Dark Secrets

Chapter 6

     My fingers trembled slightly as I typed in 'Samantha Jasmine Kennedy'. A few similar names came up, then as I scrolled down a little further I came to a newspaper story from the 'Melbourne Age' dated five months ago with a photo and headline Innocent or Guilty of Murdering Boyfriend?

I enlarged the photo of the dark haired girl and studied it. I remembered Jasmine had once told me she had been dying her hair dark brown before she moved to Sydney. But was this Jasmine? She looked different with shorter dark hair, but with a sinking heart I realised it was Jasmine. I scrolled down a little further to read the news item.

Samantha Kennedy who was arrested for the murder of her boyfriend Daniel Williams three days ago has been allowed to walk free.
Police had alleged that Kennedy in a fit of rage after a fight had pushed Williams down the cement stairs at the rear of their apartment block four nights ago. Neighbours reported hearing the couple screaming at each other at around nine pm. Minutes later Williams was lying at the bottom of the stairs, the fall having killed him. The only witness was a neighbour who arrived on the scene to see Williams at the bottom of the stairs with Kennedy standing at the top looking down at him. It was only when he arrived that she suddenly ran down to see if her boyfriend was badly hurt. By then he was dead.
Kennedy was arrested on suspicion of murder, but was released after three days when the public prosecutor declared there was insufficient evidence to bring her to trial since no one actually saw her push the victim down the stairs. Kennedy claimed that her boyfriend must have slipped on the wet top step and fell to his death with herself arriving on the scene a few seconds later. Her claim was at least partially substantiated by the fact that the steps were indeed wet after a shower of rain earlier in the evening.
Williams' brother Morgan accused the police of incompetence in not pressing charges. He claimed the couple were always fighting and 'at each other's throats'. He said he had seen her act violently before, and it was only a matter of time before she did something like this.
So, Innocent or Guilty? Only one person knows the real truth, and that's Samantha Kennedy.

I sat back and took deep breaths. Jasmine, my wonderful loving Jasmine might be a murderer! Granted she was erratic and moody at times, but she loved me, and I loved her, but was she capable of murder? Also the news story said this had happened in Melbourne. She told me she had recently moved here from Adelaide. If she lied about that, what else had she lied to me about?

I decided there was only one thing to do. I would ask her about it tonight. I would tell her about the anonymous texts, and that I had seen the news story on the internet. But how would she react knowing that I knew about her past? She was so volatile lately. I would have to risk it. There should be no secrets between us.

We had lunch together as usual, she seemed in a good mood again. I said nothing about what I had learned about her that morning. Tonight, come what may, I would tell her.

That night Jasmine was cheerful and chatty. She cooked dinner and after we had finished eating I sat her down on the couch, and choosing my words very carefully, told her about the two anonymous text messages.

She stared at me and I could see her good mood instantly evaporate.

"So you believed this person, and of course you looked me up on Google," she said in a dangerously calm voice.

I paused for a moment before answering, once again choosing my words carefully. "Of course I don't believe it. I know you well enough to know you could never murder someone. And yes I did see a news item on the internet about your boyfriend falling down the stairs, but let me say again sweetheart, I don't believe for a second that you had anything to do with it."