ℂ𝕃𝕆𝕊𝔼ℝ 𝕋ℍ𝔸ℕ 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝕂

࿙O࿚࿙N࿚࿙E࿚

     𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐑 sat on the wooden chair on her front porch gazing up into the sky, watching as the golden sun disappeared beneath the horizon. A call came in disturbing her relaxed mind.
“Detective Harper, there is an emergency, you need to be at Winston street now.” The husky voice said from the other end.
“Emergency? Alright, I'll be there in thirty minutes” she said as the line went off. She downed her cold tea in the styrofoam cup halfway and threw it away into the trash can as she headed towards the garage. She opened the door, slid into it, and ignited the engine driving south to Winston street. She turned on the car's radio and let the music playing fill the car.

Winston street… what is it this time, is it a robbery or a homicide?

     Winston street is a well-protected place for a crime to be committed especially with the surveillance cameras all around. Whoever must have committed a crime must have some nerves.
    The moment she got to the location. She turned off her car and parked along the road. Her Assistant Detective walked over to where she parked.
“Thank God, you were able to make it in time,” he said as they both walked to the crime scene that was already taped all over.
“Couldn't you have handled it yourself?” Nicole said to him. He opened the door and led her into the house.
“Not in this case.”Nicole reached into her side pocket and took out two rubber gloves and put them on. They both walked into the bathroom and what Nicole saw made her flabbergasted.
“My goodness!” she gaped. The bathroom was filled with water and a naked lady lying lifeless in it, the floor was also flooded.
“When I  arrived, the tap was running so I turned it off myself.”
“This is terrible!” she scrunched her face.
“This is not all, follow me down to the basement.” Detective Neil Darwin opened the door to the basement revealing a body murdered in cold blood.
“This is a gruesome sight, Neil” she shuddered.
Neil shook his head in pity as they exited the building.
“Have you started anything yet?” Nicole said leaning on the tree in front of the house.
“Yes, from what I have found so far… um, the lady died from suffocation and the man was shot dead, one gunshot to the knee, two at the chest, and mu, multiple gunshots to the head. ” Neil explained.
“Was it a robbery?”
“No, nothing was stolen from their home.”
“So are you saying it is a homicide?”
“Yes. Let's just go into the house and see if we can get anything.”Nicole walked briskly into the house and opened the door to the bathroom, she walked in and stared at the lifeless body in the pool of water. She wished the lady could talk to her and tell her what had happened.
“she is pretty,” she told Neil.
“Very pretty. The pathologist is coming to carry the bodies” They left the bathroom and went to the basement.
“How did the police get to know?” Nicole said, pen poised in her hand over the paper she now held in her hand.
“The neighbor called 911”
“I'll see you tomorrow at work then we can discuss more on this issue,” she said pulling her car door open.
“Okay… Detective Harper?” Neil called.
“Yes”
“Who is your number one suspect?”
“I don't know for now… Perhaps the neighbor?”
“ I don't think the killer is just one person,” Neil said resting his hand on the uncovered window.
“Well, then tomorrow” with that she ignited the engine and drove off.

☬          ☬           ☬          ☬    

     The door of Detective Harper's office flung open revealing a short slim lady.
“Good morning” she greeted Nicole who was on the phone. Nicole motioned for her to sit.
“I guess, you must be the neighbor?" Nicole said after she hung up.
“Yes. I am Orwell Valerie.”
“Oh good! I am Detective Harper.  ” Nicole searched through the stack of files on her desk and took out the file she was recently walking on.
“So… um, Mrs. Orwell what do you do for a living?” she opened the file ready to write down every piece of information.
“I am a full-time housewife” Mrs. Orwell smiled.
“Alright, can you tell me all you know about what happened in McBride's home? ”
“Yes. Yesterday afternoon, I was in the laundry room in my home sorting clothes to be watched when I heard a gunshot from my neighbor's house, so immediately I dialed 911” Mrs. Orwell narrated.
“At what time did you hear the gunshot?”
“I think… 3:45 pm, I didn't hear the gunshot once, it was like three or four times” she bit her lips, her hair was packed roughly on her head and her face had no makeup on which means she came to the police department in a hurry.
“How well did you know the couples?”
“They moved into that house six years ago, they were nice humble people, everybody on Winston street loved them. They were very close to my family. During the holidays, they'll come over to my house to have dinner sometimes we will go out on camping trips and …” she sobbed. “ I am sorry” she brought out a handkerchief from her bag to wipe her tears off.
“It's okay, I understand. We found out Sally McBride was three months pregnant. But do you know who must have killed them?”
“I… I don't know” she sniffed “I don't know who would have thought of killing them, they were nice people, we attended the same church too.” she exhaled sharply.
“Have you seen anyone strange come near their home since the incident?”
“No”
“What about your husband, where was he?”
“At work. He was sad when he heard the news.”
“When Mrs. McBride was alive, has she complained to you about anyone disturbing her?”
“No, not at all. She was a jovial woman”
“One last question. Do you know any of their relatives?”
“No… except Sally's Mom”
“Thanks for coming anyway. Please if you find anything strange does call us”
“Alright, I will” Mrs. Orwell stood up and left her office.