BURN THE TRUTH

JULY 16 2003... It started that night. The little sniffing in the shadow of a garage was heard before the light was turned on. He looked about the age of fourteen with black messy hair and a damp face, clearly from tears. He was in his night set of clothing and barefoot. He hurriedly opened the car door in front of him before slumping behind the steering wheel of a black 1999 Spyker C8 car. He aggressively wiped off the tears rolling down his face, picking up the paper map on the passenger seat with his shaky head, he tentatively stared at it for a while before bringing the car engine to life. And then, he abruptly clambered out of the car, without shutting the door, and moved to the garage gate then unlatched the keys before pulling the gate upwards exposing himself to the summer night, his grey teary eyes flickered to the tar-black sky and the whispering of the wind made it known there would be a heavy rainfall soon. He drove out of the garage into the crazy storm. His trembling fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. The first splatter of rain was like pearls on his car roof when he was halfway across the property. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. The roof of the car danced with spray, it wasn't the soft, sodden, swollen drops of rain, it was like ball-bearings were hitting the roof with force and he could hear the murmuring of the rain through the window as it sounds like the buzzing of angry bees. SEPTEMBER 2019... Another day had dawned, and the light seeped into the house, bringing with it new hopes and inspirations. Velda Dashiell, a twenty-eight years woman although looked a bit less her age. She was leaning against the counter in her bathroom, hands on either side of the silvery sink, she slowly looked up into the mirror. Black hair clung to her forehead and those set of hazel eyes stared back at her, they were a-sparkle with mirth. She turned on the tap, and dunked her mouth under the stream of cold water, taking in a few sips, then spitting into the sink. She rinsed her face, then looked into the mirror once again before running her fingers through her messy hair, and then she quickly shimmied out of her dress and discarded it into the laundry basket. She stepped into the shower, twisting the tap and the steady stream of water began to drizzle down her back. She wore a set of comfort clothes before making her way out of the room and into another which belongs to her precious daughter, her goddess, Asteria, a nine years old girl. Velda was grateful enough for how the little goddess woke up easily. Velda turned on the light in Asteria’s room before walking into the room which had a shade of light grey "it's time to wake up, little star" Velda muttered in her baritone morning voice while striding towards her. "Is it morning?" She asked rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes. "Yes, it's morning. Get up, you don't wanna be late today, do you?" She said leaning to uncover her "come let me draw you a bath" Asteria made a little whimper getting off the bed before following Velda to the bathroom where she made sure the water was in good temperature before leaving the bathroom for her. Being done with her breakfast Asteria waited right in front of her mom’s door with her hair brush and hair bands "Mom, please make it a French braid, like the one you made the other day" she requested while handing her the brush "Yes ma'am" Velda replied teasingly as they both made their way back into Asteria’s room to a corner where a dressing table was situated, and she excitedly made herself comfortable on the dressing chair while waiting for Velda to start. "I thought you wanted a side braided ponytail" Velda reminded combing her wavy long brunette hair. "I love the french braid more,” Asteria told her wearing a tender smile, her olive-green eyes had much spark in them that lightened her tender face. Velda could not deny the fact Asteria took most genes from her father. "Done. How is it? You like it?" Velda asked with her palms resting on either side of Asteria’s shoulders, smiling warmly at both their reflex. She nodded slightly "yes, it's beautiful" An immaculate cute smile engulfed her face. "You are more beautiful my little star" She complimented, before giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. Gently massaging her upper arms "Good. Get your backpack. Will be back in no time, copy?" "Copy" They both walked out of the house after a couple of minutes. Velda is clad in dark blue denim pants, a light blue button short-sleeve shirt, and a jacket over it. She pulled open the backseat door of her 2018 Toyota Corolla, allowing the little girl to get in and perfectly seated, before fixing the seatbelt in place. Velda shuffled her key into