Murder! Murder! There's Been A Murder!
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
This is not how I thought my vacation would end. But, of course, it ends with murder. My life revolves around murder. There's no escaping it. So I pulled my car into a parking spot and got out.
"Hello Detective Phillips, the body is right over here. I hope you enjoyed your vacation."
"It was ending well until I got this call. Thanks for asking Rogers."
There laid the body of a woman who looked as if she walked out of a vogue magazine. The only identification she had on her was her work ID attached to her shirt.
"Tia Thomas, who were you? What happened?" I picked up her ID.
A puddle of blood circled her body. There were stab wounds, and her throat was cut.
"This looks like a crime of passion. Where are her things? She looks like she would have a purse."
"No, ma'am, there is no purse. The security guard that found her thought it was a robbery."
"Yea, you would think so, but the victim knew her killer. Robberies don't usually end with this much violence. Let's get her body to the morgue and contact her family. It's time we start looking for a suspect. I also want to question the security guard. Maybe he saw something and doesn't realize it."
"Yes, ma'am, I will get that done and meet you back at the station."
I nodded and headed back to my car. There was no real evidence yet. I knew how she died; I just had to figure out who. I made a mental note to access her phone records and contact the hospital for access to their cameras.
After getting the appropriate documents, I contacted the phone company for records and the hospital for their videos.
"Hey Phillips, I was able to track down the victim’s partner after talking with a few people at the hospital. I also have the security guard that found her. Also, she had a second lover, which might be an interesting angle. Angry partner or jealous lover." Rogers sat down across from me.
"Well, crimes of passion always happen when there is a love triangle. The stab wounds show that it was personal."
"Who do you want to question first?"
"I want to question the partner first. Then we can question the lover and then the security guard since he found her."
"Okie Dokie."
"Well, we have time for the phone records to come through. I already have someone looking through the videos to see if the cameras caught anything. So let's go do some questioning." I grabbed my coffee and downed the lukewarm liquid.
"Hello, Mr. Raftcrost. I'm Detective Phillips, and this is Detective Rogers. We have a few questions for you regarding Ms. Thomas."
"Hello, detectives. I'm here to answer any questions you have. First, I want to know who did this to my love."
"That’s what we’re trying to find out. We do need to know where you were last night."
"I was with some friends. We were celebrating their promotion."
"Okay, We will need their information."
"Okay, anything you need."
"Mr. Raftcrost, did you know that Ms. Thomas had another lover?"
"Yes, she didn’t believe in the conventional one-lover idea. However, he and I are on good terms."
"Do you have another lover?"
"No, I've been with Tia so long I prefer to have one lover."
"There wasn't a time you were ever jealous of her lifestyle?"
"No, she told me from the beginning on our first date. I like the companionship, and that's what I've needed. I have a hectic work life and never wanted to settle down because I wouldn't be able to give a partner all that they needed."
"Interesting. Detective Rogers will take the names and phone numbers of the friends you were with last night. Then, I'll send someone to bring you something to eat and drink. I'll be back."
I had heard of couples who had this lifestyle, but I've seen some gruesome stuff. I know what jealously looks like, and that poor woman was on the receiving end of jealously. I just needed to figure out who was the jealous partner.
"Hey Phillips, I've got the names and numbers. I'm going to give them a call while you question the other lover. I'll send Johnson into the listening room."
"Thanks, Rogers." I waited until Johnson showed up and then entered the room.
"Hello, Mr. Smith. I'm Detective Phillips. I have a few questions for you on your whereabouts last night."
"Okay, I can't believe this is happening. Excuse me; I've been crying since I got the news."
"I know this is hard. But, we will find out the truth and bring Ms. Thomas's killer to justice."
"I will do anything to help you find them."
"Good. Where were you last night?"
"I decided to stay in last night and binge-watch Home Economics on Hulu."
"Can anyone collaborate that story?"
"No, I was alone. I just wanted a quiet night in as I had a long week at work."
"Okay, how did you feel about not being the only lover of Ms. Thomas?"
"I have no feelings there. She's not- she wasn't my only lover."
"Really?"
"Yes, we were in an open relationship. Well, not really a relationship."
"Okay, I will be back in a few. I will have someone bring you whatever you need."
I left the room and headed to my desk. Rogers had just hung up the phone.
"Well, I've talked to all his friends, and they said he was there at the party the entire time."
"Well, we have one alibi confirmed. The other will be tricky as he was home alone. He also said he was okay with not being her only lover because she wasn’t his only lover. So we have to be missing something. This wasn't a robbery. Can you check to see if Trent got anything from the videos?"
"Yes, I can. I'll be right back."
I walked and grabbed Johnson to talk with the security guard.
"Hello, Mr. Hank. I'm Detective Phillips. I wanted to talk to you about last night. Please walk me through each step. Every detail matters."
"Okay," He took a deep breath. "I had gotten to work around 6ish. I was running late and was in a hurry. I clocked in and let the other guard go. It was time to do my rounds. First, I went through the building and headed towards the parking lot. When I rounded the corner for the second-floor parking lot, that's when I saw a pair of legs. At first, I thought someone had fallen and couldn't get up. But, the closer I got, I noticed a lady, and there was blood. I immediately checked for a pulse and then called for help."
"Did you happen to see anyone or hear any cars drive by?"
"No, I didn't see anything or hear anything."
"Phillips, can you come here for a second?" Rogers stuck his head in the door.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hank, I will be back."
"What's up, Rogers?"
"He said he got to work around 6ish, and he was late correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well, the outside camera caught his car drive by the front of the hospital around 5:30."
"Interesting, I wonder why he would omit that he was in the area earlier. I'll be right back."
"Mr. Hank, we have a video showing your car in the area around 5:30. Why were you in the area so early?"
"Oh boy, this has to stay between us, but I was in the area for a job interview. I don't want my company to know because I'm not sure if I'll get it."
"Okay, can you provide the information of the person who interviewed you?"
"Okay, here I'll write it down now. please don't tell my job."
"I won't, Mr. Hank. I'll go confirm this information and will be back."
I walked to my desk and dialed the number.
"Well? what are you going to do?"
"We're going to get a confession. Follow me"
"Okay, I'm back, and Detective Rogers and I have a few more questions."
"Okay, anything you need."
"Well, I've checked your alibi, and it seems there is some information missing."
"Okay, what do you need to know."
"Why were you near the hospital around 5:30?"
"I had to drive past it, so that was impossible not to do?"
"Okay, your interview ended at 5:15, Mr. Hanks. You were still late for work, and you drove past the hospital 30 minutes before you had to go to work. Also, Ms. Thomas's phone records came in, and guess whose number showed up multiple times on that day and throughout the month? I'll tell you; it was yours. Why were you near the hospital, Mr. Hank?"
"FINE, FINE, I DID IT. SHE WAS SO SELFISH WITH MY HEART. WE WERE MEANT TO BE, AND I TRIED TELLING HER HOW OUR HEARTS WERE ONE. SHE DIDN'T LISTEN AND WANTED TO CONTINUE TO SEE OTHER PEOPLE. FINALLY, SHE TRIED TO BREAK IT OFF WITH ME. I COULDN'T JUST LET MY SOULMATE LIVE IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT ME. I'D RATHER MOURN HER DEATH THAN WATCH HER WITH SOMEONE ELSE."
I motioned for officers to come in and place handcuffs on him as I read him his rights.
"Well, I was not expecting that."
"Me either. But, when it comes to the matters of the heart, people do some crazy things for love."
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