My Crimson Wedding

Chapter 4

Han’s POV:

“Detective Han Wilbur, the lead of investigation department and the current head of a new team working on the investigation of Ethan Mathews murder has reported that the unfortunate death of the victim could have been a premeditate move but if this was a foul play then why hasn’t the investigating officers come to any conclusion yet?

A man was killed and his wife was right beside him at the time. Was this murder planned for insurance money? This happens to be the first case under Detective Han’s Wilbur with no arrests or any suspects taken into custody for over a month’s time.

There has been no official statement made so far but, from the looks of it, this definitely has to be connected with the money and the conspiracy that hides behind the corrupt officials who haven’t made any progress... ”

“Damn, those people sure jump the guns too soon” said Lewis as he turned the television off.

I was the head of investigation for this case and although, this case looks quite simple, a man murdered at the wedding altar, there was no evidence found at the crime scene. We’ve checked the venue a lot of times and the near by places from where the person could have possibly shot but, nothing was found in a few kilometers range of that venue.

There have been no arrests made and the witnesses were way too panicked to have noticed someone suspicious and all we had was a widow who was attacked a month after the incident. These details made no sense and there was no suspect so far.

I pulled out the files to get going with the work. It was late in the night and Lewis and I have been working in night shift to avoid the distraction created by the ruckus media feeds to public.

I laid my head back on the chair as I stared at the closed file of Ethan Mathews. There were not many records, just a postmortem report and dental records of Ethan to confirm his identity.

The motive behind the murder wasn’t clear. There had to be someone seeking revenge or perhaps, an enemy waiting for a perfect opportunity to seek revenge. I closed my eyes trying to think back to the time when the incident was reported. The venue had no cctv cameras but there had to be a wedding video shot and what about the dashboard cameras.

“Lewis, did you get the guest list and retrieve their dashboard footage?” I asked.

“Yes Boss! The footage is ready it will be there on your desk by morning” He replied as he handed out the guest list to me.

There’s got to be more. Videos and dashboard footage take time to be retrieved, I felt that there was something we missed checking on. I shook my head and pressed the bridge of my nose.

“Let’s see…, there were only close relatives attending the wedding and yet, none of them noticed anyone suspicious or the murderer who shot Ethan. Does that make sense?” I asked out loud.

“Well, there were about fifty people attending the wedding and none of them came forward to give their statements” said Lewis as he looked at the guest list.

“We’ll have to ring them up in person then...” I said.

I turned my wrist to check time and it was going to strike 6 am. Another day passed by and this case had remained unsolved. I opened Ethan’s file to add in the record of guest list who had attended the wedding. Poor man, who knew that a drastic change of events would lead him from wedding altar to the funeral coffin.

Wait a minute, Funeral!

“That’s it! The funeral! When was Ethan’s body given to the custody of his family?” I asked.

“A week after the autopsy” said Lewis.

“Then the family must have arranged for a funeral. Quick, bring out the records of Ethan’s obituary” I said.

“But, how will that help?” asked Lewis.

“We are not sure of the correct number of people who attended the wedding. But, funerals are private affairs, every single attendee would have signed the register that day. So, all we’ve got to do is check the guest list and the funeral home register to check for someone suspicious.” I said

At least, that would be the start. Right when I was about to close the file I heard my phone ring. The name flashing on the screen had me palpitated with excitement as I slid my thumb to answer the call.

“wanna grab a cup of coffee?” I heard a young and soothing voice speak from the other end.

“That depends on where you are...” I replied.

“Turn around” she said.

My eyes met with the exuberant smile of Jessica. She threw her arms around me and engulfed me into a hug. The same smile that had got me ten years ago, still had the same effect. Her energy was contagious and the warmth that she brought with her could thaw any cold heart.

“Lets go! I’ve got to tell you something” She said as she held my arm to take me out with her.

“Well, well, who knew our tough sergeant had a weakness like this” said Lewis.

I chose to ignore him. Jessica and I had been married for ten years. It was love at first sight for me and I was in training back then when I first saw her. I never imagined to marry someone out of workplace but she was the exception that my life had awaited.

If it were the young me, I’d have preferred someone who’d understand the demands of my profession and who else could, if not someone from the same profession? But with Jessica, who is an artist, it wasn’t a big of deal.

It was her energy and understanding that got me serious about her. After a few dates I popped the question and she said yes. Just like that we’ve remained married for ten years. The most beautiful, energetic and understanding woman I’ve ever known is my wife and nothing more delights me to go home and see that she’s been waiting for me.

I kissed her head as we stood before her car and she struggling to unlock it. With a click of the door unlocking her eyes met mine as I leaned in to capture her lips.

“mmhhh…, how long is this night shift going to continue?” she asked as she looked at me with those big doe like eyes.

“a lot longer than I’d expected” I replied.

She pulled the door open and got inside and waited for me to get in as well. The rumbling engine turned on as she pushed the key in the ignition.

“What was it that you wanted to tell me?” I asked as I looked at her.

“I went to a gynecologist...” she said and her words were enough to push my buttons.

“Oh honey, you know how I feel about it right? Why do we have to talk about it now?” I asked feeling agitated.

“Well, this is a marriage Hans, What do you expect? We’ve been married for ten years and wanting a kid isn’t crime!” her voice was loud and clear.

I had nothing against kids but, they just felt like a responsibility that I wasn’t ready for. I had already told her at the beginning of our courtship that I’d not prefer to have children as I don’t want to put burden on her and stay away from home.

“But… having kids and not being there for them is a crime and I don’t want to burden you” I said with regretful eyes.

I know she’d hate me for what I just said but, this wouldn’t be fair from my end.

“I want a kid, honey. There is nothing more to do and I’ve seen all my friends enjoying pregnancy and motherhood. How do I put it? Motherhood completes a woman!” I could sense the need and desperation in her voice as she looked at me.

“Jez, you know that’s not what I mean. I want to be equally involved in raising our kid but in the given circumstances it just doesn’t feel right! You have your art workshops and I’m stuck in this job which is the only way of us getting by. Adding another responsibility to our already complicated life just doesn’t make sense to me” I said.

Her hurtful eyes when they looked at me were like a slap on my face for the words I’d just uttered.

“life isn’t a responsibility. It is a joy that should be celebrated.” she said

“Sometimes I wonder how can you be so emotionless? I pity you for missing out on a lot of wonderful things out there and parenting is one of them” her voice was stoic like a rock as she changed the gear to pull away.