Two Princes and a choice

Chapter Five

BILL had been thinking hard about what old Bessie had told him about this girl Hayley. From what she had said the girl was a favourite of Waldorf, she was trusted and had been the last to leave the home on the night of murder. Surely she might have collaborated with an outsider or an insider, stolen from Waldorf and when he had called the police had brutally shot him. Only Hayley could say. And he didn’t expect truth from her so easily. They always want to protect themselves. And from what his boys had told him he was more assured that she was connected.

He took out his pack of cigarette running and assessing eye over her. She was calm and composed her eyes fixed on him steadily; she watched him stick a stick between his lips and lit it. ‘Want one?’ he stretched the pack to her.

Hayley eyes dropped downwards to the pack and then met his squarely. ‘No thank you I don’t smoke.’ she told him.

‘Really?’ Bill stared in between puffs. ‘You are the first teenager I would investigate who did not want a smoke.’ He expected her to laugh and say something but she stared at him.

‘I’m I here as a suspect to the crime or what?’ she asked. Her voice was steady too. Dammit, he thought she was composed and making him feel uneasy. Now he won’t be able to tell if she’s lying but not to worry he had a guy outside the soundproof investigation room with a lie detection machine.

Bill shrugged, ’maybe and maybe not.’ He grinned at her. ‘You are not annoyed are you?’ she didn’t answer but stared at him. ‘Tell me about the night of the murder, where were you between ten and ten thirty?’

‘On my way to my part time job.’

‘But you work part time there.’

‘Another part time job.’ Hayley regarded the man before her. He was slightly built and tall, unruly looking and definitely bad tempered she could guess. She could tell he was regarding her as a suspect and whatever for. Has he reached a wall and had no one to accuse than a sixteen years old girl?

‘How old are you?’

‘Sixteen.’

‘How many part time jobs do you have?’

‘Is that part of the investigation?’ she demanded.

‘No,’ he answered.

‘Then I don’t have to tell you that.’

‘For how long have you been working with Waldorf?’

‘A year and seven months.’

‘And during that time had he done or said something that might have made you want to – ‘he shrugged ‘– I don’t know kill him?’

Hayley shook her head. ‘No, Mr Waldorf had always been caring and kind. And are you insinuating I killed him?’

Bill frowned. This girl had been able to read him. Well he better get out with it. But damnation. He shrugged. ‘I don’t know but all evidence is pointing to you.’ There shaken her a little. She doesn’t know that there is no evidence. But he was disappointed when she her passive expression did not waver her gaze did not flicker nor did her hand tremble even slightly.

‘What evidence?’ she demanded her voice calm. ‘That I was the last to leave the house, that Mr Waldorf confided in me so I knew or had access to his things and I collaborated with an outsider and killed Mr Waldorf after I stole his money. Is that the evidence that said I killed him?’

Atta girl Bill thought darkly. ‘I’m not saying that you killed him by yourself. Someone else might have.’

‘And that someone else would be someone I aided is that is Mr Okoro?’

Bill could only stare at her. ‘I’m thinking it’s an inside job and since you were the last person to see Mr Waldorf that night it’s only right that we’ll point the accusing finger on you. Are we clear Miss Hayley?’ she nodded. ‘So let me ask you a couple of questions, you were with Waldorf throughout on Monday the tenth right?’ she nodded ‘what where you doing?’

‘Helping him sort files.’

Bill toyed with his pen. ‘Are you often in his office?’ she nodded yes. ‘And Waldorf trusts you?’ she again nodded. ‘You are aware of the safe Mr Waldorf has in his office right?’ she nodded again. ‘And are you aware of the contents in the safe?’ she nodded yet again. ‘Do you know that the robber and murderer stole the contents in the safe?’

He saw her mouth twitch and felt a surge of hope which was soon squashed by her words. ‘Why would a robber steal useless things?’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘The safe contain nothing useful. It contains nothing but old exam papers, paintings from children and an album, so why would a thief steal those?’

Bill gaped at her words. Stupid, stupid he mentally kicked himself. When his men had checked out the safe he hadn’t bothered to ask about the content because he believed safe only contain valuables.

‘If you don’t believe me you can ask Bessie or the others they’ll tell you.’

He didn’t know what else to say.

‘Sir may I say something?’

‘Go on.’

