THE ARMAGGEDON: MAN EAT MAN

CHAPTER XXVII

The detectives went to search the car for any clues about who could have taken the Minister’s body. The car was burnt but… fire does not always destroy things. Sometimes it can preserve evidence.

They had to take a shot, although, a long shot. After a while of going through the burnt remains, Jonas finally found something. It seemed one of the kidnappers dropped a ticket he had acquired from the impound yard earlier the previous day.

Indeed, the fire had not consumed everything after all. With the receipt, it was easy for them to track the kidnappers. They went back to the impound lock and asked about anyone suspicious that could have visited the impound yard earlier the previous day. The guard confessed of a visit from one person who claimed to be in the police force and following up on a car involved in a past case.

The so-termed officer did not specify which vehicle he was looking for but the guard confessed to have given him the pass. When the detective asked the guard why he did not report the matter to the police, he said nothing to report as the man was not impersonating an officer. He was surely one. His valid credentials was the reason the guard gave in and gave the man entry.

At that point, the detectives were getting somewhere. Their search had narrowed to looking for a police officer. With the body in question being that of a Minister, the search was even narrower. First, they had to question every officer in the Minister’s security detail. They began the questioning. Most of the officers had alibis to where they were the previous night at the time of the kidnapping except for one.

He fitted the description given by the guard at the impound yard. They took him into custody and questioned about the incident. As the detectives were questioning him, a report came in that the Minister’s body had been found dumped in a ditch not far from the van’s location. This was not all; the body had the right thumb and the right eye missing.

Those signs could mean only one thing. Whoever was after the Minister’s body had more than just kidnapping in their mind. It was all about money. Without waste of any second, the detective ordered tracking of the Minister’s accounts transactions. Meanwhile, Detective Jean was onto the officer and demanded the rest of the story and the person behind the kidnapping.

At that instant, the officer knew all was lost and the least he could do was to confess to the detective. He claimed that, a few days earlier, before the Minister’s murder, his wife received some documents and proofs that her husband had an affair and that he had transferred all his money to his so-termed mistress.

That bothered her since then to the time her husband was found and reported dead. It was after his death that the wife sent them to get the body from the morgue so she could do her thing. The officer ascertained otherwise upon the question of their involvement in the Minister’s murder, and that the wife could have never done such to her husband.

The money-trace yielded affirmation of transfer to the Minister’s wife account. Before the officer’s incarceration, he claimed to have been set up and pleaded his innocence for a lesser sentence. He clearly explained to have not carried the receipt from the impound yard with him at the time of taking the body.

That meant that, no way the receipt could have been found in the car half burnt, unless, someone wanted it there. It also served as prove why it had not completely burnt with the rest of the car. The fire had not preserved evidence after all. Someone decided to place the evidence there for the police to find.

He also noted that, he was sure the accusations about the Minister having an affair were not correct. He told the detective to be careful for, it could also have been duly planned so that the Minister’s wife could react as she did and carry the blame for her husband’s murder.

Of course, the officer’s story made a lot of sense but it was all about speculations. It was time for the minister’s wife to answer some questions. She was arrested and brought to the precinct.

Jean started questioning her for answers. She gave the same story the Officer had told the detectives but the only difference was she believed her husband had an affair until she got into the safe deposit box in the bank.

After the question of her assurance about the affair, she told the detective that the woman in the photos with the Minister happened to be his secretary sometimes back and, she had caught them on the act once after which, the Minister promised never to do it again. At that point, the Minister’s former secretary, who also had won herself the title of mistress that was in the photos with him, had to be brought in to verify the story.

Meanwhile, Jean went forward to ask about how she had managed to plan the stealing of the body from the morgue without breaking in. She explained it very simple getting the keys from Ruddick and made a copy without his knowledge and consent.

All she had to do was, have people watch him for a couple of days and after masterly of Ruddick’s timetable, she just had to choose a perfect place and time to act. The previous night before the Minister’s body was kidnapped; Ruddick had decided to get some steam off his head.

He went to Rosyz Club down town, which he so much liked and, decided to take a few beers. It was during this time that he met a woman different from his girlfriend. After having a chat with her, they decided to go home together. Ruddick had found himself a stray partner for the night.

It was during their time in the house that, the woman took the keys and made a template without Ruddick noticing and, gave it to the men who then later took the body. The plan was very well executed. The detective had to call Ruddick to confirm the story.

When she asked Ruddick about his previous night’s activities, he told her of where he was but leaving out the woman into his house part out. He did not know that by the time, the detective had gotten the entire story about his activities during the night.

Again, he could never think the woman was relevant to the matter; little did he know that she was the key that opened Pandora’s Box.

He was later nonplussed when the detective told him about the woman and that she was the one that took the keys off him and made a copy.

At that point, it was clear that his life was no longer at risk and the officers providing him security were withdrawn. Things were getting hotter and better by the second. The twist was getting bigger and bigger involving more people and snuffing others by the hour.