"We are sorry madam, if it seemed like we victimized you. We were only doing our job. It's up to us to find your husband's killer, and we had to follow the trail before us no matter where it leads." Detective Hank says to the young widow, Katherine. They are both seated in her living room alongside his partner, Kunle.
"You didn't even allow me to mourn my husband properly before you started jumping and throwing wild accusations around," Katherine replied, sniffing. She was a beautiful, young woman in her mid-twenties, and she was so beautiful one could swear she was a goddess.
Formerly a model, she quit a few years ago to marry the oil magnate and billionaire business tycoon, Engineer Whales, who was in his late seventies at the time of their marriage. They appeared to have a blissful marriage till he ended up dead after a supposed asthma attack in his office.
He was asthmatic and his death wouldn't have raised eyebrows except for the fact that his autopsy revealed the attack wasn't what killed him, he was poisoned. What poison? They couldn't detect it, but the medical examiner was the best in her field and knew what to look for.
It was one of those rare poisons that left no trace and could not be gotten on the regular market.
People soon started pointing an accusing finger at his beautiful, ex-model wife.
She killed him for his property they said, but they were in for a shocker. Police investigations revealed that he was bankrupt, and even if he wasn't, they had signed a prenup so, out went the motive.
"We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences caused in the course of our investigation. I'm glad to you tell you, that you are officially off our suspect list. We are finally making a headway with our investigation of your husband's murder."
"Really?" She asked eagerly. "Who is it?"
"I'm sorry, we are not at liberty to say at this time, but we'll be sure to keep in touch."
The two detectives bow and exit leaving Katherine staring at the wall.
"I could have sworn she was the one, I can't believe we had it wrong this whole time." Detective Kunle said excitedly upon entering the car.
Hank shakes his head in disagreement, "You had it wrong, not we had it wrong. I always believed in her innocence, but because the spouse of the deceased is usually the first suspect, we had to investigate."
"I admit I was wrong. It's still unbelievable when you look at it, how can a young beautiful woman marry a rich billionaire who only had a few years left to live according to the doctors?"
"Things aren't all they seem, I have learned that in this job. Let's head back to the office, we have a suspect to interrogate."
"You would be doing yourself a favor if you confessed." Detective Hank says, banging the table in front of Mr Walter, the deceased business associate.
"Calm down, Hank. Go easy on the man." Kunle says softly, playing the role of the good cop. He rests his hand on the table in front of Waters, "No one is a saint, we have all had falling out with friends and family, and felt like killing them, strangers even. Some people just push our limits and expect us not to react. I can understand why you did what you did."
"What did I do? How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't do anything to Whales? He was my business partner for God's sake. Why would I kill him? He sighs in frustration and wipes a bead of sweat off his brow.
"When we first interrogated you, you said you hadn't seen the deceased in two days, correct?"
Walter blinks and looks around uncomfortably, "Did I say that?"
"Yes, you did. It's in your statement right here in the file."
"Oh, yes. I remember saying that. I told the truth, I hadn't seen him in two days."
"What if I told you that a witness saw the two of you arguing at a restaurant barely two hours before his death? We also got the CCTV footage from the restaurant, and it clearly shows the two of you arguing."
He stammers and averts Hank's gaze. "I must have forgotten."
"May I ask what your argument was about?"
"I don't remember, maybe an advertisement for the company or something."
"So, you want us to believe that you argued with your business partner a few hours before he ended up dead, and you didn't remember you met him nor remember what you argued about."
"I was in shock, okay? I couldn't remember details like that at the moment."
With a nod from Hank, Kunle opens a laptop in front of Waters. Walter watched in shock and started breathing heavily. He was done for.
"I can explain, that wasn't what it looked like." He looked away from the screen, but he could still hear the audio. "I am going to kill you, Whales if I don't get my half of the company, I have put in my blood and sweat into making this company stand. You are not going to deprive me of my retirement." Walter heard his voice and saw his actions on the day Whales died. If only he knew, he wouldn't have lost his temper.
"It makes our job easier when a suspect commits a crime and leaves a really good trail to himself. '
"I was merely bluffing."
