Clapping Monkey

Chapter 7. Who is the murderer?

"Wake up! We need to meet father Jude", Claire's voice woke me up. I changed my clothes and reached father's office accompanied by Claire.

" What is it that you want from me, Alina?", asked the father in his warm angelic voice. It was the same voice that saved me. Relief rushed through my veins. For some reason, I wanted to trust father.

"Father, please help me. I want to know about Robert's alibi", I asked desperately.

" Claire, could you please wait outside. Well, apparently, he was at the bar during the time of the murder. His footage was captured on the CCTV".

"Could it be possible that he had an accomplice?".

" I am not sure, only one person can answer this question and you exactly know who I am talking about".

"But why would Robert tell me the truth?"

"At least give it a try. If you find any suspicion, you will know exactly who to look into". He did have a point there. I need to talk to Robert. I can sneak into his apartment at night, I will look around for clues. And I can investigate and question him further.

I should ask Claire to come with me just in case. Claire can guard me and call emergency if needed

" Are you sure about this, Claire?"I asked hesitantly.

"You are not the kind of girl who would hesitate over such a thing. You said yourself that you are desperate to find your mom's killer. If the police are not helping then that means we need to do it ourselves".

" How did it go? What did father say?" asked Claire?
"He gave some good advice. Let's visit Robert. He might have answers to some of my questions".

"Let's do it tomorrow then. It's getting late and I don't want aunt Lindsay to find out that we are not in our room".

" Fine, let's go home for now", I sighed.

As soon as we reached home, I went straight to bed but Claire woke me in the middle of my sleep urging me to have dinner. Though I was annoyed, I was happy to see that she was still beside after everything that happened.

I woke up when it was almost afternoon. Claire asked me to lock the doors behind as she had some errands to run for her aunt.

"Don't worry, I will be back before evening and then we will visit Robert's house together. I already told the old hag that we would go to the creek to calm your mood. Hence, she ordered me to finish all the chores before going ".

" Sorry Claire and thank you for doing so much for me ".

" Apology not accepted. Let's go on a big trip after this mess is solved. It will also serve as compensation. Bye, don't forget to lock the doors".
She still puts a bright smile on my face amidst this chaos.

Claire returns before evening and we head to Robert's apartment.

"I found spare keys in my house. I hope they will work ".

The keys opened the door, I slowly went inside making sure not to make a sound. I asked Claire to stand outside and guard me.
As I entered the house, a strong smell of whiskey fills my lungs. It's too strong that I gag for some time. There is darkness everywhere, that is when I realise that something is wrong. I trip on some luggage on the floor. It's too dark. I think I should use my phone's flashlight. As the light reflected what was lying on the ground, I went numb. Five minutes passed which felt like an eternity. I glanced at the body again, it was of Robert. He was holding a clapping monkey keychain. Before I could do anything, I hear a bang at the door.

" Hands up and stand straight. Franco, handcuff her ".

Just like that, I became the prime suspect for the murder.

But one thing that disturbed me was that if Robert did not kill my mom then who did.

Who is the murderer?...

Thank you for reading.