Detective in Love

Chapter 10

When a person carries a weight on their shoulders, a secret behind the textures, you can see it. I can see it. You don't have to flinch, to run out of words, to stutter, for me to know that you're in one way or another guilty too. I can see it all over your face, like a deciphered code.

Mrs. Adler may or may not have realised this side of mine, the side of mine that detects lies. They often don't realise. Until it's too late for them to come up with a good lie. 

"So? What you got?" Allie asks us, as we go back into the office.

Jason looks at me, I know he expects me to talk.

"Mrs. Adler is a liar. She's hiding something from us." I blurt out.

"When did you come to that conclusion?" Jason asks me.

"I trust my instincts. There is a gap, missing information." I respond. I take out my phone from my bag and search for Monica Adler's instagram account.
"Look at this. She keeps quite an updated feed. Pictures of herself, hangouts with friends, food, clothes, everything. It's unlikely that she would go out with her friends, watch a  movie and hang out, without posting a single picture online." I explain.

Jason takes my phone and scrolls up and down. "It does seem a bit fishy." he says.

Everyone else takes a look at it too. 

"Do you think she could've pulled the trigger?" Eric asks.

"Because he said they should stop seeing each other?" Chris questions too.

"I don't think she killed him. But she is hiding something. That's for sure. I'm gonna meet up with her again. Somewhere outside." I tell them.

"That would be good. Maybe she would tell you something she didn't share with us earlier. Be careful whatever you do." Jason tells me.

I nod.
He cares now?

I phone Mrs. Adler and request her to meet me at Bob's Cafe. A few minutes after I arrive at the cafe, she arrives too. After settling down,  she asks me, "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" 

"Let me get straight to the point Mrs Adler." I begin. "I know there is something you're not prepared to tell us, to tell me. You're concealing something from us. I don't find it possible to assume that you pulled the trigger and shot Mr. Wilson. But you're alibi means nothing if you're not being completely honest with me."

"Why don't you think it's possible for me to have killed him?"

"I can't really see you doing that."

"I'm not a very good person you know. I'm not."

"Why do you say so?" I ask her, shocked at her own comment about herself.

"It wasn't just Andrew." she brings both her hands upto her head. "I am a shopaholic. Met the wrong sort of friends. With them it was all about wearing brand new, designer handbags and shoes everyday. To keep up I had to take out more and more credit cards. At last I was in huge debts. That's when Michael, my friend, or so I thought, offered to help me. He said he'd pay it off, and that I would owe him. I had no clue of what he had up his sleeve, I begged and begged, he just wouldn't tell me."

"Why didn't you just tell your husband?" I ask her.

"He works really hard. if he knew what I had got myself into , it would've broken his heart."

"So what did you owe him?"

"I had to go out with him, escort him to his business parties, to meet his friends. One day, I was walking alone, crying to myself. And then I bumped into Andrew. I shared with him everything that was bothering me. Katherine would've consoled me. But she is my husband John's best friend. I couldn't ask her to hide something from him. So by passing time I grew closer to Andrew. I loved him. I love him. But it wasn't right. I ruined a perfect family. So when he said we should stop seeing each other, I agreed. He loved his wife. Truly. I was an obstacle. He must've been confused. I moved on. I started an online blog, giving fashion related advice to people. I earned enough to pay Michael back. So with the money, on the day Andrew was murdered, that's where I went. But when I got to his house he wasn't there, his friends were. They said he got a call and went with Julian. Julian, a friend. So I called Julian, because they told me Michael looked furious. That they heard him mention my name." she pauses to to let out a heavy breath, along with her tears. 
"Julian picked up, he told me that Michael found out about me and Andrew. That's all he could say. The line was disconnected. I called him again, he didn't pick up. If what happened to Andrew was Michael's doings, then it's all on me. I deserve to be tied down and set on a raging fire. For a woman, lost her husband and two kids, lost their father," she disappears into a puddle of tears. The veins on her forehead green and popping out.

I rush to her side and bend down, so that I can talk to her while she's seated on the chair. 

"It's not your fault. You thought you were doing what's best for everyone around you. And believe it or not. I don't think you had a better option given your mental state." I console her.

She hugs me tight, crying her whole heart out. 
"Shush now." I whisper.

Little did I know, that I was crying too. 
Seeing through a person, you still miss out on stuff. 

This woman right here, was pretending to be tough, a few hours ago. And now here she is...
Like a turtle without a shell. Dying, emotionally, every step of the way.