Bertelli Investigations Volume 1: Noteworthy Mysteries

Chapter 30

It was 6pm and the Bertelli brothers were feeling the exhaustion from the day. They had interrogated Hannah and wrote a report on her until 4pm. Tony wrote out the report as Tino's eyes weren't up to it from staring at his computer all night. Now they were at Hannah Smith's house,their last job for the day before going home and collapsing. As they entered the home it seemed peaceful and calming. It was a small house that gave off the vibes of a single woman living there without causing any trouble. But maybe that's just what Hannah wanted everyone to think. Maybe she was more clever than what anyone would think. The search of the house would tell all.

"This seems nice",Tony remarked as he seen the white and baby pink toned home."Why do you think she would've done it Tino?"

"I don't know. But I do think she kissed her after the murder as a sign that she still loved her sister. That kind of thing is not uncommon with family you know. When someone kills a family member they tend to have more respect for them."

"That's true",Tony said walking through the living room. He was pulling up couch cushions,looking behind the TV and in every drawer for a handgun. "But why would she have taken Tia all those years ago? Unless there's someone else in on all of this too."

"Maybe there is. If you ask me, I think she could've been jealous of Tia." Tino was checking for any signs of DNA and trying to dust for fingerprints. He was hoping that something would give them a glimpse of hope that they got the evidence they needed.

"Do you think she...uhm...",Tony paused, looking away from Tino,a small tear coming to his eye."...do you think that she did something with Tia out of jealousy? Because Tia had a better life than her?"

Tino frowned,thinking of the possibility of his sister being dead,a possibility that he never wanted to think about." Maybe. But hey,let's not jumped to conclusions. Let's just try to get a confession from Hannah and go from there."

Tony sighed ,getting back to work."Okay. Yeah, you're right."

As Tino was dusting for fingerprints his phone started to buzz. He rolled his eyes and shook his head." That's the hundredth time my ohibe has rang today. Whoever it is should know that I don't have time to answer.

"Mine too", Tony said lifting up a chair cushion and searching under it thoroughly."It's mom again. She's been calling since last night when we were studying.But she's just gonna have to wait for an answer."

"I told you what dad said about her taking all of this hard didn't I?",Tino asked, trying to concentrate as he searched carefully.

"Yes.",Tony answered."And you and I both want to be there for her, but it seems like she is wanting to talk to us all the time. She's gotta know that we just don't have time."

Tino scoffed at the remark,wondering how Tony dealt with having a girlfriend. " So does Vanessa understand when you can't answer the phone?"

"Usually. But I also try to be better about answering her phone calls so I don't end up in the dog house."

"Ruff,ruff",Tino mocked.

Not being able to find anything Tony took a second to stare at the rooms. They were all pretty and delicate looking. So if a murderer lived there,where would any evidence be hidden at? He knew he had to think. Despite being exhausted,he had to think clearly.

"Tino,what do you think about the fact that Jade's clothing was ripped where her bullet holes were at? Why on earth would Hannah have done that?"

"I have no idea about that. It has me stumped." Tino said shaking his head. "I mean why would anyone do that?"

"Look at this",Tony said as he took his cellphone out of his pocket." It's a call from Mitch. I'm gonna answer this one."

Atleast his alibi checked out. ,Tony thought to himself. That's atleast one person we don't have to worry about being involved since he was at work.

"Hello?",Tony answered.

"Hey is this Tony Bertelli?"

"Yes. And according to my caller ID this is Mitch right?"

"It is",Mitch chuckled slightly. " I was calling because I felt bad for what I said about Hannah the last time we talked. I didn't mean to make her look like a criminal or anything. I was just trying to help."

"That's okay . And it did help. It gave us some tips." Tony started wondering what else Mitch might know about Hannah and what he could tell." By the way,could you tell us more about Hannah? You've never known of her owning a weapon like a knife or a gun or anything right?"

Tino stopped what he was doing and shot his brother a look that read 'Very good bro'.

"A knife or a gun?" ,Mitch asked puzzled. "No not really. Well,except she did mention before that she owned a gun for protection."

Tony raised an eyebrow." Did she ever mention where she kept it?"

"No,but I'm going to guess it would be whatever normal place a woman would keep a gun for protection. I've never carried a gun,so I have no idea." Mitch became curious as to why Tony would ask him such a question to begin with." Can I ask why you want to know about a weapon? You don't think?-"

"We can't say anything right now",Tony cut him off. "But whatever even seemingly little information you can give us is a big help."

"Well unfortunately I don't think I really know anything more about her. ",Mitch replied as he was obviously trying to think about anymore information he could tell."Hannah never seemed to be a bad person. She had her flaws,but she always seemed to be okay."

"Thank you for the info. Look,I gotta go but we'll talk later",Tony said rushing off the phone,in a hurry to try to find Hannah's hidden gun.

As he hung up the phone he smiled excitedly at Tino with both eyebrows raised. It was like the kind of smile a kid gets when he unexpectedly is gifted candy. "Looks like we got a gun to find."