Secrets as elusive as deep, translucent jade.
Hidden beneath layers of polished facade.
In the grandeur of a Victorian mansion, beneath polished facades lie secrets as enigmatic as strands of jade, waiting to be discovered. Betrayal and deception th...
"Detective? You don't really think it was murder, do you?", she asked after a pause.
I forced myself to look away from the sunlight peeking through the canopy just outside the window. Rene Meyer. She wasn't quite like I had expected. More calm. Could be a good sign. Or a bad one. I looked across the room.
Kit had a jade figurine in his hand. "You didn't leave the room during dinner? Think for a minute. Maybe you went to go grab something."
"No. No I didn't. Not once.", her voice cracked. There was a desperation in her eyes as they welled up with tears. Her nails dug into her palms. She drew them under the table immediately. I saw that. She knew.
Wrong move, Meyer. Did she really think this was some YA novel? The ones where the 17-year-old protagonist does something crazy and outsmarts people who were actually trained to catch much more experienced criminals. Always drove me mad.
"Leave. Now.", my voice carefully measured. Stern but assuring.
Almost instantly her eyes weren't watery anymore. I watched her walk out and shut the door a little too loudly. An eagerness to get away.
"What do you think?", I watched Kit put down the figurine. He walked towards me, "80. The body language pretty much confirmed it."
"But why? Why would she lie when its so damn easy to prove her wrong? Doesn't make sense". There was something wrong about it. I'd hoped Kit would prove me wrong. An easy case if he could. Closed in a few hours. I knew as soon as I looked into his eyes that he was thinking the exact same thing.
"Let's get this straight. If it doesn't make sense she was lying, then the others for some reason were. Daphne I can make sense of. She's the kind of person who changes her mind every few seconds. But the others? The little girl, Lilia-"
"Zinnea", I cut him off, my jaw clenched. "She was very convincing. Agreed. But what kind of murderer, even if a child, would lie if she knows she'll get caught immediately?"
I closed me eyes for a second. Think. Think. The scratchy noise I was so used to echoed through the room. Kit's note taking was quite calming in that sense. I glanced at it for a second to recollect my scattered thoughts.
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A knock. Liam entered. His furrowed brows, frowning lips and ghastly pale face spoke for themselves. "I need to tell you something. I should have. Earlier. But I didn't know how to. It's just so horrible. And sudden. Ba, he, he-"
"Liam. Tell me. What's wrong?", I made him sit down and leaned against the large teak table. "Take a deep breath. Relax. Now tell me."
"When me and Jeff. When we went for a walk. After we left Rene with Daphne and Ewan. I left him alone for a while. I had to go check if the gate was left open", he was practically shuddering now as if he couldn't bear what he was saying.
"And was the gate left open?" I asked a tad bit amused. Did he actually suspect Jeff because of that. Meyer was the most easily scared person I'd met in a long time. Capable of murder? Absolutely not.
"No but you don't- You don't understand. I think he- he might have. No I'm certain he-"
"Killed Edward?", Kit asked, with a surprising eagerness. He looked at me. A glint in his eye, he had a theory.
Instantly losing the frantic desperation, Liam nodded, "Yes. In fact, I'm certain. Understandable too, if I dare say. After all that Ba did to him and Lorel." His eyes were glazed over. His voice almost made me believe he was in a trance of some sort.