"Let's say we believe your story, how about the vial of poison we saw in your bathroom when we searched it? It was just the type of the odorless, colorless poison that we were looking for."
"God! I have told you, I don't know how it got there."
"You said you don't have a roommate, and no one else has access to your place. Are you aware that your fingerprints were all over the said bottle?"
"You need to hold on, I have never even seen the said bottle before, I've been set up and you need to believe me. I never even touched whales's drink, how could I have poisoned him?"
"Good question, the CCTV recorded you taking a handkerchief out of your pocket moments before Whales arrived, and you used it to clean the cup in front of you before sliding it to Mr Whales's side of the table. You then exchanged his cup for your own and cleaned your cup with the same handkerchief. Moreover, Mr Whales used the cup to take a drink, but you never drank anything."
"That only shows that I am a very neat person. I noticed dust on the cups, so I cleaned them both. Since when has that been a taboo, and what has my not drinking anything have to do with his murder?" He blinked twice as the realization hit him, "Wait a minute, you think I laced the handkerchief with poison? I wouldn't go that far. Please, you have got to believe me, I'm innocent."
"Let's just cut the crap, the evidence against you is overwhelming. Detective Kunle says, packing up the laptop and the case file.
"I'm innocent, you have to believe me. I loved Walter like a brother."
"Tell that to your lawyer. In case you change your mind, let us know. "
The two detectives leave the room and close the door.
"It's over?" Katherine asks Detective Hank, her voice quivering. "Walter was like family, we loved him."
"It's okay, madam. I know it's not enough to console you, but you can at least take solace in the fact that your husband's killer is behind bars. I just came to inform you." He stands and exits the house.
Katherine walks to the window to observe Hank's departure with a smile on her face. She didn't think she could outsmart the police when she started her plans, but Walter solved the worry for her.
She had always known he had a crush on her, so she was able to place the poison in his bathroom, in a place it wouldn't be discovered by him. She made sure it was well hidden and would not be found by him until the police searched. She didn't sleep with him though, he disgusted her. Sleeping with Whales was bad enough, she had to endure it because of her plans.
Whales got what he deserved, it's been a long time coming. He was responsible for the water pollution that wiped her entire family and many families out in her village 8 years ago. Like all big, rich companies, his company was depositing waste in rivers that the villagers drank. They begged and complained to the authorities, but he didn't stop. He bribed the police, judges, and lawmakers and perverted the course of justice.
Katherine was away at an all-girls school then, and that was why she was spared. The people who didn't die were diagnosed with cancer and different life-threatening diseases.
Justice was never served and as soon as Whales's company was done with the oil rigging, they dumped the remaining waste in the same river and left the huge mess behind.
Katherine swore that she would get justice and after realizing she couldn't get it in the courtroom, she decided to do it herself.
She studied him like a book for almost four years and when she bumped into him intentionally at the gala where they met, she was ready. Whales couldn't believe a girl of her age could ever love him much less a beauty queen. She threw him when she asked for a prenup before their wedding. She insisted, but he resisted and finally agreed when she didn't back down. She stylishly cajoled him into setting up a trust for her. She suggested it and coaxed him into thinking it was his idea.
She had been slowly poisoning him with water from the river in her hometown since she met him, and after they got married he was diagnosed with cancer. She was his karma, only he didn't know. As soon as she had milked all she wanted from him, she contacted a black market dealer for the odorless, and tasteless poison she injected into his inhaler on the morning he died.
Poor Walter, getting his fingerprints on the poison bottle was child's play. He deserved to be in jail, he was just as bad as Whales. Greedy old men who always left destruction in their wake. They didn't care who got hurt as long as they made their money.
She got the revenge she wanted but she felt no relief, she thought she was going to feel a type of calm after avenging her family's death, but she felt empty instead.
The pain of the loss was still there, but she was determined to channel her money into helping victims of the circumstances caused by Whales. She got a lot of money out of him and was responsible for running his company bankrupt.
She had a long journey ahead, she was still young and the world was her oyster. She turned away from the window and headed for the room.