the ignition and the engine roared to the life she began to pull out onto the street, fingers clutching around the steering wheel as she kept examining the back through the side mirror, the morning sun shining bright as they set off for town. "Okay, little one, I will see you by evening, come give mom a kiss," Velda said once she had parked her car by the school. Asteria took off her seatbelt then leaned and placed a kiss on her cheek "love you mom" "Love you too, sweetheart" Velda reached out for her phone the moment it began to vibrate "Carter?" She said placing the phone against her ear "oh, okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes" She dropped the phone and quickly pulled out of the parking spot back onto the road. Velda drove into a residence and got out of her car, making her way to the front entrance. In the room, there were some homicide investigators, each one of them busy with their specific duties. "Velda..." Clyde called immediately she intruded the room before the said man walked up to her. He was three years older than Velda, with Viking-gold hair, he quite had a dashing personality and a cosmic smile. "What can you tell me about the case?" Velda inquired scanning the room as she grabbed the glove Clyde handed her and began to nest her fingers into them. "Our victim's name is Susan Adam married to Mr. Adam William and she owns a jewelry store, age thirty-four. The murder weapon was in her possession" they began making their way towards the deceased. "So, any witness?" Velda inquired. "No" "Who made the call then?" "The deceased husband" "And where could he possibly be now?" Velda asked looking behind before they squatted next to the victim. "He was asked to wait outside" Clyde informed then averted to the diseased "Based on a visual assessment of the victim's lividity, she's been dead for six hours" Clyde explained Velda scrutiny observed the diseased, she was practically good at detecting the slightest of things. “Something isn't clear here, this...is in no way a suicide, due to the trajectory of the blood splatter, in relation to the stiff makes zero sense. There is no way she pulled the trigger, this is a murder case" she noted before her eyes lingered the whole place "this building should have a surveillance camera, don't you think so, Clyde?" She asked now looking at Clyde expectantly and they both immediately stood up. "Check for other clues, I will go have some words with the victim’s husband. By the way, who was the first officer to arrive?" Velda stopped to ask and Clyde pointed at a man. After interviewing the officer in the hallway, Velda made her way out to the front entrance where Mr. Adam was. "I'm Detective Velda Dashiell" She took her pen into her hand. "Name?" "Adam William" "Talk to me about your relationship with the victim" "She is my wife" "Married for how long?" "Precisely seven years" "Do you have any idea why she killed herself?" "No, detective" The interview kept going for a few more minutes before Velda stood "thank you for your time, Mr. Adam. Oh, I noticed you have cameras around, we need to check the footage" "Okay," Adam agreed with a nod then got on his feet "come with me, detective" he gestured and began to make his way back into the house. They walked into a room that seemed to be Mr. Adam's home office before he moved to a screen situated at the left corner of the room. "Stop. This was the day you left for your business trip. Which means the last recorded footage was on the day of your departure, why is that, Mr. Adam?" Velda questioned gazing at the man, face neutral. "I can only say this happens mostly when I'm on a business trip, when asked, my wife’s replies are always that she doesn't like being watched, that this isn't a mall" Velda watched him carefully as if waiting to catch a glimmer of suspicion in his expression, before thanking him and then exited the room and back where the diseased was. "What have you gotten? Any lead?" She asked the moment she got to Clyde "None for now. Carter and Louisa just left to run some tests" Clyde announced. Some men were getting the deceased into a bodybag behind them before the two began making their way out. They had both just gotten into Velda’s car when her cell phone began to vibrate "Carter, any lead?" She said the moment she picked up the call. "The victim had been constantly having a call with someone within the past four days. The line belongs to one Ansel Cato, he's a twenty-eight-old male, I will text you his address" Carter said from the other end of the call. "Thank you, Carter," Velda said and then hung up, dropping her cell phone. "Did you get anything useful from the victim’s husband?" Clyde asked fastening his seatbelt "Just a regular husband who left for business four days ago and