David Clark. He claimed that an unknown caller declared his wife was having an illicit affair with the victim, painting him as the jealous husband and with enough motive for murder. W...
