Case File #8

(2nd Crime)

The day has finally arrived and Sharna woke up early to get ready and move out. She couldn't sleep much the night before because she was worried about moving and also because when she called the number on the note, no one answered and her curiosity was killing her.

She got out of bed, got dressed and called Wyatt who was supposed to come pick her up.

"Hey, where are you?" Sharna asked

"I can't come pick you up, my car is broken, can Em give you a ride?"

"I'll ask her"

"Ok, and I'll meet you guys there"

"You shouldn't, it's not a big deal"

"Shut up" he laughed "meet you in a bit"

Sharna and Emily with the help of Tyler loaded the boxes into Emily's car and soon they were on their way.

"Excited?" Emily asked

"Yes, I mean the place is really nice, you'll see when we get there"

In a few minutes, Sharna's phone rang and it was the mysterious number from the letter, so she answered immediately.

"Hello," Sharna said, "this is Sharna Davis, who are you?"

"My name is Mary, I sent you the letters because I think Kate, my late brother's wife murdered him and I didn't know what to do"

"Are you free this afternoon, I think we need to talk in person"

"Sure," the woman said and they arranged a meeting at 5 in Sharna's new apartment.

As they arrived, they unloaded her stuff into the apartment and Emily had to leave to work, Nick was still there as she was still signing some paper work. Soon enough, Wyatt arrived knocking at the door.

"Sorry I'm late he said"

"It's okay, I really don't see a point in you coming here anyways"

"Thanks a lot" he laughed "I have a surprise for you"

he handed her a package and she opened it "The day we came to see the apartment you liked this drawing, but since you couldn't afford it, I decided to be the nice brother and get it for you" she smiled "plus it would look really good on the wall behind your desk"

"Aw thank you so much" she hugged him

Nick came from inside to greet Wyatt.

"Good morning" Wyatt said "so are you done with all the signatures"

"Yes, I'll be leaving soon"

"And I'll have a long day of unpacking then" added Sharna

"I wish I could help, but anyways I need to get going" Wyatt said "it really sucks not having a car"

"You don't have to tell me about it" Sharna said sarcastically

"I can give you a ride on my way" Nick said 

"Thanks that would be great"

In just a few minutes, they were gone and Sharna started unpacking, she wanted to finish before Mary came by. While unpacking, Sharna's phone rang, it was Johnny for the second consecutive time. She's been ditching his call trying to follow Emily's advice.

Eventually, Sharna was done with the boxes, she went to shower and got ready to meet with Mary. It was 4:45 so she sat on the couch waiting. "Should I make her tea or something?" Sharna thought, she was confused still about her new job and Mary was her first real customer.

Soon, there was knocking on the door, so Sharna walked to the door and opened it.

There was a woman dressed in a fancy black fur coat, she was in her late 30s and she had short dark brown hair and green eyes.

"The doorbell was not working" she said

"I just moved here and I'm still working things out" Sharna said "Come in" she walked her inside to the couch and sat on the arm chair opposing it. "You must be Mary"

"And you are so much younger than I expected"

"I hope it's not a disappointment"

"No, I did not mean it that way"

Sharna got up and asked her if she wanted something to drink, but the woman didn't want, so she sat back down. "so tell me more about what you think happened to your brother"

"He died almost 2 weeks ago. He had health problems, I know, and he took a lot of medicines, but still the way it happened all seemed fishy to me"

"Why do you think so?"

"He was feeling alright just the night before, we all had dinner  like usual and he was talking about plans for next summer and everything seemed normal. Shortly everyone went to their rooms and I stayed behind downstairs reading then on my way upstairs back to my room, I heard him and Kate arguing. The next morning he was dead. Coincidence?" Mary said

"What was his name?"

"Richard Anderson"

"And why haven't you spoken to the police about that issue?"

"The case was assumed as natural death and he was already sick, so the police thought I was just grieving and saying nonsense, but then I heard about you"

"You said everyone had dinner, everyone went to their rooms, who's everyone?"

"We live in a family house. Kate, Richard's wife, and their 2 kids Toby and Eliza, my mother, Ingrid and my younger brother, James and who ever he's dating at the time"

"And what does your brother, James, think of your theory?"

"James is an idiot, he's just not around. Mostly , he's at his yacht partying with random people whom he calls his friends, but they're just in it for the money"

"The problem is that I'm not so sure there's enough evidence here to create enough suspicion that it could be a murder" Sharna said sympathetically.

"But there are other things too." Mary said outraged "Here" she grabbed a note from her bag "I found this a week ago, before I contacted you, and it's the main reason I suspect Kate"

"I know what you did and I'm sure you don't want other people to know ---Sally Smith"  the note said.

"Sally Smith? Sounds weird enough to me." Sharna laughed "Where did you find it?"

"It sounds fake." Mary said assuring they know no one of that name. "Ever since Richard's death, I've been watching her more closely and one day, I noticed her throwing something in the trash, I waited till she was away and went to see it, it was that note. Shortly after she left without saying a word and it was late at night, but I couldn't follow her and risk her seeing me"

"Does she usually go out that late?"