‘I don’t think it was a robbery at all,’ she told him and at his raised eyebrow continued. ‘Maybe it was an assassin who wanted it to be like a robbery. In detective novels when an assassin kills he doesn’t give any chance for the victim to do anything. But Mr Waldorf called the police station and the operator said she heard him speak, did she hear a gunshot?’

‘No, she didn’t say she did.’

‘If I were a thief I would have killed him the instant he lifted the receiver. I won’t be too occupied to not hear his frantic whispering a few feet away. I have another question, did you check on the call? I mean after the incident the call is recorded right?’ he nodded. ‘Did you check on it? Make sure it was Waldorf’s voice not any one and if he sounded frantic, shocked or scared?’

Bill said nothing but stared rigidly at her. He hadn’t thought of that no one had but a stupid, stupid sixteen years old who read detective novels.

‘And another thing, did you check the telephone for finger prints? Mr Waldorf didn’t use the phone at all when we were together and you said the murder happened around when - ?’

‘Ten.’

‘And that is thirty minutes after I left. He may have received a phone call then I don’t know but check if there are finger prints on the telephone and if there isn’t check if the coating of lemon wax on the phone is the same quantity.’ Bill stared at her questionably as if to say lemon wax? ‘Yes, Bessie polishes the telephone with lemon wax only god knows why. She makes the coat of wax in between heavy and light and if finger prints have been rubbed off the wax would be as well and have Mr Waldorf’s hand checked for presence of lemon wax. If he had touched it you would smell it.

Bill could only stare enthralled.

***

Darryl could not believe his ears when he heard from Anna that Hayley was in a police station. He immediately scribbled down the address and drove there as fast as the car can go heart in his throat. Parking in the lot he started walking towards the building when he saw her come out and walk down the stairs.

‘Hayley!’ he called waving. She sighted him and came running down the stairs.

‘Darryl! What are you doing here?’

‘Your mum told me you were at the station and I rushed down. What happened? And why are you here? Don’t tell me it’s because of Waldorf’s death? And if it is can’t they question you at home?’

‘Darryl, don’t freak out, don’t but I was actually suspected ‘she burst into laughter.

Darryl did not find that amusing in the least, suspect? That was bad news.

‘Don’t think so badly about it, they became less suspicious of me when I told them how I felt about the murder thingy.’

Darryl’s brow wrinkled in confusion. ‘How you felt?’

‘I told them how to solve the crime or at least gave them a start so you can call me Sherlock Holmes,’ she said gaily but Darryl’s frown deepened. ‘Don’t worry, I tell you on the way to my part time job.’

‘Say what? Nuh hun, I’m taking you home. Take a break using this as an excuse.’

‘No, you know me if I don’t work I’ll go crazy. So come on driver boy take me to work so that I might amuse you with my tale of the station.’

She laughed and entered the car. He entered and she began her tale.

Darryl dropped her off in front of the café with a promise of picking her up, handed her cell phone to her. She had forgotten to take when the police came for her and drove off with Hayley waving. She entered the restaurant and her eyes immediately dart to the wall clock it was nine and she was late. Surely if she explained Mr Olayinka would understand. She took a breath and proceeded to knock when she heard noise from within. She listened. ‘Oh yes you can have the job,’ he was saying to someone who said thank you sir. A wave of panic hit her. Mr Olayinka had found replacement for her. If she entered he would just hand her a pink slip and she would lose this job. ‘Of course you can begin right away.’

Hayley knew she had to enter and plead. She raised her hand and knocked.

‘Yes, come in.’

Hayley turned the knob and entered. Mr Olayinka was sitting behind his desk a tall young man before him. The young man turned as she entered and their gaze met.

‘Morning Mr Olayinka,’ she said with the entire smile she can muster.

‘Good morning Hayley,’ he answered with a pleasant smile. ‘No need to talk or apologize you mother has told me everything.’ He told her before she could say anything.

Hayley’s uneasiness cleared a little. ‘So I’m not fired?’

Olayinka laughed ‘nonsense my girl why would I fire such a reliable employee likes you? It would take more than one visit to the station to get me to sack you my girl.’

Hayley started to breath. She looked at the young man beside her enquiringly.

‘Oh Hayley, this is Will your new assistant. Will this is Hayley. She would teach you about things here.’