L'affaire Bob

41. User S1R1002

At those words, Emma and Amanda exchanged a glance.

-"What do you mean?" Emma asked, while Amanda took a step closer and picked up the flacon from the coffee table.

-"Pills?" she read incredulously.

I nodded gravely.

-"You can't possibly mean-" she began.

-"Suicide?" Emma finished.

-"Or someone poisoned him," I suggested. "But that's highly unlikely, since it would make no sense if the box was in Bob's house, especially knowing that someone else put the pills in his drink or plate, and not him."

And turning to Sam, I then questioned: "Where did you find it?"

-"It was under the dresser in our bedroom. I was searching for my notebook, and so when I finally found it, I lay down on the bed, taking a quick break. I scanned the room with my eyes, and unintentionally, they fell on a little white box hidden behind the dresser's leg," she answered tiredly.

-"So you bent down to see what it was, discovered this, and immediately came back here," I assumed.

-"Yes," she confirmed.

-"Why would it be there? Is there any shelf above it or something?" I continued my interrogation.

-"Yes, there is. Now that I think of it, Bob always used this one for his personal belongings. He might've hidden the pills behind them, and later on, they fell, due to the wind that always penetrated the room when I opened the windows."

-"That's a possibility," I agreed. "But why would he have those pills in the first place? Did he have them for a while, or did he get them a few days or weeks before his death?"

-"Paul," Samantha pleaded, the hint of a tear glinting in her right eye. "I don't know. I honestly don't. You can't keep bombarding me with questions."

-"Right, right. Sorry, Sam," I lowered my head, the guilt and shame taking over me. "I've gotten so used to doing this. It's a habit now, a work ritual."

-"I know how hard this must be for you, Samantha," Mike stepped in. "But I'm afraid asking questions is defo something we should do if we wanna solve this."

Sam locked eyes with him for an instant, and almost magically, her features relaxed, and as if coming to an understanding, she nodded, motioning for him to continue speaking.

-"So it's most probably a suicide then, right?" he started. "We've eliminated the possibility of someone poisoning him."

We all nodded.

-"But what if that was what they wanted us to think? What if all this act was a trap, a bluff? The people who poisoned him might have broken into the house when no one was inside and put that flacon on the shelf, hoping Bob's wife, Samantha, would find it and presume her husband killed himself."

I stared at Mike, blinking disbelievingly.

This guy was good. Really good. I hadn't even thought of that possibility yet.

And yes, yet, because I would've eventually thought of it.

-"Dude's got a point," Mathias raised an eyebrow.

-"So, Detective René," Amanda derisively said, with all the disgust and aversion she could muster while saying my name. "What do you think of that theory?"

-"It's... plausible," I rather grudgingly gave my approval.

-"Uhuh," she teased me. And with a small, mocking flick of her hand, she added: "Please, Paul, do continue spreading your wisdom upon us, poor ignorant mortals."