An Unusual Affair

Chapter 20

'Please tell the officer to let me know the date and exact time of the last footage from the cameras outside Vanessa's house,' Richard said to the lady officer who was exiting the room.

'Sure,' she replied and closed the door behind her.

Richard looked at Emily, who didn't look like herself at all. He cursed the cameras he had installed all over town for the first time. He wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but couldn't. He took out his mobile and sent Jake a message: 'Stand outside the door and don't let anyone come in.'

Then he looked back at Emily and said, 'Come sit, Emily.' His voice was tender as if speaking to a child.

When she didn't move, Richard moved forward and held her blood-stained hand. Emily looked up at him as he directed her toward a chair and made her sit down. Richard's heart was breaking, seeing Emily in this state. He came to sit opposite her.

'Now tell me, Emily, what happened? I know you didn't kill them. I just want to know why you were there. Did Charles take you with him? Or did you follow him?' Richard asked gently, putting his hands on the table and leaning towards her.

Emily had her hands in her lap and her head bowed down. Tears trickled into her lap. She was so shocked she couldn't speak, but hearing Richard's comforting words helped. When she didn't speak for two minutes, Richard pressed on.

'Emily, I know you are in shock, but we need to get you out of here, and for that, you have to confide in me so we can prove your innocence. We have to fight,' Richard urged.

Emily still didn't speak. Richard's mobile beeped. He picked it up to read a message from Jake: 'Sir, they did not find any weapon in the house or around the bodies. The bodies have been taken to the hospital for autopsy.' Richard felt frustrated. He called Niles and said directly without greeting, 'Find Daniel as soon as possible before the police do. Bring him to my house.'

Hanging up the call he looked back at Emily, and a thought struck him. He texted Mrs. Swan to send him a picture of Lily. Until the picture came, Richard sat there silently, looking at Emily, who refused to look up from her lap. Her hair was a mess. There was blood on her dress and her hands, which she was using to clean her tears, leaving bloodstains on her face as well. Richard wanted to remove the blood from everywhere around her but felt as helpless as being handcuffed himself.

Two minutes later, he received the picture. Lily was sitting with Hayden, having food, with tear marks on her face. Richard looked up at Emily and placed the phone displaying the image in front of her. Emily's gaze fell on the picture, and she couldn't hold it anymore. She started crying hysterically. Richard passed her a handkerchief and waited for her to stop crying.

'For Lily's sake, Emily. Tell me what happened?' Richard asked again, his voice so soft he could hardly believe it was his own.

'I didn't do it. I swear I didn't do it,' Emily said in a hoarse voice, trying to compose herself.

Richard got up and asked Jake to come in. Jake sat next to Richard and turned on the recorder. He had so many questions in his mind about the relationship between Emily and Richard but he held them to himself for a while.

'How did you end up in Vanessa's house then?' Richard asked as if there had been no interruption.

'When I woke up, Charles was not in bed. I knew he went somewhere every Saturday, and since today was Saturday as well, naturally he was gone, but today he had left a little earlier. Usually, he leaves after 10,' Emily said, her voice breaking, but looking at Lily's picture in front of her gave her the strength to continue. 'I had to buy some things for my bakery, so I got ready and left the house at 7.

'I stopped at the fruit stall in the marketplace to buy some fruits for Lily. When I saw Charles there, standing at some distance from me at a flower shop, buying flowers. He was talking to a man who was also very well-dressed.'

That must be Daniel, Richard thought to himself.

'I paid for the fruits I bought and was about to go to the grocery store when Charles and that man started arguing about something. Their expressions were quite serious. At first, I ignored it, but then I wanted to know where Charles went every weekend, so I started following him. They sat in a taxi and set off. I quickly got in a taxi as well and followed them. After driving for 15 minutes, I lost them at a signal. I got out of the taxi and walked towards the nearest street.'

She stopped to take a breath. Tears still trickled down her cheeks continuously.

'The area looked very high class. There weren't many homes there, just a few huge ones with big walls and walkways. I started looking at the nameplates outside the homes to see if I could get a hint of some familiar name.' At this, she looked up at Richard, and an understanding passed between them as only they knew who Charles was having an affair with. Richard gave her an encouraging smile.

'After walking for some time, I came across a nameplate with the names Vanessa and Richard Sterling written on it.'

Emily and Richard kept looking at each other. Richard felt his heartbeat rising as he heard Emily take his name for the first time. Emily then looked away and continued.

'The gate of the villa was open. I found it strange but I went in. There was no one in sight. No household staff, nothing. I walked through the main entrance of the house and, and...' she broke off, unable to continue.

'You are doing great, Miss Emily. Please keep going,' Jake encouraged her.

'There was Charles on the floor with blood coming out of his chest and back. I held him up. He wanted to say something but couldn't speak. I could hear sounds from the nearest bedroom as well. I got up to see who was there, and Vanessa was in the bed, also covered in blood. I couldn't move. My mind went blank. I don't know how I came to sit beside Charles again, when he died, and when the police came. My mind is blank from there on,' Emily said and went silent.

'Can you tell all of this to the police as well? We have to get your statement recorded. Jake will fight your case,' Richard asked Emily gently.

'Yes, Miss Emily. If we proceed with things officially, we can apply for bail for you, and you won't have to spend the night in police custody,' Jake added.

Emily thought for a moment, then looked up at Richard and asked in a low voice, 'Where is Lily? Does she know I'm here?'

Richard took a deep breath and decided to be honest. 'I don't know if she knows about your whereabouts because I haven't met her yet. But I think she has some idea of what is going on. But she is okay. She is at my house right now, with Mrs. Swan and Hayden.'

'Thank you for bringing her to your house, Mr. Sterling,' Emily said. They looked at each other for a brief moment, as if no one else were present in the room. Then Emily continued, 'I will give my statement.'

Richard gave her an encouraging smile, and Jake got up to call the officer into the room.

After Emily's statement was recorded, she was taken back to the cell. Jake went off to the hospital to get the exact timings of the murders from the autopsy report. He had tracked down the taxi driver Emily had paid with her card, who was ready to provide an alibi.

On his way home, Richard's mind buzzed with only one thought. If he had looked into his map recordings, the case could have been solved in an instant. But he was unsure of what would happen next. If Emily found out about it how would she react? What the law would decide for him? If the community found out about it how would they react? How will Hayden be treated? He had suffered already because of the divorce case. He could imagine the look of shock on Emily's face. Will she be able to trust him? 

He was afraid once more of losing someone he loved.