Killing the Unfaithful

3. A Mysterious Newcomer

Officer Michael Fraser sat with her head down on the table. All the rush since morning had given her a headache.

She hated that she needed so much down time to function properly. She talked with only a few people but it was enough to give her a sensory overload.

A knock at the door stole her attention. Dean Thomas entered into the room.

She did her best to put on her scary cop face (atleast she thought it was scary).

She could tell from Dean's weird expression that she didn't succeed.

That guy had the same knack of reading expressions and body language that she did. She wasn't too happy about that.

She hated people getting to the top because of their parents. It made her mad thinking about all the hardwork she had to do to get till here and they take a rainbow ride.

It was not the only reason she disliked him. That guy carried himself with a ease she could never quite master. He walked around like he owned the place.

Presently he sat down opposite to her. He leaned back in his chair.

"I talked to everyone," he reported.

"I just told you talk to the victim's parents." She frowned. She knew she shouldn't have given him any work but she was so drained and tired.

"I did just that, but then everyone started coming to me to talk. Your other officers are quite rude you know. Then there's this old lady next door," he said excitedly," she gave me cookies and-"

She was getting annoyed. She remembered her first day at work. How she blurted her name as Donald Duck, got an anxiety attack and went home early.

She didn't know it was annoyance or jealousy that made her cut his words. "Anything related to the case?"

She gave him the look she gives to make someone uncomfortable.

This time it worked. He straightened his back. "Everyone seems to have loved Jane. The maid says she was kind and gave her a pay raise every year. She was her parents favorite. Everyone described her as a Disney princess. Her friend that you know, just can't stop crying -"

He stopped when he saw her flinch. She had tried not to show that she knew a suspect. It made the suspect think they will be favoured.

But mostly she thought cheating on her husband was not very Disney princess like.

"Her friend likes Tristan Clinton I noticed," she said in order to change the topic.

"Yeah. I didn't ask her about that but she says that she, Tristan and Jane went to college together. She really seemed to like Jane."

"She knew Jane and Tristan were dating?"

Dean's mouth was hanging open. "But, but Jane wouldn't. She could not..." he sluttered.

Soon his expression changed as if putting pieces together in a puzzle.

"Everyone I talked to thinks that her husband killed her. He was like her complete opposite - a rich jerk. And rumour has it," he leaned forward, "he wasn't the most faithful husband."

He nodded like he gave her top secret information.

"So you think he killed her."

"Yes! Why is he still out of town? Why hasn't he come yet? Plus there was a note right? 'You cheated ' or something."

Michael thought for a moment. Then shook her head."I have the feeling this isn't that simple. And the note... " she hesitated.

The note has intrigued her since morning. They thought it was some clue left by some psycho lover.

But Michael thought otherwise. Killers didn't leave notes in real life. It made no sense. And a note means the killer has been inside the house. But the victim was poisoned.

Even if the killer did manage to sneak in a note and poison the wine. How did he know that she would drink it and how did he make sure she read the note.

How did the note end up beside her body? Why was she all dressed up? Tristan had cancelled their meeting. Or not...

The more she thought, her headache got worse.

"Liana Ashlie said anything about Jane?" Michael asked.

His face became as red as a tomato. "I, I forgot to ask. She was crying and all..."

Michael smirked. He was inexperienced after all. "I'll talk to her later." Her voice sounded more satisfied than angry.

"But... you told them to leave right? They were not really suspects." He frowned.

She allowed herself a heartly laugh. He really was a newbie.

"Everyone you talked to is a suspect," she explained. "They made a really bad move talking to us. They should have called their lawyers first."

Dean looked horrified, but before she could enjoy his look, an officer ran into the room.

He said only one word. "CCTV" and Michael dashed after him, Dean at her heels.

***

Before long Michael and Dean were in the small and cramped CCTV room.

The footage was about an hour before the murder. A tall muscly guy in jeans and a leather jacket had entered Jane's home.

Michael turned to the person who brought them here.

"Why am I seeing this now?" Her voice was oddly calm, but her look gave Dean chills.

Someone was in big trouble.

"We, we did not have access to CCTV at first," the person gulped. In his eyes was true fear.

Michael opened her mouth to speak but Dean interrupted.

"Who is he?" he asked pointing at the footage.

Michael faced him. He met her glare. His eyes seemed to say drop it, no use of getting angry.

Finally she dropped her gaze. "Who is he?" she repeated.

The person looked even more uncomfortable. "We talked to all of victims family members, acquaintances, friends, everyone, we looked at our databases -"

"Who. Is. He," Michael looked like she could explode any second.

"That's... the problem," his face flushed, "we don't know who he is."

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Any guesses about the mystery guy? Or why he came to meet Jane?