One Hundred Degrees

Chapter 10: Discoveries

'"Everybody always knows something," said Adam, "even if it's something they don't know they know."'

Agatha Christie, Cat Among the Pigeons

"Wowzers! I love how that Aunty strolled in and dropped a bomb like that, and left all calm like that." , Dev said , as he shook his head bemused by Mrs Morkels antics.
"This gives us a time frame though- between 5-30 to 6.30. And this means that Smith was not alone before she got killed... I don't want to say it but..."
Dev smirked at her, "It's that pretty boy of ours , isn't it."
"... well, not only him- it could be Goldman you know- he could fit that description."
"Nah, Goldman has his homies at the gym vouching for his presence there- I've already confirmed it with the list of names , as well as the club camera."
"Fine, fine, but he could've mentioned it."
"And put himself at the crime scene- I think not. But he says he got there at 6 and found the body there!"
"We don't really have witnesses to prove that was the case."
"Ugh- wait, wait , but the motive?"
"You've got me there- there's no clear motive , unless he went crazy or something."
"He has no background psychiatric history according to our records. Neither does he have any misdemeanors for that matter."
"Shit, we've got some digging up to do , Holmes."
"Yep, I was about to call Sam at forensics- hopefully she'll have something useful."

*****

Del waited patiently as the line rang on, for what seemed like eternity before someone picked up.
"Hello, this is the forensics department, how may I be of assistance."
"Oh, hi Sam, it's Detective Singh calling- I wanted to just find out if you guys have discovered anything of interest regarding the Poseidon case?"
" Umm , can you just hold the line so I can get the reports for you."
"Sure, no problem", Del sighed as she slumped into her office chair.
After a painful minute waiting on the line, Sam returned.
"Ok so the report has the following key findings:
The patients face had been plunged in the pot-strands of her hair had been found in the water that remained in the pot.
Whatever fingerprints that were on the stovetop and dishes belonged exclusively to the staff members of Poseidon, with the exception of Mr Popolous- none of the kitchenware had his prints on it.
In the victims locker- there was a pair of running shorts, a t-shirt and a pair of sneakers- which had sand embedded in the soles- however, the restaurant is located on the promenade, so you might take it as insignificant- however there's a chance someone might have spotted the victim prior to the murder.
In terms of background checks, all suspects have no links with the police, that includes Daniel Goldman, the suspect you guys informed us about yesterday.
The closest camera to the restaurant was in the front, and we know that the perpetrator had left from the back door. There were no suspicious persons noted during the times between 4:00 to 6:00 on the morning of the murder.
There was no evidence of any of the locks being tampered with on either front or back entrances. Either it's an inside job or the victim let the perpetrator in.
We didn't collect any tissue samples that may be linked to the murderer either."

Del let out a sigh, "We dealing with quite the smart killer aren't we? Not a trace left behind ."
Sam groaned on the other end, " I feel like forensics have been of no help to you guys on this case."
"No, no, you guys have- trust me ruling out things helps just as much as clues. Plus, the running gear fits in with what our new witness had to say."
"Oh great. I'll call you if we do find anything suspicious in terms of camera footage."
"Thanks Sam. Have a good day."
Del placed the phone back on to the receiver and groaned. It was time for her to depart for court, she grabbed her blazer before heading out of the station.

*****

It was 18:00 by the time Del was done with her weekly yoga session. Feeling refreshed after a quick shower she stepped out of the change room and in the direction of the smoothie bar.

As she was waiting in line, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, she turned around to be greeted by Thebza with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Evening Detective! I thought it was you- woulda been awkward if it was a complete stranger."
Del laughed , " Evening Thebza! How you doing with all this drama around you guys?"
"Well it looks like Pops might keep the place closed for the rest of the month- the reporters are constantly flicking around it whenever he goes to collect things from the store. But otherwise, I think the crew has been holding up pretty well, the funeral is going to be held on Friday according to the family."
Delia and Thebz placed their orders, before seating themselves at one of the tables close to the counter.

Del looked at Thebz, and decided to hazard into strange territory- she was at a dead end after all.
"Were you there, the day Daniel Goldman stormed into the kitchen?"
"Yebo, shame Daniel really lost his shit that day. Bell told me it was something about insurance policies. That guy, you know he still loved her- but she was blind to it."
"Ah ,so you knew about their relationship. What did you think of him?"
"He was a really nice guy, I met him when I was working there part-time. Shame after that argument, he sent her flowers to apologise- he was really the perfect person for her I believed."

"Say Thebza... about Tristan and Bell... what did you think of their relationship?"
Thebza snorted, "They hated each other's guts - recently it seemed like the tension was released, but I feel like it was all an act from Tristan. Bell told me that there's a reason for his hatred. Apparently Tristan is the one who recommended her to Pops when his old chef retired- Tristan had already been working there for over year- as the sous chef. When Pops met her, he insisted that they compete and whoever made the best dish won the position so to speak. Bell won , and Tristan was stuck in his old position, unable to advance forward in his career, unless he jumped shipwreck she quit.
Well, she quit, we knew this about a few months ago, it didn't seem to reduce his resentment though, until recently.
I feel like in his heart, he wanted to win against her, head to head. Her quitting was effectively handing him the position without a fight. He seemed like a competitive oke to me, so I don't know it was just the vibe I got from him."
"One chai latte and one matcha latte.", a waitress interrupted their conversation, placing the mugs on their table, before scuttling off.
Del stirred her chai, absorbing this sudden mass of information that Thebza had off loaded onto her.
"If I had to tell you that the two of them were in a romantic relationship, what would you say?"
Thebz let out a hoarse laugh, "Are you trying to suggest that the ice king clawed his fishy fingers into Bells heart?" , he asked with an incredulous expression.
"Errr, it's what we've been led to believe by certain sources."
"Look here- I myself really have no beef with Tris- he treats me nicely. But , God could he be rude to Bell- she always forgave him, but tshoo, dating. I guess I can't totally say that didn't happen- people are unpredictable."
Del drained the rest of her chai latte in one gulp, "If they were predictable. These cases would be easy. Thebz, it's been great talking with you, my condolences lie with you regarding Miss Smiths demise."
"No problem, sorry I guess I ran my mouth off over there about Tristan. "
"Oh no, I brought it up. It's actually given me a new perspective on the case."

A/N: Thum thum thum da