"She used to go out like that every once in a while, but recently she's been going out a lot at late nights"

"Have you tried talking to her about it?"

"Definitely not, I mean if she really did murder my brother, I wouldn't want her murdering me too"

"Good" Sharna said "You shouldn't let her know you suspect anything and just treat her as usual"

"What are you going to do Detective?"

"I think you should invite me over to stay for a few day, but not as Detective Sharna Davis, as your friend Emma who came to visit and had no place to stay"

"Okay, you'll definitely have a better picture from inside"

Sharna went to pack up a few things to make it look as if she just came to the town "Just as I thought I was done packing and unpacking" she said to herself

Sharna went down with Mary to her black Mercedes and they drove to her family house. On their way, they discussed some details, so that they wouldn't mess up with Emma's identity.

They parked in the garage of the house and went up through the inside stairs, it was extravagant  even fancier than Eleanor's house she thought.

The maids were preparing the table for dinner and the house smelled delicious, Mary called everyone and started introducing Emma to them as planned. However, James was not there as Mary said before.

"You're so welcomed to stay here," Kate said "but I apologize the guest room is not ready, so would you mind staying the night at Eliza's room?"

"MUM!" Eliza said angrily

"Shut up sweetheart"

"Thank you Mrs. Anderson, and I hope I won't be such a heavy guest for the night Eliza" Sharna smiled then got upstairs with Eliza to put her bags and settle.

As soon as they entered the room, Eliza walked to her bed and slammed her laptop screen shut.

"I'm not here to spy on you" Sharna said "Go on do whatever you wanna do, pretend I'm not even here"

"Then why are you here?" she asked

"Visiting your aunt"

"I don't buy it, you're so much younger, you couldn't have been in college together as she said"

"Yes, your aunt and my older sister were best friends in college, I used to hangout with them and now I needed a place to stay and your aunt was kind enough to offer" Sharna said and Eliza seemed to believe her. 

Sharna sat on the couch were she was going to sleep while Eliza walked over to her, grabbed her desk chair and sat opposite her "So what do you do Emma?"

"Currently unemployed. What about you Eliza? What grade are you in?"

"Just Liz, and I'm a sophomore in high school"

Sharna's phone rang, and it was Johnny again and Sharna declined the call.

"Who's Johnny?" Liz asked

"A friend"

"Doesn't seem like it." she smirked "Anyways, I know your secret"

"You do?"

"You think I'm stupid, don't you?" she looked angry "You're a shrink, mum sent you"

"Well, I can assure you I'm not" Sharna laughed

"Mum told me a couple of days ago that she was thinking of sending me to a shrink, so it's not that hard of a guess"

"I'm unemployed, I'm broke and I needed a place to stay, your aunt offered and that's it."

"I'll believe you for now, but I don't trust you though"

"Good, you shouldn't trust strangers, or anyone indeed" Sharna said and then turned to one of her bags to grab something to wear for dinner and Liz went back to her laptop.

Dinner was ready and they all sat on the dining table, it was one of the most awkward moments Sharna lived.

Ingrid kept talking about her son Richard and treating 4-year old Toby as him, he couldn't get any more confused.

"Mary why did you take Richard's toy?" Ingrid asked

"Because, mother, he broke mine first and I gave it back 30 years ago"

Ingrid looked confused for a moment then Kate cut into the conversation "What do you think of the food, Emma"

"It's very tasty, and I'm really thankful thst you're letting me stay here"

The door bell rang and the butler opened it, a handsome man in wet clothes came in.

"It's freezing out there" he said approaching the table

"Why are you wet? Is it raining out there?" Kate asked concerned

"No, I went for a swim"

"With your clothes on, at winter, at night. You're a dumbass and you'll get sick" Mary added

"Who said I had my clothes on," he smirked and turned to Sharna "and who's that?"

"She's my friend, Emma and she'll be staying for a few days with us." She then turned to Sharna "Emma, this is James, my moron brother"

"Thank you sister for the fine introduction" he joked "Nice to meet you Emma" he smiled at her and went upstairs to his room to change and came back.

Soon, they finished dinner and Liz was the first to go upstairs to her room. Mary helped her mother upstairs and Kate left as well saying to Sharna "It's bath time for Toby then I'll tuck him to bed, if you need anything I'll be later in my room".

Sharna was left alone at the table with James, so she started talking to him about his brother.

"I'm sorry for your loss" she said "I heard about your brother"

"Yeah" was all he said then he added "it wasn't much of a surprise though, I mean his health has been deteriorating for years now"

"Still, it must have been awful"

"It was and now he's resting in peace, so let just not talk of the dead and focus on the living"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you want dessert?"