returned this morning to find his wife in the pool of her own blood" she stated removing the car from the park. Her phone notification went on and she picked up the phone once again to check. "I think we got our lead here" she gave the phone to Clyde and began driving out of the property. The doorbell was answered by a female in her early twenties "Detective Velda Dashiell, is this the residence of Ansel Cato?" "Yes" she replied hesitantly "Who's at the door!?" They heard coming from inside, but yet she stood staring at the two nervously until a male walked his way to the door. "Are you Ansel Cato?" Velda inquired "Yes?" His brows raised in questioning. "We are from N.D.C CSI working on a case and here to ask you some questions if you aren't busy, we hope you comply" "And if I don't?" Queried the young man as he narrowed his eyes at Velda "it's not like you got a warrant or anything by the look of things and I'm busy" he stated firmly and was about to shut his door at them before Velda held the door, preventing it from shutting. "I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Cato. As your contact line was found on her phone, with multiple calls before Mrs. Adam Susan was murdered" and that, that got the young man to freeze, dazed by the revelation. "What?" "I said, we need to have a little chitchat Mr. Cato" Velda informed. "So tell me, what's your relationship with Mrs. Adam?" Velda asked as they finally settled in Cato's living room while Clyde stayed in the car. "Well, I met her on an occasion, a year back. And since then, we kind of seeing each other" "What do you mean kind of? Were you both seeing each other Mr. Cato or not?" He clicked his tongue “We were seeing each other" "And when was the last time you met with her?" "Last night" "What time, where, and when did you leave?" "Not sure of the exact time. Was at the bar when she called, didn't really check the time" clicked tongue again "I drove to her residence, then I had to leave around 12 am in the morning" "And why if I may ask?" Velda requested but Cato seemed to be struggling a bit in replying "Mr. Cato, why did you leave her residence by 12 am this morning?" She repeated "She asked I should leave because her husband was supposed to return by 7 am. That was what she told me" "So you were having an affair with a married woman, and you had to leave the residence earlier because her husband was returning, am I correct, Mr. Cato?" He nodded "Yes" "Do you intend to tell me why your visit wasn't caught on the surveillance footage in her residence, if you are actually being honest" Her last sentence was a bit threatening "That's because she disconnects them during my visit. Are you implying I'm the killer because you think I was the last person she met with before she was murdered?" Cato asked leaning forward, brows furrowed. "No, but it does make you a suspect" Velda corrected. "What the hell? Are you for real? You must be f*****g joking detective" he barked a laugh leaning back against his couch. "Well," Velda said getting on her feet, "I think we are done here. Let's hope we don't get to meet again" Velda pulled her car door open before positioning herself behind the steering wheel "how did it go?" Clyde asked "The guy isn't our killer, but I did get some information" she turned on the engine "coffee would be perfect" she announced as she drove again into the busy road. They drove into the vast parking lot before they both clambered out of the car viewing the cheerful and brilliant lighting of the shop before they began to make their way toward the front entrance of the store. There were tables outside the shop, each shadowed with a brown vintage-style umbrella. Clyde made his way to the front while Velda excused himself and headed for the restroom. A couple of minutes passed before Clyde walked out with two cups of coffee then handed one to Velda who already was standing outside, and her phone was glued to her ear. She mumbled a thank you with a little nod and continued on her call as both began to walk to their car. Velda ended the call and was about to nestle her phone back into her pocket, a bit distracted with Clyde when her body abruptly met that of another and she felt a few drops of the coffee fall on her shirt. Velda immediately raised her head, eyes meeting a shocked and confused face, surprisingly the most attractive facial she had ever seen. The masculine face seemed too stunning to be true, his features were utterly gorgeous, not the slightest mistake on that face, along with broad shoulders. His initially white t-shirt, now masked with the brown shade of the splattered coffee made it look like a mistake in tie and dye. Velda’s eyes grow wider as she realized the damage she had cursed. "I'm so sorry" Velda blurted out. "s**t!"