THE BEAUTIFUL MINDS

CHAPTER 7

Ronny's mind was as goofed up as his room.

He was sat as still as a statue on his bed when his wife came in.

"What's all this Ronny?" She said picking up his vests and shoving them inside their closet.

"I've never handled a case as confusing as this. I mean, neither the murder nor the killer appear to be too tactful. Yet, I can't decipher in on one person. Everyone involved has equal chances of committing the murder" winced he.

Sarah sat next to him. "Is it the Ashfield Park murder case?"

Ronny nodded.

"What about those girls? You think Rachel or Angela could have done this?"

"I was presuming they wouldn't have until they lied"

Sarah raised her eyebrows.

"There was a point, Sarah. If Rachel indeed had done the murder, she wouldn't be that naive to leave the message undeleted, would she? "

"Yeah. But, what was the lie?"

"They said they were together at the time of murder. But, they weren't. I'm absolutely sure they weren't"

"How?"

Ronny smirked. "Rachel glared at Angela when she said she was with Rachel at the time of murder. If, I'd blinked at that moment, I would have missed it. It was so close"

"Okay. But you said the murderer was a guy"

Ronny sighed. "Yeah. That's what I thought after looking at the crime scene. But now it looks like everyone has a chance"

Sarah contemplated for a moment. Then she walked over to her drawer and came back with a note book.

"Now, list down the suspects. Men first" Sarah said clutching her pen.

Ronny grinned. "Derek and Mr Louis"

She wrote down their names as she uttered them dramatically.

"And, the women?"

"Angela, Rachel and Veronica"

She drew a line to part and wrote the women's name right across the men's.

"Now, as you presumed initially, let's say, a man had done the murder. Firstly, let's consider Derek. Why would he kill Richard?"

"Because, he was jealous"

Sarah wrote that down. "What about Mr. Louis? Why would he murder his daughter's boyfriend?"

Ronny shrugged. "Over protective father"

"That sounds quite unlikely. Because, he would have considered the fact that he had threatened Richard's parents a week ago and that would raise suspicions. But, still, if it is Mr Louis, this can be the only reason"

Sarah added that to her notes. "Why would Veronica want to kill Richard?"

"Perhaps Rachel was influencing her father against Veronica. So, she wanted her out. If she killed Richard and made it appear as if Rachel did it, she could get her out"

"Hmmm that's reasonable. What about Angela?"

"Well, maybe she was in love with Richard, herself. Very unlikely though"

Sarah laughed. "Or maybe she was jealous of Rachel" she suggested. "What about Rachel?"

"Revenge"

Sarah looked up. "Now I understand, why you're confused" she said putting down the notebook and pen.

"It looks like women have concrete reasons to murder. However, the crime scene looks as if a man had done it" she stated.

Ronny nodded.

Suddenly, something dawned on Sarah's mind.

"What if the man was an accomplice?" She chimed.

"Alright, so you want to make it all the more complicated"

"We should consider all the possibilities, Ronny. Maybe one of the women wanted to kill him and joined hands with one of the men to commit the murder"

Ronny guffawed. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you have a bit of your sister's brain in you"

Sarah glared at him.

"No...No... What I meant was....."

"You don't have to lather butter to what you said, Ronny. Maybe we should call her to help you deal with this case"

"I don't think this case is enough complicated for THE DETECTIVE. I can deal with it" he replied.

"Whatever" Sarah said with a shrug. "But, you know, I've been wondering about something. If the killer had messaged Richard with Rachel's mobile, then why don't you check it for fingerprints?"

"We did and we found only Rachel's fingerprints. Besides, we also checked the bloody graffiti and the oil jar where the tongue was stashed and found nothing. The perpetrator was wise enough to use gloves"

"Ronny" said Sarah. "Maybe, you are dealing with a tactful killer"

That night was just like any other night.

Yet, it was different.

Patrick Johnson was lying on his bed and staring at the silhouette of the fan attached to the ceiling.

It was Twelve thirty in the night and for some reason he felt perturbed.

He was a cop and if not every time, then at least most of the times his hunches prove right.

He got up and stared at the outside world from the window.

It was a full moon night and the world seemed to be quiet and in solace. Yet, it is under the disguise of calm that terrible things happen.

Some of these terrible things have come to light and shaken the world. While the rest, are left buried in the dark.

Suddenly, Patrick's phone vibrated and yanked him from his reverie.

It was a call from an unknown number.

"Hello" said he, his masculine voice echoing through the quiet walls.

For a moment, Patrick thought he heard nothing. But, as he inclined his ear closely to the phone, he heard it.

The sound of a woman panting for breath.

Chills went down his spine.

"Hello" he said again.

"Mr. Johnson, it's me Angela" said a voice, in the middle of short breaths.

"Oh, Angela. Are you alright?"

"No" was the reply. "I'm not alright, Mr Johnson. Someone is after me" asserted the panic-stricken voice.

"Where... Where... Are you right now?"

All that he heard in return was some disoriented sound. And after that, the connection was off.

Patrick tried the number once again. He heard a recorded voice that told him the phone was out of reach.

Patrick sat bewildered.

He wondered if he should call Ronny.

But, deep inside, something told him that he would waste time, that in every passing second Angela's life was getting more prone to peril and that he should get up and act like a cop.

With that Patrick got up and girded himself with a gun.

Within a minute, he was in the outside world and a chill that he couldn't say was from inside or outside hit him.

But, he didn't care. Chin up and head held high, he marched bravely towards Angela's house.