The Woman in the Letter

PART 34

Ian Macqueen

Ian would not touch the tea served to him, on the transparent glass magazine tables. Because Paul's mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the moment he entered the door of her room. Ian noticed her short blonde hair did not look tidy as it was before. The left side of his upper lip was slightly lowered. The lip filler was out of date. Like a mother who mourns the loss of her children, Mrs. Sophie seemed to put aside her beauty procedures. But Ian was not sure it was real pain or just the show the family tries to show.

"Mrs. Sophie, when was the last time you saw your son?"

"A few days before the suicide"

Ian looked at Mrs. Sophie's face for a while. He waited for it to continue. But she ended the conversation with as short answers as possible. Because she wanted them to leave.

"Why are you so sure your son is dead? His body was not found. And I thought you still haven't lost hope. But you have already accepted even there is evidence that he may not be dead"

"What do you mean by evidence?" The letter? How do you know it's not written by someone else? "

"Paul's manuscripts have been analyzed and clarified"

"I do not even know my son's handwriting. You probably have strong evidence to come to such a conclusion" Mrs. Sophie replied shortly and quickly.

"Ms. Sophie, it seems that you have not known your son for a long time. Your son is a young man with a passion for poetry" Ian looked away to hide the smile.

"I do not know if you are telling me this to make me happy or to disappoint me. But believe me, the more you talk to me, the more hope I have"

"I understand you, but your son is wanted for a crime '

"I do not want and do not expect you to understand me. But for a mother, the idea that the child she thinks she lost is alive comes first" Mrs. Sophie looked at the cup in her hand."Do you think I know where she is? Do you think we are hiding Paul? " She took a sip of her tea without taking his eyes off Ian.

Ian did not answer. Because he did not believe that Paul could hide alone for so long.

"I don't believe Paul killed that woman," Sophie said. "My son doesn't have the heart to kill anyone"

"Believe me, Mrs, no one decides to commit a crime in one day" Ian took the cup he would not touch. He took a sip of warm tea and cleared his throat. "Where were you the night Paul drove his car into the river?"

Mrs. Sophie raised her eyebrows and looked at the police with interest, saying "At home".

"Do you have any evidence to prove it?"

"My husband was on the outside of the city because of work. As far as I know, the cameras also remember the records of the last month "

"So you can't say anything about being at home"

"What does this have to do with this? Where do you think I could be on the night my son committed suicide?"

"For example with your son?"

The sound of the cup falling from Sophie's hand did not distract her. She did not even blink. "I will sue you," she said in a low voice. When she suddenly stood up and came right in front of Ian, Ian felt compelled to stand up. "You will answer one by one for all this mess," she said.

"I understand you, but all probabilities are worth it ..."

Mrs. Sophie interrupted, "You didn't come here to find out where Paul is. You came here looking for a partner in crime"

"You are overreacting," he said. "I didn't know that my words would bother you so much." 

Ian took his phone from the table and put it in his pocket. "I have already got the answer I was looking for here," he said and left the room quickly. He called his assistant at the exit of the building. "Sam ... I want the cameras of all the places around Paul's family to be checked one by one, immediately"