THE INEVITABLE

CHAPTER 6: Behind The Bars

John was standing in front of his chief with the report of the current status of the case. Harrison looked at him, expecting an answer. It was about to get dark, and John was standing right there as promised. He found the killer before the sunset.

"I get that you found him. Are you just gonna keep standing there, staring at me or are you gonna tell who it is?" asked Harrison.
"I would have told it by now if I could. But I'm too shaken to let the cat out of the bag." said John.
"Just get over with the drama, will ya? Tell me who the killer is."
"Please be prepared to accept what I say sir. This would surely come as a shock to you."

The heat of the moment just raised exponentially. Harrison wasn't sure who the killer would be. But he knew one thing for sure. He wasn't gonna like what he was about to hear.
"The killer is.. " John was going to say the name of the killer. Harrison was already regretting it. He didn't need to hear the killer's name. The worried expression in John's face itself did the job.

" Alex ", said John.

" I'm sorry, but is this the Alex, investigating the case? Raymond's brother Alex?"
"Yes sir. You are correct. "

Harrison was sure that he wasn't gonna like this. But he never thought that it would be this ugly. A cousin murdering another cousin? Betrayed by a blood relative? This was tough to digest.

" Are you sure detective? How did you arrive to this conclusion?" asked Harrison.

"I found out the killer's height by measuring the distance between the ground and the top of the painting. His height is 5'6". He has the men's bracelet watch released by HOPSIN WATCHES, for different wrist sizes. We obtained the killer's wrist size, from the hand size in the crime scene. There were only 60 watches bought in that wrist size. I collected the height of all the 60 people, and saw which one of them was 5'6" tall. There were two people in that height, who had a watch in that wrist size. It was officers Parker and Alex. One of them was the killer. "
Harrison was listening with sadness filled in his heart. A backstabbing cousin was not one would want to see before losing their life. He then saw John further explaining how he arrived to the conclusion.

" It was raining at the day of the murder. It stopped by 4:00 in the morning. I concluded that the footprints of the killer leaving the crime scene would be in the ground, behind Raymond's house. My calculations were correct. I measured the shoe size, and compared it with the shoe size of Alex and Parker. It matched with Alex's shoe size. Moreover, the security files were hacked and deleted in the crime scene. Only someone knowledgeable could do that. When it comes to hacking, all the officers can do it. Then there's the case of the missing blood sample. Only someone who knew when and where it was going, and knew about Paul's bike, and have access to the forensics HQ can steal it. Only the people associated with the case and some of the officers in the force and forensics knew it. One of them was Alex, obviously. So here we are now, facing the ugly truth. Alex killed Raymond."

Both of them were standing in deep silence. They knew what was happening. They just couldn't accept it.

THE NEXT DAY, AT THE COURT:

"I didn't do it your honor. I swear. Please believe me. I didn't kill my cousin. I DID NOT KILL RAYMOND! " pleaded Alex, in front of the judge and everyone else in the court.

" The one standing before me, Alex, is found guilty of murdering Mr Raymond. He is hereby sentenced for life imprisonment. He is furthermore dismissed from the force, and all his achievements will be taken back. Even though the guilty refuses to state the motive, it is clear as to why he killed his cousin. Mr Raymond, being a successful business man and an orphan, had many assets. His only remaining blood relative was Alex. Knowing this, he killed his own cousin for money. " said the judge.

Alex was escorted to his cell. He denied the fact that he killed Raymond.

" Leave us alone for a moment guards. I'm willing to talk with him for a while in private. " said John.

The guards went out. John and Alex were standing closely, but the grills of the cell were between them. One of them was wearing an orange colored dress. He was a prisoner.

" You know me well. YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME! I DIDN'T KILL HIM! ", said Alex.

" You know what? I've been wanting to tell you something since the moment I saw you. Do you know why the 'H', in John H. Carter stands for? "
Alex was confused. What was he talking about? What does it have to do with his innocence?

" It stands for Hamilton. I'm John Hamilton Carter, son of Ben Hamilton Carter. "

Alex's iris widened with fear, rage, confusion and other mixed feelings. He had unraveled the truth.

" It was YOU! YOU KILLED RAYMOND!"

Alex, who was behind the bars, backed off in fear, remembering the sin he had committed. The result of that was there, standing in front of him. The ghost of his past had caught up to him. It was time, he payed the price.

Alex stared in fear, while John's mouth let out a insane smile. He was standing there, laughing at him. There was a sense of accomplishment in his eyes. His heart that was filled with rage, had cooled down. John had taken his revenge.