"Emily, have you texted him? It is late in the afternoon. Why has not he come?" he asked.
The notification from Emily's phone alerted the both of them.
Ray is quick to ask. "Is that him?"
"He is coming. Sit, now." she said.
The man is quite young. They greet him with a handshake and he seems warm and friendly. This is the first time they met him, but they've heard a lot of things about the man.
They pressed the voice recorder and started interrogating him.
"Please introduce yourself and tell us about your association with Oliver." Ray instructed. The man seemed nervous, but he didn't hesitate to speak. "I am Justin and I have known him for since middle school. We have been friends for a long time, and he started to be the accountant for my business last year, in May. Everything was going well, until I realized that there is a discrepancy in the statements, and he is the only person who is doing them. There must be only one thing he is doing to me. He is stealing my money. I talked to him once but he was in denial. When I showed him the documents, he said it was tampered but I did not believe him. I remained calm, though. That was until he kept denying, and it almost went physical. But I controlled myself. I did not want to hurt him."
"If it were not Oliver who is doing it, is there a chance that somebody is really tampering with his work?" Emily asked.
"I do not want to point fingers but the only person who is living with him is his sister. She is successful on her own, so I do not think she needs the money. Maybe it was another person, or Oliver was just lying to me." Justin said.
"Are you familiar with his sister? Do you know her current whereabouts?" Ray asked.
"I heard she frequents to Oliver's house for some of his financial documents. When he died, he only had a girlfriend, so his money is legally his own. Now that he is gone, everything will go to Olive."
Emily and Ray looked at each other. Now, they have found the perfect motive for the crime, but they cannot be certain as of yet.
===================
"Ma'am?" Emily called the woman in the kitchen. They went to Oliver's house to find his sister. No one is permitted to enter the house but the police, Ray and team, and Oliver's family members.
The women seemed apprehensive and nervous. "I am Alice, his mother. Who are you?" she stopped what she was doing and looked at them intently.
"We are detectives working on Oliver's death," Ray said and they showed their IDs. "We are professionals."
The woman went back to what she is doing. "Do you need anything else?" she asked.
"We are looking for Olive. We were told that she might be here. Did she come with you today?"
Alice is an old woman, and her eyes are filled with fear and anxiety. "Yes, but I do not know where she went. She left me alone."
"Were the siblings close to each other?" Emily feels curious, and she feels like it's an appropriate question to ask.
"Oh yes, they were," Alice's anxiety seemed to lessen. "As kids, they used to play all night, and I had to stop them. Growing up, they never fought," she said, but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, sometimes they did, but all siblings do, right?"
"Of course, even my sisters and I fought sometimes." Emily said.
"Mom, I am home!" a voice called from the outside.
"Darling, they are h-" Alice said, but she was cut off by Olive.
"Oh, are you part of the team?" she asked them, gesturing to the both of them.
Ray and Emily showed their IDs. "Yes, and may we talk to you for awhile? We have to ask about a few things."
Olive quickly washed her hands and dried them. "Oh, thank God, the police are finally doing something. We have been distraught since what happened, and my mother and I only have each other. The grief, it is really something else. But, yes. Of course. Sorry, I had to wash my hands, they were dirty. My son never cleans after himself."
They all sit in the living room, and the two start asking.
"Where was Olive when you two found out that something happened to Oliver?" asked Ray.
"She was with her so-" Alice said, but Olive corrected her. "Mom, we were together. How can you forget that?"
"Ah, sorry. We were, I don't know, what were we doing?" Alice voice shakes, and the Emily and Ray look at each other.
"You were cooking something for me and Idris called me."
"Oh, I remember now. I was cooking." Alice said, nodding.
"Who is Idris?"
"My friend. One of his friends works for the police. The friend knew me, Idris introduced me once to him," Alice explained.
"Do you who Idris is, Alice?" Ray asks, then he looks at Emily who subtly nods at him.
"Idris. Yes. I've known him for awhile. Oh, no. Olive has known him for awhile. He's okay."
This time, Ray has noticed that whenever Alice says something, she looks at Olive first. She's looking for her approval for everything that she says, he thought.
"Cut the bullshit, you two. Alice. You've been nervous the first second we stepped in here. What do you know?" he hissed, and the woman became more anxious.
Alice started crying, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry," she apologized. Her crying becomes louder, and her hands start shaking. "I'm scared for Olive. I don't know what's going to happen to her. It's all scary to me. I just lost my son, and I can't lose my daughter, too. I'm sorry, you can take me with her, but please don't hurt her. I never wanted this to happen. How could you have done that, Olive?" Alice is hysterical now.
"Mother, what are you talking about?" Alice remains calm and collected, but her eyes are wide in disbelief.
"It was never intentional," Alice cried louder this time. "But it's true, Olive did awful things. It was my fault. I volunteered to manage her business, and it failed. I failed. Blame my negligence. She almost went bankrupt because of me. Oliver was earning more; we knew this. She started stealing from him, but I never knew. My daughter trusts me with everything, and I'm sorry that I'm telling you all of this." Alice screamed louder and louder, with each wail sounding like the cries of a mother who's gone desperate and hopeless.
"Alice?" Emily looked at her and Alice remained silent.
"She just lost a son. Of course, she's not in her right mind. Maybe now's not the time to talk about this. Haven't you seen her? She's frail and old, too."
"Olive, forgive me, child," Alice looked at her daughter, pleading for her forgiveness. "They had to know."
Meanwhile, Ray's heard a beeping sound from his phone and it read: "Ray, this is Laura. One of the teams need you here. I hope we hear from you ASAP. Thanks".
Several men entered the house, and two of them held Alice and Olive.
"They were just around the corner when we got here," Emily said. "I texted them immediately."
"Emily," Ray whispered. "I have to get back at work. They need me there." he said.