Sharna gave him a disturbing look of shame "why so serious?" he said "We'll all die some day, so we have a responsibility to enjoy our time here on Earth until the day it's over"

"Wow, what a concept" she laughed

"You think I'm joking, but if you think about it, like really think about it, you'll realize how wise my words are"

"I think I'll go to bed now" Sharna said

"I think I can be a better roommate than Eliza, if you want" he smirked

Sharna got out of her seat and walked closer to him and whispered "Don't even try, I'm not gonna be like one of those girls" then she walked away upstairs to Eliza's room

As soon as she entered, Liz said "Johnny called again"

"And I won't answer again" she said and walked to the couch.

"Whatever" She said looking at her laptop screen

"What are you doing? You've been on your laptop for too long"

"It's none of your business and  you're not here to lecture me" she said angrily

"Easy" Sharna laughed "If we're gonna be staying here together for a while, I thought maybe we should talk"

"And you still want me to believe that you're not a shrink. I'm not gonna talk, you talk"

"What do you want me to talk about?"

"I don't know, I don't wanna even talk, you're the one who wants to" she said furiously

"You're a vey angry person you know, such an ironic comparison to you uncle" 

"Well, I think I deserve to and James is a nuthead, he should've died not my father"

"I know how you feel and it sucks, but being angry at your family won't change what happened"

"And talking to you about it won't either, so just shut up please"

"When I was young my father died too"

"Huh" Liz laughed "I don't believe you"

"I was much younger than you, but not a young as Toby" Sharna said "Everyday, I used to wake up early and look through my window, I'd find him watering the garden and he'd wave at me smiling, but one day, I looked and he wasn't there 'maybe I'm too late or even too early' I thought and went downstairs to his lab and he was there hanged by the neck"

Eliza looked at her sympathetically and walked over to the couch and sat next to her.

"What happened to him?" she asked

"The police said it was suicide"

"but you didn't think so, did you?"

"Still, I don't think it was suicide and one day I will prove it"

"I think mine killed himself"

"Why do you think so?"

"He said several times before that he hated being sick and I pretty sure he was very organized, enough to never mess up his medicine schedule"

"I didn't know he died like that, I'm very sorry"

"It infuriates me knowing that he was selfish enough to kill himself and leave us, because he didn't wanna be sick anymore" she was angry and tears started forming in her eyes, but she didn't want to show it, so she got up from the couch and walked to the door. The light switch was there, so she turned it off and walked to her bed "Story time is over. Good night" she said

"Sleep tight"

The room was silent and Eliza was already asleep when Sharna heard a noise from outside, she was still up thinking about the case, so she got up and went out the room and saw Kate from behind heading downstairs then to the door.

Sharna grabbed a hoodie then followed her and tried to keep silent and from a distance so she wouldn't notice her. "Where are you going Kate?" Sharna thought "And who the hell is Sally Smith?"

Kate kept walking till the end of the road and she turned right, Sharna followed "it's freezing, I should've wore something heavier"

Kate finally settled in front of a small supermarket and Sharna hid behind a tree watching her. Kate then sat on a bench looking at the supermarket.

"Maybe she's meeting the 'Sally Smith' " Sharna thought

Almost 15 minutes later, Kate got up of her seat and into the shop, so Sharna got a little closer, but couldn't see clearly what was going on inside, but in a few minutes, Kate got out in a hurry and started walking faster and faster, a hooded figure was following her, so Sharna stayed where she was. 

Kate stopped and started talking with that person, it was a woman. However,  Sharna couldn't see clearly her face, but the conversation looked intense. Kate handed her an envelope and said "No one must know, please leave me alone"

The woman said nothing back and they parted away. Sharna kept waiting for a while to make sure Kate have already arrived home and wouldn't notice she was being watched.

Sharna tried first to go through the path the mysterious Sally Smith went through, but it lead to more roads and Sharna didn't want to get lost, the woman was no where to be found anyway, so she went back to the house.

She opened the door carefully and walked in slowly trying not to wake anyone, but she heard the wooden parquet cracking meaning someone else was there, so she tried not to move, but then a lamp was turned on from the other side of the room.

"What were doing out there this late?" James said

Sharna was shocked and her heart was beating fast "You scared me, my heart beats are racing"

"I know, women always have their heartbeats racing when they see me" he smirked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess adrenaline works when people are angry as well" she gave him a disapproving look

 "So why were you out this late?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. What about you? Why are you still up?" she walked closer to him

"I went to pee, but I heard a noise from downstairs and I came here to find you"

"Is everyone else asleep?" She wanted to know if he saw Kate

"Yes, they all sleep super early in here except for me, so I'm always lonely at night"

"Please turn off the light, we don't wanna wake them up" he did then he walked closer to her "Don't get any closer" she said

"I was just gonna say maybe you shouldn't wake Eliza. I'll be a gentleman and sleep on the couch if you want"

"I'm touched by your concern for your niece, but I told you I'm not interested" she said then walked away on her way to Eliza's room

"You loss" he laughed

She went into the room and laid on the couch till she fell asleep.

The next morning, Sharna was still asleep when she felt someone close to her "Wake up" Eliza said shaking her "I said wake up, Sharna!"